Yearly Archives: 2012

Dark Blood Launches OB for North America and EU

Dark Blood Launches Open Beta For North America And Europe

 

Darkblood

 

Dark Blood, the thrilling new free-to-play hardcore action RPG arcade brawler published by Outspark for North America and Europe, had a midnight launch of their open beta today where fans, anxiously awaiting the reopening of the game, rushed in to secure their character names and were delighted to find brand new arcade controls.

 

 

“We listen to our fans! They wanted Joystick and gamepad support and we made it happen. We had such a blast with them during closed beta and all the amazing gameplay videos they created, we’re really looking forward to working with their talents,” said Philip Yun, CEO, Outspark. “Many thanks to developer JCR Soft and licensor GameHi for helping us bring this truly electrifying game to the West. Dark Blood, no doubt, will reign as the free-to-play fighting game for those seeking the ultimate adrenaline rush!”

 

Darkblood

 

The game went live with an exciting launch trailer showcasing rapid-fire combat, jaw-dropping customizations, and wild unlocks for playable bosses. You can chat with the Dark Blood team starting today at 12pm PT, when the Dark Blood Streamathon kicks off. WATCH * PLAY * WIN exclusive power packs and valuable customization codes with celebrity hosts Pico Mause of Curse, RipperX of MMORPG, and Kyt Dotson of GameOgre. Dark Blood fans are invited to stream along for random rewards. Programming details are here: http://www.facebook.com/events/323346147757007/.

 

 

Players can look forward to frequent content updates, and in just one week, on Thursday, July 26, Outspark will be releasing a sizable content drop for Dark Blood including a level cap raise, the grand opening of the store with premium items, and popular in-game events including Race To The Top and Fight Nights.

City of Steam: Sneak Peak

City of Steam: Sneak Peak

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Earlier today I got the chance to get a sneak peek at the Steampunk/fantasy browser MMO City of Steam before the first Alpha weekend starts on Friday. My guide was Andrew Woodruff, Marketing Manager at Mechanist Games. This indie game has come a long way since its early days as a pen and paper book that a group of friends thought would make a great PC game.

 

 

You start out on a train which is where the character creation takes place. There are nine races to pick from. Though this weekend only the Human races will be available. Your starting stats are based on which race you pick. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses. There are also four classes to pick from. Each class will also add to your stats depending on which one you pick. Arcanists are the mages of City of Steam, armed with a staff, wand or repeater as they unleash the fury of the elements on unsuspecting little clockwork bugs. Gunners are armed with pistols and muskets and can even get turrets. Warders are the knights in shining armor carrying swords, axes and even polearms. And finally there are the Channelers. They come armed with hammers, lances and scepters Customization comes in with a variety of options you can combine to get different hairstyles.

 

 

From character creation you’re sent wandering through a moving train defeating various enemies and learning about healing and accessing your inventory. While working your way through the train you come across several boxes which you can kick to get things that are inside. Movement can be done either by clicking or using WASD. After a bit of trial and error I found that using WASD was easier while I used the mouse to move the camera.

 

 

Once I left the tutorial train my guide was there waiting to show me around the first area which is called The Refuge. The first thing I noticed was a giant blue vat with all sorts of pipes coming from it. This is storage access, an incredibly ingenious way to explain how you have so many things without dragging a million bags behind you. Each storage access point is connected to the others in the zones. So if you put something in at one station and take it out in another you can imagine that item winding its way through all sorts of pipes to get to you.

 

 

Another feature in the city which really made me smile was the quest board. They’re in every section of the city and have quests for you to complete. So if you’re looking for something to do you go to your local bulletin board and find out what is going on.

 

 

Not far from every quest board there is a big white street sign. If you click on one of the symbols on the sign you will run to the destination you selected. This was put in place after people started getting lost a lot. Though I found after running around for a few minutes that the city was quite easy to get around.

 

 

When you get close to a dungeon door there will be a pop up that starts counting down giving you a chance to leave before you enter. It also gives a suggested team size and level for successful completion. If your team hasn’t followed you into the dungeon you don’t have to worry. You can invite your teammates to meet you there and they’re transported to you no matter where they are.

 

 

There are so many other features I could go on to talk about but I really don’t want to spoil it for everyone. Other features include a global auction house, book collecting, newspapers from different races which all have different things in them, crafting, modifications.

 

 

I did ask what were some things we could look forward to in the future, looking beyond the Alpha weekends, maybe even beyond beta. They really want to see mounts sometime in the nearish future. The examples of some ideas they had were a steam powered jetpack and a bicycle.

 

 

There are over 100 different mobs some of which are the most adorable things and you actually feel guilty for killing. Evil spiked dogs will whimper when defeated. Clockwork creatures break down. The music and sounds in City of Steam are fantastic and just add to the feel of the scene. Gears on doors rotate as they’re opening, and more gears are seen all over the city. The steam train which can take you from zone to zone has ticket machines. There are blimps and other flying steampunk themed machines.

 

 

As someone who doesn’t play many browser games I was completely blown away by the complexity of City of Steam. This game is well deserving of all the hype there has been. I can’t wait until this weekend when I get to play in a city full of people all around the world who just like me love steampunk, games and are exploring a new world. There really is nothing like that first glimpse into a game. Come back on Monday when I give my review of the first Alpha weekend.

City of Steam: Arkadia

City of Steam pulls you into a world where time has been twisted and the secrets of the ancients are being rediscovered and retooled to fit the needs of the people. Travel by steam train to various locations in a heavily Steampunk influenced world as you run quests, and build up a unique character in one of the best examples of a first generation Unity Engine powered title we have seen.

Features

Character Customization: Choose from one of 10 races and 4 classes, each offering greater variety to your customization.

Heavily Steampunk Influenced World: From gears grinding on doors to gears grinding on doors to societies built around stream trains and even the feel of industrial revolution England, you’ll get your fill of steampunk in this title.

PvP Instances: Take on your fellow players in a variety of PvP-centric missions initiated at each dungeon entrance and offering different challenges depending on where you visit.

Billboard and Fast Travel: Get straight into the action faster by collecting all your quests from conveniently placed billboards throughout town. Then get where you need to go faster by simply clicking street signs to move around the large towns. Of course it’s sometimes worth walking around just to experience the majesty of them!

Meta’s Verse: Power Pool Changes Part 2

Meta’s Verse Power Pool Changes Part 2

By Meticulous Meta, OnRPG Paragon Reporter

 

 

 

Last week’s Meta’s Verse was all about the stream earlier that day about some of the upcoming changes to power pools that will be made with Issue 24. This week is continuing along that same line to give you part 2 of the changes. We were lucky enough to have Synapse back on air with Zwillinger to continue the discussion from last week’s coffee talk. Though this one had a big surprise.

 

 

Power Pool Customization

Yes. You read that correctly. We will finally be able to super speed in pink or even get rid of the effects of hasten. This feature has been asked for since the beginning of time, or at least the beginning of City of Heroes. And when Issue 16 came out way back in 2009 the hope and desire for it grew. Whenever a dev was asked about it though it seemed like maybe it was just out of our reach. But today fans around the world cheered loudly as Zwillinger showed off his fancy new superspeed color and what the customization screen looks like. There are the traditional dark, bright and minimal fx options for most of the powers. But it was stressed that not all powers could be minimal because we aren’t playing City of Invisible. But importantly, the most asked for one Hasten would have a minimal fx option. These customizations apply not only to the power pools but also to the Epic and Patron Pools as well.

 

 

Power Pool Changes

This is where I get to talk about what we actually expected to hear about today. Specifically the changes to Concealment, Medicine and Leadership. In this group of changes Medicine is seeing the biggest changes while the other two simply get a fifth power to put them in line with the rest of the power pools.

 

 

Concealment is getting a new power called Misdirection. It is a PBAoE Placate and minus resistance to all. In the notes on the power it says that enemies will not notice the attack.

 

 

The new power coming to leadership is called Victory Rush. This is used on defeated enemies to give your team a recovery buff and endurance discount. The size of these buffs will depend on the type of enemy you have targeted. Meaning if you have the choice between say a Minion level and an Arch Villain, go for the Arch Villain to get the biggest buffs.

 

 

And that brings me to Medicine. Medicine is actually seeing some big changes. Stimulant is being removed in favor of a power called Injection. This power can be used on an enemy or an ally for different results. And importantly it is not interruptible! Yay! The other changes come about if you take the new power in the set called Field Medic. Using it increases your heal potency by 25% and makes heals to you 25% more effective. Having Field Medic also has some side effects on two other powers in the set. With Field Medic, Aid Other becomes uninterruptable. Aid Self also will give endurance over time along with the healing component already there. But that is only if you have Field Medic as well.

 

 

And that was the news. After that Synapse took a few questions. They resulted in us knowing the following.

 

 

The Radiation Armor powerset that was designed by the players has had to be changed slightly. The biggest change is that the self rez/nuke had to be removed. It just wasn’t working correctly.

 

There will be no Incarnate Trial with Issue 24.

 

There will be no power proliferations in Issue 24.

 

And Whirlwind will not be able to slot the knockback to knockdown IO.

 

 

This is all insanely exciting information that I can’t wait to see in game. I know I’m going to be spending a lot of time in the player beta when issue 24 finally hits. Both Synapse and Zwillinger stressed that these are only some of the amazing things coming with Issue 24 but they really can’t share more without having to deal with the death stares from Black Pebble.

OnRPG Shotgun News 7/18: Guns of Icarus, SWTOR, ARGO, and More!

OnRPG Shotgun News 7/18: Guns of Icarus, SWTOR, ARGO, and More!

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Guns of Icarus Returns to Closed Beta


 

After some big updates Guns of Icarus is returning for a 6th closed beta weekend on July 20th. The updated version will feature major graphical improvements, bug fixes and a scalable UI. The only way to have guaranteed access this weekend is to preorder before tomorrow on the website.

 

 

SWTOR Executive Producer Leaves Bioware While Layoffs Occur

Recent rumors had been going around of a shake up at the BioWare Austin, the home of SWTOR. It has finally been formally announced that Executive Producer Rich Vogel has left the company as well several layoffs. These layoffs are attributed to ongoing staff reductions which have been going on since May.

 

ARGO Online Gets Biggest Update Yet

 

Free to play steampunk/fantasy online RPG ARGO Online has received it’s biggest update since launching. The new update features an all new continent that brings with it a increased level cap with new pve and pvp content.

 

 

Einherjar Event Gets Bloody

Einherjar has announced their latest summer event which starts today! This one is titled “More Bloods, More Gifts”. Between now and the 25th if players can get the Blood of Odin/Thor/Freya they will receive a dark ring, dark chain and runic proof. Players can get this gift multiple times through the event.

 

 

RuneScape’s Soloman’s General Store Debuts

RuneScape’s new in game store has gone live and fans of the game have swamped it before the official announcement was even made. Players will be able to buy RuinCoins which can be used to purchase things in the new store. Items for sale range from wardrobe outfits to emotes and animations. Players will receive a one time free gift of 200 RuneCoins which can be claimed in the store.

 

 

70% of DCUO Players are on PS3

SOE boss John Smedley has said that 70% of DCUO players are playing on the Playstation 3 during an interview with GamesIndustry International. He went on to say that there was some difficulty in convincing the hardware manufacturer to take a bet on console free to play but that the numbers do the talking.

 

Knight Age Finishes Successful Closed Beta

 

A record setting number of people logged in to take part in Knight Age’s closed beta week which started July 10th. In the hours before beta began so many were interested the servers were nearly crashed just trying to download the client.

 

 

Allods Online Announces New Horizons

North American and European Allods Online players will get a special treat on August 8th with the newest expansion titled New Horizons. With it comes the ability to create custom allods, an introduction of ship to ship territory fights as well as a new North American server.

 

 

Vindictus Updates Takes Leaps

 

Nexon American has announced the latest update to Vindictus where players can start a character at level 50 instantly. Characters who are jumped ahead will receive powerful weapons and armor to go with their new status. This is only going on until August 1st though so if you’re interested in taking advantage of this do it soon.

 

 

Soul of Guardian Launches Crystal Forest

Soul of Guardian has launched a 17th server which is named Crystal Forest after a newly revealed dungeon. The dungeon itself is for players level 60 or higher and players can access it twice a day.

 

 

Digital Board Game Minion Master Announced

 

Independent micro studio BitFlip Games has announced their debut strategy release that combines board game with collectable card games and real time strategy. It will be unveiled for the first time at PAX Prime. Anyone who visits the BitFlip booth will be given limited edition cards from the game. Anyone who preorders between now an the end of PAX will receive a special in game character. David Steinwedel, Executive Producer at BitFlip said this about the game; “We’ve been heavily influenced by classics such as Magic: The Gathering and Starcraft.”

The New Shadow Class is Unveiled For C9

The New Class Shadow Unveiled For C9

 

C9

 

WEBZEN Inc. introduced the first new class update, ‘Shadow’, after officially launching their action RPG ‘C9’ (Continent of the Ninth Seal).

 

 

On July 18th (GST), the ‘Shadow’ class will be available, which is the 4th advancement class of the hunter that specializes in fast movement, attacks and cloaking skills using dual-wield weapons such as daggers and swords. The new class with agile movement and stunning visual effects has upgraded offensive techniques to storm through waves of enemies. Players will be able to learn the Ultimate Fury skill at level 50, unleashing an unstoppable chain of deadly attacks once activated.

 

 

Also, there will be upcoming events and updates. As for the event, the first 11 Shadow players who reach level 50 will receive a +11 weapon with items that can be used to change the options of weapons. Subsequently, WEBZEN will be releasing the renewed version of “Berserker” with upgraded skills and new style on July 31st (GST) that has come back from the Pre-CBT with players’ popular demand.

 

C9

 

Meanwhile, registration for the EU region ‘2012 C9 World Championship’ has ended and the final bracket for the competing teams can be seen on the C9 website (c9.webzen.com). The journey to determine the EU finalists will start online from July 19th where the top 4 teams will meet at Gamescom 2012 on August 17th. Later in November, these EU finalists will be invited to G-Star 2012 in Korea for the ‘2012 C9 World Championship’.

 

 

Jihun Lee, Head of Global Publishing, said, “We hope players will experience the fast action of the new class ‘Shadow’ in this update.” He also said, “We will continuously provide our players with updates to accelerate the action of C9.”

WoW Wednesday: Pet Battle System

WoW Wednesday – Pet Battle System

By MerryQuiteContrary, OnRPG Journalist

 

 

For years, your faithful vanity pets have accompanied you on countless adventures. They’ve provided you with comfort, company, sometimes even with entertainment and hours of fun. Maybe you only have a handful of pets you really love, or maybe you have made it your quest to capture as many of them as you can. The fact remains, heroes love their little companions… and in Mists of Pandaria, they will take the spotlight in a brand-new way.

 

 

It was announced a couple days ago that the pet battle system would be back in Mists of Pandaria beta after being taken out due to it not being complete and/or Blizzard wanting to get it right.  I’ve been watching and waiting for this for what feels like an eternity. Colour me excited when it was announced it was included in the 16GB “patch”.  Remember when I wrote Blizzard does true betas? Yeah.  All of Monday was spent cursing Blizzard, my PC (though not its fault to be fair) and the heavens because the pet battle system was BUGGED! Oh the horror. By Tuesday all was well and me and my corehound pup of doom Oscar set off to find adventure.

 

 

I found the pet battle trainer, Vazrok in Ogrimmar (there is a trainer in Stormwind as well). He was able to train me, sell me a cockroach and give a quest.  There are two ways to participate in PvE pet battles.  One is out in the world. Oscar and I spent some time in most of the horde low level zones battling beetles, trees, and crabs.  A green paw shows on the mini map to indicate where there is a willing combatant when out in the world.  Just clicking on the critter with the green paw starts the battle which is turn based.  As you level up your pet more slots and abilities open.  At pet level three you gain the ability to trap the critters and add them to your roster of companions. When you successfully trap an enemy it will be rated such as poor or common and this determines the amount of stats gained each level.  They can also have random abilities. For my second slot I trapped a spirit crab who goes by the name of Clackers. As an aside, it is great that we can now name our companion pets.  The last member of my current team is Ever, the Mana Wyrmling. We have only lost once out in the wild and that was to a moth. A moth!  One other thing about battling out in the world is that other creatures can enter your battle so after the initial enemy dies you may have to fight another critter but you are warned in advance when this is going to happen.

 

 

The other way in which to participate in PvE battles is through the NPC trainers. The first quest given is Learning the Ropes and is given by the initial trainer.  The quests then will automatically be advanced as you complete (by winning) the previous NPC quest. I am not sure the quests alone will be a viable option for levelling your pets. I have been doing a mix of both with steady results.

 

 

Battle pets fall into ten categories:  Aquatic, beast, critter, dragonkin, elemental, flying, humanoid, magical, mechanical and undead.  They all have strength and weakness against the other types as well as passives. For example elemental attacks do more damage to mechanical companions and less to critter companions. The mechanical companions passive is that it can come back to life once per battle at 25% health whereas a dragonkind companion would be 50% additional damage on the next round after bringing the opponent to below 25% health.

 

 

Most companion pets have the ability to rumble but there are a few exceptions to the rule such as Father Winter’s helpers, balloons, kites and argent companions. Yet enchanted lanterns can fight. Go figure.

 

 

Like PvE there are two ways to find a PvP battle. Queuing for a battle against other players is as simple as queuing in the dungeon finder. However, what I’ve noticed is that you are often not pit against other pets of equal levels.  I consistently am fighting other player’s pets that are several levels higher than my own.  The best part of fighting other players is there is no trash talking. In fact, you aren’t even aware of who you are fighting.   This is a brilliant move on Blizzard’s part to try to help out a notoriously awful PvP community. If you decide to duel outside of the battle finder, you still will not be able to communicate with the other player until after the battle ends.

 

 

I can see the potential here for a lot of min maxing.  Players will no doubt be trying out different companions attempting to create the best teams. With the introduction of many new companions the achievement hungry of you will be happy to collect the new pets. Those that maybe aren’t fans of the current duelling system because of all the negativity may enjoy the silent battles.  There might just be a little something for all types here.

 

 

There is an issue that may need addressed.  The two in one resurrection and heal ability is only available once every 15 minutes.  You can also heal your pets at the stable masters but this is a bit of an inconvenience if you are out in the field levelling your pets.  Knowing Blizzard, they will sort this before long and after all it is beta.

 

 

So what do I think about all this as someone who is fairly critical of this expansion? I quite like it actually.  It isn’t going to be a feature ex-players are going to come back for.  It isn’t game changing but it is fun and Blizzard knows fun.  If you are a pet aficionado, a wannabe dueller, or even a min/maxer you just might like this new system. If nothing else, this new pet battle system will be a nice way to pass time waiting for the raid to start.