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PAX South 2015: Pox Nora is the coolest online card game you've never heard of
Pox Nora is a game that's hard to categorize. It's like Hearthstone, you see, because it's an online card game. But it's also like Civilization because it uses turn-based combat on a variety of maps with terrain that affects the battle. And maybe it's like Minecraft as well because it was built by a tiny team and developed incrementally through the feedback of a passionate fan base. Pox Nora was free-to-play before free-to-play was a thing. It's gone from tiny little indie to SOE-backed product and back again. And through its eight years, it's managed to fly quietly under the radar while its developers continually churn out content, implement community ideas, and expand its possibilities. At PAX South over the weekend, I sat down with Arthur Griffith, CEO of Desert Owl Games and co-creator of Pox Nora, to learn more about the game and its latest content additions.
A Pox (Nora) on Steam
Turn-based tactical online game Pox Nora resurfaced on Steam this week. The free-to-play title, originally released by Octopi Media in 2006 and at one time owned and operated by SOE, is now being published by Desert Owl Games. You can get an idea of Pox Nora's gameplay via the tutorial video embedded after the break.
SOE's super offers for super fans
Sony Online Entertainment wants to give the superfans more reasons to log in to their favorite games this Cyber Monday. Most of the SOE titles, like EverQuest, EverQuest II, Everquest II Extended, Clone Wars Adventures, Free Realms, and Pox Nora, are offering discounts on Station Cash as well as other special offers starting November 29th and ending December 3rd. Just $37.50 US buys you 5,000 Station Cash, while $65 US buys you 10,000. That means you can finally purchase that sparkle pony cat you always wanted. In addition to these offers, each SOE title has its own daily deal. Free Realms is giving triple member discount on items. EverQuest, EverQuest II, and EverQuest II Extended have 50% off a daily featured item. Clone Wars Adventures is giving away special discounts to members. And PoxNora will not be left behind with offers ranging up to 50% off game items. Log in to your Station account for more information on these offers or visit the games' respective websites.
PoxNora Maljaran Frontier expansion goes live
Sony Online Entertainment has announced the thirteenth expansion for PoxNora, their browser-based CCG/RTS hybrid. The turn-based fantasy game, which can also be played via Facebook, now offers adventurers the chance to delve into a campaign set on the mystical island of Maljara. The expansion looks to ramp up the war between factions via new runes and abilities. The Maljaran Frontier also adds a new map and soundtrack to the game, and furthers the story to include the death of a PoxNora hero. The Maljaran Frontier includes 78 new runes, a new single player campaign featuring eight missions, new races (Leoss and Kanen), new player avatars, and server disconnect protection. Players will be able to freely access three of the eight new missions, with the remaining five available in the game's marketplace. Check out the expansion announcement over at the official site.
PoxNora marches on Facebook
PoxNora, Sony Online Entertainment's CCG/RTS hybrid, has made the jump from browser game to full-fledged Facebook app as of early this morning. The turn-based title, in which players build decks known as Battlegroups and augment their strategies with Runes via the PoxNora web site, can now be accessed directly through the Facebook application interface. You can connect your existing Facebook, Station Access, and PoxNora accounts, as well as share achievements and accomplishments with your friends in game. PoxNora offers free trial play and the ability to purchase, upgrade, and trade Runes as well as options for creating custom Battlegroup decks. Check out the original press release as well as the application.
PoxNora gets a major update
Better a little late than never, when you get down to it. PoxNora's large-scale update was originally scheduled for last Wednesday, February 24th, but it wound up being a few days late. But it's all good, because the update has gone live today, not even a week behind schedule. Even if you can't help but be miffed at the delay in the update, you can probably be happy with the scope of the update, not to mention the Heirs to Legend midterm expansion going live at the same time. So what's changed? Major interface changes have been made, including large-scale improvements to the UI as well as a greatly improved Rune Manager. With improved sorting functionality in the manager and a new rune dock in the UI, it should be much easier to enjoy playing on the game's twenty new or revised maps, as well as working your way through a streamlined and improved leveling process. The game has also made attack and defense values more straightforward, while improving the tutorial to help guide players into the game. As a free-to-play game, if the scope of the updates in PoxNora sounds interesting, head on over and take a look at this unique offering.
PoxNora's big revamp tentatively scheduled for this week
The big revamp is almost here! RadarX -- you know, that friendly community guy -- recently made a post on the official forums announcing that the big revamp/update will be tentatively landing this Wednesday, Feb. 24th. Assuming nothing explodes, in just two more days PoxNora will have a newly streamlined stat system and shiny new user interface as well. There is a downside to this news, however, and that's an extended downtime on patch day. Expect the servers to be unavailable for about eight hours. If you're wondering what all this talk of PoxNora and its big revamp is all about, check out our recent interview with Tony "RadarX" Jones about all the changes and improvements coming for current players and newcomers alike.
Massively interviews PoxNora: Major updates and a website revamp
It's been far too long since we first had the pleasure of introducing readers to PoxNora. So long, in fact, that we contacted SOE to see about speaking with the good people in Tucson, AZ about their strategy game that incorporates card collecting, online persistence and progression mechanics into a delightful cocktail of an online game. There's a lot of changes coming to PoxNora, changes that for the first time will be revealed in this interview with SOE Community Manger Tony "RadarX" Jones. A new website, a new Rune Manager, a new Champions stat system, new maps and hints at the future of PoxNora are just a few of the topics covered beyond the break. Did we mention all these updates are coming within the next few weeks? Oh, we've also got shiny imagery.
John Smedley clarifies SOE's RMT policies
When Sony Online Entertainment announced their Real Money Transaction policies and StationCash involvement with EverQuest and EverQuest II, many SOE fans raised an eyebrow. Does this mean these games are losing their subscription fees in lieu of a microtransaction system? SOE's President, John Smedley, stands firmly against this in a recent interview with Virtual Goods News, where he explains the future of RMT with the company and why it has been implemented so far."We aren't going away from subs, this just gives us another avenue," Smedley states. When asked about the company's recent acquisition of PoxNora and their current revenue model, Smedley says that they're excited about it because it's so different from their own. Free Realms will also be a major determiner for the future MMOs in SOE's line-up like The Agency and DCUO. "We're trying to hold the line about not selling 'power', but what form that takes in DCUO remains to be seen. We might sell more costumes and different sorts of customization things. We're still learning what people like and don't like when it comes to virtual goods."
Massively catches up with SOE Tucson director Dan Kopycienski
Sony Online Entertainment surprised us recently with the announcement that they'd acquired Octopi -- creators of the collectible strategy game PoxNora -- and that the studio would now be known as SOE Tucson. We had some questions about what this acquisition might mean for SOE moving into the future, as well as what changes are on the horizon for PoxNora.Massively caught up with the former president of Octopi, Dan Kopycienski, who is now Director of Development at SOE Tucson. Although SOE Tucson is still very much a studio in transition, he was kind enough to speak with us about where PoxNora is today, and what it may become with the newfound backing of Sony Online Entertainment.
Sony Online Entertainment acquires Octopi, becomes SOE Tucson
Game industry news can be a bit depressing lately, with layoffs and shutdowns happening all over the world. Sony Online Entertainment's acquisition of Octopi is a refreshing change of pace. Octopi is known for their online collectible strategy game PoxNora. Under Sony Online Entertainment, they will operate as SOE Tucson.While this news doesn't directly affect PS3 owners, SOE is one of the biggest supporters of PS3 -- the studios have already released a variety of PlayStation Network games, and are currently working on The Agency, FreeRealms and DC Universe Online. We doubt it'll be long until SOE Tucson works on a PS3 game of their own.
PoxNora joins the Sony Online Entertainment family of games
Sony Online Entertainment has announced the acquisition of a new games studio, adding to their roster of development houses from Seattle to Austin. The Tucson, Arizona-based Octopi, LLC will now be the basis for SOE Tucson, a new studio specializing in online strategy-based gameplay. SOE now also wholly owns PoxNora, Octopi's online fantasy miniatures combat game. The release suggests that the corporate megapublisher plans to continue running the game, even as SOE Tucson positions itself for new projects within the SOE umbrella.SOE Denver, the studio responsible for the company's collectible card games, is an obvious ally for the newly acquired studio. Indeed, the official release notes that the two studios will be positioning themselves together to tackle new projects in the near future. "The new SOE Tucson studio will work closely with SOE's Denver studio on maintaining and expanding SOE's lineup of strategy games, as well as pushing into new genres and developing new projects." Definitely interesting to see the acquisition of such a great little game company; we'll keep you posted on the new studio's plans as they are announced. Read on below the cut for the full press release.
