NCsoft posts

The more you MMO, from the Aion community team

by Jef Reahard Mar 21st 2010 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Aion, MMO industry, News items

Those crazy daevas on NCSoft's Aion Community Team want you to know about the evils of Real Money Trading, and they've put together a four minute public service video to spread the word. Buying gold, or Kinah as it's known in the world of Atreia, destroys game economies and compromises account security according to the spot posted on the official Aion web site.

One of the guiding principles we have here at NCsoft is that our customers come first. A major challenge that we face in the gaming industry today is the use and abuse of an evil known as real money trading (RMT). We're in the middle of a war, a war that we fight because of the adverse effects RMT can have on you, our loyal customers.

Check out the full press release as well as the embedded video at the official site.

Tags: aion, ncsoft, psa, real-money-trade, rmt, tamat, video

Lineage II's Subclass Separation Account Service has arrived

by Eliot Lefebvre Mar 18th 2010 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lineage 2, Classes, Leveling, News items

Lineage II is getting a bit long in the tooth these days, but the game still has a dedicated playerbase and still looks excellent. It's also feature-heavy in the way that only long-running games can be, complete with the fan-loved feature of sub-classes. Having an "extra" class on top of a character's main class is almost universally liked in every game that features it. Of course, it can feel a bit odd when you realize that the secondary class is more fun than the main class, leaving players with the question of what to do. Thanks to the newly-introduced Subclass Separation Service, the answer is now "play that class."

Not only does the new service free the subclass from you old character, allowing you to potentially choose a different one, it creates a new character of that class at the same level the subclass had reached. That means that it's ready to go as a main class right away, and without the burden of low-level questing. While not for everyone, there are no doubt several Lineage II players who can find quite good use for this new feature. (Or this feature helpfully adapted from Tabula Rasa, whichever you prefer.)

Tags: l2, lii, lineage-2, lineage-ii, ncsoft, subclass, subclass-separation-service, subclasses

GDC10: The expo in pictures

by Seraphina Brennan Mar 17th 2010 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Galleries, Events, real-world, Massively Event Coverage

We have a saying around the Massively offices -- "When we go to a show, our readers go to the show." We hope you guys have really enjoyed our crazy coverage of GDC10 as much as we enjoyed running around the show like crazy people grabbing all of that information.

But, while we were running around, we got some great photos from the show for you! Now you too can live the experience of running from booth to booth, passing legions upon legions of companies explaining their newest technologies and how they can improve your gaming experience.

So come along with us for a whirlwind trip through GDC! Trust us, it's exciting.

Gallery: GDC10: Pictures from the floor

Crafting from your iPhone: The Fallen Earth app

Tags: aion, ar-drone, career-pavillion, cryengine-3, crytek, expo, frogster, gamebreakr, gdc-2010, intel, moscone-center, moscone-center-photos, ncsoft, neurosky, nintendo, nvidia, photos, playstation-move, sony, tamat

Wings Over Atreia: Killed by a Carebear

by Jef Reahard Mar 15th 2010 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Wings Over Atreia

A bridge lay ahead, shrouded by mist, the scorched black ground of the path through Morheim crunching under the Sorcerer's pounding feet. He sprinted, red-brown robes swirling this way and that, the sound of his heavy breathing drowned out by the clink clash clatter of the Cleric running beside him in a suit of silvery chain armor. Voices behind them now, drawing closer, the sound of dozens of wings beat the air.

The pair risked a glance behind before edging cautiously onto the bridge. They turned back 'round to stare up into the red-eyed glare of a towering Asmodian, his legs planted shoulder width apart, clenched fists giving off a fiery pale orange glow. The mist parted around him and he seemed to grow taller; he raised one fist and loosed a bolt that wrapped itself around the Cleric's ankles, snaring her with a greenish growth that snaked about her legs and pinned her to the path. She traded a glance with the Sorcerer and turned up the corner of her mouth, nodding toward the edge of the bridge. The Sorcerer didn't hesitate, he leapt into space, free-falling for a moment before a great white pair of wings sprouted from his back in a noisy rush of feathers and wind.

Continued after the jump.

Tags: aion, featured, ncsoft, pve, pvp, Wings-Over-Atreia

GDC10: Massively's day 4 roundup

by Jef Reahard Mar 13th 2010 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Screenshots, Video, Aion, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Events, real-world, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Browser, Hands-on, Casual, Champions Online, DC Universe Online, Black Prophecy, Vindictus

Day four of the Game Developer's Conference is in the books, and was one for the books as well. Massively managed to score a number of interviews, hands-on features, and we even got our mug in front of the cameras at one point during all the craziness. As you're aware by now, there is still much more to come from our trip to San Francisco, so take this opportunity to catch up on any stories you may have missed.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for our final day coverage as well as a wrap up of all our favorites from the show.

Tags: aion, black-prophecy, champions-online, cryptic, cryptic-studios, dc-universe-online, dcuo, ddo, dungeons-and-dragons-online, event-coverage, gdc-2010, monty-sharma, ncsoft, nexon, reakktor, roundup, soe, sony-online-entertainment, vindictus, vivox

GDC10: NCSoft speaks out on Aion 1.9

by Jef Reahard Mar 12th 2010 at 9:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Events, real-world, Interviews, MMO industry, Patches, News items

We've covered a lot of newly released (and as yet unreleased) games this week at GDC 2010, so it's always good to check in with an MMORPG that's been around for awhile to see what's coming down the pipe. Today we caught up with NCSoft's Andrew 'Tamat' Beegle, North American Community Manager for Aion, and asked him all sorts of questions about Aion's big 1.9 patch.

The update, already live on the game's Korean servers, will be coming to the States and Europe in short order, so read along after the jump to get a taste of what NCSoft has in store for it's loyal Daevas.

Tags: aion, aion-1.9, aion-2.0, aion-vision, andrew-beegle, energy-of-salvation, featured, gdc-2010, interviews, ncsoft, patches, tamat

Wings Over Atreia: Community Guide to Aion

by Jef Reahard Mar 8th 2010 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Wings Over Atreia

Welcome, dear daeva, to the sky lanes and battle-scarred trenches of Atreia. We're here to help you make sense of all your options in NCSoft's Aion, as well as bring you the best in news, information, and opinion from all corners of the Aionosphere.

In keeping with Massively tradition, let's kick off the weekly column with a look at some of the Aion community's best and brightest. You'll find everything from developer news, to game tools, to fan sites listed below (and if you don't find what you're looking for, or we've neglected to mention a valuable resource, let us know in the comments)!

Tags: aion, aion-the-tower-of-eternity, columns, fantasy, featured, ncsoft, Wings-Over-Atreia

Flameseeker Chronicles: Divinity's Reach to Ascalon City

by Rubi Bayer Mar 8th 2010 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles

We recently heard that Ghosts of Ascalon, the first Guild Wars 2 novel, is due out this summer. The plot of the book revolves around a group of adventurers traveling from Divinity's Reach to Ascalon City in search of the Claw of the Khan-Ur, a Charr relic that is the key to a truce between the Charr and the humans. Traveling from Divinity's Reach to Ascalon City is quite a hike, even in present-day Tyria (which is presumably much friendlier to travelers than the world of Guild Wars 2.) Since Jeff Grubb -- one of the principal designers of Guild Wars 2 -- is involved in the book, hopefully the tale will give us a look at the land of Tyria 250 years into the future.

For now, we'll have to content ourselves with piecing together what we know of the world and taking a look at the path our (hopefully) intrepid heroes will be facing. Examining future lore based on partial knowledge is a tricky thing, because there are so many different opinions and schools of thought. Follow along after the cut for a ride on the speculation train, and feel free to add your thoughts at the end!

Tags: arenanet, ascalon-city, divinitys-reach, featured, flameseeker-chronicles, ghosts-of-ascalon, Guild-Wars-2, guild-wars-2-lore, guild-wars-2-novel, jeff-grubb, ncsoft

Aion 1.9 patch highlights with producer Chris Hager

by Seraphina Brennan Mar 4th 2010 at 11:00AM

Yesterday NCsoft teased some of the upcoming features in Aion patch 1.9, making daevas the world over drool their sparkling, celestial spit. However, while everyone was busy drooling, we met up with Aion's producer, Chris Hager, for a more extensive look into the patch notes.

Patch 1.9 has a bunch of things going for it -- from the introduction of a new "rent-a-item" system, to daily quests, to looking for group interface enhancements and more. As we said yesterday, there's over 26 pages of patch notes which will be appearing on the Aion main website -- that's a huge number of fixes and changes.

While we can't cover them all in this document, we aim to hit the highlights of the patch that just hit the Korean test server. Now extend your wings and fly with us to the land after the break!

Tags: aion, aion-game, aion-patch-1.9, aion-the-tower-of-eternity, chris-hager, featured, interview, korean-test-server, localization, nc-soft, nc-soft-aion, ncsoft, ncsoft-aion, patch-1.9

Aion 1.9 patch details teased while videos of 2.0 dance in our heads

by Seraphina Brennan Mar 3rd 2010 at 12:30PM

Filed under: At a glance, Fantasy, Video, Aion, Game mechanics, Patches, News items

Thanks to one crazy community manager that likes to tease information, we've gotten a sneak peek at the upcoming patch information for Aion -- patch 1.9.

The patch is hosting a wealth of enhancements and updates to the game that includes a new looking for group system, quest updates, a brand new daily quest system, changes to the endgame dungeon Dredgion, a decrease in transportation and soul healing prices, increased experience gain, a two-handed weapon merge system, and much more. The whole thing actually totals over 26 pages of patch notes which NCsoft West are still translating for Western audiences.

Tomorrow, however, we've got a special look into some of the deeper mechanics of the patch, so be sure to come back and visit us at 11 AM Eastern time for all of the gritty details (as we need to be all hush hush until then.) But, for now, enjoy some beautiful concept art in the gallery below (in the form of desktop wallpapers) and a video of Aion's "update 2.0" patch stored after the break.

Gallery: Aion 2.0 desktop wallpaper

Tags: aion-1.9, aion-2.0, aion-online, aion-patch, aion-the-tower-of-eternity, aion-vision, breaking, dredgion, ncsoft, patch-1.9, teaser, trailer, video, weapon-merge

NCsoft announces Aion magazine

by Rubi Bayer Feb 26th 2010 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, News items

Have you been wishing for an Aion magazine? We hope so, because you're getting one.

Well, sort of. NCsoft announced "Aion: The Official Magazine" this morning, and it's described as a digizine: offered only in a digital format through the official site. At first glance the magazine looks like an extremely fleshed out version of Eye on Community, offering "exclusive interviews, news on upcoming content, extensive player guides, and community news and tips." The digital format of the magazine allows video content to be included as well, and a unique in-game item will be offered with each issue (issue one offers a Kerub hat, to give you an idea of what's being offered.)

You can purchase the magazine for £2.49/€2.99 per issue, or buy discounted 6-and-12 issue packages. Gifts are being offered with each purchase for now as an incentive. The first issue is available March 26th, and you can check out the official magazine site for more information.

Tags: aion, aion-magazine, aion-the-official-magazine, ncsoft

Blizzard, NCsoft talent form developer En Masse Entertainment

by Eliot Lefebvre Feb 24th 2010 at 8:00PM

Filed under: MMO industry, New titles, News items

The MMO industry, despite some setbacks over the past year or so, has been growing at a steady rate for some time and doesn't show much sign of slowing. It's hard to argue that two of the most influential companies in that success have been Blizzard Entertainment and NCsoft, with the former keeping a stable of several successful games and the latter running a game well-known enough to not need a mention. So when staffers from both companies join up to form a new development studio, it's worth paying some attention to what the company is doing.

En Masse Entertainment, as reported by our sister site Joystiq, has just announced their formation as a company. Their staff includes talent from the aforementioned studios as well as Microsoft, ArenaNet, and Electronic Arts. According to the official press release, their first project is bringing the Korean MMORPG TERA to western audiences -- which might sound like another free-to-play game coming over until you note both the stunning visuals and the fact that it's slated to be a subscription model "like other triple-A titles." We'll be keeping a close eye on the new studio -- it could be a combination that produces some interesting results.

Tags: arenanet, blizzard, blizzard-entertainment, ea, electronic-arts, en-masse-entertainment, microsoft, ncsoft, studios, tera

Lineage I patch to go live tomorrow

by Rubi Bayer Feb 23rd 2010 at 9:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lineage, Patches

Lineage I players who think they've done everything there is to do in the game, hold that thought, because Episode U goes live tomorrow and you won't be bored for a very long time.

The patch notes encompass a very long list of new content as well as updates to old content. There are new zones, bosses, and quests, as well as some new mini-games such as pet racing. The content isn't limited to gameplay, however. Take a look at the new mail system, the many new furniture items, and the new alliance system as well.

The patch has been in testing, and there are still some bugs to be worked out. The patch announcement states "We are still committed to fixing more bugs, but we do not wish to delay the patch any longer," and notes that none of the current bugs are game-breaking.

Take a look at the full patch notes here, and enjoy Episode U!

Tags: episode-u, lineage, lineage-episode-u, ncsoft

Aion's Eye on Community: Valentine's Day aftermath

by Rubi Bayer Feb 21st 2010 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Events, in-game

Aion's latest Eye on Community is posted, and it appears that not everyone has had a happy Valentine's Day. This week's edition is light on game updates and heavy on fluff, with a list of community happenings and an in-game event surrounding a Shugo's lost love.

The Shugo Jefnyerk must have come up with a pretty poor Valentine's gift for his Dianyerk, because the lady in question has wandered off. Multiple times. Eye on Community points out that in a 24 hour period she's been lost 87 times. The possibility that she may not want to be found doesn't occur to Jefnyerk, and he's asking for players to help find her. The quest runs periodically through Monday and can serve as a brief diversion from adventuring.

Community events for the week were plentiful, including an upcoming PvP tournament, an Aion IRC community, and a few other goodies. Check out the official site for the full list.

Tags: aion, eye-on-community, ncsoft

City of Heroes panel to appear at PAX East

by Rubi Bayer Feb 19th 2010 at 9:00PM

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

We're just over a month away from PAX East, and those planning to attend have bought their passes and are beginning to think about itineraries.

The event schedule hasn't been added to the PAX site yet, but City of Heroes released an exciting piece of news today. They'll be hosting a panel titled Re-Inventing A Super-Heroic MMO,where they'll discuss keeping their game interesting and fresh after all this time, and delve deeper into Going Rogue.

For those who want to hang out later, the City of Heroes team is planning a meet and greet Saturday night for fans to visit with the panel members and possibly win some raffle prizes. The location and some other details are still coming, but the date and time are set, so CoH fans can mark their calendars for both the panel and the meet and greet.

Check out the full details on the official site, and we'll see you at PAX!

[Update: More details have been released on the meet and greet.]

Tags: city-of-heroes, COH, meet-and-greet, ncsoft, paragon-studios, pax-east, pax-east-2010