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Aion adds map-drawing functionality, smiley-faces ensue
Much has been written about Aion's humongous 3.0 patch (and there's much more to come courtesy of Massively's Wings Over Atreia column). One thing that hasn't gotten a lot of attention, though, is the game's new cartography feature. In a nutshell, NCsoft's new update lets players draw on Aion's in-game map in four different colors, the better to plan out PvP attacks, strategize for PvE, or even show a newb exactly where to go. What's that? This isn't some ground-breaking new MMO feature, you say? Well, you're right. It's pretty cool, though, and we'll also point out that unlike the similar functionality in Guild Wars and third-party World of Warcraft mods, your Atreian cartographic masterworks may be saved, loaded, and passed around amongst members of your group, legion (which is Aion-speak for guild), or alliance.
The Daily Grind: Has F2P piqued your interest in Aion?
I used to know a thing or two about Aion. Covering the game was my first assignment for Massively, in fact, and throughout the spring of 2010, that's exactly what I did. The high-level grind (and an incurable case of wanderlust) ultimately did me in, though, so I waved goodbye to Atreia aside from the occasional dungeon-running guild reunion. Now that the game is back on everyone's radar -- complete with some shiny new features like player housing -- I'm patching my NCsoft launcher, frowning at the forced Pando Media Booster installation, and preparing to dust off my 55 Sorcerer. What about you, early-birds? Is free-to-play and a ton of new content enough to (re)kindle your interest in Aion? 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!
Aion: Ascension launches and class begins
And we have lift off! Aion Ascension has launched at last, and finally, some of those tidbits we were teased with in the notorious Visions Trailer are in-game. Housing! Mounts! New Zones! Choirs of winged Daevas singing! Not only are these much anticipated features available, but the new Truly Free business model has now made its way to another NCsoft title. Edward Chang, Director of Product Management at NCsoft, states, "We started converting current players to the new business model late last week in preparation for today's launch and we couldn't be happier with the response, tripling concurrency in a matter of hours. We spent a considerable amount of time focused on optimizing Aion Ascension for the Truly Free business model, and early feedback from the community indicates that we made the right decisions." What more could be added to this good news? How about a free introductory course of helpful hints to offer Daevas a little boost! It just so happens we have the syllabus for Ascension 101 right here, penned by none other than Producer Adam Christensen. Read on for Adam's very own tips and tricks for the 3.0 patch. Don't worry -- there won't be a quiz at the end!
Aion opens the BlackCloud Marketplace, adds eternal weapon
As part of Aion's conversion to the Truly Free model, NCsoft finally opened the doors of the new cash shop. Dubbed the BlackCloud Marketplace, Daevas can immediately begin purchasing in-game items with NCoin either singularly or in bundles. What exactly is stocking the shelves? We finally have the answer for you! Besides the expected pets, consumables, emotion cards, and appearance items, the marketplace also offers XP amulets and special boost packs including immunity from XP loss upon death, boosted AP, and boosted Empyrean Crucible points. From now until 6:30 a.m EDT April 11th, Daevas will receive a bonus pre-order gift for purchasing a large C.U.B.E. -- a level-50 eternal-grade Tahabata weapon. After this time, only the appearance skins will be sold. The weapon type will be class-appropriate for the character the player chooses when first purchasing the C.U.B.E. Other than the restrictions that characters must be level 30 or above, players can buy as many large C.U.B.E.s as they wish during this time to obtain multiple weapons. Once purchased, the weapons will be delivered after server maintenance on the 11th and will be soul-bound. To get your special deal or even just window shop, check out the BlackCloud Marketplace today.
Aion opens a new server, eliminates subs, and reactivates accounts today
Today is a big day for players anticipating next week's launch of Aion's Ascension and the title's conversion to free-to-play. Once server maintenance is completed, players will have a new server, subscriptions will be discontinued, and the doors will reopen for inactive accounts. Starting today, players will be able to log into the new Kahrun server to create characters and reserve names; however, actual play will not be possible until the launch on April 11th. Catering to the Central Time Zone, all sieges, arena timers, and the like will be based on CST. All accounts are also changing from subscriptions to the Truly Free model, eliminating all billing. Still have a month, three months, or even a year of time left? In compensation, NCsoft is crediting players by converting all remaining game time to NCoin at a ratio of 40 NCoin per remaining day. Don't panic if you don't see the credit immediately; it might take a couple of days to process everything. On top of all this, all inactive accounts in good standing are reactivating today to give Daevas a chance to prepare for 3.0. So dust off those wings and jump back in!
Aion lays out the details for the upcoming server changes
Before a storm, you secure your home. Before a job interview, you clean yourself up nicely. Before a conversion to free-to-play, you make sure your servers are ready to go. That last one is on the agenda for NCsoft, which is making some server changes and merges prior to Aion's transition to free-to-play starting on April 11th. Players affected by this can take a look at a new official FAQ to clarify any and all questions about what's going down on March 28th. The short version is that most individual character data will remain untouched, but players with conflicting names will be given a random string of letters and numbers and a free name-change ticket. Players who wind up with Asmodeans and Elyseans on the same server will also be given the option to change to an appropriate race or transfer the offending characters to another server to adhere to the one-faction-per-server rule. If you've got more detailed questions, of course, the FAQ has more detailed answers.
Aion producer talks about 3.0 and being truly free
The conversion to free-to-play is taking place in less than a month for Aion, and that means an influx of new players along with a massive new update. Producer Adam Christensen recently sat down to record a short video for the fans discussing how the conversion will work, what players can expect in terms of the update's storyline, and what to expect in terms of store offerings once the conversion takes place. Christensen explains that the primary motivating factor behind the removal of subscriptions was a simple need for players to have a larger influx of other people to group with -- the game plays best with other people, and making the game free-to-play would secure a larger number of people. He also opines at length about features such as housing and the new dungeons coming with patch 3.0. The full video is just past the break, and if it piques your interest, clear a little time away around April 11th to give the game a shot.
Wings Over Atreia: Did someone say 3.0?
You might be a bit weary of hearing about the launch of Aion's next big thing. Then again, maybe you just can't get enough. Everyone in the former group can conclude his reading here because this week's Ascension launch date announcement and subsequent information deluge offered plenty of new tidbits to share. And share I must. It is my civic duty. Previously, we explored the different aspects of 3.0 using the translated Korean patch notes. Those are all well and good for giving us a good basis for what to expect, but there are always little changes in the western release of the game (see instance names), not to mention exact details of some of the systems (like mounts) are lacking. Luckily Aion's newly released official game guide, though incomplete, has new information to pass along to interested Daevas. And let's not forget the unexpected goodness of the impending free-to-play model. Yup, I can definitely find a few more things to chat about there. If you are still reading, then either you had your interest rekindled or you are patiently waiting for me to get to the goods. So let's get on with it!
Aion: Ascension and F2P launch date set
Hang on to your wings! The news that Daevas and Daevas-to-be have been anticipating (and even hedging bets on) has finally arrived: NCsoft just announced that Aion's 3.0 update and free-to-play-conversion will hit North American servers on April 11th, giving folks barely enough time to recover from any chocolate bunny-induced comas. And if that wasn't enough to set Asmodians and Elyos astir, along with the raised level cap, mounts, streamlined UI, and other assorted goodies previously disclosed, two additional features launching with Ascension were revealed: a completely unique microtransaction system (C.U.B.E.) and a personalized in-game guide (the Atreian Atlas).
Lineage II boasts increased revenue and playerbase following free-to-play transition
It's been a little over two months now since NCsoft's Lineage II adopted a free-to-play business model that the studio has taken to calling "Truly Free." It would appear the transition went over well for the long-running title, as a new press release boasts that since the change, "[the game] has almost quadrupled its revenue and increased its concurrent player base by more than 800 per cent." Not a bad resurgence for a game that's been kicking around for the better part of eight years now. The studio attributes the success -- at least in part -- to the newly added Path to Awakening feature, "which provides helpful buffs, items and advice to accelerate new characters towards the level cap." If you'd like to get in the game and experience the freshly reinvigorated world of Lineage II for yourself, just click on through to the official site. [Source: NCsoft press release]
Lineage II goes F2P in Europe tomorrow
"What about meeeee," said a bunch of European Lineage II fans as NCsoft's long-running fantasy MMORPG went free-to-play in America a couple of weeks ago. Happily, publisher Innova is stepping up to bring the free version of Aden to the old world beginning on December 16th. Innova CEO Gevork Sarkisyan says that there's big demand for the PvP-centric fantasy title in Europe. "We have already seen our Lineage II community grow significantly during the beta phases, and we are looking forward to opening the full service to everyone tomorrow," he said via press release. Lineage II recently launched the largest expansion in its history, and NCsoft is advertising the game as the first "truly free" free-to-play MMORPG on the market. [Source: Innova press release]
Choose My Adventure: Lineage II by a landslide
It was no contest from the get-go. Lineage II took an early lead in last week's poll and firmly held on to it. Color me shocked. I really thought that a few of the entries would be closely tied. Some contestants recently added some juicy content releases, but Lineage II crushed them, and all the others, by getting 1,320 votes. The runner-up, Black Prophecy, only managed to secure 299 votes. All its servers going F2P and the release of Age of Discovery weren't enough to put EverQuest II in the running. The F2P population boom in DC Universe Online's and its recent Lightning Strikes update weren't enough to create competition. Nope. The allure of Lineage II's F2P mode and the launch of the Goddess of Destruction expansion were just too much for voters to pass up. Now it's your turn to start steering my course in the lands of Lineage II. Race, class, gender and my first class-transfer are all on the table. I've tried to make voting as easy and clear as possible, but given how each race, and gender determine which classes you can choose from, you should make an effort to understand how all the choices work. Here's one example: Voting Dwarf and then Mystic is wasting a vote because Dwarves can only be Fighters, and it skews the results for those who are voting for a race that can be Mystics. You'll see what I mean.
The Daily Grind: Are you tempted by Lineage II's 'truly free' model?
NCsoft recently announced its new "truly free" free-to-play model for Lineage II. This is interesting for two reasons. One, the title insinuates that all those other free-to-play games aren't actually free. And two, well, I just ran out of excuses for not returning to the world of Aden. The new press materials highlighted some 400 hours worth of content, and as a former player, I'd say this estimate is probably a bit on the conservative side. L2 is truly a massive title, and getting to endgame is really the halfway point since you've still got all kinds of EVE-like territorial PvP and metagaming shenanigans waiting for you after you've maxed out a character. For today's Daily Grind, we'd like to know if the recent announcement piqued your interest. Will you be checking out Lineage II when it goes free-to-play? 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!
NCsoft releases brief Lineage II F2P trailer
Lineage II is going free-to-play. This isn't news (or rather, it's old news at this point, amirite?). We wish we could tell you when the stalwart fantasy title is flipping the free-to-play switch, but unfortunately NCsoft's big announcement earlier this afternoon made no mention of a release date. The company did unveil a new trailer that clocks in at just under a minute in length, and it boasts of 400 hours' worth of gameplay and optional leveling and quality-of-life enhancements from the L2 store. There's also a new section of the Lineage II website devoted to the "truly free" marketing campaign. Other than that, though, there are still more questions than answers, and your guess is as good as ours when it comes to release dates for the long-awaited Goddess of Destruction content and the business-model switcheroo. In terms of additional info, ZAM recently interviewed NCsoft bigwigs and wrangled some pricing-related details out of them (most items are in the one dollar range, with some as high as $15 depending on whether or not they're time-limited). We'll keep you update with more L2 F2P news bits as they happen.
