New dungeon announced for Runes of Magic
The Kalin Shrine leads players into conflict with the mightiest Mage Taboreas
A few weeks before the launch of the award-winning online role-play game Runes of Magic, Frogster is releasing information about new content being built into the release version. This includes the high-level dungeon ‘Kalin Shrine’, a mysterious place where the dark mage Regin has taken possession and where he sets players some huge challenges.
Located in the dusty wastes of the Dust Devil Canyon, the ‘Kalin Shrine’ was built back in the mists of time, even before the blossoming of the of the old kingdoms. Ancient knowledge resides in the heart of the Shrine and there once was a time when Regin kept this knowledge safe for his own followers, but now he is using the power of the shrine for his own dark purposes. Well armed players are now being requested to drive him out of the sanctuary. This is no simple task; it can only be undertaken by warriors who have the maximum Level 50, since the passages and levels of this lost shrine are populated by ghosts, rune guardians and grave robbers.
In addition, boss level opponents also support the powerful magician in his sinister works. They all demand a special tactical approach from the six man group of adventurers. Just one of the obstacles for players to over come in this struggle is a crystal tortoise which can bind players in solid ice for ten minutes. However, the most testing battle lies at the heart of the shrine: In order to defend his power, any means is justifiable to the End Boss Regin. Using black magic, he is able to summon some of the already slain bosses back to life and bring them to his aid. Should adventurers master this quest and free the shrine from the evil influence, their troubles will be rewarded with booty in the form of rare armour.Moreover, many more quests are entwined around the ‘Kalin Shrine’ and so continue to lead the story of the Runes of Magic ever onward. Further information about the new dungeon ‘Kalin Shrine’ is available on the official Runes of Magic website www.runesofmagic.com.
Runes of Magic started the open beta with an English and a German version in the middle of December 2008. All interested players can now download the online-role playing game and enter into the fantasy world after creating an account for free on www.runesofmagic.com.
Runes of Magic – a world full of wizardry and adventure
With an extensive range of features Runes of Magic prepares to redefine the standard of free2play MMO games. Runes of Magic conveys an absorbing story through more than 1.000 quests embedded in an atmospheric fantasy setting. Players can choose between six main classes and combined with a secondary class they present 30 individual combinations of character classes over all. All characters possess unique skills with impressive combo attacks and can use mounts like war horses and more. A particularly attractive feature for guilds and players is the possibility to arrange their own virtual homes with individual furnishing. Thanks to an extensive crafting and reputation system, thrilling PVP, as well as demanding dungeons and boss-monsters, no wishes remain unsatisfied. The Taiwanese developer Runewaker has developed Runes of Magic according to western MMO standards within a time frame of three years. The studio will provide new challenges for players every three to four months with free add-ons and updates. MMO fans can find more information, pictures and videos on the official website www.runesofmagic.com.
Features
Free2play: no monthly fees, free download
Extensive dual class system (six primary and secondary classes)
Versatile spell- and attack-combinations
Enthralling background story
More than 1.000 quests and quest series on launch
No zone boundaries thanks to seamless architecture
Dungeons: Instanced and tile based as well as persistent
Individually developable skills and spells
Armour sets with special bonuses
Dynamic item system with hundreds of runes for upgrading
Optional PvP system with arena battles and guild wars
Ranking system with player-ranking lists
Multitude of unique mounts
Epic crafting system with the chance to improve existing items
Personalization of player houses through individual furnishing
Reputation system
Customisable user interface with the option to use Add-Ons
Map and radar system to find dealers, resources and quests easily
In-game auction houses for trading items
Teleport-Runes for instant travel
Mouse and keyboard controls for movement
Regular updates with new content
Cross-server fights in three-server-battle in development
Guild houses in special zones in development
Atlantica Online Opens 6th Server To Meet Consumer Demand
Expansion to be Celebrated During ‘Fortnight of the Oracle’
NDOORS Interactive, creators of the strategic turn-based MMORPG, Atlantica Online, announced that they will be opening their 6th server, Delphi, to meet growing consumer demand. Each day brings new players into the world of Atlantica Online and the increase in server capacity improves the game’s performance and provides the best online experience possible. The expansion follows a major content update for the award-winning free-to-play MMO. With a 6th server online, Atlantica is prepared to welcome thousands of new users with a smooth gaming experience and allow veteran players the opportunity to start anew and tryout the new character classes. To celebrate the success of Atlantica Online and herald in the new server, NDOORS will be hosting the ‘Fortnight of the Oracle,’ a series of power-leveling festivities.
For a two-week period following the Delphi server’s opening on March 6, 2009, every player will receive a 120% experience boost, increased to 150% on weekends. In addition to the universal experience boost, players will have the opportunity to participate in:
Level-up Race –More than 100 players will receive 1,000 Gcoins for reaching a designated level the fastest.
Screenshot Contest – Players who submit the best screenshots will receive Gcoin prizes.
Quiz Bowl – Players who correctly answer questions from GMs will receive in-game item prizes.
Monster Hunts – Unique enemies will be spawned at various sites for new players to battle and earn rewards.
Treasure Hunts and Item Giveaways – New players will have more opportunities to find crystals and scroll boxes and receive other free in-game items.
During the ‘Fortnight of the Oracle’ new players and veterans alike will be able to level up faster than ever. New players will have an edge in their development and veterans will have even more reason to try the new Musician class. Then they can make it to level 100 and unlock the new Maniac class.
Peter Kang, CEO of NDOORS Interactive, commented, “The opening of Atlantica’s 6th server is a result of the game’s steady growth in membership. With the announcement of our latest update on Feb. 18, we’ve seen a 55% jump in the number of new people registering to play. We want to welcome new players into our community, and make sure we’re providing them a smooth and seamless Atlantica experience. We also want to reward those who have been with us for a long time, including the 34% of our level 100 players who have already started at the beginning again with the new Maniac character. Hosting the ‘Fortnight of the Oracle’ is our way of showing players that we appreciate them and are committed to keeping the experience fresh and exciting.”
For more information on Atlantica Online, please visit: http://atlantica.ndoorsgames.com/center/default.asp
Bombs Away! OGPlanet’s BB Tanks Begins Open Beta Testing
It’s all-out war at OGPlanet as the BB Tanks open beta test goes live today. Starting today, OGPlanet members can download the game client software at www.ogplanet.com and start blowing up new friends from around the world.
“While the game had been in an informal open beta before,” explained Don Choi, COO of OGPlanet, “we recently took the game offline to do a major revitalization through an internal closed beta. The result is a streamlined, user-friendly version of our cartoony tank game. The players will be thrilled with how BB Tanks is shaping up.”
BB Tanks – a cult favorite among OGPlanet’s free-to-play line-up – offers a fun twist on turn-based strategy tank shooter combat. These cute, cartoon tanks have a wide range of quirky personalities that are only matched by their wide array of weaponry. Players must match their skill at setting the angle and power of each shot with weapon selections that range from homing missiles and satellite shots to poison gas and water balloons.
During the open beta, players who have registered for free OGPlanet accounts can hop into combat with up to 7 friends from across the globe. While the game’s premium items will not be added until the official consumer launch, there will be several fun surprises, including various open beta events where players can win OGPlanet Astros.
BB Tanks
BB Tanks is a guaranteed blast for gamers of all ages. Players take control of a zany cartoon tank with their own range of quirky characteristics and devastating weapons. Simple, turn-based strategy gameplay, but dominating the battlefield with its ever-changing map conditions and up to 7 opponents from around the world is anything but simple.
Video Game Everquest 2 Provides New Way to Study Human Behavior, Says U of Minnesota Researcher
Can researchers study the populations of online video games, like Everquest 2, just as they study traditional communities like Miami, Pittsburgh or Minneapolis? A research study by a University of Minnesota computer scientist and colleagues from across the country shows that online, interactive gaming communities are now so massive that they mirror traditional communities. These findings are creating a new evolution of social science research where researchers are able to study human behavior using the game.
The research team analyzed three years of data (over 60 terabytes) from the complete server logs and click-streams of Sony’s popular PC game EverQuest 2. The data tracked every action performed in one of the world’s most popular massively multiplayer online (MMO) games. Everquest 2 has more than 300,000 players who average 26 hours per week playing the game. Because of the intense level of involvement and multi-player environment of the game, the researchers were able to study human behavioral dynamics using the game as a proxy.
The researchers used the virtual world to model the social and behavioral dynamics of individuals, groups, and networks within large communities. Their study presented evidence that the social sciences are at the threshold of a fundamental shift not only in our understanding of the social and behavioral sciences, but also the ways in which we study them.
The research team includes University of Minnesota computer science and engineering professor Jaideep Srivastava; Northwestern University professor Noshir Contractor; University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign professor Scott Poole; and University of Southern California assistant professor Dmitri Williams. They recently presented their findings at a 90-minute symposium “Analyzing Virtual Worlds: Next Step in the Evolution of Social Science Research” at this year’s annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest meeting of scientists.
This interdisciplinary research project was funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Army with cooperation from Sony.
Multiplayer online games and virtual worlds have become increasingly popular and have communities comprising millions. They allow social scientists to study, theorize and model the social and behavioral dynamics of individuals, groups, and networks within large communities. The researchers described how this research offers new insights as well as challenges and opportunities for advancing social, behavioral, and computational science.
For more University of Minnesota Experts and News, go to http://www1.umn.edu/news/
Sytexis Software Launches PlayClaw to Help Players Capture Screen Shots and Record Video in Games with Zero Impact on Computer Performance
Sytexis Software is offering gamers a new screen-grabbing application that makes full use of multi-core CPUs to capture screen shots and full-motion video from a computer game in brilliant quality and without slowdowns. Now players can preserve their virtual victories and share them with others easily.
Sytexis Software announces the availability of PlayClaw 1.2, a new Windows application that allows users to take screen shots or capture full-motion video as they play a computer game and save the output to disk. As distinct from other screen-grabbing tools, PlayClaw has been designed to make full use of multi-core processors, which ensures the outstanding quality of the output with a minimal impact on system performance.
Most anyone had gaming moments that he later wished he had recorded. There are many reasons to do it. For example, some players would like to take screenshots of their pimped out cars in Need for Speed. Others would like to record their tactical excellence in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and show tricks to others. If the game scene had been captured, it could easily have proven the player’s gaming skills or top scores. Besides, the creator of the game may want to take screen shots and video to publish on the game website or blog. And if someone were to beta-test the game, he could record it to ensure accuracy as it would help to remember exactly where the game needs more polish.
PlayClaw is perfect to make screen shots, record real time video and benchmark any DirectX and OpenGL game.
Game screenshot capture. While playing the game, the player can use PlayClaw to take screen shots of the most spectacular gaming moments and get the captured images named, timestamped and saved to the PlayClaw folder automatically. Screen captures can be saved in one of these formats: BMP, TGA, JPEG, and PNG.
Game video recorder. PlayClaw can also be used to record real time video. The player can choose a folder to save the output, set up video capture keys to start, stop, pause and cancel recording, choose a compression level, frame size and frame-rate to record at. One can also specify the number of cores to use and choose sound input.
Performance measurement. To benchmark a game, PlayClaw offers the FPS counter and lets the user decide where to display it. The FPS will help to perform benchmarks and measure the frame rate.
Teamspeak & Ventrilo overlays. The other nifty feature is PlayClaw’s ability to work with Teamspeak and Ventrilo. While playing the game, the gamer can see on-screen overlays with the nicknames of other players, who are talking at the moment. This feature is a real helper when it comes to playing in a team.
PlayClaw runs on Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista and x64 editions. The free demo version places an unremovable PlayClaw watermark on the captured output, limits each video record to 30 seconds in length, and saves screenshot captures only as Windows Bitmap files (BMP).
PlayClaw is a very useful tool for almost every game player who has a desire to record a game. Now players can preserve their virtual life and victories in the same way as they would do it with a camera in the physical world.
For more information or to download a free demo, visit http://www.playclaw.com.