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Archive for September, 2009
World of Warcraft: AGDC ’09: Frank Pearce Video Interview
Sep 24th
Our Garrett Fuller sat down with Blizzard VP and Co-founder Frank Pearce, at this year’s Austin Game Developer’s Conference for an exclusive video interview.
In the interview we learn of some of the aspects that go into producing the quality games Blizzard is known for.
Frank Pearce attributes much of the company’s success to the long retention rate of their employees as well as the culture the company has cultivated over the years as a result. Mr. Pearce reveals that many in the company have been there for long periods of time, and Blizzard has it’s own kind of "Veteran Reward" system so to speak, where if you’re there for five years you get a sword, there for ten years, you get a shield, and for 15 years you get a ring. He goes on to say that no one has been there for the 20 year mark so they are going to have to come up with something for that.
Later on in the interview, Garrett switches gears over to World of Warcraft and more specifically, Cataclysm. When asked about what went into the decision to essentially "facelift" the game instead of doing all new zones (a question Garrett also posed to J. More >
World of Warcraft: A Whole New World
Sep 24th
MMORPG.com World of Warcraft Correspondent Eric Grucza writes this look at Cataclysm and makes the case that with the addition of this new expansion, Blizzard is opening up a whole other world of possibilities for players.
Now that Blizzcon has officially been over for a few weeks and we have been left with quite a bit of information on the new expansion pack, what does it mean to current players? At some point we have all looked at World of Warcraft and asked ourselves if anything is ever going to change. Many players every few months will quit the game and come back after a hiatus just to get away from the gear grind. The core of World of Warcraft is coming up on its five year birthday and I can’t help but think the developers at Blizzard have abandoned the old world of Azeroth that we grew to love in the original World of Warcraft. The idea of leveling again has completely been removed from everyone’s thoughts. Those who do decide to level again will simply blow through the 80 levels as fast as they can so that they can get to the end game content. Yet once they get More >
CROMCAST #11 - die Ruhe vor dem Sturm ähm Turm – Hyborian Adventures
Sep 24th
CROMCAST #11 – die Ruhe vor dem Sturm ähm Turm
Während unsere Entwickler hart an den letzten Zügen des Eisenturms arbeiten und die Überarbeitung aller Klassen voranschreitet, sind wir für euch an der kein bisschen leisen Sendefront.
Zusammen mit einem heiseren Moderator Lenny, der letzte Woche aufgrund einer akuten Access-Schulungsattacke leider ausfiel, sind wir diese Woche wieder für euch da und beantworten die zahlreichen Fragen der Community und geben euch einen Überblick über alles was sich so die letzten zwei Wochen in der Welt rund um Age of Conan so getan hat.
Jetzt da Lenny wieder da ist, präsentieren wir euch wieder in voller Stimmgewalt den… CROMCAST!
Der CROMCAST wird euch jede zweite Woche am Donnerstag um ca. 18:00 Uhr zu Verfügung gestellt und ihr könnt ihn auch als Podcast-Feed abonnieren!
Folgende Themen werden wieder dabei sein:- Der Stadtschreier – Neuigkeiten rund um AoC
- Croms Zorn – Was hat euch die letzten zwei Wochen erzürnt
- Mitras Gebet – Wir beantworten eure Fragen der letzten zwei Wochen
- Der Erzähler – Teil 3/4 der Charaktergeschichte von Thulachim
Letzte Beiträge
- [19.11.2009] – CROMCAST #15 – Der November hat ein neues Gesicht!
- [12.11.2009] – Computerbildspiele interviewt Craig ’Silirrion’ Morrison
- [11.11.2009] – Besondere Abonnement-Angebote und doppelte Erfahrungspunkte im November!
- [10.11.2009] More >
Final Fantasy XI: TGS ’09: A Shantotto Ascension Trailer!
Sep 24th
Making its debut at this year’s Tokyo Game Show is the first trailer for "A Shantotto Ascension", the third and final chapter of the three part Final Fantasy XI add-on series that begun this Spring.
The new add-on will be released this October and centers around the story of the eccentric Taru-Taru Professor Shantotto, who has just returned to Windhurst with the claim that she is a ruler of her own empire. In this latest add on players will investigate the truth behind the Professor’s sudden shift in behavior following her long and mysteriously unexplained absence.
Watch the new trailer here.
Nooit-eerder-gezien afbeeldingen van DOFUS 2.0!
Sep 24th
DOFUS 2.0 wordt beschikbaar in iets meer dan twee maanden!
We hebben besloten je op de hoogte te houden van ons harde werk door middel van exclusieve afbeeldingen van het hernieuwde spel te tonen.
Je zult de mogelijkheid hebben om schetsen voor de nieuwe karakterklassen, een paar screenshots van Amakna en verschillende sprites te bewonderen. Deze week, staan de Fecas in de spotlight!
Tot snel voor nieuwe afbeeldingen…
EVE Online: NPC Corporations to be Taxed
Sep 23rd
While much of EVE Online’s allure is the emergent gameplay the game allows for, many players are content to experience EVE at its more basic levels. One such example is the fact that many players stick to NPC corporations as opposed to joining player ones. After all, NPC corporations do offer some cushy benefits, such as the fact no one can declare war on an NPC corporation, and NPC corporations also do not tax their members. That latter bit? Well, that will be changing soon.
In a dev blog entry entitled "I Bring Gifts! (By Gifts, I Mean Taxes, Sorry)" by CCP Soundwave, the developer explains that NPC corporations will be taxed at 11%. This was done for a number of reasons, one of these reasons being the removal of the aforementioned inherent advantage vs. player corporations that NPC corporations currently enjoy, while the other motive behind the changes is to encourage the players comfortable in these corps to join player corporations.
It should also be noted that these new taxes will only be applied to mission rewards, bounties, etc, and that they wont be simply pulled out of your pocket. Also, if you are participating in a faction warfare militia, you will not be taxed.
To More >
EVE Online: Alliance Tournament VII Winners Crowned
Sep 23rd
64 teams entered, and after a grueling few weekends, one has come out on top as the winner of Alliance Tournament VII: Pandemic Legion. This is Pandemic Legion’s second year in a row as first place winners, winning the tournament in a fairly quickly decided bout against Circle of Two.
As first place winners, Pandemic Legion will receive a hefty bounty of 50 billion ISK, a gold medal, an Alliance Tournament Cup, and special blueprints for a "Mimir" cruiser which is only available to the winners of the Alliance Tournament.
The second place winners, Circle of Two, will receive 30 billion ISK, a silver medal, and special blueprints for a "Freki" frigate.
And finally, in third place, is Beyond Virginity, winning 20 billion ISK, and a bronze medal.
You can watch footage from the tournament on CCP Games’ YouTube page here.
Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited: Ruins of Threnal Adventure Pack Trailer
Sep 23rd
Check out this new trailer featuring the latest adventure pack to hit Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited. The Ruins of Threnal adventure pack is available on the DDO Store for characters level eight and above.
In addition to the new trailer, we’ve also been provided with a batch of screenshots of the new adventure pack which you can find in our D&D Online: Eberron Unlimited gallery.
Watch the trailer here.
HexAgenda fan site talks PvE with Todd Harris
Sep 23rd
Yesterday, the HexAgenda fan site published a new Q&A with Global Agenda Executive Producer Todd Harris on Player vs Environment (PvE) missions inside Global Agenda.
HexAgenda was one of the winners of our fan site contest earlier in the year. They are also technology innovators within the Global Agenda Community, launching such features as the Global Agenda Feed Aggregator, and the Global Agenda Dev Tracker. They are also leading the pack in helping us test the Global Agenda Stats API, which will allow fan sites, guild sites and other interested parties to develop custom applications from Global Agenda data.
Excerpts from the Q&A are below. For the full interview and more art, see the article on HexAgenda.
PvE Q&A with HexAgenda
1. Many MMOs are considered to focus more heavily on either PvP or PvE, with the other element being somewhat of a supplement to whichever takes center stage. What role do you see PvE playing in Global Agenda, which clearly has a strong PvP component? How extensive a role do you envision that being?
With Global Agenda, our ‘center stage’ focus has always been the AvA Campaign – the massive, persistent world conflict between player-driven groups over territory and resources. So, we really intend More >
Issue 16 Reinvigorates 5-year-old City of Heroes… or Does It?
Sep 23rd
Issue 16 reinvigorates 5-year-old City of Heroes… or does it?By Cecil Adkins
Cecil Adkins is a fiction writer and covers MMORPGs for Examiner.com. He is an active player of City of Heroes, World of Warcraft, and several other MMOs. He can be found on the web at www.ceciladkins.com.
I’ve said elsewhere that I was prepared to dismiss the latest update to City of Heroes, Issue 16: Power Spectrum, as a light, perhaps even disappointing issue. I know, I know. Powers customization is a big deal, and it’s inarguably the biggest requested feature since the beginning of the Paragon Studios superhero MMO. It also required a massive amount of work to implement, some of which is detailed by a post from the lead animation developer on the official forums. So don’t think I didn’t realize how much a lot of people wanted the feature, or how much work would have to go into it, especially since at one point there were statements from the developers pretty much saying that it would be impossible – or as close to impossible as you could get without actually being impossible – to implement.
City of Heroes – Issue 16: Power Spectrum Trailer More City of Heroes Videoes
It’s More >