Winch Gate lifting ‘Ryzom’ into pay-to-play

Well, developer Winch Gate Property, Ltd previously said they would change the business model of their MMO “Ryzom” and turn it from a free-to-play MMORPG into a pay-to-play MMORPG, and by golly, that’s exactly what they’re going to do.

Beginning sometime next week (unfortunately no exact dates are given), if you want to continue playing you’ll have to cough up some dough. The pricing is about on par with most other MMOs, but that’s not really the point here. The point is that a developer obviously can’t make up their mind on how their videogame is going to make money. If I was a citizen of this virtual world, I’d be crapping my little electronic trousers right about now.

Keep an eye on this case, as Winch Gate is treading in some very dangerous water. Worst of all, they’re all alone and in the dark.

Posted by Kyle Stallock

May 13th, 2009

Space MMO ‘Cosmic Supremacy’ now available

Feeling an urge to play a space-themed MMO after watching J.J. Abrams’ incredible “Star Trek?” Why don’t you give “Cosmic Supremacy” a try. (Forgive the cheese, but the release schedule of the two pieces of media remains a little too close to be a coincidence.)

Formerly known as “Space Civilizations,” “Cosmic Supremacy” is a turn-based multiplayer strategy game where players command their own civilization and are tasked with exploring the surrounding galaxy, discovering new solar systems, colonizing other planets, and essentially being a groovy dude. Of particular interest to nerds like me who love to personalize every aspect of a game, players can customize every ship in their fleet.

I hate copying and pasting an entire paragraph of a press release into one of these news announcements, but there’s something you need to read…

“As a game in the 4X genre (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate), ‘Cosmic Supremacy’ draws inspiration from the hundreds of browser-based games out there, but we did not want to add yet another one – instead we took the basic idea to the next level; the Fifth X: eXperience. ‘Cosmic Supremacy’ is played with a very slim downloadable client allowing features that other games can only dream of. We left the shortcomings of existing games behind and designed ‘Cosmic Supremacy’ from the ground up to be the best game in its class.”

See that? That’s just a small snippet of the PR bologna we have to put up with each and every day. Ugh.

Anyway, if you decide to give this new space MMO a shot, feel free to write your thoughts in the comments section below.

Posted by Kyle Stallock

May 13th, 2009

New browser game for adults, ‘Disciple’

If you are an adult looking to try out an MMORPG or are a teenager and just feel you are mature for your age, you may enjoy checking out a newly launched browser game, “Disciple.” Resistor Productions has put together this fantasy battlefield geared toward adults; almost the entire game is based on the writings of Tobias R. Batton.

The game is also delivered entirely over the web browser, so no separate download is required. This will be great for those who like to sneak in a little gameplay at school or while bored at the office.

Aphelion, “Disciple’s” fantasy world, is violent and bloody with battles between you and other players. Fights between opponents sometimes last until death while trying to earn points, armor and weapons to gain player ranking. “Geldors” are the in-game version of money and are acquired from wins and losses. You can also join a clan of disciples (or as some of us call it: a guild) to help you against enemies.

There will be three classes, races and deities to worship. There will of course be quests, but your choices in those quests will determine the play-style of your character.

“Disciple” is free-to-play, however you can enhance your in-game content with a monthly subscription fee.

Posted by Nikki Lee

May 13th, 2009

Get hitched in ‘Deco Online’ for a limited time

From now until June 9, players in the free-to-play MMORPG “Deco Online” ”… can don wedding gowns and tuxedos acquired from the in-game item mall and attend a ceremony officiated by their favorite game master,” as the press release notes. In other words, for a limited time you can get married.

Wait, what? Try as I might, I don’t understand why people would want to get married in an MMORPG. But then again, there’s a lot I don’t understand in this world so I’ll try not to spend too long analyzing the logic behind a virtual wedding ring. But why would developer Joymax only offer this option for a limited time? It’s a permanent feature in many titles, and, in a way, the focal point of one particular game. I hope the option to get divorced is still available after the event concludes.

In other “Deco Online” news, Joymax also wants you to know that the guerrilla event ends on July 7 and that the revised item mall makes it easier to purchase in-game items.

Posted by Kyle Stallock

May 13th, 2009

‘RuneScape’ lightens offence policy

The tribe at “RuneScape” has decided to lighten up a little with their new Offence System. By no means are they ignoring offences, but they are willing to give their players a second chance and believe that people learn over time from their mistakes. (Instead of getting a slap on the hand with a ruler, you’re just being put in the corner with a cone hat.)

Offences that you made over a year ago could quite possibly be gone from your record. You will no longer receive black marks for your mistakes and will instead see the offences on the Offence Appeals page. There will be two pillars: one that records offences that are bad enough to result in being banned, and another pillar that records offences that only result in being muted. This will make it easier to see where you stand within “RuneScape” law.

Players that have an account that is currently banned or muted will be allowed a chance to submit an appeal. Then the “RuneScape” support team (jury of your peers) will reassess your offences and decide if you’re guilty or not guilty. This will especially benefit those who have had their account stolen and abused. In addition, if you have ever had a membership on the account and have put in a large amount of game time, after 21 days, you will have another opportunity for an appeal.

Some organization has been implemented for the reporting of abuse. Here are the three headings in which you can categorize your reports under:

Honour – Offences in relation to cheating such as scamming, real-world trading, macroing, etc.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T. – Offences related to inappropriate behavior like bullying, obscene language, discrimination, etc.

Security – Offences related to real-world safety such as requests for real-life contact information, advertising, etc.

Receiving a mute or in-game ban will also result in the same action on the forums. This so players are treated equally when they are playing the game and when or on the forums.

If you currently have a ban or record of an offence, you might want to check out the status of that record because these changes could effect how long that offence will last. Since this whole new offence system is a large change, the website features have already been launched, but the in-game interface will be released with this week’s server reboot.

Posted by Nikki Lee

May 13th, 2009

MMORPG ‘Magic World Online’ celebrates anniversary

No self-respecting MMORPG developer would allow a holiday to go by without including some kind of celebration in their title, and this includes any and all relevant anniversaries. With that in mind, it could be said that developer Ingle Games Ltd. has announced the one year anniversary celebration for their MMORPG with legal bots, “Magic World Online.”

From May 12th to June 15th, special items called “For ‘Magic World Online’ 1st anniversary celebration” will drop from monsters. They can then be exchanged with the MWO Ambassador for “special gifts.” (Speaking of drops, Blessed Crystals can also be gained at a higher rate.)

Additionally, you might want to take a visit to the auction house and peruse the items, as Ingle Games notes countless items “which are better than ever” will be placed there.

So one month to celebrate a one year anniversary? By the time the festivities are over it will be time to celebrate some other holiday and/or anniversary number or two. I can’t say I’m complaining, though.

Posted by Kyle Stallock

May 12th, 2009

IGG previews new ‘Angels Online’ PvP system

A new PvP system will be available in free-to-play MMORPG “Angels Online” with its next expansion, “House Party.” Publisher IGG posted a preview of this new feature called Angel Arena. Apparently, this is “totally different” from the Totem Battle and Holy Battlefield.

Only level 60+ players are able to sign up and engage in this event.

To sign up, players can go to one of the four main cities, Palm Base or the Angel Lyceum, to find Battlefield Angel who will teleport them to the Sign-up Office. There, you can sign up and choose to join in on or be a spectator to the battle.

Once the event starts, those players participating will be teleported to their appropriate battlefields. The system will automatically count down 5 seconds in the World Channel. After 5 seconds, each Angel that is participating has to find a blue circle on their feet. Once this has happened, they can begin to slaughter each other.

If a player dies in the Angel Arena, they are unable to join that battle again. They can watch from the sidelines and will not lose any exp after death. But if they are offline during the battle, they cannot join in even if they login.

Posted by Nikki Lee

May 12th, 2009

Cigarette usage influences Eastern MMO design

Last Friday, MIT’s Sloan School of Business hosted a business in gaming conference where panelists from 2K Boston, Sanrio Digital, Mythic Entertainment, and Turbine discussed, among many things, the current state of the industry. Even former baseball All-Star, and founder of 38 Studios LLC, Curt Schilling, joined the fun.

As the Journal of New England Technology noted, Sanrio’s Robert Ferrari talked about the difference between Western and Eastern MMO design, which prompted Mythic’s Eugene Evans to point out one very unlikely influence: cigarettes. Evans said all games developed for the Asian markets need to be played with one hand so that a cigarette may be held in the other.

I don’t smoke, so please understand when I say “gross.”

In all seriousness, now I understand why their economy isn’t doing so bad. The country receives a 20% tax on virtual income and the revenue gained from smoking, according to a December 17 announcement, is expected to generate almost $9.5 billion following another tax hike. Additionally, revenue gained from online gaming is on the rise due in large part to the increased proliferation of PCs in homes and internet cafes.

With all that in mind, are you at all surprised that the Chinese government has ordered government employees to smoke more?

Posted by Kyle Stallock

May 12th, 2009

8450 video game jobs lost since July 2008

Some suggest the video game industry’s rapid growth within the last ten years most closely resembles the over-inflation of a balloon or a bubble, and that it will soon burst, sending jobs, careers, and aspirations to the wayside. Perhaps in support of this claim, independent market analyst Wanda Meloni estimates that 8,450 people in the industry lost their jobs since July 2008.

According to Gamasutra, Meloni used Game Developer Research’s Game Developer Census 2008 report to “calculate the current percentage of game industry layoffs in North America at 12%, based on the census report’s tally of 53,900 workers.”

I get it. A lot of people were laid off, but as user “gen ideer” noted in the comments section of the article, any number of these individuals might have found employment elsewhere in the video game industry since that time.

Sales across the industry are up this year (especially in our our free-to-play MMO sector which has seen exponential growth), so if you drank the doom and gloom Kool-Aid, spit it out. Times are tough, but all things considered the video game industry is doing quite well.

Posted by Kyle Stallock

May 12th, 2009

‘Destiny Online’ holds 2-week long b-day party

“Destiny Online” is one year old and its celebrating its cuteness with some activities. Sorry, there is no “Duck, Duck, Goose” or “Pin The Tale On The Donkey” games planned, but a 5-day-long double exp event and other activities are going on right this minute.

Late last week and this past weekend, there were double and triple exp days for those who actually knew about the 5-day exp event. It’s funny, but no relatively popular news site even knew about this event until five days after it’s already started.

One of the activities enables you to make off with a lover and elope if you want. There is no requirement of level of friendship points for marriage during this event; just make sure your significant other is of age or when the rules are back in place, it may be a bit awkward for you.

Fairy Dew can be used on pets that are above level 80 and “Destiny Online” has provided you with more choices in hairstyles since looking like a clone is not particularly cool these days.

“Destiny Online” is the first MMORPG that “Pays U 2 Play,” because spelling out “you” and “to” is just too hard. But seriously, this means that for each two hours that you are logged in the game, you earn two Gold Points. These points can be used to buy nifty items from the Destiny Item Mall, complete with Cupcake Tanning Spa and Nails by Kitty. Maybe that last part isn’t true, but the fact that you can earn Gold without doing any work makes this game a little more interesting than perhaps the others that are otherwise the exact same game.

Posted by Nikki Lee

May 12th, 2009