Yearly Archives: 2013

Tencent Announces Partnership with Capcom to Create Monster Hunter Online

Tencent’s recent investment in Epic Games seems to have led to quite the interesting partnership with the gaming industry veterans at Capcom as news has reached us that the massively popular series Monster Hunter will now be going massively itself in a new MMORPG born from this partnership.

 Monster Hunter Online Announced

Yoshinori Ono himself made an unexpected appearance at this year’s annual Tencent Games press conference to break the news accompanied by a heart stopping trailer.

 

 

This actual gameplay video showcases the cutting edge physics power of CryEngine 3, a unique development tool still in the earliest development stages for use in massive online gaming. Bringing graphics that even rival MHU3, the latest iteration of the series should certainly not be written off as a cash-in just because it’s an MMORPG. In addition, the devs promise a new continent to explore along with new monsters and the return of popular monsters from past titles packing plenty of new tricks to surprise veterans of the series.

 Monster Hunter Online Storyline

Beyond just bringing the series online, it seems the game will be innovating past its predecessors in other ways including hunting vehicles as previewed in the final moments of the announcement trailer. We would have expected a title of this magnitude to have an expected testing date in the distant future but it seems Capcom and Tencent are confident in a June 2013 alpha test. OnRPG will be keeping an eye on Monster Hunter Online closely to see how well they follow up on this daunting promise.

Monster Hunter Online

Capcom and Tencent have teamed up to bring the long dreamed of online iteration of the Monster Hunter series to the global audience. Backed by the powerful CryEngine 3, realistic physics, mind blowing graphics, and intense action combat are sure to set the stage for a truly powerful gaming experience.

Features

CryENGINE 3: Backed by the CryENGINE 3, players can experience realistic physics, insane graphics, and action packed combat the likes of which we seldom see in the online realm.

Constantly Changing World: The harsh environment will have a real impact on gameplay. Expect time change and weather to play a factor in your gaming experience.


Weapon Enhancement:
Through defeating the toughest monsters, players will be able to advance their characters in unique ways. But don’t think your knowledge of the Monster Hunter series will carry you to an easy victory as brand new monster types never before seen in the series await your challenge.

Deep Story: Prepare to be immersed as the tale of your growth into a powerful monster hunter will take you across a brand new unexplored continent to better understand the power of the great dragon Terran.

Ecol Tactics Review – Retro Tactics Renewed

By Remko Molenaar (Proxzor), OnRPG Journalist

Ecol Tactics Review @OnRPG

For the turn based fans there is a new competitor on the market and this free-to-play online browser game looks like it can push this genre into uncharted waters. Experience the story as a young adventurer that one day crosses the wrong person and gets his/her entire life tossed in a violent new direction to experience an exciting story. I must admit, I’ve never been such a big fan of turn-based games, but when I do latch onto one I tend to micromanage them to the extreme to create the perfect outcomes in any outcome. And when a browser game comes along claiming to be inspired by classic tactical role-playing games on consoles, I can’t hope but think something good is on the way.
Right off the bat I have to compliment Ecol Tactics, or rather the development team behind this team. I have played many browser games that run through flash, and flash itself is not that bad, but it usually has some serious limitations that are quite annoying, and most browser games do not have an option at all to run in fullscreen, despite claiming to bring the full MMORPG experience. Luckily Ecol Tactics is playable in full screen! Unfortunately there seems to be a frames per second issue when in full screen that overall ruins the smoothness of the game and made me resort to not using it to get a prettier experience.

Ecol Tactics First Look

At first sight, the game looks refreshingly good and I have to admit, I have always been a big fan of the cartoony style that this game tries to capture. Even though everything in the game looks very basic, I really like the simple style of the graphics and sprites. But let’s jump from the visuals and talk gameplay mechanics.

Ecol Tactics Turn System
When you get into your first real battle, you will learn the basic mechanics and the importance of pre-match character placement. You have enough freedom in most battles to give your team a huge advantage or disadvantage depending on each unit’s placement. In some of the later matches your entire strategy can be completely void if you don’t wisely choose your starting set-up so it’s important to figure out these tactics early on while the game is still forgiving. Otherwise the game plays out exactly like you’d expect a tactics game, with each character having set movement regions followed by skill or attack use, item use, or waiting to speed up their next action. And here is another thing that I must note, as an avid RTS and MOBA player, I do like me some macros. Luckily there are hotkeys that you can use to speed things up if you are a slow clicker.

Ecol Tactics Advanced Gameplay

As the game progresses you’ll find yourself constantly strategizing with various mercenary teams to find the best team, or at least the team designed to defeat a certain mission. This game offers plenty of chances for you to make these characters your own with plenty of equipment variety whether you’re looking to inch your DPS up that extra bit, or survive one more hit on the battlefield. Besides the equipment the skills also play an important role in the battles. Ecol Tactics’ mercenaries come as one of multiple classes each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

Ecol Tactics Mercenary Types

Want to go fully ranged? Well what are you waiting for? Get some archers and mages and focus on the top weapons to nuke down your foes before they can close the distance. Of course you’ll be spending plenty of time gathering skill stones to gain that level of damage. These stones are as valuable as they are difficult to create and offer enough variety to make a noticeable difference in your mercenaries’ tactics. You can acquire these skill stones by defeating enemies, or if you are wealthier in the game you can also purchase them in the shop or buy them from other players. When you have acquired a new skill, you will find it in the in skill menu when you are able to unleash it on your target. While there is a storyline and various quests to advance your journey, in the end it’s all just a framing for the never ending acquisition of new more powerful skill stones to overcome the toughest missions and other players in the game’s PvP modes.

Ecol Tactics Conclusion

Conclusion
Ecol Tactics certainly takes its inspiration from tactical titles from the previous generation of consoles. But there is a difference though, and it is a positive one! Ecol Tactics keeps gameplay far more dynamic by allowing you to constantly swap out and test different mercenaries and mercenary skills to find that perfect team combination for each situation. Combined with the slow build-up to acquire some of the rarest skills, the grind can be quite addictive. The difficulty is also far beyond most tactics games I’ve played before, ensuring victory after victory isn’t just handed to you on a silver platter. I have always been a big fan of this special style of games, and even though I am not the biggest fan of turn-based, I do feel that Ecol Tactics has improved the genre. The fact that it’s F2P and entirely within a no-download browser is just icing on the cake.

Planet Calypso – An Introduction to an Alien World

By Narfi, OnRPG Guest Writer

 

This year MindArk and Planet Calypso celebrate their 10th anniversary. In the cut throat industry of MMOs where studios are going under every day, Mindark has not only survived by vastly improved their product. They have done this despite the fact (or perhaps because) they are not a mainstream game and have not catered to the typical gamer profiles.

The Platform
Calypso is just one of the planets in Entropia Universe, the platform run and maintained by MindArk. Ten years ago Calypso was the only planet, and they have developed the idea and platform up from that. They now sell franchises in the Universe which are called Planet Partners.

 

A Planet Partner is a separate development studio which creates a Planet to be placed in the Universe. Players can travel between planets and use the same character on each one, their progression and wealth carries over with them wherever they go.

Planet Calypso Franchising

Entropia Universe is a Sci-Fi 3D MMORPG which utilizes both first and third person views. A player’s activities take place on the surface of the planets, flying above the surface, and flying between them in Space.

 

The main activities revolve around hunting monsters and/or robots, mining for resources in the ground and crafting components and usable items from both hunting loots and mined resources.

 

Other ‘Professions’ or activities include:
● Beauty Professions (Makeup/Hair stylists as well as face & body modifications)
● Tailoring (both the manufacture of clothing as well as the coloring and texturing of it),
● Pilot/Transporter (either locally with small jets and helicopters, or through space with larger ships)
● Medic (very useful when out in the field)
● Trading (the game revolves around money)
● Event Coordinators (events with large prizes are pretty popular in the game as well as smaller daily events)
● Landowners/Managers (big investors make some nice profits), etc…. Really your imagination is the only limit to what you can do
● Pet Taming (not yet re-implemented)

 

A couple of years ago their graphics were getting a bit dated so they switched over to using Cryengine 2 which required a lot more system resources than the previous engine (gamebryo) but also made for much smoother animations and beautiful scenery in the worlds.

 Planet Calypso CryEngine2

What really sets this game/platform apart from most is that it uses a Real Cash Economy (RCE). The game is free to download and free to play, but if not played wisely can also be one of the more expensive experiences you have had with an MMO.

 

The in-game currency is called PED and can be deposited into the game or withdrawn back out to your Real Life bank account at an exchange rate of 10-1. (10PED = 1USD)

 

Because there are activities you can do in the game to earn PED, it is possible to play completely for free, but most players choose to deposit about what they would for a subscription. (some put in none, and some put in 1000s, but the average player only puts in $10-50 per month)

 

MindArk has provided ‘investment’ opportunities over the years as a way to get players more involved as well as making the Headlines more than a time or two. (and of course bringing in more funds for the developers)

 

● Treasure Island for $26,500 in 2004
● The Asteroid Space Resort “Club NEVERDIE” for USD $100,000 in 2005
● Crystal Palace Space Station for $330,000USD in 2009
● Club NEVERDIE for at total of $635,000USD in 2010 and
● Calypso Land Deeds for a total of $6,000,000USD in 2011/2012

 

Then earlier this month they sold ‘The Moon’ to a group of investors through the in-game auction for $150,000.
While all of these sales sound outlandish, the truth is that the players who made those purchases are currently drawing in incomes from them.

 

Virtual Tycoon
While the game is run from a PC client, there is also an app you can download from Google Play called Virtual Tycoon. This app allows you to go through your inventory and storage, buy and sell on the auction and even access the crafting interface.

 

There are no chat options in the Android app, and you cannot use it to hunt or mine either, those activities are only available on the PC client.

 Planet Calypso UI

Some interesting facts to know about Planet Calypso that make an ideal starting point for new players:

● First Planet developed for the Entropia Universe
● Most populated planet in the Entropia Universe
● Most stable Economy in the Entropia Universe
● Longest lasting storylines in the Entropia Universe
● Most land mass of any planet in the Entropia Universe

Continue to Page 2

 

Planet Calypso

Planet Calypso represents the flagship planet of the Entropia Universe Sci-Fi MMORPG Gaming Franchise. With the largest population, most stable economy, and most content of any planet, it is the ideal starting location for players becoming accustomed to the unique real money economy that is Entropia Universe.

Features:

PED: Put your money where your mouth is with a real money economy that is directly transferable back and forth between PED and the US dollar.

Sandbox Gameplay: Do as you please in an open-ended world where the player can decide how to earn PED either via crafting, trading, or more unique ways including even being a hair stylist!

Own Your Land: Love Planet Calypso? Own your own slice of it and rake in the profits via a Calypso Land Deed

Build Your Character: Train your skills in various tools and weapons and acquire the most powerful armor to protect your investments from other players looking to steal from the weak and give to themselves.

OnRPG Shotgun News 4/22: TSW, Dragon’s Prophet, and UFO Online

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG News Monkey

 

The Secret World Wins At Canadian Video Game Awards

Though it seems like an unlikely award for a major horror themed MMO to win, The Secret World has walked away with the Best Social/Casual Game at this year’s Canadian Video Game Awards. It went up against four games which couldn’t have been more different from it and though many of the fans are left wondering why it was even in that category they are pleased to see the game they love recognized. The overall winner of the night was Far Cry 3 which won 6 different awards.

 

 

Dragon’s Prophet EU Invites Guilds to Win a Floating Island

Dragon’s Prophet EU has opened Guild Registration. And to celebrate it one lucky guild will win a floating island complete with houses, 1 day early open beta access for the entire guild, and one year of Enjin subscription. All you have to do is register your guild, get at least 10 members to register and say why your guild should get access to the closed beta.