Yearly Archives: 2015

Sword Coast Legends Early Access Program Announced

Sword Coast Legends Early Access Program Announced news header

 

Independent developers, n-Space and Digital Extremes, announced today that their upcoming Sword Coast Legends™, a party-based RPG set in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) Forgotten Realms universe from Wizards of the Coast, will offer Head Start Access for PC, Mac and Linux players. Starting September 11th, players can try Sword Coast Legends™, prior to the game’s release on September 29th.

“We at n-Space have always intended for our pre-order customers to have a chance to try out the game prior to its September 29th release,” said Dan Tudge, President of n-Space and Director for Sword Coast Legends. “To that end, we are announcing the details of Sword Coast Legends’ Head Start access program.”

Head Start will have three planned sessions, he adds. The first is scheduled for the weekend of September 11th through 13th and will be available only to members of the Design Council – those that pre-ordered one of the Limited Edition Collector’s or Campaign Collector’s packs. The second will run September 18th through 20th, and will be open to all pre-order customers. These first two sessions will focus on the Dungeon Master modes of Campaign Creation and Dungeon Crawl. In order to avoid spoilers, the Story Campaign will not be available at this time. The third session will run September 24th through the game’s release on September 29th and will once again feature the Dungeon Master modes for all pre-order customers while Design Council members will also have access to the Story Campaign. PC, Mac and Linux cross-platform play will be supported.

In each of these sessions, players will mingle with n-Space, Digital Extremes and Wizards of the Coast team members. To be included in the Head Start program, players must have linked their game purchase to an account on SwordCoast.com. Access details will be sent to the associated email account starting the week of September 11th.

“The Sword Coast Legends team welcomes your feedback! Feel free to share your experiences via your favorite forums, blogs and social media channels.”

Those attending next week’s PAX Prime event in Seattle, August 28-31 can experience Sword Coast Legends and give their feedback in person by visiting the Wizards of the Coast ‘Rage of Demons’ in the Exhibitors Hall, Booth #1642.  Attendees will also earn bragging rights by taking part in the game’s playable debut.

PAX attendees should also stay tuned to Sword Coast Legends’ social media channels for information on the chance to win one of two pairs of tickets to attend Acquisitions INC.’s D&D Live at PAX Prime with the developers from n-Space!

Armored Warfare World on Fire Backstory Teased

Armored Warfare World on Fire Backstory Teased news header

Developer Obsidian Entertainment and publisher My.com have today shared the first look at Armored Warfare’s backstory setting up the events players will be engaging in during their epic online battles.

The world in which Armored Warfare takes place is the same as ours, but with economic and political chaos that has caused the nations of the earth to begin to crumble. Private military contractors (PMCs) have become the bane and saviors of any hope for the world to return to the civilization that started to decline in the 21st Century. Players will have the choice between being a savior or a destroyer in a world where conflict is business. 

For more information you can read a detailed article about the backstory of Armored Warfare on the official Armored Warfare website.

Open Alpha Phase of Winterfrost Legacy is Starting

Open Alpha Phase of Winterfrost Legacy is Starting news header

Global games publisher R2Games has announced that the open alpha phase of its newest browser game title, Winterfrost Legacy, will be made available globally this 10:00 AM EDT August 21st , 2015.

Winterfrost Legacy is a title like no other in the R2Games library. With its own unique take on the classic fantasy genre, Winterfrost Legacy focuses on the strategic aspects of battle – with easy-to-learn, yet challenging, hands-on gameplay. Players will be drawn in by no less than 8 engaging and versatile game modes, paired with thrilling and dramatic campaign adventures. Featuring constant progression, a deep mercenary system, quests, bosses, loot, and much more, Winterfrost Legacy sets itself up to be the perfect title for all fans of the fantasy genre.

All fantasy game enthusiasts are cordially invited to participate in the test-phase of Winterfrost Legacy and gain a first impression of the game, as R2Games continues to polish and improve its latest title.

Play and discover the Winterfrost Legacy Alpha exclusively at: http://winter.r2games.com/.

Blade & Soul Founder Packs Follow-Up Interview

Questions by Michael Sagoe (Mikedot), Junior Editor

Answers by Nicolas Coutant, Producer at NCSoft West

 

Blade And Soul Founder Costume Concept

Earlier this week, NCSoft West took a huge step for Blade & Soul, revealing pricing, details, and an FAQ on their Founder Packs, the surest way to get into the beta testing of the game this fall. If you missed out, you can catch the official news post about it here. But following the information we uncovered at E3, this announcement left a few questions unanswered for us. We sent in some questions and have just gotten back our answers, courtesy of Nicolas Coutant.

 

 

Mikedot:: So it was mentioned a while ago that players will be able to earn Premium Points while playing the game. What do the premium points equate to on the scale of account tiers?

Nic: We are still finalizing these values and will continue to do so during the Closed Beta Test, but to give you a basic idea, the Initiate Pack comes with Level 2 membership, the Disciple Pack with Level 3 membership and the Master Pack with Level 4 membership.

Blade & Soul Founder Weapons

Mikedot:: Will we be able to purchase multiple founder’s packs for friends/family?

Nic: We are currently working on integrating an upgrade and gifting option to the Founder’s Pack page. Stay tuned for more information on that.

Mikedot:: When will users be able to claim their Founder’s Packs? (Before, during or after beta)?

Nic: All Founder’s Pack items will be delivered to users at Head Start, which for readers who don’t know is early access to Blade & Soul 3 days before the game launches. All Founder’s Packs come with Head Start access.

Mikedot:: For those who don’t wish to purchase a founder’s pack, how will they be able to participate in the upcoming beta test? Will NCSoft be giving out keys or randomly selecting users who sign up, or perhaps both?

Nic Absolutely. We will be giving out keys through multiple channels, including our newsletter subscriber, social media and media partners, so a mix of all of the above.

Blade & Soul Spirit Of Bamboo

Mikedot:: And how about that increasingly popular bamboo costume? Perhaps founders could get the bamboo costume as an exclusive outfit? *wink wink*

Nic: The Blade & Soul dev team will be in our offices in a couple weeks, and we will be sure to pitch it to them. 🙂 It probably won’t be included in the Founder’s Packs though.

Mikedot:: Thanks again for clarifying everything. Looking forward to hearing more from you at PAX Prime next week! To catch a full list of the Founders Packs, check the official site post.

Blade & Soul Founder Pack Cowboy

Elsword Summer Pro Am Kicks Off

Elsword Summer Pro Am Kicks Off news header

KOG Games, a leading developer and publisher of popular free-to-play action MMORPGs, together with ORIGIN PC, today announces the start of its Elsword Summer 2015 Pro-Am tournament.  Loads of exciting cash and prizes are up for grabs including ORIGIN PC laptops and peripheral suites!

Sponsored in part by ORIGIN PC, the first place Pro team will win an ORIGIN PC EON17-x Laptop plus two ORIGIN PC t-shirts.  Winners can take home up to $600 USD in cash and KOG games will award more than 100,000 in in-game currency (K-Ching) to participants!

The first place Amateur team will win an ORIGIN PC Peripheral Suite that includes an ORIGIN branded Razer keyboard, mouse and mousepad, plus 60,000 in K-Ching!

The Elsword amateur tournament features 64 qualified teams participating in a single-elimination style, 2v2 tournament.  The Pro tournament takes the best of the best and features a round-robin plus playoffs single-elimination 2v2 tournament.

Amateur preliminaries and 1st round (best of 3) begin today, August 21st at 4:00pm.  Round 2 and quarter-finals (best of 3), semi-finals and finals (best of 5) begin at 4pm on August 28 and will be livestreamed via Twitch.

Pro’s rounds 1-7 (best of 1) begin Saturday, August 22nd at 4:00pm and the playoffs/finals (best of 5) beginning August 29th at 4:00pm and will also be livestreamed on the Elsword Twitch channel.

For the full list of teams, match schedules, and streaming sources, visit:

Pro-Am: http://en.elswordonline.com/pro-am-tournament-2015/index.php

Pro: http://en.elswordonline.com/pro-am-tournament-2015/pro.php

Neverwinter Strongholds – A Whole New Layer of Gameplay

By Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF)

NW_Strongholds_Preview_4

Strongholds is the latest content update added to Neverwinter, the Dungeons & Dragons MMO. True to its origin, Strongholds offers content similar to that which has been apparent in DnD for years. Adventurers finding abandoned castles and working together to rebuild and develop it is nothing new to this setting, but it is quite new to Neverwinter. With this update, your guild will gain access to your own piece of land – the largest map created for Neverwinter yet – with a massive Stronghold that will need repairing and further developed. I was given a tour of this update by a Neverwinter Producer and now I get to relate to you guys what makes Strongholds so important.

Starting From Scratch

While your guild will start with next to nothing, you will have a nice chunk of new land to explore and a decaying Stronghold to rebuild. You’ll have to work together to gather the resources needed and fight off NPCs so that you can begin building important structures. For example, one of the early structures you’ll probably want to invest in is the Woodcutter, whose purpose is pretty obvious. From there you’ll expand to even more structures and upgrades to your Keep, unlocking buffs for your guild and gaining access to some of the best items in the game. As you develop your Guild Hall, the lands surrounding your Stronghold will become more tame, allowing for further upgrades and structures to be built.

NW_Strongholds_Preview_3

Develop Your Land and Castle

A big part of Strongholds is developing your land and upgrading your castle. I already mention the Woodcutter, one of the various buildings that can be built on your guild’s land. Another example is the Market, which will spawn vendors that will give access to fantastic items. As you upgrade these structures, what they offer improvements too. If you’re a guild that plans to focus on the PVP aspect, you may find yourself working towards structures that will give you an edge in the Siege PVP mode that is to be released in September. Or, if you want to give your guild a hand in PVE content, you can focus on gaining access to various boons that anyone in the guild can use.

These buffs are split into various categories: Offensive, Defensive, Utility, and PVP. As you might assume, these are one of the major reasons you’ll want to make an effort to build up a Stronghold. Guilds with well-developed Strongholds will have the most to offer their members, too, and will probably end up much sought after by experienced players. So to maintain a happy membership you’ll need to improve your Guild Hall and build up your lands.

Everything Counts

Just about everything you do in Neverwinter can, in some way, benefit your guild’s Stronghold. Even if you’re a new player and aren’t exactly sure what you’re doing, you can still contribute. I found this to be great as my initial impression of Strongholds was that it would just be an end-game boon, meant only for developed characters. There are quests that can be done to generate Shards of Power, which are needed for advancing your Stronghold, and various tasks that will need to be completed to maintain your land. For example, orcs will attack and resources will be stolen, so your guild members will need to work and defend what they’ve worked for.

Even if you’re not up to fighting, you might be able to help out in less exciting ways. You can directly donate resources to your guild. And someone will need to go around and collect the resources the various buildings are generating. You’ll want to contribute, as every bit of contribution will gain you Guild Marks. This is a new currency used to purchase special items.

NW_Strongholds_Preview_2

Sieges

The Siege PVP mode is one of the crown jewels of the Stronghold system. Or it will be, once it’s released this September. Members of guilds that have built a Stronghold can access the queue to enter these epic battles with a maximum of 20 vs 20. Don’t worry if you’re a smaller guild and don’t know if you can field that many, though, as smaller numbers can join the battle and will be put up against an evenly matched opponent. I personally find this great as I prefer smaller, tight-knit guilds and it’s nice to know that I’ll be able to participate without looking for a larger guild.

Sieges take place on a special map that has been designed with fairness in mind. If you’ve ever played League of Legends or DOTA 2, the structure of it will be immediately familiar. Three lanes – two side and one middle – lead to a Keep at either side of the battleground. Obviously, the end goal is to destroy the keep of your enemy, but you’ll have to work to get there. Depending on how the enemy has developed their own Stronghold, they will have access to various bits of help. In some ways, you can disrupt this help by attacking structures or stopping supply caravans. Of course, you’ll also need to defend your own structures and supplies. And, if you’ve done a good job, you’ll hopefully be able to purchase the favor of a dragon to help you swing the match further into your favor.

NW_Strongholds_Preview_1

Slaying Dragons

Another important feature of this update is The Greed of the Dragonflight. This is an event that takes place within your Stronghold that your guild members can participate in. As the name implies, the goal is to travel around the Stronghold map and do battle with dragons that follow the familiar color-based coding of Dungeons & Dragons. And it’s not as easy as mobbing each dragon either, so your guild will have to develop a strategy to take on this challenge. It’s important that you do a good job in this event, too, as your performance will gain you some of the best rewards in the game.

NW_Strongholds_Preview_5

Conclusion

Neverwinter: Strongholds brings a whole new layer to gameplay. It incorporates elements of city-building, new options for PVE, and the potential for epic PVP battles. The team behind Neverwinter has worked hard to present the players with something amazing and their effort has definitely paid off. Now guilds will have their own large chunk of land and have a place to call home. And who doesn’t want to build a castle and rule? I’ll be spending a lot more time in Neverwinter in the coming weeks, and I suggest you do the same.

Eon Altar hitting Steam Early Access in time for PAX

Eon Altar hitting Steam Early Access in time for PAX news header

Eon Altar, the mobile-enhanced co-op PC RPG game, is playable at PAX Prime! Players who download the free Eon Altar Controller app on their iOS or Android device to play with the team at their booth (#7006) will score an exclusive Early Access Eon Altar Pin.

Eon Altar is launching with Steam Early Access in late August for Episode 1 – The Battle for Tarnum. Episode 1 contains over four hours of content, and Flying Helmet Games is hard at work finishing episodes 2 and 3, as well as beginning work on console releases, slated for 2016.

“Eon Altar is a huge undertaking for an independent studio of our size,” said Edward Douglas, project director. “A PC release makes sense for our first foray into the market, but we truly believe console is the place that couch co-op gaming with your smartphone will truly flourish.”