allods-online
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One Shots: Doing the wave
While Allods Online remains behind closed (beta) doors, the folks at gPotato are allowing people to send in their pictures for One Shots. There's been quite some buzz about this game's graphics, with some interesting write-ups out there in the wild. Just how the final game will shape up will remains to be seen, considering it's still in closed beta. This image comes to us from Sarah, who writes in: My character name in [this] picture is Willow from Allods. This is on the path to Siveria, in front of the waterfall there. I send you a warrior's greeting! If you're playing a game we haven't highlighted here recently, we'd love to see your screenshots. It's always interesting to check in on lands we don't often see! Just snap a screen and send it to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name and a quick description of the image. If we use your image, you get full credit for sending it along. Couldn't be easier!%Gallery-9798%
The Daily Grind: What game are you looking forward to next year?
Okay, it's not quite the new year yet. But you've made your Christmas list by now (or your winter-holiday-of-choice list), you've probably gotten your pre-orders in, and you've hopefully narrowed down what you'll be playing next year. And it looks to be pretty packed, with an entry for both the Star Wars and Star Trek IPs, a new offering from Square-Enix, Allods Online in the free-to-play market, expansions for City of Heroes as well as some other fly-by-night game, and many more that would take an entire post just to list. So today, with the next year still a little bit away but not so far, we ask: what game or expansion are you looking forward to? Are there several different new games, several expansions, or a mix of both? Are you planning on moving away from your current game to play one that's launching next year, or are you looking forward to something else as a nice side game? Or are you on the opposite end of the spectrum, preferring to sit pretty with your current game and ignore the inevitable storm of releases next year?
More details on Allods Online gameplay
The second round of closed beta testing is underway for Allods Online, and Keen from Keen and Graev's Gaming Blog is one of the participants. Luckily for us he's in a sharing mood, and passed along some great advice in his latest blog entry. Keen has spent a fair amount of time exploring the game and getting a feel for how things work, particularly some aspects of gameplay that are a little confusing for new players. Things like rest experience and your allotted fatigue amount can be a bit hard to understand at first glance, but Keen offers some valuable tips on understanding the system. Similarly, his advice on stat allocation will give your character a jump-start, as well as prevent you from making some mistakes thanks to poorly translated tooltips and guides. He also checked out a dungeon, and gives a quick overview of his experiences there; as with the other areas, this provided some handy tips and a nice overview of the dungeon area. If you're considering Allods Online, the full entry is something you'll want to read. You'll thank us -- and Keen even more so -- if you do.
The Daily Grind: Thanksgiving eating binge edition
Everyone during Thanksgiving Day asks you what you're thankful for. It's a logical if somewhat bland question, given the nature of the holiday. But today, we here at Massively would like to celebrate something equally integral to the holiday -- stuffing yourself until you can no longer move under your own power. Today, we want to know what game you're going to be gorging yourself on today and with any further time off you get in the near future -- what you're going to just play until your eyes roll back in your head. Really, what better way to celebrate a holiday where our biggest tradition is eating in excess? Perhaps you're going to enjoy some Allods Online in the closed beta, being lucky enough to be in the beta and enjoy a game that's getting some good press thus far. Maybe you'd prefer to wander the wastes of Fallen Earth and take in a full helping of niche gameplay and deep systems. Or perhaps you're just taking a spin through an old favorite like EVE Online and taking comfort in the familiar. When you have the time, what game are you devouring?
Allods Online enters second closed beta, and we have keys for you!
Looking for something else to be thankful for this holiday weekend (in the US)? Allods Online is set to enter its second closed beta stage of testing for North American players on December 1st at 2pm EST, and we have 4,000 keys to give out to the Massively readers. To grab your own key, head on over to our giveaway page and follow the directions posted there. This closed beta stage will run from December 1st through the 15th and feature six new zones: two new zones for the League, three new zones for the Empire, plus an exclusive zone only available to the Warden archetype. There will also be a new diverse set of enemies (Massive Drakes, Harpies, Scorpions, and Arctic Yetis), and an increased level cap to Level 20. Also be sure to check out our First Impressions video on the game to see what we thought about it in this early stage. [Reminder: This stage of beta won't start until December 1st, so hold onto your keys until then!]
Allods Online's European closed beta starts November 19
Allods Online, the new free-to-play MMO from gPotato, has been getting some attention from the Massively staff lately, so we're excited to hear that European players are getting a shot at it too. Phase one of the EU closed beta starts this Thursday. Beta testers can experience the game up to level 19, as opposed to the level ten cap that current US beta testers are experiencing. Both League and Empire factions are available for play, and there are no class or race restrictions. They'll be playing on the "Isa" server, named after the Gibberlings homeland. While the beta is currently only available in English, upcoming beta phases will include French and German servers and clients as well. If you are interested in participating in any of the closed beta phases, there are a couple of ways to pursue a beta key. You can register on the official site, and beta keys will be made available on the Allods Online Facebook and Twitter pages. Allods Online is scheduled for release in early 2010.
First Impressions: Allods Online
Because we don't do straight reviews on this site, a First Impressions piece is the closest you're going to get. In First Impressions, we run through the first 5 to 10 levels of a game and let you know what we thought. In this one for gPotato's upcoming free-to-play Allods Online, we did something a bit different. Instead of just a write-up, we've also done a short video to show the visual side of our impressions. Why? Because Allods Online deserves it, in our opinion. Keep reading after the jump for the embedded video and a brief run-down of what we thought.
One Shots: A look at Allods
With not just one, but two rounds of Allods Online beta keys flying off of our Massively Codes site, we figured it would be a matter of time before we started to see some images from this interesting F2P game currently in beta. Today's image comes to us from Pingles, who said they've cleared the Allods Online players to send in their images to us. He writes in: So far the Allods beta is going great and we have their permission to submit screenshots! My player Pingles has just reached his capital town and I'm very impressed by both the design and the quality of the artwork. Thanks for sharing with us! Hopefully we'll see more as people get in there and check it out.If you've actually read this far, it means you must like One Shots, so why not send in some screenshots from your MMO gaming? We need lots more screenshot love, and you're the best ones to help us out. Just grab screenshots from your favorite MMO and send it to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name and a quick description. We'll showcase the screenshot and give you the credit for sending it along. You know you want to! %Gallery-9798%
Allods Online closed beta begins today and we have more keys!
Last week, we announced an upcoming closed beta test for Allods Online, with 500 keys to give out to the Massively readers. Since that went so well (the keys were gone in less than two hours!), we've been given 1k more to kick off the official CBT1, which starts at 2pm ET today. This first stage of closed beta covers levels 1-10 for both League and Empire sides, including all races, classes, and relevant zones. The beta test will run from November 10th through November 24th. To grab your key, head on over to our giveaway page and follow the directions there. Remember, it doesn't start until 2pm ET today, so you have plenty of time to download and be ready!
Massively's Allods Online closed beta key giveaway
North American Closed Beta Test 1 is beginning on November 10th for Allods Online, and we're happy to throw a few keys out to our loyal readers. We have 500 to give out, thanks to our friends at gPotato, so they may go quickly. Simply head on over to our giveaway page and follow the directions there. You can download the game from this link, but it won't be available until 2pm EDT today. You can also take a look at their main website to find out some interesting tidbits about the expansiveness of the game and its award-winning development team. [Update: Make sure to only enter the numbers after the comma in the beta code you receive. Thanks!]
The space after death in Allods Online
To be or not to be, that is the question -- whether 'tis nobler in Allods Online to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous aggro, or to take up arms against a sea of mobs, and by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep -- to sleep, perchance to enter Purgatory. Aye, there's the rub -- for in that sleep of death what penalties may come when we have shuffled off this mortal server must give us pause. The most recent bit of news out of Astrum Nival's upcoming free-to-play MMO Allods Online concerns the nature of death, and what better way to discuss that then touching upon Hamlet? Well, perhaps actually talking about it. The short version, however, is that the inhabitants of the game consider death as a fairly irrelevant situation altogether. Elves, for instance, view it as an opportunity to create a particularly beautiful moment of their lives. Orcs take it in stride, much like losing a match of goblinoball, in the sense that there will always be another match. The reason for this rather lackadaisical attitude toward that undiscovered country from which no traveler returns is detailed in the latest bit of news, as well as gameplay effects of passing on in the game. Though reading more is not an enterprise of great pitch and moment, lose not the name of action and take the time to read it.
Kick the goblin in the upcoming Allods Online
After a long day of grinding, there's nothing quite like the appeal of getting a chance to kick back... or perhaps to kick a hapless goblin across a playing field. Allods Online, the upcoming fantasy space opera from Russian developer Astrum Nival, has released some details regarding the sport of Goblinoball -- the national pasttime of the orcish race, and one of the game's forms of informal PvP. By way of introducing the players to the sport, they explain a great deal of the game's orcish lore, explaining the direct and warlike nature of the race and their inherent belief that only those strong enough to defend themselves are entitled to any rights. Goblinoball in the game's storyline has evolved as a way for orcs to settle their differences without necessarily killing one another, taking advantage of the plentiful and weak goblins of their homeland out of a sense of autocratic glee. The game is based in no small part off football (or soccer to the American audience), right down to the culture of screaming and violent fans, which suits the orcs perfectly. If the description of the event sounds fun to you -- or if you just like kicking around defenseless short things -- the game's closed beta is still accepting registrations. If you'd prefer avoiding the beta, however, you can rest assured that the game will be free-to-play and quite accessible after launch.
Allods Online taking sign-ups for closed beta
gPotato has announced that Allods Online is just about to enter its closed beta phase of testing, and there is now a sign-up form available for those interested in getting involved. The upcoming free-to-play title is being developed by Russian studio Astrum Nival, who are responsible for localizing and publishing a number of online games for the Russian market, as well as developing Heroes of Might and Magic V (though they were known as Nival Interactive at that time, the core team is now part of Astrum Nival). With Allods Online, the team hopes to create a game that stands out in the free-to-play arena due to its high production values -- with a US$12 million budget to work with, they certainly have the opportunity to achieve this goal. It is based on a popular Russian single player RPG called Allods (or Rage of Mages internationally).So what's the game actually about? Here's the developer's rundown: "Allods Online is a free full blown MMORPG set in a fantasy space opera universe with player-built and player-controlled space battleships, creating a new dimension of co-operative game play. Join one of the 2 factions at war in the deep storyline by choosing from one of the 28 classes available." If this has you wanting to find out more, then make sure to visit the game's site and sign up for the closed beta. It's set to begin in the next couple of weeks, with further invites being sent out in waves after the initial batch. There are also some incentives for players who reach certain levels during the test. Head past the break to see a trailer explaining a little bit about the title's battleship gameplay.
gPotato to unveil new project at GamesCom
The gPotato games portal, hosted by Gala Networks Europe in Dublin, Ireland, will be on hand in force for the upcoming GamesCom convention in Cologne where they will announce and unveil a new MMO project for the portal.The new project, which will be demoed at the convention, comes with a tentative release date of early 2010. The genre or nature of the new project has not been released either, so it's anybody's guess as to what the new title will be.gPotato currently hosts some of the more popular free-to-play MMOs, including Dragonica, Rappelz, Flyff, and Allods Online. Those four games will be on hand at the convention as well for demonstration, so it's sure to be a game filled good time over at the gPotato booth!
Nival Online's president discusses Russian MMOs
IGN has posted part one of a series taking a look at European RPG and MMO developers, beginning with Nival Online, Russia's number-one dev house. Nival's president, Sergey Orlovskiy discusses upcoming titles, like Allods Online, expected to arrive in Russia the first quarter of next year; rising development costs and how to manage them; the influence on the East of Western MMOs, and other interesting topics.It's true that the Eastern market news tends to be dominated by China and Korea, and this is a shame, because Russia is on its way to becoming a major power in the MMO industry. Enjoy the interview![Source]
