aerial-combat
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MapleStory gets aerial combat
Mounted ground combat is so yesterday's MMO feature. If you want to really rise above the competition, then you'll need to throw in aerial combat into your game. MapleStory is doing just this with an upcoming patch. In the second chapter of the Black Heaven storyline, players will be able to jump into a flying machine and duke it out in the sky. As with everything else in the game, the action will take place strictly in a side-scrolling 2-D format. From the looks of it, it calls back to classic shmups of earlier console generations. Also coming in one of the future updates is a revamp to MapleStory's Resistance classes, including the Wild Hunter, Battle Mage, and Mechanic.
Ace Combat Infinity boarding PS3s on May 27
Bandai Namco's free aerial fighter Ace Combat Infinity is set to lift off on May 27 for PS3. The next entry in the long-running Ace Combat series was first announced last year in July, and was listed as the first free-to-play game in the series one month later. The game includes a single-player campaign as well as cooperative and competitive multiplayer, and Bandai Namco plans to add a player-vs-player mode following the game's launch. The PS3 exclusive takes place on an alternate-reality Earth in which global authorities construct massive guns to save the planet from incoming debris caused by the destruction of a moon orbiting Jupiter. Ace Combat Infinity was originally due to land in 2013, but its flight suffered delays in December. The game entered open beta for one week in February. [Image: Bandai Namco]
WoW Archivist: Paths not taken
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? Recently, Blizzard addressed rumors that their ultra-secret next MMO, codenamed Titan, had been "reset." Developers were indeed reassigned to other projects as the slimmed-down team made "some large design and technology changes to the game." Since we don't know anything about Titan for sure, despite some compelling leaks, we'll never know what features the game would have had as part of its original design. The WoW team, on the other hand, has backed away from many different announced features and content additions that didn't work out. This week's WoW Archivist will look at some of the more interesting and infamous canceled or delayed features. Homeless Believe it or not, player housing was briefly tested in alpha. Model viewers showed files going back to alpha in a folder called "playerhousing" (as shown below). Only human houses were ever designed. Blizzard also added a portal in Stormwind as an entrance to an instanced player housing area. An alpha blue poster named Katricia wrote, "Our current idea (which could change) is to extend the cities to have player housing neighborhoods. For example, in the canal area of Stormwind players can see a blue instance portal behind a large portcullis; this is the entrance to the player housing neighborhood in Stormwind."
Icarus Online preps for closed beta, releases trailer
We haven't talked about Icarus Online after its unfortunate journey to the sun last year, so it's definitely time to check in with this South Korean import. The flight-centric MMO is gearing up for closed beta next month, and players can sign up right the heck now if they want to participate in the beta. The first closed beta test is scheduled for May 2nd through 5th and will feature five classes and a level cap of 25. WeMade Entertainment has a new trailer showing off Icarus Online and its aerial combat, which your peepers may partake of after the jump. [Thanks to Steparu for the tip!]
War Thunder opens US beta server, starts development on mobile version
War Thunder, formerly World of Planes, has been soaring through open beta for several months now. Gaijin Entertainment decided that it's time to make a few flight adjustments, however, and announced that it has opened up a separate US gaming cluster to improve latency times for North American players. The developer also let slip that it has begun development on a mobile version of the game for both iOS and Android platforms. Gaijin said that War Thunder has attracted 1.5 million active users who have flown a total of 224 million missions since the start of beta. The developer recently put out version 1.29 for the flight sim; the patch makes a number of significant improvements such as four new aircraft, improved damage models, and a new economy. [Source: Gaijin Entertainment press release]
War Thunder enters open beta, new trailer released
Gaijin Entertainment has announced that its War Thunder World War II-based online flight sim has officially entered open beta. The title, formerly known as World of Planes, has been in development for over four years. The open beta comes almost a year to the day after Gaijin's announcement that the game had evolved "beyond pure aerial combat." Gaijin previously developed Birds of Prey, a console-based entry in the long-running Sturmovik series. The company has released an open beta teaser trailer that you can view after the cut. You can also join the beta test via the game's official website.
Icarus Online G-Star trailer highlights aerial combat
Last week we heard tell of Icarus Online, a new Korean import from WeMade Entertainment. The initial trailer clocked in at a rather cryptic 29 seconds, so today we're happy to see a longer foray into gameplay proper. MMO Culture reports that one of Icarus' selling points is aerial combat, and the new G-Star 2012 vid reflects as much. Icarus Online is built on the CryEngine 3, and Steparu says that it features point-and-click combat on the ground and "non-targeting" combat in the skies. Head past the cut for the new trailer as well as a second video showing both ground-based combat and the game's UI.
Take to the skies with PlanetSide 2's aerial combat trailer
Infantry may make up the bulk of PlanetSide 2's armies, but there's much more to a solid fighting force than footsoldiers. A new video of the game from Sony Online Entertainment shines the spotlight on the various forms of aerial support available to the PlanetSide 2 factions. We're not just talking about a few bombers and personnel carriers, either; the video shows off some rather impressive dogfights between a great number of players as well as a few strafing runs against some unfortunate ground units. While it's only a short teaser, it definitely gives players a sense of the kind of explosion-filled excitement players can expect from the game's aerial combat when they finally get in the cockpit. Just click on past the cut to see the whole video with your own eyes.
Rise of Dragonian Era launches with special in-game events
Tired of being stuck in your daily commute, crawling along at 15 mph? Ever fantasize about saddling up a 10-ton dragon to soar above the rat race and deliver a final blow to that driver who cut you off? While Mgame USA hasn't perfected dragon genetics (yet), the company has released Rise of Dragonian Era to give you a virtual taste of the high life. RODE, a free-to-play fantasy MMO, is quite big on our dragon brothers and sisters. The title has two factions, six races, and four classes from which to choose. Players will begin their journey through the game with a freshly hatched dragon pet who will accompany them through thick and thin. If that's not enough Dragonheart for you, you can also get the opportunity to fly one of these majestic beasts later on and engage in aerial warfare. To promote RODE's launch, Mgame is handing out rewards left and right through various means. Players can earn in-game items, gift cards, and big-ticket prizes like a PS Vita just by playing for 30 minutes or more, submitting winning screenshots, leveling up, and attending special events.
The Firing Line: American aircraft and a real-life shooter
What's happening, shooter fans? Hopefully everyone's getting ready for a long holiday weekend filled with family, food, and gaming (of course). Several interesting online shooter nuggets came across my desk this week, including a deeper look at World of Warplanes, a Firefall beta clarification, and some sexy new DUST 514 details. Also, would you believe a real-life -- and real, live -- online FPS featuring actual locations?
Wargaming.net releases new World of Warplanes screens
The latest salvo in the battle between forthcoming free-to-play aviation MMOs has been fired by Wargaming.net. The company has released a fresh batch of screenshots detailing its new World of Warplanes title, which is the second in a trilogy of World War II-based action games that includes World of Tanks and World of Battleships. The screenshots show a small cross section of classic aircraft slipping the surly bonds of earth and engaging in various maneuvers designed to fill enemies full of hot lead. Wargaming.net's press release says that "every plane will feature multiple variations of ammo types, engines, and other crucial modules," and players will be able to guide their pilot avatars through a virtual career that begins in 1930s biplanes and culminates in the cockpit of Korean War-era jets. See the sights in the gallery below, and check out our exclusive interview with project manager Alexander Zezulin for more details on World of Warplanes' features and mechanics. [Source: Wargaming.net press release] %Gallery-130862%
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon will let you create a pink jet
Straight out of TGS, the video above and the screens below will give you a good look at what's in store for next month's Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, including some really "fly" aerial online combat ... and a pretty pink jet fighter (with pink missile smoke!). We've got new 3DS screens in here, too.
LucasArts hiring for FPS, aerial combat, action/adventure games
On top of last month's outed job listing for an open-world RPG, LucasArts is now hiring for a first-person shooter, an aerial combat game and an action/adventure game. GameSpot noticed the listings, which call for a level designer for a FPS title, a senior gameplay engineer for the aerial combat game and a producer for an action/adventure title. LucasArts sure seems busy these days! The aerial combat game seems like a no-brainer -- LucasArts has a stable of Star Wars aerial combat games it could pull from, so that's our guess considering the position emphasizes a familiarity with "space-based shooters." The other two require even more speculation ... and we certainly wouldn't mind seeing another Republic Commando game.
The Queue: A trip down memory lane
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky be your host today. Let's get meta here folks. Zetathran asked a question about the history of this site, and it got me into a conversation with our Editor-in-Chief Liz Harper about the activities of old. WoW.com has a changed a lot in the past few years, and while the long dialog we had about past policies and editorial standards is probably of no interest but ourselves, the basic story of the site probably is, so we'll start off with that. Zetathran asked... "How did WoW Insider start? Who were the original bloggers?"
Mabinogi to get "Dragon" update this year, teaser trailer revealed
The Ancient Secrets of Irinid patch for Mabinogi was only launched a matter of months ago, but it looks like the team at devCAT kept up their momentum and quickly got to work on the game's next chapter. Publisher Nexon America has just announced that there will be another content update this year, simply titled Dragon, which is focused on a war between dragon factions in a new area called Zardine. This zone will play host to a number of new enemies, and dungeons here will feature a new "hard mode" difficulty.Along with the dragons in Dragon, Mabinogi's recent foray into flight will continue in the next patch, with players engaging in aerial combat with flying monsters -- while manning hot air balloons. Sounds ridiculously precarious, but at the same time fun. The update will also include lots of additional items, weapons, clothing, image enhancements and some pets. The teaser trailer we have posted after the break shows off a bit of everything from Dragon, including the aforementioned hot air balloon combat. Click through to check it out.
The Art of War(craft): Examining the Isle of Conquest
Wow. Can I just say that again? Wow. When Blizzard announced that they were introducing a new Battleground with Patch 3.2, I personally thought it was going to be some mid-scale map similar to Strand of the Ancients or Arathi Basin. Being a Battlegrounds nut, I was completely stoked. When Zarhym hinted that the new map would be "Wintergrasp combined with Alterac Valley," it became clear to me that Blizzard was thinking on a much bigger scale. If we look at their development patch for Battlegrounds and world PvP, it's no stretch to say that the Isle of Conquest is their most ambitious PvP project yet. More ambitious than Wintergrasp, in fact.How can anything be more ambitious than Wintergrasp, which proved to be so tremendously popular that it tends to break realms? Well, the only real limitation to Wintergrasp was because it had no limits with the number of participants. That was the only thing that brought servers down to their knees. The Isle of Conquest takes care of that problem by limiting participation to a (mere) eighty people. This then leaves Blizzard free to implement all sorts of cooler stuff like parachuting into enemy territory. The new Battleground brings the much anticipated aerial combat element into World of Warcraft PvP.
Lineage 2 talks aerial combat arena and changes to the olympiad coming with Gracia Final
Aerial combat is cool and all, but wouldn't you like a PvP gametype to go with it? Of course you would, and now you don't have to wait too long!Lineage 2's last expansion on the Gracia continent, Gracia Final, will be adding a brand new aerial combat PvP arena to the world, as well as making some changes to the olympiad event. The Aerial Cleft, the new PvP arena, will pit players against one another as they race to shatter crystal cores and score points for their side. To the victors go special Emery shards that can be combined with Star Stone pieces to create attribute cores to change your class up.As for the olympiad, now you can participate in teams of three instead of one on one! Also, the olympiad event will now reward olympiad tokens upon winning, so victors can spend their tokens for the equipment of their choice at the olympiad vendor.The full developer log is included after the break, so continue reading for the full explanation of the events from the words of the developers themselves! Also, check out our screenshots of the expansion in the gallery below.%Gallery-50892%
Lineage II expansion Gracia Final gets preview site
The next free expansion for Lineage II is Gracia Final which is expected to bring a number of new features to the long-running fantasy MMO title. NCSoft announced this week that Gracia Final will expand gameplay to a new continent which offers aerial hunting grounds. The Gracia Final expansion will give players new ways to get in on PvP action, including three-vs.-three, or heading into the Aerial Cleft PvP arena solo for random match-ups. Gracia Final will bring expanded clan benefits that come with the ability to level up your clan to 11. Another change for Lineage II is the Territory Battles feature, a capture-the-flag form of PvP that differs from the territorial control systems already present in the game. NCSoft states, "Unlike castle sieges, where battles are fought between clans, territory battles allow individual players and groups unassociated with clans to participate as anonymous mercenaries in these epic wars over the lands of Lineage II . All territory war participants can receive Territory which can be traded for new items through the Territory Manager."The Lineage II Gracia Final preview site is now up and gives a basic overview of the upcoming expansion.
BlizzCast episode 8 released
The 8th episode of BlizzCast, the Blizzard Podcast, rolled out just a short while ago. If the only Blizzard game you're interested in is WoW, you'll probably be disappointed this time around, there's not much World of Warcraft discussion. The information is very, very heavily slanted toward Starcraft II and Diablo III.The podcast kicks off with their usual Q&A portion. The World of Warcraft questions, answered by Tom Chilton, were aimed at Wintergrasp and the vehicle system (specifically the lack of aerial combat). That's the full extent of the WoW content here. That's all, folks. If WoW is all you care about, that's the end. For those of you that are Blizzard fans in general? Jay Wilson (Diablo III Game Director) and Dustin Browser (Starcraft II Lead Designer) cover the Q&A for their respective games.The remainder of the podcast is a Diablo III interview with a pair of the game's developers, Julian Love (Lead Technical Artist) and Mike Nicholson (Senior Artist). If you intend to play Diablo III, it's worth a listen. It gives some insight into the developmental process of the game, and that's probably the most interesting part of these podcasts.
Aion interview explores aerial combat
One of Aion's most touted features is its aerial combat, with the game's own website challenging us to abandon our limited two-dimensional thinking to make way for the future. We're not alone in wanting to know more about these flight mechanics, and when asked about them in a recent interview at Ten Ton Hammer, Associate Producer Chris Hager was able to dish out a few details. In Aion, flight time and flight speed are statistics that can be increased through gear or buffs, so players will need to choose how much they want to beef up their flight, as opposed to their other combat stats. The reason that flight statistics should be looked into comes down to the movement and positioning in the game:Aion's combat is fast paced and movement / positioning are very key. How you move effects your stats in positive and negative ways. In addition to this you will possess skills that will throw your enemy in all directions.This will certainly give an advantage to skilled players that can deftly maneuver their character, and the clumsier ones will end up harming their own stats. At the same time, aerial combat combined with knockbacks or throws sounds pretty disorienting, and it could get tiresome chasing bouncing targets (or worse, being that bouncing target) through the air. We'll have to see how it all pans out. Check out the full interview for the flight details, as well as some discussion on Aion's system specs and archetypes.
