Filed under: Expansions

Exclusive screenshots from Jade Dynasty's upcoming "Ascension" expansion

by Seraphina Brennan Nov 6th 2009 at 5:30PM

Filed under: Galleries, Screenshots, Expansions, New titles, Jade Dynasty

Perfect World Entertainment's Jade Dynasty really is a unique offering on the MMO market. We here at Massively have been covering it and commenting on it since we got to see it at E3, and we're always interested to hear more about the MMO that "plays itself." Well, the team at Jade Dynasty hasn't disappointed us and they've let us here at Massively check out some exclusive screenshots of their upcoming expansion, Ascension.

Ascension is opening up the path for players to become veritable gods, but it's also adding two new factions, a brand new race, realm versus realm PvP opportunities, aerial combat, and much more. We've also gotten the opportunity to sit down with Jade Dynasty's product manager, Andrew Brown, and talk with him about all of the gritty details in the next expansion. However, you'll have to wait until Monday to check out that interview.

In the meantime, check out these screenshots and concept art of the Divine Realm area, and come back on Monday to check out our exclusive interview about the future direction of Jade Dynasty.

Gallery: Jade Dynasty: Ascension Screenshots

Lord of the Rings Online dev diary tells of creating Mirkwood

by Rubi Bayer Nov 6th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, News items

We've been enjoying the gorgeous screenshots and trailers from Turbine in the weeks leading up to the release of Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood, and the latest LotRO developer diary gives a behind the scenes look at creating the regions in Mirkwood.

Jesse "Vastin" Kings writes about the fun the team had getting to play with new areas, monsters, and quests, and the challenge of balancing those plans with the available resources. Working with the original Lord of the Rings story line posed another challenge sometimes when it came to filling in the game and still remaining true to Tolkien.

Of course, not everything was on the showy, fun, creative side: "...it might interest you to know that the single largest share of all the time I've spent working on Mirkwood was in trying to figure out and implement ways to keep our servers from being reduced to piles of smoking slag within hours of Siege of Mirkwood going live and all of you hurling yourselves at it at once."

The full entry can be read here.

New screenshots for Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood

by Rubi Bayer Nov 5th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions

The Lord of the Rings Online expansion Siege of Mirkwood is set for release at the beginning of December, and Turbine takes us farther into the forest of Mirkwood today with brand new screenshots of the Ashenslades region. It's a bit farther in -- you can see Dol Guldur looming in the background -- and looks more dark and foreboding than our look at the somewhat-sunnier Scuttledells region.

The Ashenslades name fits what the screenshots show -- take a look at the forest in flames in one picture, and what appear to be burned and blackened trees in the background of another one.

This is the fourth region that Turbine has shown us in our tour of Mirkwood, giving us glimpses of Dol Guldur, Gathburz, and the Scuttledells regions in previous weeks. Monday's release of a trailer gave us a bit more of a look into Dol Guldur as well. We have just over three weeks until the release of Siege of Mirkwood, and hopefully Turbine will continue their previews to make the wait go by a little faster.

Gallery: Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood Ashenslades region

Lord of the Rings Online explains skirmish rewards

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 5th 2009 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, Game mechanics

"Let's be honest, people play new content for the rewards." Perhaps not the most uplifting or metaphorical way to start off a developer diary, but if nothing else you need to give Lord of the Rings Online credit for being so direct about it. But with the most recent developer diary regarding the Skirmish system coming in the Siege of Mirkwood expansion, they really deserve still more credit than that. One of the larger new features of the upcoming expansion, the Skirmish system has had a number of diaries devoted to it, but this one is focused on exactly what the opening would suggest: the meaty rewards from taking part.

Some of the specifics might seem a bit arcane to people unfamiliar with Lord of the Rings Online, but the short version is that the various bosses and so forth will be devoid of any loot except for what's referred to as skirmish marks. Accumulating them as well as special tokens depending on group size and skirmish difficulty will allow purchases from a wide variety of powerful items. However, the system is balanced so that even consistently solo players can still work toward the highest tier of rewards, although the road will be quite a bit longer. There's only so much we can get across in a quick overview -- it's better to take a look at the actual diary and get ready for one of the more dynamic systems coming with Siege of Mirkwood.

LotRO's spellbinding 'Lieutenant of Dol Guldur' trailer

by Kyle Horner Nov 3rd 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Trailers, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, News items

Turbine is stepping it up with their newest Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood trailer, Lieutenant of Dol Guldur. The voice acting, editing, music, creatures and setting are all enthralling to a degree that goes beyond our standard expectations. We've no doubt this one will get people's blood pumping, and in a good way. Seriously, this is the kind of stuff you expect when a company adopts an important IP -- especially where the voice acting is concerned.

We can't wait to see what the future holds for Turbine trailers, especially considering the locales of Middle-earth the game has yet to expand into its world. Rohan? Helm's Deep? Minas Tirith? Osgiliath? Thinking of trailers for all these places makes us tingle with anticipation.

Check out the trailer after the cut.

Buy all Final Fantasy XI add-ons and start teleporting

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 3rd 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Expansions, Patches

The last of Final Fantasy XI's add-on scenarios is coming out in just about a week, but that's not all that's coming with it. Players who have purchased all three of the mini-expansions (A Crystalline Prophecy, A Moogle Kupo d'Etat, and A Shantotto Ascension, all of which have small flash sites) will receive a special in-game item following the next version update. The fact that it's a cape may not sound like much, but veteran players would be rather interested in the item's special enchantment: it allows you to teleport.

Players who haven't experienced Final Fantasy XI might not realize just how difficult and frequently dangerous transport through the game can be. Most leveling is done by working your way to a dangerous location, surrounded by monsters that can easily slaughter a lone player. The Nexus Cape reward will transport the user instantly to the party leader's location, thereby enabling easy movement from one spot of relative safety to another. It's only usable once per day, but it's a nice added bonus for those who've grabbed all of the additional scenarios. If you're holding out for the Ultimate Collection due on the tenth, don't despair -- as it contains all three add-ons as well, players with the collection will also receive the Nexus Cape. More details on its mechanics are available on the official announcement.

Lord of the Rings Online extends special pricing offers to November 18th

by Rubi Bayer Nov 3rd 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, News items

With the Siege of Mirkwood expansion less than a month away from launch, Turbine is keeping an eye on it's current Lord of the Rings Online players with their special pricing deals. Each deal includes the phrase "and get Mirkwood for free!" and they've included something for every pricing plan. Turbine first made these offers way back when they announced the release date for Siege of Mirkwood, and they must be going over pretty well, because they've extended the offer through November 18th.

Current subscribers have three offers to pick from. If you're a monthly subscriber and upgrade to multi-month by November 18th, you'll get the expansion free of charge. The deal applies for 3, 6, or 12 month sub plans. Players who are already on a multi-month plan seem to have the easiest deal, because Mirkwood is free to them for simply maintaining their subscription. Those on a lifetime subscription will receive Siege of Mirkwood free when they pre-order the Adventurer's Pack.

Siege of Mirkwood is scheduled for release on December 1st.

How much is riding on City of Heroes: Going Rogue?

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 2nd 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Business models, Expansions, MMO industry, Opinion

At the six-year mark, City of Heroes is still moving forward, with City of Heroes: Going Rogue targeted for release in the second quarter of 2010. It's certainly not the oldest game to receive an expansion, but Vicarious Existence has an interesting point to be made: exactly how much is riding on the success of this expansion? In true heroic sense, it may well be the fate of NCsoft West and of NCsoft's entire western presence in the market.

It's no secret that NCsoft West has had a difficult time in the market, with the first rumbles having been made clear with the sad tale of Auto Assault. And it's hardly necessary to dredge up painful memories about the games that have also gone the way of the dodo. But as the post points out, there's not nearly as much revenue coming in from the western branch of the company as they'd like, even with the success Aion has been having in the marketplace. (If that sounds cynical or as if it's expecting too much money, Adam Martin has an excellent explanation of why NCsoft could and would be so draconic about profits.) To be fair, the post is a bit alarmist, but it does posit that there could be a great deal of trouble on the horizon for City of Heroes -- and perhaps the whole studio -- based on the performance of the expansion. And even if the idle speculation is wrong, it certainly does put you in the right mood for the expansion, doesn't it?

Final Fantasy XI's A Shantotto Ascension releases new trailer

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 1st 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: At a glance, Fantasy, Trailers, Final Fantasy XI, Expansions, Previews, News items

Final Fantasy XI's final new add-on adventure, A Shantotto Ascension, comes out the ninth of November. Should eight more days prove too long a delay, you might just be pleased at what we have to say. A new trailer, you see, has been put on the site, with our dear professor in the center spotlight. And if you lacked apprehension regarding Shantotto, this new trailer may have you pull quite the reversal.

The trailer makes mention of rituals demonic, a threat whose recurrence is horribly chronic -- but lest you assume that the danger's routine, you had best keep a watch on this unfolding scene. For Shantotto denies that she has lost her mind, and thinks herself flawless (or so she's opined). Yet all of the images that we see within leads us to believe something mad will begin -- and while we don't mean to drive players to terror, to not say the truth would be too much an error. For Shantotto seems poised upon something gigantic, and appears to enlarge to proportions titanic! If you've made Final Fantasy XI your home, be prepared to defend all the roots that you've sown. The release is still pending, but you may purchase today -- so go view the trailer, no need to delay!

New screenshots for Siege of Mirkwood: Scuttledells

by Rubi Bayer Oct 29th 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions

With the release of the Lord of the Rings Online expansion Siege of Mirkwood barely over a month away, Turbine continues to keep interest and anticipation high by releasing screenshots, trailers, and even treating us to a developer tour.

The latest batch of screenshots, released by Turbine today, takes us onward into the forests of Mirkwood, into the Scuttledells region. The Scuttledells are a beautiful area and a bit less gloomy than much of what we've seen before, but seem to offer up just as many monsters (giant spider!) and adventures for players to explore.

This is the third region that Turbine has given us a look at while we wait for Siege of Mirkwood. Their tour of Mirkwood has included the fortress/dungeon Dol Guldur and the Gathburz region, as well as a trailer offering some backstory and a challenge from Galadriel to answer the call of war. Given what we've seen so far, we're anxious for December to arrive so we can take her up on her offer.

Gallery: Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood - Scuttledells

Gracia Epilogue launches on Lineage II's test server today

by Seraphina Brennan Oct 29th 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: At a glance, Fantasy, Lineage 2, Expansions, MMO industry, Patches, News items

Just when we thought Gracia, the 2nd throne, was done and over with in Gracia Final, we get a tasty surprise in the form of Gracia Epilogue, the next patch coming out for Lineage II.

Gracia Epilogue is hiding many a tasty treat for Lineage II fans, with teasers pointing towards a new mail system, enhanced skill updates, and new hunting areas for high level players. However, these teasers are exactly that -- teasers. The official patch notes have not been released yet, leaving many to speculate what exactly will be in this patch.

However, if you're looking to get some hands on the Epilogue, you can cruise on over to NCsoft's test server for L2 today and try it out! See if you can track down some of these elusive changes in the test environment!

EVE's planetary graphics kicked up yet another notch for Dominion expansion

by James Egan Oct 29th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, EVE Online, Expansions

We pointed out last month that EVE Online will get a new look to its planets this December, when the Dominion expansion launches. There's now more footage of the improved planetary graphics which is even better than what we saw in September, with a closer look at the swirling clouds, continents, and oceans, as well as light and shadows on the horizon. The footage is courtesy once again of EVE Online player Flamewave -- who may just live on the Singularity test server.

We've got a video embed of Flamewave's footage of the new planetary graphics as seen on the test server, so stick with us after the jump for a stunning look at New Eden as it will appear in Dominion.

City of Heroes: Going Rogue information revealed at Hero-Con

by Rubi Bayer Oct 29th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Events, real-world, Expansions

City of Heroes teased fans for most of October, promising big information on Going Rogue for those attending HeroCon, and they didn't disappoint. The welcome address last Saturday lived up to expectations in a big way. The community relations team presented nearly an hour of information, screenshots, and video covering the high points of Going Rogue.

They began with the all-important process of transforming your hero to a villain, or vice versa. Rather than pushing a button or purchasing the transformation from the store, players will be able to stay in character and experience the fall from grace or redemption of their character as they work through a series of moral missions.

New powersets (Demon Summoning and Dual Pistols), signature characters and enemy groups were introduced to the crowd, as well as some cool new costume pieces. An extensive look at Praetoria came in the form of a first look at the eye-popping graphics upgrade as well.

All of the exciting new information begs the big question: When? Going Rogue is aiming for a release in Q2 2010, with beta coming in five waves in early 2010. After seeing the information from Hero-Con, we're as excited as you are for this expansion and will be letting you know as soon as more specific information is available. For the time being, check out the City of Heroes forums for an extensive (and impressive) rundown of all the current Going Rogue information.

EVE Online technical director explains new feature: Fleet Finder

by James Egan Oct 27th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Guilds, Grouping

The next EVE Online expansion will be Dominion, slated for a December release, which will introduce some major changes to the game and new features as well. The "Fleet Finder" is one such feature, explained in today's dev blog by EVE Online Technical Director Jon Bjarnason (aka CCP Atlas).

The Fleet Finder will give players much greater control over forming a fleet and, as CCP Atlas says, there will be "No more 'x up in corp channel' messages." The feature will also streamline how information is conveyed to other pilots.

LotRO: Siege of Mirkwood developer tour

by Shawn Schuster Oct 26th 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, Hands-on, Massively Hands-on

If you've been faithfully following along with the Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood beta, you may be excited by what you've heard -- or even seen yourself -- so far. The new expansion, which is set to launch on December 1st of this year (December 3rd for EU), centers around the forest of Mirkwood, just to the east of Lothlorien. It introduces us to a large new map of Mirkwood, the skirmish system, five new instances and much more.

On top of this officially-released news of these features, we were able to get together with Turbine's Aaron "Rowan" Campbell for a sample tour of the new content. Follow along after the jump for what we saw.

Gallery: LotRO: Siege of Mirkwood Developer Tour