Yearly Archives: 2014

Runescape: Fan secures all expenses paid trip to annual convention

Runescape

Jagex, makers of the multi-award winning fantasy MMORPG, RuneScape, is delighted to report on the continued success of RuneScape Bonds, one year after the game introduced the ‘pay through play’ initiative. Since their launch, Bonds have allowed players to access premium membership content, exchange them with other community members for in-game items and wealth, and gift them to friends anywhere in the world.

This year, trading Bonds for real-world benefits has been greatly expanded upon; Aaron James and one of his friends from Missouri, United States, are the first RuneScape players to use Bonds to fund every aspect of their transatlantic trip to this year’s RuneFest fan convention, which takes place on Saturday 11th October at London’s Tobacco Dock. The two exchanged their Bonds for flights to and from the UK, a hotel room, a RuneFest ticket each, and spending money – Crystal Coins – for the event itself, all without spending a single cent of real world money!

“I cannot describe the relief and realisation that our dream of coming to the UK and to RuneFest is going to happen. Without being able to buy the flight, hotel, and crystal coins with Bonds, this was never going to be realistic for us because it would be too expensive,” said Aaron James, from Missouri, United States. “We’re just tremendously excited, and looking forward to meeting the J-Mods and some of our fellow RuneScape players next month.”

Since their September 2013 debut, around 2.3 million Bonds have been purchased; more than 80 percent of those Bonds have been redeemed for membership, with 27.6 million membership days obtained to date. The introduction of Bonds also had a swift and dramatic effect on the levels of gold-farming in the game, which plummeted by 81 percent within weeks, and also helped bring a more stable in-game economy for players. Over the past year, more than 316.5 billion in-game gold pieces have been sunk into Bond trades by the community.

“Our community responded fantastically to the introduction of Bonds a year ago, which resulted in many millions of Bonds being purchased and redeemed. A year later, nearly 20% of RuneScape players pay for their membership subscription through their in-game efforts and half of the premium RuneCoin currency comes from bond redemptions”, said Phil Mansell, vice president of RuneScape. “This has also helped bring greater stability to the game economy, and has reduced incidents of gold farming and botting to an all-time low.”

For more info, visit www.RuneScape.com

Magicka: Wizard Wars – New Map and Referral Program Available

Magicka

Paradox Interactive and Paradox North today announced that Magicka: Wizard Wars, the online spellcasting action player-vs-player (PvP) game where robed lunatics toy with nature, has introduced a third map to its rotating arsenal of 4v4 battlegrounds. Displacement Ridge offers sizzling spellcasters a new area to immolate opponents (and sometimes teammates) but there’s something special about this particular place—it is home to multiple teleporters that can zip players across the map. Wizards will need to formulate creative strategies to win in this forested arena lest they become one with the Earth.

Wizard Wars is now providing exclusive rewards to Wizards who recruit unwary new players into the Magicka fray. Now currently enjoyed by over half a million players, Magicka: Wizard Wars is encouraging those players to invite their friends to come and experience their first “accidental” electro-immolation, and earn delightful new robes in the process.

Players can start referring to themselves as referrers here: https://www.wizardwars.com/refer-a-friend

Alongside the referral program, Wizard Wars has recently introduced Daily Treasure Chests which grant Wizards new rewards every single day. When opening a chest, players have the chance to nab additional coins for in-game purchases, crystals to unlock new Magicks, or even the rare chance to win a new, random robe. On top of all this, Wizard Wars in the last couple months has added a plethora of in-game items, including new staffs and weapons, so log into Wizard Wars daily and get cool stuff!

For more details on the rewards, or for information on Magicka: Wizard Wars, visit wizardwars.com.

Star Conflict Launches on PC and Oculus Rift (DK2)

Star Conflict

Today Star Gem, Inc and Gaijin Entertainment announced the release of Star Conflict 1.0 with its highly anticipated ‘Invasion Mode’. To celebrate this occasion, all players are invited to join the launch event which, for one week, tasks players to join the battle to defend their home bases against an alien onslaught. The more alien spaceships vanquished the bigger the reward for all, so don’t hold back and start kicking some alien butt! Star Conflict is also now playable with Oculus Rift DK2, so the owners of this device can enjoy space battles in breathtaking stereoscopic 3D and with positional tracking.

Now publicly available, the new “Invasion Mode” features an underlying story in which an alien race invades human-controlled space. Star Conflict players must team up in parties of four to explore the new ‘Open Space’ areas and combine forces as they take on new quests and engage in PvP and PvE battles. With materials salvaged during exploration, gamers will be able to craft unique armor, guns and even whole new spaceships.

“We are proud to launch Star Conflict 1.0 today and want to thank our players for their support and feedback. Anyone who participated in Open Beta will get a special achievement. But release of 1.0 version is just the beginning of a lot more content to come”, said Stanislav Skorb, Director of Star Gem. “Coming soon are dreadnoughts – large corporate battleships that the community have been clamoring for – as well as PvE raids, conquest of sectors in open space, new events and locations for exploration and session-based portions of the game and much more”.

Find out more about Star Conflict here: http://star-conflict.com

PAX Prime 2014 Day 2 Recap

By Darren Henderson (DizzyPW), PAX Pox Victim

 

AurinWildStarPAXPrime2014

Day 2 of the show saw some of worst weather I’ve encountered in five years of working PAX. Cosplayers were tramping each other running for cover to protect their flimsier props from deteriorating as the convention center broke every fire ordinance imaginable with record numbers of attendees shuffling from booth to booth only to be disappointed by one “line at capacity” sign after another. It was clearly time to take to the streets to dodge the insanity of PAX, and at the nearby Grand Hyatt hotel we stumbled onto a gem that just may be our game of the show.

PAXPrime2014Cosplay

 

Contents

Shadow Realms

ZMR -Threshold Defense

Riot Games – League of Legends

2k Games – Civilization: Beyond Earth

Wargaming – World of Warships PvE Mode Preview

Cosplay and Bonus Pictures Round 2

Don’t miss out on our Day 1 coverage of PAX for more cosplay and coverage!

PAX Prime 2014 Day 1 Recap

By Darren Henderson (DizzyPW), Cranky Old Man

 

SwimsuitAhriPax

I’ve been doing this for far too long I tell you. Year after year you get more empty promises from developers and more poorly planned press meetings than you can shake your cane at. If not for the beautiful cosplayers I might have given up already. So clearly I flew into Seattle on Wednesday with dread in my heart. Yet as much as try to suppress it, I still get butterflies in my stomach. Hard to deny hope sometimes. That this year just might be the one to break the MMO industry wide open. That the Indie Megabooth would be coming in at full force with some great titles. Well if our first day of coverage is any indicator, the next two years of gaming won’t have the quantity of titles that the golden ages of free to play gaming had, but it sure will have some serious quality! So begins the yearly tale of recapping DizzyPW’s adventures in PAX Prime.

 

Day1RecapPAXPrime

Trion Worlds – ArcheAge

Motiga – Gigantic

Trion Worlds – RIFT: The Nightmare Tide

Carbine – WildStar: The Defile

Bonus Page: Cosplay & More

Don’t miss Day 2 of our Coverage, now live!

Redwater Hills

Redwater Hills is a mobile-based zombie survival game by Gamespree. Take charge of a small group of survivors struggling to stay alive in a world where the undead shamble towards any living creature, merciless in their insatiable hunger.

Features:

Choose your heroes: Form a band of survivors from over 24 unique Heroes, each with a unique style, interesting backstory and different attack qualities! Send parties out to raid rival Bases, clean out Zombie-Hives, search for supplies or stay on Guard-Duty!

Bigger, Better, Badder: Level up your Heroes as they gain experience and kit them out with a variety of over 150 crafted or scavenged weapons and armor! Decide where your Heroes will attack or patrol and make sure their abilities complement each other for maximum destruction!

Venture into the overworld: Redwater Hills is a real-time persistent world. All players struggle in the same World Map and fight or co-operate for control of a variety of special territories that provide a boost to your Base or Heroes! Zombie-Hordes roam the map seeking the next meal and Zombie-Nests left untouched grow in size and deadliness!

Tournament of the Damned: Redwater Hills features a League system that allows players to battle their rivals for Honour, Prestige and Trophies! A clever ‘League-system’ ensures players are matched against suitably-sized opponents.

Black Gold Online: Campaign of Ashes is Now Live

Black Gold Online

In the early hours this morning, September 3rd, the latest content update to the uniquely stylized cross-genre MMORPG Black Gold Online officially launched. This major content drop, labeled the Campaign of Ashes, builds on the core action and game play of Black Gold Online, opening new opportunities for intense PvP combat and challenging Role Playing adventure.

  • Frontiers Beckon – explore new high level maps and PvP zones with the Ashen Copse
  • Hidden Powers are Revealed – customize your hero and unleash your potential with the new Skill Surge system
  • Advanced Weaponry – the journey continues with a new max level of 45 and high-level gear hitting the front
  • Forces Rally – The battle for Montel heats up with new PvP maps and brand new Battle Carriers!
  • Boundaries are Broken – become the champion of multiple worlds with cross-server PvP
  • Dark Horrors Linger – face the growing darkness with new Instances, Dungeons, and World Bosses
  • Bright Days Dawn – enjoy a better game experience with greatly more polished and optimized edition of Black Gold Online

Find out more about all the exciting new features coming in the Campaign of Ashes by visiting the Official Page.

ÆRENA – Now Available in S.Korea/Japan wit eSports Competion

Aerena

ÆRENA: Clash of Champions, the turn-based, cross-platform MOBA from independent developer, Cliffhanger Productions, is going global with launches in South Korea and Japan.

ÆRENA is the premiere launch title from SK Telecom’s T-Store, which reported over 53,000 pre-registered users in five days during the August beta launch. SK Telecom is a leading mobile service provider in South Korea, and a longtime supporter of professional esports.

Coming to Japan in late-September, ÆRENA is partnering with newly established publisher, Chorus Worldwide. In 2013, Japan was the the largest app market in the world, accounting for $5.5bn of revenue and nearly one-third of all mobile gaming purchases.

Previously, ÆRENA made it to top 10 positions in the Chinese App store and was one of the few western titles to be featured by Apple in China.

“These past few months have been amazing for ÆRENA,” said Creative Director Jan Wagner. “We began working with the Electronic Sports Leauge, built a solid fan-base across North America and Europe, and recently launched our most massive update yet. We built ÆRENA to be the esports game we wanted to play, and we couldn’t have asked for better partners as we venture into Japan and South Korea.”

In addition to working with SK Telecom and Chorus Worldwide to reach a global audience, Cliffhanger Productions announced at Gamescom 2014 that the studio is teaming up with the Electronic Sports League (ESL) to place ÆRENA further in the spotlight with an emphasis on bringing esports to mobile devices.

http://www.aerena.net