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Drinking and fighting are encouraged in Age of Wushu
Sobriety is overrated. Sure, a lot of games give players the options to get characters plastered, but Age of Wushu takes it one step further by incorporating the pop culture notion of drunken fighting into the game. A character with a high alcohol tolerance won't just be able to fight after tipping back a few drinks; he'll actually be able to fight better due to an Evade buff granted after imbibing. Characters with lower tolerance, meanwhile, will just stagger and find themselves unable to react appropriately. That's not the limit of what you can do with liquor in a fight, though. You can also spray your opponent with spirits in mid-battle, hopefully intoxicating and disorienting the other fighter. Of course, if you attempt to use this technique on someone with a predilection for potables, you might find that you've just handed your nemesis a major advantage. Take a look at some plastered punching in the preview video just past the break.
Big Nerd Ranch Clash of the Coders: Projects
As the teams battle away on the Clash of the Coders, ideas are quickly becoming reality as developers are hard at work on their projects. Some projects are, admittedly, utilitarian. Now is a great opportunity for devs to create in-house tools for use during the rest of the year. In a shop that caters to Android as well as iOS development, tracking and managing dozens of Android variations can prove a big challenge, as BNR works to create apps for many-shaped phones and tablets. Other projects are all about the fun. One team is building a giant joystick, another electronically scrubbing already-started crosswords from the backs of those on-line airline magazines. One of my favorite projects, however, is less technological than inspirational. The Carter Center has been monitoring the eradication of the guinea worm, a parasite that's been documented throughout human history. A Nerd Ranch team is working on an app to promote awareness. In 1986, when the center first started its campaign there were 3.5 million cases reported across Africa and Asia. By 2012, that number had dropped to just 542. "Guinea worm disease is poised to be the next human disease after smallpox to be eradicated," writes the Carter website. The team's app offers background, support links and -- if they manage to pull it off -- a countdown clock that reflects the success on the war of the guinea worm over time. Do any of the teams have a lock on the win? It's still too early to tell.
Age of Wushu retail edition offers Jet Li training session
If you're up for dropping some money on the recently launched Age of Wushu, a new special retail edition is available both online and at Gamestop. This box version of the game goes for $20 and offers "more than $80 worth" of in-game goodies. These incentives include a special horse mount, in-game currency, 30 days of VIP access, reputation scrolls, fashion outfits, and boosts for experience and Chi. If that hasn't sold you yet, Snail Games is hoping that some one-on-one time with martial arts film star Jet Li will. Players can train with a digital Jet Li in a special instanced adventure that comes only with this edition. We direct the curious to the special retail edition trailer after the jump.
Choose My Adventure: Extreme DIY makeover edition
Life may be like a box of chocolates, but gaming is like a Do-It-Yourself project. It may not be as mouth-watering an analogy, but it is certainly fitting: MMOs are a giant construction zone where players build their own experiences in a virtual world using tools from the game and their own imagination. Each project is a unique undertaking, bearing the personal touches of the builder, whether the builder is an individual or a group like a guild. Some players prefer to build a single residence and settle in, while others enjoy moving from project to project, exploring new territory and testing new tools. Me? I tend toward the former; I'm the kind who tinkers around in one place over a long period of time. But all that's about to change. Again. That's right, folks; it's my turn to break ground on yet another Choose My Adventure! For the next six weeks I am leaving the comfy confines of my familiar surroundings and allowing you to direct my next MMO project. Yes, my dear Massively friends, you will be the foreman of this endeavor, determining every step of the construction, from where I'll build my newest experience to what tools I'll get to use.
Age of Wushu getting new PvP, PvE content
Snail has updated Age of Wushu's website with its immediate designs for the western version of the recently launched wuxia sandbox. The firm has grand plans to bring content from the game's Chinese server to North America including the Mount Hua PvP competition, new rage skills, and the new Yanmen Pass instance. Snail also implores gamers to "stop living in the close friend zone" by availing themselves of the game's wedding mechanics. The company has also published its official stance on gold sellers and gold spam, as well as its intention to ban both buyers and sellers. [Thanks Mikey!]
Age of Wushu opens new server to meet launch demand
The free-to-play action MMO Age of Wushu had such a successful launch day last week that Snail Games has expanded to another server over the weekend. The Red Phoenix server is now available for new and existing players to enjoy with the same launch events as the original three servers. Be sure to check out our launch day coverage if you're curious to learn more about the martial arts MMO.
Some Assembly Required: Your guide to MMO sandboxes in 2013 and beyond
Welcome to Massively's guide to MMO sandboxes in 2013 and beyond. I've collected the essential details on all the major sandbox titles releasing this year and in the near future in one easy-to-reference article. If you're wondering whether ArcheAge forces you to PvP, or if you can't tell The Repopulation from Origins of Malu, this is your post. I'll be updating it as game features are added, removed, or revealed, so be sure to use the comments to let me know if I've overlooked a particularly noteworthy item. Finally, I want to point out that this isn't an exhaustive list because of the sheer number of sandbox projects ongoing. For now, I'm choosing to focus on the ones that will be playable in 2013/2014 as well as the projects that have a big-name developer attached.
Age of Wushu launch day roundup [Updated]
Don't let the delicate beauty of Age of Wushu's looks fool you: This is one savage MMO. We've been tracking the progress of Snail Games' localization and tweaks for Western audiences for months now (as well as voting the game our most anticipated of last year's E3 awards), and the day of its launch is finally here. Age of Wushu is a free-to-play martial arts sandbox that's set in a semi-historical China. On top of several schools of fighting styles, the MMO includes unconventional features such as kidnapping, offline professions, crafting battles, and weddings. Check out Massively's extensive coverage of Age of Wushu after the jump and stay tuned for Patrick's impressions of the launch! [Update]: Snail has released an Age of Wushu launch trailer, viewable after the break.
Age of Wushu shows off guild warfare
Do you think that your guild is the best group of people anywhere? Age of Wushu encourages that line of thinking, because you're going to need to stand together if you want to defend yourself from all of the other guilds thinking the exact same thing. The latest development blog on the game explains how guilds can control territories as well as how they can lose those lands if they fail to defend against their enemies. Guild territories are attached to existing zones seamlessly without a loading screen, although you have to speak to an NPC to teleport there. Structures on controlled territories can be upgraded for various benefits, but those upgrades can be lost if a rival guild assaults the territory. Check out a video of guild warfare in action just past the break, and get ready for the game's official launch this Wednesday by getting ready to pick your enemies and burn all they own to the ground.
Age of Wushu China introduces factions, dating, and weather
A content update is blowing in for Age of Wushu players on the Chinese server, one that adds a few new features to the sandbox game including factions, dating (yes, really), and an active weather system. Players who never settled on a school will soon have even more options to choose from; instead of joining a school, they can join a faction. However, players who're already members of a school can also join a faction either by school betrayal, requesting permission to wander, or facial surgery. Each method affects school skills to varying degrees. The two known factions are Rootless Clan and Palace of Moving Flowers, both of which feature very stringent admission requirements (castrated males and pretty females, respectively). Players can also participate in online dating, Age of Wushu-style. Dating allows players to choose an offline player with whom to build a relationship through various quests. On top of these changes, players will also enjoy a more robust and active environmental system that includes a day/night cycle, seasons, and weather -- even eclipses! Although this content update is currently slated for the games Chinese servers, you can still enjoy a look at the weather systems in the following trailer.
GDC 2013: The MMO impact of the Webzen and Gala-Net merge
Acquisition. Though it sounds pretty benign on its own, when used in reference to one developer taking over another, the word can inspire fear in the hearts of gamers. Questions quickly arise about the future of titles that fall on the acquired side of the equation. How will the games and players be affected by the change? Will there even still be a game? I sat down with Claas Wolter (European PR Manager) and Deanna Peter (Marketing/PR Associate) to discuss just this topic regarding the recent purchase of Gala-Net (the parent company of gPotato) by Webzen and how that acquisition will affect Allods Online, Age of Wulin, Terras Militaris, and the company's other MMORPGs.
Jet Li: There's 'no good reason to debunk virtual gaming as a sport'
Jet Li may be known for his martial arts prowess, but he's also an avid gamer according to an interview translation at MMO Culture. Li recently attended an Age of Wushu PvP tournament and had some interesting things to say about e-sports and the validity of video gaming as a sport in general. "If poker card games and chess both have the players sitting down and are considered sports, why not virtual gaming as well," Li explained. "There are two kinds of sports: one physical and one mental. There is no good reason to debunk virtual gaming as a sport, and I believe the participants of such virtual PvP events have the same mentality as physical athletes."
Age of Wushu global PvP tourney welcomes Jet Li
Martial arts superstar Jet Li put in an appearance at Age of Wushu's first global PvP tournament last week. The competition drew virtual fighters from North America, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Malaysia, according to MMO Culture. The tourney winner took home 1,000,000 CNY (approximately $161,000). Li has been involved in various aspects of Age of Wushu's pre-release marketing campaign, including a brief teaser that you can view after the break. The fantasy wuxia MMO officially launches in North America on April 10th.
Sony Computer Entertainment to fuse Asian and Japanese units into one
As part of recent restructuring and cost-cutting efforts, Sony's Computer Entertainment (SCE) division will merge its Asian and Japanese operations into a single entity. The company said that it would result in a new management unit, with SCE Japan president Hiroshi Kawano taking the helm and the Asian unit's ex-chief, Hiroyuki Oda becoming his deputy. Departments like marketing and finance will also merge in an effort to save cash, as the company hopes to stanch all the recent bleeding and try to make its fiscal 2012 a throwback to the glory days.
HTC Butterfly said to be getting a sequel, thanks to strong sales in Asia
It's anyone's guess how the HTC One will fare in the West. After all, quality doesn't guarantee success. If we look across to Asia, though, we can see that the One's counterpart in that hemisphere, the Butterfly, has already gained some traction. Supply has failed to meet demand in its Taiwanese homeland and, according to Focus Taiwan, the phone has enjoyed "brisk sales" in Japan too -- at one point toppling the iPhone 5 to become KDDI's bestselling handset. There's been sufficient interest, in fact, that HTC's marketing boss Ben Ho has been quoted as promising a successor to the Butterfly, which will carry the same brand name. He didn't say when a Butterfly II might arrive, or what new "innovations" it might deliver, but it's an encouraging sign nonetheless.
Buy a box for Age of Wushu and gain exclusive adventures
Who doesn't like buying a boxed edition of a free-to-play game? The folks at Snail Games certainly hope you want to do precisely that, since the studio has just announced a special boxed retail copy of Age of Wushu. Available at some point after the game's release on April 10th, the boxed copy will retail at $19.99, but supposedly contains more some $80 worth of bonuses for purchasers. Aside from two months of free VIP status, a 30-day mount, and 500 pieces of silver, the boxed edition contains an exclusive quest. Players who purchase this version will gain access to a solo adventure with Jet Li, fighting to save a village from destruction. If you already purchased one of the big content packages for the game, don't worry -- everyone who purchased the Elite Edition prior to the first beta event will receive all of the boxed edition goodies for free. Otherwise, you might need to grab yourself a box when it comes out.
HTC One officially hits Germany, UK and Taiwan next week, other regions before the end of April
There's been an uncertainty hovering over just when the HTC One would make its formal debut, between delays in many areas and a trickle of availability in others. At least in theory, those doubts have been resolved: HTC now says that Germany, the UK and Taiwan will have an official One launch next week. Europe, North America and large swaths of Asia-Pacific will get their own units before the end of April. The company hasn't been more specific about carrier deployments, but we're sure that HTC is happy just to beat a key competitor to store shelves. Read the company's full statement after the break.
Openly mock gravity with Age of Wushu's flying skills
The wuxia films that inspire many of Age of Wushu's mechanics have a fairly uniform attitude toward vertical mobility: screw gravity. Needless to say, the game takes that lesson to heart. A new article and video detailing the game's Flying skills makes it clear that players will not simply be encouraged to defy gravity but to go all-out and actively mock the idea that anything more than boredom keeps both feet planted on the ground. Flying skills are treated like normal skills in the sense that players must locate skill tomes to unlock new abilities, but once unlocked these skills are only limited by the character's Stamina. As long as your character has Stamina you can feel free to run straight up walls, jump off with a series of spinning backflips, and then land from a great height without so much as a bruise. If you do run out, though... well, gravity responds poorly to mockery. Check out the video just past the cut to see what it looks like to spit in the face of downward velocity.
Age of Wushu's free-to-play model detailed
Age of Wushu is launching for keeps on April 10th, so get your wallets ready! Or, well, don't. Age of Wushu will remain free-to-play at launch, with no box price or subscription fee. You'll have full access to combat, locations, stories, trading, guilds, and all other experiences without paying a single cent. That doesn't mean that you can't spend money on the game if you really want to. Age of Wushu's "mall" will sell vanity costumes that do not enhance stats or abilities. Skills "may be sold in the mall at future dates," but will be low-level skills that need to be cultivated and would not outweigh school or quest skills in PvP.
Age of Wushu introduces Battlefield Arenas
Age of Wushu is launching out of closed beta on April 10th, and with that launch comes another newly announced feature: Battlefield Arenas. These arenas allow players to test out their PvP skills in a closed and controlled environment before hitting the mean streets. The arenas will introduce two distinct modes: Power Competition and Death Mode. Power Competition scores teams for the kills made, while Death Mode is faster and more intense with no respawn timers and no time limit. You can read more about these Battlefield Arenas at the official Age of Wushu site and be sure to watch the arena modes in action during the video embedded just after the jump.
