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The Dream Machine chapter 4 wakes up on Steam
The Dream Machine chapter 4 is out now on Steam for PC and Mac. If you're still here, we'll assume you haven't played The Dream Machine chapters 1 - 3 and need extra encouragement to go play chapter 4 right this very moment. The Dream Machine is an award-winning psychological thriller, a cardboard-and-clay point-and-click adventure through an apartment complex that offers a young couple more than four walls and a roof. It's what's in those walls that tells the real story. The Dream Machine comes from Cockroach Inc., a Swedish indie duo that created the series in 2008. It's been more than a year since chapter 3 launched, and with the fourth installment, Cockroach Inc. announced there will be six chapters in total. All parts are available on Steam for $17, or individually for $5 each (chapters 1 and 2 come in one bundle). The entire game is also available via Cockroach Inc. directly. Go.
The Dream Machine chapter 4 enters reality on August 1
Chapter 4 of The Dream Machine hits Steam on August 1, ending more than one year of anticipation for those who've played chapters 1 - 3. The Dream Machine is an award-winning cardboard-and-clay adventure game from Cockroach Inc., which tells a twisted tale of feverish paranoia and mystery. With chapter 4 the game gets a graphical upgrade and, accidentally, an extra chapter in the entire series, Cockroach Inc. founder Anders Gustafsson tells us. "It ended up being far bigger than we originally anticipated, so large in fact that we had to split it up in two parts," he says. "So the game now effectively has 6 chapters instead of 5. Who doesn't like an extra chapter, huh?" Anyone who's purchased a bundle that includes all of The Dream Machine's chapters will indeed receive all of its chapters, including this unplanned sixth one. The Dream Machine is participating in the Steam Summer Sale, and that bundle is half off through July 22, just $8.50. Or, grab it directly from Cockroach itself.%Gallery-193875%
Runes of Magic Chapter IV launches today
Today's a big day for Runes of Magic fans, as Runewaker and Frogster are launching the long-awaited Chapter IV: Lands of Despair update. The patch brings four new explorable regions to the realm of Taborea, new monsters and dungeons, server-wide battlefields, over 300 new quests, and a level cap increase (to 67). In story terms, Chapter IV introduces Demon Sismon, a new baddie who is fond of trailing disease, pestilence, and various forms of yuck in his wake, and players will need to discover his true motives in order to save Taborea and its citizens. The Chapter IV launch also features a new community event. Frogster is running a sightseeing contest and giving players the chance to win prizes including Logitech gaming mice and in-game items. Check out the new Chapter IV trailer after the cut and head to the official website to download the game!
Lost Pages of Taborea: How will Chapter 4's content affect PUGs, gear, and the economy?
In nine agonizing days, the lands will despair as Chapter 4 hits Runes of Magic with all the force of a horde of zombies unleashed upon the TED conference. There'll be zombies, there'll be Dwarves, and oh yeah, there'll be world battlefields. I'm not sure what that last one will entail, but it sounds cool, doesn't it? There's going to be some changes a comin' in RoM when the level cap is raised and new loot is dispersed among high-level players. MMOs can develop ecosystems that only the most in-tune players will be intimately familiar with. While you might be new to the game and happy enough to just quest or dabble in the many features RoM has to offer, there's a posh, red, velvety lounge filled with high-rollers keeping tabs on how new items and stats will trickle down to affect the game. A new level cap means new armor, which means current top gear will be obsolete for said high rollers. Welfare epics will be unleashed on the market, prices will change, and the race for better gear will commence. This week on Lost Pages of Taborea, I want to look at how new content and items will affect the game. How will all the new items affect the economy? How will new dungeons affect pick-up-groups? And will we ever see a Screaming Gargoyle as a pet?
Runes of Magic starts official video podcast [Updated]
Don't change that dial! Frogster is hitting the airwaves with its very first official podcast dedicated to all things Runes of Magic, and you are in danger of being transmogrified into a frog if you ignore it. RoMCast, as it's titled, is hosted by Runes of Magic CMs Mike Kiefer and Matthew Rider. The duo is dedicated to talking about all of the exciting -- and controversial -- subjects surrounding this free-to-play title. The podcast is accepting player questions for possible future discussions. To appeal to as wide of an audience as possible, RoMCast is filmed in English but subtitled in German, Spanish, Polish and French. You can catch the first episode of RoMCast after the jump as Kiefer and Rider talk about the Chapter IV: Lands of Despair update, zombies, the new box version of the game, and the tricky topic of balancing! [Update: Our RoM columnist Jeremy Stratton points out that the U.S. division of Frogster has also recently launched a video cast, this one called RoM Nation. Now RoM fans have double the aural fun!]
Lost Pages of Taborea: Chapter 4 roundup and speculation
I feel a little bit about RoM like Eliot does about Final Fantasy XI right now. News seems a tad sparse for Runes of Magic this week. We've had a few updates about Chapter 4, which is still on its way; I've recently gotten the RoM event-guild going (in spite of a rocky start); and Frogster gave us a sneak-peek of a major class rebalance. But most everything it still on the horizon. It allows for lots of fun speculation, as new updates always do. Will Dwarves be a playable race? Are Scouts getting nerfed or made even stronger? This week I put together a roundup of Chapter 4 news with a healthy dose of speculation thrown in. As you'll see after the break, we've actually been shown a lot, but no doubt there's even more we haven't seen at all. And that leaves us all with questions.
Runes of Magic's Lands of Despair detailed
Runes of Magic's Chapter IV update is approaching, and as it does so, Frogster is steadily releasing new information to tantalize its fans. Today, the company is appealing to the lore junkies in the crowd, releasing a short story on the actions and motivations of the demon Sismond. The story begins with the demon, disguised as a traveling merchant, as he pays a visit to the Grafu family, whose young daughter Annelia is suffering from a heart condition. His attempts to convince Annelia's father, Lord Grafu, to allow Sismond to implant a rune-forged heart into the girl failed; the Lord opted instead to sacrifice his own life in order to provide Annelia with his own heart. However, when she awoke to her father's fallen body on the floor, it took the demon little convincing to talk her into implanting the rune-forged heart within her father instead. The heart restored the Lord to life, but at the steep cost of his humanity, placing him under the demon's control. His plan set in motion, Sismond set to work manipulating the Dwarves and Rhino people of the region. By sending one of the Dwarves under his sway to murder Lanaik (a noble of the Rhino people of Kalo), the demon incited an all-out war between the two races. Neither side seems to benefit from this war, however, except for Sismond himself, who whisks the bodies of the fallen off to his secret lair for his own insidious purposes. Now it's up to Runes of Magic players to put an end to his schemes and restore life to the Lands of Despair.
Runes of Magic hints at more Chapter IV updates
Testing for Runes of Magic's Chapter IV: Lands of Despair update continues on the game's closed beta servers, at least for two more days. According to a news blurb on the free-to-play fantasy title's website, the patch is nearing the public consumption stage, at which point the masses will thrill to a new instance, new bosses, and various other opportunities for us to use the word new. New hidden battlefields are also in the works, as well as "two previously unknown races with a fierce and ancient rivalry." Dwarves vs. Rhinos might not have the same appeal as pirates vs. ninjas, Yankees vs. Red Sox, or Democrats vs. Republicans, but nonetheless Frogster and Runewaker have some story shenanigans up their respective sleeves for Runes of Magic lore fans. Check out the rather cryptic details at the official RoM website.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Pros and cons of Chapter 4's new starting zone
The Chapter 4 closed beta is well underway, and I finally got in to hack-n-slash my way through it. Actually, I sauntered through it carelessly on a high-level character. The new zone is terrific and very well-made, but I do have some misgivings about it. I started thinking about the implications of the new zone on the rest of Runes of Magic. How is this new area going to be treated by old and new players alike? How will it shape the game? There's a very different vibe I got that I think will affect players differently than previous zones have done. Whether intended or not, some designs have different psychological effects on different players. Some players love Vanguard: Saga of Heroes for its vast, seamless world, one that provides a realistic sense of adventure and life. World of Warcraft offers a large landmass with well-designed endgame raiding. Both of these styles, as well as others, are viewed and treated differently depending on what we as gamers enjoy. Are you wanting to live in the world? Are you wanting to climb the ladder quickly to enjoy raiding or are you wanting to score big as a leader in PvP? You can see my impressions and slightly uneasy feelings about questing and mob placement after the break. I threw in a snazzy high-definition video of the new zone for you to take a look at and share your thoughts on. How might it or might it not impact RoM? If you're so inclined to watch it until the end, I basically babble, stumble over my words, and elaborate on my main points in this article.
Despair not: Frogster promotes RoM Chapter IV closed beta contest
Did you watch Runes of Magic's Chapter IV trailer and instantly start glaring at the calendar that patch day hasn't arrived yet? While we can't make Chapter IV: Lands of Despair arrive any sooner, we can point you to a special contest that may get you a sneak peek at the all of zombie goodness a few weeks early! Frogster is granting closed beta spots to players who can convince the studio that they deserve to be on the front lines of cutting-edge new content. It's fairly simple, too: Just write three sentences as to why you deserve to be part of this beta and email them in to rombeta@frogster-america.com. Runes of Magic's Chapter IV update will be in closed beta from April 6th through April 29th and will have no NDA attached. As you wait to see whether you won the contest or not, why not check out Massively's preview of Lands of Despair? Your eyes will thank you later. %Gallery-116190%
Runes of Magic shows off a teaser trailer for Chapter 4
There's a lot to look forward to in the upcoming Runes of Magic chapter 4, as outlined by our own Jeremy Stratton quite recently. But sometimes, the promise of new systems can't quite stand up to an impressive new set of visuals, and a minute of video can provide plenty of excitement in ways that game mechanics usually can't. The newest trailer for the update, now dubbed Lands of Despair, should do an excellent job of drumming up player enthusiasm. Featuring a slow zoom-in accompanied by a steady and suitably creepy voice-over, the trailer is a step beyond any of the previous trailers the team has put together. The full trailer can be viewed on the game's official YouTube channel, and it provides an impressive cavalcade of imagery both unsettling and dramatic. Runes of Magic players might not have a precise date for the patch just yet, but between the visuals and the system changes, there's plenty to anticipate.
Lost Pages of Taborea: GDC 2011 chapter 4 sneak-peek
The big news is chapter 4 is on its way. Runes of Magic is getting a triple-class system -- that should help players find groups -- and more content to explore as players make their way to the new level-70 cap. Besides that and the exciting news that RoM will soon be playable in all its glory on Facebook without any need to download a client, we now know what players will encounter when they first venture into the Land of Malevolence, thanks to the Frogster folks at GDC 2011 who last week gave us a sneak-peek into the coming update! As most veterans of RoM know, chapters have always been delivered to us in chunks, and so shall it be with chapter 4. This first chunk will introduce us to a new instance, the new area (spanning levels 62 to 64), and some interesting story -- which always makes me happy. Read on to see what new things there are to look forward to in RoM and why Mages may be smiling a bit more when this new content is released.%Gallery-116190%
Runes of Magic announces Chapter IV and new mini event
It's almost time for a new stanza in the ongoing saga that is Runes of Magic, and Frogster and Runewaker Entertainment are putting the finishing touches on Chapter IV: Lands of Despair while eyeing an early April release window. The update will bump the level cap to 70 and introduce several new explorable zones, all in service to a storyline that boasts a mighty demon bent on driving the lands of Taborea into chaos. New locales include contaminated forests, poisonous rivers, and more castles than you can shake a stick at. One such battlement belongs to Lord Grafu, and his dungeon boasts a plethora of challenging puzzles and altercations that stand between intrepid adventurers and the plunder contained within. Frogster is also hosting a new in-game event beginning February 25th. Dubbed The Ancient Dreamland, the festivities feature double TP and EP and runs through March 1st. Check out our new Runes of Magic gallery below, and stay tuned for further Chapter IV details. %Gallery-116190%
Frogster releases Runes of Magic Chapter IV teasers
Free-to-play fantasy giant Runes of Magic has had more than its fair share of problems lately. When a hacker named Cpt.Z3r0 posted the usernames and passwords of several thousand Runes of Magic accounts, publisher Frogster was placed in a difficult position. Rather than giving in to the hacker's demands, Frogster has been working with law enforcement and attempting to improve internal security. Showing that they can still find the humour in this terrible situation, Frogster has released a parody video of the original hacker's video as a teaser trailer for their upcoming Chapter IV update. The teaser trailer comes at the same time as several new preview screenshots of the Chapter IV content, which the game's developer Runewaker is currently working on. Chapter IV is scheduled for release in April of this year, so if you're looking forward to the update, marvel at our gallery full of giant teddy bears, comfy seats and piles of gold, or skip past the cut to watch the short teaser trailer. %Gallery-116190%
Nexon brings Shakespeare's Hamlet to Mabinogi
To play Mabinogi or not to play Mabinogi, that is the question. Classic literature fans may have an easier time answering it after viewing two new trailers for Nexon's free-to-play fantasy MMORPG. The tortured Shakespearian prince will be making an appearance in Chapter 4 of the game's story campaign, and if you're scratching your head as to why, Nexon explains all on its official website. "Both Mabinogi and Hamlet are rich stories filled with twists, intrigue, and memorable characters. These similarities, along with the legacy of being one of the most famous of Shakespeare's works, made the story of Hamlet a natural to fit within the world of Mabinogi," it reads. The update will also be bringing new gameplay to Mabinogi in the form of theater missions and a new destiny system that allows for further skill specialization. Additionally, new character skills, shadow mission updates, and item upgrades are coming with the patch. Hit the jump to check out the two new videos and head to the official site for further details.
