The Chronicles of Spellborn' to Become Free to Play in 2010

Acclaim Games/Frogster announces the re-development of their recent MMORPG The Chronicles of Spellborn which was released in February, 2009. The development is planned to carry into 2010 and will include several enhancements and changes to the current game. The enhancements and development of the new model will be carried through a joint venture between Spellborn NV and the development studio of Frogster Asia Co. Ltd. based in Seoul, the Korean studio bringing its expertise in the field of free-to-play and micro-transactions.

After the re-development, the current subscription model will be switched to a free-to-play system supported by micro-transactions. This will open the world of Spellborn to all players and give them a chance to experience the rich lore and game-play in its entirety.

Players who are currently playing the game will be able to continue playing the game in its current form via the subscription service. At the point where the new version is released, any unused subscriptions will be credited to their accounts. Any players who wish to register for a free account can sign up now.

With The Chronicles of Spellborn players enter into an impressive online scenario with scenic landscapes, majestic cities and the remnants of an ancient civilization. Alone or with a party of allies, PC adventurers step into a huge fantasy realm consisting of varied shard worlds floating in the magic Deadspell Storm. Those who want to prevail in the grippingly staged combats of The Chronicles of Spellborn need to apply their mighty arsenal of spells, melee and ranged attacks skillfully. Battles with bloodthirsty creatures, hostile peoples and human opponents in PvP battles are waiting. An innovative and tactically challenging combat system with shooter-like controls and rotating skill deck provides a fresh breath of air for the dusty MMORPG genre. Thanks to the largely extended Unreal Engine 2.5, The Chronicles of Spellborn boasts stunning 3D graphics, spectacular effects and countless elaborate details.

As with all of Acclaim’s games, Spellborn will be free to download and play once players have registered for an account. But those players who want to access advanced features and unlock extra game content will have the option to purchase a premium service that will offer several payment options.

The Chronicles of Spellborn is currently available worldwide.

Source: http://www.worthplaying.com

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Atlantica Online Gets Mid-Year Update

NDOORS Interactive today announced the release of a patch for their hit free-to-play MMORPG, Atlantica Online. The patch includes several feature updates which will enhance the user experience and improve gameplay. NDOORS is committed to maintaining and improving the world of Atlantica Online, as well as listening to feedback from players and incorporating their ideas and suggestions into each version update.


With the latest patch, Atlantica Online will now offer:

* Jackpot System: A new challenge system which allows players to select an item they have found in battle and gamble for a chance to obtain a large quantity of that item, with odds determined by the item’s value
* New Dungeon: The ‘Mysterious Inn’ has been added to the Central Asia region and is available to players level 120 or higher
* Improved Arena Betting: Now players can bet on arena battles remotely
* Chatting Emoticon Function has been added
* Ring Craft: Will now be called ‘Accessories Craft’ and will have the ability to craft rings and necklaces

In addition to the updates outlined above, the patch will adjust the balance of mercenaries in Free League and will have an effect on how a character’s basic stats influence their damage according to class type. Certain material items will no longer be used and some equipment boxes have been combined for convenience.

Atlantica Online is a strategic turn-based MMORPG that combines innovative combat with character/party development and city/country management. Players take on the quest to destroy the Oriharukon, a powerful energy source from the lost civilization of Atlantis that survived and is now endangering humanity. This journey will take players around the globe to locations like the Great Wall of China and the pyramids of Egypt where they will come face-to-face with monsters ripped from history and lore, such as the ruthless Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu and Dracula.

For more information on Atlantica Online, please visit: www.playatlantica.com/ao

About NDOORS Interactive
NDOORS Interactive is the U.S. subsidiary of Korea-based NDOORS Corp., which develops and publishes online games. NDOORS’ popular online games include the Strategic Turn-Based MMORPG, Atlantica Online, the political and economic MMORPG Luminary: Rise of the Goonzu and the time traveling strategic RPG, Time N Tales. More information is available at http://www.ndoors.com/.


http://www.mpogd.com/

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Golemizer invades Facebook

golem Golemizer invades Facebook genres Independent game developer Machine 22 announced that its free MMORPG Golemizer is now available on Facebook. Golemizer is a free browser-based MMORPG where players are set in the role of mad scientists creating strange creatures in a steampunk universe.


The game allows players to use their Facebook account to play the game, creating a new character or linking an existing one to their Facebook account. Once this process is completed, playing Golemizer from Facebook is as simple as clicking a single button. MySpace users will also be pleased to know that Golemizer will soon be available on MySpace by the end of June.

Golemizer has a community of more than 23,000 registered users since its release in September 2008. Since then, players have created more than 1,800 quests, crafted 1 million items and built over 8,000 dungeon zones.

http://www.crispygamer.com/

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Currency $candal Rocks EVE Online

Eve Sci-fi MMORPG EVE Online's world full of player-run banks and corporations got one of its first tastes of virtual white-collar crime. The top executive of the player-run EVE financial institution Ebank, intended as an in-world business that would let other players safely deposit and borrow amounts of in-game virtual currency ISK, embezzled a substantial but unknown sum of ISK deposited by other players. The executive, who went by the online handle Ricdic, sold the embezzled virtual currency to a third-party grey market RMT service in exchange for real-world cash.


Before the embezzling scandal hit, Ebank was known to have approximately 8.9 trillion ISK in deposited in 13,000 accounts belonging to 6,000 other players. While Ricdic has since had his account terminated by EVE Online's developer CCP, a run on the bank by depositors resulted in the withdrawal of 5.5 trillion ISK. Ebank has since temporarily shut down to sort out the mess and try to figure out exactly how much of the remaining 4.9 trillion ISK was embezzled and how much was part of outstanding loans made by the bank. Rumors indicate Ricdic may have embezzled roughly 10% of the bank's total deposited funds, or about 890 billion ISK.

It is not clear what, if any, role CCP is going to take in returning embezzled funds or trying to keep Ebank solvent. Generally CCP follows extremely laissez faire policies when it comes to maintaining its virtual economy, in part to encourage various player-run corporations to battle it out with each other in space. Even though CCP is one of the few MMORPG developers to maintain an economist (and philosopher) on staff, the company often feels it is counter to the spirit of the game to intervene more than absolutely necessary. As a result, EVE's in-game player-run banks aren't backed by any sort of CCP-run equivalent of the FDIC and may be allowed to fail. As such, it is also unknown if Ebank will be able to return all funds to all investors or if CCP will even mandate that they do so.

It's worth noting here that EVE Online is a subscription game, charging the standard $15 per month fee. The game does not permit microtransaction purchases of ISK or other in-game items for real-world cash directly, although it does allow users to redeem the code codes from a prepaid EVE Online time cards for either more months of usage or certain amounts of ISK. While the EULA maintains the usual language of in-game items not having any definite real-world value, it seems likely that a certain sum of the ISK embezzled by Ricdic was probably purchased through prepaid cards rather than earned in-game.

[This story originally appeared in VirtuaWorldsNews.com sister site, VirtualGoodsNews.com]

http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/

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MapleStory Summer Events Detailed

Big summer announced at MapleStory Europe: New maps, new monster and striking special events released

July 1, 2009 - MapleStory, the popular free-to-play online MMORPG, promises a great summer season for its 1 million+ players with today's patch.

Starting off with a significant update of its present game system, players can now make use of even more convenient and handy interface features, including jump-downward function, various functional upgrades and hotkey add-ons.

Today's patch further delivers the following updates and events:

• New Maps: Aqua Dungeon & Mini Dungeons
  Aqua Road gets extended by the anticipated "Aqua Dungeon" where boss monster "Pianus" makes its first appearance to the players. Furthermore, new mini dungeons open their portals to offer players a private hunting session of their own.
• Monster Showdown & Summer Drop Event
  The 4-week Monster Showdown Event pits players against a lineup of familiar as well as rare boss monsters. Defeating them one by one will be rewarded with extra EXP and bonus points. Another 4-week Summer-Drop Event joins the traditional summer bash where monsters drop summer-exclusive items during usual quests.
• New Community Features: Guild Union and Family System: Players can now team up with up to 5 guilds to fortify their solidarity and team spirit within their Guild Union. The new Family System will assign players as "mentors?to sponsor his/her "juniors" through the game. Fostering a great family will reward the family leader in various ways and help new players with their familiarization within the game.
• Multipet System: This new system allows players to have up to 3 pets at once and to benefit from the combination of unique skills and effects of each pet.

"Today's patch will bring MapleStory to another dimension," says Sung Jin Kim, Manager at NEXON. "We had promised a great summer with extensive, exciting new contents, and this is merely the beginning of our delivery. We hope that our players can enjoy the new maps and exclusive events even better with the upgraded game system and community features. We are already excited about our next big release, the "Knights of Cygnus" this very summer. "Knights of Cygnus" is a completely new concept as our players have never experienced before, and will definitely open the second chapter of MapleStory."

by Suzie Ford

Source :http://www.warcry.com

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