General Gaming Article

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• Nvidia launches Fermi Based GeForce GT 610, GT 620, & GT 630
• Nvidia Acknowledges Kepler V-Sync Stuttering Issues and Promises a Prompt Driver Fix
• Microsoft Plans to Kill the Aero UI Prior To Final Windows 8 Release
• Firefox 13 Will Have Reset Button

Nvidia launches Fermi Based GeForce GT 610, GT 620, & GT 630 Posted: 20 May 2012 03:56 PM PDT Nvidia is a master of marketing, so when they "quietly" launched the GeForce GT 610, 620, and 630 into the retail channel late last week, we knew something was up. It turns out of the three new cards, none of these are actually based on the most recently released Kepler architecture behind the GTX 670, 680, and 690, and are in reality based on the last generation designs.  We knew Nvidia was already rebranding Fermi parts for use in OEM laptops and desktops, however it looks like the practice will again carry forward to the aftermarket parts as well.  The GT 610 is a rebadged GT 520, which could mean we are looking at a GF119, or GF 108 GPU, featuring a pretty paltry 48 CUDE cores. The GT 610 is intended to be the entry level 600 series card, and is unlikely to even outpace integrated graphics found on modern Ivy Bridge chips.  The GT 620 is a variant of the OEM-only GT 530, and features a slightly more respectable 96 CUDA cores. Twice the CUDA cores will help, but like the GT 610, the GT 620 only has a 64 bit memory bus which no doubt be a bottleneck.  The GT 630 is defiantly saving the best for last, however it doesn't take much to stand out in this crowd. This card is a rebadged GT 440, and contains 96 CUDA cores, though with a slightly more respectable 128 bit memory bus. We wish Nvidia would quit it with the rebadging as it only leads to confusion, but at least it will help them fill out the low end options faster than trying to scale down Kepler. (Image Credit = AnandTech)

Nvidia Acknowledges Kepler V-Sync Stuttering Issues and Promises a Prompt Driver Fix Posted: 20 May 2012 02:06 PM PDT Nvidia's new Kepler-based graphics cards are still fairly new on the scene, but a fairly serious new bug has emerged that started out as a forum rant, and has evolved into an official acknowledgement from the green team. The problem in question seems to be limited to GTX 670, 680, & 690 customers who enable v-sync though the Nvidia control panel, and by most accounts, is pretty infuriating.  Multiple news outlets have requested a comment from NVidia on the issue, however a response to the forum thread has finally brought closure to the issue, which by the sound of it, will be resolved in next month's drive release.  We have received reports of an intermittent v-sync stuttering issue from some of our customers. We've root caused the issue to a driver bug and identified a fix for it. The fix requires extensive testing though, and will not be available until our next major driver release targeted for June (post-R300). For users experiencing this issue, the interim workaround is to disable v-sync via the Nvidia Control Panel or in-game graphics settings menu.

Microsoft Plans to Kill the Aero UI Prior To Final Windows 8 Release Posted: 20 May 2012 11:22 AM PDT Microsoft has made some huge changes to its desktop UI in Windows 8, however it looks like they aren't done yet. The Aero Glass UI first introduced in Windows Vista brought us translucent window borders, rounded corners, and an interface that was designed to blend into the background. These effects remained in the consumer preview, and will appear again in the release preview, however Microsoft today confirmed they would be axed from the final shipping version.  Microsoft makes its case for killing off Aero in a nauseatingly long 10,000 + word blog post, but to save you time here are the approximately 200 words which are actually worth reading.  "We want desktop windows to continue to feel light and airy, and we want a chrome style that doesn't distract from the content of the app … Aero was designed to help the app's content to be the center of attention, and for the Windows system UI to recede into the background. This is still relevant today, and while we are moving beyond Aero, we don't want to lose sight of these goals." "We made a conscious effort to relate the visual appearance of the Windows 8 desktop to the visual appearance of the familiar Windows 7 desktop. This helps people who want to predominantly use the desktop feel comfortable and immediately at home in the new environment." "We applied the principles of 'clean and crisp' when updating window and taskbar chrome. Gone are the glass and reflections. We squared off the edges of windows and the taskbar. We removed all the glows and gradients found on buttons within the chrome. We made the appearance of windows crisper by removing unnecessary shadows and transparency. The default window chrome is white, creating an airy and premium look. The taskbar continues to blend into the desktop wallpaper, but appears less complicated overall. To complete the story, we updated the appearance of most common controls, such as buttons, check boxes, sliders, and the Ribbon. We squared off the rounded edges, cleaned away gradients, and flattened the control backgrounds to align with our chrome changes. We also tweaked the colors to make them feel more modern and neutral." Killing off Aero effects should help to improve battery life on laptops and tablets, though it looks like desktop users who prefer this look will be out of luck as well. White windows and square corners might not sound like a big deal, but to some it might be yet another unwelcome change. What do you think of the change?

Firefox 13 Will Have Reset Button Posted: 20 May 2012 03:24 AM PDT The latest Firefox beta contains a feature that has been on the Mozilla support team's to-do list for, well, "forever." The "Reset Firefox" option is intended to help users avoid troubleshooting headaches and will be particularly handy when nothing else seems to work. What's more, you can reset the browser without sacrificing your personal data with this one-click option. Hit the jump to find out how. According to Mozilla's Michael Verdi, the realization that not everybody possesses the time and expertise necessary "to identify the exact cause of the problem and just fix that" is what  prompted the non-profit to develop this feature. "So the support team worked with product and engineering to create the Reset Firefox feature," he wrote in a recent blog post. "The first implementation of this is a button on the Troubleshooting Information page (about:support). What is [sic] does is create a new profile and migrate your bookmarks, passwords, cookies and form data. Everything else gets set to the defaults." However, please note that at the moment this feature only works with the default profile, and saves nothing else except the bookmarks, passwords, cookies and form data associated with that profile. If you're using a Nightly or an Aurora build of Firefox, the reset feature may not work for you. Firefox 13 will graduate to the stable channel on June 5, 2012, as per Mozilla's (rapid) release schedule.

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Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates

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Power Rangers Online (KR) Posted: 20 May 2012 04:02 AM PDT As an avid fan of the Toku series in Japan including Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Garo, Gridman etc, I was just as surprised as anyone else when Power Rangers Online was announced 2 weeks ago (link). Already onfirmed to be a side-scroller MMO, the first few monster images released today are actually 3D character models, staying true to the original ones found in the live action series. Can we safely declare the title to be a 3D action scroller? Under development with Toei being kept in loop since 2009, more information will be released soon.

Dungeon Keeper Online (CN) Posted: 19 May 2012 04:01 PM PDT Back in May 2010 (link), I first posted about one of the biggest online game developer and publisher in China, NetDragon, working on Dungeon Keeper Online. The game is a joint production between NetDragon and Electronic Arts (EA), and there was quite a skeptical bunch of gamers since the developer is from China. Most didn’t know that the producer is actually a Westerner from EA! Having the chance to play the latest Elite Closed Beta phase, let us take a brief look at how true the game stayed to its predecessor! For the races (below), there are currently 2 available: Humans and Demons. These 2 are further divided into male and female. The races missing from the roster includes the Loli (yes, that is the name of the race, not Dwarf , female only) and Demi-Demon (male only). Next, there are the character classes. All races so far share the same 6 classes (all classes end with a “Lord” at the end): Dual Blade, Restoration, Giant Shield, Destruction, Giant Sword and Element. I am sure you guys can figure out what each class does. Character creation is quite limited in terms of editing features, but the choosing of horns and tails for the male Demon is certainly interesting. Cash shop horns and tails is a good idea! As there is no full screen option to accommodate my monitor, I had to go for a windowed game mode. And surprisingly, the chat box is not within the game itself, but rather an additional panel to the left side of the game. Is this really such a good idea? Hmn… Anyway, I am playing as a Demon Destruction Lord in this first try of the game. Read the text before watching the videos! Ok, the starting part of the game is actually the tutorial prologue, which is not really told to players adequately in advance. Here, the basic controls are being taught. I know, this looks like World of Warcraft, but as I mentioned in my previous posts about the game, there is both an open world element and dungeon keeping one in the game. Back to standard combat, you will notice that some mobs can be “tortured” and beaten the crap out of even if their health reaches zero, causing more loots and experience points to gain. Pretty neat eh? An example of a fun quest in the tutorial is when I was asked to find 3 female NPCs and forcefully kiss them. I love being bad! So, characters learn skills as normal when the appropriate level is reached although there are no stats to be added (Str, Con, Dex etc). Skills can also be upgraded to higher levels when the level requirement is met. For recovery, there are instant pots which takes 1min to cooldown and also food as well, where players have to be uninterrupted while being healed. Pretty a pain in the arse when meeting with aggro mobs. Before going on to the part about dungeon, one more thing about combat. So, there are a total of 17 world bosses ranging from level 12 to 84 (you can see the level 12 one in the videos) and also instanced dungeons as well, which I never did enter during this brief game test. However, there are random times a portal will just appear and hint players to enter with a party. Well, I entered one alone and died tragically, which can be seen in one of the game videos. Sigh… Ok, about dungeon now. See the big button at the lower part of the screen, right in the middle? That is where players can click to enter their dungeon. Materials needed to expand your dungeon are gathered from the open world map, where material drops can be clicked and prompting your minions to load them up and send to your dungeon inventory. Players must then deposit them from the inventory to the total material count. Talking about minions, you can attract more minions by building more living quarters. Players may also right click on any minions to “whack” those who have the “zzzz” sign and not making themselves useful To build and upgrade structures, gold is needed too. Players can deposit gold gained from the open world into the dungeon. It is like a totally different game! Do note that both the open world and dungeon are developed using different game engines, a rarity in the industry now perhaps? Just when you thought the dungeon is just like a demonized The Sims, think again. Other players may attack your dungeon and loot everything away! Other features not yet experienced or added into the game includes the PvP Arena, Player Vs Player (from the 2 different factions), Guild PvP battles, Castle Siege (with NPCs aiding),3 classes within one character and more! Gosh, are they going to add every element into this game?! So, here is my verdict through this small preview. The game is an absolute hit for me! I am seen as a strict gamer who trashes almost every online titles nowadays, but Dungeon Keeper Online is just awesome! Note how much content there has been already right off the game’s start. I am in love with it, and seeing that Dungeon Keeper Online is listed on NetDragon’s English portal as an upcoming title (link), I can’t wait!

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MMO Updates

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• Rise and Shiny: BatMUD
• Previously on MV TV: The week of May 12th
• The Daily Grind: How important is surprise to you?
• Order and Chaos Online developer discusses server-linking and more
• The Mog Log: A decade of Final Fantasy XI
• The Tattered Notebook: Peeling back the layers of time
• The Road to Mordor: Five ways LotRO should be streamlined
• Guy steals friend's goods in APB, GM offers vigilante justice in return

Rise and Shiny: BatMUD Posted: 20 May 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Video, Bugs, Culture, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-play, Casual, Roleplaying, First Impressions, Rise and Shiny, Miscellaneous Here I am making myself crazy once again. Why? Why do I insist on visiting games that I know will provoke issues both physical and mental? I guess it's because lately I have been fascinated with MUDs, or multi-user-dungeons. They are better described as text-based MMOs or choose-your-own-adventure books written with thousands of other players. It's a fascinating concept, especially when you consider how dissimilar it is to today's modern, easy-to-play offerings. The ancient design of the MUD now feels fresh, so much so that I have decided to dedicate a future article about the possibility of MUDs' viability in today's three-dimensional world. I have found some good and some very bad over the last several weeks. I've also stumbled across brand-new versions of the migraines that often bother me when I concentrate way, way too hard on PC text. I have to admit that my issues do not seem that common, but it is important to look at a game from all angles, even from the angle of someone who has specific issues. BatMUD has tested my patience over the last few weeks and several hours. It's also shown me some wonderful adventure and sparked my imagination. Continue reading Rise and Shiny: BatMUD Rise and Shiny: BatMUD originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 20 May 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Previously on MV TV: The week of May 12th Posted: 20 May 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Massively Meta, Humor, Massively Hands-on, Livestream, Miscellaneous, Previously on MV TV What a week of livestreaming! We've got quite the variety and tons of hours of video to watch. What's that? You had to work and missed half of the cool streams we showed? Don't worry! I gather all of the best streams from the week's collection and list them for you right here. Still, you need to bookmark our livestream page so you can see which videos are going to be shown during the week, but if you miss any, you can check out the recap here. That's why we do it. This week we had a lot to offer. First we had good old Mike jumping into EVE Online for some space action, then into TERA for some scantily clad combat! He then explores some of the great browser-based game Drakensang Online. MJ brought a ton of goodies to the streaming table, goodies like a run-through in EverQuest II, some base-jumping in City of Heroes, a bit of hardcore survival in Xsyon, and a flight around the beautiful lands of Aion. I rounded out the end by streaming some BatMUD, a cool MUD that has been around since many of you have been in diapers! Click past the cut and grab some popcorn. Keep the butter light but add some salt. Thanks. Continue reading Previously on MV TV: The week of May 12th Previously on MV TV: The week of May 12th originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 20 May 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: How important is surprise to you? Posted: 20 May 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous For some players, MMOs are all about discovery. The game is at its most fun when you're just exploring the world, figuring out what you need to do as best you can. But to other players, wandering around without a clue isn't as fun as knowing what to do and enjoying that actual accomplishment. Of course, surprises come in both big and small varieties. No matter how well you might know Star Wars: The Old Republic's quests, for example, you might avoid looking up all of the datacrons and thus get a pleasant surprise when you find one. Or maybe you don't like knowing about the bosses you'll fight in a dungeon until you get into the fight. We all like discovering things, but what we like to discover varies. So what about you? How important is having surprises in a game for you? Do you like to walk in with as little foreknowledge as possible, or do you like to have a pretty good map in your head before you start playing? 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: How important is surprise to you? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 20 May 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Order and Chaos Online developer discusses server-linking and more Posted: 19 May 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, News items, Mobile, Community Q&A In honor of the game's paper anniversary, Order & Chaos: Online producer Arnaud Bonnard took the time to do some Q&A with user-submitted questions about what is one of the biggest mobile MMOs available. Arnaud shared some of the toughest parts of development, which were the pressure of creating a world vast enough to entertain players for months (and now years) and ensuring that everything was as stable and functional as possible from a technical point. He followed up by reliving the joy of a successful launch and the success that the game met with over time. He talked a bit about updates and DLC, which come out every one or two months and are generally still drawn from the original design document for Order & Chaos: Online, given that the world design was much bigger than could possibly fit into the game originally. Bonnard also addressed the server separation between Android, iOS, and Mac devices: Not only would it be time-consuming to link all the operating systems, but such a system would mean that patches could only be deployed once every device was supported, which would be tricky and cause too many extra delays. As far as Order and Chaos' future is concerned, he's optimistic. There are new graphic features coming down the pipe as well as "lots of ideas for the game" as the company looks forward to another fantastic year thanks to fan support. Catch all the intricacies of Bonnard's answers for yourself over at Gameloft. Order and Chaos Online developer discusses server-linking and more originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 19 May 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Order and Chaos Developer Interview

The Mog Log: A decade of Final Fantasy XI Posted: 19 May 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Opinion, Consoles, The Mog Log, Anniversary Generally speaking, when I celebrate anniversaries, I celebrate the point when the game actually came out in a language that I could play it. This is relevant in the case of Final Fantasy XI, since the game took a year and a half to reach the shores of America (also known as "the place I live"). I learned my lesson about trying to learn a language just to muddle through a game back with Final Fantasy III. However, when one of our eagle-eyed readers pointed out to me the milestone that the game had hit, that made an impact because even if I couldn't understand any of the game's text back when it launched, a decade is a long time for continuous operation of anything. So rather than talking about the Legacy campaign as I'd planned, I think I'd rather talk about the legacy of Final Fantasy XI this week, including where the game has gone from its state at launch. You know, when a Black Mage could make the entire world bow and you still got attacked when riding a chocobo. Continue reading The Mog Log: A decade of Final Fantasy XI The Mog Log: A decade of Final Fantasy XI originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 19 May 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Tattered Notebook: Peeling back the layers of time Posted: 19 May 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Tattered Notebook I was watching Shrek with my kids the other day, and one of my favorite scenes is Shrek's stroll with Donkey when they first meet. Shrek tries to explain how Ogres are like onions and how both have layers. When you think about it, EverQuest II is also like an onion because it has layer after layer of content and features that have stacked up over the years. In fact, some players have argued that there's almost too much to do, particularly at the lower levels. I have always loved the fact that EverQuest II has been willing to try out new ideas over the years, and some of them have been remarkably successful. But there are a few that have gotten lost in the shuffle, while others have ended up directly conflicting with later additions of content. In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll peel back the onion and look at the lost and conflicting layers of EQII. Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: Peeling back the layers of time The Tattered Notebook: Peeling back the layers of time originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 19 May 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Road to Mordor: Five ways LotRO should be streamlined Posted: 19 May 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Road to Mordor You would think that growth and expansion is nothing but a good thing for MMOs -- after all, those are the hallmarks of the genre. But as these games get bigger, issues emerge as the developers add new zones, features, and systems. In short, maturing MMOs gravitate toward complexity, and this can have an adverse effect on the game as a whole. The problem is that there is eventually too much a brand-new player has to absorb and master, not to mention the hassle of rolling alts and having to navigate all of that content once more. If developers don't stay on top of the situation, then the game starts to lose overall cohesion and becomes a befuddling mess. With three expansions and numerous updates under its belt, Lord of the Rings Online is venturing deep into this territory. I have friends who are leveling up for the first time and finding themselves overwhelmed with everything that needs doing as well as all the systems that are not clearly explained. So today I want to play backseat developer and talk about five ways that LotRO should be streamlined for the good of all players, old and new. Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Five ways LotRO should be streamlined The Road to Mordor: Five ways LotRO should be streamlined originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 19 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Guy steals friend's goods in APB, GM offers vigilante justice in return Posted: 19 May 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Free-to-play, All Points Bulletin, Crime, MMOFPS, Humor Account theft and compromise are tragic facts of life in all MMOs, as player BlackJackieChan discovered the other day when he logged into APB: Reloaded and realized that he was wiped out. After posting a tirade on the forums, BlackJackieChan got the attention of a GM, who subsequently investigated the crime. His findings were stunning: BlackJackieChan's in-game friend beef43302 was the culprit. Beef43302 had crept into his friend's account, swiped a number of goods, and then deleted the temporary characters used for the theft. Beef43302 then tried to cover up his wrongdoing by consoling BlackJackieChan with a new car and encouraging him to stick with the game. Even though BlackJackieChan was accused of not protecting his account (apparently he had shown his password to his friend), GamersFirst restored the stolen items and then offered BlackJackieChan the chance to decide his friend's punishment. "Seeing as this is a relatively unique case," the GM wrote, "we shall let you decide the fate of beef43302." BlackJackieChan has yet to respond on the thread, but the GM did tell the offender that the company suspended his account "unless BlackJackieChan says otherwise." Guy steals friend's goods in APB, GM offers vigilante justice in return originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 19 May 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: APB forums, VentureBeat

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MMORPG News

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Torchlight 2: The Disgruntled Pony: DarkPony Tackles Torchlight 2! Posted: 19 May 2012 03:11 PM PDT DarkPony has spent some time in the Torchlight 2 beta and has more than a couple of thoughts on his experiences in his latest entry to the The Disgruntled Pony blog.

General: System Mechanic – A Must Have App for PC Geeks Posted: 19 May 2012 06:28 AM PDT Every PC owner knows the importance of keeping their system up to snuff to avoid any number of bad juju that can occur without regular maintenance. In our latest review, we take a look at System Mechanic. See if it can keep the demons of destruction away from your PC.

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MMOGaming News

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• C9 Tournament Matches Livestream
• Dota 2 Hero One Minute Guide - Death Prophet
• Dota 2: Rooftrellen the Treant Protector

C9 Tournament Matches Livestream Posted: Hey, C9 fans, what's going on with your C9 Championship Tournament trip? Have you ever recorded any match while you were in game? Well, look forward to your sharing! Here are tournament matches livestreamed by Eugenides and Vegito (please ignore the ad at the beginning), enjoy! Continue reading C9 Tournament Matches Livestream.

Dota 2 Hero One Minute Guide - Death Prophet Posted: Practically, Death Prophet will be solo in mid-lane. However, with low stats initially, DP couldn't do well in farming as a solo player. So Carrion Swarm would be a nice skill for farming and attacking the opponents at the same time. Continue reading Dota 2 Hero One Minute Guide - Death Prophet.

Dota 2: Rooftrellen the Treant Protector Posted: Treant Protector from Dota 2. A short introduction to the hero performed by SUNSfan. Continue reading Dota 2: Rooftrellen the Treant Protector.

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