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Nexon Europe brings horses to Mabinogi
Are those hoofbeats you hear in the latest Mabinogi Europe video? Horses have been available for North American Mabinogi players for years, but the European players have been left out in the cold. That's about to change, as Nexon Europe is bringing horses to their Mabinogi community. The announcement came yesterday from Nexon Europe: Shire, Thoroughbred, and Halflinger horses are now available in the cash shop. That's not all, though: the Unicorn mount is also available to European players until June 30th for 15,000 NX cash. The mounts offer different benefits and seat either one or two players depending on which you purchase. Check out the new Facebook video highlighting the horses, then pick up your very own, non-sparkly pony in Mabinogi!
Free for All: New changes call for new terms
As a writer for a large gaming website, I have learned to accept debate and discussion going off in quite a few directions, even if the original idea behind the article was not being talked about. This is a good thing, in my book, and will often demonstrate the concerns of the day better than requesting feedback more directly. If they can comment about certain subjects even in a comment section about opposite subjects, then you know that the issue is a really hot one. There are two subjects that can almost always pop up in any article's comment section, and these are: The NGE: Star Wars Galaxies' infamous game-altering changes are still talked about, despite the fact that the game now is able to stand on its own two feet quite well. It's as though the notorious series of tweaks and changes were so traumatic to some players that no amount of time will ever lessen the burn, even if the game were to fade away entirely. Free-to-play versus pay-to-play: I'm not confused about the appearance of the words; I'm concerned about the statements that pit the two payment models against each other, like the opposing sides of a presidential race. While I am all for comparing the two and do all the time, it has to be taken with a bit of humor in order to feel balanced. Even then, the discussions are soon pointless, being that both terms are slowly holding hands behind our backs. It turns out that free-to-play and subscriptions are smitten with each other.
E3 2010: Hands-on with Clone Wars Adventures
Arriving at the SOE booth at E3, one is assaulted with the shininess of their latest upcoming titles, DC Universe Online and The Agency. But scattered about the booth were demo stations for many of their other upcoming games including the recently announced Clone Wars Adventures. We haven't heard much about this game since it was announced (and our subsequent interview with the lead designer), but we got to sit down at E3 and find out what's involved. As a quick refresher, CWA is less a traditional MMORPG and more a virtual lobby where players can access a number of minigames. There's no leveling or quests or equipment with stats. It's more Free Realms and less EverQuest. It will be free-to-play as a Flash-based browser title when it arrives this fall. But how does all this actually play? Click past the jump for more info.
The Road to Mordor: Free Frodo for life!
Turbine? We need to talk. When you're going to drop one of the biggest game-changing announcements since launch, doing so an hour before I'm posting an article talking about how LotRO's been so quiet -- when I have no time to rewrite it -- is a good way to see if you can get my head to explode. Do you know what it's like to have to wait an entire week to talk about something this huge? I literally crawled up a wall, that's what it's like. Whew! Has there ever been a week this crazy in Lord of the Rings Online's history? If there has been, I wasn't there to see it. I've been reading and digesting a mountain's worth of forum posts on the subject, not to mention all of the chatter in the blogosphere: Sneaky Hobbits, LOTRO Weekly, The Green Dragon Inn, Harperella, Overly Positive, Screaming Monkeys, FlexYourGeek, Game By Night, Simple-n-Complex, Multiplaying, Stargrace, Casual is as Casual Does, Spouse Aggro, The Stone Kingdom, Doc Holiday, Mordor or Bust, Player Versus Developer, Nomnom.info, A Ding World, LOTRO Reporter, A Casual Stroll to Mordor, Spinksville, Kill Ten Rats, Tobold, No Prisoners No Mercy, Mordiceius, Yeebo Fernbottom, Ardwulf, Tish Tosh Tesh, Of Course I'll Play It!, Broken Toys, The Ancient Gaming Noob, NecroRogIcon, Psychochild, Keen, Blue Kae, MMO Gamer Chick, LevelCapped, Bio Break, Games and Geekery, Rainbow MMO and The Pix'led Life all had an opinion, for and against, and weren't shy about sharing.
Exclusive: Aika's Ashes of Betrayal interview
We're sure we're not alone in counting the days until Aika's impending expansion is finally upon us. The Ashes of Betrayal expansion is due out in North America on June 17th and promises to be packed with goodies like new class evolutions, new armor, new questing zones, new level caps, and new hotspots for relic wars. We were fortunate to land an interview with the Aika team at gPotato, who tackled such topics as Aika's perpetual beta status, the cash shop, the new Ashwood zone, the recently released Aitan Arena, the upcoming mega-dungeon, and the future of the adorably creepy fairy familiar Prans. The team even mentioned a few of their planned promotional contests -- do you want to win an iPad for playing Aika? Yes, yes you do. Join Massively past the cut as gPotato previews what's in store for us in Ashes of Betrayal -- and beyond!
Lost Pages of Taborea: The cash shop
I'm really looking forward to the coming weeks in Runes of Magic. I'm shopping around for a new guild to partake of siege wars and other guild goodness. I'm also planning to throw some funts or maybe even a macaroni toward the Item Mall. I've spent money on RoM before, but most of it went toward decorating my house, customizing the look of my equipment, or extra storage chests. This time around, it's all about beefing up my attributes and jumping into more content. I need to alleviate that trudging-through-mud feeling I'm getting from the leveling curve while prepping for some dungeon action. It will be win-win for everyone. I'll be having more fun by opening up new aspects of gameplay and you'll get to read all about it. First thing I need to do though is speed up some armor-enhancing to boost my ability to kick some butt. Since I'll be doing all of this shopping, I thought I'd cover my opinions on how Frogster handles the Item Mall. Click past the break -- free of charge -- to see my opinions on pricing, what types of items you can get and how it will affect your gaming.
Free for All: How much content does 25 dollars buy?
With the recent announcement of 25-dollar mounts in EverQuest II, gamers drew lines in the sand. "Step past this line, developers," said some, "and we'll teach you a lesson." Understandably, many thought that 25 dollars was too much to ask for a single in-game item. Meanwhile, hundreds, if not many thousands, bought the item and further blurred those lines. Some think that this is sending a dangerous message to developers, one that will only encourage further lazy development and lackluster efforts on the part of the world-makers. I think the more dangerous message is sent when you avoid the purchase of the mount, or avoid the use of any cash shop in any form. We can look at established and successful free-to-play games for our evidence, proof that content should be measured on a case-by-case basis. Players have shown that they are comfortable with buying their content a bit at a time, and developers have shown that they can be trusted to put out good content. But, what are these dangerous messages that the standard subscription model and box prices send to developers?
Allods Online new unisex items beg for attention
gPotato released two new outfits and a few other nifty items into their cash shop for Allods Online recently, and we're curious if any of you paid for them. Already some items on the list have created a bit of a stir, either with the price that is asked for it or with the description of an item. For example, while the few clothing items introduced are very lovely on either sex, some have complained that the prices are still too high. For the record, 1700 gPotatoes (the price for the Elven Evening Attire) equals seventeen US dollars. The one item that we think is the most useful seems to suffer from the worst description: "Ever been stuck in a wall with no GM around and your Adventurer's Stone on cool down? Well, just dig through your couch for a few pennies and purchase a Guiding Shard to take you to your faction's capitol for five cents a trip!" According to some of the comments we've read, it seems like the developers are asking the player to pay when they become stuck, instead of selling a cool return item. Despite these few issues, there are other items like the Astral Courier (think of it as a bank that comes to you when called) and the Adamantite Chest that might be more to your liking. You can check out the list here. It will be interesting to see how these new items are received, especially after the large amount of noise their first attempt brought on. We want to know what you think, and if you have plans to buy any of them? We're a little partial to the Evening Attire, ourselves. [Editor's Note: The description for the Guilding Shard is different in game than it is in the official website announcement that we quoted. The in game cash shop describes the item: "Use: Teleports you to the capital of your faction." We wanted to clarify the intended use for it.]
First Impressions: Kingory
Kingory is a browser based game that is set in ancient times, a time of gory combat and undefeated heroes. Honestly, I did not really care too much about what time it was set in, being that the buildings and lore could be swapped out for almost any other that we have seen before. It could have been a space setting, complete with huge tanks and space marines, or an ancient caveman world, complete with dinosaurs instead or balistas. To me, the real difference with Kingory is the speed in which you can do things and the scale at which you can do them. You start out with your normal browser game city, and click around to build the run-of-the-mill buildings that require other buildings that require other buildings in order to be built. You need a wall, a tavern, farms to provide food and other standards that we browser fans have grown used to. But the real glory happens when you slap down cash or earn items that help you grow faster. A few dollars or hours later and you will be well on your way to spying on your neighbors.
Alganon re-release: worth all the hype?
For starters, there are two things that I will not cover in this look at the Alganon re-launch: Derek Smart: I am still not that familiar with the man. I am familiar with his games, and familiar with the snarky jokes made at his expense, but I do not feel it has any bearing on how much or how little I enjoy a product that he is involved in. His religious beliefs probably affect his life and thus his work more than most things, yet I do not care to read about them either. To put it as he does in his forum signature: "Game developers are just human beings who happen to make games for a living. If you want to hold us up to higher standards of conduct, then go ahead...but don't be surprised if we don't uphold them." "WoW clones:": If we spend any amount of time comparing user interfaces, monster types and general looks, we will be here all day. I am a fan of 30's crime novels, a genre that definitely "borrows" stylistically from itself, but I do not dismiss the use of subtle details that separate different authors from one another simply because they sometimes feel the same or are set in the same universe. Let's not compare vehicles for the content, let's discuss the actual content.
Aika's service restriction problems have happy ending for existing players
When Aika's service restriction first hit, it was less an example of malice and more of poor timing working in all the worst ways. The game had always been meant for just North American players under gPotato's administration, but the European players who had spent money in the cash shop and subsequently gotten locked out of the game were... well, to say they were unhappy would be a thunderous understatement. But the team behind the game kept working on the issue, and they managed to come up with a compromise solution. An official announcement has just gone live restating that players outside North America will not be able to register to play Aika. However, players who had registered on or before April 7th will be able to continue playing, regardless of their location. That means that anyone affected by the sudden change in service restriction will be able to resume where they had left off, with all their cash shop purchases intact. It's an elegant and equitable solution, and our hats go off to the team for ensuring that players weren't completely shafted by an ex post facto ruling.
Alganon reveals much of the overhauled launch experience
It's easy to get wrapped up in the war of words between the inimitable Derek Smart and the equally inimitable David Allen, but the whole reason behind that back-and-forth is a game. Much of the news coming out about Alganon has been both sides sniping at each other, but it looks like the development team has been hard at work revamping the game for an April 28th launch. As the website has slowly been updated, they've begun posting more and more information about what's due out when the game goes live... which promises to be pretty extensive. There's more about the various cash shop items that can be purchased with the new "subscription-free" model, which follows a vaguely Dungeons & Dragons Online pattern -- increased experience gain, bonuses to study speeds, limited-duration enchanted equipment. The starter areas are also being revamped, with the Asharr Humans starting in the Temple of Argon (which may or may not contain an eye) and the Temple of Xukiss becoming the start point for Talrok Kujix characters. And as expected, the feature list prominently states that Alganon's graphics have been overhauled, especially for the UI. With a little over a week to go, it should be interesting to see how the new iteration of the game plays out.
Get organized in Dungeon Fighter Online
Dungeon Fighter Online isn't for everyone, but it's not trying to be. There are elements it has and others it omits that wouldn't fit in any other game. But the lack of a decent guild system has still been a keenly felt omission from this hybrid brawler-MMORPG. So it's good news for players that a new event is taking place in-game right now before the game launches its guild system on April 28th. While the system isn't in place yet, there's unsurprisingly an official guild recruitment page to help players organize themselves early. Unlike many games, guilds in Dungeon Fighter Online will provide buffs and other benefits to members beyond simple companionship, a preview of which is available during the in-game event. Players will also get a taste of the new Selectable Avatar Items, a new offering in the cash shop that gives the freedom to choose specific stats and styles for their Avatar. While the items are only available for a limited time in-game, being able to have fine control over what you're using is generally well worth the trade. Though the game's official launch isn't until June, it's still in an open beta, so anyone interested can start getting together for fun and profit
Free for All: The first sample is free
There is a common myth floating around the MMOsphere, and I will have to admit that I have done my part in spreading it. It's one of those half-truths that can be used on either side of the free-to-play debate, and could help or hinder the spread of high quality free to play titles. That myth? That free-to-play games are free. They are not, essentially, as is nothing in life. Someone has to pay at some point; either at the point of creation, the point of making a character or at the point of paying the electricity bills. Also the price to make the games keeps going up more, the last quality game driving up the stakes for the next. Free-to-play is steadily shaking off the stereotype of cheap and grindy, but soon enough they will face the same issues that subscription model games face. Being free does not mean costing nothing, even though many of us blissfully log in night after night without paying a dime.
Aika service restricted with some unintended consequences
When Aika opened its item shop, a comparison or two to Allods Online was inevitable. After all, with gPotato managing both games, there were a few people that wondered if the same pricing issues might show up. Turns out that the cash shop has still caused problems... but it's not the prices, it's the fact that the game is only supposed to be operating in North America at the moment. A statement was posted earlier today that the game would be blocking IPs from outside of North America, as gPotato only had the rights to operate the game for that region. The problem is the number of international players who had been playing the game and had purchased items from the cash shop. As a result of the block, these players are obviously left out in the cold with no way to access Aika... and no real recourse for the items that they had already purchased from the item shop.
Karos Online launch events revealed
There are few days more exciting than the launch of a new MMORPG, and the Karos Online folks want to usher theirs in with style. Once the servers come up on April 9th, Galaxy Gate has a slew of goodies for the taking to anyone who's willing to be pioneers in this untamed world. For starters, all new players will receive a "Newbie Potion Pack" to give them a leg up on the world. Enterprising and observant souls can scoop up gift boxes and celebration cakes, the latter of which can be either consumed for a buff or turned in for a spiffy quest reward, including a 12-slot bag and a rare white tiger mount. Even the simple act of leveling enrolls you in a chance to win a fabulous prize bundle! Being a free-to-play title, Karos isn't shy about promoting the one feature that puts food on their tables: the item shop. For a modest fee, players can procure trinkets and potions to protect and serve. These include Protection Capsules (which prevent the loss of items upon death), Guardian Angels (reduce XP loss upon death) and 'Lucky' Fishing Rods (increased chance of gaining multiple fish). While the F2P fantasy market certainly isn't lacking for healthy competition these days, Karos Online hopes to grab a slice of the pie with these tempting goodies. Check out the game when it launches on April 9th and let us know what you think!
Aika item shop opens
Aika has been generating some buzz here on Massively as a new PvP-focused free-to-play game with some interesting gameplay mechanics. It's been in open beta for a little while now, and the game has taken the first cautious steps toward their business model: the item shop for the game has gone live. Considering what happened when the last gPotato free-to-play game launched its item shop, it's hard not to be a little... leery of what might ensue when the fans look at the pricing. Sure enough, there have been threads popping up in reaction, but the overall response has been fairly low-key. It would seem that the impact of what happened to Allods Online and its price model were taken to heart. The shop still isn't quite live on the official site, but it promises to make life at least mildly easier and offer several convenience features to players. So if you've been waiting to try Aika until you see how the cash shop plays out, you might want to go over and check the open beta out now.
The Daily Grind: What's your free-to-play breaking point?
The entire concept of free-to-play is becoming more and more prevalent in MMOs lately, particularly in the past year. It's a great concept, but unless the game in question is being produced by someone wealthy and altruistic, the companies presenting these games are still out to profit. That's where item shops come in: from the "pay for shortcuts" model of Dungeons and Dragons Online to the now-infamous perfumes in Allods Online, every free-to-play game will offer premium items or things that would otherwise take some time to get in exchange for a little quality time with your credit card. So the question is, what's your breaking point? At what point do you look at the cash shop and decide "this is not free-to-play because that item is a necessity and/or the time required to get it free is unreasonable?" It's entirely a matter of opinion, depending in large part on your style of play. If you don't mind spending a certain amount of time to earn whatever item or in-game currency you need, it's not going to bother you as much. If you just want to play the game without worrying about special items or working through some sort of point system to get things in the cash shop, you're going to feel differently. So hit the little button at the bottom and tell us what you think!
Anti-Aliased: "Cash shop" shouldn't be a dirty phrase
A not so long time ago in an interview located not too far away, one of our intrepid readers asked Alganon's David Allen if they ever considered a free-to-play model for their game. His response was the following: "Right now, the industry standard is to squeeze as much money as they can out of players by introducing cash shops, and forcing them to pay for things that ought to have been part of the game. We don't want to do that. We want Alganon to be a service. You pay us a subscription so we can continue to develop and run a game that you enjoy playing. It's not a product where you hand us money and we hand you a vanity pet, or mount, or epic sword and then walk away. " So, David... not to be "that girl" but... um... how's that cash shop working out for ya? So, now that I've said what pretty much everyone was thinking when they heard that announcement from Quest Online, let's talk about cash shops this week and how we seem to royally keep screwing them up in our culture. Because, as the title says, "cash shop" just shouldn't be a dirty phrase in our industry.
Allods Online announces changes to cash shop pricing
When Allods Online soft-launched on February 16th, it had proven just how much buzz a free-to-play game could generate in a short span of time. Three days later, it proved how quickly a game's reputation could plummet, as the release of the cash shop prices sent most players into a paroxysm of rage. The official statements (and interviews) were seen as amounting to "well, it's our game so pay up," and the crowd was quickly turning around and heading for the hills. So an age-old strategy has been employed: the powers that be are reversing their position The official announcement doesn't give any details, but it makes it clear that the community outrage has been heard, and the cash shop prices will be revised sometime this week. The structuring has been changed to make "participation in this element of the game" less onerous, and no doubt to try and reverse some of the animosity leveled against Astrum Nival and gPotato in recent days. It remains to be seen whether or not the turnaround will mollify players or if the changes will be too little too late, but it's good to see that the voice of the players has been heard all through Allods Online.
