All Posts by Szark

The folks at Myth War II have announced a package of rewards for veteran players.

Since Myth War II Online has been a big attraction for numerous Myth War fans, the official is now offering all veterans many benefits to play Myth War II Online.

Event duration: September 27th to September 30th

Benefit

1. You can set your new characters in Myth War II Online to be level 50 and will be rewarded 200,000 talent if your characters in Myth War Online have undergone 1st rebirth.

2. You can set your new characters in Myth War II Online to be level 30 and will be rewarded 100,000 talent if your characters in Myth War online are level 60 or above.

3. leaders in guilds at level 2 or above consisting of 10 guild members can have their guild set up in Myth War II Online and stay at level 2. Besides, 1,000,000 gold will be given to their guilds.

All you have to do is to reply to the event thread in its forum with your application for these merits.

Read more here.

The folks at EverQuest II have posted a preview of Najena – The Deep Forge, a new zone coming in The Shadow Odyssey, the game's next expansion.

Najena is the home of the Teir'Dal master elementalist, Najena (not exactly known for her modesty). Najena left her home, Neriak, so that she would be free to practice her arts far from prying eyes. The Empress of the Elements settled in the Lavastorm Mountains, where there was an abundance of mana and resources befitting her experiments, and there created her underground laboratory.

Najena couldn't just walk out of Neriak and build her lair, though. She took many months building her sanctuary in secret. Under the guise of doing research for Neriak, she created minions to carve out the underground fortress. She laboured quietly, diverting resources from projects for the Dark Elven Empire, to silently build her own little kingdom.

Read more here.

The folks at Vanguard have announced that accounts that have been inactive for 60 days or more have been reactivated for a month, to give former player the chance to see what's new in Telon.

Former Vanguard subscribers whose accounts have been inactive for 60 days or more are being called back to Telon! Come back to Vanguard Saga of Heroes for free* starting Sept. 18, 2008, through Oct. 18, 2008, through your reactivated account and uncover new game updates, enhanced character models and an exciting new starting area, the Isle of Dawn.

Those heroes who return to Vanguard through this reactivation promotion, create a new character and journey through the Isle of Dawn while achieving level 10, and then continue into the lands of Telon by re-subscribing to Vanguard with a paid, active subscription in good standing will receive a special pair of Gnomish Rocket Boots**. These boots will help you to progress through the land with great bursts of speed. The Gnomish Boots are yours once you progress off the Isle of Dawn and into the world beyond.

Accounts will be reactivated starting Sept. 18, 2008, at 12:01 a.m. PDT through Oct. 18, 2008, at 11:59 p.m. PDT, so come back to see the great new features for yourself. Simply log back in, rejoin the adventure, start a new character and visit the Isle of Dawn for free!

Read more here.

The folks at Cryptic return once again to answer fan questions about starships, uniform customization, 3d chess, and playable Horta in Star Trek Online.

Will ship roles be analogous to naval combat roles or will they be more like the party roles in other MMOs – will ships be cruisers or destroyers or they be tanks or healers?

Federation ship classes are inspired by the television shows. So, for example, you could have a ship like the Enterprise, the Defiant or the Voyager. We call the different classifications of ships Cruisers, Escorts and Science Vessels.

More details on the exact roles and differences are coming soon, but for now, suffice it to say that the ship roles are a combination of naval combat and traditional MMO gameplay. Klingon ships are different, and reflect their style and culture. And everything will be very customizable and very Star Trek.

Will Starfleet and Klingon uniforms be semi-customizable with extra additions?

Character customization is one of the hallmark features of a Cryptic game. You will be able to modify and customize the uniform of your characters, but it will always have the look of a uniform. The costume options will reflect popular pieces from the show, as well as new concepts and styles.

Read more here.

CCP has announced the addition of a new feature in EVE which will prevent access to systems with too many players in them.

During the downtime today, Sunday 21st September, we deployed a new feature to Tranquility. The Stargate will now check how many players there are in the system and deny access if you attempt to jump into it when too many players are present. In addition to this you will not be able to login on a character if the system has too many players.

Read more here.

Today is a special day for the inhabitants of Middle Earth as it is the birthday of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.

It’s time once again to celebrate the Birthday of Bilbo and Frodo! Be sure to visit them and wish them well. You might even be able to help Frodo with a small matter.

Keep a sharp eye out and you may have an opportunity to match wits with the Riddlemaster.

Happy Birthday to two most exceptional Hobbits!

Read more here.

Today we present ten new screenshots from NCsoft's Aion: The Tower of Eternity.

See them all here.

Today we present ten new images which have been added to our Aion: Tower of Eternity screenshot gallery.

See all 10 screenshots here.

SOE has published an introduction to the background lore of Seeds of Destruction, the upcoming expansion for the original EverQuest.

A new rift has opened in the Plane of Time. This rift leads to a bleak prophecy of the end of existence. The world of Norrath lies in ruins. The planet has shattered into millions of shards, spinning in a silent void around the rapidly blackening star of Ro.

In the wreckage on a small shard of the world, a lone figure sits quietly tending a small seedling growing between the rocks. The lone figure is none other than the fallen god Zebuxoruk. He is the only survivor of the end of the world, and perhaps the only one who knows how to prevent it.

Background:
During the invasion of the Plane of Time, mortal adventurers were intent on the release of Zebuxoruk from his eternal stasis. The goddess Druzzil Ro was forced to reorder the timeweave in order to prevent Zebuxoruk from escaping. This rethreading of the timeweave created a small weakness in the flow of time. For many years the weakness in the fabric of reality went unnoticed.

Read more here.

The folks at The Chronicles of Spellborn have announced details of several changes to their game, including the addition of PvP servers.

During the Games Convention in Leipzig, the Dutch developer already informed media representatives about some changes in specific gameplay features of The Chronicles of Spellborn. The ambitious fantasy online-roleplaying game will be released with two different ruleset types of servers. Besides previously announced PvE Servers, Spellborn NV has now decided to also provide special PvP servers to make Player-versus-Player combat an integral part of the game. Moreover the developer will significantly increase the amount of fame rewarded by killing hostile humanoid or animal NPCs and renamed the sub-class “Furyhammer” as “Adept” .

On the PvP servers, all regions will be enabled for PvP at the exception of Hawksmouth, Aldenvault (being the starting areas) and the major cities. An extension of that PvP immunity to villages will be subject to feedback from the current closed beta tests. Spellborn NV has already implemented a PvP cave in Aldenvault for all types of servers, purely designed for PvP, where players can engage in fights at low level. Other caves and mines where players can gather resources will remain PvP and free-for-all areas for both PvP and PvE flagged servers as well. Generally, the final PvP rules are currently tested on the beta servers and will be adjusted depending on the feedback from the beta community.

Another change has been concluded concerning “fame”, also known as “experience” in other MMOs. Most of the fame is rewarded by questing in Spellborn, but killing mobs can also grant players some points. The developers decided to increase the amount of fame rewarded by killing mobs significantly. In the previous state, fame given by mobs was very low. It is still considerably lower than the amount given by quests, but now, it’s possible to gain the missing points to level up in a shorter amount of time. Moreover, if players help a friend with quests, they will now have an additional reward besides loot. It is possible to level up from 1 to 50 by killing mobs, but quests still reward the player with lot more fame and thus, remains the best and fastest way to develop the character in The Chronicles of Spellborn.

Another change relates to the warrior sub-class named “Furyhammer”. Throughout the development process, this discipline underwent several changes in its Lore and related game mechanics, which in the end did not match the general feel and lore of the class anymore. To rectify it, Furyhammer’s name was replaced by the able, agile warrior sub-class called “Adept”. Players will find many more information about these changes online after the relaunch of the official website in the course of September.

Read more here.

Sanrio Digital has announced that they will begin an exclusive Founders Beta on October 8th, 2008.

Hong Kong – September 12, 2008: Sanrio Digital (www.sanriodigital.com) announced today that Hello Kitty Online will begin an exclusive Founders’ Beta on October 8, 2008. The Founders’ Beta will allow a limited number of users to play the official Hello Kitty MMORPG ahead of launch while receiving Founder benefits and participating in special in-game events.

Hello Kitty Online (www.hellokittyonline.com) is a free-to-play Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) based on Sanrio's famous characters. The game transports players into the cute and cuddly world of Sanrio Land, where players will meet and interact with over a hundred Sanrio characters, including Hello Kitty, Badtz-Maru, Keroppi, Dear Daniel, My Melody, Pochacco, Cinnamoroll, and many others.

Hello Kitty Online boasts several new additions and improvements since the Closed Beta version, and the Founder's Beta will feature a new game client with an improved interface, improved graphics and special effects, new monsters, new maps, new items, and the opening of London and Paris. The Founders’ Beta will also introduce gameplay changes such as new skills, new pet systems and team-play oriented enhancements.

Read more here.

The folks at Voyage Century Online have provided a look at the uses of Military Colonies in Voyage Century Online.

Today the folks at Voyage Century are going to talk to you about how important a Military Colony is in VCO.

As you probably know there are 4 kinds of colonies in Voyage Century. These are military colonies, industry colonies, trade colonies and collection colonies. Owning a military colony is a clear symbol of your military power. In a military colony, you can get the 3 most important things for a sea battle.

No 1. Ship Upgrade

Owning ships is everything, and this sentence definitely makes sense in Voyage Century. No matter who you are, whether a simple business man or a battle hardened sea wolf, good ships will make your life easier in the game. However, you can only upgrade your ships at a military colony. In addition, only the border of military colonies can be sealed completely by guilds.

No 2. Powerful Cannonballs

For a level 5 military colony, you can not only upgrade your ships, but also get upgraded cannonballs that cause an extra 10% damage, this could be critical during a close fight. Also, you can get advanced level 12 cannons; with these powerful cannons you will be peerless at sea.

No 3. Super Ship Ram

If asked what weapon players like to use for sea battles, I won’t hesitate to say the battering ram. It’s extreme. Once, a player’s ship with a level 7 Ram instantly sank a battleship by hitting it when it was downwind. No matter whether its Guild Wars or an ordinary battle, rams are commonly used throughout VCO.

Who will be the king of the sea?

Read more here.

The folks at Rappelz have announced that Rappelz Epic V: The Dragonic Age, Part II will be released later this Fall, introducing new pets, weapons, dungeons, dungeon themes and more.

Sunnyvale, California – September 12, 2008 - Gala-Net Inc. announced today that it will release “Rappelz Epic V: The Dragonic Age, Part II” later this fall to its free-to-play game portal, gPotato.com in the North American market.

“Rappelz Epic V: The Dragonic Age, Part II” will feature a variety of new updates to the second chapter of this prominent saga. Part II will deliver two new dungeons and a theme dungeon for players to explore. The theme dungeon offers players a chance to team up with other daredevils for a chance to defeat bears and the new boss. Not only can players team up to fight atrocious bears and new monsters, Part II will also include Character Skill Renewal. In this new system, character skills will be strengthened for each character’s job and players will notice an increased effect at every skill level. In addition, Part II will also introduce two new decorative pets, weapons, new Rank VI armors and weapons, and an array of new Rank V and Rank VI accessories that will help players with the challenges that Part II will offer.

Read more here.

Blizzard has announced that character transfers from World of Warcraft's PvE servers to PvP servers are now available.

Providing a smooth and enjoyable experience for all players is always a priority for us, and we are continually re-evaluating our policies and programs to do so. As the state of the game has matured substantially since the inception of Paid Character Transfers, we will now be allowing PvE-to-PvP transfers on a full-time basis to provide players with more mobility and freedom to easily play with their friends.

Keep in mind that all of the other standard cooldowns and restrictions will continue to apply; we're just opening the option to transfer characters on Normal realms to Player-vs.-Player realms.

Read more here.

Today we present nine new images which have been added to our Pirates of the Burning Sea screenshot gallery.

See all nine screenshots here.

The Mines of Moria, the first expansion for Lord of the Rings Online which is currently in beta, offers many new dark places for adventurers to explore and a new class for players to use while exploring these places. Today the folks at Turbine have released detailed information on these Rune-keepers and their secrets.

Is this Magic?

A question I know some of you will be asking is "Does the Rune-keeper use magic?" The answer is a little yes, and a little no. In Tolkien's world, and in our world, ‘magic' is a term for explaining things that are not well understood. A perfect example of this is when Sam was offered to look in Galadriel's Mirror:

'And you? ' she said, turning to Sam. 'For this is what your folk would call magic. I believe; though I do not understand clearly what they mean; and they seem also to use the same word of the deceits of the Enemy. But this, if you will, is the magic of Galadriel.'

Rune-keepers utilize the Power of writing and of words to change small bits of the world. There are some who would call this magic, while others would call this the natural way of things.

It is worth mentioning that of the races of Middle-earth, only Elves and Dwarves have such innate Power. No Man or hobbit scribe could harness the power of runes in these ways; such talents are not part of their nature. Yet to an Elf, such things can be as natural as breathing.

Read more here.

Patch notes for Vanguard's Game Update 6 have been posted on the official site for Vanguard.

Character Model Revamp
Player character models in Vanguard have undergone a bit of a revamp. Not only have they been optimized for better performance but they have been given a new, updated look. The revamped models are now capable of looking much more heroic and contain a lot more personality. Worry not though, for those players who don't necessarily want the heroic look, no customization options have gone away. In fact, we are reintroducing lots of facial customization as well.

Class Damage Updates
We have looked at and modified each class's damage capability, ensuring that each lands in their correct place in the spectrum of classes. We have looked at many things, from raid wide damage capacity to the tank's ability to control aggo, to the weak DPS of some healers and DPS classes. This was a relatively comprehensive pass to ensure that with GU6 raid targets are still killable. While the effects of these changes will primarily be felt at the highest end of the game, we are making sure that all levels of players are still functional. There has been extensive testing of these changes on the test server for the past several weeks and we'd like to thank all those players who have sent in testing logs – your efforts are greatly appreciated! For a more comprehensive list of class changes and updates, please read the list below.

Bug Fixes
In an effort to make the launch of the Isle of Dawn go as smoothly as possible, the Vanguard development team set aside a good portion of time this update to fix as many existing bugs as possible. We are pleased to announce that well over a thousand fixes are included with this patch. While many of them may not be immediately noticeable, we've included a more detailed list of those that are below.

Read more here.

SOE will be holding a Legends of Norrath Loot Tournament Weekend where participating players will have the opportunity to win loot cards.

The Ethernauts are coming, but we're not yet finished with Oathbreaker as we have two great cards up for grabs in the September Loot Tournament weekend in Legends of Norrath™! For just ten (10) event passes, each participant will receive three (3) Legends of Norrath booster packs, a Golden Idol of the Tribunal (4P14) promotional card and either an EverQuest® Familiar of Queen Pyrilonis (4EQP5) or EverQuest® II Sarathian Curse (4EQIIP5) loot card depending upon each player's system settings! Participating players who place in the top 25 of each event receive additional booster packs.

Read more here.

The folks at Stargate Worlds have posted a reminder that closed beta will begin in a few weeks, and you can sign up for your chance to take part.

If you have not yet signed up for your chance to be one of our beta testers, be sure to do so very soon! The Closed Beta phase of testing is just a few weeks away.
 

Sign up for beta here, at http://register.stargateworlds.com. See you there!

Read more here.

The Harvest Festival, the annual event in World of Warcraft began this week, and will run until September 13th.

Each year, the Harvest Festival commemorates those who have sacrificed their lives for the sake of others. The Alliance honors the memory of all the fallen, but most especially Uther Lightbringer. The Horde also remembers those who have fallen, with special emphasis on the memory of Grom Hellscream. Be sure to sample the free food and drink commemorating the occasion. The Harvest Festival runs until September 13.

Read more here.<