General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article


Acer Exec Expects Ultrabook Prices to Fall Below $500 by 2013

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 08:37 PM PST

Ultrabooks haven't really been flying off store shelves as Intel and its PC vendor friends had hoped. The underwhelming performance of first-generation ultrabooks notwithstanding, they are unlikely to abandon the whole idea anytime soon. An obvious way of making these ultra-thin and -light laptops more inviting to buyers is to lower their prices. While vendors are currently having a hard time keeping ultrabook prices under $1,000, Acer Global President Jianren Weng has already started talking about sub-$500 ultrabooks.

Weng is reported to have talked about the possibility of ultrabooks dropping below $500 in 2013 at the ongoing CeBIT trade show in Germany. Actually, this is merely a reiteration of what he said around three month back. But according to The Verge, which talked to a number of other Acer executives at CeBIT, Weng's optimism doesn't seem to reflect the "attitudes on the ground."

Christoph Pohlmann, a member of Acer's laptop division, was one of the people our friends at The Verge spoke to. According to the tech blog, Pohlmann seemed skeptical of ultrabook prices dropping below $500. Not only that, but he also revealed that Acer is just breaking even at the current $799 price of its entry-level Aspire S3 ultrabooks.

8 Things We Hate About Windows 8

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 01:36 PM PST

Like a Sith to a Jedi, a Cylon to a human, an Apple to a Gordon Mah Ung, every good thing said about Windows 8 seems to be matched by an equal and opposite reaction: Something bad. To trade in our angel wings and prop up our Google Hangout devil horns for a moment, there's plenty about Windows 8 that you just aren't going to like.

Unless you're one of those stalwarts still clinging to Windows XP as if it was a stuffed animal from your childhood that you need to squeeze just to sleep at night, the announcement of a new Windows operating system usually summons up one singular question: When can I upgrade?

Note, we said usually. For Windows 8's errors are so flagrant and its annoyances so widespread, this might be the first operating system in your Windows lifetime that you're going leave right there on the retail shelf. That's right. We said it. Microsoft's not only created a new operating system; the company has also created a healthy amount of doubt in the minds of potential purchasers.

Here are some of the main ingredients that make up our tasty Windows "8-erade:"

1. Bring on the Advertisements

Because Windows 8 comes on the back of a bird with the word "apps" spray-painted on its side, you'll find that Microsoft does plenty to integrate its virtual storefronts into the OS at any cost – go figure. We'd expect nothing less from Redmond, or Apple, or Google. But here's the kicker: Microsoft's implementation is just downright ugly.

Case in point? The Video app. Not only does this thing struggle to play videos that Media Player itself can handle (why the app doesn't correctly integrate your system's codecs, we'll never know), but the first thing you see upon launching it is not a gallery of your videos, or a top-20 list of local videos you've watched, or anything like that. No, you get a spotlight of all the quote-unquote awesome content you can purchase from Microsoft directly – your videos require you to scroll a full screen's width to the right just to access, and all you get is a big box for the video you've most recently played and a "show more" button that lets you check out other videos in your User folder.

Yuck we say to that, yuck we say to the similar treatment found in Microsoft's Music and Xbox Companion apps, and yuck we say to Microsoft putting its paid-for content blatantly front and center.

2. Where the Heck Am I?

Since Windows 8 is like Windows 7 with a fancy new tablet design bolted onto the side (we'll get to that later), Microsoft has done an amazing job of splitting important content and options between the two different environments. And by amazing, we mean not-so-amazing.

For example, your standard Control Panel sits in what we'll call the "Windows Classic" environment – same ol' Control Panel you should be used to using by now. You can jump to the main Control Panel shortcut from Metro, but not its individual components. Similarly, you can't use the Control Panel to edit the individual settings found within Metro – that requires you to go to Metro's PC settings application, which can be found quasi-buried in Metro's general Settings sidebar.

Got it?

In essence, you set up your system settings in two different settings locations. And while we see how that might work on paper – Metro settings follow Metro, Desktop settings follow Desktop – this walled garden approach is unnecessary. Settings are settings; If you can't adjust Metro in Desktop, Microsoft should at least give users a better way to access each environment's settings options from the settings panels of the other.  One scant link in the Control Panel's "Users" menu doesn't cut it.

3. Strapping a Bomb to a Monkey

We brought it up, so we might as well finish the thought. The Windows Metro UI could not feel any more like its own operating environment that's been strapped, rather crudely, onto the back of Windows 7.

Sure, there are a few cosmetic upgrades to the classic desktop – many we like, in fact. That doesn't remove the disjointing effect of having to constantly shift your focus between a svelte, common experience and a graphical monstrosity. From clearly understood data and organization to pictures! Huge, pretty pictures with small amounts of text and lots of square graphics! From the good ol' Windows we've come to love over the years – one you can truly navigate with just the click of a mouse – to a storm of giant panels that can't be closed or minimized unless you start mashing your keyboard or start dragging your content all around your pretty solid-color display. From awesome and easy file management in Windows Explorer to… whatever the heck you consider the process of selecting files within, say, SkyDrive and the Metro UI.

Shoot, plug-ins aren't even supported on the Metro version of Internet Explorer. You have to select the "View on the desktop" option, hidden beneath a wrench icon near IE's Metro address bar, just to watch a freakin' YouTube video. Come on.

There was really nothing Microsoft could have done to prevent this mash-up: It was destined to happen as the company tries to push more than a decade of collective user experience toward a completely new kind of interaction. We just wish Microsoft did it better. Or, heaven forbid, gave users the choice to abandon Metro entirely and run Windows 7+, er, Windows 8's "Desktop mode" if they wanted.

4. Pooping on the Power User

We, at Maximum PC, love the ability to tweak, customize, and control our gadgets, hardware, and software however we see fit. It's the Maximum PC way. What isn't the Maximum PC way, however, is Windows 8's Metro UI.

Is it really that hard, Microsoft, to allow advanced customization within your smorgasbord of squares? Sure, you can make some tiles take up two horizontal spaces, and you can shrink some of these larger tiles back to a single tile's worth of space. And yes, you can grab tiles and slap them into new columns – yippee! – but that's about it.

You know what would have been amazing and incredible to see in the Metro UI? At least the same level of customization that one could find on (or hack into) one's smartphone.

Why not give users the option to set their tiles to any square size they want? If Metro is supposed to be a tablet interface, why can't you mash multiple tiles onto a single "group" tile that expands when clicked or tapped on? Why do some tiles carry live information, but tiles that should display data or act as visual hotspots in theory (like, say, the tile for your Video app, or Messaging app) just exist as naked icons?

Why can't you select and shuffle around multiple tiles at once? Why can't you use a gesture to "paint" tiles to select them, instead of having to right-click everything? Why do Metro windows only scroll horizontally? Why can't you edit the color, title, or icon of individual tiles? Why can't you quick-launch into applications from your lock screen (what good is a mere icon), or highlight over these icons for a quick look at whatever new tidbits might be lurking within your OS?

Why, why, why?

 

On the next page: Letting users pick third-party tie-ins, Our epic list of That Which Windows 8 Broke, and cloud complaints!

 


 

5. Let Users Dictate Services

It's great and all that Microsoft has made an attempt to integrate third-party services directly into Windows 8 – in fact, the feature (found in both the People and Messaging apps, to name a few) made our list of "8 Things We Love About Windows 8."

What we don't love, however, is the fact that Microsoft's the one dictating which services get invited to the Windows 8 party and which are left sad and alone at home. We envision a future where we can only use Windows 8 to manage a handful of social networks and instead have to use Internet Explorer – or, more likely, a browser that isn't horrible – to catch our friends elsewhere. Or perhaps some other third-party apps: You're not going to find your Steam contacts within Windows 8's contact list, nor your AIM, Yahoo, or Google Chat friends within Messaging (as of right now within the Consumer Preview), et cetera.

We would have much preferred Microsoft to make a handshake instead of a closed fist. Why not offer an easy method for giving third-party apps and services the ability to organize a data stream that could then be pulled into Windows 8's big apps? And then, if users wanted, they can go about setting up their Windows apps almost like an RSS reader, adding the services they care about instead of integrating third-party services Microsoft thinks they should care about.

And heaven help the person who runs more than one Twitter account or checks more than one Gmail account– you can currently only tie your Windows apps to a single account per Windows user account.

6. Why Break What Worked Great?

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists to adapt the world to himself." – George Bernard Shaw

Or, to say it another way, there's no need to fix that which wasn't broken. Worse, that which Windows users were familiar with (and fond of) based on their experiences with operating system's many versions over the last many years.

Here's a "brief" list of things we miss, having made the (temporary) switch to Windows 8:

  • Closing apps without always having to use our keyboard (Metro).
  • Being able to run more than one app or window on a screen at a time (Metro) – and, no, pinning an app to a one-third sidebar doesn't count.
  • How our keyboard's Windows Key used to pull up a handy list of applications and other shortcuts (Start Menu) instead of just opening up a portal between two diametric interfaces (Metro).
  • When operating systems were more about delivering data and information to the user (Desktop mode) than graphics and pizazz (Metro).
  • Being able to quickly see all the programs that we're running by glancing at our desktop (Desktop mode) versus having to perform semi-precise actions to reveal what our operating system is doing (Switch List).
  • Being able to scroll over thumbnails and click to access content – thumbnails now disappear on Metro's hot corners when you try to do what you've previously done for so very, very long.
  • Having applications that scrolled vertically instead of horizontally (Metro), which often leads to more wasted white space that could otherwise be filled with useful data.
  • Being able to use our mouse wheel to scroll vertically (Metro), and the consistency of knowing that down was always down, not right (Metro), and up was always up, not left (Metro).
  • Normal font sizes instead of giant, header-like text everywhere.
  • When a PC's operating system was designed for a PC, not a tablet.
  • Being able to log onto our systems without having to "unveil" the damn password box, the digital equivalent of a sweeping bow and a trumpet fanfare.

7. Puff up the Cloud

Now that Microsoft is playing in the cloud – giving users the ability to transfer their files and settings across any Windows 8 systems they log into with their Microsoft Account – it's time for Microsoft to up the ante when it comes to the security options it offers its accountholders.

We'd love to see at least some information on the Microsoft Account website to indicate which systems a person has logged in on using his or her Microsoft Account – better still, some way to block that login from being accepted on a particular PC if you don't want that system or its user to have access to you any longer. Cooler still would be some kind of two-way authentication factored into Microsoft's login process (we know, we know; more security steps) to ensure that even an attacker with physical access to your system and all your credentials will still have a heck of a time breaking into your Window 8 account.

In a perfect world, Microsoft would even give Windows 8 users a nuclear option: The ability to set a previously registered computer for a complete and full format the next time Windows 8 boots. While an Internet-based kill switch might be a little drastic, it's a pretty big deal that Windows 8 is tying so much of one's life into the cloud. If we live in a day an age where we can safely eliminate all of the information on our missing smartphones via a website, surely it's time to build a little more peace-of-mind into Windows 8's cloud security.

8. No Obvious Reason to Upgrade

We touched on it in the intro, but we'll etch it in stone in our final point: Windows 8 presents no compelling reason for a user to upgrade, period. If it seems as though we spent a lot of time critiquing the look and feel of Windows' new interface, and for good reason: At the end of a day of Windows 8, that's all you're left with. Minus a few fun features here and there (Storage Space, File History, Shutdown Hibernation, et cetera), there's little more than window dressing to inspire users to flock to their local Microsoft stores upon Window 8's final release. Windows 8 is, for lack of a better word, a new makeup kit for Windows 7.

Touchscreen systems aside – you're really going to want Windows 8, given that Metro was made for you – the quote unquote improvements built into Windows 8's Metro apps definitely appear pretty. And there's no question that the future, full-screen Metro treatment of third-party apps like Facebook, or Twitter, or Angry Birds will surely be something to see. But we don't think that cosmetic trumps functionality in every occurrence: A huge-font Twitter app with one user profile per screen swipe pales in comparison to what you get from the best Twitter apps already available on Windows 7 today, for example.

In other words, Windows 8 is going to give a lot of pretty people plenty of new methods for interacting with their information in a prettier way. It's also going to confuse the bejesus out of them if they've used Windows at any point over the last, say, ten years, and we don't think that Microsoft's latest OS is going to deliver best overall user experience. Prettier, yes. Better, no.

 

Coming tomorrow: 8 Must-Have Apps for Your New Windows 8 Installation!

For more from David, former Maximum PC editor and Windows enthusiast, follow him onFacebook or Twitter (@thedavidmurphy).

Apple Unveils New iPad

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 11:03 AM PST

After weeks of rumors and mouth breathing from the techorati, Apple just confirmed what everyone already suspected: Another year, another new iPad. Say what you want about Apple, but at least they're consistent. Earlier debate swirled around its name: would the new tablet be called the iPad 3 or the iPad HD? (Because that's vital information!) Neither, as it turns out. The new iPad is called simply, well, the iPad. Some other rumors turned out true, however.

The rumored "Retina-level" display actually exists: the iPad packs 3.1 million pixels in its 2048x1536 resolution for a 264ppi. It also sports a new dual core A5X processor with a quad-core GPU. According to Apple, that setup boasts twice the speed and four times the graphics performance of the vaunted Tegra 3 proc found in, say, the Asus Transformer Prime. Big talk!

The new iPad will include a 5 megapixel camera capable of capturing 1080p video and outfitted with the same software found in the iPhone 4S. The virtual keyboard also includes a dictation button so you can finally scream at your Apple gear in frustration the same way you do your Android devices. You won't find Siri, however, which seems like an odd move by Apple.

Apple finally jumped into the 4G waters with the newest iPad: the onboard LTE radio will work with Verizon and AT&T networks stateside and Telus, Rogers and Bell networks elsewhere. It also contains the same 3G world radio found in the iPad 2. To compensate for the battery draintitude of LTE radios and the high-end display, the new iPad packs a bigger battery that Apple claims will imbue the tablet with a 10 hour battery life.

The new iPad will ship on March 16, with preorders starting today. Wi-Fi versions are 16GB for $499, 32GB for $599 and 64GB for $699, while LTE models of the same size cost $629, $729 and $829, respectively. Interested?*

*Yeah, the iPad doesn't necessarily appeal to a lot of the MPC crowd, but this is big tech news nonetheless; for the majority of America, "tablet" = "iPad". That's a picture of an older model iPad, by the way.

Sources: Engadget and TechCrunch

Report: Netflix, Cable Companies In Talks To Join Forces In Your Cable Box

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 10:26 AM PST

Netflix is killing cable. How many times have you heard that? (Admittedly, you probably heard it a lot more before Netflix's price hike and the whole Quikster thing.) But after years of painting streaming services as the devil, a new report says that the cable companies may be considering a Faustian deal: signing a pact with Netflix and offering it as an optional service straight from your cable box.

Netflix honcho Reed Hastings has recently met with major cable representatives, Reuters claims. Specific names aren't named, but the publication says that talks were held with "some of the largest U.S. cable companies." While several sources stepped forward to say Netflix could be added to cable company set-top boxes-- presumably similar to the apps found in Smart TVs -- one said that the deals could involve cable companies directly selling Netflix to their customers, with a Netflix charge appearing on customer cable bills.

Several major hurdles could halt the rumored deals, however: Netflix may need to revisit their existing streaming contracts, and, well, Netflix and the cable companies don't exactly hold a lot of love for each other in their hearts.

Last week, Hastings told investors that moving to cable is "not in the short term, but it's in the natural direction for us in the long term." If a deal was struck, cable companies could come out looking user-friendly and Netflix could become available to a more mainstream user base that doesn't necessarily have Rokus, Smart TVs or gaming consoles.

Is this another in a long line of questionable actions by Netflix, or a genuinely good move? What do you think?

G.Skill Shows Off Blazing Fast Memory Kits

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 09:59 AM PST

If you've already laid out the dough for a Sandy Bridge-E proc and an X79 motherboard, there's no point skimping on the RAM. Lots of memory is, without a doubt, a good thing; lots of speedy memory is a very good thing. G.Skill's Ripjaws line of high performance RAM has a long history of pushing DDR3 to its limits, and the company continued the proud tradition at the CeBIT exhibition in Germany, where G.Skill showed off what it calls "the fastest quad channel memory" around.

How fast is fast? CeBIT's 1.65V, 16GB kit (4x4GB) clocked in at 2666MHz with timings of 10-12-12-31. Other memory sticks top out at 2400MHz. G.Skill knows how to pitch to its audience, too: "(The kit) allows extreme overclockers to unleash the maximum power of their X79 systems," the company boasts in its press release. The rig holding the RAM consisted of an Asus ROG Rampage IV Extreme mobo, a Core i7-3960X CPU and a Thermaltake cooler.
 
G.Skill showed off another pair of quad channel 16GB X79 memory kits while it was at it, with these sets clocking in at a comparatively paltry (ha!) 2400MHz. One ran on a Gigabyte G1.Assassin2 mobo with timings of 9-11-11-31; the other ran on a BIOSTAR TPower X79 with timings of 11-11-11-30. The company also showed off a new 32GB dual channel kit compatible with Z77 mobos/Ivy Bridge chips; this one ran at 2133MHz.

Unfortunately, there's no word yet on release dates or prices, but don't expect RAM like that to come cheap.

Image credit: G.Skill

Hey Look, It's a New Motherboard from EVGA (Classified SR-X)

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 06:55 AM PST

The last motherboard announcement from EVGA came in November of last year when the company unveiled its X79 lineup. It's been relatively quiet since then, until now. Figuring four months was enough of a hiatus, EVGA is now letting the world know about its brand spanking new Classified SR-X, an ambitious slice of silicon designed to set a "new standard for what is considered an enthusiast motherboard," starting with dual-CPU support.

Yes folks, this beastly board is built around Intel's C606 chipset and supports up to two Intel Xeon socket 2011 processors. It has a dozen DIMM slots for up to a whopping 96GB of DDR3-800/1066/1333/1600MHz+ memory, four SATA 3Gbps ports, two SATA 6Gbps ports, RAID 0/1/5/10/ and JBOD support, ten USB 2.0 ports, half a dozen USB 3.0 ports, two GbE LAN, 8-channel audio, seven PCI-E x16 slots with support for 4-way SLI and CrossFireX, a pair of mini SAS ports, and even Firewire.

That's just the tip of the iceberg, believe it or not. EVGA also boasts 300 percent more gold content, a 2x6 Phase PWM, onboard Bluetooth, PCI-E disable switches, triple BIOS support, EZ Voltage read points, 100 percent POSCAP capacitors, DIMM disable switches, and a whole bunch more.

The only things that are missing are price and release date details.

Image Credit: EVGA

Fable Creator Peter Molyneux is Leaving Microsoft; Lionhead Studios Loses Its Head

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 06:35 AM PST

Well known game developer Peter Molyneux is leaving Lionhead Studios, which he founded 15 years ago in 1997, and is also walking away from his position as Creative Director of Microsoft Game Studios, Europe. He plans to walk away from both companies as soon as Fable: The Journey for the Kinect is finished in order to found a new company called 22 Cans.

"I remain extremely passionate and proud of the people, products, and experiences that we created, from Black & White to Fable to our pioneering work with Milo and Kate for the Kinect platform," Molyneux said in a statement to Kotaku. "However, I felt the time was right to pursue a new independent venture. I'd like to thank the team at Lionhead, as well as our partners at Microsoft Studios for their support, dedication, and incredible work over the years."

Every indication is that this is a peaceful split between Molyneux and both Lionhead Studios and Microsoft, and we'd have been shocked if it wasn't. Molyneux is one of the 'good guys,' so to speak, and has been making (or involved in the making of) popular games seemingly since the beginning of time, including Populous from way back in 1989.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Beware of Ultrabook Imposters (or Don't Be and Save a Few Bucks)

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 06:09 AM PST

Intel's Ultrabook iniative is an attempt make notebooks sexy again, inside and out. Ultrabooks compete with Apple's MacBook Air and are designed to be both ultra stylish and ultra responsive, and of course feature Intel's Sandy Bridge platform inside. There are certain specifications vendors must meet to call a system an Ultrabook, some of which are not cheap to implement. For this reason, notebook makers are working on lower cost alternatives they can sell for around $600 and still flip a profit.

DigiTimes claims to have spoken with "industry sources" who tipped the news and rumor site to an upcoming crop of systems that will appear similar in style to Ultrabooks with ultra slim cases, but will use cheaper components and sell for much less. Hollow hinges, metal/aluminum bodies, and solid state drives (SSDs) are all things you won't find on these Ultrabook alternatives.

Details are sparse at this point and it's unclear if these lower priced systems will feature AMD hardware inside or perhaps slower Intel processors like Celeron CPUs, nor was there mention of any other specific corners that would be cut.

Say Goodbye to Android Market and Hello to 'Google Play'

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 05:45 AM PST

Google's app store is no longer called Android Market; it's now Google Play. Take a moment to wrap your head around that one if you must, and then see how long it takes to mentally transition to Google's rebranding effort. More than just a name change, however, Google Play is fully-fledged digital entertainment hub for purchasable content, including apps and games, music, eBooks, and videos.

It's also entirely cloud-based. If you purchase and start watching a movie on your smartphone, you can pick up where you left off on your LCD monitor. Google Play keeps your content in sync, but without downloading content to each of your devices. There are some perks, too. Google points out that with Google Play you can:

  • Store up to 20,000 songs for free and buy millions of new tracks
  • Download more than 450,000 Android apps and games
  • Browse the world's largest selection of eBooks
  • Rent thousands of your favorite movies, include new releases and HD titles

It's Google's version of iTunes and iCloud rolled into one. And it's a solid idea, though some have criticized the name choice, none more comically than Lamarr Wilson, creator and host of WilsonTech1, a daily video show on all things tech. In this video, Wilson points out some obvious problems with Google's name choice, right after he throws down some wicked dance moves (interpret 'wicked' however you want).

A short-term perk of Google Play is Google's "7 Days to Play" promotion. Starting today, Google is slashing prices on different content each day for the next seven days

"In the U.S., today's titles include the collection of top 40 hits Now That's What I Call Music 41, the popular game Where's My Water, the novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and the movie Puncture for just 25 cents each. In addition, you'll find great collections of hip-hop, rock and country albums for $3.99 all week, detective novels from $2.99, some of our editorial team's favorite movies from 99 cents, and our favorite apps from 49 cents," Google said.

What are your thoughts on Google's rebranding effort?

Image Credit: Google

MMO News

MMO News


Firefall releases new World Building dev diary

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 12:11 PM PST

The team building Firefall at Red 5 Studios has released a new developer video diary, highlighting and discussing world building in Firefall.

The video discusses some of the tools used to create the world, and how it can be built dynamically around the players. It also discusses how PvP and PvE environments are incorporated.

Firefall will be showcased at SXSW this weekend.

Firefall Dev Diary: World Building

New Soldier on Landscape screens for The Lord of the Rings Online

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 11:56 AM PST

Turbine has released a new set of screenshots, featuring the Soldier on Landscape feature coming to The Lord of the Rings Online: Update 6. The new screenshots are included in our Update 6 gallery below.

The “Soldier on Landscape” feature allows players to summon their skirmish companions into the field to assist them against the world’s toughest challenges. The update will also introduce several new regions, expands the free Epic Story, and improves the Instance Finder to allow players to select instances, skirmishes, loot rules, or remove players with a fellowship vote.

Turbine also publishes Dungeons and Dragons Online.

The Lord of the Rings Online: Update 6 Screenshots

Source:

The Lord of the Rings Online: Update 6, Shores of the Great River

The journey towards Rohan begins with Update 6, Shores of the Great River!

The Great River Region

Travel along the shores of the mighty Anduin in the expansive new region coming in Update 6! The signs of war are all around you as Isengard and Barad-dûr put their dark plans into motion. Push back the Easterlings, dangerous brigands and an ancient enemy of Rohan, as they gather for an attack on Rohan and Lórien. Explore seven new areas along the upper Anduin including the green plains of Parth Celebrant where treacherous shades roam, unable to rest.

New Features:

Epic Story

The latest chapter in LOTRO's free Epic Story awaits! Travel to Lothlórien to seek Galadriel's wisdom after experiencing troubling dreams. Investigate the grim tidings along the Great River but be prepared as the evidence may point to a foe more terrible than your darkest nightmares.

Soldier on Landscape

Get the helping hand you need with LOTRO's new Soldier on Landscape! This new feature allows you to summon your faithful skirmish companion in the field. Customize your skirmish solider to help you tackle even the toughest challenges!

Instance Finder Update

You spoke, Turbine listened, and now we're making Instance Finder better than ever! Instance Finder will soon allow you to queue for the specific instances and skirmishes that you want to do. You can also choose to change loot rules and remove players with a fellowship vote. The rewards are being enhanced, too, granting additional XP for skirmish completion and scaling currency bonuses for when you queue for a larger range of instances.

Lime Odyssey Gameplay – First Look HD

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 11:31 AM PST

 

To Learn More About the Game, Check out our Lime Odyssey Page.

Lime Odyssey is a fantasy MMORPG published by Aeria Games. It is being developed by some of the same developers who were behind the infamous Ragnarok Online. In this video we check out the Turga, a lion like race. Lime Odyssey has a few unique features including the ability to switch between different gear and skill sets for both combat and crafting. The better the gear for crafting the higher the chance of crating a better armor piece. To learn more about Lime Odyssey check out the official MMOHut Lime Odyssey page which includes a detailed review, tons of screenshots, and additional videos.

Requiem introduces Korean players to North American service

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 10:55 AM PST

Today, Requiem makes the official introduction of Korean players, previously hosted on the Korean service of Requiem, into the North American service.

As a welcoming gift, and to ease the transition, several events will be held. For three weeks, players will enjoy a 30% experience bonus, double dropped loot from bosses, and be able to collect green rice cakes and blue rice cakes in a global drop event. Warp Portal will also be giving away 1,000 free points, premium package benefits, and will also host a raid dungeon boss event and battlefield tournament.

Gravity Interactive also publishes Ragnarok Online and Dragon Saga.

2560  420x310 requiem red

Requiem Gameplay Screenshot

Source:

REQUIEM: Memento Mori EXPANDS ITS SERVICE COVERAGE TO INCLUDE KOREA

 

 

MARINA DEL REY, Calif. (March 7, 2012) – Today, WarpPortal's dark fantasy MMORPG REQUIEM: Memento Mori is expanding its service coverage to include Korea. Starting from today, Korean Requiem players can join and enjoy playing with Requiem players from all over the world!

 

To welcome Korean Requiem players and help them acquainted, Requiem: Memento Mori will be hosting the events listed below:

• A 3 week +30% exp bonus for all!

• Green rice cake & blue rice cake global drop event for all players.

• 1,000 free points giveaway.

• Premium package benefit that includes an additional +50% exp boost, +30% item drop rate, -50% death penalty, and access to the premium dungeons.

• Chance maker event for doubled dropped loot from bosses.

• Raid dungeon boss event and battlefield tournament.

 

"I have been receiving lots of positive responses from Korean Requiem users so far and most of them are very excited for this new opportunity." states Casey Wing, Producer for Requiem in North America. "We are preparing many events and challenges for Korean players to enjoy, and we also want to make sure that they have fun playing with our current Requiem players currently playing in our server."

 

Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates

Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates


How to Handle the Internet’s Worst Trolls

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 04:25 AM PST

The deplorable behavior of a vocal minority has given Xbox Live a well-deserved reputation. Fans know to keep their headsets off it they don’t want to listen to an endless stream of ignorant slurs. Other online game communities maintain equally poor reputations — ever been a new player in a game of League of Legends or DOTA? As players, we have the luxury of taking our attention elsewhere — either to single-player or to other games entirely. The developers of these games don’t have that option, the community picks the game, not the other way around. Bound to serve their game’s fans, regardless of how poor, game makers must learn to handle their native populations’ trolls and anti-social behavior.

Mike Drach, Producer on the popular ForumWarz game, learned through a long process of trial and error, how to manage the one of the most unruly communities, and shared the lessons he’s learned in a presentation at the Game Developers Conference. With communities becoming more important to the industry, Drach explained how to cope and make the most of the fan base you’re given.

Never take it personally:
Even when it seems impossible, Drach stressed the importance of not letting criticism get under one’s skin. Even after a section of the community undertook a massive off-site campaign that filled sections of the game with crude drawings of dog feces — the implication being that the game was crap, Drach stated that taking the matter personally would only encourage more unwanted behavior.

Show no weakness (but don’t show off):
“The worst thing you can do is seem ‘butthurt,’” said Drach using the community’s favorite loaded word to describe anyone who takes exception to their behavior. Showing that criticism or harassment bothers you will only bring more attacks. On the other hand, making a large show of how little you care will only encourage trolls to escalate their behavior. “Sometimes the best response is not to engage at all, and never stoop to their level.”

Choose your mods wisely:
Prominent community members don’t always make for good moderators. Reaching out to everyone, even lurkers who read but don’t engage the community can help a game find a good team.

Let the haters hate:
“If you community has trolls, give them the chance to be themselves,” he said referring to the split nature of his game’s community. Normal talk goes into the Civil Discussion forums, while the trolls head over to the Role-Play forum. You’ll find this particular strategy in use in communities all over the internet. Creating a specific lazes faire forum attracts the worst of the worst, allowing the rest of the community to go about their business and actually enjoy the game.

Throw the book at them.
Build and maintain a long list of forums rules so that you can deal out bans to the worst users and justify it to the rest of the community. It’s also important to expressly maintain the right to ban or discipline any forum member for any reason in order to allow yourself the chance to respond to unexpected behaviors.

Keep your enemies close:
As troubling as trolls can be, banning for every infraction will destroy a community quickly. Oftentimes, the most incendiary posters will change their behavior if a moderator or developer simply asks them to knock it off. If that doesn’t work, Drach recommends taking time to think about a problem before banning. Other tools like ‘hellbans’ (user’s posts are invisible to everyone but themselves) or disemvowelment can do the same job without the problems of bans which can lead much more difficult to control offsite trolling.

Don’t underestimate your users:
The soft touch advocated the last lesson helps prevent retaliation against game makers by community members. Alienated fans, particularly those with a history of anti-social posting, can create headaches for mods when they post shocking or illegal content, orchestrate hacks or scams, or even post personal information about developers.

While ForumWarz isn’t your average AAA online-action title, the principles of community management he laid out could apply to any online community, especially to hardcore games entering the free-to-play arena like MechWarrior, Tribes, and Battlefield.


GDC 2012: Gaming’s Vanishing Middle Class
As the industry polarizes toward insanely expensive blockbusters and free-to-play social games, Ryan Winterhalter asks if gaming’s creative, fertile middle ground is a thing of the past.


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Atlantica Online MMO Review

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 01:27 AM PST

Atlantica Online, recently voted the best MMORPG of 2008, utilizes a unique turn-based style of combat to offer players of all ages a tactical and strategic alternative to the MMORPG genre. With amazing high-quality graphics and sound, an engaging storyline, and several end-game PvP options, it's no wonder Atlantica Online is now being called the best F2P MMORPG of all time.

 

Publisher: NDoors
Playerbase: High
Graphics: High Quality
Type: MMORPG
EXP Rate: High
PvP: Duels / Guild vs Guild/ Arena / Open PvP
Filesize: 2GB

Website: http://atlantica.nexon.net/

Pros: +Fantastic graphics. +Turn-based combat. +7 starting classes, plenty of subclasses. +Heaps of quests. +PvP and guild systems. +Auto-run.

Cons: -Limited character customization  -Turn-based combat not for everyone.  -Game difficulty is too easy -Monster graphics are re-used frequently

 

Known officially as a 'strategy MMORPG', Atlantica Online has achieved success solely through it's innovative turn-based combat system, and guild control system. While there are few character choices in the beginning, players can choose from over 20 different 'Mercenaries' later in the game, with a maximum of 8, thereby constructing their own unique team and style. Higher level characters have much to look forward to in the way of PvP, participating in large scale guild battles over towns and land.

Primary Character Weapon Choices - Sword, Spear, Axe, Gun, Gun, Cannon, Staff, Maniac, Musician

D-Class Mercenaries – Swordsman, Spearman, Archer, Gunner, Artilleryman, Shaman, Monk, Viking

C-Class Mercenaries - Beast Trainer, Witch, Princess, Prophet, Exorcist, Oracle, Inventor, Cannoneer, Lady Knight, Janissary, Hwarang, Minstrel

B-Class Mercenaries - Spartan, Pirate, Elementalist

 

 

 

Atlantica Online System Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

OS: Windows XP/ 2000 / Vista
CPU: Pentium 4 1GHz or higher
RAM: 512MB or higher
HDD: 5GB or more
VGA: GeForce4 TI4200, 64MB or better (vertex pixel shading support required)

Recommended Specification:

OS: Windows XP/ 2000 / Vista
CPU:Pentium 4 2GHz or higher
RAM: 1GB or higher
HDD: 10GB or more
VGA: GeForce4 TI4200, 64MB or better (vertex pixel shading support required), DirectX 10

Looking at the Future of Video Games

Posted: 06 Mar 2012 04:18 PM PST

The 2012 Game Developers Conference is in full swing this week, sprawling across all three buildings of San Francisco’s Moscone Center. While lots of interesting things happen each year at GDC, we realize they’re often very dry and technical GDC is an swap meet where the people who make the games you love trade ideas, not a convention like PAX or a trade show like E3. In other words, you shouldn’t expect many huge announcements or in-depth hands-on with hot upcoming titles this week.

Instead, 1UP’s editors will each be tackling appointments, lectures, and interviews from their own individual perspective and reporting back to you on the angle they’ve each elected to explore. From the challenges of preparing for next-gen hardware to the role of narrative, we’re talking to the people who make games about the future of their work. What’s in store for them, and by extension, you? That’s what we aim to find out this week.


Can Games be Friendly to Women?

Unfortunate trends continue to make gaming hostile towards female players. Bob Mackey investigates what it will take to change this.

OP-ED: With Mass Effect 3, BioWare Snuggles up to Inclusivity
There’s much more to Mass Effect 3′s same-sex romance options than simply courting controversy.

The Free-to-Play Minecraft-Style Kickstarter-Funded Future of PC Games

What do developers at GDC2012 view as the actual future for this most vaunted of platforms? Thierry Nguyen investigates.

Coming Soon!

What Can the Next Generation Learn from Gaming History? 

As we move into the next generation of consoles, Jeremy Parish asks how the classics of bygone days shape the new age of game design.

Square Enix Localization Looks to the Future
From spoony bards to mog clocks, how Square is tackling the translation needs of the HD era.

Let Me Tell My Own Damn Story

MyCheats editor Marty Sliva pursues his belief that games don’t need to tell a story, but rather supply the tools for us to create our own personal narratives.

Why Does Asura’s Wrath Not Trust Me?
The action spectacle stifles all user creativity in its aim to echo anime.

How Cool are Indie Games? (So Cool)

Managing editor Matt Leone spot-checks some of the most exciting small independent games and developers, then looks forward to what?s coming next.

 
Contrast: A Portal-Inspired Puzzle Game About Shadows
A new indie game centers itself on one mechanic — the idea that you can move in 3D or flatten yourself against walls in 2D.

Making Way for the Next Generation

It’s the year 2012, and we’re in the seventh generation of our current console cycle. Associate editor Jose Otero is convinced that this extraordinary period could be coming to a close soon, as rumors continue to point to the possibility of new hardware from Sony and Microsoft. Is it too soon to pull the trigger and move home consoles forward?

Coming Soon!

Gaming's Vanishing Middle Class
As the industry polarizes toward insanely expensive blockbusters and free-to-play social games, Ryan Winterhalter asks if gaming’s creative, fertile middle ground is a thing of the past.

How to Handle the Internet’s Worst Trolls
One developer explains how to make a deal with the devil.


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Ghosts’n Goblins Online (KR)

Posted: 06 Mar 2012 04:18 PM PST


[More info] Several months after Closed Beta 1 ended, Ghosts’n Goblins Online will finally be entering Closed Beta 2 today in Korea! Lasting only a mere 5 days, Player Vs Player (PvP) will be added and the main feature to be tested out along with a couple of new dungeons and areas. PvP will come in either 1 Vs 1 or 3 Vs 3, with new skilled only limited for this mode. For example, there is a skill which allows players to attack a nearby foe even if they are knocked down.

There will be a PvP match-making window, where players can search for others on equal level of PvP skills. I suppose this is done by matching the K/D ratio. Points will be given out after each match, and they can be used to upgrade their characters.


The new dungeons will include an underwater sewer area, where players will have to maneuver carefully to avoid being drowned. I guess these are just normal pit holes which players will fall into if jumping is not controlled properly.


To cap things off, there will be various new skills, and the auction house and mail system now usable. The game UI is apparently tweaked as well to allow players to access keys faster and more graphical resolutions are implemented. My only question is, how the hell are players able to test all these new features with just 5 days?!


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When Mega Man Ruled the World: An Anniversary Tribute

Posted: 06 Mar 2012 01:26 PM PST

When the original Mega Man hit the NES in 1987, it was a revelation: The slickest, most open-ended platform shooter ever made. With only ten stages, it was short compared to standards like Super Mario Bros. and Wonder Boy, but what it lacked in length it made up for with replayability… not to mention sheer challenge. Its sequel, 1989′s Mega Man 2, was even more spectacular. Together, the two games defined a genre and became high-water marks for 8-bit game design.

Sadly, a decade later, Mega Man had practically become a mockery of itself. The old-school sprites of Mega Man 8 and Mega Man X4 were comforting to gamers who weren’t completely convinced that the PlayStation’s chunky polygons should be an absolute replacement for classic game design; yet at the same time, the 2D Mega Man titles felt like relics, doing nothing to push the limits of technology or play mechanics. Mega Man had become iterative, where once he was innovative. Meanwhile, the Legends spin-off actually did introduce new ideas, including an early form of Zelda’s Z-targeting and real-time story cutscenes with lip-synched facial animations, but it was largely dismissed by Mega Man fans and detractors alike: By the former for being too different from the older games, and by the latter for wearing the name “Mega Man.”

When Nintendo’s 32-bit handheld Game Boy Advance was announced a few years later, Capcom producer Keiji Inafune and his team set out to revitalize the series and restore its luster. Unlike Legends, this new game would diverge far enough away from the classic template of gun-driven action that there would be no confusion over its purpose. Instead, this game would reinvent Mega Man for the post-Pokémon age. Debuting Oct. 30, 2001, Mega Man Battle Network — or “Rockman.EXE” in Japan — would be a collection-heavy portable role-playing game where the player’s avatar wasn’t Mega Man himself but rather a young man named Lan Hikari who in turn used Mega Man as his own virtual intermediary into the world of cyber-battling. And to ensure its popularity, the game would offer both an afternoon cartoon tie-in and a heavy emphasis on head-to-head competition with players, including special events where Capcom would distribute exclusive content, Mew-like.

In truth, that’s about as far as the Pokémon connection went: Surface inspiration. Calling Battle Network a Pokémon clone would be downright fatuous; a few minutes is all it takes to realize that the two series’ overall design and play mechanics are wildly different. Capcom cleverly looked to the classic Mega Man titles for inspiration, drawing on both the series’ fiction and its play elements. Mega Man faced off against bosses like Ice Man and Guts Man as he unraveled the evil Lord Wily’s plan to destroy the digital network that formed the backbone of the game’s society. In the process, the player would acquire abilities from defeated foes — all foes rather than bosses only. Unlike fights in Pokémon, though, Mega Man was a permanent one-member party for combat throughout the adventure, and his abilities were augmented with chips collected from vanquished enemies.

Narratively, Battle Network stood as an alternate reality to the original Mega Man series. Where the classic games represented a world where doctors Thomas Light and Albert W. Wily revolutionized the world with robotics, Battle Network’s was a world where Tadashi Hikari (Japanese for “Right Light” — a cheeky reference to inconsistencies in how Dr. Light’s had been transliterated into English over the years) had instead applied his genius to computer networks. Rather than creating robot masters to do his bidding, Wily instead recruited human operators of Internet warrior-avatars called Navis. Where Mega Man had been special in the old games due to the infinite flexibility enabled by his adaptable nature, here the titular character was unique for being a virtual personality construct based on Lan’s twin brother Hub, who had died as an infant. Lan and Hub/Mega Man shared a special link that enabled them to fight far more efficiently than other human-Navi partnerships, though it also meant that (unlike other Navis) Mega Man couldn’t be restored from a backup file in the event of deletion, and his destruction would be fatal to Lan.

While it made for a handy dramatic device, the almost mystical connection between Lan and Mega Man underscored one of the biggest problems with the Battle Network games: As a story-driven series, it relied entirely too much on terrible plotting. The first game set the tone for the following games, bending logic and reason in the service of advancing the plot and creating excuses for virtual combat. Adults would often find themselves helpless at the hands of minor technical inconveniences, villains would suffer from sudden deficits of common sense, and society itself would break down in bizarre ways, all to allow Lan and his virtual brother to save the day with video game combat. This led to some truly bizarre contrivances, like the time a bear threatening school kids at a campground turned out to be a fake creature with a loudspeaker and an Internet connection. The Battle Network games missed no opportunity to sacrifice coherent plotting for flimsy excuses to battle.


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Assassins Creed 3 Trailer Now Available

Posted: 06 Mar 2012 10:17 AM PST

Good news, Assassins Creed 3 fans! Ubisoft has unveiled a reveal trailer for the third episode in the series. It's nearly a minute and a half long and features a new assassin in native American Indian guise. No need for us to gab on about it though, check it out below:

YouTube Preview Image


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