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Lost Pages of Taborea: Chapter 3 character background tie-ins
The lore in Runes of Magic can sometimes be frustrating. There's an incomplete -- and vague -- history that sparks questions of who did what and when. Sometimes, there are references to reoccurring incidents without anyone knowing anything of who was involved or when it happened. As new chapters are released, some of those questions are answered and story-holes are filled, but new questions get added as well. We are veering off the beaten track in this week's Lost Pages of Taborea to dive into some lore. There's a growing amount of story for lore-hungry players to discuss and I wanted to revisit some Chapter 3 lore that helps us to understand a little more about the history and present-day in the world of Taborea. The following article is written for those players who may already know about the game's lore, but want to know even more. Given the overall amount of story and the way it's spread out through levels, zones and time-frames, I almost didn't feel the need to put any spoiler warnings on this post. Instead, I left out details learned from going inside the various dungeons.
Iconfactory debuts Frenzic for iPhone
Iconfactory and ARTIS Software have released Frenzic for iPhone, a fast-paced puzzle game that matches the piece and color combination skills of Bejeweled with a series of pie-shaped game boards. The game is an ideal timewaster -- my favorite kind of game -- perfect for waiting in line or on the subway. Frenzic starts off easy enough: you're presented with a colored pie slice, and you must move it from the center of the game board to one of six other pies. Simply complete each pie with six pieces of any color, though matching colors wins extra points and bonuses. A video showing how the game is played is available here. As you progress, the time you have available to park the current pie slice decreases. Gameplay gets challenging when you are given a piece for a position you already have six of: then you lose a life.
Frenzic
I should start this off by admitting that I am not very good at puzzle games. They often frighten and confuse me. Add that to the fact that I am not all that bright (as evidenced by my work on TUAW) and things do not look good for me and puzzles. I'll tell you what does look good though (see what I did there?): Frenzic.Frenzic is the new puzzle game from the good people of the Iconfactory and ARTIS Software. I can't really explain how it works, though obviously it involves colored wedges and some power ups (what good game doesn't have power ups?). You have to play it to get a feel for the game, luckily there is a free demo.Frenzic also has an online component allowing you to compete against other players, and land yourself high atop of the leaderboards. There are a few different ways to buy Frenzic: $14.95 gets you unlimited local gameplay and 6 months of free online Frenzic play (you can renew your online subscription for $9.95 a year) $24.95 gets you unlimited local and online gameplay forever (and you get to support cool software)
The Iconfactory updates xScope
xScope by The Iconfactory and ARTIS software has been updated to version 1.5. It's a great utility that I'm sure many of you will find useful. It actually contains six different tools, including an on-screen ruler (aside: I actually saw a person holding a wooden ruler against a computer screen once. I immediately directed her towards xScope), a live preview of your content in various screen sizes, a magnifying glass (that I use all the time to get color values), on-screen horizontal and vertical guides, frame markers and a cross hair. Changes to version 1.5 include: Frames can now be linked and moved simultaneously Horizontal and vertical guides can now be linked and moved simultaneously When the Loupe is locked, the arrow keys can be used to nudge its position on-screen (yay!) Added calipers to the Ruler making it easier to perform certain measurements Plus, version 1.5 is universal. There's more, of course, including a laundry list of improvements and bug fixes (get the full run-down here). xScope costs $16.95US and requires Mac OS 10.3 or higher.
