Monthly Archives: June 2016

ArcheAge 2.9: Ascension Thoughts:

2016-06-10 18_56_27-GreenshotArcheAge’s patch 2.9 is here! It’s called “Ascension.” What do I think of it though? That’s a question that’s been posed to me. In all honesty? A mixed bag of emotions. I haven’t truthfully kept up as much with it as I’d like, though I did meet some of their devs back at Pax East, and had a blast hanging out with them.  So I’ve been doing some reading to really get down what I think about the direction the game is going. I have to say, I’m actually pretty interested.  At first I was confused about how every player will be able to have their own kingdom. My initial thought was that of horror: “Everyone can have a kingdom? How will that map even look?” So I did a little more reading. Now it makes more sense. The way it reads to me is it has to be done with a guild that is invested in their castle.  The idea of building a castle and developing a player-run nation intrigues me. It reminds me of Warhammer’s ill-fated MMO, or possibly something that would happen in ESO.

Player nations welcome any race under their banner, as long as you’re invited to the ruling guilds and are not a pirate.

2016-06-10 18_56_31-Greenshot

This is a concept I like. The idea of unity of all peoples [that aren’t criminals anyway] is a really nice, pleasant concept. So I read on. There’s a quest chain that goes with it, because this is still an MMO. It’s incredibly taxing and time consuming, just by reading the requirements. That makes sense, because it’s a damn kingdom, not a guild. You’re going to be making diplomatic relations, representing your own faction in PVP instead of a regular faction, collecting taxes, and gathering followers, depending on how many Castles are in your kingdom. But, part of it really stands out as something horrifying.  You. Need. Over. Fifty. People. At. Once. To Swear Fealty. Sure, the American Declaration had 56 signatories. But this is a fantasy MMO!  We don’t have to re-enact Hamilton, no matter how much I love it.

2016-06-10 18_56_28-Greenshot

You receive taxes, which is awesome. Well, the Sovereign receives them I believe on a daily basis. It’s a pretty ridiculous process, but you do get Lord’s Coins for it, and that’s a positive for sure. It’s up to Sovereigns, Lords and Ladies to distribute these coins, so I do have a fear of bias and favoritism. Nepotism exists in MMOs too, folks. I doubt every person in the Kingdom will be a Lord or Lady. Are Lords and Ladies people who built their own castles? Is it a promotion system? One person sure does seem to wield a fair amount of power in this system. Do I think it’s cool? Of course, I love being in charge of other people. But what I do fear is that the system is going to be ludicrously complex, and leave a lot of people with hurt feelings. I know that’s not what they’re aiming for, but I’m seeing the potential for butthurt coming out of this. I think the patch and the new content is fantastic. I love the bold direction they’re taking. But, I worry: people on the Internet are assholes. Only the Sovereign can have the Golden Wyvern mount. That’s bound to make people upset that they can’t have one too. Especially if the Sovereign doesn’t put in as much work to make the kingdom great as his closest lords/ladies.  That boils down my ultimate fear: small amounts of people having TOO. MUCH. POWER.  Other than that, I adore the concept.

The Battle for Sector 219

The Battle for Sector 219 is a buy-to-play sci-fi card game developed by Large Visible Machine for PC and Mac and is available for purchase on Steam. In The Battle for Sector 219 you will be put in charge of your own sci-fi army attempting to take over the capital city, but you’ll have to fend off your enemy to attain your goal. By placing cards on the game board you’ll be able to maintain your supply lines, battle your way through enemy lines, and eventually take over their main base. Just don’t forget to protect your own base along the way!

Features:

Impressive Card Artwork: Not only will your cards be deadly on the game board, but they are also illustrated in a visually impressive manner.

AI Matches: Fight offline matches against AI opponents to hone your skills and prepare for the real deal.

Complete Strategy Focus: The Battle for Sector 219 purposefully does not include any collectibles so that the game’s primary focus is on highly competitive matches, but it does have some Steam Achievements for you to work towards.

Sacred Legends

Sacred Legends is a free-to-play mobile action RPG developed by FISHLABS for iOS and has an expected release in the future for Android. In Sacred Legends the Demon Lords are enacting their plans to re-open the Gates of Hell, oppress the kingdom of Ancaria, and plunge the world into darkness. Without a few people willing to put their lives on the line to stop the Demon Lords evil plans the world will surely fall to their immense power. Do you have what it takes to free Ancaria and become one of its legends?

Features:

Three Classes: Become a Seraphim, Archer, or Warrior and use your impressive skills to bring down any of the Demon Lords’ minions standing in your way.

Loot: Collect and craft weapons, armors, and ornaments to help prepare you for any of the challenges you might have to face on your adventure.

Arena PvP: Take to the Arena and settle the age-old argument of who the fiercest fighter is. You might even get some interesting rewards out of it as well.

Fragmented

Fragmented is a buy to play survival MMO with a science fiction flair developed by Above and Beyond Technologies for PC and it is available for purchase on Steam. In Fragmented players find themselves stranded on a hostile alien planet where they must fight for the survival of humanity. With only your fists, wits, and fragments of knowledge at your disposal the odds are certainly against you. Are you resourceful enough to fend off whatever this foreign planet has to throw at you, or will you succumb to its dangerous creatures and the elements?

Features:

Harvest Resources: Different types of resources are available for you on this new planet. Harvest as many as you can to create better tools and weapons.

Crafting and Building: Craft different types of weapons and armors to help you fend off any threats and construct buildings to keep you safe.

Rulesets: Servers can have different rulesets that put focus on PvP or PvE elements in the game.

Server Hosting: Host your own servers to change the game world to your liking by altering experience gained, thirst/hunger levels, mob difficulties and more!