Blogs

I've been playing this game quite a while now and I am excited for the commercial launch. If you like a one side scrolling or can live with it then try Dragonica. This is the 1st online game I have ever played with scenamatics on the game itself. Because of this I got too excited on the game and surf a lot in-game. I follow the quest and everything is fine. The community is nice, the gameplay is nice, the monsters are cute and the characters have common jobs but still interesting to play also there is a never ending quest to choose from. The only problem at Dragonica is the party mission. Well, not all the time I can find someone to help me when it's a party mission required or to find someone that has the same quest as you. That part is a no-no to me. Over roll the review to the game dragonica is: gameplay-8/10 characters-7/10 monsters-9/10 skills-7/10 quests/missions-6/10 over roll game-8/10 This is just my comment though!

For those that are looking for a bit more intel on the upcoming North American release of Arma 2 a military multi-player game, the devs have released the first video of a series of diaries that highlight ARMA II's features. Basic controls is the topic of the video.

The graphics of this game have captivated gamers from across the world, and with its initial success in Europe, the North American release looks to make just as abig of an impact.

The Arma II dev team put together the series Bohemia Interactive has created a series in order to give regular showcases of the games many features. Jan Prazak Bohemia's PR manager explains the basic controls of ARMA II, shown using detailed video footage captured within the game.

"Our games can be mistakenly understood as difficult to play in terms of game mechanics and control if the player isn't properly introduced to these functions up front," said Jan Prazak. "Our intention is to explain the default settings and introduce the more casual player to the game mechanics of ARMA II. The main goal of these videos is to reveal the depth of the game and describe in an easy-to-understand way how fun it really is to play ARMA II and enjoy one of the most sophisticated military simulator on market."

Arma 2 certainly brings realistic looking graphics in combination with great freedom of movement, actions and tactics, and allows players to really get hooked on the game as a whole.

ARMA II is rated 'M' for Mature, ages 17 years by the ESRB and up and will be available at retail in North America on July 7th.

Titan Server: Players waited for this battle area wherein all servers meet up. The Titan server is another continent in atlantica where players carry their name and honor by defending the server they represent. After a month, is the titan server clash or crash?

The players who entered the titan server automatically received mounts into their mount book, not just one, but 5 or even more. Also, those who participated in the championship would win/lose automatically and would receive an amount of gold without a battle occurring. To resolve this problem NDoors immediately brought the servers down again for maintenance and temporarily suspended all the accounts associated with the mount bug for further investigation and to avoid bug exploits. This action was dreadful for most players because they weren’t able play the game until the investigation was complete. A week passed by but there were still a few players suspended.

Finally, the long wait ended because the glitch was resolved. Players who were suspended are back in business. But wait there’s more! To compensate the players for the long down time, NDoors have announced that they “are holding a 150% bonus experience weekend which runs until Sunday, April 26th and entire logged-in players an Artisan's Cube at 1pm PDT on Saturday, April 25th, and Sunday, April 26th. This box will give the players the choice of some Skill Decrease Books, Waters of Life, Growth Vials, Secret Vials of Potential, or several scrolls”. This was good news for everyone to continue enjoying the game.

On the other hand, the battle begins in the titan grand champ between the six servers. Players from the different servers were burning and ready to fight! Who’s going to win and go home to their server with the victory? The very first test of the battle was successful, and Alanor from Mycenae got the first title of a titan grand champ. He received a Barbarian Lord’s black tiger; a rare mount that was exclusively given for the winner of the grand champ acquire this mount including other rewards. One month after the release of the titan server, things were pretty much stable. The newly added battlefield became the routine of players every weekend. Even though they were not participating in the competition, they still got a reward from observing battles.

The server recovered from the dilemma and proved that this game won’t allow crash. This month of June much anticipated changes will come alive. We hope that the game continue on acquiring players through all of its adventure.

A wise warrior once said that "the more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers." This is especially true for the Pirates in Galaxy Online. These brigands enjoy the anonymity that the vastness of space provides, but with ever greater numbers of players settling ever increasing numbers of planets, they seem to be squeezing the Pirates out.

However, for those that were hoping to see the pirates exterminated once and for all, they are in for a rude awakening. In the coming update, the Pirates will make a major technical breakthrough that will allow them to increase their numbers exponentially. The development of Pirate Heavy Factories, capable of producing vast numbers of warships in just a short amount of time, will definitely add some weight to the pirate side of the balance of power in the Galaxy.

With this latest technical development by the Pirates, it will also allow them to produce a surplus of ships, meaning they can sell them to players who may need more ships than they can produce. If players study Diplomacy, they will be able to make contact with the Pirates and set up warship trade relations. The Pirates have 7 different classes of warships for players to choose from, and as the Diplomacy goes up, and trade relations improve, higher class ships will become available.

For more information, please visit Galaxy Online

What makes a good MMO?

I have been asked by a lot of people "What is the best MMO to play?" and I have to say that while many gamers are quick to answer this question for their friends, the truth is it's not an easy answer.

The point of an MMO is of course community, while the game features makes logging in rewarding, there are lots of players that log in on many days with no intention of actually playing the game and just want to interact with their online friends.

Features are not always as important as meeting the right people that you will enjoy hanging out with while logged into the game. So it gets tricky, you may find a game that has everything you want but unless you get a good group of people you enjoy being around then a great feature list is worthless. But of course people still need to be comfortable with the game itself.

No one can actually say what a great game would be for you unless they know what kinds of games you like. Some people have to have the latest 3D graphics, some prefer to stick with a side scrolling 2D game, and some want the fun strategy of text based games.

Millions of players have gotten addicted to MapleStory and it continues to be one of the most popular games on the market. However, if you refer a person to MapleStory that only likes 3D style combat, then they will without a doubt be frustrated and leave the game saying it sucks and then tell all of their friends not to play it because it sucks. In reality, it just was not what they were looking for but millions of other people might do the exact same with Age of Conan if they like side scrolling games instead.

So if you're going to take advice on what games to play, make sure you consider what you really enjoy. Decide if you prefer FPS, Military or Fantasy, if you need a robust economy etc. And of course, keep in mind that just because you did not like a particular game does not mean its lousy, it just means you suck at picking what you like :)

After one week’s hard work, Zu Online (http://zu.igg.com/) Team has completed a part of the mission. They are speeding up our progress. Last week, we weren’t able to mention the program events due to be held recently because of the lack of time. As a result, the dev team discusses the event they have prepared for Easter Day, happening this week. Also, they will talk about the progress of the jobs we mentioned last week.

Development progress of the later versions from IGG

We’ve completed designing the storyline quests, new monsters and their distribution, as well as new zones to raise the level cap to 265. But, we are still adjusting the rewards for those quests. The branch quests and Massacre quests specific to the new zones are still being designed.

The Wind Calamity quests consist of 4 separate quests. The first 2 quests have been fixed. The latter 2 are divided into 3 scenarios in order to increase the difficulty and fun factor. The design of quest flows of the first 2 scenarios has been completed. To pass the first scenario, players should complete “Secret Passage 1”, “Secret Passage 2” and “Secret Passage 3” given by the Fairy Fooyao. “Secret Passage 1” requires the player to venture to the secret passage and then manipulate the three Windproof Towers to get some required items.

“Secret Passage 3” requires the player to slay Flyingsickle God's Illusion. As for the second scenario, players need complete “Danbill Stairs 1” mission which is given by the Immortal Zinfoon to help deliver something to Immortal Ganmo on the Danbill Stairs. After that, players need complete “Danbill Stairs 2” mission given by the Immortal Ganmo to help get something from the Immortal Zinfoon for him. On the Danbill Stairs, there are monsters that are surrounded by different auras around their feet. These auras represent their agro range. Players should try their best to avoid entering the aura. While we were testing those quests, we found they were a bit too difficult. Therefore, we are considering lowering the difficulty or allowing players to do those quests as part of a group. The quest flow of the third scenario has been completed. The related teams are working to fulfill them.

Recent modifications

The adjustments about class balance have been fixed. We will also modify Bead Fairies and Summoners. I firmly believe that the PvP fights will be much more fantastic after the adjustments. Last week, we said we would raise the chances of getting Mystic Stones back when disenchanting equipment to 30% from the former 20%. But, after many tests, we’ve decided to raise the chance to 70%. Also, the Disenchanting Furnace will always vanish after disenchanting any equipment no matter whether the disenchanting succeeds or fails. But, now if the disenchanting fails, the disenchanted equipment will not vanish. We have also enlarged the Pet Areas in the beginner zones to enable players to have enough space to walk their pets.

Upcoming Easter Day

We have completed the design of the Easter Day events. During the event, players will be able to see Tiny Golden Eggs at the Purple Fire Hall of the Desert City, the Lotus Palace of Holy City and the safe area of the Hexad Region. To manipulate those eggs, players should have Tiny Golden Hammers. But to get Tiny Golden Hammers, players must win a good place by joining the in-game events. This is not as easy as it sounds! But it is worth the effort. In addition, the Tiny Golden Eggs randomly give 3 different grades of rewards.

For more information on Zu Online, please visit the official site http://zu.igg.com/ .

TOP: First Wedding Ceremony As the 46th round of the TOP (http://top.igg.com ) auction concluded, a TOP player called Frostbitten won the bidding for the chance to hold a wedding ceremony with his sweetheart XpipayX. Their wedding ceremony was held at around 9:00 pm EST February 24. Frostbitten and XpipayX paid a visit to the Navy Commander of Thundoria in the Dream Island server and the GM there hosted their romantic wedding ceremony.

30 minutes before the wedding, a GM announced the wedding in a system announcement saying, “Welcome to the wedding ceremony for Frostbitten and XpipayX that will be held in 30 minuets at Thundoria Castle. These two sweethearts will be walking down the aisle and wedded into matrimonial bliss” Participation of family members and friends made this wedding ceremony even more special and perfect.

Love was in the air, while a rain of fireworks, and hearts lit up the sky. Roses and chocolate gave recognition to those romantic titles of “Husband and Wife”.

This wedding ceremony was a traditional western style, with GMs serving as groomsmen, bridesmaids, and a host. Friends and relatives stood on either side of the hall, and the wedding host started making a speech. After that the bride and groom put on their wedding clothes and entered the hall with the groomsmen and bridesmaids following after them, lighting fireworks, and presenting the I LOVE U heart shapes. When the bride and groom arrived in front of the host, he helped them consecrate their vows.

“Frostbitten，XpipayX, congratulations. You are the perfect match. I have a couple of questions for you two.”

Frostbitten, will you take Xpipay here present, for your wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.

“Yes, I do.”

“XpipayX, will you take Frostbitten here present, for your wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”

“Yes, I do.”

“As you have heard, Frostbitten and XpipayX have made their wedding vows and exchanged their rings. It is now my joy and privilege to declare you to be husband and wife. Frostbitten , you may now kiss the Bride”

Who will be the next lucky couple to be wed?

For more details, check out the official website http://top.igg.com .

Transports of Delight The second part of the Cities XL simulation Blog - "Transport".

Transport will play a key role in Cities XL. It will take two forms, transport within a city and transport between cities.

2.1 Internal transport Most citizens will have a job that they have to go to and come home from every day. Plus, as we’ve already seen, they will have access to shops and service providers. All of this activity will pass through the road network, with each citizen choosing the best route available. To avoid the almost inevitable traffic problems, players will have to improve their transport networks by building roads with more lanes, or even highways.

They will also have to build bus lines and subways. But the transport network will have to be logical in design: to work efficiently, bus lines will have to link residential zones with industrial or office zones. Citizens will only use public transport if they can find routes that bring them rapidly to their workplace, with at most one or two changes. Players would be advised to fund public transport in such a way as to keep waiting times at stations to a minimum. Their citizens will be grateful to them! A good transport network will improve access to service buildings (schools, hospitals, etc.), which will in turn become more efficient.

2.2 External transport The city that you will build won’t be cut off from the rest of the world. There will have to be a way to export the goods that it produces and import the goods that it consumes. Maps of 10 x 10 km will have zones called CityLinks around their edges. Players will have to provide roads or highways up to these CityLinks. Each CityLink provides the city with a “freight” resource.

A city with low freight resources will severely penalize its businesses. So, as your city grows, you will have to improve its freight capacity. However, you will have to be careful not to develop too quickly, as each CityLink opened up will increase the number of trucks on your roads and cause traffic problems that you could well do without… You will have access to two types of freight resources: regular freight and passengers. Regular freight refers to industrial resources. It comes via road, rail, and air. Passenger capacity will be important for your offices, your tourism sector, and… vacations for your own citizens.

End of the second part, soon our next installment: Part 3 - "Agents & more"

Privided By - Patrick Marechal, Lead Designer Cities XL

New $20,000 Scholarship Program to Ensure Bright Future for Interactive Entertainment Industry

With the 2009 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit in full swing, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) and The Guildhall at Southern Methodist University announced the establishment of the “Academy Scholar” program. The “Academy Scholar” is designed to build a force of new talent of the best and brightest in interactive entertainment and is awarded bi-annually over the two semesters. The program kicks off for the Fall 2009 semester.

Each semester, $10,000 will be granted to a graduate level candidate in The Guildhall at SMU program. The scholarship will honor an outstanding applicant who exemplifies the AIAS’ spirit and commitment to advance the worldwide interactive entertainment community. It’s about being a game maker, contributing passion and creativity to this dynamic field.

“SMU and AIAS have a shared vision and responsibility to further the industry and support the next generation of game makers,” said Dr. Peter Raad, executive director and founder, The Guildhall at SMU. “Our mission has always been to produce future industry leaders and the very best game professionals. We are honored to have the AIAS has a partner in helping us fulfill this mission.”

“There is no better time for us to invest in the next generation of game makers,” said Joseph Olin, president, AIAS. “We want candidates who can share their vision and goals for this industry – our future influentials who will address the challenges of game creation and inspire new ways of making games.”

To be considered for the “Academy Scholar”, a combined panel of senior AIAS members and SMU review board evaluates each admission portfolio and assigns a number which is then averaged. The individuals with the highest rank order are invited to submit an essay for consideration to win the coveted scholarship.