OnRPG Shotgun News 2/26: Funcom, Nexon, Defiance, and much more!

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Elder Scribe

 

 

The Secret World Director Becomes Creative Director of Funcom’s Live Titles

Funcom’s Joel Bylos has gone from Game Director of The Secret World to the Creative Director of all of Funcom’s live titles. That’s The Secret World, Age of Conan, and Anarchy Online. In his most recent Game Director’s letter Joel announced his new position and looked ahead to the rest of 2013. Issue 6 is coming soon but we also have number 7-12 to look forward to. Tokyo will become a new zone, a new dungeon will be added, and finally a mysterious new adventure zone.

 

 

Nexon Invests in Robotoki

Nexon has invested in Robotoki, a studio based in Los Angeles which was formed by former Creative Strategist for Call of Duty, Robert Bowling. The studio is working on their first title, a zombie survival game called Human Element. It will be released for PC, consoles, iOS, and Andriod with a launch window in the fourth quarter of 2015.

 

 

Terra Militaris Expansion Gets a Server

The newest expansion to Terra Militaris is on it’s way, and on February 28th players will be able to get an early peek. The play test will be an English language European server with the Firearms expansion on it. There will be no wipes planned so players will be able to keep everything they achieve before the official launch in April.

 

 

Defiance Sponsoring London Sci Fi Film Fest

It has been revealed that Defiance will be the lead sponsor of the SCI-FI-London Film Festival, the UK’s leading Science Fiction experience. The festival will take place April 30th to May 6th at BFI Southbank in London.

 

 

Warhammer Players Compensated For Bad Weekend

Zones crashed, huge lag spikes plagued other zones, and servers were brought down without warning. It was a tough weekend for WAR and Keaven Freeman feels bad about that. What better way to say sorry than free stuff? Players will be receiving 10 days of game time for subscribed accounts, 1 golden writ for subscribed accounts, 100%XP/RP boost for 7 days, Stack of 10 Lesser Bone Wards for all characters, and finally a special title for anyone who tried to play between the 18th and 24th. They don’t have a date yet on when this will be coming but it is something the team is working on.

 

 

Anarchy Online Server Merge

After 12 years of being separate the two Anarchy Online servers are merging to become one. The servers will be down all day today to get the merge complete and are expected to be back up again tomorrow at 5 am EST.

From Costumes to Clubbing, Scarlet Blade Offers Boundless Options

 

 

What’s the point of cutting down your enemies if you can’t do it in style? Thankfully, that isn’t a problem for the women of Scarlet Blade from Aeria Games, a leading global publisher of free-to-play online games. The upcoming massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) features enough customization options to satisfy even the most particular of players.

 

 

A stunning array of costumes ranging from sultry to outlandish is available for players to get their hands on. And thanks to the Grafting system, the appearance of any piece of gear can be transferred to another to keep a player’s desired look intact—without sacrificing power. The Grafting system, combined with the option to hide gear in favor of a player’s preferred costume, ensures that everyone playing Scarlet Blade can tailor their exact look to their liking.

 

 

 

Players can also dive into even deeper detail by selecting what is worn underneath the gear with Scarlet Blade’s lingerie system. The lingerie can serve a functional purpose by contributing additional stats, as well as providing characters the proper attire to adhere to the very strict dress code of the famed Delilah night club.

 

 

While partying in the Delilah Club, players can bring their pets along for the ride for bonus pet experience. As pets level up in Scarlet Blade, they contribute to their master’s stats. They can also be augmented with Datachips that offer unique abilities (such as automatically picking up stray items), further adding to the options that players have to enhance their characters.

 

 

For those who prefer high tech gear, the assortment of futuristic bikes which serve as exceedingly cool mounts is sure to be a hit. And of course, every class comes with the ability to pilot their incredibly detailed—and powerful—mech suits for brief periods of time. These huge mechs are extensions of each class’ personality and fighting style, and when used properly can turn the tide of even the most dire battles.

OnRPG Shotgun News 2/25: LOTRO, STO, Valve, and FFXIV!

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Elder Scribe

 

New Ships Coming to Star Trek Online

Everyone’s favorite thing in Star Trek after the Orion ladies are the awesome ships. And now you can get all new spaceships in Star Trek Online. From Andorians to Mirror Universe and beyond to the Yamaguchi class there are new ships for everyone. They can be found in lockboxes, and stores in a quadrant near you. But if you want to get a look at them before you buy them just check out the video.

 

 

 

Valve’s Gabe Newell to Receive BAFTA Fellowship

As we get closer to the Video Game BAFTA awards more has been revealed about the people receiving awards, including Valve’s Gabe Newell. The Fellowship is given to industry leaders who include Will Wright, Peter Molyneux, and Shigeru Miyamoto.

 

 

Four New Raids Incoming in LOTRO

Can’t get enough raids in Lord of the Rings Online? You’re in luck, a new six man raid and three 12 man raids are on their way. And if raids aren’t your thing then you can hop into the “In Their Absence” instances which will scale to level 65-85.

 

Naoki Yoshida on MMO Subscriptions

Final Fantasy XIV Director Naoki Yoshida said in an interview with Penny Arcade that subscription models are unrelated to an MMO’s success. He even pointed to SWTOR and The Secret World saying he doesn’t think they would have been more successful had they been free to play from the start. You can read that and much more in the interview on Penny Arcade.

Zomber Squad Begins Closed Beta Registration

 

 

Omprus Games has announced the first closed beta registration for its newest free-to-play, browser-based MMORPG, Zomber Squad will be available at http://zs.omprus.com from Feb 23rd until March. 8th. Everyone who signs up now will receive a free gift pack with the launch of closed beta.

 

 

Zomber Squad takes place in a deserted world which has been spread by a mysterious virus, which makes people become Zombers – mindless, undead creatures possessing an uncanny appetite for brains. As mankind teeters on the verge of extinction, you and a group of brave heroes represent humanity’s last hope to prevent a Zomber takeover.

 

 

Zomber Squad is a unique MMORPG for the professional players to experience. You can control up to 3 characters simultaneously in intense battles with the undead. You also manage a safe district and its NPC inhabitants while recruiting and training a team of diverse heroes. PvE fans will find dungeons and world bosses, while PvP players can join up in team arena matches. Plenty of events will be run in-game during the beta test.

 

 

Check out more about the game’s features and upcoming events at their official page.

OnRPG Shotgun News 2/22: The Secret World, Defiance, FFXIV Reborn, and Much More!

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Elder Scribe

 

 

Last Train to Cairo Announced

No, you haven’t found your way to a travel blog. Today Funcom announced Issue #6, The Last Train to Cairo for The Secret World. In early March players will be able to fight on top of moving trains, travel back in time to Ancient Egypt, and be an Archaeologist Hollywood style. I’m talking about the new Whip Auxiliary weapon. And maybe even a fedora? On top of everything I mentioned a new veteran reward system is being introduced. For every month you’re a member you receive points which can buy awesome new rewards. And not to forget the PVPers there is a new ranking system being introduced as well.

 

 

The Carnival Comes to Telara

The two year anniversary of Rift is quickly coming our way, and it’s going to be bigger and better than last year. The Carnival of Ascended makes a return with two new games. A new PvP Wheel of Fate will randomly assign combatants to go up against each other. And PVP Planar Attunement gets Tier 2 while normal Planar Attunement goes to Tier 3. From March 21 to 25 anyone with a Rift account will be able to play for free. And subscribers will get 20% bonuses from March 21-April 4th.

 

 

Intel Report Incoming

An intelligence report has come in on the cuddly, and appropriately named Hell Bugs from Defiance. Ok, so they’re only cuddly as stuffed animals, in the Defiance universe they’re giant deadly bugs with a tough exoskeleton. A can of Raid won’t be enough to take these things out. Have a look at the report for yourself so you know what you’ll be up against in the post Apocalyptic world.

 

 

 

Onigiri Gets New English Website

Japanese MMORPG Onigiri now has an English language teaser site. On it you can find information about upcoming alphas, betas, screenshots, and more about the game in general. Cyberstep expects to launch Onigiri translated into English sometime this year. http://onigiri.cyberstep.com

 

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Exploration and Gamepads in FFXIV: A Realm Reborn

Two new videos have been released by Square Enix for the upcoming Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. One is a 4 and a half minutes long exploration. While the other is a nearly 14 minute discussion from a developer talking about how to play using a controller. You can watch both of them below.

 

 

 

EVE Community Vote Coming Soon

The election for the 8th Council of Stellar Management (CSM) is coming soon. Starting on March 12th the election process is on to find the next community representatives. There are new rules this year for the voting process so if you’re interested be sure to check out the dev blog talking about all the new changes.

 

 

11 Bit Studios Videolog on Secret Project

Want to find out more about 11 Bit Studio’s Secret Project? This video isn’t the one for you. Interested in why the Secret Project is still secret? Then you should check this out. They handed the camera over to their PR man to explain the campaign going on and address some problems people have had with it.

 

 

 

Dark Age of Camelot Patch 1.114a Patch Arrives

Epic Armor got an update, guild merit bonuses have been improved, and that’s just the start. Patch 1.114a has a little bit of everything. But if it leaves you wanting more you can always check out the Dev Q&A which talks about everything from server stability to the possibility of DAoC on the PS4.

 

 

Dragon’s Prophet Video All About Partners

A new Dragon’s Prophet video is all about that special partnership with your dragon. You can fly, you can fight, swim, and have epic music play when they’re near. Ok, maybe not that last one but the music in the video is awesome. Have a look for yourself below.

 

 

 

SOE’s G.I.R.L. Scholarship Open

Applications are now being accepted for $10,000 towards their education and a 10 week paid internship with SOE. Any woman over the age of 18 living in the United States is eligible if they’re currently studying an undergraduate level degree that has to do with video games and has a GPA of 3.00 or higher. Submissions are being accepted until March 29th.

Silkroad Online Floats 99 Red Balloons and More

 

 

Leading online game developer and publisher, Joymax, today launches a new carnival event for their ultra popular MMORPG, Silkroad Online. In its latest event, players are seeking balloons in exchange for a huge slew of highly sought after rewards. Players are already turning cartwheels and joining in on this lighthearted event at the Joymax portal.

 

 

It’s time to relax and float away on a cloud of balloons; the Carnival is in town! All players will receive two balloons per hour, out of a random set of four. Silkroad travelers can also hunt monsters to collect rubber pieces; these pieces can be exchanged ten at a time for Unicorn Balloons. All balloons can be made larger – just blow into any balloon in your inventory to make it larger. However, be careful! Balloons may pop when they are being blown up. Balloons can grow to as large as Stage 6, and the random prize players receives depends on the final size of the Balloon when players stop blowing it or when it explodes.

 

 

From now until March 19th, prizes that players can win include the following, divided by stage:

 

Stage 1:  Berserker Regeneration Potions, Alchemy Catalyst, Trigger Scrolls, Vigor Recovery Grain (Small)

Stage 2: Instant Return Scrolls, Level 11, 12, and 13 Magic Stones of Strength/Intellect/Stam/Magic/Master

Stage 3: Evil Scented Flowers, Illusion Flowers, Life Flowers, Energey Flowers, Whirling Snow Flowers

Stage 4: Subscription Cards, Skill Point Scrolls, Repair Hammers, Instant Resurrection Scrolls

Stage 5: Roc Balloon, Edenp Balloon, Mujigi Balloon, Kiklopes Balloon

Stage 6: *Special Circus Bear Summon Scroll, Pandora’s Box, Option Level Enhancement Scroll, Monster Summon Scroll, Reverse Return Scroll

 

 

There’s a silver lining behind every cloud: in addition to all of the balloon collecting from now until March 19th, on March 22nd Joymax will announce two very lucky winners (one random Subscription user and the player with the highest Carnival Event score) to receive a coveted Premium Gold Time Plus and a Clock of Reincarnation (4 weeks). Keep watching the Joymax Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/officialsilkroad for the lucky two names!