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Exclusive Allods Online IRC Q&A: Darren Allarde and Shelby Goad take on your questions
Last week we were able to get Darren "CHOMP" Allarde, associate producer of Allods Online, and Shelby "Miss_Sadie" Goad, the Allods Online community manager, from gPotato into our chat room and into the hotseat. The topic: Allods Online and their latest patch, Revelations of Gipat! Our editors fielded questions from the chat room audience, and you put the Allods associate producer and community manager to the test! But, for those of you who didn't make it, never fear! We've got the entire interview right here for your viewing pleasure, with witty banter and all! So if you're an Allods fan or just want to find out what they've been doing with their game, hit the continue reading button and get ready for our Allods Online live community Q&A transcript! And don't forget to join us tomorrow to play with Darren, Shelby and more of the gPotato team in Allods itself!
Revelations of Gipat goes live for Allods Online
It was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt who said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." While it would be more than three-quarters of a century after that when Allods Online was released, he certainly could have been referring to the Fear of Death penalty that caused quite a bit of fear and rage among players. But that tortured analogy no longer applies, as today sees the release of the newest patch for the game, Revelations of Gipat, which removes Fear of Death for good and puts a new death penalty into place. For many of the game's players, removing the unnecessarily cash-shop-based penalty would be enough to make the patch laudable. But as was revealed when the team released the patch notes last week, the update also sees the addition of a new zone, a raise in level cap, and new content for everyone to enjoy. After the marathon maintenance session, Allods Online is live again and ready for play -- it's worth checking out, even if the size of the patch might scare you off. You can also check out our gallery, showing off some of the new content players can expect as well as mounts. %Gallery-97106%
Rappelz offers player prizes for logging in
There aren't as many new MMOs coming out this year, but there are still plenty of games to compete for your attention over the summer months. The team at Rappelz wants their game to be your choice for the summer, and they've devised a straightforward way to encourage it: an event you enter via logging in. No random prizes, no ornate entries, nothing but the simple procedure of logging into the game's servers for prizes. And it makes sense that it would be called "Login to Win" as a result. Running from July 7th to August 14th, the event will automatically award prizes to each character after you log in for at least an hour a week. If you log in for at least an hour for a certain number of days, you also get additional prizes, and characters who log in for a grand total of 35 hours during the promotion are eligible for a drawing from several nifty presents. It's a great way for Rappelz players to get a little added incentive -- after all, if you were planning on logging in anyway, logging in to win seems straightforward.
Meet the Allods Online team on their own turf: Play Allods with gPotato and Massively
What's better than playing your favorite game? Obviously, it's playing your favorite game with the people who work on it! Once again, we here at Massively are hosting another Mob Scene event in cooperation with the developers behind the game! This time we have our sights set on Allods Online and the beautiful realm of Sarnaut. So come sail the astral with us and the gPotato team as we descend on the starting zone for the Empire. Interested in learning more about this "play with the developers" opportunity and an accompanying IRC chat developer Q&A session? Then continue reading and we'll hit you with all of the juicy details!
Tell us what you like about Aika Online, and win a video card courtesy of Massively and Gala-Net!
This video card is an uncivilized beast. Minutes within entering my home, it had the audacity not only to spill packing peanuts everywhere from the box it came in, but also to steal my Aika Online snuggie! It's a good thing we're giving this video card away in celebration of Aika's latest expansion, Ashes of Betrayal! Otherwise, it would be a bitter battle to retrieve my Aika snuggie. Darn video card already bit me twice with its two nasty fans! So, please, help a Sera out and win this video card. I'd like it out of my house before it realizes where my secret stash of cookies is. Details are after the break, so please, come along and enter this contest! No! Bad video card! Stop biting the futon!
Allods Online introduces developer diary
It's been about a month since we heard anything from Allods Online, and even longer since we heard anything that didn't include the words "cash" and "shop."That's been remedied thanks to the addition of a brand new developer diary, and the first entry was posted late last night. Associate Producer Darren "CHOMP" Allarde kicked off the diary with "What does the Allods Team do," a look at the day-to-day routine of the team and their communication with players. Additionally, there's a clear explanation of exactly who Gala-Net is and what they do, versus who Astrum Nival is and what they do: "We don't fix bugs, we report them. We don't program and work on new in-game features, we hear what you have to say, tally it up, and communicate to Astrum Nival the feedback that makes sense for the game in our region." The developer diary is off to a good start, giving some important background information about who does what. For the full entry, take a look at the official site.
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.
Gala-Net releases Allods trailer
Free-to-play publisher Gala-Net has released the official trailer for Allods Online, the company's newest MMORPG. Allods launched late last month amid a firestorm of controversy and fan outcry regarding high cash shop prices. The title, which features player-crewed flying ships and a soundtrack by renowned video game composer Mark Morgan (Fallout, Fallout 2, Planescape: Torment), was developed by Russian game maker Astrum Nival and is the largest video game project in the country's history. Check out the embedded trailer after the jump, and get a glimpse of Allod's motion-captured animations as well as its PVE combat and visual design. The trailer is also available on YouTube and the Allods Facebook fan page.
Aika open beta starts March 16
Gala-Net has announced that their upcoming free-to-play MMORPG Aika Online will enter Open Beta on March 16. The PVP-centric title will feature six classes, a leveling curve initially topping out at 50, and a player-run political system consisting of a forever war fought among five factions. Post-launch plans include regular PVP events similar to those introduced in the closed beta testing. Weekly castle sieges, 1000 vs. 1000 relic theft battles, and traditional battlegrounds are all on the docket. Additionally, class-specific mounts including the War Hamster and the Dual Gunner's Hoverbike will be available upon reaching level 40. PVE fans won't be left out in the cold either, as we recently noted in our first impressions. Aika's lore, expansive world, and a large assortment of quests look to offer something for everyone.
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.
The Daily Grind: Soured on Allods Online?
Last Monday, everyone was looking forward to the soft launch of Allods Online on the 16th. This Monday, many of those same people are scowling and making their fair share of unhappy grumbling noises. What happened? Well, while no one expected that the anticipated free-to-play would lack an item shop, almost no one expected that the prices would be... well... for lack of a better term let's say "ruinous." No small portion of the blogosphere has piped up in rage, and the official response from the company succeeded in further angering players and potential players. Oh, and there's a bit of discontent about how this ties into the next patch, as well. As we survey the game's quick reputation shift, it's well worth asking where people stand on the issue. Has the entire brouhaha and ill-received response soured your opinion of Allods Online irrevocably? Would you be willing to try it if the prices were lowered, or are you now refusing to play the game solely based upon principle? Or are you willing to roll with the changes and write the entire thing off as a misunderstanding?
Massively's second closed beta key giveaway for Aika
After a successful first closed beta earlier this month, the folks at Aika are excited to get started on the second one next week. Beginning February 24th at 11am PST and running until March 2nd, this second stage of closed beta brings all available in-game zones, new player vs. player scenarios, and character levels 1 through 50. To grab your own key, head on over to our giveaway page and follow the simple instructions there. Please remember that the beta won't start until February 24th, 2010, so you won't be able to log in until then. Also, if you were able to grab a key from our first closed beta giveaway for Aika, you don't need a new key for this one.
Massively's Aika closed beta key giveaway: Round two
With the speed at which our beta keys vanished in last week's giveaway, the good people at Aika Online were happy to give us 5,000 more keys for the Massively readers to get their hands on. As we mentioned last week, Aika is a large-scale PvP-centric MMO where nations fight against each other with castle sieges and customized battlegrounds. All of this while supporting 2,000 players in the same battle. If you didn't get your chance to grab a key last week, head on over to our giveaway page for a shiny new code. From there, you can register at aika.gpotato.com and download the client straight from the website. At the rate this game is gaining popularity, you can bet we'll be checking this one out ourselves, with our first impressions coming soon.
Community Q&A: Ask Allods Online
Allods Online has just announced an extension to its fourth closed beta testing, with an open beta looming on the horizon. We've been giving the game some healthy coverage since it entered the early beta stages, and we're always excited to interact with the developers and publishers whenever we can. But now it's your turn! As with our previous Community Q&As, we want to hear from our readers on the pressing questions you have for the developers. Whether you've been enjoying your time in the game or not, we want to know what you'd like answered. So if you'd like your question considered, simply leave a question as a comment on this post by Monday, February 8th at 8am EST. Or, if you'd feel more comfortable with email, send one off to me at shawn at massively dot com. We'll gather up the questions and send the best off to the Allods team for the answers. Once we get the answers back, we'll post them here for all to see. Please remember to keep your questions respectful and your criticisms constructive. Beyond that, have at it!
Massively's Aika Online closed beta key giveaway
Today we're happy to present a brand new closed beta key giveaway for the upcoming fantasy MMO Aika Online. Developed by the makers of Neo Steam and published by Gala-Net, Inc., Aika Online is described as a PvP-centric, large-scale MMO where nations fight against each other with castle sieges and customized battlegrounds. The game engine has been developed to support 2,000 simultaneous players (1,000 vs. 1,000) in a single, real-time battlefield, which Gala-Net describes as a remarkable technical achievement. If Aika Online sounds like something you'd like to check out, head on over to our giveaway page to grab yourself one of our 5,000 closed beta keys we have available. From there, you can register at aika.gpotato.com and download the client later today from the website. Keep in mind that this North American closed beta doesn't begin until February 3rd, when you'll be able to enjoy five nations, all six classes and levels 1 through 30.
Allods Online Closed Beta Test 4 key giveaway
Today marks the start of something very special for fans and players of Allods Online: Closed Beta Test 4. This stage of beta brings a raised level cap to 40, seven new contested zones, new instances, raids, Goblinball and Astral Ships. This all begins today at 11am PDT and runs until February 3, 2010. But the best part is, we have 5,000 keys for you! To grab one for yourself, head on over to our giveaway page, click the key claim button at the bottom and copy your key. From there you'll head over to the official Allods Online website to redeem your key and download the client. While your client is downloading, check out our pre-release developer tour of the new zones and Astral Ships, including a comprehensive video. Please note that if you've already acquired a key in previous stages of beta, you will not need one now. Good luck!
Flyff adds a new expansion, wings, and a reason to grind your life away
It's a Flyffy day today as the free-to-play game's newest expansion, "The Lost Continent" arrives on the servers and brings a whole new continent to the world.Centering around a darker atmosphere than the upbeat game usually provides, the new continent of Shaduwar adds in some dark dungeons and dangerous new enemies to the game. But, that's not all. Finally, for the game being centered around flying characters since its inception, they're adding wings to the game. It only took them, what, four years to add wings to the game about flying? Better late than never, if you ask us.Plus, Flyff users will now have incentive to log on and play in the form of a 35 day marathon "Play for Rewards" contest. All players have to do is simply log onto Flyff each day for one hour, and the game will tally up the days you do this. Every five days, the game will provide you with a rewards pack, and on the 35th day of playing you'll be entered in to win a 50" HDTV. The team is giving 4 of those bad boys away, making this quest certainly worth the hour per day grind.
Aika announces closed beta
If you're looking for some more RvR action outside of Warhammer Online, then you might want to take a look at Gala-Net's newest addition to their MMO lineup, Aika.Aika is a new free-to-play MMO with the same type of nation versus nation bent that Warhammer and World of Warcraft provide to their players. Players get to defend territory during castle sieges, can steal artifacts from the enemy side, a la Dark Age of Camelot, and participate in the standard PvP battlegrounds.The game has just gone into a closed beta testing phase for America, but getting in couldn't be simpler. Simply go visit the Aika website, fill out a survey and you'll be entered for a chance to participate in the closed beta.
Rappelz to upgrade to Epic VI, "Solus Aurum"
Rappelz players will rejoice to know that their game will be receiving a brand new update in the tradition of their "epic" patches known as Epic VI: Solus Aurum. Solus will be adding a brand new dungeon based on Egyptian mythology, an area created specifically for selling goods to other players (finally), the ability to create larger bags, and three new pets to have fight at your side.The shining jewel of the update, the dungeon known as "The Sanctuary," is home to a tribe of people with glittering golden eyes. This tribe, formerly persecuted and hunted for their eyes, fled to a corner of the world to hide. To defend their way of life, they built the Sanctuary and its great guardian, Aurumis. Overtime, however, the people forgot about the outside world, choosing to believe all outside their walls were enemies. Now they attack on sight, offering no remorse for any who walk into their sacred halls.For all of the information on Rappelz's new addition, check out their update specific website.
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!
