News from the Wider MMO World: September 2, 2008
The MMO genre is more than World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, and Warhammer Online. Here's what's going on in the rest of the world.
Dreamlords the Reawakening makes deal to move to Russia
Lockpick Entertainment has signed an agreement with Akella Games, Russian distributors of Planetside, Everquest 2, and Pirates of the Burning Sea, to localize and distribute Dreamlords the Reawakening. "Our goal is to reach out to new audiences and the Russian market is fast growing and with Akella's expertise we're able to do just that," said David Rosén, CEO of Lockpick Entertainment. "We hope that collaboration between our two companies will benefit both parties and that such an interesting genre will draw gamer's attention" said Alexander Trifonov, Managing Director of Akella Online. Closed beta testing is expected to begin in early September.
Pet Evolution Manuals debut on Grand Chase
Three different Pet Evolution Manuals are available at the shop in Grand Chase, allowing knights to evolve their pets at levels 0, 20, and 40. There will also be prizes for each knight that evolves and raises their pet to level 10. Prizes for winning pets include nutrient shots, pet food, gacha coins, and pet skills. Additionally, players who log on between the hours of 4 and 8 PM every day will receive double xp and double gp, in the Afterschool Adventure Hour.
SAGA adds Undead faction with new expansion
Players of Silverlode Interactive's MMO SAGA can now choose to play as the Undead faction, with seventeen new troops and six new spells to use in combat. In addition, the expansion brings with it new quests revolving around the Undead factions, for players ranging in level from nine to twenty-eight. The new faction includes units such as the Diabolist, the Deathbringer, and the Shadow Dragon, to name just a few.
Pi Story now in open beta
Aeria Games' Pi Story has hit open beta with a promise to beta testers that their accounts won't be wiped once the commercial release hits. Pi Story is a 2D side-scrolling MMO that features user-created content, and recently completed its own version of the Olympic games. Future events to be held include a Hide 'n' Seek, where players try to find particular Game Masters in-world.
Fallen Earth releases new Question of the Week post
The Fallen Earth forums have always had a significant developer presence, and this week is no exception, with Lee Hammock continuing the Question of the Week tradition. The questions this time around include topics like what types of armor will be available, if and when new official fiction will return, and more information concerning GlobalTech's contributions to the Lore.
Version 12 of Flyff to feature new Lord System
In addition to the new Forsaken Tower area, the Version 12 release of Flyff by Gala-Net Inc. will feature the new Lord System, by which players will vote another player to be Lord of their particular cluster. Lordship has its privileges, such as boosting a player's Attack or Defense Power by 10%, and the ability to start EXP or item drop events. There is currently no date for the release of this new version.
Dark Age of Camelot no longer supporting PayByCash to maintain user accounts
As of September 1st, Dark Age of Camelot subscribers can no longer use the PayByCash option to keep their accounts alive. In a tersely-worded dispatch in the Camelot Herald, Joanne Laroche writes " ... once your current PayByCash time has expired you will need to use a credit card for your future subscription payments. We're sorry for the inconvenience this may cause you and thank you for understanding." It is unknown at this time how many subscribers will be forced to make the payment change.
