Yearly Archives: 2012

The Dwarven Invasion Arrives in Dawn of Fantasy

The Dwarven Invasion Event Arrives In Dawn Of Fantasy

 

Dawn of Fantasy

 

Reverie World Studios is proud to announce a new game changing event for it’s innovative siege MMORTS – Dawn of Fantasy. This mini-expansion event gives players free access to the might of the Dwarven race as players work together in co-op mode to protect the realm against the Dwarven invaders.

 

 

The dwarfs have descended on the three realms of the world! They come as friends and foes, traders and conquerors. Select dwarven mercenaries have joined player armies free of charge, while towns refusing refuge have fallen to dwarven cannons. Players will experience Dawn of Fantasy like never before with a new challenging siege combat opportunities against the Dwarves, discount on all dwarven mercenaries hired from the Online Kingdom Market and Dwarven menu design, not to mention new soundtrack! Players who purchase the game from the official site between now and August 7 will also receive two bonus codes for 20$ value – redeemable for additional free dwarven units as well as a Haunter Dragon, so don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity!

 

Dawn of Fantasy

 

In this rare visit, the dwarfs will introduce the best miners in the game, several very versatile melee units, and a new technology: gunpowder. With primitive rifles and cannons, the dwarfs will be invaluable when defending your homeland from an attack. But encounter them on the other side of the battlefield and you’ll find yourself cringing at the distant sound of cannon-fire and bagpipes.

 

 

The promo starts today and runs until August 7, so check out our website to pick up your copy of the game to take part in the great Dwarven Invasion!

Salem Interview – Finding a Place in the F2P Market

Salem Interview with John Rickne – Paradox Interactive

By MerryQuiteContrary, OnRPG Journalist

 

 

 

Paradox Interactive is the publisher of such games as The War of Roses, Mount &Blade, Magicka and Salem: the crafting MMO. Salem, currently in closed beta, is their first free to play title.

 

 

Salem is set in the American Colonies of the 17th century in a persistent, mutable online world. Salem’s features include open PvP, permadeth, crafting, farming, and building systems.  Salem has a wonderful Burton-esque art style with an American Gothic vibe. Salem is currently slated for a 2012 Q3 release.

 

 

I had the opportunity to chat with John Rickne from Paradox Interactive about Salem’s place in the F2P market.

 

 

OnRPG: Tell us a bit about yourself and your role with paradox interactive.


My name is John Rickne and I work with the marketing team at Paradox Interactive. I’ve been an avid gamer for as long as I can remember, growing up playing board games such as Axis and Allies with my dad and eventually transferring over to RTS and FPS when I discovered computers. Warcraft III was my main game when World of Warcraft was announced so the transition to MMO’s happened then and there, in the original WoW beta. Since then I have loved the concept of MMO’s and played more than several, although mainly WoW and EVE-Online. The latter got me deeply in love with the sandbox MMO concept. I started out working in the games industry early last year and have since then worked on and off with a lot of eSports-production with companies such as Fnatic, DreamHack and several production studios.

 

I’ve worked at Paradox for a little over two months now and at the moment I am fully dedicated to Salem. That means I do things such as customer support and GMing, but first and foremost I spend time with the players and the game to make sure the customers get their voices heard where they need to be heard – for the good of the game.

 

 

OnRPG: Salem is Paradox Interactive’s first foray into the free to play market. Why a crafting MMO?


There is a serious lack of games that give players enough freedom, and the demand is even bigger. People want wider levels, broader choices and the ability to actually do something in their game outside of the exact things the developers intended. Salem meets a lot of these demands and adds the super-tense concept of permanent death in a game. It’s a second life within a game, mixed together with a little fantasy and a crazy community.

 

 

OnRPG: What type of player-base do you hope to acquire with Salem?


I am going to be so bold to say that the type of players we have now, in the closed beta, are what we are looking for in Salem. The game is aimed towards people that love freedom over everything else. Someone who can’t bear the idea of losing months of work in an instant will have huge problems playing Salem, but the thrill of permadeath and full freedom makes the game so much more enjoyable for many. People often call it a very niched game, but I disagree. I think there are large amounts of players looking for more immersive and “risky” games, just look at the recent success of Arma II due to the Day-Z mod. There are almost no rules in-game to prevent players from doing whatever they want, be it with the economy, other players or their own experience. We aim to let players fully control the world.

 

 

OnRPG: Because of the open PVP nature of Salem and perma-death as a feature, how will griefing be dealt with?


Griefing, by definition, is when a player harasses and harms players in a game in ways that are not intended to exist and thus exploits the game itself. Salem is intended to have full freedom and therefore the concept of griefing does not really exist within the game. The game is supposed to be self-regulating where players make sure justice is served.

 

 

OnRPG: Seatribe, the developers of Salem, already have a crafting type game in Haven & Hearth, What is different about Salem?


Many people call Salem “Haven and Hearth 2” but I disagree. That’s like calling Call of Duty “Counter Strike 2” simply because they share genre. The sandbox-mmo / permadeath genre is still very small and unexplored so it’s easy to think all of the games in the genre are just the same, but that’s just like calling all MMO’s the same because “they have guns”.

 

Salem is in a different time period, it is 3D, it is supported and produced by Paradox Interactive, it has different options, functions and goals. The biggest thing it shares with H&H is the genre and the fact that they share developers.

 

 

OnRPG: Seatribe claims to specialize in forum drama. As a game master what kind of challenges will that present with Salem?


It does present some unique challenges but I would not call it troublesome. I consider the Salem forums to be a crucial part of the game itself. The “drama” that takes place is essential for the game to work and in my opinion one of the biggest reasons to play. What Seatribe does is promote the idea of living out your character in more ways than in the game itself and the forum is like a big town square or a bar where everyone gathers to talk about events that have occurred, hatch plans and slander their enemies. Just like real life.

 

Of course I have some forum parts that are not as roleplay-oriented, such as the tech-support and suggestions forums. So far I have never experienced any of the drama leaking over to the “out of game” sections.

 

 

OnRPG: How does Paradox Interactive hope to compete with a F2P market that is already saturated by not only South Korean games but triple A titles going F2P as well?


Free to play is the new thing for everyone and it’s hard for us to not go with the stream. It has been proven several times that games where players can chose whether to spend money or not tend to be more profitable. The thing that sets Salem out from most F2P-games is the fact that there is no “pay to win” aspect in the game. It is merely for convenience and cosmetics. A player can only buy silver, which is the same currency as one can get in the game, and for silver you can buy just the same items as other players can without paying real money. There are no such things as experience boosts, extra item slots or stronger guns.

 

This fact combined with the game’s uniqueness and it actually being a lot of fun to play sets Salem up for a bright future in the F2P market.

 

 

OnRPG: Do you have any tantalizing hints or new information you can share with our readers?


Haha, I wish I had super-secret things to share but we’re very open with most of our future plans for the game, be it content or features. Upcoming things, for those who did not know, are things such as witchcraft, domesticated animals, creatures from the deep lumberwoods, endgame purity and player controlled market stalls in Boston.

 

Another thing that many do not know is that Salem is being developed by two, yes you read right, two people. That is probably the thing I am most proud and amazed by.

Meta’s Verse: Martial Madness!

Meta’s Verse: Martial Madness!

By Meticulous Meta, OnRPG Paragon Journalist

 

 

A record number of people turned out for today’s live stream from Paragon Studios. Was it because the host Zwillinger wasn’t wearing a hat? No. Was it because Arbiter Hawk(ward) was there with his fabulous hair? No, but it helped. Today it was all about two brand new powersets. I’m not talking about powersets that were on beta already, or ones that have been leaked. These were never before seen, brand new awesomeness. I know the suspense must be killing you by now! So I present to you, my loyal readers, Martial Combat for Blasters and Martial Assault for Dominators.

 

 

Martial Combat

This powerset is a secondary for blasters. Blappers rejoice! This set is almost entirely melee range. Some of the attacks have been taken from Martial Arts so they look a bit familiar. But most of them are brand new and look amazing. The first attack is Ki Push. It pushes enemies away in slow motion. Storm Kick and Dragons Tail, Eagle Claw are all kicks from Martial Arts. Burst of Speed is a very long range teleport which can be used 3 times before it needs to recharge and is an AoE attack. The buildup type power is called Reach for the limit. Throw sand is a familiar looking power. You throw sand in a cone that hits up to five enemies. Reaction Time is a power that is basically bullet time. Enemies get minus recharge, while you get plus recovery and absorb. You also get a short term speed boost which makes you feel the fastest for a short time after slowing down. The final power is called Inner Will. It is a self heal with a few special new things. If you are under a status, or under half health/endurance hitting this power will give you a minor heal, break you from the status and increases the strength of your own status and secondary effects.

 

 

This is one of those powersets that has been asked for since forever and I know a lot of people will be looking forward to it. Speaking of which both of the powersets talked about today will be coming out with Issue 24 and will be free for VIPs!

 

The second powerset that Arbiter Hawk and Zwillinger talked about today was Martial Assault for Dominators. This powerset has both ranged and melee attacks. And the primary focus is on throwing weapons. Specifically throwing shorikens.

The very first power is called Shuriken Throw and it does exactly what it says. You throw small handfuls of shurikens at an enemy. The second power is Thunderkick, this one is a kick taken from Martial Arts so it will look very familiar. Trick Shot is a fun power which bounces a shuriken off enemies in a chain. Spinning Kick uses something that isn’t used often. It is a cone kick which instead of focusing on your target it will go off in the direction you are standing. Envenomed Blades is a build up type power that adds toxic damage to all of your attacks. Dragons Tail is a spinning kick which damages enemies in a 15ft radius. There is also Caltrops which is just the standard capltrops throw. Though it does mean you can do that Knives super group you’ve always wanted to do. Masterful Throw is a snipe which is high damage and has a chance for Damage over Time. The last power, and my personal favorite is Explosive Shuriken. It does damage over time in a small radius around the target. So enemies nearby can get hurt during the explosion.

I know this is a ton of information to take in at one time. But I think it is safe to say a lot of people are going to be very excited. I know I’m going to be planning a new Blaster and Dominator until Issue 24 goes into beta. Which, according to Zwillinger, should hopefully be soonish!

Auto Club Revolution

Cars are the name of the game in Auto Club Revolution. The game offers players the chance to own, drive, and customize officially licensed, real world cars. The game accurately recreates the experience of each of these cars, down to the physical details and how they actually drive. Experience console level driving experience on your computer with this free-to-play driving simulation with an arcade twist.

 

Features

Real World cars: Each car is officially licensed from the company they are built by. This means they handle and drive exactly like its real world counterpart would.

Customization: Customize the look of your car, and upgrade its parts. Build the best racing machine you possibly can.

Single player challenges: Learn and practice skills with these challenges. Each one is designed to test your ability as a racer, and develop the tools you’ll need to succeed in races.

Race online: Challenge others to take the checkered flag! Join auto clubs for various rewards and race events, and become the driver to beat.

 

Endless Empires

 

Endless Empires is a strategy game that is similar to the popular board game Risk. With several different maps to choose from, Endless Empires will give you a variety of options in your goals of conquest. Play up to four games at a time, with up to eight players at a time. If you’re stumped on making a move, don’t worry! You’ve got up to 24 hours to plan and play each turn.

Features

Varied maps: With five different maps to choose from, no two games will shape up quite the same way. Conquer the whole world, or battle across World War II Europe.

Easy to find games: With the simple search function, you can find exactly the type of game you’re looking for. Choose from different options to adjust and refine your search, or create your own game exactly how you want.

Strategic gameplay: Proper use of troops is key. Spread yourself too thin, and you risk being taken out quickly. Likewise, if you don’t attempt to advance, you will set yourself up for an invasion on multiple fronts. Use of strategy and careful planning will take you far.

Eldevin

 

Eldevin is an MMOPRG where your actions affect the outcomes of what you do later. This browser based game features a classless leveling system, with over 100 abilities to use. Players can freely use any of the 14 crafting skills in game to ensure their weapons, armor, and consumables are top notch and available. With a large game world to explore, several dungeons to be conquered, and secrets galore, Eldevin challenges players with real-time combat requiring strategy and cunning to take down the toughest of foes.

Features

Rich storyline: Hundreds of quests await you, and the decisions you make in the quests will influence your later encounters and possibilities.

Large world: Explore the vast terrain, a large number of cities, 14 group-based dungeons, and numerous secrets across the world.

Classless Combat: Feel free to learn any of the games over 100 abilities. 6 talent trees await you, with over 200 talents in total. Train in 14 different professions to craft the items needed to be the best adventurer.

Real-time combat: Your actions determine the tide of battle. Use your skills and smarts to overcome difficult bosses and their champions.

Battledawn Galaxies

Battledawn Galaxies places you as the leader of a small space station. Through careful planning, military and diplomatic skill, as well as exploration and expansion, the galaxy can be yours for the taking. The game is entirely browser based, utilizing Flash. No downloads are required to jump in and build your fleet to be the best.

Features

Flash-based: Battledawn: Galaxies can be played directly in your web browser, with absolutely no downloads required.


Resources:
Develop your facilities to generate and store your resources, which you then can use to build, expand, and conquer.

Combat: Build a massive armada of starships to defend your station, or to prove your military might. Use various skills such as spies, and alliances to get ahead, or catch a break in the action.


Vast World:
The galaxy is no small place. Thousands of players exist amongst the stars, each with their own motives and goals.

Battledawn

BattleDawn allows players to conquer Earth, Mars, or fantasy planet, all in your web browser. You begin as the leader of a small colony, and through your skills at diplomacy, combat, and development, you can expand your small colony further. Build your forces strong by training troops and developing technology, and form alliances long-term — or at least as long as they suit your needs.

 

Features

Flash-based: Play Battledawn directly in your web-browser. No downloads required.

Resource systems: Build your reserves of metal, oil, energy, and workers. Utilize them properly to develop your colony and guide the direction it grows.

Combat: Develop several types of troops and research new and more powerful weaponry. Upgrade various parameters such as armor, damage and range to maximize their efficiency. Utilize covert operations to spy on your enemies — and allies — to figure out whether defense or offense is the best strategy.

Three Worlds: Choose between Earth, Mars, or an entirely fantasy-based planet to colonize and conquer. The choice is yours!