ETHER SAGA ONLINE: Perfect World International have launched pet-centric, cute ‘n’ cartoony, free-to-play fantasy MMO, ETHER SAGA ONLINE. If you’re the curious type - you can check out a nifty video below - then hit the official ESO site. Have fun!
“Perfect World Entertainment’s goal is to provide North American users with perfectly polished gameplay, exceptional localization, the highest quality customer service, and an unparalleled online community experience.”
Click! Flashback with me now! It’s time once again to dip into the ancient gamebunny MMO screenshot archives.
Here now, are six stylish screens from STAR WARS GALAXIES. These shots are from the summer of 2003, some taken within the first few days after launch. I loved it. I hated it. I couldn’t stop playing it. At least, for the first year. Then, I finally gave in to the dark side and quit.
According to a rather stunning report at Information Week - the government of China has banned the trading of virtual goods for real money.
The new ban even includes “prepaid cards of cyber-games”, which may cause serious ramifications for legit companies doing business in the country. It all seems a bit draconian, a good idea gone a bit too far, perhaps, - but if this move stifles the majority of Gold Farming - it may be worth the trouble. Maybe you can sort out the legal mumbo jumbo better than me. Investigate!
” ‘The virtual currency, which is converted into real money at a certain exchange rate, will only be allowed to trade in virtual goods and services provided by its issuer, not real goods and services,’ the Ministries said…
The ruling is likely to affect many of the more than 300 million Internet users in China, as well as those in other countries involved in virtual currency trading. In the context of online role playing games like World of Warcraft, virtual currency trading is often called gold farming.”
Click! Flashback with me now! It’s time once again to dip into the ancient gamebunny MMO screenshot archives.
Today, we feature a half dozen shots from my brief time spent in the GUILD WARS Beta back in early 2005, perhaps late 2004. Marigold Moonbeam was my character’s name. Hmm, I still think that sounds rather pleasant.
BATTLEFIELD HEROES: Like a commando under cover of night, EA and DICE have quietly launched BATTLEFIELD HEROES.
Hop over to the official site, create a quick account and get yourselves stuck into the free, fragging fun!
I’ve been playing off and on for the past few months and find the game to be a rollicking good time. Look for me online - “McGoo” - the Royal Army soldier in the dandy blue kilt! Ach, aye Jimmy, that’s me!
“You earn new items and abilities by playing the game! Success in matches or in completing missions earns you Valor Points that can be traded for weapons, clothing, emotes, and widgets. Leveling earns you Hero Points that can be used to upgrade your abilities.
Battlefunds can also be traded for fun emotes and clothing customization, but all weapon and ability upgrades must be earned through gameplay and acquisition of Valor Points and Hero Points.”
Some days are slow news days and it’s difficult to find something worth reporting. Today, is not one of those days. Let’s get right to the juice!
Firstly, comes word that “EA is restructuring its RPG and MMO games development into a new group…” and putting BioWare in charge. As as result - Mythic’s General Manager and Lead Designer of WARHAMMER ONLINE, Mark Jacobs, has left the company.
What the heck is going on here? As time goes forward, I’m sure further information will come to light. Is this the first tolling of the death bell for WAR? It is certainly very strange to think of Mythic Entertainment without Mark Jacobs in command. Did WAR’s disappointing subscriber numbers play a part in his departure? It couldn’t have helped. Still, news of Jacob’s exit came as a surprise to Mythic staff.
Next, we have more surprising news that ZeniMax, parent company of Bethesda, has acquired id Software. Whoa. Looks like Doom 4, Fallout 4 and the FALLOUT MMO will all be ZeniMax titles. Not a bad stable of upcoming titles. Yes, I know Fallout 4 hasn’t been announced yet - but it’s a given isn’t it?
Finally; the “Book 8: Scourge of Khazad-Dum” update for LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE has arrived
AGE OF CONAN’s “Gangs of Tarantia” update has also propped
and Realtime Worlds, makers of APB, have let slip word of a second MMO in-production which they will be unveiling in 2010.
Busy, busy, busy…
“WAR Herald quote: Mark Jacobs, co-founder and current General Manager of Mythic, will leave EA on June 23, 2009. We thank Mark for his contributions at Mythic and wish him the very best going forward. Mark played a major part in the success of Mythic with his contribution as General Manager and Lead Designer of WAR.
Mythic retains a strong team led by Rob who co-founded Mythic in 1995. Rob played a critical role in the development of Dark Age of Camelot. In his previous role as COO, he was responsible for all day-to-day management of the studio including all development, operations and support.”
Console MMOs - a topic that has intrigued and irked me for almost a decade. Where the hell are they? What’s taking so long? Will we ever see MMOs available on consoles with any frequency and variety like we see in the PC-space?
Blizzard’s Rob Pardo doesn’t think so. At least, not until the next generation of consoles. Of course, that’s what many folks said about the previous generation! After holding out high hopes for years (TRUE FANTASY LIVE ONLINE I miss you!), I’m starting to become a doubter myself. Really, all we have is the now-ancient EVERQUEST ONLINE ADVENTURES on PS2 and FINAL FANTASY XI. The PHANTASY STAR series is another, but PSO and PSU are arguably not true MMOs.
I’m fairly confident we’ll see FINAL FANTASY XIV, THE AGENCY (more-or-less an MMO) and FREE REALMS - all Sony, or Sony-favored titles - end up on the PlayStation 3 soon. The Xbox 360 seems like a fairly dead option for persistent world gaming. A bit ironic, as Microsoft’s box rules the online multiplayer arena.
The big problems facing console MMOs seem to be server hosting (who takes care of it?), the intense certification process for each and every patch, the need for a decent-sized hard drive, the extra monthly fee and/or micro-transaction systems, and finally, the input device; MMOs have a ton of hot keys, slash-commands and chat requirements.
At the end of the day, I just want the option of kicking back on the couch, firing up my console and playing an MMO on a large TV screen. There’s bound to be hundreds of thousands of others who’d love this as well. Let’s make it happen!
EVERQUEST: The U.K.’s Edge Magazine has written up a tale describing the creation of the old king of MMOs - EVERQUEST.
If you hop over to Edge Online you can read about the early days of Verant Interactive and what it took to create this huge “graphical MUD”.
Do you remember when your EQ characters had to eat and drink to survive? How about having to carry a torch at night or the screen was too dark to navigate? Camping for boss mobs for hours…days, even? It all seems so ancient now. And you kids think you have it hard today! Get off my lawn, etc…etc…!
“As Bill Trost, senior game designer, remembers, the team’s saving grace was that they had no idea what they were letting themselves in for. ‘When I joined the project, EQ was just an idea,’ he says. ‘They wanted to create a graphical MUD, and had some idea about how it would look, but not many specifics. We had lofty goals but we were lucky: we were too young and too new to realise how difficult it would be.’ “
TORCHLIGHT: Alright, eyes-front! I need your focused attention! Today, I am very pleased to bring you my chat with various members of the Runic Games dev team - makers of the upcoming single-player RPG AND eventual MMO - TORCHLIGHT.
I fell in love with TORCHLIGHT at this year’s E3 and I’d like you all to join me in uncovering hot details about this game from the makers of DIABLO, FATE and MYTHOS. Four exclusive TORCHLIGHT screenshots included (at left and on page one). Shine a light!
“gamebunny:
Tell us about the driving force behind all hack ‘n’ slash titles – Loot! How many variations of weapons and items will there be? Are there unique items and really epic pieces?Runic (Erich Schaefer):
We have well over a thousand specific items spawning in game, and that is before you start adding on random magic qualities and abilities. We will have everything from common items, to magic items dropped by specific monster races and bosses, to super rare ‘uniques’ that guarantee new discoveries if you play the game over and over again.”
FINAL FANTASY VII: Let’s step away from MMOs for just a moment. I’d like to direct you to a story featuring FINAL FANTASY VII, Game Director, Yoshinori Kitase looking back at the creation of the fabled PS RPG.
Kitase talks about the dev team’s great enthusiasm, moving from 2D to 3D and attempting to figure out new tech, such as Power Animator and SoftImage. If you’re a fan of FFVII (count me in) you’ll enjoy the read.
” ‘This was undoubtedly the game that changed everything.’ Yoshinori Kitase, director of the most important RPG ever, has cause for hyperbole. ‘We felt a wind of change inside the company during the development process. There was this incredible feeling I’ll never forget: we were making a new thing… making history. Imagine.’ “
CRIMECRAFT: Yo yo yo! It’s time for crime! Join in today as I chat with Mike Donatelli, Senior Game Designer for Vogster’s upcoming persistent world shooter - CRIMECRAFT.
The Q&A uncovers fresh details for this anticipated game which aims to bring something new to the massive online space. Can CRIMECRAFT even be considered an MMO? Find out!
“gamebunny:
Can you really craft drugs in the game? Are you worried about a possible backlash from puritanical America?Mike Donatelli:
Yes you can. We call them boosts primarily and they go by the name of K-dust, Climax etc. As far as backlash that’s why the wonderful folks at the ESRB gave us the mature rating!”
WORLD OF WARCRAFT: Happy WoW Wednesday my friends and welcome to another set of recently uncovered WORLD OF WARCRAFT Rares.
Geez, new Rares are getting harder to find! Today, we feature Nimar the Slayer of Witherbark Village, Hearthsinger Forresten of Strathholme (difficult to see as he is a ghost in the dark) and ‘Wrath’ Rare - Terror Spinner of Zul’Drak.
As always, the full gallery of WoW Rares awaits your perusal.
JADE DYNASTY: Perfect World Entertainment have announced the start of Open Beta for JADE DYNASTY.
JADE DYNASTY is a free-to-play title, so Open Beta is about as good as a launch. The MMO is set in a fantasy version of ancient China and features five different factions, treasure hunting quests, fort battles and flying martial arts weapons. There’s no cash to be lost in giving it a try - feel free to investigate.
“Alliance System - Create a mighty army and level up, to earn special skills and items. Ally with other Alliances and engage in Fort Battles or Battlegrounds to defeat your foes.”
Click! Flashback with me now! It’s time once again to dip into the ancient gamebunny MMO screenshot archives.
Today, we feature a half dozen shots from NCsoft and NetDevil’s expired gameworld, AUTO ASSAULT. These photos o’ autos were snapped during AA’s late 2005 Beta and early 2006 launch.
NEO STEAM: Atlus Online have launched free-to-play steampunk MMO, NEO STEAM: The Shattered Continent.
NEO STEAM features multiple PvP modes, unique pets, mounts and vehicles, and of course - steam technology, baby!
I’m still waiting for a more robust, less-cartoony, Victorian steampunk world - but this could tide me over. Investigate.
“To celebrate the launch of Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent, we are holding a screenshot contest! Participants must take an in-game screenshot that falls into one of two categories:
- Funniest Screenshot! - Epic-est Screenshot!”