Stratics : Mythos Preview

Stratics has the latest preview of the free-to-play MMO, Mythos, currently in closed beta. Flagship Studios, developers of Hellgate: London, is also developing Mythos.

Overall, I found playing this MMO to be a great experience. This game is cute and I had a lot of fun. With playable quests, instanced dungeons, a complex skillset, an achievements list and more, Mythos has a surprising amount of content and customization for the free-to-play genre of MMOs. The gameplay will not only appeal to the casual gamer, but also to the cash-conscious one who is looking for a game that offers just as much as those big boy subscription titles without a huge sacrifice of quality or quantity. By : WarCry Network

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Age of Conan - Laissez les abattage rouler!

It might not have the same ring as "Laissez les bons temps rouler!" (That's "Let the good times roll!" in Mardi Gras-ese, for you non Francophones out there), but we are a month away from the release of Age of Conan, and the hype machine is going to kick into high gear shortly. Here at Ask Massively, we have been awaiting this release with great anticipation as you may have noticed from our frequent references to Age of Conan in previous columns.

In fact, our friend and fan, Muskulls, even noticed the references. Trust me when we tell you that in order for something to penetrate that dense cranium of his, it takes the kind of force usually found near event horizons or Oprah's bathroom scale.

Hey stoopid,

What's the deal with Age of Conan? I'm a little burned out on World of Warcraft, and I'm looking for something else to try for a little while. Why are you so hyped on this game?

Muskulls

Using the logic of "If that lunkhead noticed, then it must be painfully obvious to the rest of humanity" and assuming that we've been hyping Age of Conan more than the average gaming site, We'll go ahead and tell you guys exactly why some of us are anticipating this game so eagerly. All you have to do is read past the jump. If you have a question for us here at Ask Massively, feel free to stop by our tipline or drop us an email at ask AT massively DOT com. We don't need any herbal supplements or fake Rolex watches, but if you've got a good deal on a 1957 Harley Panhead, We're all ears!

Some of you may be wondering along with Muskulls why Age of Conan is any different than any of the other "WoW Killers" out there. We don't know that is. The notion of a "WoW Killer" is a false promise. Any game with as many subscribers as World of Warcraft will be able to coast on its own momentum for years, assuming of course that Blizzard is extremely foolish and rests on its laurels for a few years in order to give everyone else a chance to catch up. What we hear in our conversations with other gamers is the desire for "something different". Some folks say that World of Warcraft is "an MMO on training wheels". Others have experienced everything that WoW has to offer and are looking for more challenges. They realize that new models and new ranks of the same spells and abilities can only take you so far. In short, they want a new virtual world with its own rich lore and backstory, but with new challenges and gameplay.

Enter the Barbarian.

With Age of Conan, we have the same "Swords & Sorcery" setting as Ultima Online, EverQuest, EverQuest 2, World of Warcraft, Dark Age of Camelot, Vanguard, and so on, and on, and on, and you get the idea. Here is the difference between all of those worlds, and the world of Conan. All of the games listed above are descended in some way from Dungeons & Dragons, and by extension, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. The stories of Conan the Barbarian were written well before Tolkien put pen to paper. Robert E. Howard's world is much grimmer and darker than the land of Elves and Hobbits. One quote from Conan, in the book "Queen of the Black Coast" sums up his philosophy.

"I have known many gods. He who denies them is as blind as he who trusts them too deeply. I seek not beyond death. It may be the blackness averred by the Nemedian skeptics, or Crom's realm of ice and cloud, or the snowy plains and vaulted halls of the Nordheimer's Valhalla. I know not, nor do I care. Let me live deep while I live; let me know the rich juices of red meat and stinging wine on my palate, the hot embrace of white arms, the mad exultation of battle when the blue blades flame and crimson, and I am content. Let teachers and priests and philosophers brood over questions of reality and illusion. I know this: if life is illusion, then I am no less an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me. I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content."

It isn't quite as well known as the "What is best in life?" speech from the movie, but it illustrates that the world of Conan is a lot bloodier, gutsier, and lustier (both in blood and flesh) than the world of Tolkien (and most of the derivatives thereof). Compare this world to the worlds of WoW and EverQuest. Nothing against Azeroth and Norrath, but those worlds were designed for appeal to a broad audience. We predict that you won't see any tree-borne elven villages, or cute pastoral halfling villages, or anything else designed to appeal to a younger audience in Age of Conan.

Last year, at Dragon*Con, when Jørgen Tharaldsen showed the audience a demo of Age of Conan. The character he created didn't start out in a village close to home. He was a slave on a galley ship and would up shipwrecked in the middle of a thick, and very nasty, jungle. Navigating your way through the jungle on the way to your first "town" was your orientation into the world of Conan. That alone is a significant departure from the "start in your hometown" vibe of most existing MMO's.

According to Tharaldsen, the game is designed for a more mature audience. The game features decapitations, blood, guts, and even a fair amount of nudity. This isn't a sugar-coated version of Howard's world, it's the real deal. Once gamers get over the "Beavis and Butthead" factor, they will reach the realization that this game is actually challenging to play. The combat and magic systems require strategy and coordination. Spells can be woven together to achieve unique effects. Melee combat relies on combinations and attacks of opportunity. There be no "auto attack" here, lads.

It isn't entirely a game of blood and guts. Crafters will have a more important role in Age of Conan. Not only can crafters make weapons and armor, but they can design and build siege engines and city defenses. There are five crafting specializations inn Age of Conan, Armorsmith, Weaponsmith, Gemcutter, Alchemist, and Architect. In addition, the classes in Age of Conan aren't exactly the run-of-the-mill warriors, priests, druids, and rogues that you are so familiar with. In AoC, you have twelve classes to choose from featuring exotic names like "Dark Templar" , "Tempest of Set", and "Herald of Xotli" as well as more traditional names like "Ranger" , "Necromancer", and "Assassin".

We won't even mention the other innovations promised by the folks at Funcom. Mounted combat, siege warfare, large scale PVP, player owned cities are all elements of Age of Conan that promise a radical departure from existing MMORPGs. If you are looking for a different kind of MMORPG, or are looking to lose your training wheels, then you should definitely give Age of Conan a whirl.

That's all we have for this week in Ask Massively. If you have a question for us here at Ask Massively, feel free to stop by our tipline or drop us an email at ask AT massively DOT com.

Source : massively.com

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Lineage II: Choose Your Destiny This Summer

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In commemoration of the Hellbound update, eligible players will have the opportunity to swap their main class with one of their subclasses. Change your main class to one of your subclasses and enjoy playing Lineage II with a character that you love even more!

Participation & Duration Information

Those who wish to participate in the event can do so by submitting a request through the homepage. The requests made before each weekly scheduled maintenance will take effect at the following weekly scheduled maintenance.

Eligibility & Requirements

• Each character can swap his or her main class only once; however, the request can be canceled before it goes into effect, and resubmitted again.
• If you first request an account service (character gender change, character name change, or server transfer), you cannot request the main class change. Please resubmit your request on the following week after the account service goes into effect.
• Once you change a character's class, the change is final and cannot be reversed. Please submit your request carefully.

Eligible Character Levels

In order to participate in this event, your desired character's main class must be between levels 75 and 80, and the subclass level must be 75 or above.
Cross-Race Limitations

• Characters whose main class is a Warsmith, Maestro, Overlord, or Dominator are not eligible for this event.
• If you have both Elf and Dark Elf classes as your subclasses, you cannot request one of them to be your main class since both of them can't have the opposing race's class as a subclass.

Kamael Class Limitations

The Kamael race's Inspector and Judicator are subclass-only by design, so they cannot be changed into a main class. The Kamael have unique occupations that are directly tied to the character's gender, so when you change a Kamael character's class, the gender also changes automatically. For example: If your Kamael character is female and you choose to change your main class to a Berserker, your character's gender will change to male.

Hero Status Restrictions

A Hero character can submit the class-change request only after the Hero period has ended.

Inventory Restrictions

At the time of the class change implementation, if your character is carrying more than 80 items in its inventory, the change will fail. Please check your inventory before the regularly scheduled maintenance to ensure that your character is carrying no more than 80 items.

Other Limitations

• A character on the Public Test Server cannot participate in this event.
• You cannot participate in this event if your account or character has been banned.
• After you submit the class-change request, if your account is banned, the change will not take effect.

FAQ

Q: What's the purpose for having a main class/subclass change event?

A: The Hellbound update introduced a subclass level cap of 80, and a main class level cap of 85. This led to great disappointment among those players who had a greater attachment to their subclass and focused their efforts on developing that subclass. That's why we prepared this main class/subclass change event.

Q: What happens to a character's race/face/gender when the main class and the subclass are changed?

A: When the main and subclass are changed, the character's appearance follows the appearance of the main class. The gender remains the same. (All head styles are type A.) For example, for a female Elf character whose main class is Elder and subclass is Hawkeye, if you request the Hawkeye to become your main class, the main class changes into Hawkeye, the subclass changes into Elder, and the character's appearance changes into a human female character. This works a little differently for the Kamael since their classes are gender-specific. For Kamael, at the time of main/subclass change, the gender also changes into that of the main class.

Q: After changing my main class/subclass, can I revert back to my original state?

A: This offer is limited to one time only per character and you will not be able to revert back to your original state. Please remember this and make your decision very carefully. (You can cancel the request before it goes into effect.)

Q: After changing my main class/subclass, what happens to the subclass certified skills and certificates that I acquired?

A: When you change your main class/subclass, all previously acquired subclass certified skills are reset, and previously acquired certificates are removed. In addition, subclass certificates that were acquired during the certificate exchange event are also removed. You must reacquire the subclass certificates again after the main class/subclass change.

Q: Can I change my second and third sub-class into the main class as well?

A: A request is possible if the main class is between levels 75-80 and the subclass is above level 75, be it the first, second, or third subclass. In this case, the main class changes into the requested second or third sub-class.

Q: Can I participate in the event if my main class is a Warsmith, Maestro, Overlord, or Dominator?

A: Warsmith, Maestro, Overlord, and Dominator are, by design, classes that cannot be subclasses. As such, they cannot be changed into a subclass. If your character's main class is any of these classes, the request cannot be made.

Q: Can the Kamael's hidden subclasses Inspector and Judicator be changed into a character's main class?

A: Inspector and Judicator are designed to be subclasses only, so they cannot be changed into a character's main class.

Q: My main class is Human, my first subclass is Elven, and my second subclass is Dark Elven. In this case, is a request permitted?

A: Within the game, an Elf cannot have a Dark Elf subclass, and a Dark Elf cannot have an Elf subclass. If you have two or more subclasses, and if the one you wish to change into the main class is an Elf or a Dark Elf, the request cannot be made when an opposite race exists in the subclass. In the above example, if a third subclass is a Bounty Hunter, you can request it to become the main class. If one of the opposing race subclasses is deleted, it is possible to choose the remaining subclass as your main class.

Q: What happens to my Olympiad points?

A: Since your main class is changed, your Olympiad points are also reset. Please use up your Olympiad points before submitting the request.

Q: I submitted my request properly but the change hasn't occurred. What could be the reason?

A: If the request was submitted properly but the change didn't take place, this means that the requirements were met at the time of the request but not at the time of effect. Please see the following conditions, double check your character's condition, and submit your request again.

• The main class and subclass must be between levels 75-80, and you must not be in hero or hero waiting status.
• The character must have 80 or less items in the inventory. If you can hold more than 80 items, you must make sure that you have no more than 80 items in your inventory at the time of the class-change request.
• The accounts must not be banned.

Q: Before making the request, I made an account service request. Can I still participate in the event?

A: During a regularly scheduled maintenance, the account service and this main class/subclass change event effect occurs at the same time, so if both requests were permitted, the main class/subclass change would not properly take effect. An account that is already scheduled for an account service cannot submit a class-change event request until the corresponding week. Please keep this in mind, and after the account service takes effect, you may participate in event the following week.

Q: I am working on the quest "Repent Your Sins." Can I continue the quest after changing my main class/subclass?

A: The "Repent Your Sins" quest does not apply to both the main class and subclasses. If you change your main class/subclass, all the items related to the "Repent Your Sins" quest are removed, and you must start the quest over.

Event Schedule

The Choose Your Destiny event will be coming in summer 2008. We will announce more details, including exact dates and times, at a later time.

Sounds like a great opportunity!

LOTRO : Book 13 Preview

For players used to the more lush, wooded environments of Lord of the Rings Online, Book 13 may provide a rude awakening. The new zone, Forochel, lies further north than any of the previously accessible regions of Middle Earth, and it's every bit as hostile as you'd expect. Aaron Campbell, Live Producer for LotRO, was kind enough to guide me through the zone and showcase some of the highlights of Book 13 along the way. He explained that the harsh climate there wasn't just a product of its latitude. "[Forochel] is the remnants of the Great Cold that came out of Angmar and settled over the North, so there's a certain edge of corruption to it. It's not only cold, but an unnatural, supernatural cold."

Our tour of the icy wastes of Forochel began along the coast of the frigid Ice Bay. Not the best place for a dip, but the perfect opportunity for Campbell to point out the new environmental damage type that players will contend with as they travel throughout the zone. The cold not only lowers your morale, but places an additional debuff on you that grows more severe over time. This debuff makes it more difficult for you to resist future sources of cold damage, which many of the monsters around Forochel dish out. Fortunately, removing the debuff is as simple as finding a heat source, from a campfire to a nearby steam vent.

We traveled along the coastline until we reached a small fishing outpost controlled by a group of Gauredain. These lanky fellows weren't particularly keen on sharing their real estate with us, but after a few minutes of steel persuasion (aided by our crazy admin powers) we triumphantly reclaimed the hastily constructed hide canopies and bonfires for ourselves. But it was no use: before we could set up our hammocks and crack open a few brews, a group of nomadic Lossoth moved in and put us to work. The Lossoth are a hardy tribe of humans scattered across Forochel that aren't particularly friendly toward you when you first enter the zone. As you liberate their camps from hostile forces and complete quests for them, they gradually begin to realize that you're not there to kill them and entrust you with rare crafting recipes. My character, a Dwarf Guardian, was decked out in crafted Lossoth gear, a stylish Inuit-chic ensemble that grants some extra resistance to the cold.

One Lossoth fisherman politely requested that I do his work for him, and before I knew it I had my first fishing quest. Small problem: my inventory was so bloated with gear that a mere minnow could cause my pack to burst. Solution? Trash some rare and incomparable loot! Likely not a situation that players will encounter, but when you're already invincible, purples and blues lose some of their luster. With some extra space available, I moseyed over to the shoreline and made my first cast. The mechanics of fishing are simple: click the ability once to send out your line, wait for a nibble, then click the ability again to reel in your catch. My first victim was a rare giant goldfish, a modest haul but still rather satisfying for this novice angler.
image

Campbell took this fishing quest as an opportunity to point out some improvements to the quest interface. In Book 13, the quest log will feature easy-to-read visuals that indicate the status of your fellowship members on your current quests. Beyond that, it will be possible for players to look for a fellowship for a specific quest through the quest log itself which should make it even easier to find a group while questing.

With my fishing itch sufficiently scratched (it doesn't take much), Campbell took me to the Lossoth capital, a giant hide dome peppered with bonfires and vendors. Outside the front entrance were four banners corresponding to the four Lossoth outposts in Forochel that are constantly assailed by the expansionist Gauredain; each banner shows whether the corresponding camp is occupied by the Gauredain or the Lossoth. Inside, players who have achieved a certain level of standing with the Lossoth will be able to purchase items and recipes to make their stay in Forochel a little more comfortable.

Campbell elaborated a bit on the challenges of building the Lossoth culture essentially from scratch: The LotRO dev team had little more than a paragraph in the appendix of the Lord of the Rings to work from. So how did they arrive at the appearance and attitude that made it into Book 13? Alex Toplansky, one of the content developers, explains: "Tolkien was really first and foremost a linguist, and he was almost a cultural anthropologist; he had a lot of awareness of a lot of the different European cultures and things going on in that part of the world.

"Without going too far into some of the little trips that we put in with them, there was definitely a little bit of influence from the Sami culture, which appears all throughout the northern Scandinavian band. They're a really interesting people with a lot of attempts to hold onto their heritage very much like a lot of Alaskan and Inuit peoples. We really got kind of carried away and swept into how they went about things. And we learned some really cool stuff that I think comes out in a lot of our content."

The Lossoth aren't without their humor, however. Outside the capital, we encountered a clumsy chap who appeared to be attempting to ice skate for the first time. I asked Campbell if players would every get the chance to skate in Middle Earth. "That's one hurdle we have not been able to climb yet. For the moment, ice skates and sleds are purely the domain of the Lossoth." In other words, it could be a while before you get to body check a Hobbit in a game of Middle Earth hockey. Someday...

We continued along a barren ice sheet populated by the local fauna: a domesticated mammoth, sabertooth cats, and even a few moose. The team argued about the last creature, and after a minute or two of fierce debate, determined that moose are actually members of the elk family. "Welcome to our world," one of the developers interjected with an audible eye-roll.

Moments later, I was told to look up and gaze at Forochel's version of aurora borealis. It was a surprisingly striking, soft purple glow that ebbed and flowed across the horizon. It's certainly far more dramatic than the Northern Lights that I've seen back home in Minnesota, but then again I was less drunk this time around so it's hard to make a direct comparison.
image

The ice sheet spilled into a sparse, taiga-like forest. Campbell explained part of their world-building philosophy for the zone: "We really didn't make excessive use of trees in Forochel. Instead a lot more of it is about ice, about vertical division of landscape, rocks, vistas and viewpoints, a lot more about the decorations items such as mammoths skulls that you'll find across the landscape, and then a few ruins out there as well, in keeping with the sort of ancient nature of the area." Before long we were back onto another ice sheet, this time with substantially more aggressive enemies.

A few wandering ice giants greeted us, and if we weren't all invulnerable they would have certainly brought the pain. Campbell demonstrated an effective tactic for less omnipotent characters to employ: pull the giants to a nearby steam vent and they become much more manageable. Why an ice creature vulnerable to any heat source would make its home near a steam vent is anyone's guess, but Campbell speculates, "Well, you know, they like their sauna." A few paces away, a new monster type floated docilely until I got close enough to aggro it: the Grim, a swirling ice spirit.

From there, Campbell teleported the group to a cavernous ice cave that will greet players as they enter the zone for the first time. This biome is sort of a proof of concept for the LotRO dev team going into the upcoming expansion. It was created using a new process that Campbell called "dual-height map technology," basically a streamlined method for creating large underground spaces. We journeyed through the tunnel, inhabited by a few solitary Grim, before reaching a small Lossoth staging area on the other side. It's a typical woodland biome, covered with a light layer of snow. But the rest of Forochel will expand on the idea of "unnatural, bitter cold," as Campbell puts it.

Speaking of the cold, Campbell gave me a brief demonstration of the new blizzard effects that the developers have added in Book 13. At first, the snowfall seemed rather unremarkable. But as the storm intensified, a more disorienting whiteout effect enveloped my character, making it difficult to even discern the outlines of nearby NPCs. This effect isn't unique to Forochel, either; existing zones like the Misty Mountains will also make use of this mechanic after Book 13 goes live.

Campbell and company then led me into a crystalline ice cavern where the epic questline will culminate. I was cautioned not to reveal too much to players, as there are a few big surprises for those who have been captivated by the story so far. Thankfully, I didn't have a clue what was going on! We followed a sinister bloke through a series of scripted encounters that ended in an open-air chamber with a polished-ice floor. Then things got serious. If we weren't all invulnerable, this is where I would have wiped the group numerous times while running around in circles and marveling at the gorgeous starry sky above us. "We like to pull out the extra stops for the epic quests," Campbell boasted.

Thoroughly exhausted from attempting to pretend like I knew what I was doing, Campbell took pity on me and teleported me to his apartment, where he showed me some of the new items available for display in player housing. Campbell's personal favorite? The Frost Antler head. "Because who can go without a good elk head on the wall?" Campbell added, "I would have said 'moose head,' but I've been corrected."
image

No system exists in a vacuum in LotRO, and the same is true for fishing. The developers are clearly taking a holistic approach to new game mechanics, making sure to weave them into other aspects of the game as they are introduced. "[We] try to extend out some of these systems, as we add in new content to the game, making sure we give that love back to housing, back to other systems in the game such as crafting and cooking," Campbell noted.

We closed the session by taking a look at the Orc Defiler, the new monster-play class that Book 13 will introduce. The Defiler has a lanky, hobbled appearance that is both sinister and a little pathetic. Their main skills are healing and reviving teammates and casting powerful curses on enemy combatants; they have a couple direct-damage attacks but the class was built from the ground up as a primary healer, a role that monster players have clamored for.

The Defiler sports a fetching skull helm with its own upgrade path: You start out wearing a deer skull, then move up to a bear skull, an auroch skull, and finally a drake skull. It's both a cool incentive for monster players wishing to gear out their characters and an indicator of your level of experience to foes. Every member of our party wore a different helm, and while we weren't likely to take anyone down with a group full of primary healers, at least we were guaranteed to stay topped-off during our brief foray into the Ettenmoors.

Source : WarCry Network

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NASA Wants its MMORPG Created for Free

"It seems that the educational MMORPG NASA's proposing will no longer have a budget of $3 million. Instead, any prospective development partner is being asked to create and maintain the MMORPG for free under a 'non-reimbursable Space Act Agreement'. It won't be a one-sided agreement, though. From NASA's RFP: 'In exchange for a collaborator's investment to create and manage a NASA-based MMO game for fun and to enhance STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics], NASA will consider negotiating brand placement, limited exclusivity and other opportunities.'"

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TCoS : New MMO malaise

I wish I could get really excited about one of the new MMO's coming out.

Warhammer seems to be the biggest hype machine right now, but for all the neat-sounding gameplay offerings, I just don't like the visual feel. It seems kind of lifeless to me, a bit like Everquest 2. Like the buildings are made of cardboard, and the players are painted wooden mannequins. Reminds me a bit of Everquest 2. WO's gameplay may turn out fantastic, but I just don't know that it's a world where I'd actually enjoy spending time.


Conan looks much nicer to me, but I'm kind of iffy about the whole barbaric blood-and-guts vibe. The Conan universe is never something that I've felt drawn to in book or movie form, and my impression of the game isn't feeling that different so far.

Like Conan, The Chronicles of Spellborn has some really beautiful imagery; that looks like a world I think I'd like to spend some time in! Unfortunately I don't have much faith that it's going to be a solid product. For example, their website doesn't clearly explain how TCoS will differentiate itself in a way to make me want to spend dozens or hundreds of hours with it. Instead they spend time explaining to me that resistance rank zero to rank +5 is an exponential curve divided in 64 points, which may be a perfectly good design decision , but is just a tad more detailed than I'm really looking for. And if they can't don't even have a sense for what I, as a consumer, want to see from their website, I'm not too optimistic they're going to have a good sense for what I want to see from their world.

So I'm waiting to see what 38 Studios and BioWare have up their sleeves, and keeping my fingers crossed.

Source : KillTenRats.com

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City of Heroes: “Issue 12″ Briefing Video

CITY OF HEROES: View the new CITY OF HEROES: Issue 12 video which shows and tells all a hero needs to know about Villain Archetypes. Are you listening heroic one? I SAID…"Are you listening?!!"




"Infiltrate the Arachnos organization from within! Upon reaching level 50, Villains unlock two new Epic Archetypes; Wolf Spiders and Blood Widows. They have their own unique storyline and missions, power combinations and costume sets. Branching powersets allow the Wolf Spider to specialize as either a Bane Spider or Crab Spider and the Blood Widow chooses from the Fortunata and Night Widow branches. Each brings with it unique costumes for your Arachnos duties, as well as your newfound role as a Destined One."

Source : GameBunny

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WoW Journal - 21-April-2008

I haven't played all that much World of Warcraft this weekend, I'm feeling a bit burned out for the moment. Having problems finding groups for 5-man dungeons, the only thing I did with my level 70 characters was doing a couple of daily quests for the Shattered Sun Offensive with my mage. I reached honored with them, and bought the two enchanting recipes you get from them at that level, one of which is Void Shatter, which transforms one cheap void crystal into two expensive large prismatic shards. But although I could learn that recipe at my 360 skill, when I tried to use it I couldn't. The recipe requires a runed eternium rod, which can only be made at 375 skill. Why on earth does the game have lower skill recipes requiring something you can only achieve with a higher skill?


Fortunately the other recipe was more useful, as it was orange at my skill level, and required "only" about 40 gold worth of materials. So I used that 15 times at a cost of 600 gold in materials (most of which I had in stock) to get to 375 skill in enchanting. And that on the same day where by making my second shadowweave item I also reached 375 tailoring with my mage. Great! Of course then I spend another fortune to make that runed eternium rod, which uses 4 primal mights among other expensive ingredients. All that financial effort certainly wasn't worth it for the Void Shatter, but that wasn't why I did it. Rather I thought that having your tradeskills maxed will be important for the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, as you probably can't get the new recipes without having reached the old skill cap.

I spent more time on my other server playing Alliance, but even there my new gnome rogue only made it to level 16 yet. But an extremely well equipped level 16, having run the Deadmines several times with the help of my wife's level 68 rogue. In return I used my level 60 priest, who I moved to that server, to run her level 18 shaman through the Deadmines too. Can you believe that after over 3 years of WoW that was only the second time she saw a dungeon? But as there are quite some nice pieces of leather armor and weapons for rogue and shamans in that dungeon, it was well worth it, and fun. As the wife and me have radically different play styles, we don't play together all that often.

So I'm still doing quests until level 20 in the Draenei starting area. Only that every two levels I have to hearthstone to Shattrath, and teleport to another Alliance city to train my rogue. Exodar, the Draenei city, doesn't have a rogue trainer. And the rogue class quests (I just learned lockpicking) are also in the old cities. I'm keeping my World of Warcraft playing at low activity for the moment, I just don't feel like playing more. But I don't want to play other "old" MMORPGs either. I signed up for the Fileplanet Age of Conan open beta, and pre-ordered that game, just to give it a chance. I don't really have high hopes that this is the game for me, but at least it is new, and I can't judge a game without having played it. I'm a bit nervous about how their release will be, because Age of Conan is made by Funcom, whose previous MMORPG Anarchy Online still holds the record for the worst MMORPG release ever, and I was right in the middle of that one. Here's hoping they learned from their mistakes.

By : Tobold

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The Wisdom of MMO Banking

Does it seem strange to save up to buy a house in a game? We are in an era where the real world economies of some nations are paralyzed by debts incurred from home purchases. Yet in games where there is player housing there is a surprising lack of player debt. MMOGs offer a simplified financial system seemingly impervious to the ills of modern society. What could we as a gaming society learn about real-world finance and money management from the way we act in game?

I game lending is, at least theoretically, possible between players. Years ago, while playing Ultima Online: Renaissance, I had what might be the closest thing to a mortgage in a MMOG. Due to the restriction of having only one house per account per server (similar to the way Lord of the Rings Online does it), a friend who was trying to be an in-game real estate broker asked me to hold a small villa in Felucia on my account while he found a buyer. I agreed, but also asked how much he wanted for it (200K gp, in case you're curious – and want a good laugh). At the time, I did not have enough money but I offered to put a down-payment of 50K gp on it and let him know when the rest was available. He agreed. It was probably the cheapest way to get a house at the time short of actually buying the building permit from the housing broker and trying to find an empty plot to put it on – which was a losing proposition anyway.

All MMOGs have some sort of cash storage system. In LotRO and Final Fantasy XI, all money is carried on the character allowing for it to be used at any time for purchases throughout the world. In World of Warcraft, gold is primarily stored on the toon, but may also be put into a guild bank deposit for use by multiple players. Think of this as a joint savings account. In games like Ultima Online and Runescape, gold may be stored in the bank, like a savings account, or on the character. Only what is in the character's coin purse may be used, thus making it more difficult to spend large amounts all at once. And though UO offers a check writing function, in order to carry larger denominations of gold without having to use up your storage weight with coins, it is not a checking account system. If games are meant to be fantastic, idealized worlds, does that mean finance has no place in our dreams?

By using a savings-only banking system, MMOGs force players to evaluate their purchases carefully and make choices between otherwise similarly-valued goods. In order to purchase more costly items, the player must plan and save for it. For those games where gold may be stored in the player's bank account, they must then make the run back to a bank, get the funds, and then proceed to wherever the item may be purchased. It takes time: time to grind, loot, craft, farm, or otherwise earn the gold required – time during which they are thinking about whether it is worth all of this to have whatever it is they're after. Some players are even willing to put in this time in order to buy virtual items repeatedly on different characters. How many of your level 70s in WoW have epic flying mounts?

But when it comes to the real world, instant gratification must be obeyed. Instead of saving up for the car of your dreams, it could be financed through the seller or dealership in order to obtain it sooner. Rather than paying cash for a house, most borrowers (at least in the United States) get a mortgage for the majority of the cost. This is a feature strikingly lacking in MMOGs. And when you think of the fact that these are fantasy worlds, it makes you wonder whether the devs are trying to hearken back to a less intricate time financially.

Yet while it's plausible that players could lend one another money, there is precious little of this type of transaction. I also have yet to find a game that offers loans. The games themselves do not offer them and they certainly don't promote that players do so. And yet no one is phased by this.

So why is it that we're willing to save in a game but not in real life? Well, the short answer is self selection bias. We choose to be in the game and do whatever it is we do. It is not a societal requirement in the game that we craft or quest (though it helps if you want to experience content). It is our choice how we spend our time and in-game money. Therefore we are more interested in doing it. The lack of opportunity to buy on credit helps us escape the real world just that little bit more. We enter a place not set up around money itself but rather on the goods and services that money helps us trade.

There's a sense of glee when you save enough to buy your first epic mount or a nice little player house to proudly display the loot you've collected in your exploits. You've worked hard for all that. Scrimped and saved your gold, credits, gil, and so forth. In this way, can games teach financial responsibility by providing elation after accomplishing financial goals?

By : Alexis Kassan

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Mythos Hands On

Computer & Video Games editors had a chance at a hands on look at Mythos, the upcoming free-to-play MMO from Flagship Studios. The article has brief descriptions of the three included character classes and spends quite a bit of time comparing Mythos to the Diablo series. After all, editors opine, Mythos is the brainchild of Flagship, whose founders were those who created the Diablo franchise.

At this stage, there are no details on what exactly will cost money, but there's little to suggest cash investments will be vital.But aside from being free, Mythos is simply one of the most addictive MMOs I've played.

While it lacks the depth and narrative of its peers, it makes up for it by having such tight and moreish gameplay. Skills need tweaking, but the beta should fix all that.

Even this early stage, Mythos has more spit, polish and gameplay to it than any other free-to-play MMO out there. It's exciting, addictive and pleasing to the eye, and there's little to dissuade you from giving it a try. Look out for the open beta this spring.

At this point, it appears that the game is a worthy successor to Diablo II. It will remain to be seen if the high expectations live up to the hype.

Source : WarCry

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Age of Conan: Answers from Kalanthes #2

It is time, once again, to poll the minds and hearts of our readership and answer their most burning questions.

First up, a mysterious crate marked "Courtesy of Our Friends At Mongoose Publishing" washed up on the beach at Kalanthes' feet. Inside, he found three books:

* Conan: Hyboria's Fallen: Pirates, Thieves, And Temptresses
* Conan: Tales of the Black Kingdoms
* Conan: Tito's Trading Post

As we have been unable to determine who owns three very lovely books sure to set the mood for any roleplayers that would like to dig deep into the world of Hyboria, we will give them to a randomly-selected person that emails community@ageofconan.com with "Kalanthes' Books" in the subject and their name, address, phone number, and email address in the body of the email.

Since we get more emails about this than anything else, the official system requirements for the game are:

Minimum configuration (1024x768, detail reduced)

* OS: Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista
* Processor: Intel Pentium 4 3Ghz or equivalent
* RAM: 1GB
* Video card: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or better
* Video memory: 128MB
* DVD-ROM: Quad-speed (4x) DVD-ROM drive
* HARD DRIVE SPACE: 30GB

Recommended configuration (Up to 1280X960, most features on)

* OS: Windows XP SP 2 or Windows Vista
* Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz or equivalent
* RAM: 2048MB Dual Channel DDR2
* Video card: NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GTX or equivalent
* Video memory: 512MB
* DVD-ROM: Quad-speed (4x) DVD-ROM drive
* HARD DRIVE SPACE: 30GB

Online Gaming;

* Broadband connection required.

I'm sure many people are wondering this, but what is the general style of end-game armor in Age of Conan? For example, are there dresses with ridiculous shoulder pieces? Or are there really cool metal armors and shields with spikes that look realistic yet also impose a, "Don't mess with me or your skull will be on display" kind of message? Basically what I'm asking is will the armor look insanely cool? Will there be weapons that cause fear in your enemies? Will there be shields you don't want to get bashed with?

Secondly, will everyone be running around in the exact same armor? Or is there a large variety of armor and looks for specific armor? One thing I have yet to see in an MMORPG is the exact same armor set with slight variations (and I don't just mean color, but added effects that one can purchase or create to add to their favorite piece).

All of the armor in the game will be largely be "in-character" and realistic within the spirit of the world. So while there may be skull helmets, helmet with horns, and other "stretching reality" sorts of things, they won't be bright purple with flashing lights and built-in spell effects. Some of the armor may be elaborate and some of the armor may even be colorful, but it's all been drawn from the history of our own world as well as Robert E. Howard's texts and other official Conan-type sources. It will all look like it belongs in the world, like something you could reasonably expect to find in a museum in our world, with small twists and hints of fantasy here and there. So, yes, you might see a skull helmet or Viking-style horns, but it's probably not going to be pink.

As for the exact same armor, it's doubtful. With the number of armor sets available in the game (and each set consisting of several pieces), it's fairly easy to pick people out based on what they're wearing and/or define your own unique look.

Will players be able to hide behind objects in the game so they can't be targetted? For example if someone was hiding behind a rock or a tree that was blocking their entire body, I wouldn't be able to target or see them until they were visible.

Players can hide behind objects in the game so they can't be targeted. For ranged effects and attacks, you will need a line of sight to your target, so ducking behind the walls or hiding behind a rock may be a smart survival strategy.

Hello Kalanthes, this is my question: Can you tell me how there will be the day/night cycles and how they will impact in gameplay?

This tends to cause a bit of confusion, so we'll try to make it as clear as possible by breaking it into two parts.

In Tortage, the "day" world is the multiplayer world where you can go out, run around, and do quests with other people. The "night" world is the single player world where you sneak around, do your Destiny Quests, and otherwise live the single player adventure.

Once you pass Level 20 or otherwise go to the mainland, day and night are not broken up in this way. It is all multiplayer, all the time, though you can certainly solo within it if you'd like to. There will still be day and night on the client, but it won't be broken up the way it is in Tortage.

In the Necromancer description (the same for the Demonologist) it says that you will have pets and that you will depend on them a lot so I understand that you will be able to control more than one pet at same time. So my question is: How can we control our pets? Because we don't have the typical target and control system, and in the Necromancer case, how can we control individually every pet or in group, or maybe the pets are always in a defensive stance acting alone?

The pet control system is much like it is in other games, in that you can select a target, then tell your pet to attack it. You can also tell your pet to defend you, follow you, assist, and go away, the usual stuff you would expect with a pet class.

What happens when you die?

You see a bright light...

Just to expand a bit on the answer given in the first Ask Kalanthes, each Playfield has several resurrection points, kind of like a waypoint system. When you enter a playfield, you will have one resurrection point for that playfield. As you explore, you will discover more resurrection points you can use should you shuffle off your mortal coil. Upon dying, you will be given a moment to contemplate your shameful fate, and you will then be presented with a screen that lets you choose from the various points you've found. Once you select one, you will wind up alive at that point with the death penalty debuff.

Lets say you are using a class that can only use a dagger as it's main weapon. If you are on a horse, will you still be able to participate in mounted combat as far as hacking and slashing your opponents on the back of the mount?

You can still hack and slash away with a dagger from the back of a mount, if it's one of the smaller mounts, and every class can use the mount's attacks (kicks, tusks, etc.) to drive their enemies before them.

My computer is neither top end or low end, it is somewhere in the middle and may not take to kindly to being bombarded by the beautiful world of Conan in full detail, so i'd like to ask, How much control will i have over the graphics in Age of Conan? For example i love character models, i like them to be of the highest detail with textures and lighting turned all the way up, i also love spell detail, the more the better in my opinion, but i don't give a Pict's Arse about the texture and quality of saaaay... the ground at my feet, the rocks on that hill and the clouds in the sky, etc.

Well, you won't be able to get quite THAT picky, but there are a number of measures you can take for the middle-of-the-road computer. If you like, there are presets for Low, Medium, and High detail where you can simply click a button and have things set in about the right ballpark for your particular preferences or machine. There are also options letting you adjust things like the view distance, the amount/intensity of particle effects, various texture qualities, and so on.

Since Age of Conan is so focused on consensual PvP (Border Kingdoms, Mini-games, Bar fights), the label "PvP Server" seems to really just mean "Gank Server." With all of the debate raging on the forums, and the origin of MMORPG being Role Playing games, would you please inform us of Funcom's plans regarding the implementation of RP-PvE servers. My thanks.

While we know a lot of people want and would enjoy an RP-PvE server, both our internal surveys and external figures have shown that only a small percentage of people overall desire an RP-PvE server. Should that change, or should we see a strong increase in demand, we will consider it, but RP-PvE is consistently, and significantly, behind every other server type we've thought about in popularity, and opening a server is no small commitment in hardware, staffing, etc..

With collisions being such a large part of the game, and one of the thing I look forward to most, will it be possible for say groups of 2 or 3 to block off entrances to other areas? I have seen in the forums that collisions are turned off in cities, but could some angry players be able to completely block the entrances to these zones? Or could a high level wanting to wreak hell on a new low level player block off the lower level from his or her area and then camp them?

It's feasible, in the "could be done" sense, but we haven't seen a lot of it so far. People would have to position their characters perfectly and then hold that position perfectly, otherwise, it'd be possible to squirm through the inevitable gaps and fight your way out. And that's assuming the ten guys blocking off a city could hold out against a few hundred people getting annoyed because they couldn't conduct their business (even before the questioning of reporting, where the harassment rules would come into play, etc.). Another thing to remember is a lot of the attacks move you in subtle ways, so even if they formed a perfect barrier, it would be hard to fend off an angry mob bent on clearing a path.

The second question is an example of harassment, which is the sort of things GMs would deal with, collision or no.

Will the Assassin be able to survive and do high DPS when fighting solo?

The goal for every class is a reasonable degree of soloability. Assassins are built around doing a lot of damage, so they will tend to have a lower survivability in exchange for that. Your best bet will be striking fast and killing quickly!

I tried searching the forums about movement and a lot of them talk about using WASD to move and hardly any mention movement with the mouse. Is it possible if you could answer me this question?

It is possible to move with the mouse by holding down the left and right mouse buttons simultaneously. What is not possible is click-to-move, i.e. clicking a spot on the ground and moving towards it.

Hi Kalanthes,
I've heard conflicting information on mounted combat. Can archers shoot mounted?

The latest possible word from the mounted combat guy: Archers and spellcasters can both shoot/fire/cast spells when mounted. There are some limitations regarding what spells can be used (for spellcasters) and archers have a more limited targeting cone than they do on foot, but it is possible for both to "shoot" mounted.

I thought, will all three races talk same language, or will they have their own language individually?

All three races will speak the same language. While making different ones for each race is a neat idea, coming up with three separate languages would be quite a challenge!

Can I "respec" my character's feats? Or once you pick your feats, is it permanent?

In the current beta build, it's possible to reset your feats at the push of a button (largely because we're interested in getting everything tested out). There may be a small fee or timer or some other penalty to encourage you not to change with every shift of the winds, but we're still working out precisely what that would and should be.

How will grouping work in AoC? How many players can be in a group? Can you only join a group after level 20? Is there a level range for players joining a group? I've looked all over the place and can't seem to find any information about group workings/dynamics.

To join a group/team, the group leader will simply have to invite you. You can join or start a team after you pass through the Acheronian Gate into Tortage, so about level 5 or so (and only in daytime Tortage, obviously). 6 is the current number of players that can be in a team. There is no hard-locked level range, but a Level 80 grouping with a bunch of Level 20s probably won't get much, if any, experience. All he or she will gain is companionship (which can be important, of course!).

In almost all online games I've played, mages are played like like sprinting and jumping acrobats, dancing circles around their enemies, showing stamina and speed greater than that of a veteran warrior, and completely opposite of their thin and frail bodies. Will mages in AoC be played like kiting bunny-hoppers that shoot fireballs instead of bullets, or will they actually have spells of power to deal with all sorts of situations?

Mages in AOC have very few instant-cast spells, which keeps them from firing off a spell, running around in circles, then firing off another spell. Spells also have to be cast from the ground or horseback/other mountback, rather than while in the middle of the air (like when jumping). Ultimately, you will need to hold your ground if you want to rain down flaming death on your foes.

Source : WarCry Network

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Champions Online: Breaking the Wall

This is the first of a two-part series about the field of game design. This first article talks about how to break the wall and get into game design. The second part will detail a bit about how design works from the inside.


At one point or another, most people who play games have probably at least entertained the thought of getting into game design professionally. Game design isn't like law or medicine though - there's no bar or exam to pass, so how exactly does one break into the field?

The most important thing to realize about breaking into game design is that it is very much subject to the laws of supply and demand. There are very few game design jobs of any sort available, and there are a whole lot of people who want to be designers. And many of the people applying for the few open game design positions are not strangers to the industry, either. In addition to people in areas like QA or CSR, it is not uncommon to see programmers or artists want to switch fields.

Different developers will have different biases and be looking for different things, but there are ways you can better position yourself to dramatically improve your chances of breaking in to the industry.

First, while it is not impossible to come in off the street and get a game design position, it is very, very unlikely. Internships are available from some places as well, and if you can find one can be a highly effective shortcut.

While "game designer" is not generally an entry-level position, what you can do is get a job that is an entry-level position, but that is a recognized feeder into game design. If you are already a programmer or an artist, both of these are in parallel areas of game development that work very closely with design, and as such are superb ways of cracking the wall.

What if you don't know code and your idea of art is drawing stick figures? You're not out of luck, but the path is a little longer. Publishers will almost always have large QA (Quality Assurance) and CSR (Customer Service) departments, and developers will usually have at least the first, and occasionally the second. QA departments at developers tend to be smaller and have better access to the developer, so they are generally a better route into game design. But because there are generally fewer available positions, competition can also be fiercer.

If you wind up with a job in QA or CSR at a publisher, never fear. Publishers also frequently run their own first-party development studios which occasionally have openings, and it is perfectly possible to move from a publisher position to a similar position at an outside developer.

Secondly, because there are so many applicants for so few positions, it can help to have ways to distinguish yourself. For this, I can tell you a secret:

Creativity is good, but it isn't primarily about the creativity.

What? Heresy! No, truth. Everyone - designer, programmer, artist, QA, CSR, marketing or executive - is convinced their ideas are the best, the most creative, the most interesting and the most innovative. A designer certainly should be creative, and being creative will definitely get you noticed, but it's generally not what will close the sale.

What will close the sale is the ability to demonstrate professionalism, practicality, understanding of the way development works and the relative costs and risks of different paths. Most importantly of all, however, is the clear ability to check your ego at the door and identify the best approach or design regardless of whether or not you were the one to think of it.

Game design is still a job, and it's amazing how frequently people forget this. All of the factors that apply to any other job - professionalism, courtesy, responsibility, confidence and diplomacy - all apply equally well in this field. Although game development is generally more informal than many other fields, it is still a business, and it is important to remember this.

Finally, being a game designer is not the same thing as being a game player. This sounds obvious, but in interview wrap-ups it is one of the points that comes up again and again. Obviously, you need to be able to enjoy playing games and to identify what aspects of gameplay are fun - this goes without saying. What you also have to do, however, is to separate the "game player" hat from the "game designer" hat, and start asking a whole new set of questions.

What is fun? Why is it fun? What alternative approaches could be envisioned? What are the risks and consequences to other systems for each alternative approach? What principles of the game must be adhered to in order to maintain the vision of the game or company? What resource restrictions are there - it might be great to have another year to polish something, but what do you do if you don't have an extra year to polish?

Above all, it can take a lot of persistence and a lot of patience to break the wall and get your foot into the world of game development. But if you do, the rewards are unmatched.

By : champions-online.com

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