Tag: Server

Archlord is Coming Back To America


Yep...

I have not paid nearly enough attention to Archlord and, to be honest, I apologize for it. Not only do I have to start this out by bringing you back into the loop, but I had to do enough research into the Archlord archives just to bring myself up to speed. Last we left Archlord, back in January, I announced that Webzen, who had taken over hosting from Codemasters last year, was opening up a new server: Deribelle, which would play host to increased experience and drops, where players could transfer from the shutdown North American servers.

I am still not 100% back up to speed on Archlord, so if any players are viewing this I would love some information. Deribelle is still there, but American/Australian players are still without a server in their area to play on. There are currently four European servers and one Asian, and from my research of over 70 pages of Archlord threads, most of these servers shut down on a regular basis due to stress and server load.

Much of this might be attributable to the number of players attempting to reach the servers from America and Australia, who will be happy to know that Webzen has just announced the upcoming opening of Gracia, a server for American players. How for American servers is it exactly? So for American players that only American players, of the North and South variety, can transfer their characters over to this server when it opens for beta May 27th, for a live launch June 3rd.

As is usual for new servers on Archlord, the new server will play host to events as well as upped experience and drops. Hopefully I will have something to talk about by the time this update hits, but by Archlord’s way of getting into the news, that might not be until October.

Global Agenda: Success Calls For More Servers!


In Singapore!

Although I’ve long since beaten and hogtied Mark Jacobs in my attic, his long over-quoted words still ring true to this day: If we’re not adding servers shortly after launch, we are not doing well.

Global Agenda, having launched two months ago, is doing quite well for itself. So well, in fact, that Hi-Rez Studios announced the opening of a new server, located in the Singapore region, to accomodate for the worldwide growth of the MMO shooter. An important note to make, however, is that the game still runs on a single shard. Players from Singapore will be able to play with players from the United States, as well as other countries, with what Hi-Rez promises to be the same fast paced, low-latency action they have come to expect from the title.

So raise your [insert what you are drinking] and a toast to Hi-Rez Studios. If you haven’t played Global Agenda, I highly recommend giving the new trial a look.

Crimecraft Going Freemium


There's no neck to break
I think this sums it up...

When I said that Crimecraft would stay online as long as it remained profitable, I was not specifically referring to the subscription based format. I try not to inject too much speculation into my articles, but I could not see Crimecraft running very long on a forced subscription based platform, even if it costs less than most other MMOs. There are just too many other shooters on the market that cost the initial $50, and then cost absolutely nothing to play per month.

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NCsoft Nukes Server Cloggers: New Servers!


aionqueue

Aion is one of the few MMOs to incorporate private shops in addition to an Auction House. Players are able to set up shop wherever they go, allowing their character to set up a little table for other player to browse. Current Aion players that I talked to on the subject prefer the private shops to the auction house, noting that in the auction house there are “too many instances of players doing everything to undercut each other in price.” Setting up a shop also removes the automatic logout feature for players who are away from keyboard.

Continue reading “NCsoft Nukes Server Cloggers: New Servers!”

On the Brink: Planetside


Planetside, touted as the first true MMOFPS, takes yet another turn towards its ultimate demise, with the announcement that the game’s two servers will finally merge into one, to deal with lacking population. The original five servers have gradually closed and merged, and currently the game houses two servers; One North American and one European.

As far as MMO’s go, server closure is one of the first lines of defense in keeping a game alive. When empty servers spread players thinly, forcing them into a smaller space will give an illusion of player count, and may inspire ex-players to jump back into the renewed action, creating a snowball effect that brings more and more players to the game.

Sadly, if history has taught us anything, it is that this mantra will more than likely fail for Planetside, a game that has been on a downward slope for years now. Planetside’s status as pioneer in MMOFPS action, massive scale battles, and focus on skills above levels, will not help it in its fall from grace.

The merge will go ahead on August 25th. Once Planetside is consolidated on to one server, it is anyone’s guess as to how long it has to live afterwards.