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Archive for November, 2009
An Interview with Cryptic’s Bill Roper
Nov 20th
I was recently given an opportunity to ask Cryptic’s Bill Roper some questions about Champions Online’s powers, data mining and the infamous “Launch Day Nerf”. Check out the Champions Online interview and see what he had to say.
The original design of Cryptic’s original game, City of Heroes, was supposed to have open power choices, but the design fell through and we ended up with the archetype and power set system. What do you think was learned from that first outing that allowed Champion’s character system to be a success? Does the character progression in CO draw from any other games?
The open power system is incredibly flexible and players can create the hero of their imagining without feeling “locked in” to a specific class or set of powers. While the Custom Framework option can be somewhat overwhelming in sheer number of options, we’ve tried to make it more user-friendly by organizing the powers into sets. We’ve continued to work to make it more comprehensible and easier to use through tips and better descriptions and we’ll continue to tune this to make it easier to understand and navigate.
When you look at the powers in Champions Online in terms of balance and fun, what More >
Star Wars: The Old Republic: Impressions of the Imperial Agent
Nov 20th
MMORPG.com’s Dana Massey recently traveled to the LucasArts compound for a demo of Bioware’s upcoming MMORPG, Star Wars: The Old Republic. While there, he got a look at the recently announced Imperial Agent.
The recently revealed Imperial Agent class in Star Wars: The Old Republic provides the Empire with a hefty dose of subtlety and intrigue. While many classes, like say the Sith Warrior, barge through levels with their lightsabers blazing, the Imperial Agent uses stealth and tactics to quietly creep up on her enemies.
LucasArts and Bioware put on a press demonstration last week in San Francisco to give us the first chance to see these guys in action. While it was quite clearly very early – we were told to imagine the "stealth" effect as the character snuck around on a massive theatre screen in the LucasArts compound – this class adds something to the Star Wars world that has never really been the focus before: subtlety.
Read Impressions of the Imperial Agent.
League of Legends : Ouverture de la boutique League of Legends
Nov 20th
Le 23 novembre ouvrira la boutique de League of Legends. Voici plus d’informations en provenance du forum officiel :
Bonjour,
Nos équipes techniques travaillent d’arrache-pied pour préparer la Boutique, et nous sommes heureux de vous annoncer que nous couperons le ruban ce lundi 23 novembre ! Nous vous informerons dans les prochains jours de l’heure exacte et de la durée de la maintenance.
Nous sommes tout aussi pressés que vous de pouvoir accéder aux runes et optimiser nos champions avec toutes les options du système d’invocateur.
La Boutique amène de nouvelles options pour acquérir définitivement vos champions préférés alors que la rotation des champions commencera la semaine prochaine. Pour plus d’informations sur le contenu disponible, dont l’offre spéciale Edition Collector & Pack Champions qui vous permettra d’avoir tous les champions disponibles dès le lancement du jeu, il vous suffit de lire plus avant!
Il est important pour nous que les joueurs aient le choix, et nous souhaitons donc que vous puissiez décider de la façon dont vous voulez jouer à League of Legends. Nous avons récolté de nombreuses suggestions sur les différentes options que les joueurs voudraient voir, et nous avons équilibré celles que nous pouvons techniquement accomplir avant la fin de la célébration du More >
EVE Online: Dominion Interview
Nov 20th
MMORPG.com’s Garrett Fuller recently spoke with CCP’s Noah Ward about the upcoming EVE Online expansion, Dominion. In the interview, among other issues, Ward addresses a CCP decision regarding changes to Motherships.
MMORPG.com:
Talk about the recent changes to the Massive Super Carrier. Many players are calling it a nerf. Can you set the record straight?
Noah Ward:
Unlike most other MMORPGs, with EVE we try to give every class of ship a clear role. It’s not a simple game of bigger is better. It’s more like a complex and nuanced game of Rock/Paper/Scissors. Unfortunately the poor Supercarrier (previously known as Mothership) never had a clear role much like the lion in Wizard of Oz didn’t have a heart. They occupy a space between the massive Titans and the more ubiquitous Carrier class of ship without really standing out on their own. We wanted to improve this situation, find their true role and make them something pilots would be proud to fly; enter Fighter Bombers. Fighter Bombers are anti-capital weapons that launch big dumb warheads that do a lot of damage but have trouble hitting the broad side of a battleship. We like the direction things are heading and the models look damn cool but More >
New Final Fantasy XI wedding service is live
Nov 20th
It was announced some time ago that Square-Enix would make it easier for Final Fantasy XI players to get married in-game, with the vague insinuation that the feature would go live at around the same time as the version update. Sure enough, the new wedding system is now in place, and it makes the entire procedure so much easier that it’s almost trivial. After all, you already get to avoid meddling in-laws, reams and reams of wedding invitations, and the joy of finding a caterer who won’t server your guests microwaved dog food.
The official page offers all the details you could want on the wedding system, including the procedure for crafting all of the wedding items if you prefer that option to purchasing them. It also offers traditional Vana’diel wedding vows, a nice touch for a roleplaying event, especially one supported by the game’s official systems. So go ahead and tie the knot in Final Fantasy XI, free and without the bulky and restrictive system of the past. No rumors yet of a messy and acrimonious divorce system being added into the game, but now that marriage is simpler, perhaps it’s in the cards.
Aion: 50 Lvl Daevanion Weapons and Shields Official Demos Released – Part I
Nov 20th
New Games Frontier
NCsoft recently released series of demos for Daevanion Weapons on the official site of Aion. As the brand new ones updated along with the patch 1.5, the 50 lvl Daevanion series are the same as the 30 lvl’s that are of unique grade, and all have better attributes and much more gorgeous looks.
Aion – Anuhart Elite’s Tome
Full
Der RuneScapeDE-Adventskalender – Nachrichten aus RuneScape
Nov 20th
Die Läden verkaufen schon seit September Weihnachtsplätzchen, und auch uns ist mittlerweile aufgefallen, dass das Christkind fast vor der Türe steht.
Deshalb haben wir in einer Hauruck-Aktion beschlossen, einen RuneScapeDE-Adventskalender zu erstellen. Da das deutsche Team grafisch so begabt ist wie ein zahmer Stein, brauchen wir (mal wieder) eure Hilfe!
Schickt uns eure Kunstwerke an weihnachten@jagex.com. E-mailt uns eure Gemälde, Grafiken oder Photos (aber fotografiert euch nicht selbst, außer ihr seid bis zur Unkenntlichkeit verkleidet!). Seid kreativ! Eure Kunstwerke sollten auf irgendeine Weise mit Weihnachten und RuneScape zu tun haben. (Wir nehmen nur Dateien als E-Mail-Anhang im .jpg, .png und .gif-Format entgegen. Bitte schickt uns nur Kunstwerke, die ihr selbst erstellt habt.)
Bitte gebt auch euren RuneScape-Benutzernamen und den Titel eures Werkes an, damit wir diese Infos mit eurem Bild veröffentlichen können. Ehre, wem Ehre gebührt!
Wir werden uns dann unsere 24 Favoriten herauspicken, zu einem großen Adventskalender im Forum / auf Facebook verwursten und jeden Tag vom 1. bis zum 24. Dezember ein Türchen öffnen. Im neuen Jahr könnt ihr dann abstimmen, welches Adventskunstwerk euch am besten gefallen hat und der Sieger bekommt einen schönen Preis (NEIN! Keine Reise zu den Jagex-Studios, aber ein schönes Andenken).
Hoffentlich werden sich viele von More >
Karos Online Open Beta Warmup
Nov 19th
December 4th Marks Karos Online Open Beta Launch
Open Beta is just around the corner for NHN’s fantasy MMORPG ’Karos Online’ as it wraps up a very active closed beta phase which featured a large number of content updates based on player feedback. We have not seen a closed beta with so much importance given to player feedback in a while, and it has paid off dramatically with a large player retention. The Karos Online Open Beta will start on Friday, December 4th after closed beta has officially come to an end on November 28th. While there will be a roll back of character progress, closed beta testers will be able to reserve their character names as open beta launches.
Here are the official details from NHN on the Karos Open Beta:
New characters will come fully-equipped with gear and items to support high-level play, and the rate of experience gain has been dramatically increased so that players can reach a level cap of 44 almost immediately. In addition, the names of characters created during the last closed beta event will be linked to the testers’ accounts for use in open beta and launch (the characters themselves will be wiped after the More >
Star Trek Online: Open Beta Date Announced!
Nov 19th
The date for the Star Trek Online Open Beta test has been announced today as beginning on January 12th, 2010 and running through to January 26th, 2010. This should give gamers on the fence about the game a solid two weeks to evaluate it and decide whether they want to be there for opening day on February 2nd, 2010.
Below are some comments from Star Trek Online Executive Producer Craig Zinkievich on today’s announcement:
"We are excited to announce the dates for the open beta phase as this is one of the final steps in launching Star Trek Online to the public," said Craig Zinkievich, Executive Producer on Star Trek Online. "We are looking forward to the launch of our first-of-a-kind MMORPG with anticipation and excitement and we expect Star Trek Online to explode onto the scene, giving fans and gamers a Star Trek experience like no other."
For more information on Star Trek Online, head over to the game’s official website here.
Champions Online Nemesis Confrontation Event Coming Next Week
Nov 19th
Atari has just announced a new live event for Champions Online. The Nemesis Confrontation event will kick off on November 24, and will push the title’s Nemesis System to the next level. In a smart PR move, Cryptic will be hosting another free “weekend” during the event, from November 26-30. In the world of Champions, a weekend is five days.
“We wanted to take our unique Nemesis System to the next level and do something really awesome with it,” said Bill Roper, Executive Producer of Champions Online. “So we asked ourselves, what if your Nemesis could band together with your buddy’s Nemesis to take you on? Epic.”
Participating players will have the chance to receive new perks and costumes, and access a new lair.