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| Issue #79 |
Tomorrow, Sans Dollar
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June 15, 2007 |
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Welcome back! I humbly apologize for the delay in this week's column!
I'm a no-excuses kinda guy. So, rather than inundate you with my harrowing exploits, I'll simply deliver the goods:
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Tickets for BlizzCon 2007 have completely sold out. BlizzCon is Blizzard Entertainment's proprietary festival celebrating it's catalog of games, including everyone's favorite MMORPG goliath, World of Warcraft. This year's shindig will be taking place the first weekend of August in Anaheim, California.
Along with the usual panels, concerts, events, weird cosplay, and swag giveaways, Blizzard is offering some nice incentives for attending this year's event. Anyone attending BlizzCon 2007 will receive a Murloc suit as an in-game item for World of Warcraft. And, the big kicker, attendees will be getting a beta key for an upcoming Blizzard game. No details as to what game the keys are for, but I have a feeling that this is the reason why tickets have sold so quickly.
This is some bad luck for those who were hoping to attend this year. If it's any consolation, MMORPGamer isn't going either. But, I hope to bring you all the news from the event, so we can pretend we were there... together.
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Global MU Online is going to get a little bit bigger in the coming days. K2 Network announced recently their release of Season 2 for MU, adding a ton of new content to the game.
Being added are new armor sets, new weapons for a majority of the game's classes, and new items. New high level maps and monsters are also on their way. Also new in Season 2 are the ability to play the game in windowed mode and a new PvP shield, the SD Shield, that allows players to fight other players based on level as opposed to distribution of statistics or their class' inherent merits and flaws.
Mu players can check out all of the goodies at the Global MU Online website.
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Though content update #35 for EverQuest II may be a tough act to follow, Sony Online Entertainment is already spilling the beans on what to expect in update #36.
In the new update, the "The Swords of Destiny" quest line will find its final arc. A new high level raid zone, Felwythe Castle, will become available for plunder. Coins will no longer have an adverse effect on weight, and will automatically convert without having to visit a bank. The achievement tree from Kingdom of Sky is getting revamped. A new dressing room window will let players preview how items will appear on their avatar before they decide to purchase them. PvP gets some work and much, much more.
A list of features finding their way into the new update can be found over at the official EverQuest II Website.
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NCSoft has revealed information about the next free content update coming to City of Heroes, Issue 10: Invasion
This issue focuses on the return of the alien Rikti and their renewed attempts to invade Earth. The issue begins with a world event as zones in both Paragon City and the Rogue Isles willl be overrun with Rikti. It will be up to the heroes and villains to repel this massive assault. Following the invasion, a new area will be added for characters levels 35-50, the Rikti War Zone. The site of the crashed Rikti mother ship is host to a variety of new missions, enemies, inventions, and pets. Notably, a new cooperative mission set, the Rikti Co-op Task Force, will have both heroes and villains working toward the same goal.
There's no set date for the update at this time. Use the time as an opportunity to study this alien menace in the following screenshots. Know thy enemy!
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The second part of the latest free expansion for EVE Online, Revelations II, will be added to the game on June 19. Along with the date, a list of features was announced:
Heat - Adding a new dimension to space combat in EVE. The ability to boost performance of ship modules can mean the difference between life and death, but not entirely without risk.
Broader Sovereignty Scope - Sovereignty concept broadened with intermediate goals and four different tiers: Territory, Protectorate, Province and Constellation Capital.
Revamped New Player Experience - Optimization and streamlining of the tutorial vastly improves how new players are introduced to EVE Online, making it more fun and easier to start their alter ego existence in space.
Need for Speed - Significant CPU and dogma optimizations that set the groundwork for full Vista support slated to be introduced in a future expansion.
Structure Warfare Enhancements - A number of new features expand the opportunity for strategic operations.
Improved Corporation and Alliance Management - The addition of vital tools and roles necessary to command and conquer.
Agent Mission Improvements - The introduction of Level 5 Agents add the most challenging Player-versus-Environment encounters yet.
Expanding the Frontiers of Exploration - Rare NPC spawns and other opportunities abound for greater solo exploration as well as increasing the chances of discovering in-space encounters and hidden deadspace pockets.
Anti-Fleet Warfare - Discover new tactics for dispersing large concentrations of ships
The total time of the update is estimated to be around 24 hours. CCP is suggesting that players set skills to train over the break.
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File under "eagerly anticipated games not coming out this decade":
While speaking to Information Week about the use of StreamBase technology in BioWare's double secret MMO project, technical director Bill Dalton let slip the intended release year for the game: 2009.
Aside from the fact that the project is underway and that BioWare will be using StreamBase, this vague, distant date is all that we know about this game. Though, rumors do point to this MMO project being tied to Dragon Age, a game BioWare announced several years ago. Good things will hopefully come to those who wait, and MMORPGamer will be there to hold your hand every step of the way.
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Ex-players of Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach (DDO) are being welcomed with open arms this weekend as the game hosts its second welcome back weekend.
During the event, all players whose accounts have gone inactive are allowed to return to the game and give it another shot. Also, all players, regardless of account status, will gain 50% more experience and a higher loot modifier for the weekend. Live events will be taking place all throughout the weekend.
If you've been wanting to give DDO another try, this weekend is the time to do it. Or, for players who haven't yet ventured into Stormreach, take the ten day free trial for a spin.
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MMORPGamer will be returning to Thursdays next week, bigger and better than ever before. That is, if nothing else explodes and I've gotten those damned Yakuza off of my trail. Again, thank you for your patience.
Until next week,
Matt Blake
(e-mail me!)
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