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Aeria Games releases seafaring expansion for Grand Fantasia
Shiver me timbers! Aeria Games has announced a new pirate-themed expansion to its free-to-play fantasy MMORPG Grand Fantasia titled Journey to Condemned Island. And more than just some "avast ye!" taunts and parrots, this massive content update includes new advanced classes, new epic gear, pets, and an increased level cap of 90. Along with the increase in the level cap comes the new lands of Heirloom Peninsula, Frostfire Pass, and Aurawhisp Hamlet to adventure in. A level 90 dungeon with 12 new world bosses to defeat and plunder also awaits all players wanting to begin their adventures on the high seas. [Source: Aeria Games press release]
E3 2012: InnoGames talks pirate MMOs, strategy titles, and games for women
At this year's E3, we had a nice long chat with German studio InnoGames about its MMO repertoire. The company actually started out quite small with three college buddies, who released their first game only to their close friends. That game, Tribal Wars, and its original servers are still around, albeit with some updated graphics to keep things looking fresh, but we wanted to focus on the team's more recent offerings. While InnoGames has several titles under its belt, including Bounty Hounds, we focused primarily on Kartuga, a pirate-themed strategy MMO; Lagoonia, a social building game created by and aimed at women; and Forge of Empires, which is similar to the Age of Empires series. All three games are free-to-play browser games, and we even got a pinch of hands-on time.
Flameseeker Chronicles: Five things to love about Lion's Arch
Lion's Arch, the quintessential Tyrian player hub, has undergone quite the extensive renovation for Guild Wars 2. As a special treat for the last beta weekend, the city was made explorable to players for the first time -- and what a treat it was! After the Rise of Orr and the accompanying land shift, Lion's Arch as we knew and loved it in the original Guild Wars was flooded. It has been raised anew, very near the first city, and stands as a monument to piracy, desperation, and inter-species cooperation (not, perhaps, in that order). So what makes Lion's Arch awesome? It's one of six huge cities that are the thriving populatiion centers of Tyria as we find it in Guild Wars 2, and since it doesn't have one single race to lend it culture and purpose, you can bet it had better be pretty special.
Wizard101 creator announces new game: Pirate101
Ahoy, maties! Put down your wands and grab the nearest parrot, for you're about to head out onto the high seas with KingsIsle! The makers of the hit Wizard101 have announced their next project: the swashbuckling world of Pirate101. Using a similar business model, full voice-over, same universe and same art style as Wizard101, KingsIsle is fashioning a unique pirate game with its second MMO. Players get to choose one of five classes for their piratey career: Buccaneer, Witchdoctor, Privateer, Swashbuckler, or Musketeer. No matter what they pick, players will captain their own flying (yes, flying) ships and take off for adventure in fantastic environments such as skyways, lost cities of gold, and ancient ruins. There will also be companions to pick up along the way for use in combat, and players can naturally join forces to complete quests and battle the oppressing force threatening the world. Creative Director Todd Coleman thinks that this free-to-play title stretches the studio's imagination and reach. "We've created a world of treacherous pirates, faithful companions, tactical battles and gorgeous environments," he says. "Pirate101 fuses the key lessons we've learned from Wizard101 with entirely new design, setting and gameplay mechanics. We've succeeded in creating a game that is very different from Wizard101, but remains comfortable and familiar." Pirate101 is currently in alpha and will be released in 2012. Watch for our upcoming interview with KingsIsle coming soon! %Gallery-154073% [Source: KingsIsle Entertainment press release]
SOE games down Monday for 24-hour maintenance
We imagine that the word downtime makes Sony Online Entertainment employees cringe, convulse, and eye-twitch for hours on end after last summer's disastrous hacker-induced service outage. Happily, though, the next service interruption is planned, and we've got plenty of notice. SOE will be performing maintenance this Monday, April 23rd, and the firm says that all of its game services will be unavailable for approximately 24 hours. The downtime starts at 3:01 a.m. EDT. Commerce transactions and account management functionality will also be affected, so you might as well cross all of your SOE-related plans off Monday's calendar.
US Navy Fire Scouts will automatically spot pirates, give 30 seconds to comply
War. What is it good for? Well, if new use of technology by the US Navy has anything to do with it, finding Pirates for a start. By upgrading its existing Fire Scouts with new 3D laser imaging tech, it's hoped that the drones will be able to recognize the small ships used by these unscrupulous seafarers. The system, known as LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging, also known as LADAR) uses millions of laser pulses reflected off an object to create the three-dimensional image, which could then referenced against known pirate ships from a database. Ultimately, human operators will make the final call, to avoid any ED-209 style mis-understandings. That said, if you're taking the dingy out past the Californian breakwaters this summer, you might want to keep the stars and stripes in clear view, as that's where the Navy will be running its initial trials.
Risen 2 still looks a lot like Pirates of the Caribbean in its cinematic trailer
Risen 2: Dark Waters, the coming RPG from Deep Silver, features the swashbuckling staples of any pirate tale, including the Kraken, a feisty female lead, eye patches, curved swords and alcohol, as the above cinematic trailer demonstrates. Deep Silver announced a modified release date for Risen 2 with the trailer: It's coming to North American PCs on April 27, and Xbox 360 and PS3 on May 22.
Yarr! ArcheAge CBT4 video shows player piracy
Fancy being a pirate in the fantasy world of ArcheAge? You can, and all it takes is a ship and a crew of your best mates. A new player-made video shows off the game's naval combat potential, and the clip is basically three minutes of jaw-dropping PvP action. There's plenty of carnage courtesy of player-manned ship cannons and destructible hulls, and we can also see combatants crossing swords on the decks of enemy ships (if you look closely you'll catch a glimpse of a player using a hang-glider to travel from one ship to the next). The video also gives us a good look at ArcheAge's functional ship rigging, and you can see players unfurling sails, interacting with various ship controls, and even climbing a mast to the crow's nest. Check it out after the break.
Risen 2: Dark Waters unearths UK collector's edition
Risen 2: Dark Waters, the pirate RPG coming in April from Piranha Bytes and Deep Silver, is getting a collector's edition in the UK only. We find that part a little strange, considering pirates are supposed to be pretty good at traveling overseas. Sorry; we had to.The UK collector's edition will include a "making of" DVD, a soundtrack CD, double-sided poster, pirate flag, amulet, art cards and three Risen 2 stickers, all for £69.99. The UK version of Risen 2: Dark Waters drops anchor on April 27, while the US version drops April 24.
A World of Keflings can't decide: Candy, pirates or graveyard DLC
A World of Keflings developer NinjaBee has some new DLC in the works, but it isn't sure what kind yet. NinjaBee wants Keflings players to decide the theme of its new DLC -- Graveyard, Candy or Pirate -- and it plans to "Kefling-ize" one fan, with that character to appear in the game. "I mean, who doesn't want to be turned into a tiny, chipper peon and forced to eternally work for free?" Brent Fox of NinjaBee asked, referring of course to the Kefling-ization of one fan, and not to the free decision-making provided by peons fans in the DLC poll. Of course. Keflings fans can vote in the poll on PlayXBLA now through 12 a.m. PST on Friday, Jan. 20, and the winning theme will be announced the following Monday on PlayXBLA as well.
Report: Ubisoft, Atari, many other publishers requesting payment from German pirates
Someone in Germany -- perhaps even some people -- illegally pirated a copy of Prison Break: The Conspiracy. Hard to believe as it may be, it appears to be the case according to TorrentFreak, who delved into German public records looking for game publishers who have employed German law to track down (and demand money from) people who allegedly pirated various games. In Germany, Koch Media publishes the Prison Break game, and has been demanding settlements of "several hundred Euros" from offending IP addresses. The records indicate that several major publishers, either directly or through subsidiaries/secondary parties, have been sending out letters to German citizens requesting varying levels of payment in return for not being sued. Where things get murky, however, is how the publishers are seeking out the accused pirates, using not always reliable "IP address-only evidence" -- easily circumvented with proxy domains and such. You know, hacker stuff. TorrentFreak's report indicates that a variety of publishers and distributors are involved, including (but not limited to): Atari, Koch Media (representing Techland's Dead Island and Prison Break, and Eidos/Square Enix's Deus Ex: Human Revolution as well as Dungeon Siege 3 and various Final Fantasy titles), Daedalic Entertainment (representing LucasArts), Codemasters, BitComposer, Ubisoft, Kalypso Media, dtp entertainment, and Aerosoft. It is currently unclear how many settlement notices have been sent out by each company, or if any will continue doing so after these actions have been brought to light. Witcher 2 developer CD Projekt Red was recently pursuing similar cases in Germany until it announced the end of the practice last week.
The Perfect Ten: Best MMO theme songs (part one)
As I've well established both here on Massively and elsewhere, I'm somewhat of a nut for video game music. Whereas others might collect vintage hair metal tracks or the latest Justin Bieber opus, I'm always digging through obscure (and not-so-obscure) official soundtracks to games like Wipeout and Kirby. Video game scores can be right up there with the best that the film industry puts out, and the fact that they tie into personal experiences that we've played through can lend them sentimental weight. So for the next two Perfect Tens, I scoured all the MMO theme songs that I could get ahold of in an attempt to formulate a list of the very best. It was originally slated to be just one list, but after an hour or so of listening to tracks and having friends and fellow staffers weigh in on the subject, I knew it was impossible to keep it there. Two important things to note for this list. First, I wanted to keep to just the title/login screen tracks so that I wouldn't be working on this for the next 2.5 years. Second, unlike most past Perfect Tens where there's no significance to the order of the list, in this case we're going to have a genuine countdown to the best MMO theme song of all time. And I expect to take no flak about it, do you hear me? Good. Let's begin.
Witcher 2 dev CD Project RED ceases legal action against pirates
After some strong words and even stronger legal actions, it looks like Witcher 2 developer CD Projekt RED is curtailing its actions against pirates over stolen copies of its last release. CDP co-founder Marcin Iwinski penned an "open letter to the gaming community" wherein he states that, "immediately" his company will "cease identifying and contacting pirates." Make no mistake, Iwinski isn't flipping his stance on pirates or the concept of piracy. "It hurts us, the developers. It hurts the industry as a whole," he writes. He is, however, flipping his company's approach to dealing with piracy, rolling back past legal options and taking "your opinions to heart" instead. Iwinski also points out that unless folks pay for games, companies like his "won't be able to produce new excellent titles for you," which we fully stand behind. So, in conclusion: Piracy? Bad. Legal actions against pirates? Also bad. Questions?
The SOPAbox: Defeating online piracy by destroying the internet
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. Unless you've been living under a rock, chances are you've heard of SOPA and PIPA. The Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT IP Act are two radical pieces of copyright legislation currently being pushed through the US government. Although the stated intent of the new legislation is to provide companies with additional tools with which to combat piracy, the bill's loose wording has raised some serious alarm bells. Opponents to the proposed law say it would give corporations the ability to shut down any almost any website under the guise of protecting copyright infringement. Gamers will be affected worst of all, as the loose wording of the law makes any website with user-submitted content potentially vulnerable to a shut down order. That could include YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, any blog with a comment section, or even any online game with a chat system. Perhaps the scariest part is that you'll be affected even if you're not in the US, as one of the new law's enforcement mechanisms is to remove a site from the DNS records, a move that assumes the US has jurisdiction over the global Domain Name System. AOL is among many huge companies strongly opposing SOPA, and so naturally Massively opposes it too. In this week's massive two-page Soapbox, I make the case for why you should be worried about SOPA, and I suggest what can be done to tackle piracy in the games industry. Comments can be left on page two.
Conquer Online details upcoming Invasion of Pirates expansion
Conquer Online, NetDragon's free-to-play fantasy MMO, is getting a taste of the high seas come January 11th as the team launches the game's newest expansion, Invasion of Pirates. The expansion will introduce the new Pirate class, which will allow players to use new weapons and abilities while also finally letting them take sides in a real Pirates vs. Ninjas battle. The Pirate class itself can utilize pistols and rapiers, and its abilities rely on stamina, "with many of the skills requiring a cooldown period." As such, the key to winning a battle as a Pirate is, according to the press release, determined by how well a player can string the Pirate's attacks, buffs, and other abilities into an effective combo. The studio adds that while the Pirate will certainly have a steep learning curve, "with a little strategy and know-how, the new class can easily become the most deadly in PvP battles." For the full details on the new expansion, or to get in on the action yourself, head on over to Conquer Online's official site.
Conquer Online's Invasion of Pirates expansion slated for January
Last week we told you about Conquer Online's migration to the iPad. This week, it's time for a bit of info on the game's newest expansion. The Invasion of Pirates update will feature a new Pirate class (yeah, it shocked us too) and a new adventuring zone called the Flaming Sea. NetDragon is also gifting players with additional abilities, among them new cannon bomb and pistol skills that are a must for any Pirate. The company's press release is light on gameplay details, but it does promise "an epic journey full of hidden treasure, ancient evils, dangerous traps and other mysterious challenges [that] await new and old players alike." Invasion of Pirates is scheduled to sail sometime in January of 2012. [Source: NetDragon press release]
Conquer Online's upcoming expansion introduces new zone, Pirate class
Watch yer booty, mateys! No, I meant your treasure, you freaks. Jeeze. NetDragon WebSoft has announced a new expansion for its free-to-play MMORPG, Conquer Online. This update does what it says on the tin: Invasion of Pirates. Players will find themselves on a brand-new map, facing off against new monsters, discovering new quests, and playing the Pirate class. The new class brings an entirely new playstyle with new weapons and abilities to use. And players will need every bit of firepower they can get, as bands of evil pirates arrive upon a newly discovered island in search of a dark and mysterious treasure. Of course, it's up to players to ensure that the pirates do not succeed in their mission. The expansion will go live in January 2012, so you've got plenty of time to head over to the game's official site and sign up. [Source: NetDragon WebSoft press release]
Court holds European ISPs can't be forced to filter traffic, users free to fly the jolly roger
It's been a sliver under a month since UK ISP British Telecom was ordered to cut all ties to filesharing site Newzbin 2. Now, a European court decision deals a counter blow to media owners by denying their demands to hustle ISPs into tracking freeloading downloaders. Specifically, the court held that it was illegal to force an ISP to install and maintain a system filtering all of its traffic as it could infringe customer privacy rights. While the decision will prove unpopular in big-wig boardrooms, joe public will no doubt be pleased with the court's upholding of both net neutrality, and of course not having to shred quite as many strongly worded letters from his or her ISP.
Rise and Shiny recap: Kultan
Bigpoint's latest browser-based game is called Kultan, and it's a game that does plenty to show that the developer is continuing to push the boundaries of what a browser and the Unity engine can do. It's always comforting to have somewhere to point people when they ask, "A browser MMO? What's that?" I imagine that Bigpoint is not planning on stopping anytime soon, and Kultan will take its place as one of the rungs in a very tall ladder. How important will Kultan be considered in the future of Bigpoint's portfolio? In some ways, very important. In other ways, I can see it losing itself in an endless line of kill-10-rats grinders, but we'll talk more about that. Click past the cut and let's cover the details.
The Perfect Ten: Pirates ahoy!
Fantasy pirates: Love 'em or hate 'em, they're deeply ingrained in geek culture to the point that they're almost impossible to dislodge. This past Monday was International Talk Like a Pirate Day, when everyone's inner pirate was encouraged to "Arr!" heartily, look for treasure in long-forgotten places, and embrace the fashion style of bandanas and eyepatches. It seemed like a perfect week, therefore, to look at piratey life in MMOs. From entire games to mere outfits and from the token pirate union that has a chapter in each game to delusional madmen, this list aims to sate the swagger of keyboard swashbucklers. It's a testament to the pirate phenomenon that most developers can't help but include a buccaneer or two, even if the setting isn't always asking for it -- a phenomenon even the U.S. Navy has accepted. Hit the jump to start, and sail straight on 'til morning!
