And the Reveal is…


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The day is here and the time has come! Richard Garriot’s newest game has been revealed: Shroud of the Avatar. Developed by Portalarium, Shroud of the Avatar is an upcoming RPG focusing not on level grinding but on role playing. Shroud of the Avatar looks to include many features that made Ultima Online great, including a classless progression system, player housing, a deep crafting system, meaningful pvp, and more.

Once players are introduced to the game, they will discover their own story woven into the immersive world and lore surrounding them. Players may choose to follow the life of the adventurer or, if they prefer, focus on exploration and discovery. Players may even choose the life of a homesteader; either nestled within the safety of the settled lands, or on the dangerous but potentially lucrative frontier. The world is full of opportunities and challenges!

You can check out Shroud of the Avatar’s Kickstarter page below. Portalarium is asking for one million dollars. Shroud of the Avatar will include both an online and offline mode, depending on your preference.

(Source: Kickstarter)
(Source: Official Website)

Everquest/Everquest II Becoming Even More Free


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Good news, Everquest gamers! You are probably well aware by now that Sony Online Entertainment has announced some pretty big changes to the free/silver membership tiers, particularly with the opening of all classes and races to free/silver tiers. Dave Georgeson has posted a list of updates coming mid-next week, which you can see in this article, that will open features of the game without requiring a subscription or Station cash payments.

  • We are opening up ALL CLASSES.*
  • We are opening up ALL RACES. **
  • All bag slots are unlocked.
  • All players can now use the shared bank slots.
  • The quest journal restrictions are lifted entirely. Quest away!
  • Additionally, EverQuest is allowing all players to send delivery parcels! (This change is for a game-specific change in EQ, so it doesn’t happen in EQII.)
  • * “All free classes” exception for EQII only: Beastlord is still only accessible via the “Age of Discovery” expansion pack.
    ** “All free races” exception for EQII only: The Freeblood race is still an SC-only marketplace option.

Georgeson notes that Sony is still committed to membership having perks that are entirely unavailable to free/silver players.

(Source: Everquest)
(Source: Everquest II)

Old School RuneScape’s First Content Poll Coming


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Over the past couple of weeks, Old School RuneScape has seen a number of patches to bring the game back into a fully functioning state. This past week’s patch reintroduced the Construction skill, and with it player owned housing. Next week’s patch is set to bring back the mini-game Barbarian Assault. Alongside next week’s update will also introduce the first in a regular series of content polls, where Jagex picks ideas from the community forums and puts them up to a vote.

According to the poll rules, each feature will be run through a simple yes/no vote, and each poll runs over the course of a week and requires at least 75% approval in order to be passed. Only players with at least 100 total level in Old School will be able to vote. The first set of polls, listed below, will be simple content updates:

  • Easter event – the 2007 Easter holiday event is re-activated to coincide with Easter this year.
  • Herb naming – unidentified herbs become grimy <herb name>.
  • Remove roof – a command to toggle the visibility all roofs on and off.
  • ‘Enter’ to login – the enter key submits login information, rather than only the login button.
  • Bank booths – left click bank booths to instantly open the bank interface.
  • F2P worlds – still members only, but allows PKers to fight with F2P gear restrictions

You can find the entire announcement below.

(Source: RuneScape)

Old School RuneScape's First Content Poll Coming


noedits

Over the past couple of weeks, Old School RuneScape has seen a number of patches to bring the game back into a fully functioning state. This past week’s patch reintroduced the Construction skill, and with it player owned housing. Next week’s patch is set to bring back the mini-game Barbarian Assault. Alongside next week’s update will also introduce the first in a regular series of content polls, where Jagex picks ideas from the community forums and puts them up to a vote.

According to the poll rules, each feature will be run through a simple yes/no vote, and each poll runs over the course of a week and requires at least 75% approval in order to be passed. Only players with at least 100 total level in Old School will be able to vote. The first set of polls, listed below, will be simple content updates:

  • Easter event – the 2007 Easter holiday event is re-activated to coincide with Easter this year.
  • Herb naming – unidentified herbs become grimy <herb name>.
  • Remove roof – a command to toggle the visibility all roofs on and off.
  • ‘Enter’ to login – the enter key submits login information, rather than only the login button.
  • Bank booths – left click bank booths to instantly open the bank interface.
  • F2P worlds – still members only, but allows PKers to fight with F2P gear restrictions

You can find the entire announcement below.

(Source: RuneScape)

Wizardry Online Compensates For Issues


wizardry-online

Wizardry Online is live and, for some at least, kicking. For others, however, their experience has been hampered by technical issues. Sony Online Entertainment has posted a notice that players will be compensated for downtime.

At SOE, we strive to provide the best possible service at all times. Our engineers have been working tirelessly to address the issues and we’re confident that you will have a better experience now. To thank you for your patience, we are applying a 300 Station Cash credit to accounts which have logged in prior to March 7, 2013.

In addition to the 300 Station Cash, subscribers will enjoy an extra seven days of membership, and a 7-Day Dimento Medal, an item which offers several bonuses including 25% exp gain.

(Source: Wizardry Online)

RealU Lays Off Most Staff, Gamigo Seeks New Developer


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Otherland is an upcoming MMO based on the book series of the same name, written by Tad Williams. The game is being developed by RealU, and published by Gamigo. At least it was, recent rumors that RealU has laid off most of its staff were confirmed by a Community Manager over at the Otherland official forums:

Unfortunately we have to confirm that the rumors are true and RealU, the developer of Otherland, has laid off most of its staff. RealU is a subsidiary of German publisher dtp, which by itself is currently in insolvency, and gamigo had and has very limited influence on this decision. We are disappointed by this development and very sorry for the development team.

As for Otherland itself, Gamigo hasn’t given up the ghost yet.

As for the Otherland game: we are still holding the exclusive publishing rights for Europe and North America and we are currently looking into opportunities to finish the title at another location. Please understand that for legal reasons we are unable to comment further on this matter.

Gamigo will keep us updated if they do manage to find a new location.

(Source: Otherland)

Permanent Death For Everquest Next? John Smedley Likes It


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[Update] That was fast. Permanent death is not coming to Everquest Next, circa Dave Georgeson.

[Original Story] We already know that Sony wants Everquest Next to be the largest sandbox MMO in history, but how do they feel about permanent death? Positively, if a Tweet today by John Smedley is anything to consider.

We like permadeath for EQN

Hopefully there will be more details to come.

(Source: Twitter)

$10,000 SMITE Tournament At PAX East


thor

As a MOBA, SMITE is somewhat reliant on attracting the competitive eSports gamers, and that can only mean one thing: Tournaments. In a press release circulated today, Hi-Rez Studios has announced an upcoming 5v5 tournament at Penny Arcade Expo East from March 22nd through 24th. Eight teams will compete to dip their collective hands into the ten grand prize pool. Seven of the eight teams have already been selected with the eighth to be decided at a Wildcard event on March 10th.

“PAX is always a great time because we get to meet and talk directly with the fans of our games,” says Todd Harris, Hi-Rez Studios Chief Operating Officer. “We’ve been attending PAX events consistently since 2009 and this year we’re excited to return and show off SMITE competitive play.”

You can find the rules of the event, and wildcard tournament, at the link below.

(Source: Hi-Rez Studios)

Darkfall Unveils Salvaging and Prowess Points


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Darkfall’s remake Unholy Wars still has a way to go before launching, but Aventurine continues to update the game regularly with new bug fixes and features. In a post on the Unholy Wars forums today, Tasos Flambouras discusses two systems new to Darkfall in Unholy Wars: Prowesss Points and salvaging. The first, Prowess Points, is the new way in which players will progress in the game. As players take part in activities, such as fighting mobs, other players, gathering materials, or crafting items, they will obtain prowess points. Prowess points are then used to raise attributes and skills. According to the forum post, crafting skills will still be leveled up in the old-fashioned manner, through crafting items.

Salvaging on the other hand is a new skill that most MMO gamers should be familiar with. Essentially the opposite of crafting, salvaging allows you to take finished items and revert them back into their base crafting materials. All equippable crafted items can be salvaged, as well as new “broken” versions of equippable items that are dropped from mobs, and exist solely for salvaging. You can read the other details about salvaging at the link below.

Darkfall: Unholy Wars is slated for release.

(Source: Salvaging)
(Source: Prowess Points)

Pre-Purchase Defiance On Steam, Get More Rewards


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Recently, Valve has been partnering up with publishers to add extra incentives to pre-purchasing through Steam. The idea is pretty simple: The more people pre-purchase, the better rewards everyone will receive. For instance, if enough people order Bioshock Infinite before it launches, everyone will receive a free copy of XCOM, Bioshock, as well as a few Team Fortress 2 items. With its launch on the horizon, April 2nd to be exact, Trion Worlds has partnered with Valve to offer just such a promotion.

Unfortunately there is no indication as to exactly how many people need to order a copy per tier. The base purchase of $59.99 will net you a beta invite, xp boost, an outlander outfit, a Steam-exclusive sniper, and an exclusive title. At tier 1 players will receive another exclusive title (Steam Powered), +5 inventory slots, and an exclusive ATV mount. At tier 2 players will receive a free copy of Rift. At tier 3, players will receive a lock box, +5 inventory slots, a 7 day xp boost, a discount on the season pass, and an exclusive vehicle.

Higher tiers include the lower tier rewards. The Defiance season pass includes five packs of DLC that Trion will roll out in the year or so following Defiance’s launch.

(Source: Steam)