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Archive for September, 2009
Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood Release Date Announced
Sep 29th
Siege of Mirkwood, the recently announced digital expansion to The Lord of the Rings Online will launch on December 1st, 2009, according to an announcement released by Turbine today.
The announcement of a new LOTRO Adventurer’s Pack was also part of today’s announcement. The new pack will launch simultaneously with the Siege of Mirkwood digital expansion, and will contain 2 additional character slots, and a shared storage slot allowing for players to share their items across all their characters on the same server. Customers who pre-order the Adventurer’s Pack will also receive two exclusive in-game items, the Harbinger’s Cloak which provides an 8% speed buff, and a new Dusky Nimblefoot Goat mount.
Both the Siege of Mirkwood and the LOTRO Adventurer’s Pack are available for pre-order now and will run you $19.99 each, though there are some special offers going on as well. Former subscribers who renew their accounts, or current subscribers who upgrade their accounts to a multi-month (3, 6, 9 month) subscription between now and October 31st will receive Siege of Mirkwood free. Also, Lifetime Subscribers who purchase the LOTRO Adventurer’s Pack will receive the Siege of Mirkwood digital expansion free of charge.
Speaking of Lifetime subscriptions, they’re back, and will run you $199 if you’re interested.
Pre-order More >
EVE Online: Senior Producer Interview
Sep 29th
MMORPG.com’s Garrett Fuller recently spoke with EVE Online Senior Producer Torfi Olafsson about all things CCP including the new EVE expansion, Ambulation and Dust 514.
MMORPG.com:
Tell us about the Dominion Expansion.
Torfi Olafsson:
Our next expansion for EVE Online which will be our twelfth free expansion to our subscribers is called Dominion and it is coming out this winter and we’re pretty excited about it. It is already on our test server Singularity. In Dominion our focus was providing tools and mechanisms for stories to emerge themselves. What that means is? As you are familiar with EVE is a sandbox heavy game. Our most cherished feature is the fact that our most interesting story is; our most compelling interactions come from alliances and players interacting with each other. So years ago we built a sovereignty system which allowed you to lay claim to solar systems, constellations, and regions. This system has been used a lot and has been the setting for many exciting battles and adventures in the game, but it was sorely needed an iteration. We knew and our players knew that it could be better, more cerebral, and more tactical. It needed a good polish. So we put our best More >
Star Wars: The Old Republic: Sign Up for Beta!
Sep 29th
Sign ups for the beta test of Star Wars: The Old Republic are now being taken on the official The Old Republic website!
Would be testers will be selected from the Star Wars: The Old Republic community by use of a number of factors including, age, region, and system specifications. You must be 18 years of age to sign up and you’ll need an account in good standing at the official The Old Republic website.
The test will be conducted in phases, with smaller groups initially, and an intent to expand gradually as the test goes along.
If you don’t have an official The Old Republic community account you’ll need to sign up for one here (and be sure to check off that you want to test the game). If you’ve already got an account, well what are you waiting for!? Sign up for the beta!
A Game Testing FAQ is also available for viewing here.
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning: Mac Version Release Date Announced
Sep 29th
EA has announced today the release date for the Mac client of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. WAR will be arriving on Mac’s on October 28th, 2009.
The Mac version will be available to new subscribers for $19.99 and will be distributed via digital download at Gametreeonline. The paid Mac client will include 30 days of free game time, as well. Current subscribers of the game will be able to access the Mac version free of charge.
The official announcement can be viewed here.
Warhammer Online: 1.3.2 Public Test Starts 9/29/2009
Sep 28th
Greetings!
Game Update 1.3.2 is coming to the Public Test Server tomorrow morning, bringing with it a full schedule of Developer-led Public Test Events.
Come and experience the new and improved Keep reward system with a developer-led PTS event this Wednesday, September 30th, starting at 8:00 PM EDT. Not only can you be among the first to see these exciting new changes, everyone who logs in and participates in the event will have the chance to win an Imperial Griffon mount (Order) or an Enslaved Manticore mount (Destruction).
This Saturday brings a PTS first: Come and get a sneak peek at the next Live Event: Daemon Moon Rising. Not only will you get an early look at part of this exciting new event, everyone who participates in this PTS event will receive a never-before-seen Holiday mask for their characters on Live Servers. The event will start at 8:00 PM EDT, this Saturday, October 3rd.
But wait! There’s EVEN MORE!
- Check out all of the exciting Combat and Career Changes!
- Experience the revamped New User Journey!
- Sink your teeth into the improvements to Butchering and Apothecary!
So be sure to check out how to access the Public Test Server and join in on the excitement. Also, don’t More >
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures: Veteran Rewards Detailed
Sep 28th
Game Director Craig Morrison updates us on the state of Age of Conan with this month’s Letter from the Game Director. Much of the letter’s subject matter centers around the oft talked about Veteran Rewards system. This time, we’ve got solid details on how the system works and what you can expect to earn for your loyalty.
The system will reward players with a certain amount of points per month that scales the longer the player has been subscribed. For example, for players who have been subscribed for one to five months they will earn six points per month, while on the opposite end of the spectrum, players who have been with the game for 18-23 months will earn 12 points per month.
A list of some of the items that will be available and their costs can be found below:
Convenience Items
Veterans Path - 10 points (reduces the cooldown on your Path of Asura and Path of Comrades) Veterans Teleports - 12 points each – Separate teleport items that share a cooldown that can take you to The Fire Beacon, the Hunting Lodge, Khesshata City, Iron Tower, Prison Colony or The Lair) Veterans Home Paths - 8 points each – Separate path items that return More >
EVE Online: Sovereignty Changes
Sep 28th
MMORPG.com EVE Online Correspondent Kevin Schram writes this in-depth look at the changes coming to the game’s sovereignty system.
The 0.0 or ’null security’ area of EVE Online’s universe has always been where the game’s action has been and where most of the intriguing stories of the game come from. Most of the corporate intrigue and large tactical battles have been set in the game’s so-called ’outlaw space’ area.
In Eve Online, different star systems have different security statuses. ’High sec’ is the most secure, where the game’s NPC police force will respond and destroy any outlaws quickly. In the ’low sec’ systems, only stargates and stations in-game are protected by weak NPC turret systems, and in the ’null sec’ systems, there is nothing between you and that pirate gate camp. Null sec systems are not owned by the game’s NPC empires, and instead, player alliances are allowed to claim them through a sovereignty system.
Read Sovereignty Changes
Meet Scott Warren – Fx and Environment Artist
Sep 28th
Global Agenda’s FX and Environment artist, Scott Warren talks with us how he got started with Hi-Rez Studios, lighting environments and his excitement for AvA battles.
Scott, tell us a little about what you do at Hi-Rez Studios.
I’m an FX and Environment artist. While I don’t directly build environment assets, I focus on adding the final lighting and effects passes to the playable maps of the game.
How did you get into the gaming industry? How did you get to Hi-Rez Studios?This is my 3rd year at Hi-Rez Studios, which has also been my first industry job. I found out about the studio in late 2006 thanks to a website called Beyond Unreal. They had a tiny little one-sentence blurb about a new startup developer in Georgia that was using the Unreal Engine who were looking for artists of all kinds.
I was working at Old Navy at the time and going to Kennesaw State University but I had very much wanted to work in games. I sent an email to Todd and basically said, "Hire me, I’m awesome!" I didn’t think he would take me seriously but a few days later I had an interview at the studio where More >
Aion: Playing Aion on Your Mac
Sep 28th
MMORPG.com Aion Correspondent Josh Price looks at a couple of ways to ensure that if you’re a Mac user, you aren’t left out in the cold when it comes to playing Aion.
To some Mac MMORPG players, Aion is like a distant fortress located on the other side of some impassable geography. They stare longingly at it, wishing they could make the journey there. But, alas, the barriers are too great and the trip would take a long time without guarantee for success. Aion will be just one of those games, like many others, that they’ll just miss out on.
But really, why should we miss out?
Read Playing Aion on Your Mac
[Exclusive]Interview with Ran Online’s Dev Team Manager
Sep 27th
As the global OB launched last week, we just took a simple chat with Ran Online’s development team manager Brian Kim and learnt some special features of this campus-based MMO. Have fun.
-Introduce yourself for us.
Greeting! I am a Ran Online Development Team Manager Brian Kim of Min Communications Inc. My job is to manage project schedules and human resources of Ran Team.
Ran Online – Skill Demonstration Trailer
-Ran Online has quite a unique theme which is ’school’, how did you first think of this concept?
Fantasy games were the majority in game market when we first started to build Ran Online. Therefore, we wanted to create a game with a theme which could be very unique and enjoyable for younger people and no repulsion for older generation. So, we narrow down the concept to modern and school for Ran Online.
As the concept was decided to focus on modern and school, Ran Online was able to approach various generations of users more familiarly. Plus, when it came down to the stage where we actually started to develop Ran Online, the most important points we focused on were "More modernized" and "actual school like" concept in basics.
Click here for full image
-What would be More >