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Embrace your maniacal side with Age of Wushu's Jianghu system
How do you know where you stand in relation to your fellow players? You may call some of them your friends, but words are wind. Thanks to Age of Wushu's Jianghu system, however, you'll soon be able to neatly track your relationship with others. You can partake in several relationship types, such as being Close Friends, Acquaintances, or Blood Enemies. Friendship is measured by Intimacy, which can be earned by teaming up and giving gifts and decreased by killing or kidnapping. Players can choose to add others to their Enemy List after being killed or kidnapped, and things just go downhill from there. But wait, there's more! Along with defining your relationship status, you will also be able to act in such a way as to earn the tag of Heroic, Maniacal, Evil, or Sinister. Players with a higher Chivalry than Guild rating will be named Heroic, while players with a higher Guilt than Chivalry rating will fall to the dark side.
Age of Wushu explains battle arrays
If you're going to be taking part in group combat in Age of Wushu, you need to know about battle arrays. Despite the name, these are not organizations of various battles that serve as an index of information. Rather, they're a type of buffing formation that players can enter to improve a group's overall effectiveness in conflicts. A new article on the official site goes into detail about how battle arrays work and what players can do to maximize their effectiveness. Arrays vary in strength and scope, with the simplest array requiring only three players to execute. There are six arrays in the game without any school requirements and several more in individual schools, allowing for a variety of group-wide buffs that provide several effects in combat. And if one of the people in the array happens to be a skilled Weiqi player, arrays only get better. To get a clearer picture of these group-based buffs, dive into the full article.
Age of Wushu to launch on April 10th
If the launch delay of Age of Wushu caused you to sad-emoticon all over the internet, then it's time to break out the colon-and-capital-D keys: Snail Games announced that it is releasing the martial arts MMO on April 10th in North America. Content Generation Lead Tyler Rawlins says that the extra beta testing has done a world of good for the game: "The beta has been a great way to connect with the player community and introduce a real world of Wushu to the Western audience. We received and incorporated an abundance of player feedback during beta and can now announce an official launch date for Age of Wushu." Age of Wushu was originally slated for a February 1st release in North America. It currently boasts over 10 million player registrations in China alone. You can watch the high-flying launch announcement after the jump.
China claims its defense sites face constant US hacking attacks
China is routinely accused of launching concerted hacking campaigns against the US, many of them reportedly tied directly to the army's Unit 61398 in Shanghai. If you believe the Ministry of Defense's spokesman Geng Yansheng, however, just the opposite is true. Along with claiming that China would never hurt (or rather, hack) a fly, he asserts that the Ministry and China Military Online sites faced an average of 144,000 hacking attempts per month from foreign sources in 2012, 62.9 percent of which allegedly came from the US. The Ministry's man stops short of leveling cyberwarfare charges, although he notes the US' recent plans to expand and formally define its cyberwar strategy. There's some 'splainin to do, he argues. While there isn't a formal US response, we suspect that neither side is an innocent dove here -- China is just the most recent to cry foul.
EVE Online hits 500,000 subscribers, heads into second decade
Most modern MMOs launch to an initial flurry of sales followed by a steady decline in player activity, but sci-fi MMO EVE Online has lived life in reverse. The game initially failed to secure a large number of launch sales but has since grown organically into one of the most successful subscription MMOs on the planet. EVE developer CCP Games told Massively today that the game has now officially broken the 500,000 subscription barrier. Subscription numbers hit the 450,000 mark following the relaunch of EVE's Chinese server Serenity in December of last year, and they have continued to climb ever since. This new subscription milestone is attributed to the success of EVE's recent Retribution expansion and the anticipation building over upcoming console MMOFPS DUST 514, which is set on actual planets in the EVE universe. EVE is due to hit its 10th anniversary this year on May 6th, and developers have been taking the opportunity to look forward at what the coming decade will bring to the game. We caught up with CCP for a quick peek at the studio's plans for the future and to find out what kind of announcements we can expect from EVE Fanfest in April of this year.
The Art of Wushu: Making silver through harvesting
I got a lot of backlash over the last installment of The Art of Wushu. While the issues over pay-to-win are understandable, an overwhelming number of you seemed to disbelieve the amount of silver I was able to produce daily. Some of you protested my 1D/daily figure (which is on the high side), while others questioned whether I could make even 500L per day. My email was flooded with people asking me to share some of my secrets. I was going to talk about movement and parkour this time, but because you guys asked, you'll get an answer. "How do I make money in Age of Wushu," you ask? Let's cover the easy ways to make money. These are methods that literally any player, regardless of subscription status or level, can take advantage of. This time we're going to cover harvesting -- what sells and what doesn't. Let's get started.
Age of Wushu elaborates on crime and punishment
While it is true that Age of Wushu has an open PvP world, that doesn't mean that players can wantonly sashay about inflicting mass murder upon others without consequence. And as beta has progressed, Snail Games has refined AoW's crime and punishment system. The color of names denoting wanted players has changed; names will first change from white to orange after players add to their infamy by performing murderous deeds. Name colors will then escalate to red and finally to purple if the killing continues. Other players can still place bounties on murderers at the orange level, and either NPC police or player constables (there can be up to 1000 per server) can collect on them. Depending on the severity of an offender's actions, different options are available once jailed. The lowest tiers -- orange and red -- can wait out the sentence, pay a hefty bribe to wipe their slate clean, or place wagers on a dice game to try and win their way out. Of course, they can also attempt a jailbreak with friends. The worst offenders (purple) are slated for death row and will be publicly beheaded if they can't afford the bribe or manage to escape. [Source: Snail Games press release]
Video demonstrates random encounters in Age of Wushu
Just as life itself is full of surprises, so, too, is life in Age of Wushu. Along with the expected, such as combat, questing, and crafting, Snail Games has also tossed in some of the unexpected by way of random encounters. While carrying on with their planned adventures, players in AoW may be surprised by various vignettes including fighting, solving puzzles, or just talking with NPCs. Although players may stumble upon these encounters, they can also seek them out and try to discover their initial triggers. Want to see one unfold? The following video, which hails from an earlier AoW test version according to Snail, shows the progression of one of these random encounters that ultimately leads to acquiring a new skill. [Source: Snail Games press release]
The Art of Wushu: Paying doesn't mean winning
Age of Wushu has come under a lot of fire as a pay-to-win game. There are ways to get in-game power for out-of-game money, so there are a lot of reasons to assume that real cash can turn you into one of the top fighters in Jianghu. Fortunately for the dedicated players (and to the chagrin of cash shop whales), the truth is a bit more skewed. There are varying degrees of pay-to-win cash shops, but Age of Wushu's cash shop provides very few outlets to directly buy power. The main culprit is the simple fact that spending real money can give a player silver to spend on anything he or she wants. Silver is king in Age of Wushu. The entire player market revolves around silver, and the largest source of it comes from the cash shop. Does this mean you need to pay to have a chance?
Age of Wushu gets a UI and localization overhaul
North American players and fans of Age of Wushu are in for a treat. In response to player feedback from the closed betas, the development team has been working on a major overhaul of the game's localization and UI. The localization and UI changes are among the updates that kept the game from its original February launch date, but Snail Games is placing more emphasis on a smooth experience at launch than pushing the game out the door as quickly as possible. These updates are in their final testing stages and will make their way into the ongoing beta soon. [Source: Snail Games press release]
Age of Wushu delays launch to 'spring 2013'
Time to put on your lemon faces, folks, because this news is going to make you pucker up: Snail Games has announced that Age of Wushu is delaying its launch. The release, which was originally scheduled for February 1st, has now been moved to a more nebulous "spring 2013." The studio says that the delay is the result of testing: "Based on player feedback and data from the second closed beta, we have decided to revise the launch timing to spring 2013. This will allow us to better address community feedback and continue to update the game. When a more precise update on the release timing is available, we will share that information."
Apple's Chinese online Apple store adds credit option
Apple's Chinese online store has added the ability for customers to buy products on credit. The interest-free monthly payments allow customers to purchase items between 300 yuan (US$48 as of this writing) and 30,000 yuan ($4,800), provided they have a China Merchants Bank credit card. The move is seen as a way for Apple to lure customers from buying cheap Android handsets, according to TechCrunch. The price of the entry-level iPhone is 5,288 yuan ($850) -- which is about six week's worth of pay for the average Chinese worker. TechCrunch notes that the interest-free deal might be a limited New Year promotion, however. The Google translation of the wording on Apple's Chinese website reads: "Apple Store online store to purchase any of the products to more than 300 yuan, you can apply for installment service. From now until January 23, 2013, three to 12 can enjoy interest-free service." Apple currently offers 18- and 24-month payment options with interest up to 8.5 percent. Adding more options that let more Chinese consumers easily buy Apple products only makes sense for the company. As Tim Cook said last week: "China is currently our second-largest market. I believe it will become our first. I believe strongly that it will. We are growing very fast. We are continuing to invest in retail stores here and will open many more over the next several years. We have some great sites selected, our manufacturing base is here, and we have incredible partners here. So it's a very, very important country to us."
The Art of Wushu: The right martial arts school for you
Normally at Massively, we start off a column by linking to relevant community sites and information resources for a game. Things are a bit different with Age of Wushu, however. Aside from the main community site and the wiki currently under construction, there isn't much information about the game available in English. Running biweekly, The Art of Wushu will help you navigate the sprawling Wushu sandbox. This week, we'll be looking at the various martial arts schools in the game and which schools to select in order to fit your preferred playstyle. While we can't go over each school's intricacies in depth, we'll do our best to give you a brief primer on what you can expect as a member of a particular school.
Age of Wushu CEO talks localization, cash shop, and more
Massively weighed in with its multi-headed opinion on Age of Wushu's public beta a couple of weeks back. We also had an opportunity to forward some questions along to the sandbox title's dev team, and we're happy to report that Snail CEO Shi Hai took the time to answer them. Head past the cut to hear what he has to say about localization issues, a customizable user interface, possible Western cash shop changes, and more.
New Age of Wushu trailer highlights game's eight schools
One of the first major decisions a player comes to in the free-to-play martial arts sandbox Age of Wushu is which of the eight different schools to join. Have a penchant for panhandling? Perhaps you'd prefer the Beggars. Maybe the muses inspire you; then Scholars would be the best bet. Or if you prefer poisons, you'd fit in with the Tangmen. If none of those tickle your fancy, you can belong to the Wudang, Royal Guards, Wanderer's Valley, Emei, or Shaolin. Still undecided? Snail Games has released a trailer of the schools, giving players get a glimpse of each one. Take a peek after the cut.
Call of Duty now Online in China, monetization not ready yet
An alpha version of Call of Duty Online – the China-exclusive, free-to-play game based on the Activision shooter – is now live, Kotaku reports. Monetization systems for the game (i.e. those sweet, sweet microtransactions) are unavailable in its current form; however, Call of Duty Online is playable in the region.Call of Duty Online was announced by Activision last year and pairs the western publisher with China investment holdings firm Tencent, a company that offers social networks, e-commerce, multiplayer online games and more within the country.China has a rich history with freemium video game experiences, including Tencent's own hugely successful Cross Fire. But if a brand as large as Call of Duty strikes gold in China, we may see other popular franchises form-fitted to work in the region's microtransaction-focused industry.
Age of Wushu early access beta extended
Age of Wushu fans, Snail has some good news for you. Originally the company planned to power down its servers on January 9th at the end of the game's second closed beta test. According to a new forum post, though, this is no longer the case. Snail's fantastical version of Ming Dynasty China will continue "until further notice." The beta test is essentially functioning as an early access period for pre-order customers since all game progress will carry over to the martial arts MMO's official launch. Age of Wushu was originally scheduled to launch on February 1st in North America.
Los Alamos nuclear weapons lab removes Chinese tech over spying concerns
One of the leading US nuclear weapons labs, Los Alamos National Laboratory, has removed networking switches manufactured by H3C, a former venture between Huawei and 3Com, and now a full subsidiary of HP. According to a letter from November obtained by Reuters, government security specialists were alerted to the components by a lab engineer, who said the parts were installed the month before. It went on to state that two of the switches were "promptly replaced," but other H3C components may still remain in the lab, and will likely be replaced "as quickly as possible." Though H3C is no longer affiliated with Huawei, it states on its website that it maintains a close relationship with the Chinese manufacturer -- which has gone to great lengths to prove that it has no capability for surveillance in any of its products. Apparently, it still has a long ways to go before the US government is buying any of it.
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite non-combat feature?
Non-combat features don't get a lot of love in popular MMOs these days, but there have nonetheless been some interesting experiments in this department over the years. From RIFT's housing to Star Wars Galaxies' Entertainers to Lord of the Rings Online's music system, several genre titles have strayed from the straight and narrow of violence and character progression. Upcoming titles like Age of Wushu and ArcheAge are adding new wrinkles as well, so for today's Daily Grind we'd like to hear your thoughts on non-combat MMO features. Specifically, which one is your favorite? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Upcoming Age of Wushu wedding system detailed
Looking for something to do in Age of Wushu besides kung fu fighting, crafting, or PvP? You could always get married. MMO Culture has a brief look at the wedding system that just made its way onto the game's Taiwan server. The marriage mechanics include a proposal, some sort of engagement process, a dowry, and a wedding banquet. Apparently there's also an NPC who handles proposals and functions as the Ming Dynasty equivalent of a singles website. It's worth noting that Shaolin players can only propose after they've obtained the Secular Disciple title. Thus far there's no word on when the marriage system will show up on Age of Wushu's western servers.
