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Black Gold's Dwarves create steamtech for all
In a game that fuses fantasy with steampunk, it may be the Dwarves that are the most important race at all. Black Gold is giving the center stage to its Dwarven race this week, claiming that these short and stout people are responsible for the creation of steam technology. Along with dispensing with some backstory on the Dwarves, the article emphasizes that the race is extremely durable and a huge fan of melee combat. Their main downside is that they have no access to magic, limiting them to the Arbiter and Tech Adept classes. Check out the Black Gold Dwarf spotlight video after the jump!
Black Gold Online introduces the Yuton race
Snail Games has unveiled the second race in its new steampunk MMO Black Gold Online. The Yutons, considered more of a primitive (yet not barbaric) race of humans, were the first to settle in Erlandir. They saw the introduction of steam technology as their salvation and ticket to freedom from Kosh rule. This eventually led to a split between those who followed Hoca and steam, and those who rejected this new power. You can learn more about the Yutonian humans on the lore page and a short video just after the jump.
Black Gold: Introducing the Buvont
Snail Games today released a video and blog post centered on the Buvont, marking the first in-depth exploration of any of Black Gold Online's races. A group of science-loving humans, the Buvont live peacefully with Black Gold's dwarves and are responsible for the militarization of steam technology. Accordingly, Isenhorst (one of the two competing Black Gold kingdoms) is considered to be under the thumb of the Buvont dynasty. Buvont can take on the role of Inquisitor, Mystic, or Tech Adept and dress in the neo-Victorian style. You can learn more about this race by checking out the reveal video after the break.
Black Gold Online changes business model for NA
When Black Gold Online's monetization model was introduced, you could say that it caused a bit of a stir. A very big stir of unhappy once-potential players. Now, Snail Games has attempted to quell the dissatisfaction by clarifying a few points, first and foremost by announcing that the previous model was geared only for China and revealing a different plan for North America. Producer Kee Zhang stated, "We're refining this new system and our top priority is [to] develop a transparent and accepted F2P model for the North American audience." The studio insists that Black Gold's time save system is a completely optional bonus to supplement game progression; players can still acquire all equipment and materials from normal in-game means of questing, drops, and auctions. This system will not affect PvP or PvE rankings. The system appears to work this way: The game will auto-save the player's loot index (which is based on your actions during that saved time) every hour, and players can claim that loot index -- through either the free saves or purchased ones -- in the form of a vial of time that can be traded for credits or opened for the random loot within.
Black Gold Online's payment model will make your head hurt
Black Gold Online's payment model might well be one of the most convoluted and bizarre plans ever instituted in an MMO -- and it's coming soon to the North American continent. Identical to the model that's being used in China, Black Gold's NA payment plan alleges to bypass subscriptions and cash shops entirely. How? Well, it's not explained very well, but that could just be because this monetization model was obviously crafted by a lawyer who hates gamers. The gist of it is that you won't be getting your good loot when you play; instead, your loot will go into a "save file" for optional cash purchase later on. The system holds back rare materials and premium equipment, giving you the chance to purchase the past one, two, four, or six hours of accumulated goods. You can also gamble to try to lower the cost of the purchased save. Snail Games Founder Shi Hai thinks this plan is just peachy: "We're focusing on giving our players choices when it comes to their gameplay experiences -- they decide what premium items to pay for and whether a play session is worth saving." [Thanks to Paul for the tip!]
Black Gold's Chinese business model built on loot locks
Black Gold Online, Snail Games' steampunk followup to Age of Wushu, has announced the business model for its upcoming Chinese release. It's not subscription-based, but it's not traditional free-to-play or buy-to-play, either. What exactly is it, then? The only word that springs to mind is strange, since the model relies on some sort of inventory- and loot-locking system. According to MMO Culture, the game automatically locks your loot on an hourly basis. Some looted items will actually be looted and available in your inventory, while others will be locked. To unlock them, you'll need to purchase in-game gold using real-life cash. There's also an RNG element which may result in unlock discounts or possibly freely unlockable items. You can see a Chinese-language video of the business model in action after the break.
E3 2013: Snail Games' Black Gold and Age of Wushu
Snail Games showcased two new MMOs today at E3: Black Gold and Age of Wushu. The two games have more than their parent in common; Black Gold utilizes the Age of Wushu engine. Set in a fantastical steampunk world, Black Gold is a mish-mash of colorful fantasy elements and grunge-ridden steampunk inventions, as we found in our hands-on with the game earlier today. Each faction within Black Gold (fantasy or steam faction) has three races of its own. The steam faction holds humans, dwarves, and vampires (what steampunk MMO would be without vampires?), and on the fantasy side you'll find more humans, a cat-like race, and a shape-shifting barbarian race. It might be a little limited in race selection, but maybe character creation will be just as interesting for the players as it is in Age of Wushu.
E3 2013: Hands-on with steampunkish Black Gold
The folks over at Snail Games had several computers set up at E3 this year to allow the press to play their next MMO, Black Gold. The concept is simple but relatively uncommon: steampunk vs. fantasy. I guess you can say RIFT tried its hand at the trope with its Defiants and Guardians showdown, but it wasn't taken to such an extreme. Black Gold is more like Aztec elves with magic powers vs. an apocalyptic survivalist society that's living off of steam power even though they have telephone poles. While the game has some really cool art and concepts, the pre-beta demo I got to try was sadly lacking in options. I spent about 20 minutes in the morning trying an Isenhorst human with a rifle, then spent the last hour of E3 day one with still more BG.%Gallery-191249%
It's a steampunk dwarf on the new Black Gold website
Steam will rise, boundaries will fall, at least according to the newly minted Black Gold Online website. In case you couldn't tell from the tagline and the massive monocle-sporting dwarf on the header, Black Gold is a new steampunk MMO. It's brought to you by Snail, best known in the west as the publisher of martial arts sandbox Age of Wushu. The site boasts a couple of video clips, a few screenshots, and some very basic information about the game's open world. Currently the race/class and story sections of the site feature "coming soon" placeholders, but we expect to learn quite a bit more about the title during our demo at E3 this week. [Thanks Paul!]
Black Gold Online features 300 square kilometers to explore, dynamic events, and more
Snail Games may be best known for Age of Wushu, but that may change later this year as the company's Black Gold Online makes it way west. The steampunk fantasy title recently received a website update and a feature listing in its native China, and MMO Culture has translated the details. Those details include 300 square kilometers of explorable landmass, two factions, six races, and 18 classes. The game will also feature dynamic events of some sort, as well as faction wars and cross-server PvP. Action combat is on the menu, too, as are a variety of mounts including "mecha suits," anti-air tanks, flying dragons, and more. We've embedded a six-minute gameplay trailer from late last year just past the break.
Snail to show off Black Gold steampunk MMO at E3
We've written about Black Gold Online in the past, but the upcoming MMO is decidedly more interesting on the heels of publisher Snail Games' successful Age of Wushu launch. The company will show off its Wushu follow-up at E3 2013. A new post on the firm's website says that players can look forward to 3000-plus dynamic events as well as "actions that can change the game world itself." Avatars can "change forms" in combat and and "drive giant armors," all while exploring a unique world blended from sci-fi, fantasy, and steampunk elements. Would you like to know more? There's a fresh trailer just after the break.
New Black Gold trailer features fly-through footage, combat, and more
Every six months or so, Snail Games reminds us that it's working on a curious steampunk MMORPG called Black Gold Online (not to be confused with Black Desert from Pearl Abyss). MMO Culture reports on a new trailer featuring the game's Chinese client which features plenty of fly-through footage, combat action, and a brief glimpse at the character creation interface. The game has been announced for territories including China, Russia, and North America, but thus far no beta phase has materialized. Check out the three-minute gameplay clip after the cut.
Snail turned into living battery, should have taken the blue pill
You know how those mad scientists at DARPA are obsessed with generating power from insects? A team from Clarkson University, New York and Ben-Gurion University, Israel has gone one better by turning a Snail into a cybernetic power generator. A pair of Buckypaper electrodes were charged by the electro-chemical reactions in the slow-moving invertebrates "hemolymph," its equivalent to blood. Its hoped the Snails will provide a sustainable way to power listening devices for the Department of Homeland Security, so if you suddenly find your crawlspace full of gastropods, be careful what you say. [Image credit: American Chemical Society]
Japanese TORo II gallops ahead at a mechanical snail's pace (video)
Snails with benefits? Our salt shaker might disagree. But some enterprising engineers over at Japan's Chuo University managed to turn this garden-variety pest into fodder for mechatronic inspiration. Based on the gastropod's preferred method of 'galloping' -- wherein waves of foot-to-head muscle contractions propel it forward -- researchers at the Mechatronics Lab created TORo II, an omnidirectional robot that could make its way to a hospital near you. Why's that? Well, the bot's large gripped surface area makes it ideal for narrow, slippery environments -- so it won't budge if knocked into (though you might wind up on the emergency room floor). Although the unique movement technique has been used to create other mecha-mollusks in the past, the team behind this project made sure to create some of their own ceiling and wall-climbing critters -- suction definitely included. We admit, we kind of feel guilty about the sodium chloride transgressions of our youth. And now that we know snails can be useful, it's only a matter of time before the bedbug gets repurposed. Full omnidirectional video awesomeness after the break.
Snail concept rolls out Braille-to-speech translation
A new concept that fits nicely in the things-you-never-knew-you-wanted category is determined to make speed readers out of the visually impaired. Snail -- deceptive name aside -- uses a pressure-sensitive touch pad to read patterns in a Braille passage, then translates them to speech, speeding up the reading process and allowing users to record audio passages for later playback. The user places his / her thumb, in the obvious opening and glides the device over a line of Braille. The translated audio is then played back either through a built-in speaker or over a connected Bluetooth headset. Snail was made with the blind in mind, but considering we've always been curious about what resides in those bumpy white lines, we wouldn't mind rolling with one of these things ourselves. As is the case with so many concepts, however, there's no telling when or if this Snail will slither on to the market.
Double-plus good: Luna Online expansion heading to test servers December 24th
And now for a public service announcement from your friends at Massively. Are you suffering from a severe cute deficiency in your MMO diet? Then you may want to consider Luna Online, which has 400% of the recommended daily allowance of big eyes, oversized heads and giggly animals. To make your Luna Online life even better, gPotato has announced that the new expansion for the game, Luna Plus, is hitting the public test servers from December 24th through January 7th. Testers will be able to preview all of the new content and zones, including a 30-level increase (to the new level 150 cap), an additional race, a castle siege and seven previously unexplored areas. If that's not enough, Luna Plus will feature eight-person mounts, such as a giant snail. We just hope you and your party don't want to get anywhere in a pressing hurry. Luna Online players have a lot to look forward to with this first expansion, especially with the ability to get their hands on it even earlier. For more information, ask your local librarian or head over to Luna Online. The more you know -- and knowing is half the battle.
Stanford's Stickybot wall-climbing robot lizard
We thought MIT's slime-climbing robo-snail was pretty, er, slick, but we have to admit that our new fave wall-climber has got to be Stanford's Stickybot. The robot gecko has feet coated with a polymer designed to mimic the properties of setae, the tiny hairs on gecko feet that enable the lizards to climb walls. That allows the bot to clamber freely without the surface in question having to be doused with slime, as required by MIT's bot. Not surprisingly, the Pentagon is already interested in adapting the tech for military use in gloves and boots for soldiers. We can only hope this trickles down to civilian uses fast; we're so ready to connect with our inner Spidey as we climb the walls in our gecko gloves. [Via I4U]
