General Gaming Article

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• AVADirect Begins Shipping Llano-equipped Desktops
• Forum Feature: The Star Trek PC is Done!
• Dream Machine 2015: 7 Maximum PC Editors Predictions
• Google Apps Users Promised Google+ Access Someday
• Battlefield 3 System Requirements Revealed
• Sony's PSN Pass Cripples Content In Used Games
• Nevermind Obama - Vote Anonymous in 2012
• Cool Site of the Week: NoPhoneTrees
• Net Neutrality One Step Closer To Becoming Law
• Private Investors Overvalue Twitter at $8 Billion

AVADirect Begins Shipping Llano-equipped Desktops Posted: 08 Jul 2011 08:15 PM PDT The first accelerated processing units (APUs) for desktops from AMD became available in late June. The first installment of desktop APUs comprises two quad-core chips, the A6-3650 and A8-3850, both of which have garnered mixed reviews. PC manufacturers, too, haven't quite warmed up to the new chips so far. Nonetheless, boutique system builder AVADirect has announced a couple of Llano-equipped PCs. Both the AVADirect DTS-FM1-PD33XTP and DTS-FM1-2CFD33XTP can be customized around either the A6-3650 or the more powerful A8-3850. They have a starting price of $450.15 and $601.66, respectively. The base configurations of both models are almost identical. Both of them feature the A6-3650, 2GB of RAM, and 1TB HDD storage. The latter, however, ships with a Radeon HD 5750 graphics card with 1GB GDDR5 memory.

Forum Feature: The Star Trek PC is Done! Posted: 08 Jul 2011 05:08 PM PDT It's real, and it's spectacular. This week's Forum Feature gives pride of place to Bill Owen's amazing Star Trek PC, which is finally finished, packed up, shipped out, and now living in our offices for a few weeks while we cram it full of beautiful top-notch hardware. Then we're gonna bring it to Comic-Con and GIVE IT AWAY. Because we love you. David Gerrold—Maximum PC columnist, science fiction legend, Tribble inventor, commissioner of the case and recipient of its twin—will be at our booth at Comic-Con this year to sign autographs next to his aluminum child. Check out the shots of the completed case in the build log on our official forums, and at MNPCTech's website. We'll have more details as Comic-Con approaches, plus a full writeup on the build in a later issue of the mag! In other forum news: Trkkr wants to know which laptop brands are worth looking at when shopping for a customizeable gaming laptop. Cakeflan (mm!) is building a small formfactor gaming rig and wants input. DJSPIN80 gives a quick primer on threads and how they related to CPU cores. Share your wacky SSIDs in the Network Nook. davidm71 wants to know which is the better tablet: the Samsung 10.1 Tab or Asus Transformer? Have a great weekend!

Dream Machine 2015: 7 Maximum PC Editors Predictions Posted: 08 Jul 2011 05:08 PM PDT Want more Dream Machine 2011 coverage? Check out our gallery of 30 Unbelieveable Custom Cases You know what's always fun? Dream Machine predictions. Not because they ever turn out to be very informative, but because it's always fun to look back and see just how wrong we were about the future. Why's it fun to be wrong? Because even though sometimes we get a little too optimistic, more often than not our predictions are wrong because the future turns out even more awesome than we expected. We asked everyone around the office to make their predictions for Dream Machine 2015, so that in 4 years we'll have something to have a good laugh about. Check out what we thought, then hit the comments and leave your own predictions for the future. NATHAN EDWARDS, SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR: The 2015 Dream Machine? First, it'll still be a desktop computer, but it'll probably be smaller. As laptops and tablets gain prominence in the lives of average users, desktops will become more and more the domain of the power user, but that doesn't mean they'll stay as huge as they are. I predict the 2015 Dream Machine will have a micro-ATX or Mini-ITX motherboard, a 24-core processor, and maybe 48GB of RAM. Sure, that's a lot, but it's only 3x the RAM of this year's DM, and twice the RAM of last year's. The Dream Machine will still have dedicated GPUs, but that doesn't mean most machines will—GPUs integrated with the processors will be the de facto standard of 2015, and only enthusiasts will bother to have dedicated GPUs—which means the Dream Machine will have 'em. And the GPUs it does have might not be PCIe at all—optical Light Peak could have superceded it by then. The DM will also have at least 1TB of solid-state storage, though I'm sure it'll still have mechanical drives for mass storage. Most computers of 2015 will be glorified docks for smartphones and tablets (take the Atrix concept to its logical conclusion), but the Dream Machine, though it'll surely have a phone dock, won't rely on the portable processor for most of its juice. Beyond that? 30-inch panel (what? It's a sweet spot!), mechanical keyboard, laser mouse (we're classicists), a really great headset, and we'll be in business. ALEX CASTLE, ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR: I think that picking 2015 for a year to make predictions about was an interesting choice—it's close enough at hand that we can make some pretty educated guesses, but just far enough away that in our current climate of perpetually accelerating technological progress, all those guesses could be totally wrong. What I think we can say for sure is that (despite contrary predictions) the desktop PC will still exist in more or less its current form in 4 years. It'll still feature an x86 processor, but with 12 or more physical cores running at more than 5 GHz. You'll find at least 64GB of RAM (probably more) in the system, and one or more terabyte-class SSDs. If we're even still bothering with HDDs and that point, we'll only need one for massive capacity storage. I don't think Dream Machine 2015 will feature any optical drives. Finally, I think DM 2015 will still be running Windows 8. Microsoft will have to step up their game, though, or I think it's unlikely that DM 2020 will be running a Windows OS at all.     GORDON MAH UNG, SENIOR EDITOR: To really appreciate what Dream Machine 2015 will look like, you have to look backwards four years. In 2007, the "Ultimate PC" ran a 3GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6850 processor overclocked to 3.66GHz. Graphics were courtesy of two XFX 8800 Ultra (remember those?) XXX Editions on an EVGA 680i board, a 750 Watt PSU and yee haw – four 1TB Hitachi drives. In the RAM department we opted for a controversial 2GB of DDR2/10000 to aid overclocking instead of "maxing" it out at 4GB and well, because, Vista was a mess. So what possible configuration will make today's Dream Machine seem pathetically antiquated in comparison? I'm going to say that the rig will run one single x86 processor sporting 12 cores. It will be built on a 15nm process and clock in at the 4.5GHz range (overclocked). The CPU or APU or BPU by then will have eaten even more graphics capability but discrete graphics will continue to be king. Switchable graphics, however, will finally work so the 90 percent of the time your PC isn't pushing heavy duty 3D needs, it'll be running on the onboard chip's graphics. Hardware encoding acceleration in the processor will allow native 4K editing and encoding without breaking a sweat. Security features in the chip will also continue to help Embedded DRAM, or eDRAM, will be present in the chip as well but likely won't play a large role in an enthusiast configuration. The box will likely sport 64GB of DDR4/3333. As I said, discrete graphics will still be king for anyone who actually cares about gaming and DM2015 will sport no fewer than two GPUs in the PCIe 4.0 slots. I'd guess it'll have two 2TB SSDs in RAID 0 plugged in to the SATA 12GB/s slots, which, believe it or not, will still be a bottleneck for the SSD's of 2015. Hard drives will continue handle bulk store with say, a total of three 9TB drives for 27TB of storage. USB 4.0 running Thunderbolt will be integrated into the chipset as well. The PSU, interestingly, will continue to be topped out at 1,500 watts as there's simply no where to go from there. The panel will support native 4K or 4096x2160 pixels and 120Hz capability for 3D and touch capability. The OS will be the next, next-generation of Windows, but by then, Microsoft will have learned a lesson from Apple and simply increment by tenths for future iterations. Thus, Dream Machine 2015 will run Windows 8.5 codename: T-Rex.     MARKKUS ROVITO, ONLINE EDITOR, MAXIMUM TECH: Being completely unqualified never stopped anyone from assuming oppressive dictatorships, and it's in that spirit that I pull my predictions for the 2015 Dream Machine from my posterior. We'll begin with a motherboard accommodating 96GB of RAM, which we will max out, of course. The board includes four Thunderbolt slots, as well as plenty of USB 4.1 and SATA7 ports, as well. These are just for show, however, because as dutiful early adopters, you are already on board with the health-hazardous, but ever-so-convenient 802.11x standard and transfer anything and everything wirelessly. For storage, we've finally gone all solid-state. Three 3TB SSDs make a respectable 9TB data dump. We wanted to break double-digit terabytes, but what do you think this is, 2016? Dual octa-core processors clocked at 5.5GHz and four graphics cards clocked at 2GHz each ensure that you'll have a top-notch machine for at least a good three months before ridiculously bloated software and Windows X knocks it down a peg. This machine will certainly win a Kick-Posterior award. In fact, this machine will be so powerful, that President Ron Paul will declare it a threat to national security and put the offices of Maximum PC under constant surveillance. Okay, I admit there's no way Ron Paul will ever be president, but you can take the rest of these predictions to the bank.     KATHERINE STEVENSON, DEPUTY EDITOR: In 2015 there may very well be large numbers of people who don't own a desktop PC, or even a notebook, as smartphones are showing all signs of evolving into pocket-size powerhouses capable of meeting many computing needs on their own– in conjunction with the cloud, natch. But I certainly don't think the PC will be extinct. That's because content—be it games, video, or data—will itself continue to evolve, getting ever more intensive and requiring ever more computing muscle to manage and manipulate—more than what would be practical in a mainstream device. Just as now, there will be power users who want a machine that's up to any task. It's quite likely, however, that the Dream Machine of 2015 will be smaller than DMs past, while packing way more power. The processor will have a massive number of cores, of course, many of which will be GPUs. Indeed, by then, discrete graphics cards will probably be obsolete. Local storage—because who would entrust the cloud with all their data?!—will be handled by flash memory. And advances in cooling will further shrink the rig's size. This mighty mite will be paired with a large, high-res display, possibly curved, that's capable of displaying 3D content sans glasses and 4K video in all its glory.     AMBER BOUMAN, ONLINE FEATURES EDITOR: Dream Machine 2015 will almost certainly feature a glasses-free 3D display of some sort - and with the average display size creeping ever larger, the display in question will likely be 30+ inches. Maybe 35 or 37 inches, and there will be at least two monitors.I also think that there will be some type of mobile aspect to it - an associated tablet that docks to the PC, or a smartphone dock...perhaps some sort of flexible tablet? Perhaps a projected hologram or 3D image? Either way, the mobile aspect will be impossible to ignore or exclude. I'm also thinking... and this is pure speculation... improved/increased voice controls, better/more cloud adaptation freeing up memory and hard drive space, and heavy home integrations i.e. controlling your front door, home theatre or alarm system with your PC.     JON PHILLIPS, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: I wouldn't hazard to posit anything about the specific components we might find in Dream Machine 2015. But I do think that on the CPU side of things, the so-called "power wall" will continue to forced Intel and AMD to mitigate clock speed limitations with multi-core designs. How many cores exactly? I'll reserve speculation! Sure, new process technologies will eventually emerge that allow us to handle thermals and power issues at very fast frequencies, but don't expect any mass-market breakthroughs within the next four years. All that said, I'm willing to state with utmost certainty that the CPU in DM2015 will be running an X86 architecture. It won't be ARM so that we can all play the desktop version of Angry Birds 4. And we'll probably see some type of iteration of Thunderbolt. And while notebook, tablets and even smartphones will continue to chip away at desktop sales, we'll still see a thriving PC hardware enthusiast community in 2015, and we'll continue to be using desktops for games, video editing, and mundane office crap. Home entertainment box functionality will also be more important than ever before. None of this is a matter of idle speculation. It's on industry road maps.

Google Apps Users Promised Google+ Access Someday Posted: 08 Jul 2011 03:06 PM PDT It is nothing new for users of Google Apps. A cool new Google service comes out, but they can't access it. These dedicated users have been clamoring for access to Google+ (like half of the Internet seems to be), but Apps access to the social network is not happening. According to Google's president of enterprise, they're working on it, though. Google tends to roll out new features and service to paid Google Apps users slowly. Part of the deal, and what users expect, is that Apps will have a certain uptime and reliability guarantee. So Google often delays beta products for Apps. But in the case of Google+, they may be adopting an accelerated timetable for the rollout.  We know that Google is in the process of setting up business pages on Google+, and the Apps support would seem to go hand-in-hand with that. Are you an Apps user hankering for access? Is Google just stalling, or is the change imminent?

Battlefield 3 System Requirements Revealed Posted: 08 Jul 2011 02:09 PM PDT VG247 report that GameStop have listed system specifications for Battlefield 3. These aren't an official announcement from DICE so we can't confirm the required rig, yet, though we have contacted EA to verify the specs. Still worth a peek though, eh? MINIMUM Hard Drive Space: 15 GB for disc version or 10 GB for digital version OS: Windows Vista or Windows 7 Processor: Core 2 Duo @ 2.0GHzRAM2GB Video Card: DirectX 10 or 11 compatible Nvidia or AMD ATI card RECOMMENDED Hard Drive Space: 15 GB for disc version or 10 GB for digital version OS: Windows 7 64-bit Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD CPURAM 4GB Video Card: DirectX 11 Nvidia or AMD ATI card, GeForce GTX 460, Radeon Radeon HD 6850 Looks like it's nowhere near as intensive as ARMA 3, the equally beautiful PC-only war sim that's due out next summer. Battlefield 3 is due for release in October. Read our preview and watch the latest gameplay footage, for your next battlefield fix. And here's all our Battlefield coverage in one handy place. Do you need to upgrade for Battlefield's incredi-visuals? PCGamer.com is the global authority on PC games, with exclusive news, reviews, demos and updates.

Sony's PSN Pass Cripples Content In Used Games Posted: 08 Jul 2011 11:47 AM PDT Game makers love stores like GameStop because – duh! – the stores sell their games. There's one thing game makers don't like so much about Gamestop, though; the stores often sell the games used. Second-hand sales are great for cash-deficient everyman gamers who can't afford a $60 diversion, but buying a used game denies the original manufacturer a slice of the profit pie. Sony's new "PSN Pass" program is geared towards milking more moolah out of used and rental games, placing the company alongside EA and THQ at the forefront of the used-games war. Gamasutra reports that some first-party PlayStation 3 games from Sony will include a special one-time-use code that gamers will need to enter to receive "full online access" to the game. Presumably, players with used or rented games will need to pay to access those same features, neatly tying Sony back into the used-game moneypit. If it sounds familiar, that's because EA uses a similar model for its releases. Dragon Age 2, for example, included codes for the Black Emporium and Mabari Warhound inside the game's packaging, but gamers with used copies needed to pony up $10 to download the features (Protip: Save your money). Resistance 3 will be the first Sony title sporting a PSN Pass when it hits the shelves in September. You'd think Sony would want to attract consumers back to the PS3 with gamer-friendly incentives after the whole "PSN Outage" debacle, but nope -- they're all about the dollah bills, ya'll. Image credit: Engadget

Nevermind Obama - Vote Anonymous in 2012 Posted: 08 Jul 2011 10:51 AM PDT LulzSec may have been in it for the laughs, but Anonymous has always claimed that its hack attacks and DDoS bombs are designed to push forward a liberating social agenda. "Hooey," you might say, "What about that time Anonymous harassed that kid with the No Cussing Club?" and we'd have no option but to nod our heads thoughtfully. Someone in the group takes the social message to heart, though; Anon recently announced a splinter political group called the Anonymous Party Of America, made for people who empathize with Anon's civil liberties message, but disagree with hacking the Church of Scientology. Some elements in Anonymous disagree with the idea of Anon being a group, rather than a loose coalition. A tweet on Anonymous' @Anon_Central account says "Anonymous is not a f**king group or a party. If someone is telling you that they can lead this then you are getting butt f**ked and you don't even know it." Whoa! Slow your horses, Anon – the Anonymous Party of America isn't looking to steal your DDoS thunder. Testudo Smith, a spokesman for the political splinter group, told ComputerWorld that "This (party) is just another group that wants to support the goals of Anonymous. It isn't going to replace it... We have no control over Anonymous as a whole. There aren't any leaders, and it would be futile to attempt to control Anonymous." So what's the point, then? Smith, who apparently doesn't believe the "anonymous" part of "Anonymous," says that the political party's goals line up with what Anon's been asking for all along: transparency and accountability from the government and a focus on individual rights. If you're picking up what Smith and the Anonymous Party are putting down, you can check out their website at anonymouspartyofamerica.com, but you might want to give it a few hours; the server's not resolving at the time of publication. Google's cached different portions of the site, though, so you can check out their populist rants by going that route.

Cool Site of the Week: NoPhoneTrees Posted: 08 Jul 2011 10:49 AM PDT When you buy a product or invest in a service, it's reasonable to assume that you're going to get what you paid for. Sadly, this doesn't always happen. Computers break down. Credit cards get stolen and baggage gets lost. Often. At stressful times like these, the last thing any of us wants to do is navigate the byzantine phone system of a multi-billion dollar corporation to get the assistance that we, as their devoted customers, deserve. So of course, the first thing you'll have to do in order to get the assistance you deserve is navigate the byzantine phone system of a multi-billion dollar corporation in order to get the help you deserve. Unless of course you pay a visit to NoPhoneTrees, our Cool Site of the Week. Offering consumers cut-to-the-chase access to thousands of corporate help desk and customer service phone numbers with an actual human being on the other end of the line, NoPhoneTrees is about as mission-specific as a website can get. Have a bone to pick with your car rental company's head office? Sick of paying for cellular features that you didn't sign up for? NoPhoneTrees will have you venting your rage via the appropriate direct dial telephone number in no time. The site allows users to search for phone numbers by entering the company's name, scrolling through an alphabetical list or by industry. After just one use, we're sure you'll agree that the value of this site cannot be overstated. Be sure to check back every Friday for another edition of Maximum PC's Cool Site of the Week.

Net Neutrality One Step Closer To Becoming Law Posted: 08 Jul 2011 10:15 AM PDT Net neutrality's motto is simple: Hey ISPs, don't tell us what to do with the Internet. Comcast's P2P traffic-shaping fiasco kicked the movement into high gear a few years back. The net neutrality dream took one step closer to becoming reality yesterday, as the FCC officially registered its hotly debated rules with the Office of Management and Budget – a vital step towards getting the new law on the books. There's still a hard road ahead, however; pissed-off companies are expected to throw legal challenge after legal challenge at the proposed regulations. A five-person FCC panel approved the new net neutrality regs way back in December in a 3-2 vote. The three "Yays" came from Democrats, while the dissent came solely from Republicans – including a "Nay" vote from new Comcast-NBC VP and former FCC commissioner Meredith Baker. The other "No" came from Robert McDowell, who wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed claiming the FCC (his employer) overstepped its bounds and calling net neutrality "the beginning of a long winter's night for Internet freedom." Verizon's already challenged the upcoming regulations, Cnet reports, but the DC Court of Appeals slapped it out of the court, saying you can't sue to stop a law that isn't even technically a law yet. The proposed regulations can be commented on for the next 30 days (well, 29 now) and become legally enforceable 60 days after that. Internet providers and other companies are expected to fight the proposal every inch of the way, but the Obama administration backs the new bill.

Private Investors Overvalue Twitter at $8 Billion Posted: 08 Jul 2011 09:22 AM PDT For now at least, Twitter isn't in a mad rush to go public and watch its stock price soar in what some are calling the second coming of the dot-com bubble. But that doesn't mean the microblogging service is hard up for cash, either. On the contrary, Twitter is trying to finalize an additional $400 million in funding that, if successful, would value the company at around $8 billion, the New York Times reports. What is Twitter really worth? That's not an easy question to answer, so let's instead look at some of the other numbers. There are currently more than 200 million registered Twitter users, everyone from average Joes tweeting about their weekend plans, to celebrities and politicians posting updates on all matter of things. Even the Pope isn't immune from Twitter. Analysts believe Twitter pulls in about $200 million a year from online advertising, putting the company close to profitability, NYT reports. A valuation of $8 billion is about 40 times Twitter's sales, and according to Rory Mayer of Hudson Square Research, that's a bit much. "It's a small business," Maher said. "The ad volume isn't there. They're going to have to come up with products that drive more volume for them, and they need to increase the number of users." The most recent high-profile online company to file for an IPO is Zynga, which recorded nearly $600 million in revenue last year with a profit of $90.6 million. Zynga is expected to offer shares at a valuation of at least $20 billion, or 33 times its sales.

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MMO News

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• Grand Chase prepares to add the Seeker
• Ceiron Wars now available in English
• New Asta Screenshots
• Tibia adds world quests
• Prius Online removes IP restrictions, adds dungeons
• RuneScape reveals Clan Citadels expansion
• 9MM Online Gameplay – First Look HD
• MapleStory launches Age of Heroes
• Zentia gets facelift with 1.3
• Blood of the Nobles arrives in Ministry of War

Grand Chase prepares to add the Seeker Posted: 07 Jul 2011 06:15 PM PDT Zero’s new “Seeker” job class is now available for pre-order in Grand Chase, and will release officially on July 12. Zero’s Seeker job grants him additional attack damage, high defense, and increased HP recover through new command skills and the ability to dash and deflect attacks. To celebrate, Grand Chase is hosting two events. Until July 12, players will get a 10% experience boost in dungeons or in PvP thanks to Zero’s emblem. Players who log in daily until July 19 will also get Zero’s Desperately Sought Orbs; if players collect all three orbs, they can create a special accessory. Grand Chase is published by SG Interactive, which also publishes Trickster Online and Pangya. Grand Chase Gameplay Screenshot Source: SG Interactive today announced that the all-new "Seeker" job class for Zero is now available for presale SG Interactive today announced that the all-new "Seeker" job class for Zero, the popular Grand Chase: Chaos character, is now available for presale and will soon be added to the game. Alongside the special presale packages, players are also now able to access several special events celebrating the latest update to the pandemonium in Grand Chase: Chaos. From now until the addition of Zero's new job class on July 12, players are able to purchase sale-priced Seeker Reservation Vouchers. The vouchers can be redeemed for their corresponding packages during game maintenance on July 12, and gamers can choose between vouchers for the Seeker Deluxe Package, the Aspirant Package, or the Aspirant Accessories Package. Purchasers of the package will receive Zero's Seeker class, which grants him the ability to inflict additional attack damage and maintain high defense through new command skills and an increased HP recovery rate. The Seeker class also comes with the ability to dash and deflect enemy attacks. Zero's new moves won't be hitting Grand Chase without a party, however! Starting July 7, gamers may participate in the following events for a chance to receive bonus EXP and prizes: • Seeker is Coming! Through July 12, players grinding in dungeons or playing in PvP mode will receive a 10 percent EXP boost through Zero's emblem, which will be on display. • Desperately Seeking Zero! Starting now, players that log in every day through July 19 will receive Zero's Desperately Sought Orbs. There are three orbs to collect and gamers can create a specialized Desperately Seeking Zero accessory if they collect all the orbs. To view a teaser trailer of Zero's new update, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWj93RxyTK4 For more information on Grand Chase: Chaos, including full details on Zero's dark past and his special in-game events, please visit http://grandchase.ntreev.net/.

Ceiron Wars now available in English Posted: 07 Jul 2011 05:16 PM PDT Ceiron Wars, a Turkish MMORPG featuring strategy and turn based combat, is now available for English speaking players. The game uses Adobe Air, allowing it to be run on multiple platforms (including Mac and Linux), and includes army training, resource management, and city building like many browser-based MMORTS games. The game has over 700,000 players in Turkey. Ceiron Wars is published by Céidot. Ceiron Wars Gameplay Screenshot Source: Welcome To Our World – Céiron Wars: Sound Of Depths SUMMARY: Céiron Wars: Sound Of Depths is a brand new online role-playing and strategy game, created by Turkey’s leading development studio Céidot. BODY & ABOUT: Céiron Wars: Sound Of Depths is a brand new free-to-play online role-playing and strategy game, created by Turkey’s leading development studio, Céidot. Already a huge hit, with over 70,000 players in its native country, Céiron Wars: Sound Of Depths is now available, for the first time, in English. Céiron Wars: Sound Of Depths is free to play and combines strategy management with role-playing and turn-based combat within the huge, richly-populated and incredibly complex world of Céiron. The game offers a massive amount of depth, background story, history, context and character.  Warring factions, clashing kings, fragile alliances, brave companions and an extraordinary array of nations, federations, religions and regions, provide the backdrop for a challenging and tense gameplay experience. Players must create their own commander, choose a faction and are tasked with bringing order to their region.  Armies must be built, trained and paid for, while resources are collected, created, managed and balanced, to ensure your city, your army and your nation thrives and prospers. However, nothing is ever easy on Céiron and players must contend with challenges, surprise attacks and ambushes as they complete quests, undertake missions and increase the influence of their chosen lord. The game is built upon Adobe’s popular Air technology, ensuring it is compatible with all desktop, nettop, laptop and netbook machines, whether they run Windows, Mac OS or Linux.  Céiron Wars: Sound Of Depths is free to play from beginning to end.  However, players can purchase – or earn – additional Céi-lira, the in-game currency to increase construction speed and unit upgrades. Céiron Wars: Sound Of Depths was voted one of the most anticipated online games for 2010 by online gaming site bbgsite.com. Céiron Wars: Sound Of Depths has been created by Turkey’s leading development studio, Céidot.  Established in 2005, the company rapidly established itself within the emerging Turkish software market, having worked with partners such as Gamebryo, Ageia and Nvidia.  Céidot has worked on several hugely successful titles;  Sovereign Symphony Online reached over 400,000 players in its home market – a huge achievement in Turkey’s games market. Whilst Céidot’s following online title, fared even better;  Umaykut Online achieved over 2,000,000 players in little over two years.  Céidot has released numerous other titles, including several official FIBA World Basketball Championship titles for the Turkish market.

New Asta Screenshots Posted: 07 Jul 2011 04:48 PM PDT NHN revealed its plans to publish, an MMORPG developed by Polygon Games, earlier this year. Asta uses CryEngine 3, and features an Asian fantasy backstory with features including PvE questing, Realm versus Realm battles, raids, and crafting. The game will be showcased during GamesCom in August, and was previously called Project E: ST. NHN (which owns the ijji portal) also publishes Karos Online,  Alliance of Valiant Arms, and Genesis A.D. Asta Screenshots: Source: NHN Corporation to showcase new MMO ‘ASTA’ at Gamescom 2011 Exclusive presentation of the upcoming massively multiplayer online fantasy game on CryENGINE® 3 will be shown in Cologne SEOUL, KOREA – July 7, 2011 – NHN Corporation is pleased to announce that its upcoming MMO title ASTA, which impressed attendees at GDC San Francisco in March with its unique Asian fantasy style and eye-popping graphics on CryENGINE® 3, will be one of several new NHN games featured at this year's Gamescom in Cologne. Visitors to NHN's media booth in the business center Hall 4.1 Aisle C No. 015will be offered a first look at the captivating world of ASTA, as well as the opportunity to chat with the developers and learn more about character development, guild evolution, competitive play and many other features of this deeply immersive game. ASTA is a new "AAA" MMORPG developed by Korean studio Polygon Games, which takes place in a spectacular fantasy world rooted in Asian myth. Powered by CryENGINE® 3, the atmosphere of ASTA is exceptionally detailed, offering gamers around the world varied and compelling gameplay including RvR, PvE quests, raids, crafting and much more.

Tibia adds world quests Posted: 07 Jul 2011 03:50 PM PDT Tibia’s summer update has been released today, and adds a brand new feature – world quests. World quests are large missions which require the cooperation of a large number of players to complete missions. World quests can involve factions, specific choices that influence the missions’ outcome and the world itself. The update also adds a new quest line for beginners that guides them through the first and less dangerous areas of the Mainland. Tibia is published by Cipsoft. Tibia Gameplay Screenshot Source: Tibia – Summer Update changes the world Regensburg, 7 July 2011 — Tibia is one of the oldest MMORPGs worldwide and just released another world changing summer update today. From now on players are able to shape and change their game world in so called "world quests." World quests are highly complex missions, which can only be accomplished if dozens or even hundreds of Tibia players cooperate on these tasks. The outcome and success depends on the ability of players to work as a team and the choices they make, i.e. which side or faction they choose to support. All these factors will have an influence on the quest, the results and in many cases even the flora and fauna of the whole game world itself. "World quests add a lot more depth to the gaming experience." says Florian Jumah-Eckert, Product Manager at CipSoft and responsible for Tibia. "Tibia is a highly competitive game. Some players and guilds are at war with each other for years. World quests however now encourage them to cooperate once again for a greater goal – at least for a while." Players love to have some impact on the game and to make a difference in their world. With the introduction of world quests, players now do have some influence on the shape of the game world they are playing in. Their actions matter. In addition to world quests, which are mainly designed for higher levelled players Tibia also offers a new quest line for beginners. Right from the start, the new Tibian is now taken by the hand until he enters the more dangerous areas of the Mainland island. The comprehensive quest leads the player through various smaller tasks, introduces different monster types, teaches successful fighting strategies and shows him around the Tibian world in general. All updated features are available as well in the flash client of Tibia, which has just been released recently and is still in open beta.

Prius Online removes IP restrictions, adds dungeons Posted: 07 Jul 2011 03:31 PM PDT Prius Online’s open beta has begun, and as of this Tuesday, July 5, the game no longer has any IP restrictions, allowing anyone to play the game from around the world. The publisher also added five new dungeons this week. Toward the end of the month, gPotato will also add six more new dungeons, plus raise the level cap and add Guild Sieges and Guild Championships. gPotato also publishes Allods Online, Iris Online, and Flyff: Fly For Fun. New Prius Online Dungeon Screenshots: Source: Prius Online: The End of IP Restrictions, the Beginning of New Content! Player feedback from open beta helps Gala-Net improve Prius Online Sunnyvale, CA – July 7th, 2011 As Prius Online's open beta progresses, Gala-Net has been receiving solid and insightful feedback from its players. Now, the game team is thrilled to share the results of this valuable input with tremendous news: Prius Online will end its IP restrictions and push forward with new game content! Thousands of fans across the globe exclaimed their distress when Prius Online launched with IP blocks. After seeing exactly how upsetting this was to the player base, Gala-Net went to work with the developer to confront the issue.  Several negotiations later, the team successfully bargained for the release of IP restrictions worldwide! Beginning July 5th, Prius Online will now be opened to all regions not currently or in the process of publishing the game. Gala-Net then pushed forward, seeking to address players' issues over the lack of in-game content. Once again, the team went to the developer expressing the community's needs, and again fantastic agreements were reached. As of July 5th, open beta players will be able to access 5 new dungeons scattered throughout the world of Prius! Players won't have to wait long for more though, as towards the end of July Gala-Net will be releasing its first major update. This update will include 6 new dungeons, Guild Siege, Guild Championships, a level cap increase, and much more! With the IP Block and the content issues addressed, Gala-Net is avidly researching the next most important community issues. For more detail regarding both of these developments and other Prius Online News, check out the Official Prius Website at prius.gpotato.com Be sure to also check out Prius Online on Facebook and Twitter.

RuneScape reveals Clan Citadels expansion Posted: 07 Jul 2011 02:36 PM PDT The next expansion for RuneScape, called Clan Citadels, will launch on July 26. Today, the first details of the expansion have been revealed. The expansion will add clan battlefields, a place where clans can create and develop their own battlegrounds with a Battleground Editor, and then invite others to compete. Clan Leaders will also be able to choose a floating citadel from four designs (with customizations available), which will include portals, meeting rooms, senates, and party rooms. RuneScape is published by Jagex, which also publishes War of Legends and 8Realms. RuneScape Citadel Screenshot Source: RUNESCAPE TO LAUNCH HISTORIC CLAN CITADELS EXPANSION DESIGN A FLOATING CITADEL – CREATE YOUR BATTLEFIELD – WAGE WAR AGAISNT YOUR ENEMIES Thursday 7th July 2011, Cambridge, UK – Jagex Games Studio today unveils the first details of the Clan Citadels expansion which launches in RuneScape on July 26. The expansion will fill RuneScape's horizon with floating castles to offer in-game clans new, unique and fully customizable gameplay experiences. The centrepiece of the expansion is the clan battlefields, a unique sandbox environment allowing clans to generate their own user-generated gameplay for the first time within RuneScape. Clans will have access to a full-blown Battleground Editor equipping them with all the tools needed to create and develop their own multiplayer games. Clans can create any gameplay they wish; ranging from simple capture the flag style games to full clan versus clan battles. Once created, clan members can save their games and even invite others to compete in their creation. The Clan Citadels expansion breaks the mould for group gaming in MMO's and will be open to all RuneScape members. Once signed up, clan leaders can select one of four Citadel layouts and propel their citadel into glorious sunshine or perpetual night. In addition to the clan battlefield, each citadel comes complete with portal grounds, meeting rooms, senates and party rooms. Players will have free reign to customise their castles and add banners and flags flying the colours of their clan. The Clan Citadels is in place to support the vast number of clans now created within RuneScape and offers new and innovative functionality to those who enjoying playing in this group way. Clan Citadels will be able to offer MMO gamers a more fulfilling multiplayer experience than they may currently enjoy. With Clan Citadel's unique mechanics, features and user-generated battle arenas, RuneScape will welcome all new players who seek more compelling clan gaming to come and see it for themselves. Daniel Clough, VP of RuneScape, commented, "For over a decade RuneScape has pioneered MMO development and the launch of Clan Citadels will once again prove RuneScape's commitment to creating truly unique and innovative content. Since our last clan update in April we have seen more than 1 million RuneScape players sign up to one of the 150,000+ in-game clans, so we felt it an important move to give them all something of this scale to support their clans and we know that they will be hugely looking forward to it. This update has been designed to make RuneScape's clan support the envy of MMO world. We know that the functionality and gameplay on offer will appeal to clans from other MMO's who long for better group play experiences and we warmly invite new clans to check out the update and judge for themselves just what RuneScape has to offer." Clan citadels will be released to RuneScape on 26 July 2011. To create your free account and prepare for the launch, visit www.RuneScape.com today.

9MM Online Gameplay – First Look HD Posted: 07 Jul 2011 11:12 AM PDT To Learn More about the game check out our Aida Arenas Page. 9MM Online is a 3D tactical MMOFPS published by Funizen. The game originally launched through the now defunct MMO publisher Uforia as Mercenary Wars, but after shutting down over there, the game relaunched in June, 2011 as 9MM Online. It’s the exact same game that Mercenary Wars. 9MM Online looks and plays like Combat Arms, CrossFire, and other tactical shooters. Unfortunately the game has only a handful of weapons in the game store and very few maps, which means the game can get repetitive quickly . To learn more about 9MM Online, check out the official MMOHut 9MM Online page which includes a detailed review, tons of screenshots, and additional videos.

MapleStory launches Age of Heroes Posted: 06 Jul 2011 09:23 PM PDT The first part of MapleStory’s summer of Chaos updates began today with  the new patch, Age of Heroes. Age of Heroes adds the Henesys, a new area filled with mutated monsters players encountered at lower levels; the Knight Stronghold, featuring Cygnus Knight enemies; all part of a new storyline featuring Empress Cygnus. Dual Blade, Aran, and Evan classes no longer have restrictions on their creation, and have also been redesigned and balanced. Cygnus and Resistance classes also get a rebalance. MapleStory is published by Nexon, which also publishes Mabinogi, Combat Arms, and Vindictus. MapleStory Age of Heroes Screenshots: 12► Source: We Can Be Heroes MapleStory's Chaos update begins: Age of Heroes update now live A wave of pandemonium has hit Maple World as the Age of Heroes storms MapleStory. The Age of Heroes is the first in the Chaos series of summer content updates for the 2-D side-scrolling MMORPG from Nexon. Players will now be able to party up and explore the Gate to the Future and its surrounding ruins, which contain mutated versions of low level monsters that may be familiar to veteran fans. These mutants however are much more powerful than their counterparts and will prove to be quite the challenge. Additionally, players can explore the Knight Stronghold, which is filled with enemies with the same skills and abilities as the Cygnus Knight character class. Players can now battle their way through the Henesys Ruins and the Knight Stronghold to investigate the corruption of Empress Cygnus and her knights, which will ultimately prove to be the most formidable challenge in the entire game. Players will also experience a complete hero class rebalancing coming to MapleStory as a part of the Age of Heroes. Restrictions for creating Dual Blade, Aran and Evan classes will be lifted, and these classes will have various new skills added and return as completely revamped characters. Even further, the Cygnus and Resistance classes will return with a more balanced skill set But Maple World must beware: in the wake of new alliances forged, players should be on the lookout for new class relationships as old friends can just as quickly become bitter enemies. The Age of Artisans is the next major update taking shape for Maple World, which brings an entirely new weapon and item crafting system to MapleStory. Starting July 11, players will be able to use the Smithing technique to create armor and weapons, Alchemy to craft potions and pills, or Accessory Crafting to make belts, rings and more.  In addition, a personality trait system will be added through the Age of Artisans, which gives players a chance to define their characters even further by strengthening traits like Ambition, Willpower and Diligence. Each personality characteristic provides a distinct aid throughout quests or battles. More details about the summer update series will be announced as players continue to battle their way through Chaos. MapleStory is available to download and play for free at http://maplestory.nexon.net. To "like" MapleStory on Facebook, visit http://facebook.com/maplestory.

Zentia gets facelift with 1.3 Posted: 06 Jul 2011 02:31 PM PDT Zentia’s next major patch, 1.3, is now live, and features major changes to the game. The update includes a brand new character creation and selection interface, along with a new tutorial area on the Immortal plane and skill guides for characters under level 40. A new high level quest is also available, along with two new instances designed for players above level 60 and a new map, Serene Estuary, for players above level 70. Several events have been improved to be easier, grant more experience, or offer new rewards, while many instances have been made easier through reduced difficulty, new quests, teleport sites, new equipment, and titles. Plenty of other fixes and tweaks are also going live to a number of game systems. Zentia is published by ChangYou, which also publishes Dragon Oath and Blade Wars. Zentia Gameplay Screenshot Source: Fellow Zentians! Today is a day to be long remembered. We are proud to officially announce Zentia 1.3! This is an enormous update to the game with new content, changes to existing content, bug fixes, and more. The update will be available after tonight’s maintenance. Highlights include a completely redesigned character creation/selection section a brand new tutorial area that takes place on the breathtaking Immortal plane and a new high level quest involving an epic battle with the demon lord himself, Demonor! Check out Massively’s exclusive coverage of the update, including a new 1.3 trailer! For the rest of the changes, we'll let the list speak for itself: Events Happy Planting • Players only have five times to exchange Golden Fruit now • Player now will get a notice when his/her package is full • Players now can get rewards that can be used to increase Master Affection War of Camps & Survival • Players now can exchange their scores for honor • Island Treasure Hunting Treasure Box King now will randomly appear in the island, so every player will have chance to find it • NPC Healers added to both camps Grandpa Quiz • Players now can get more XP when they answer correctly • Pets will also get XP when players answer correctly • Each Quiz now has 20 questions and is available once per day • Increased the time limit Brain Teasers • Players now can get more XP when they answer correctly • Increased the time limit Protect Granary • Players above Lv. 40 now don’t need to join a team to enter this event Scrap Heap • Players now can get more rewards than before Treasure Island Hunting • Multiple items added into the environment which can be picked up by players for Gathering Quest • Players don’t need to dismount to open treasure boxes. Treasure Box King is an exception. General • Added guides for players below Lv. 40 to help them learn skills Instances Devil Tower • Decreased the difficulty of Fairy Devil Tower (only for floors 1-6) • Increased equipments’ drop rates in Fairy Devil Tower • Decreased the damage output of monsters in Fairy Devil Tower floors 8, 9, and 10 Fairy Devil Tower • Players now can use Mt. Fairy Mark to exchange for Devil Tower Boss Paintings Imperial Tomb Basement • The boss will not be immune to Daze and Hold • Players above Lv. 48 can now enter Upper Imperial Tomb Insect Valley • Decreased the number of insects which guard the house Fish Basin • Decreased the difficulty of Rifleman • Players now have to kill all the hostiles in the mountain, so the priest will come out • Added three new quests Water Palace • Added Teleport Site • Players can exchange for Water Palace Suit: Kill hostiles in the instance to get Dragon Flag/Turtle’s Letter and give them to NPCs to get Water Palace Suit Pry into Serene City • Added Teleport Site Thunder Test • Decreased drop rates of Dark Golden Essence Serenity Air War • The boss will not be immune to Daze and Hold World Lore (Instance Related) • Added new paintings and titles New Instances • Added two new instances for Lv. 60 Players and above that can be done once per day; the boss will drop unique Lv.60 suits and materials for making Lv. 80 suits; also, there are three new repeat quests for players; complete all three quests to gain 600,000 XP. • Launched a new map: Serene Estuary – players dive into the river to defeat rebels; available for players above Lv.70; players need to choose one faction (Turtle or Dragon) and then attack players from the other faction Interaction Guild • A Dancing Master is now in Guild Square • Gold Tree will drop better awards • Adjusted the Upper Fairyland instance: after defeating 4 waves of monsters, Monster Kings will come to attack players; the number of Monster Kings, one to three, is based on the number of players • Every guild member can now group with other members to enter Upper Fairyland. Don’t need a guild officer to enter • Guild Loop Quest and other quests will reset at 12am PST • Decreased the difficulty of [Gu] You are Famous Cross Server Events • Downgraded the requirement for players to exchange for special items Marriage System • Bride and Bridegroom can now use an item to parade around Capital City • Added two wedding zones • Added one instance for couples: couples need to go to the Capital City to enter the instance, Romantic Swing, one time per day; each of the two can get item rewards, and those items can be used to: o Provide XP Bonus (EXTRA 50% FOR 1 HR) for the spouse's pet o Exchange for Money for the spouse o Increase affection (20 pts) for both • Skills you get from your marriage (Skills which are only available for in-game married players) cannot be used in Duel Fairy Guild • Both masters and apprentices can get rewards by zmail when the apprentices level up, regardless of whether the apprentice already graduated or not; however, if the master doesn’t log in to the game for 7 consecutive days, he sacrifices his rewards • Added a blacksmith in the scene to repair equipment Team and Group • Number of players in a team/group will now appear above the leader’s portrait icon; a noticeable mark will appear when a team/group is recruiting Items • Fixed Icons and other issues • Increased the attributes of several suits: Evil Spirit Robe, Evil Spirit Hat, Evil Spread Robe, Evil Spread Hat, Dark Water Hat, Dark Water Felt Boots, Dark Water Belt, Teal Wood Boots, Teal Wood Belt, Teal Wood Hat, Duckweed Pants, Duckweed Boots, Wind Fire Pants, Wind Fire Boots, Six Solar Pants, Six Solar Shoes, Six Lunar Pants, Six Lunar Shoes Pet • Players can now use the Pangolin to exchange for a new mount • Beastiary now has 10 spaces instead of five • Players can now pick up dropped items while riding their mounts • Decreased the price of increasing the max number of available mounts Quests • Players now can continue the story (Main Quest) after passing the two Storm Test and Thunder Test. • Added more item rewards for Repeat Quest • Fixed several Autopaths and other minor issues • Decreased difficulty for several quests – players now don’t need to kill as many monsters as was previously required • A Taoist has been added to VIP Wonderland – VIP players can use gold to buy certain tools Skills • Refined some visual effects • Most wild monsters now cannot control players • Modified Descriptions Talisman • Added Rank 3 talismans for Lv. 80 players Token Shop • New costumes, mounts, and other items to be forthcoming UI • Completely new character creation and selection • Adjusted Login UI • Added Combat Data Statistics System – player can right click his/her portrait to check the system • Refined Art Style • Refined Fonts • Modified and fixed minor issues World • Adjusted the visual effects of Mulberry Village • Modified VIP Wonderland zone: Relocated Anvil and Spinning Wheel to make them easier to be found and added NPCs related to life skills • Corrected some Autopaths (East Island, Celestial City) • Instance Recipient in Serene East Square can now teleport players to Upper Imperial Tomb for 10 Silver Leisure Games • Players now will get more XP but no money rewards World Lore & Titles Titles • New Guide added for players to learn the title system • Players now can view the number of titles they have • Information on how to get a title is now provided World Lore • XP Bonus given by paintings is now based on the player’s level

Blood of the Nobles arrives in Ministry of War Posted: 06 Jul 2011 02:05 PM PDT Ministry of War has released a new expansion today: Blood of the Nobles. The expansion adds a new nobility system; in this, players can become Nobles and make use of the Noble’s Work Force. The Work Force provides automatic construction and research. Nobles are ranked into several ranks, each of which can unlock more of the Work Force for their use to ease empire management. A new friends system that rewards teamwork, new Armistices, and a Birthright of Nobility, have also been added. Today also marks the launch of a new server, Triumph. Ministry of War is published by Snail Games, which also publishes Heroes of Gaia. Ministry of War Gameplay Screenshot Source: Snail Games USA today released an expansion to its free-to-play MMORTS Ministry of War, Blood of the Nobles. The latest expansion to its popular browser-based game introduces new features including a revamped friends system and over a hundred new exclusive items. New features include: * A Nobility system, where players can become Nobles and unlock a huge collection of exclusive benefits. * Noble's Work Force, which provides automatic systems like construction and research, freeing Nobles to focus exclusively on expanding their Empire and defeating enemies. * A revamped friends system, which gives users a brand new interface that rewards cooperation and teamwork with in-game prizes. New items with exclusive features include, but are not limited to: Nobility * Silver Nobles can activate one function of the Noble's Work Force * Gold Nobles can activate three functions of the Noble's Work Force * Platinum Nobles can activate all seven functions of the Noble's Work Force Military * Birthright of Nobility: contains a random quantity of Troops (Troop Tier is also randomly selected) * 1-day Armistice, 3-day Armistice, and 7-day Armistice: provides protection from battles for varying lengths of time Snail Games also announced the launch of a new server, Triumph, allowing ample room for more players to join. Connect with Ministry of War: * Facebook: www.facebook.com/MinistryOfWarGame?ref=ts * Twitter: www.twitter.com/MinistryofWar * YouTube: www.youtube.com/MinistryofWar * Official Website: www.ministryofwar.com

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