General Gaming Article

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• Google Docs Suffers Outage
• HTC Files Patent Case Against Apple Using Google Patents
• Yahoo Board Fires CEO Bartz
• Wicked Lasers Krypton Review
• The Game Boy: You Paid For It, But It's Not Yours
• IBM And 3M Announce Joint Venture To Create 3D Towers Out Of Silicon Chips
• Windows Phone 7 App of the Week: Shuriken Ninja
• Norton Announces 2012 Security Products and Expands "Norton Everywhere" Platform
• The Business Software Alliance Claims PC Users Are Ignorant Thieves And Hypocrites
• Rumor: AMD Broadens Bulldozer Launch Lineup for October

Google Docs Suffers Outage Posted: 07 Sep 2011 03:33 PM PDT Google is pushing its cloud apps hard to government and business, and the Chrome OS platform relies entirely on these cloud services. So it was more than a little embarrassing when Google Docs went down for about half an hour today for all users. Those looking to get some work done were greeted with an unfriendly-looking 404 and nothing else. Google Docs is the search giant's office suite in the cloud with a full-featured word processor, spreadsheet, drawing tool and presentation app. The outage began at about 2:30PM Pacific and continued until around 3PM. At the time of this posting, most users report being able to access their documents list again. With desktop apps increasingly migrating to the cloud, users need to evaluate the potential benefits and drawbacks carefully. Today, a local word processor seems to have won out. Were you affected by the Docs outage? Share your harrowing tales if you like.

HTC Files Patent Case Against Apple Using Google Patents Posted: 07 Sep 2011 03:05 PM PDT It's another wild twist in the ongoing legal dispute between HTC and Apple. Taiwanese handset maker HTC has just filed suit against Apple for patent infringement. HTC's ammunition comes in the form of nine patents obtained from Google on September 1st.  The patents come from Palm, Motorola, and OpenWave Systems oringally. Google reportedly bought the entire lot in the last year. Some of the patents are being used in the new case HTC just filed, and several are being amended to the ongoing U.S. International Trade Commission case in Washington.  This marks a change in strategy for Google. While the Android maker is not going out and filing cases itself, it appears to be willing to share it patents with partners to protect them from infringement cases. If the acquisition of Motorola goes off as planned, Google is going to have a lot more patents to share, as well.

Yahoo Board Fires CEO Bartz Posted: 07 Sep 2011 02:48 PM PDT Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz has had a bumpy ride in the big chair these last few years, and the ride came to an abrupt end last evening. Bartz was fired by the Yahoo board in a phone conversation. She sent out a quick email before packing up and hitting the trail. In her email, Bartz neglected to give any details of the conversation, but knowing how she handles herself we have to assume she did not go quietly. Yahoo's board confirmed the ouster in a press release some time later. Yahoo CFO Tim Morse has been installed as interim CEO. Bartz came in at a time when Yahoo was reeling from a failed Microsoft acquisition and needed direction. But over the years, Yahoo has been unable to gain traction. Founder Jerry Yang was reportedly not on good terms with Bartz, which could have contributed to the move. The increasing pressure for changes from shareholders likely also precipitated the firing. Do you think Yahoo will be better off without Bartz?

Wicked Lasers Krypton Review Posted: 07 Sep 2011 01:30 PM PDT If you have to ask "Why?" then you just don't get lasers We're sorry, but if you can view the brilliant green beam of the Wicked Lasers Krypton without going gaga with geeky excitement, then we have to question whether you have a soul inside. It's a laser, people! It's a handheld green laser that shines more brilliantly and fan-bloody-tastically than anything else you may ever point into the night's sky. The Krypton follows Wicked Lasers' Arctic, a Class IV (read: dangerous) laser that caused considerable controversy last year. Both the Arctic and Krypton are 1-watt, Class IV lasers, but where the Arctic projects a 445nm blue beam and costs just $299, the Krypton emits a 532nm green beam, and costs $1,000. These are key differences. Here's why: First, green light is vastly more perceptible to the human eye than blue light. Wicked Lasers says that, watt for watt, the green Krypton is 20 times more visible than the blue Arctic, and we can anecdotally confirm a significant brightness difference. Second, 445nm blue laser light is uniquely dangerous to the human eye. Any high-powered laser, regardless of its wavelength, can cause permanent retinal damage (and even blindness) if shined directly in your peepers at close range. But blue laser light poses extra risks, as exposure to beams in the 400nm to 500nm wavelength range can, as Wicked states on its website, "alter and have a diminishing effect on a person's perception of the color green." So, while both the Arctic and Krypton are dangerously powerful, the Arctic poses unique health risks even if a direct retinal hit fails to cause blindness. Third, the 1-watt Artic is imminently affordable at $300. Any yahoo with a part-time McJob can decide "I'm gonna get me one of them there laser guns!" and proceed to cause sociopathic trauma. But the 1-watt version of the Krypton is $1,000, and at this price point, most units will probably be purchased by responsible laser enthusiasts, and not jackwads. The Krypton comes in 300mW, 500mW and 1-watt versions for $300, $500 and $1,000 respectively. We received the $1,000 model, and found build quality to be superior to three Arctic units we tested last year. We used a Coherent LaserCheck power meter to test beam strength, and our results were consistent with the Krypton's advertised operating range of 500mW to 1 watt. Many readings fell between 600mW and 700mW, but we also captured a few in excess of 950mW, with a peak of 986mW. Also, unlike the Arctic, which has a decidedly ellipsoid beam shape, The Krypton emits a sharp, tight, circular dot. This is the shape hardcore laser enthusiasts yearn for—you know, for critical paper-burning, match-lighting, and balloon-popping experiments. To address safety issues, the Krypton comes with a physical metal peg that, once removed (and perhaps hidden in a gun safe), renders the laser inoperational. You'll also find SmartSwitch 2.0, a system that uses button codes to unlock the laser, increase its strength from 20 percent to full strength, and switch among SOS and strobe settings. The SOS mode is particularly interesting. Wicked says the Krypton's beam is so powerful, it can hit a target up to 85 miles away. To this end, the laser promises utility in wilderness survival scenarios ("Hey, look at me! I'm over here!). Beyond that, the Krypton has limited utility, save use in legitimate science experiments—and blowing the friggin' mind of anyone who sees it in action. Like any 1-watt laser, the Krypton is not a toy. It's a serious piece of a technology that can cause permanent bodily harm. And you can even wind up in jail if you point it at person or plane. But there's no denying its considerable wow factor. It's science fiction made real. Amazing. With a chassis modeled after a Star Warsian light saber, the Krypton, like the Arctic before it, can be mistaken for a toy. Don't be fooled. It's a Class IV laser that can start fires, burn skin, and cause permanent blindness. It should never be pointed at aircraft, or at any living thing. Luckily, every Krypton comes with a pair of safety goggles tuned for the laser's 532nm wavelength. The goggles provide eye protection in the event of a direct hit to one's retina (without safety goggles, it's safe to view the beam of a Class IV laser—just don't look into the laser, or even at its terminating dot). And, yes, the Krypton is legal for sale. There are no laws prohibiting Class IV lasers to Joe Public, but it is unlawful to disrupt aircraft, start fires, and burn and blind people. FYI: For the nifty effect you see in the photo above, we used Wicked's line effect lens, which is part of a $30 expanded lens kit, sold separately. The kit also includes lenses for a cross effect (two intersecting lines); galaxy effect (multiple mini laser beams); focusing effect (a concentrated beam for extra power density); flashlight effect (a diffuse, expanded beam); and floodlight effect (even more expanded and diffuse). $1,000, wickedlasers.com

The Game Boy: You Paid For It, But It's Not Yours Posted: 07 Sep 2011 01:24 PM PDT One of gaming's more recent gee-whiz-it's-probably-magic trends comes with a pretty thick string attached: your saves, your character, your mountain of collectable doodads for that precious achievement – all of them are imprisoned inside a server on a desert island or in space or something. You're playing a high-stakes game of rental roulette, and everything you've worked so hard to build could go poof in the blink of an eye. What trend am I referring to? Did you say, "cloud gaming"? Private Obvious, I'm sure your Captain is beaming with pride right now. However, while your answer's technically correct, I'm talking about MMOs. It's interesting, too, because gamers have been largely a-okay with this aspect of MMOs for years – at least, so long as their game of choice hasn't met an untimely end. But should we be? After all, cloud gaming's certainly risky in that we don't physically own our games, but in MMOs, we don't own the experience. Timely evidence light-speed-jumped its way into the public eye with recent alterations to both Eve Online and Star Wars Galaxies. In a nutshell, Eve's bucking its trend of bucking trends and embracing one in particular: microtransactions. Meanwhile, Galaxies is, er, dying horribly. In both cases, irate players have protested with everything from canceled subscriptions to class-action lawsuits. Eve's trials and tribulations, especially, have escalated as of late, with the game's very own developer-comissioned, player-elected Council of Stellar Management putting its foot down and stomping all over CCP's well-laid plans. "We will not stand idly by as an alliance while our subscription money goes to waste, watching the game we pay to play spiraling into entropy due to the folly and neglect of CCP's management. It is not yet time to start a fire, but get your gasoline ready," said CSM head and GoonSwarm boss "The Mittani" of CCP's plans to expand Eve's universe into other, less-focused games like Dust 514 and World of Darkness.      These types of feelings, of course, are completely understandable. Many players practically live in these worlds. They're homes far, far away from home, and that creates certain expectations. Just as you don't suddenly replace the family cat with its weight in scorpions, tinkering with the core of an MMO is an unspoken no-no. And – paradoxically, given the Eve playerbase's shifting, Marauder's Map-like list of priorities – failing to do so can be just as bad. Point is, this isn't just "some game" to its devotees. It's a collection of places, people, and experiences that players – at least, in their minds – own. In that sense, these games move beyond the "mere" whims of their creators. In reality, however, developers are well within their rights to turn game worlds on their heads, and you're probably not going to like it. But it's also what you signed up for, so don't be surprised when developers tell you to shut up and enjoy your scorpion army. Is the situation optimal? Certainly not. But as MMO-like "games as a service" movements (Call of Duty Elite, etc) catch on, it's going to become all the more common. Change is frightening, but tread water long enough and you'll eventually drown. Thus, in order to survive long-term, a game simply must evolve -- lest it slink right out of the public eye wrapped tightly in a cloak of its own irrelevance. And let's not forget the "always online" future envisioned by the likes of Blizzard and Ubisoft. Sure, id Software's Tim Willits may speak of automatic updates in tones typically reserved for baby bunnies and birthday parties with bounce houses, but there's a dark side here too. Slowly but surely, your game of choice might morph into some strange, one-million-eyed new beast, and you may not even notice it happening. So yes, you sacrificed your piggybank to the Gods of Commerce fair-and-square, but ownership ain't what it used to be. For better or worse, your favorite games are going to grow, change, and even end. You don't have to like it, but if you expect anything else, you're only setting yourself up for disappointment. Perhaps, then, it's time to embrace change and just go with the flo-- wait, they did WHAT to the original Star Wars Trilogy?

IBM And 3M Announce Joint Venture To Create 3D Towers Out Of Silicon Chips Posted: 07 Sep 2011 11:38 AM PDT Intel generated a lot of press with the unveiling of their 3D, low-power Tri-Gate transistor technology. Now it's IBM's turn to hop into the 3D waters. Today, the company announced that it's entered into a joint partnership with 3M to develop 3D semiconductors. They're going about things a little bit differently than Intel, though; rather than developing chips with raised elements, IBM and 3M want to create "bricks" out of up to 100 separate silicon chips in a process known as "3D packaging." The press release says that theoretically, the technology could develop a silicon "brick" that brings memory, networking and processors together in a super-charged chip capable of performing 1,000 times faster than the speediest processors on the market today. That's all conjecture and theory, of course, but it's nice to know they're thinking big. The key to 3D packaging lies in adhering chips to one another with glue that is capable of transferring heat without damaging logic circuitry. That's where 3M comes in. The company will be tasked with developing an adhesive that can meet those strict requirements as well as be applied to hundreds or thousands of chips at once. Current 3D packaging involves stacking chips one-by-one, a time-consuming procedure. IBM, on the other hand, will focus more on creating new 3D packaging processes capable of stacking hundreds of silicon wafers at once.

Windows Phone 7 App of the Week: Shuriken Ninja Posted: 07 Sep 2011 11:31 AM PDT Mobile phone gaming is slowly progressing from a simple diversion to a full-featured platform. Some of the best mobile games you will ever play are uncomplicated - even minimalistic. This is especially true of games offered by independent developers who are making games as a hobby or a side gig. What modern casual games really need is decent sound and graphics, killer gameplay, and (optionally) a good story or premise to work from. We ask you, what better premise than ninjas? Shuriken Ninja for Windows Phone 7 is one of the simplest games you will ever play. The general concept is to throw shuriken at the targets in each level, hitting all of the targets without exhausting your shuriken supply. The size and movement of the targets will increase difficulty, as will the need to bounce your throws off of the floor and walls in order to hit your target. Targeting and throwing is managed by tapping at the point you wish to throw, though it isn't as easy as it may sound. Two game modes offer hundreds of levels and Shuriken Ninja also supports creating, sharing, and downloading custom levels. Shuriken Ninja is a free download from the Windows Phone Marketplace. Check back next Wednesday for another Windows Phone 7 App of the Week.

Norton Announces 2012 Security Products and Expands "Norton Everywhere" Platform Posted: 07 Sep 2011 11:15 AM PDT Let us start with the obligatory disclaimer that if it's been a few years since you've played with a Norton product, things are very different than what you remember them to be. Starting with Norton's 2009 Antivirus and Internet Security Suite products, the emphasis has been on performance, both in terms of picking up malware and leaving a small system footprint, and it's been that way ever since (we've awarded Norton two 9 verdicts in our past three annual antivirus roundups). Now Norton will try and keep its revamped reputation intact with the release of its 2012 security products. We spoke at length with Norton about its 2012 lineup and were told that the 2012 refresh introduces a handful of new features and a bunch of enhancements, such as adding 120 new rules to its Sonar technology. Many of these new rules are intended to block non-process threats more effectively, like those that come in DLL files, as well as do a better job at detecting fake AV programs. One of things we're most looking forward to testing is Norton's expanded Management tools, which gives users Web-based access to manage Norton products from any location with an Internet connection. In theory, you should be able to do things like manage security settings and tweak security settings on little Johnny's rig in the downstairs bedroom just as easily as accessing Aunt Florence's machine located across the country. You can check out the full press release here, and keep your eyes out for an official review in our next annual security roundup in the coming months. Image Credit: Symantec

The Business Software Alliance Claims PC Users Are Ignorant Thieves And Hypocrites Posted: 07 Sep 2011 11:06 AM PDT Almost half of the computer users in the world are criminals; no good, stinkin' pirates who pilfer programs they don't hold the proper licenses for. At least, that's what the Business Software Alliance (a trade group whose entire purpose is stopping the use of pirated software) says after conducting a 15,000 user study in 32 countries.  You're probably a hypocrite, too – at least according to the BSA numbers. That's because the study showed that 47 percent of users acquire software illegally most or all of the time despite the fact that 71 percent of folks say they support intellectual property rights. Businesses are just as likely to use pirated software as individuals. The BSA doesn't point fingers and call people names the entire time, though; they oh-so-graciously say that most users are pirates out of ignorance rather than malice. Thanks! There's plenty of statistical info to be found in both a BSA blog post and a white paper they drew up to trumpet their claims, but here's some juicy tidbits: the five countries with the highest rate of piracy are China (86 percent), Nigeria (82 percent), Vietnam (76 percent), the Ukraine (69 percent) and Malaysia (68 percent). The US doesn't fare that well in the polls, either; the BSA says only China has more pirate-touched computers in operation today, and 35 percent of American respondents admitted to rarely paying for software. The BSA calls using software without a license "The $59 Billion Heist" and claims that software publishers lost – duh! – $59 billion due to piracy in 2010. Since it's the BSA's job to say that, feel free to take the findings in the report with a grain of salt.

Rumor: AMD Broadens Bulldozer Launch Lineup for October Posted: 07 Sep 2011 10:45 AM PDT More reports are starting to surface indicating that AMD is pushing back the launch of its FX-series processors built around the company's highly anticipated Bulldozer microarchitecture. It appears AMD is now targeting an October launch, a time frame that's been floating around the Web for about a week now, but we've now learned AMD is gearing up for a broader Bulldozer launch than originally planned. XBitLabs claims to have heard from "a source with knowledge of the company's plans" that the broader launch is intended to make Bulldozer more competitive, an unsurprising move considering Intel's recent addition of 16 new Sandy Bridge processors. With the new launch lineup in place, you can expect AMD to announce seven FX-series "Zambezi" chips in October and the following months, including four eight-core FX-8100 models, a single FX-6100 chip, and two FX-4100 chips. What's particularly exciting here is AMD's aggressive push into eight-core territory. We doubt any of these will be super affordable chips, but with base frequencies ranging from 2.8GHz to 3.6GHz and beyond, we can't imagine all the eight-core parts will cost an arm and a leg.

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MMO News

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• Crystal Saga Gameplay – First Look HD
• Star Trek Online going free-to-play
• Rusty Hearts announces open beta
• Bounty Hounds Interview

Crystal Saga Gameplay – First Look HD Posted: 07 Sep 2011 03:50 PM PDT To Learn More About the Game Check out our Crystal Saga Page. Crystal Saga is a 2D browser based fantasy MMORPG published by R2Games – the same company behind Age of Honor and Caesary. Gameplay wise Crystal Saga is set in an actual persistent world – the same way Eternal Destiny and Neverland Online are. Like Magic World Online, WYD Global, Godswar Online and several other MMORPGs – Crystal Saga featured an in-game bot which lets players level up while away from the keyboard. To learn more about Crystal Saga check out the official MMOHut Crystal Saga page which includes a detailed review, tons of screenshots, and additional videos.

Star Trek Online going free-to-play Posted: 06 Sep 2011 07:38 PM PDT Star Trek Online has announced that it will soon be transitioning to a free-to-play game later this year. The new model will not require players to buy a copy of the game or a subscription. “Gold Member” subscriptions will remain available for players at $14.99 a month. Free players will be restricted to two character slots, a maximum of 48 inventory slots, and limited chat. Certain features will only be available for free players via purchase. Star Trek Online is published by Cryptic Studios, which also publishes Champions Online. Star Trek Online Gameplay Screenshot Source: STAR TREK™ ONLINE FREE-TO-PLAY IN 2011 Star Trek Online to Accommodate All Players. Closed Beta Begins Soon. Los Gatos, CA (September 6, 2011) – Star Trek Online, the acclaimed sci-fi MMORPG, developed by Cryptic Studios, Inc. (“Cryptic Studios”), will be free-to-play in 2011. Players will be able to download and enjoy the game as they like at no cost. A features matrix, FAQ, overview and various forums can be found on the official Star Trek Online website to better explain the nature of free-to-play to new and existing users. To learn more about Star Trek Online free-to-play, please visit: http://www.startrekonline.com/f2p “In addition to seeking out new life and exploring strange new civilizations, part of our continuing mission for Star Trek Online is to expand and improve,” said Jack Emmert, CEO, Cryptic Studios. “Transitioning to a free-to-play model is a natural way to share all we’ve built with a broader community of players and we couldn’t be more excited.” Later this year, when Star Trek Online free-to-play launches, anyone can download and play the game for free without purchasing a retail copy or subscription. All players will be able to take advantage of Star Trek Online‘s many features for free, from customizing avatars, crews and the very ships they command, to exploring a galaxy filled with intrigue and danger. Players will also be able to access additional features a la carte through a virtual goods store. Current players can become Gold Members by continuing to subscribe to the game for $14.99 a month. New players can also upgrade to Gold status for a set price of $14.99 per month. The differences between paying Gold Members and free Silver Players can be found at: http://www.startrekonline.com/f2p Star Trek Online free-to-play allows players to get into the game and engage the Star Trek universe in a number of ways: The Universe is Your Only Limit – Play as much as you like for as long as you like at no cost. No subscription is required, nor is payment of any kind required. Episodic Gameplay – Experience new weekly episodes that feature story-based gameplay and put your captain’s ability to command to the ultimate test. Your Captain, Your Crew, Your Destiny – Become a captain, seek out new life and new civilizations and encounter hostile beings as you advance to maximum level for free. Familiar Places, New Experiences – Travel to Starfleet Academy, Deep Space Nine, The First City of Qo’noS and many other iconic locations and notable worlds from the beloved Star Trek universe. Engage and Explore Your Way – A web and in-game virtual goods store provides players the option of purchasing gameplay upgrades or additional premium content as they like, when they like. Taking place in the year 2409, Star Trek Online boasts extraordinary features and lets fans both new and old experience unparalleled adventures within the Star Trek universe. Players have the opportunity to become high-ranking Starfleet officers and participate in missions structured like episodes that take them into the depths of space, across exotic planets and inside other starships. All players are invited to explore strange new worlds and encounter new life in a vast, ever expanding universe! Star Trek Online is a licensed product from CBS Consumer Products and developed by Cryptic Studios, Inc. For more information, please visit: www.startrekonline.com TM & © 2011 CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved. STAR TREK and related marks are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc.

Rusty Hearts announces open beta Posted: 06 Sep 2011 06:33 PM PDT Perfect World Entertainment has announced that Rusty Hearts will begin open beta testing on September 13, in both Europe and North America. The update that will come with open beta will include the removal of the game’s Stamina system, allowing players unlimited numbers of dungeon runs. Gamepad support will be enhanced with customizable button layouts. The open beta will also extend the level cap, and introduce a new quest hub and dungeons. Perfect World Entertainment also publishes Forsaken World and Battle of the Immortals. Rusty Hearts Gameplay Screenshot Source: RUSTY HEARTS TO LAUNCH CONCURRENTLY IN EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA ON SEPTEMBER 13 September 6, 2011 – Foster City, Calif. and AMSTERDAM, Netherlands- Perfect World Entertainment Inc. and Perfect World Europe B.V., wholly owned US subsidiaries of Perfect World Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: PWRD), today proudly announced that their much anticipated free-to-play hack and slash dungeon-crawling MORPG, Rusty Hearts, will be launching into open beta concurrently for North American and European players on September 13, 2011. “Since acquiring the license to operate Rusty Hearts earlier this year, it’s been our great pleasure working with Windysoft on the game’s localization,” said Alan Chen, CEO of Perfect World Entertainment Inc. “It’s been exciting to see the enthusiasm and support that players have shown for Rusty Hearts and we are thrilled to continue our partnership with Windysoft to bring this unique online gaming experience to our European and North American players. As we soon release the game into open beta, we are fully prepared to provide great services and support to the influx of Rusty Hearts’ players and we look forward to welcoming them.” Based on user feedback, the open beta will feature major updates including the removal of the Stamina system and completely customizable gamepad button layouts. Instead of a limited amount of dungeon runs, players will now have unlimited access to storm the dungeons and players that play Rusty Hearts with a gamepad will have the ability to remap the controls to their own preference. Besides an entirely new hub world containing unreleased dungeons and a plethora of fresh quests for players to explore, the extended level cap will take players through the progressing-difficulty levels and challenge them with intense combination attacks, as well as grueling enemy battles. Furthermore, players will gain deeper insight on the heroic characters and their eternal struggle between human and monstrosity. Rusty Hearts is a multiplayer online game with fast-paced and highly-stylized brawling combat combined with a solo or team-based dungeon exploration experience. Based on a gothic inspired world and an ongoing battle between pure-blood vampires, half-vampires, and humans, players will be able to unleash devastating combo attacks, engage in a wide variety of epic monster battles, collect valuable loot, and become a unique hero. For more information on Rusty Hearts and the upcoming events, visit http://rustyhearts.perfectworld.com/ or join the fan community here: http://www.facebook.com/RustyHeartsGame

Bounty Hounds Interview Posted: 06 Sep 2011 05:02 PM PDT Recently one of our editors B. Olivia sat down with Terry Torlao, project manager for the upcoming game Bounty Hounds Online. Terry was able to shed some light on the new Scifi MMO in the interview below; B. Olivia: So tell me a little about yourself and what you do at the studio? Terry Torlao: Well you can say I’m a person who grew up with online games and is still an avid gamer to this day. In terms of daily operation, I’m the guy who is trying to make sure everything works together like clockwork. If something needs to get fixed or there’s an idea to pass to the developers, I’m the guy who sees that it gets fixed or the info gets passed to who it’s supposed to go to. B. Olivia: Sounds like an important job! So what’s the official title, if I may ask? Terry Torlao: It say Project Manager on the card so I’ll go with that B. Olivia: Sounds good to me. So, having grown up with online games, what are some of your favorites? Terry Torlao: I usually avoided anything and everything mainstream just cause being a kid with no money tends to affect what you played. But I’ll say I’ve played a large majority of the Free-to-play games out there. I think the major standout in my gaming history was ACE Online which we now host currently. I was playing that before we picked up the license to that. Although I have spent time in games like Lineage, Flyff, Ragnarok Online, and many many others B. Olivia: Classic lineup. So, speaking of online games, I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz around our site about Bounty Hounds Online. Some people say it’s going to change the game a bit for F2P MMOs. Can you comment on that? Why might they be excited? Terry Torlao: It’s a F2P title that pushes the bar in many areas. It’s graphics put it in the top echelons of the F2P arena as well as brings the untouched Science Fiction genre into the forefront of the otherwise Fantasy dominant genre. It’s a major change to the F2P spectrum B. Olivia: Can you talk a little bit about the game mechanics? Anything that strikes you as interesting or fun? Terry Torlao: The game is a bridge between action MMORPG’s and point-and-click games. Functionality and appearance wise it looks like a point and click but movement is actually more action based where players can freely move while attacking. Another unique tidbit is that as all characters can weild both melee and ranged weapons, it automatically switches types when you walk from melee to range and vice versa. Terry Torlao: So you can run around monsters, slashing away and make a quick getaway firing your gun if things get a bit tricky. And this is pretty much seamless B. Olivia: Sounds very dynamic. Is there a PVP aspect to the game? Terry Torlao: The game becomes very PvP focused at the higher levels. There are even quests for players to hunt down other players so thats another element to the PvP. There is also plans to expand and change the PvP around so it’s gonna be a lot deeper and more dramatic than what it is at this time. B. Olivia: Interesting! So is that open PVP, or is it going to be optional? Or will it depend on the server? Terry Torlao: In our CBT it’s currently an open PvP at the higher levels, although we are looking at more options based on the feedback we’ve recieved. B. Olivia: And what about the PVE content? End-game? Terry Torlao: There are a number of quests available for players, as well as instances for players to party up and take on powerful bosses. So there are already a number of things available and we’ll be expanding the number of instances very shortly so the game is definitely in a state of evolution. There are also special bounty hunting missions where a specfic target is announced and players have a set time to find and kill the target. B. Olivia: Sounds like there’s a lot going on. So, going back to the sci-fi element for a moment, is there anything about the setting in Bounty Hounds you find especially interesting? Terry Torlao: First off, it is a continuation of the world in the PSP title of Bounty Hounds so there will be some recognizable cameos. What strikes me the most is that the vast majority of Sci-Fi games emphasize a lot of the technology, equipment, ships and so forth. BHO, is more in line like many Fantasy MMORPG’s where the emphasis is more on the character and your experience in the world. B. Olivia: So it’s more of a character driven sci-fi, like Star Wars, rather than “hard” sci-fi like EVE Online? Terry Torlao: I would say that would be a pretty good comparison. B. Olivia: A lot of players love pet mechanics. What will pets be like in Bounty Hounds? Terry Torlao: The Pet System, or CTU’s as they’re called in-game, are robotic pets which assist the player throughout the game and they can be heavily upgraded and modified to become a major part of the team. However, upgrading them does require you to sacrifice other pets so it develops a very unique relationship between player and pet. In many ways the pet is the other half of your character. B. Olivia: That is really interesting! Can you customize them in various ways? Appearance, function, etc.? Terry Torlao: Appearance changes when they get upgraded more and more. Also what items you use in the upgrading will affect their stats so it is very much up to the player on how the pet grows. B. Olivia: Very cool! Any other unique features you’d like to mention? Terry Torlao: There are also item crafting and creation that utilizes many of the items and drops found throughout the gameworld. There is also item upgrading system which does not require the use of traditional random number generator to rely on “chance” to upgrade an item. B. Olivia: Of course! How could I forget about crafting? Can you elaborate a little more on that upgrade system? If it doesn’t use chance, how does it work? Terry Torlao: Items require effort to get stronger. As you kill monsters on the field you will recieve components which can be used to upgrade your weapons or armors. When equipment reaches a certain number of components added it will get stronger. You can say you’re levelling up the equipment. B. Olivia: That’s really neat. So, is it possible for someone to use the same weapon or piece of armor indefinitely through constant upgrades? Terry Torlao: There is a limit. Lower level gear may not even have the capacity to hold components. It does diversify at higher levels. There are plenty of strong stuff that cannot hold components but there are stuff that are slightly weaker that have a very high component limit allowing a lot of upgrades. B. Olivia: Good to know. Now, this is a question that’s always important to me. How is the avatar customization? Terry Torlao: When creating a character you will have the usual options to change the facial features, the hair, skin color and so forth. As for overall appearance, there are Blueprints and Costumes. Blueprints are pemanent appearance modifiers for equipment so they will change how they look. Costumes are items that affect the character and not the equipment so you can change how you look without permanently altering your gear. B. Olivia: That sounds good to me. What about “races” in the game? Can you play as anything other than human? Terry Torlao: You’re only human in this game. Although there are many other races you will encounter in the game. Intelligent CTU’s, and other alien races like the Tapirs and the Wildsanders are just a couple of examples of the races in the game. B. Olivia: Are there opposing factions between players? Terry Torlao: A player can select a faction when they’re starting the game and that is where much of the PvP is centered on. Faction vs Faction PvP. As for how many factions, that is currently under review based on the feedback we’ve recieved from our CBT. B. Olivia: We’re coming up on the hour, and I don’t want to take up too much of your time. Any final thoughts you want to share with those following Bounty Hounds Online? Terry Torlao: The game is a constantly evolving game and there is a lot of change in the horizon. Expect this game to become a wild ride once it’s out of beta! B. Olivia: Thanks for your time, Terry. Terry Torlao: Thanks for the interview.

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MMO Updates

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• Aion digs through history with an in-game event
• Bigpoint says game publishers should sell in-game advantages
• The axe falls: DDO's first novel is released
• Spiral Knights adds spooky Candlestick Keep content
• Nexon Europe gearing up for Vindictus closed beta
• The Daily Grind: Is the free-to-play content usually enough for you?
• A hunting moon rises for Final Fantasy XIV
• Rusty Hearts smashes its way into open beta on September 13th
• Allods Online gives players a chance to choose their luck
• BioWare delaying Star Wars: The Old Republic's European testing
• MMObility: More news and tech from the world of mobile
• Hyperspace Beacon: We hope this never comes out of SWTOR, but knowing our luck, it probably will
• New World of Planes video shows off air combat, ground strafing, and more
• One Shots: The face of intimidation
• The Soapbox: Groupthink
• EVE Online's new forum is back online
• Cryptic uploads Star Trek Online's free-to-play plans

Aion digs through history with an in-game event Posted: 07 Sep 2011 10:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Events, in-game, Humor Atreia's precious artifacts don't belong in some rich guy's collection -- they belong in a museum! If you're feeling the Indiana Jones vibe and are in the mood for a little treasure hunting, then Aion's got the in-game event for you: Picking Up the Past. The past is a litterbug, we tells ya! Starting today and running through October 5th, Picking Up the Past challenges players on both sides of the faction fence to uncover fossils that are apparently everywhere. Some will be easy to find, others are riding piggyback on dungeon monsters. Once a player find enough fossils, he or she can can turn them in for a variety of rewards including medals, Abyss relics, consumables, crafting mats, and -- why not? -- couples t-shirts. There are no quests associated with the event; simply find and turn in fossils as fast as you can! Aion digs through history with an in-game event originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Bigpoint says game publishers should sell in-game advantages Posted: 07 Sep 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous In case you were wondering where browser MMO specialist Bigpoint stands on the issue of selling in-game advantages, a new interview with the company's chief games officer leaves little to the imagination. "The crucial part of the design is not having to invest, but wanting to. Most people in the Bigpoint universe don't ever pay," says Philip Reisberger. "But if they want to pay, don't just offer hats -- offer them something that will help them." Reisberger doesn't stop there, though. He goes on to dismiss the retail business model and also chastises Electronic Arts for its decision to avoid giving Battlefield 3 pre-order players a competitive advantage. "It wouldn't ruin the game. If selling an advantage ruins the game, you haven't done the balancing right," he said. Bigpoint says game publishers should sell in-game advantages originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The axe falls: DDO's first novel is released Posted: 07 Sep 2011 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Culture, Free-to-play It's not every MMO that is honored with a published novel set in its world, but when it happens, it's a cause for celebration. Today Dungeons and Dragons Online joins the ranks of other novelized MMOs by being immortalized in book form, as Wizards of the Coast has released The Shard Axe by Marsheila Rockwell. According to the description, The Shard Axe is steeped in familiar DDO settings: Sentinel Marshal Sabira d'Deneith has spent the last eight years trying to drown the memories of the mission that cost her partner his life and gave her the nickname, the Shard Axe. But all the old memories come flooding back when she's recalled from the city of Stormreach to carry out a mission on House Deneith's behalf-to protect and defend the heir of the dwarven city of Frostmantle during his murder trial. The same heir she and her partner guarded eight years ago in the same city-from the same style of murders. Is the dreaded Nightshard still alive and taunting her? Or is there another serial killer loose in the Mror Holds? We got the opportunity to talk to Ms. Rockwell back in February with an extensive interview about the book. The Shard Axe is just $6.99 and is available in both paperback and on a variety of e-readers. The axe falls: DDO's first novel is released originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Spiral Knights adds spooky Candlestick Keep content Posted: 07 Sep 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, News items, PvE, Free-to-play, Casual, Dungeons If you thought steampunk couldn't mate with adorkable, think again. Spiral Knights, Three Rings' lobby-based action-MMO, delivers both in the consummate concoction of clockwork and cute, and the company recently launched an update bringing new dungeon content to the game. The haunted Candlestick Keep, "all that remains of the once prosperous Owlite Academy," is crawling with undead monsters like Grimalkins, but fortunately, players can make use of colored ward candles to protect them from spookats and open pesky locked doors. The update also adds challenging new Danger Rooms, a revamped Crash Site, and cash shop tweaks. Our own free-to-play guru Beau Hindman took a stroll through the game way back in March, deeming it "repetitive but really fun." It is currently available for download on the official site and as part of Steam's F2P offerings. Spiral Knights adds spooky Candlestick Keep content originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Nexon Europe gearing up for Vindictus closed beta Posted: 07 Sep 2011 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Vindictus Better late than never, right? That's what Nexon Europe is hoping its fans are saying about the late arrival of Vindictus. The free-to-play title launched in Korea in January 2010, then it took a bow in North America in October 2010, but the game is just now getting around to its European closed beta phase. The beta begins on September 15th, and testers will need a key to participate. Registration happens on the game's official website, and there's more info on the Vindictus Europe Facebook page as well. Nexon has also released a new trailer to mark the occasion, and you can view it after the break. [Source: Nexon Europe press release] Continue reading Nexon Europe gearing up for Vindictus closed beta Nexon Europe gearing up for Vindictus closed beta originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Is the free-to-play content usually enough for you? Posted: 07 Sep 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Business models, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous News came in last week about Perfect World Entertainment's plans to turn Star Trek Online into a free-to-play business model. While most of us were not in the least bit surprised at the news, most of the comments we've seen here at Massively have been to the effect of, "Now I can finally try that game out!" This is a sentiment we see expressed more and more these days, as more MMOs are either launching as or converting to include some sort of basic free content. That content can be restrictive, but for many players, it's the only choice they have. Despite the challenge of playing a F2P game without touching your wallet, we wonder if the free content is usually enough to keep you satisfied. Are four classes enough for you in Age of Conan? Is one tier enough for you in Warhammer Online? Are three bags enough for you in Lord of the Rings Online? Let us know how you feel about the free content in MMOs. Are you happy with what you have available, or do you find the limits too restrictive? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind! The Daily Grind: Is the free-to-play content usually enough for you? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

A hunting moon rises for Final Fantasy XIV Posted: 06 Sep 2011 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Lore, News items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV Final Fantasy XIV's holiday events have been building up steam of late, and a new event has gone live today for players to enjoy. Celebrating the hunter's moon (albeit a bit early), the event plays directly off the lore of the summer festival. A shipment of earrings was made to commemorate the victory of adventurers over the flaming bombards that assaulted Eorzea... but the jewelry was stolen by nothing less than a horde of rats, leaving those same adventurers tasked with hunting down the decorations that should rightly be theirs. Running until September 20th, the event sees players stalking special monsters appearing around the various hamlets in the game to retrieve an earring. While the event seems a bit simple for the time being, it's quite possible that it will be rolled out in phases, akin to the Easter event earlier this year. Even if not, who wouldn't like to stomp some rats for a free piece of frippery? A hunting moon rises for Final Fantasy XIV originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Rusty Hearts smashes its way into open beta on September 13th Posted: 06 Sep 2011 06:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Launches, News items, Free-to-play Fans of Perfect World Entertainment's side-scrolling beat-'em-up Rusty Hearts are in for a treat. After a leisurely Labor Day weekend, PWE announced in a press release today that the title will launch into open beta on September 13th. Closed beta players will have their last hoorah on September 8 at 5:00 p.m. EST, at which point the game will shut down until it enters open beta on the 13th. The open beta isn't the same old cow as the closed beta, however. With its open beta launch, Rusty Hearts is also bringing a number of new updates, such as the removal of the universally panned Stamina system and customizable gamepad settings for Rusty Hearts' more console-inclined players. The level cap will also be raised, allowing players to explore a brand new hub world and a number of new dungeons and quests. So sit tight, Rusty Hearts fans. You'll be pounding monsters into a fine paste before you know it. [Source: Perfect World Entertainment Press Release] Rusty Hearts smashes its way into open beta on September 13th originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Allods Online gives players a chance to choose their luck Posted: 06 Sep 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, News items, Free-to-play, Allods Online Luck is fickle. One moment you seem to be hitting a 20% chance for a critical hit every other swing, the next you're lucky if you can avoid missing. But Allods Online is giving the playerbase a chance to change its collective luck through pure will. Well, pure will and a helpful dose of popularity. The Choose Your Lucky Moment event has begun, offering everyone a shot at something bigger and better next week. Currently, there's a poll available with a long list of lucky bonuses, such as increased experience gained from quests and better loot from the Astral. The voting runs until Friday, September 9th. Once the votes have all been tallied, the three bonuses with the highest number of votes will be turned on for the next week on both servers, running from September 10th until September 16th. It might not help you with that string of critical hits, but it's the best chance Allods Online players will have to turn their luck around by choice. Allods Online gives players a chance to choose their luck originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

BioWare delaying Star Wars: The Old Republic's European testing Posted: 06 Sep 2011 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic International issues with Star Wars: The Old Republic started cropping up more or less as soon as the pre-order began, and they're apparently persisting. It's recently been officially announced that European testing invitations have been delayed, missing the initial weekend and being postponed for an unspecified length of time. Fortunately for the players who are no doubt sore over the delay, an explanation was included with the announcement, which kicks off by pointing out that a new build and an associated character wipe are on their way for later in the week anyway. The new build will require testers to re-download the entire client, and with the client requiring a 27 gig download, it was suspected that any players presently invited might finish the download only to have to start an entirely new download immediately afterward. Localized French and German versions of the game will be included in the new build, which further contributed to the decision to ultimately hold off on the European testing. It's cold comfort to would-be testers left out of the game, but at least it isn't without some logic. BioWare delaying Star Wars: The Old Republic's European testing originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MMObility: More news and tech from the world of mobile Posted: 06 Sep 2011 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Launches, New titles, News items, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, Humor, MMObility Welcome again to MMObility, your weekly stop for all things mobile! I've decided that it would be a good idea to make this column concentrate not only on the games for your phones, tablets and netbooks but on some of the different tech and items that any mobile fan will probably love. The games are the centerpiece, of course, but this is no fast-moving genre like "standard" MMORPGs... so filling in some of the gaps between development cycles with tech talk only makes sense. This week I have a bit of news and a bit of tech. Feel free to chime in with your comments, especially if you have anything to add that might help people play better or shop better. Now, click past the cut! Continue reading MMObility: More news and tech from the world of mobile MMObility: More news and tech from the world of mobile originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hyperspace Beacon: We hope this never comes out of SWTOR, but knowing our luck, it probably will Posted: 06 Sep 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, New titles, Opinion, Humor, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Hyperspace Beacon When I started the Hyperspace Beacon, I didn't want every article to be a stoic look into the world of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Sometimes we need to kick back and have a little fun with the product that we love. We kind of earned it, right? Within the first couple months of articles, I examined the worst parts of the Star Wars games and movies and what is it that we hope to never see in TOR. That is when I wrote We hope this never makes it into SWTOR, but knowing our luck, it probably will. I speculated on not just what we didn't want to see in the game but how it would implemented. This week, I visit WHTNMIISWTORBKOLIPW again and ask about merchandising. There have been some horrific ideas that came out of the Star Wars franchise, and I don't just mean the changes in the Blue-Ray release. I shared a couple of these on Google+ this weekend. The Princess Leia Pizza Pringles has to be the worst. I didn't believe it myself until I saw the photographic evidence. We know that if SWTOR is hugely successful, Lucasfilm will certainly use that as an opportunity to capitalize on the game. Follow after the break for my leap into the world of TOR-vertizing. (OK, not everything works with TOR dropped in front of it.) Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: We hope this never comes out of SWTOR, but knowing our luck, it probably will Hyperspace Beacon: We hope this never comes out of SWTOR, but knowing our luck, it probably will originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

New World of Planes video shows off air combat, ground strafing, and more Posted: 06 Sep 2011 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Historical, Real life, Trailers, Video, MMO industry, New titles, News items, War, Miscellaneous Gaijin Entertainment has released another heart-pounding video from its upcoming World of Planes MMO, and the scene has shifted from the Pacific theater showcased last month to what looks to be the Kuban region of southern Russia. A gaggle of great-looking World War II fighters are on display, as are a few stomach-churning cockpit perspectives and some spiffy smoke, fire, and damage effects. There's a lot of air combat, of course, but there's also a brief glimpse of some target strafing and quite a lot of detail when it comes to terrain textures, buildings, and other ground objects. Flight sim fans will be happy to know that Gaijin was responsible for 2009's IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey, a console-based air combat title that followed in the footsteps of the venerable Sturmovik series on the PC. Gaijin also developed a PC version called Wings of Prey and looks to be using that expertise for its new free-to-play World of Planes MMO. Kick the tires and light the fires by checking out the new trailer after the cut. Continue reading New World of Planes video shows off air combat, ground strafing, and more New World of Planes video shows off air combat, ground strafing, and more originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

One Shots: The face of intimidation Posted: 06 Sep 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Guild Wars, One Shots One Shots today is Guild Wars round two, thanks to Massively reader Steven: Behold Jason Nesmith, the sexiest and manliest Paragon to ever grace the sands of Elona. Bow before his masculine gaze, and stand awestruck at the amazing pink-flavored radiation of awesomeness. Do you think you can come up with a scarier, crazier, or more painful-to-look-at ensemble? It's ugly armor week all week on One Shots, so whether you have an eye-searing color scheme, a set of armor pieces that clash like crazy, or something that you just put together for a laugh, we want to see. Send your screenshots in to oneshots@massively.com and we'll feature them in next week's One Shots! Gallery: One Shots: 2011 One Shots: The face of intimidation originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Soapbox: Groupthink Posted: 06 Sep 2011 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Game mechanics, Endgame, Opinion, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. I can pinpoint exactly the moment that the luster of World of Warcraft's big old-game-changing expansion wore off for me. And it didn't take very long, just long enough for me to pick up a quest named It's Raid Night Every Night for my Dwarf. It was an unremarkable quest in every way, with the only really clever-ish bit being the title that slyly winks at players about one of the game's criticisms. Except that it's not exactly an unfair criticism. If you were at the level cap and wanted to keep playing the game with anything approaching forward motion, it was raid night every night. The joke left a bad taste in my mouth. Of course, this isn't an article about WoW except in passing and by association. It's about the temptation and tendency to have group content as the panacea, as the overwhelming focus of any new content. It's about why we get so much content that focuses on large group efforts, and why that isn't necessarily such a good thing -- for the players or even the developers. Continue reading The Soapbox: Groupthink The Soapbox: Groupthink originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Online's new forum is back online Posted: 06 Sep 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, News items Back in April, EVE Online received a brand-new forum with a revamped search tool, the ability to "like" posts, and other useful features. Unfortunately, players quickly found several serious security problems in the new forum software, including the ability to inject arbitrary HTML (but not script) into any thread via a modified forum signature. It also became known that the forum was a modified version of open source software Yet Another Forum, with the authentication system tied to CCP's own login service. A cookie exploit was discovered in this login system shortly after the forums went online, allowing users to post as anyone they wanted -- even as developers. The new forum was temporarily disabled pending a security review and the old one reactivated. After a complete security revamp and a period of rigorous testing, the new forum returned to service today. This forum is tied into CCP's web platform EVE Gate, which provides quick access to your character's evemails while not in the game and has integrated social networking features. The old forum will be officially decommissioned on Friday, September 9th and left as a permanent archive. [UPDATE: We've been informed that the previous injection exploit involved only HTML and not script. The post has been modified accordingly.] EVE Online's new forum is back online originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Cryptic uploads Star Trek Online's free-to-play plans Posted: 06 Sep 2011 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play Curious about how a free-to-play Star Trek Online will look? We are too, which is why we're glad that Cryptic's followed up the unofficial announcement of STO's F2P conversion with specific and numerous details. On the site's new Free-to-Play page, Star Trek Online reveals what silver (free) and gold (subscribers and lifetimers) members will be able to access in the game. Free players will be able to enjoy a majority of the game's content, including character creation, all of the missions, the basic ships, the full range of levels, and special task forces. While free players won't be able to create their own missions through the Foundry system, they will be able to test out ones made by subscribers. The biggest restrictions a free account player will face are a limited mail system, reduced inventory space, and only two character slots. Subscribers and lifetime members will enjoy certain perks under the new system, including a monthly stipend of store points, priority login, respec tokens, Foundry access, and other basic MMO staples. It's interesting to note that when the game changes to the new system later this year, Klingon content for subscribers and free players will unlockable at level 25 instead of the current low level access. This is so that Cryptic can spend more time working on this weaker aspect of the game. The new system will also replace several types of currencies with a single new one, Dilithium, which will be used to purchase ships and gear. There are plenty more details on the site, including an FAQ and Features Matrix. Stay tuned later this week for an in-depth analysis of this information and a Q&A session with Cryptic in our STO column, Captain's Log! Cryptic uploads Star Trek Online's free-to-play plans originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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