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Massively Exclusive: Uncharted Waters Online sails to China
This past month, the captains and admirals at Uncharted Waters Online have made an incredible discovery: a brand-new continent called El Oriente. This update expands the game world to include China and Taiwan, additional trade goods and dungeons, and plenty of Oriental-themed ships. To uncover all of El Oriente's secrets, Tecmo Koei's Director of Production Takeda Tomakazu has a look at the update and the real-world history behind it. Hit the jump for this exclusive dev diary!
Uncharted Water Online bribes greenhorn sailors with gifts
Netmarble really, really wants you to play Uncharted Waters Online -- and it's not ashamed of a little bribery to make that happen. To tempt players into giving this nautical MMO a try, Netmarble is giving every new sailor a gift pack for the next month. The pack includes basic supplies, a skill handbook, an "anti-natural disaster item," and, er, LifeSavers. Probably not the candy, though. In addition to the novice pack, players can earn up to three additional gift packs by leveling up. If a player hits level 20 in all three main skills, he or she will even be gifted a fine new sea vessel of his or her very own. The giveaway goes through March 21st, so if you've been eying Uncharted Waters Online, you might want to make your move sooner rather than later to get in on this deal. [Source: Netmarble press release]
Uncharted Waters Online sets sail for Tierra Americana
If you're basing a game in the Age of Exploration, however loose its historical basis may be, you have to eventually wind up dealing with the Americas. That's the case for Uncharted Waters Online, which has just launched the large Tierra Americana expansion to set players into the New World. America is the place to establish Pioneer Cities, special player-created towns that can be built up by player companies and then visited by others. That's only part of the update, however, which also includes the cities of Paris and Firenze. Paris is, of course, the city of culture and fashion; it lets players show off their discoveries and try to set new trends in the fashion world. Firenze, meanwhile, offers crafters special improvements and gives new incentives to player-made goods. The update also features new ships and updates to the ship systems, giving Uncharted Waters Online's players ways to ensure that they traverse the newly expanded ocean in style and safety.
Uncharted Waters Online adds shipbuilding
MMO shipbuilding is a time-honored tradition that's shown up in titles as wide-ranging as Wurm Online, Vanguard, and even Star Wars Galaxies (hey, spaceships count!), to name but a few. The latest game to take the plunge is Uncharted Waters Online, and the free-to-play title from CJ E&M is looking to expand both building and customization options. Players may choose materials for the hull, sails, and gunport, and how the ingredients are combined will determine how durable the ships are (and, of course, how they fare on subsequent expeditions). New mechanics like steering proficiency "give players more control while sailing," according to a new press release, and players can also work towards a high wave resistance stat that will enable a ship to power through a storm or blizzard. Check out all the details at the official UWO website.
Circumnavigate the globe for fun and profit in Uncharted Worlds Online
MMO racing is a time-honored tradition, and we're not talking about Test Drive Unlimited 2, iRacing, or Need for Speed World. No, we mean that moment when bored players get together and go "Hey, let's have a horse/bike/dragon/foot race!" Developer-sanctioned races aren't quite as spontaneous, but when they do occur, they're usually a good bit of fun. Case in point is the World Race Challenge beginning next week in Uncharted Waters Online. The event features a huge nautical race around the whole of the game world as well as "awesome prizes" according to a new Tecmo Koei Games press release. You'll need to sign up for the event, and the application period begins today (and closes on April 15th). The race itself will be happening from April 15th through May 9th, with the winners being announced on May 16th. Check out the Uncharted Waters website for more details.
Uncharted Waters Online patch revamps naval PvP, adds new area
What's new in the world of Uncharted Waters Online? Quite a lot, as it turns out. Tecmo Koei Games released the Angkor update on March 9th, bringing a large new explorable region, revamped naval battle mechanics, and the World Tour Challenge to UWO. The Southeast Asian region features the ruins of Angkor Wat as well as new quests and various towns and villages to visit. UWO's updated naval battle system now boasts 10v10 PvP skirmishes that can last as long as a week, and players are encouraged to bring their best crew and equipment in order to claim the new rewards. Finally, the update has opened the South Pacific, allowing players to sail around the entire game world via the World Tour Challenge (which also features a number of quirky side quests, according to a press release detailing the patch). Head to the official Uncharted Waters Online website for more details, and check out five new screenshots in our gallery below. %Gallery-94950%
Rise and Shiny recap: Uncharted Waters Online
Uncharted Waters Online by Netmarble is one of those games that I have been meaning to get around to taking a much deeper look at, but I never seemed to find the time. I knew that the game would require more concentration and chin-scratching than I was used to in many games, so I was a little worried. I also knew that a week would be seen as "not nearly enough time" to cover the game, but then I remembered my promise of covering the newbie experience for this column. I don't care which game we are talking about; they all deserve a look at the first few levels or days in game. UWO was surprisingly easy. In fact, the hardest part about the game was figuring out exactly what it was that I needed to do in order to move forward, but honestly even that was probably covered in the 34-year-long tutorial. Every time I broke down and asked the chat denizens about a certain item or quest section, they would give me the answer. When I asked them where they found the information, they would simply say "the tutorial." I believed them -- the tutorial is long and filled with information that I quickly forgot. In fact, if you decide to give the game a go, do yourself a favor and pay close attention to the tutorial. It will more than likely tell you everything you need to know. Besides my issues with listening, I found a lot more inside the world or pirates, exploration, and trade, so click past the cut and let's talk about it.
Uncharted Waters Online releases new Aztec-themed update
The team at Tecmo Koei is wasting no time getting a jump on the new year, as it's already released a brand-new update to Uncharted Waters Online. The new content, titled Aztec Update: The City of Golden Culture Revealed, is centered around Tenochtitlan, the capital city of the Aztec empire. The patch adds a new city-building mechanic and allows enterprising architects to experience the new player-driven economy and construct a city from scratch after choosing from five categories (frontier city, city of culture, commerce city, armed city, or central city). The update also features a new level quest, a docking system that allows player ships to be anchored, and new player recipes, all of which look to add quite a bit of depth to the empire-building MMO. Learn more at the official Uncharted Waters Online website.
One Shots: Come on in, the water is fine
If you don't have the chance to travel around the world on vacation, one of the fun things you can do is to take virtual tours in different MMOs! If you happen to find yourself in Uncharted Waters Online, you'll even get a chance to see real-world landmarks, since the game is based on world history from the 1500s! This image comes to us courtesy of Valerius, who stopped amidst his travels to capture this screenshot and send in a virtual postcard. He writes: "While I was spending my time learning the basics of the game, I came across this illustration of the Pisa Tower. Uncharted Waters Online is not an eye-popper, graphically speaking, but every time one comes across a new city or a landscape there is always some detail which specializes its surroundings. Apart from the game's different classes and unique gameplay, UWO knows how to surprise here and there -- even with its modest graphics. Being different is a challenge these days within MMO games, and I think UWO accomplishes it." Whether real-world or purely made up, we're always looking for lovely landmarks. If you'd like to show off a smashing (or leaning) bit of scenery, then snap a screenshot and send it to us here at oneshots@massively.com. Be sure to include your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing in the picture. We'll post it out here and give you the credit for sending it in! %Gallery-85937%
Uncharted Waters Online ready for closed beta
Last month's announcement of Uncharted Waters Online caught the attention of quite a few fans who were curious to see more of the game. They're going to get their chance to do just that very soon, because the game will enter closed beta in just one week. The Uncharted Waters Online team has a very generous definition of "closed beta" according to the announcement: "CBT is open to everyone, meaning no CBT Keys Needed!" While testing runs from August 25th through September 6th, the client is available for download beginning on the 20th. %Gallery-94950%
Avast ye landlubbers: Uncharted Waters Online ahead!
A month ago we heard that the folks at TECHMO KOEI are bringing Uncharted Waters Online, a three-year-old pirate MMO from Korea, to North America. As we do with all piratey things, we waved our hooks in the air and demanded that they tell us more -- or else face our ire and walk the plank. While they didn't respond to garish pirate threats, KOEI was moved by "Pretty please?" and gave us a glimpse into the high seas and low talk of this popular title. Uncharted Waters Online is actually the latest in a long series of Uncharted Waters games, dating all the way back to a 1991 Nintendo title. Each game has dealt with a romanticized version of the Age of Exploration (14th through 16th century), and this MMO is no different. If you're familiar with games like Sid Meier's Pirates! and Pirates of the Burning Sea, you have a good idea what you're in for: trading, exploration, and a whole lot of ship-on-ship violence. Hit the jump for a deeper look at Uncharted Waters Online!
Uncharted Waters Online free-to-play MMO journeys West
Sorry, this isn't an MMO adaptation of Naughty Dog's Uncharted franchise. Instead, Uncharted Waters Online is Tecmo Koei's long-running online RPG, and it's making its way to America and Europe via CJ Internet. Like Pirates of the Burning Sea, the experience centers around traveling the oceans, trading, exploring and battling on both sea and land. While Uncharted Waters may be an unfamiliar name Stateside, it's been big enough in Asia to warrant three expansion packs and an online-enabled PS3 port. While CJ Internet is only bringing the PC version to English-speaking audiences, the free-to-play model being adopted should make it an easier sell to the MMO masses.
Koei launches Uncharted Waters MMO in Japan, may localize for the West
Somehow, Koei has beaten Sony Online Entertainment at bringing a MMO to the PS3. Uncharted Waters is launching in Japan, bringing seafaring adventure to the masses. While that's little reason for us to celebrate, Siliconera may have discovered a few clues at a potential US release.According to the site, Koei has recently registered a trademark for Uncharted Waters Online. Spencer speculates that the registration of an English trademark may be part of Koei Tecmo's plan to expand its global reach. If Koei decides to bring Uncharted Waters to the States, they better not take too long -- we think they'll want to beat FreeRealms, The Agency and DC Universe Online in order to best capture the PS3 audience's attention.[Thanks, Zack!]
VC in Brief: Uncharted Waters: New Horizons (SNES)
Uncharted Waters: New Horizons (SNES, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)We say: Patient gamers should check it out!New Horizons is a game that will appeal to strategy fans and pretty much nobody else. Even though it has a fairly unique and fun combat system, the hurdle of getting into significant combat and actually progressing the game is hard to climb, given the game's clumsy out-of-combat controls and complicated menu system. It's still fun, but be prepared to spend plenty of time doing a lot of mundane tasks before you actually can get into the tasty bits of gameplay. Every week, we like to check out what's new on the Virtual Console. We offer these videos as a sort of taste to help you decide whether or not you would want the game in question. We also toss in our own two cents because we're pushy jerks.
VC/WiiWare Tuesday: Calm waters
Japan has it pretty rough in terms of downloadable game releases this week. Gamers have the choice between a super-niche strategy game from Koei or a Master System Sonic game. Uncharted Waters II will make an appearance on the North American Virtual Console, by the way, as Uncharted Waters: New Horizons -- it was rated by the ESRB back in November. Uncharted Waters II (Super Famicom, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) Sonic Chaos (Sega Master System, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) The slim pickings on Virtual Console are a feast compared to Japan's WiiWare offerings this week: Nothing
Koei strategy pair rated by ESRB
The ESRB has rated a pair of Koei games that aren't Dynasty Warriors for release on the Virtual Console. Both are historical strategic RPGs, though with very different settings. The first, Nobunaga's Ambition (top screens above), tasks players with conquering feudal Japan, while Uncharted Waters: New Horizons is based more on life at sea, and lets you indulge in sailing, trading, and even piracy.We assume these are the NES versions, though could be wrong -- there were versions of each on the Genesis and SNES. Considering a boxed of copy of either goes for about $20 or $25 on eBay, we could be in for a bargain when these appear.
