All Posts by Koltrane

RPG Vault is continuing their regular posting of new screenshots from Dark and Light.  The most recent post includes a shot of a dragon fighting skeletons.  Take a guess at which side comes out on top.

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You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.

MMORPG.com Staff

When we set out to create Alien Invasion, we wanted to make sure we did something new. We wanted to push the MMO genre beyond what it was known for. Instead of just creating a bunch of new playfields with aliens in them, we wanted to create some massive and immersive for the players to control to a much larger degree. I think we succeeded in doing this. The best decision we made throughout the development was to commit and dedicate ourselves to a completely new approach to our gameplay on demand feature - in this case, the alien city attacks. The fact that we were able to pull this off in such a great way meant that a whole new gameplay mechanic was added, giving our players even more to do at their own leisure. The feedback is that it has given our players a lot of fun, and nothing pleases me more.

There's also an Alien Invasion video in Bink format, but be warned, it's 60MB.  You can access it here.

Click on this link to read the Enge's full commentary.  This link will take you to the official Anarchy Online website.

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You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.

MMORPG.com Staff

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MMORPG.com Staff

Final Fantasy XI is closing in on its one year anniversary in North America, and to celebrate, Square Enix is hosting a masquerade dinner in San Francisco.  This coming Saturday, October 30, Jillian's at the Metreon will be the location of the event which includes a dance party, a costume contest, a sneak peek at upcoming games, and more.

The cost is $10 in advance, $20 at the door.  FFXI fans over 17 are invited.  To find out more information, visit the sign up page here.

Click here for the official Final Fantasy XI website.

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There are 10 types of people in this world...those who understand binary, and those who don't.

MMORPG.com Staff

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that World of Warcraft will launch the week of November 22, just in time for the big Thanksgiving shopping weekend.  Heather Newman of the Free Press broke the story in her Game Bits column Sunday.

One of the most anticipated PC games of the year now has a launch date. "World of Warcraft," the online world game from the makers of the incredibly popular "Warcraft" strategy game series, is scheduled to launch the week of Nov. 22, the Free Press has learned. Most stores have predicted Nov. 15 would be the launch date for "World of Warcraft," guessing that Sony Online Entertainment's behemoth "Everquest 2" would come out on or near the same day. But Phil O'Neil, president, North America, of "Warcraft" publisher Vivendi Universal Games, said the game will actually launch a week after the company's other hot holiday title, "Half-Life 2," which debuts Nov. 16.

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There are 10 types of people in this world...those who understand binary, and those who don't.

MMORPG.com Staff

Recently it was announced that Horizons was being purchased by Phoenix-based Tulga Games.  Chris Tulumello, Managing Member of Tulga, was recently interviewed by Gamersinfo.net, and has provided some info on the deal.

GI.n: What makes you believe this company is worth the purchase? Chris Tulumello: There are only a handful of companies that have sucessfully done what Artifact has managed to do. Bring a working, playable, and engaging MMORPG to market. Add to that creativity, longevity and resourfulness and, in my opinion, you have an organization worth the price of admission.

Click here to read the interview in its entirety.  You may visit the official Horizons website at this link.

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There are 10 types of people in this world...those who understand binary, and those who don't.

MMORPG.com Staff

For the past few weeks, GameSpy has been giving those interested a tour of the the world of The Matrix Online.  The tour concludes with a look around Kowloon:

Kowloon is a neighborhood of narrow streets, tightly-packed residential high-rise buildings, and markets selling all manner of wares - from open-air street storefronts to multi-story malls and exclusive boutiques. The buildings are tall and close together, many sporting colorful neon signs. The height of the buildings can create urban canyons. Kowloon is a neighborhood that never rests, never sleeps, never shuts down. Business is always booming, trade is always happening - whether in the stores for goods or in the back alleys for services. The streets of Kowloon can provide anonymity or be the source of profound danger. You should take care not to be seduced by the familiar, hectic pace of commerce. The crowded streets can hide much, even from one trained to be observant.

If you missed the beginning of the tour, click here to go all the way back.  The recent visit to Kowloon is available here.

You may visit the official website for The Matrix Online by following this link.

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There are 10 types of people in this world...those who understand binary, and those who don't.

MMORPG.com Staff

Ideazon, developer of the Zboard, has announced that they will produce a Zboard keyset tailored for the World of Warcraft.  In a press release on Blizzard's website, suggested retail prices of $49.99 and $19.99 are given for the Zboard and the WoW keyset respectively.  Here's a picture of the WoW Zboard:

Something to put on your wishlist!  Click here to visit the official World of Warcraft website.

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There are 10 types of people in this world...those who understand binary, and those who don't.

MMORPG.com Staff

We would like to remind you that on October 5th, 2004 we will be implementing Kunlun on the Sakray server. This update will include the addition of the Super Novice class, Kunlun Village, the Marriage System, and an update of some weapon abilities. The update will take place during regularly scheduled maintenance on October 5th, 2004 for the Sakray server. We hope you will join us for testing this update and all that it will bring to the game. More detailed Kunlun information can be found by using the iRO Update link located under the News section of the website.

Click here for the Ragnarok Online website.

Those keeping an eye on the upcoming Catacombs expansion for Dark Age of Camelot can visit the official site to read about the new Hibernia classes that will be available - the Vampiir and the Bainshee.

First is the Vampiir (not Vampire), which sounds like a cross between a swordsman and a variety of caster classes:

The Vampiir class is a fighter who wields a one-handed piercing weapon in its right hand. While in melee combat, it is able to cast Vampiir magic with the left hand. The class does not have a normal power pool, however. It will gain power from a variety of attacks - primarily melee strikes. The class receives Safefall and Climb Walls, as well as a passive form of health regeneration. Vampiiric magic comes in three categories or spell lines: "Self Enhancement" spells such as parry, evade, run speed, magic and melee absorption bonuses; "Offensive Damage" spells such as Lifetaps, Flame Strikes, and a special ability to turn the left hand into a claw for further melee attacks; and "Utility" spells such as a single target mez, snare, Lull Enemies, and effectiveness debuffs.

Then there is the Bainshee, which is basically a screaming woman:

The Bainshee class is a cloth wearing class whose magic comes in the form of sound, and may only be played by female avatars. The class has three specialization lines, each line with spells focused in one of three areas: Point Blank Area of Effect, Ranged Area of Effect, and Cone Area of Effect. The Bainshee will be a class that debuts many unique magical abilities never before seen in the lands of Camelot. These include: a Befriend PBAE spell that will temporarily turn monsters into realm guards who will then attack any pursuing enemies for a short time; a ranged AE wail which, when sustained, can be used to reduce the visibility of enemies in an area; a Buffering Breath spell (a damage absorption buff) that will absorb a certain amount of spell damage for group members; and finally, is a PBAE shriek that causes nearby monsters to try and (temporarily) flee from the Bainshee until she finally stops to breathe.

There are so many potential jokes about a female-only character who uses her voice as a weapon, that I'm just going to let you roll your own. :-D  Check out the new classes at the official Dark Age of Camelot Catacombs website.

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There are 10 types of people in this world...those who understand binary, and those who don't.

MMORPG.com Staff

The team over at HomeLAN has put together a set of questions regarding the upcoming Throne of Oblivion expansion, and Shadowbane producer Frank Lucerno was kind enough to answer them.  Here's a sample:

HomeLAN - What can you tell us about the new playable Vampire race at this time? Frank Lucero - Our goal with the Vampire race was to create a new kind of gameplay experience that just wasn't a rehash of some existing race with some stats juggled. As such, Vampires have some unique strengths but some unique weaknesses as well. First and foremost, all of a Vampire's spells and abilities will cost just health - mana and stamina will be near useless for them. Vampires only have one resource to manage, but using their powers too quickly may leave them weak and exposed. Vampires will also get what we call 'fortitude' powers. These temporary powers will dictate the maximum size of any single blow they can take in damage. Vampires will have weaknesses, though. In particular, healing spells don't work particularly well on them, and they are extremely vulnerable to holy and fire damage.

The entire Q&A is available at this link.  The official Throne of Oblivion site is here.

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There are 10 types of people in this world...those who understand binary, and those who don't.

MMORPG.com Staff

October 02, 2004 - Hidden amid the 51 PDF slides depicting Vivendi Universal Games' earnings report for the first half of 2004 was a discussion on growth drivers for the next few years, which included planned release dates for World of Warcraft, Blizzard Entertainment's highly-anticipated massively multiplayer online game. Dated September 14 of this year, the document stated three different planned release dates: November 2004 in the U.S., December 2004 in Korea, "early 2005" in Europe and "later in 2005" in Greater China and Taiwan. Keep in mind, however, that the intentions of the publisher and the intentions of the developer do not always necessarily coincide, and Blizzard is one of the few developers who has the luxury of taking its time. But it is nevertheless interesting to note the separate international release dates.

Make what you will of this information.  It appears that the publisher is still targeting next month for release, but if any characteristic has marked Blizzard's development history, it has been the company's penchant for delaying games until they are ready for release.  Something to keep in mind.

Click here for the World of Warcraft homepage.

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There are 10 types of people in this world...those who understand binary, and those who don't.

MMORPG.com Staff