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Nintendo DSi XL Review: Super Size Me

Feb 28, 2010 Articles Recommend|348views

The Nintendo DSi LL, (DSi XL in the West) is the latest addition to the hugely successful Nintendo platform. “LL” is the Japanese equivalent of “XL”, or “extra large”. But is bigger really better?

Released in Japan in late November, the Nintendo DSi XL features 4.2 inch screens that are 93 percent larger than the DS Lite’s screens. It is also bundled with an extra (and larger) 5 inch touch pen. The redesign comes at the request of customers who said they wanted a larger screen — however, the pixel count is the same. Nintendo claims that the bigger screens make it easier to watch others play.

The DSi XL is available in three colors: Dark Brown, Wine Red and Natural White. While the handheld has been announced for The West, the colors have not yet been announced. The Japanese version is also packed with three DSiWare titles pre-installed: Two brain training games (one for humanities, the other for sciences) and DS Easy Dictionary.

Loved
The Big Screens: Even though Nintendo is touting the DS XL’s screen as making it easier to watch others play, the most refreshing about the new, bigger screens is how they breathe life into old titles. While the graphics are the same, old favorites like Mario Kart look wonderful (and not blown out) running on the XL’s screens. The extra size both adds to the experience and creates an entirely new experience. The screen size is also well-suited to younger players who often stare over each other’s shoulders when watching a friend play. Brain Age also feels surprisingly fresh on the XL — a larger touch screen means a larger space to write. That, certainly, is a welcome addition.

The Big Pen: The XL’s new Touch Pen feels like, well, a pen. The DS Stylus, traditionally, has been on the small size — not so great for games that require writing. To overcome this issue, players have, in the past, had to find third party solutions. For those looking for a larger pen that’s easier to grip, the XL has that. But if you are happy with the traditional DS Stylus, the portable is bundled with that as well. The smaller stylus slides into the DSi XL’s body, while the larger pen does not.

The Buttons: As with the regular DSi, the buttons are clicky — in a good way. They’re responsive and certainly don’t feel mushy.

The Finish: The top of part of the DSi XL’s clamshell has a glossy, smart finish. Looks great. However, the rest of the portable has a matte finish, making it practical. It’s easy to hold and isn’t a fingerprint magnet. The contrast works well, too.

Hated
Not So Portable: Yes, yes. The DSi XL is big. That’s the point! And while it works great playing it at your kitchen table or sitting on the sofa, it’s heavy and less great to lug it around outside of the house.

Nintendo, it often seems, makes reiteration after reiteration of its products. The DSi XL might simply be that — the latest iteration until the next one comes along. As customers, it’s hard not to feel that we are directly involved in Nintendo R&D process (more so than with other companies), that the company sometimes releases products just to see if they catch on with consumers (ditto). In Japan, the DSi XL does seem to be catching on as the product posted strong initial sales. The extra large DSi could very well be here to stay — which means that this must be one of the first examples in which a Japanese company has released a bigger version of its products to commercial success.

The larger screens are great. If only Nintendo could shave a bit off the DSi XL’s thickness, making a slightly slimmer and lighter DSi XL, if only. DSi XL Slim anyone?

The DSi XL was released in Japan on November 22 for ¥20,000 (US$222). It is scheduled to be released abroad in early 2010.

Tags: DSi XL, Nintendo, Review

Staying safe in high security space

Feb 28, 2010 eve online|268views

In this guide for newer EVE players, I look at the main threats you could be exposed to in high security space and how to keep yourself safe in spite of them.

Corporate war-targets:

If you’re in a player-run corporation, there’s always the risk that another corp will declare war on yours. The enemy pay a small war fee and CONCORD agree to look the other way any time your two corporations fight. Members of your corp become valid PvP targets for the enemy corp in high security space and vice versa. If you ever find yourself on the receiving end of a war declaration, an eve-mail from CONCORD will appear in your corp’s inbox explaining everything. The mail arrives 24 hours in advance of the war beginning, giving the victims fair warning and some time to prepare.

A useful war-time trick is to Google for the enemy corp’s name and see if they have a killboard. Get the names of their pilots from the board and have all your members add them to their address books. This will make it easy to see if there are some of them online, which is a sure sign that they’ll be running a roaming gang looking for war targets. The enemy killboard will also provide intel on ships and fittings they typically use, which can be useful if you intend to fight back.

The best thing you can do during an unsolicited war is to deny the enemy any kills. Many corps that issue wardecs are made for the sole purpose of engaging easy targets. Since they only have three war slots, they’re likely to drop the war with your corp and find another to try. If all else fails, the option also exists to simply leave the corp, at which point you are no longer a valid target for the wartargets.

Suicide ganks:

With the currently saturated mineral market, many Tech 1 ships cost barely anything to lose. After accounting for insurance costs and payouts, a Tech 1 fitted destroyer can cost as little as 100k to lose, cruisers under a million ISK and battleships only a few million. The unfortunate consequence is that this makes them cost-effective to use in suicide ganks.

Players will typically cargo-scan and ship-scan passing ships at a stargate and look for someone with valuable loot on board. If the ship is weak enough to be killed in one or two volleys from a group of suicide attackers, they’ll open fire and have another character pick up the loot. CONCORD will warp in and destroy the suicide character’s ships but by that stage it’s too late. Having been on both sides of this process, I’ve picked up a few tips on how to stay safe from suicide attacks when hauling. Unfortunately, there’s not much that can be done about people suiciding mining ships for fun.

Although some people suicide gank for sport, the primary motivation is usually to make a profit and so they’ll want to hit valuable targets. To make yourself unappealing, carry no more than 20-30 million ISK’s worth of goods in a Tech 1 industrial, 50-100 million’s worth in a Tech 2 transport ship and no more than 1-2 billion ISK’s worth in a freighter. It’s also much safer to warp manually between stargates than it is to use the autopilot as most gank squads scan pilots as they approach the gate on autopilot. When warping manually, you’ll land right within jump distance of the gate and so bypass most suicide squads.

Can flippers and loot thieves:

Ordinarily, you can’t be shot in high security space without CONCORD coming to tear your attacker to shreds. If you steal an item from a container or wreck someone else owns, however, all bets are off. You become flagged to the owner of the container you just stole from and for 15 minutes they can engage you without CONCORD interference. Some pilots use this mechanic to trick people into becoming vulnerable to PvP, then blow them up. We’ve all seen the little cargo containers sitting outside Jita 4-4 with names like “free stuff” but there are some less obvious ways a player can be caught out.

The most common time when people fall victim to can flipping and theft is when mining. If you’re mining into a jettisoned container, an aggressor may steal your ore. They may also create their own jettison container right next to it and drag your ore over into it. The theft flags them to you for PvP, so they flash red and you can attack them, but at this point they still can’t attack you.

If the thief is in a small ship like an industrial or frigate, you might be tempted to attack but this will give them permission to retaliate for the next 15 minutes. Even if you do manage to blow them up, there’s no telling whether they’ll come back in a new ship with bigger teeth before the 15 minute timer expires. Taking your ore back from their container has the same effect, giving them permission to shoot you. Your only reliable option is to stop mining to a jettisoned container and call the stolen ore a write-off.

Tags: Culture, eve online, Game mechanics, Guides, PvP, Tips and tricks

What Ever Happened to That Other Prince of Persia?

Feb 27, 2010 Articles Recommend|250views

The aptly named Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands picks up the tale of the Prince, filling in that gap between Sands of Time and Warrior Within. But what happened to that reboot of Prince of Persia from two years ago?

Was the decision to go back to this main timeline and the more conventional Prince of Persia gameplay a sign that Prince of Persia 2008 was a flop?

Not exactly.

Michael McIntyre, level design director for Forgotten Sands and the 2008 title, describes Prince of Persia as a polarizing game, one that people loved or hated because of its take on death (You can’t die in the game) and the simplified acrobatics and combat.

But, he’s quick to point out, work on Forgotten Sands was started before Prince of Persia shipped, so its successes or failures didn’t drive the decision to return to the main timeline of the series.

“We firmly believe that Prince of Persia is a brand that can have multiple environments,” McIntyre says. “It makes a lot of sense for us.”

The decisions driving the changes in the 2008 title were in many ways spurred by a desire to experiment with the franchise, he says. While Forgotten Sands returns to the traditional take on death and the more complex acrobatics and combat, that doesn’t mean Ubisoft views the 2008 game as a failure.

“We are happy with what we achieved with that title,” McIntyre says, “and I think games like that can still exist.

“For me the difference in the 2008 game is that it had less player participation. The player didn’t decide when they wanted to be saved and when they wanted to wall run. In 2008 the experience was far more Zen. You keep playing, keep moving forward no matter what. You got in a rhythm and kept moving forward.”

McIntyre likens the game to a platforming, combat-heavy version of Playstation Network’s Flower. Another dive into that sort of Prince of Persia would likely be philosophically the same, he says, but maybe with a less heavy helping-hand.

“Maybe it would be a mix of both, as things got harder maybe it would require more skill from the player.”

As much as McIntyre says he liked working on 2008’s Prince, he says that working on Forgotten Sands resonates with him more.

“I grew up with the original Prince of Persia and with Sands of Time,” he says. “I like tough games.”

McIntyre says how pleased Ubisoft is that they became the “bearers of the torch” for Prince of Persia Games.

We spend a few minutes reminiscing about Broderbund’s 1989 side-scrolling title. The game, originally developed by Jordan Mechner, used rotoscoping to deliver a surprisingly realistic prince with amazingly fluid movements.

That first death on a bed of spikes, I tell McIntyre, blew me away. It’s one of my most memorable gaming moments, I say.

“Something from that original game is coming back to Forgotten Sands,” McIntyre says with a smile, “the spike death.”

Tags: Prince Of Persia, rotoscoping

Allods Online open beta test initial impressions

Feb 25, 2010 Articles Recommend|583views

WoW-clone is a pretty derogatory term these days. It symbolizes a lack of innovation, a blatant copying of concepts, and in general is used to associate a game with a player’s angst toward the genre they love and hate. And while there’s little doubt that Allods Online will be called a WoW-clone, my early impression of the game is that it’s quite well-done, with a style all its own, and the potential to become the best F2P game available. Of course this is just an early impression after a few hours spent in-game, and who knows what issues more time playing will bring to light. But so far I just have an urge to get back to playing.

Now if you don’t fancy Blizzard’s mega-hit or games along the same line of content, I would steer clear of Allods. It’s very much a traditional MMORPG, even if it is highly polished and playable. If you’re tired of this type of game or just plain avoid titles like it, you can probably stop reading here. Still with me? Good. Allods Online is definitely deserving of a download and trial, and since it’s free, you’ve got nothing to lose except time.

The first thing I noticed is how swiftly and easily the client loaded and updated, despite the fact that the game’s servers must be flooded with new players. I was logging in and selecting my race and class within minutes. The initial race select screen caught me off guard at first. It’s barely worth mentioning, but the artwork here is akin to something from a loading screen, and it took me a few minutes to realize each of the drawings of the game’s different races were selectable. This is neither here nor there, but really serves as just a warning if you’re a little brain-dead like me.

I tend to gravitate toward the “good” races in games with two distinct factions like this. I always play dwarves in WoW, stick to dwarves in EQ2, played dwarves in WAR… you can see where I’m going here. But there is no such thing as my stout favorites in Allods, so I went to the next best thing: the Gibberlings. There are orcs, humans, elves, even a type of undead in the game, but nothing quite as unique and (dare I say) adorable as the Gibberlings.

They remind me of what hamsters would be like if they walked upright, wore clothes, and stabbed things with knives. But the real distinction is that when you play a Gibberling, you’re actually playing three characters at once. You can even customize each of the three when creating them. Want a mix of male and female Gibberlings? Go for it. You still control them like one character, and they move and act as one, so it’s more of a style than function sort of thing. But still… nothing like taking down a big nasty orc with a trio of hamster-people.

I chose the class of Trickster which is of the scout archetype, meaning I can go stealth, deal massive damage from afar and up close, but have limited defense. One of the cooler skills I experienced in my first few hours was “Feint”, which makes your character actually jump to the side of the enemy and stab him, giving you a boost to dodge temporarily as well. It was disorienting at first, but I can see how such a skill could become pretty useful in PvP encounters too.

Skills in Allods are done a bit differently than you may be used to. At first they were doled out automatically during the tutorial as I leveled up. But once out in the open world, I discovered that each level gives you a talent point, and all skills are tied to the talent trees. The first rank of each skill costs first point, the next rank costs two, and so on and so forth. New skills are unlocked further down the trees as you level, and each path on the tree lends itself to a different style of play for that class. For instance, my Trickster is currently working his way down the more melee-oriented path, because that’s just the style I prefer.

Speaking of the tutorial, as far as first impressions go, it was a good one. Minus the fact that the first things I killed were actual rats (which might be a joke on the developer’s part), it was a really nice introduction to the world, with interesting quest dialogue and a lot of happenings. I have to wonder if some of the game’s PvE encounters are as interestingly scripted. The tutorial really did a good job of acclimating me to the controls, interface, and game lore while actually being interesting to play through. Not all titles can say that.

The quests seem to be well-written and at one point a Gibberling NPC actually referred to a bad guy as a “douche elf”, so needless to say I’m in love with the writing staff. But the actual quests themselves are your typical kill this, collect this, go here and talk to this person. Again, this isn’t “bad”, but I guess part of me still wants to see something new done with such an integral system. They still serve the basic purpose of masking the grind, and giving players guided objectives.

Worth noting is the fact that players are given a stat point to assign on each level gained, and stats really do affect your ability to fight effectively. But what stats are good for what class? Luckily the developer has seen fit to highlight what skills are most important to whatever class you’re playing, so you know where to place your points and what gear to be on the lookout for. Interestingly enough in the general chat channels I heard more than once that pumping points into one specific area is always a bad idea, so beware.

After a bit of questing and butting heads with the crowd of players all hunting the same mobs, I decided to call it a night. It’s a derivative experience for sure, just like the game many will say it apes. But like that game, it’s so far extremely well done, and I can’t help but want to log back in and play some more. Most expected interface features are there (robust quest-tracking, detailed maps, item comparisons, etc.) What will really determine whether this F2P game is worth devoting time to however is what the end-game involves and what sort of weight the Item Shop has on enjoyment of play.

Right now, the solid state of the mechanics and the client have me eager to delve deeper, but how long will it last? I’m pretty eager to find out, and until I know more, I’ll enjoy running around the Allods with my little trio of rodents.

Tags: Allods Online, Impressions

What wrong with your first Fallen Earth character-Wasteland Diary

Feb 24, 2010 Articles Recommend|299views

Any time a new game comes out, many players feel the obligation to be the first to explore new areas, conquer new bosses or get their character to max level. This may not be everyone’s play style, but it’s usually important to note that these players do this with little or no guidance from guides or wikis, and they often end up doing something wrong along the way.

Fallen Earth is a game that is set up to trickle information to you slowly as you progress. Since the tutorial area was revamped just before launch, it’s been easier to learn the right way to do things… that is, if you’ve read the pop-up tips. Even at 5 months after launch, there is still very little information out there about the specifics of the game. There are wikis and informational fansites, but in most cases, their owners seem to have caught a case of the Shiva virus themselves.

So in this week’s Wasteland Diaries, I’m going to take a fun look at the top 5 things you probably did wrong on your first character. It might be too late for many of you, but that’s why there are four character slots. Spoken like a true alt-a-holic.
You know you’re doing it wrong when you…

1. Mismanaged your Action Points.
Some might argue that there is no “perfect” way to gain and spend your AP, but most will say it’s a science. You earn Action Points through combat, special quests, crafting or just leveling. On average, you’re supposed to gain about 20 AP per level, and those points are quite precious — at least until they implement a respec option. This is where character planning and research comes in handy. You can’t really spread your AP around on every attribute and skill, expecting to become masterful at any one aspect. Plus, once you get to Sector 2, you’ll find a whole new branch of Mutations that opens up using even more of that precious AP. You need to decide what you want to do early on, or save your AP for when you do figure it out. Check out this handy forum thread on character building for some helpful tips.

2. Stuck with Old Nag.
Back in my day, we didn’t have Old Nag. We had to walk barefoot up mountains of scrap to gather the materials to build our first horse, and we liked it! After a revamp to the tutorial fairly early following launch, a new starter horse was introduced as part of a quest reward. The problem is, some players didn’t realize that this horse is only a starter horse, and they can get much, much better. The fuel-efficiency, storage capacity, health and general stats of the higher-level horses improve dramatically, so while the Old Nag is better than walking sometimes, you should start looking at upgrading as soon as you can.

3. Ignored the main questline.
While the main “You’re Dying” questline isn’t required to play the game, it gives you a pretty good idea about what the game is all about. What caused many early players to skip this questline was a bug fairly early on that glitched the quest, making advancement impossible. The quest was fixed after a patch, but many players had already moved on and forgot about picking it back up.

4. Never repaired broken items.
Do me a favor. Go in game, press G and tell me what you see. If there are bright red boxes in your “Gear” screen, then you’re doing it wrong. You may have also noticed small bars under some of your gear, varying from yellow to orange. If you see these under your gear icons, then they need to be repaired. You can buy a repair kit from the appropriate vendor for each type of item (armor, weapon or ballistics).

5. Waited for your crafted items to finish.
In Fallen Earth, crafting takes time. It takes a lot of time. Yet, the solution to this is offline queues that update even when you’re not in the game. If you ever sat around in a crafting facility, waiting patiently for that 15 minute timer to wind down, then you know the frustration. Instead, you should be spending your play time to gather materials, and set up your crafting queue just before you log off for the night. You’ll come back the next day feeling like it’s your birthday with a bag full of new shinies.

Is there something about Fallen Earth that confuses you? Have a question about the game’s lore, mechanics or something else?

Tags: Diary, Fallen Earth, Old Nag, Shiva virus

The sands of Egypt with A Tale in the Desert IV

Feb 23, 2010 Articles Recommend|324views

I had the pleasure of venturing across Egypt with Staci “Rosethorn” Krause, the Community Manager for the indie MMO A Tale in the Desert. For those not familiar with the title, ATITD is a virtual recreation of ancient Egypt, in which players must work together (and sometimes against one another) to discover and utilize technologies, further the status of the nation, and ultimately construct seven pyramids. It very well may be the only MMORPG that has a distinct ending (when all seven pyramids are built), and oh yeah… there’s no combat. A killer’s game of choice, this is not. Instead what developer eGenesis has done is create a completely player-driven world that actually changes based on the will and accomplishments of its community. A new “telling” began on February 20th, and Rosethorn was kind enough to spend some time with me in order to help illustrate why now might be a good time to try out this unique and compelling game.

As mentioned above, on February 20th, a new telling of A Tale in the Desert began. When this happens, the entire face of the game world is wiped clean. Egypt becomes a blank slate for players to build upon and mold to their will in many different ways. All players must begin new characters, only the basic skills are available to learn, and well… you get the idea. The game is basically reset to play from the beginning. But let’s back up a bit. A Tale in the Desert is probably one of the MMO scene’s best kept secrets. In the event you (like me before my walkthrough) are clueless as to what makes the game a favorite of its loyal playerbase, let’s give you the rundown.

The crux of ATITD has nothing to do with combat, unlike just about every other game in the genre. Instead, the core of the game is its extremely deep and robust crafting system, with an ample helping of exploration and discovery thrown in for good measure. As a new player you’ll spend your first couple of hours in The Welcome Island, where you’ll be taught the basics of crafting, gathering, movement, socializing, and character advancement. The whole process is how you obtain official “Citizenship” to Egypt. So before you can take a boat off the island and join the rest of the community in the real world, you have to complete the tutorial tasks. It may sound boring to some seasoned MMO veterans, but the truth is that ATITD is so vastly different from games you’re used to, you’ll be glad at the forced education.

After I’d learned how to gather materials, make a few stone blades and grow some flax seeds, Rosethorn showed up to take me on my whirlwind tour across Egypt while showing me the game’s major systems. The first stop was one of the game’s Guild Halls. Players of ATITD can and are encouraged to join multiple guilds. Rosethorn explained that while you may have one “main” guild of friends and like-minded folks, by allowing players to join multiple guilds they’re able to find even more people to interact with and accomplish their goals alongside. Things like “Public Works” guilds are groups put in place to help new players by building extra tools and supplies to share with them. Think of the Public Works guilds like soup kitchens for newbies.

Something interesting to note that illustrates well the player-driven nature of the game is that one’s guild rank can mean the difference between being able to and not being able to use different guild structures and tools. The more malicious players in the game can do plenty of damage to their guild’s wares should they want to, and that’s precisely why there is a system in place to restrict all but the most trusted players from having access to the sensitive areas.

Next I was whisked off to one of the game’s several Universities. The central learning hubs of all the game’s major skills and technologies, Universities are a prime example of player cooperation. There are a handful of different regions to Egypt and players are dispersed across the country at the beginning of the game. It becomes a matter of “Regional Pride” to see who can unlock what technologies first. To do so players must provide the University with enough of the proper materials. There are seven disciplines of learning in the game, and thus seven universities. Each University provides access to all of the game’s more advanced technologies like Beekeeping.

Once a technology has been unlocked all players will have access to its use, but in order for a player from across the country to learn it from the University they’ll have to travel quite a distance to get there. As an example, Rosethorn told me that it would take roughly five hours for a player with a basic speed rating to run the length of Egypt. So it’s in your best interest, if you want a certain technology, to help your region provide the University with the appropriate materials to unlock it.

I mentioned earlier that the goal of the game is to eventually construct seven pyramids, one for each Discipline. In order to do this, players must advance along the Disciplines through a series of tests. The seven Disciplines are: Architecture, Art & Music, Body, Harmony, Leadership, Thought, and Worship. Players gain ranks in each Discipline as they pass tests. As an example, in the current telling that we were playing Rosethorn was a Journeyman of the Human Body (meaning she’d passed three body tests). There are basic levels to gauge a player’s progression, and a level is gained for each initiation into a new Discipline, each test passed, and of course becoming a Citizen when you first begin the game. Levels themselves only serve as a basic restriction on some skills, and to offer a sense of achievement for players to go by.

Before Rosethorn ushered me away to show me some of the tests, she brought me to the voting booth. That’s right… the game has a voting booth. Players can actually write their own laws and attempt to have them passed into the game’s actual code. If a law gains enough votes to be passed, it goes to the lead designer Teppy for approval. Teppy can and will veto laws that aren’t in keeping with the game (like giving players the ability to fly or making a test easier to complete), but most of the time what players want is what players get. Reading the list of recently passed laws, I saw one that had been put into effect to clean up left-behind flax seed. The law made it so that if the seeds were left behind for more than five days, anyone could pick them up and claim them. The benefit? Egypt became a much cleaner place.

Before I knew it, we were off and onward to one of the game’s many discipline tests. “The Test of Khefre’s Children” is a test in the Art & Music discipline in which players must crossbreed scarabs in order to create the most intricate and stunning design on the back of the insects. Players submit their best scarab for judging, at which point the community votes on who they believe has the winning design. All entries are anonymous to prevent playing favorites, and the good news for the losers is that just submitting your scarab to the test gains you a level in the discipline. Presumably because selectively breeding scarabs to create artwork isn’t a very easy task (in reality or in the game).

Next, we teleported ourselves to the Pathmaker, a test of the Thought discipline. The Pathmaker is sort of like connect the dots, but with some strict rules in place. Player-designed, a Pathmaker test has players attempt to make one continuous loop from dot to dot without intersecting the lines. Some dots must turn and some most go straight, and it’s up to the challengers to figure out the way to complete the puzzle. The test isn’t for people to complete the Pathmaker game, however. The test is for the designer. When you create your own Pathmaker, you submit your creation to the community to be judged in terms of difficulty. Each week the best scored Pathmaker passes the test and that player gains a level in the Art & Music discipline. The cool thing about this test (and most of the tests in ATITD) is that you can gain levels in the Harmony discipline by participating in the judging of other players’ creations, so you get rewarded just for enjoying what the game has to offer.

Something very cool to note about the Pathmaker test? It was designed by one of the game’s first players. Many of the tests are player-created actually. Back in the first telling, the game’s first Oracle (a player who reaches the pinnacle of any one of the game’s disciplines) devised the Pathmaker test upon completion of his discipline’s pyramid. The Oracle of each discipline gets to devise a test for the next telling of the game, a prestigious honor that is commemorated by the development staff placing monuments throughout Egypt that mark the events of past tales and the Oracles that left something for the game to pass onto future generations.

Finally, Rosethorn took me to see one of Egypt’s larger aqueduct systems which are a Test of Life for the Architecture discipline. The aqueducts are a prime example of how ATITD fosters group work and community like no other game out there. Together the community must gather the resources necessary to build a the main structure down by the water source, which then opens the ability for individuals to craft towers, bringing life-giving water to arid and desolate places in Egypt. Towers can make crops in the surrounding area more fruitful, increasing the yield of cabbage for example. You pass the test simply by building the tower, and then further ranks are gained as your tower helps more and more crops. In this instance, it’s actually better to get your tower up early one in the chain, because you get bonus points for all towers behind yours. Building one at the end of the line isn’t nearly as useful to you as building one early on.

If you’ve read this far, by now you can see just how player-driven A Tale in the Desert is. It’s not the most beautiful game on the market, that much is certain, but the quality of its gameplay and ingenuity of its systems more than make up for its dated looks. Perhaps I’m just not thinking of it, but I can’t recall any other game allowing players to pass laws which are then coded into the actual game. Nor can I remember one that actually gives players the ability to craft the game itself and the content that makes up its driving force. If you’re sick of simply killing your way to the max level and are in the market for a different MMO experience, A Tale in the Desert is just ramping up at the beginning once more. The client’s free to download and so are your first hours in Egypt. If you think crafting and exploring are the best parts of the virtual world experience, you won’t find a game more up your alley.

Tags: A Tale in the Desert IV, Egypt

Introduction to Myst Online for newbies

Feb 23, 2010 Articles Recommend|351views

Shorah! Many years have passed since Myst was released to game stores everywhere, conquering the sales charts and mystifying anyone with a CD-ROM drive. Since then, the game has pretty much been the defining jewel of the adventure/puzzle genre, releasing four more titles in the series and creating a spinoff that we here at Massively have always been interested in: Myst Online.

However, its been years since an adventure game has captivated audiences. Some of you have played Myst long ago but were stumped by the onslaught of difficult puzzles while others have never even touched the game. But, with the re-opening of Myst Online and Cyan’s servers getting slammed with people, you’re interested. You want to know what Myst offers, but there’s so much to learn, right? Today I want to guide you through what makes Myst so beautiful, and give you some tips on how to get your foot in the door with Myst Online (sans spoilers, of course.)

First of all, understand the Myst mindset

For those of you who may not know, Myst is a game without combat. Don’t expect to log in to find a fast-paced action game that rewards quick reflexes and accurate timing. That’s not the Myst mindset.

Myst is a game of exploration, understanding, and puzzle solving. It’s a world where being social, meeting others, and keeping your eye open are keys to success. Even the game’s UI is a puzzle in and of itself, as you don’t acquire it until you explore the world and find it.

My recommendation when you play Myst: slow down. Don’t feed the need to plow through the content. You’re not going to get much in the way of rewards from completing puzzles. If you rush, you’re going to miss what Myst has to offer. Instead, stop and smell the cavern. Look, touch, interact, and explore.

Follow the journey

Even Myst’s gameplay emphasizes what I’ve just told you. The “point” of the game, outside of exploring the many realms available to you, is to find the seven Journey tapestries in each “Age,” or area, of the game. A journey looks like a piece of cloth with a handprint on it. When you find one, touch it to mark your progress. Once you find all seven, you’ll be able to unlock the final door for that level and complete it. Completion will reward you with a Bahro Wedge for your Relto — a floating stone.

Journey tapestries are not always along the direct path through the age. Sometimes you will have to go and explore the other areas of the age to find them. Once again, take your time when you do this. Explore and observe the many ages while you try to figure out what went on in that age. Each world tells a different story.

A quick lore primer and common phrases

While many have certainly played Myst, sometimes the lore of the game goes over people’s heads. Myst does not go out of its way to shove lore down your throat, as it prefers to hide pieces of the story in the worlds you explore. However, an appreciation of the general concepts of Myst will certainly help with understanding how to play the game.

Myst is the story of the D’ni culture (pronounced da-NEE) and their ability to utilize a special form of writing called “The Art.” Books written in this format were more than just beautifully accurate descriptions of far off worlds — they are literally gateways to the worlds they describe.

Each world, known as an Age, was once used by the D’ni in their great empire. However, through a series of events, the culture violently collapsed during civil war. Now their home, the great cavern below the Earth’s crust, lies dormant. While the original Myst games explore the lives of the few surviving people with the ability to Write, Myst Online documents humanity finding the lost D’ni civilization and their reconstruction of the cavern through the D’ni Reclamation Council.

Some other players may approach you and say, “Shorah.” Shorah is D’ni for “peace” and is a common way of saying hello and goodbye in the game. D’ni actually has a fully formed language for those willing to learn it, so don’t be surprised if players speak or type in a wispy, elegant language that sounds unfamiliar.

Starting out in the game

Starting with Myst Online is actually, quite easy. Yet, to a newcomer, the options presented from the beginning of the game can be a little daunting.

Upon logging in, you will be in Relto, your home age. Think of Relto like your own personal house. You’ll store all of your linking books here in your library, you can track your progress in the game, and you can customize it by finding pages for your Relto book in all of the ages. So keep your eye out for small slips of paper!

Once in relto, you’ll have two options — either explore “The Cleft” and learn the general gist of the game through playing a simple age, or dive into the online world by accessing the Neighborhood (aka, Bevin) book in your library.

To acquire your in-game HUD, the KI, you’ll need to go to Bevin. The KI handles basic functions, like screenshots and your friends list, but it also has advanced features like creating markers and handling map coordinates from the Great Zero. Once in Bevin, go to your left and find the Bevin library — it will be up the steps and will have a balcony with stained glass windows. Inside of the library, find the book that sits under the stained glass window that has a giant fortress. (See the picture to the right for a screenshot.) The book will have an image of a tough, concrete structure inside of it — that’s what you want.

Once there, literally follow the signs and go through the open doors until you find a imposing machine. Click it to insert your hand into it, and the machine will wrap a KI around your palm. Congratulations! You have your HUD!

A few final words

The community of Myst is what makes the game great and keeps the game alive. They are a very active, very close, and very fun community that’s worth interacting with. While you can certainly “solo” the game, make sure to meet other people, visit the larger areas of the cavern like Ae’gura, and participate in the game. If you have questions, ask those around you. Many people will be more than happy to help without spoiling the experience.

If you have time, be sure to check out the many notebooks lying around the cavern. They contain notes from the D’ni Restoration Council, and you can sometimes find hints and clues about puzzles or learn more about the deep, deep lore behind the game.

If you’re confused as to where to go to get to somewhere else, check out the Guild of Greeters’s map of the ages.

And that’s it! While this isn’t a comprehensive guide to everything in Myst Online, it should be enough to get your feet wet and acclimated to exploring the many ages. If you need some more guidance, check out this great beginners guide from, once again, the Guild of Greeters. There isn’t a single right path to playing the game, so be sure to go wherever your feet take you. Safe travels. Shorah b’shehm.

Tags: Introduction, Myst Online, newbies

PW Entertainment talks about delay on Battle of the Immortals

Feb 21, 2010 Articles Recommend|537views

We recently brought you the news that the closed beta for Battle of the Immortals has been delayed until mid-April. Several reasons were cited, including details such as Windows 7 support, revising the item shop and the AI behavior, and so on. The Perfect World Entertainment team took some time to expand on those reasons for us this week.
Battle of the Immortals is the first game to be published out of Perfect World Entertainment’s new Shangai studio. With a different studio, graphics engine, and design, players can expect a game with a completely different feel than previous PWE offerings. While this can mean great things — such as a revised tutorial system that offers brief flash videos rather than plain text and an auto-navigation feature to guide you to the current monster you’re hunting for a quest — it can also introduce some complications.

Shortly before the planned February 10 closed beta was to begin, the PWE team headed to Shanghai to meet with the development team for a series of discussions about Battle of the Immortals that turned out to be very informative. Informative enough, in fact, to send the development team willingly back to the drawing board with plans to rework the game and make it more friendly to North American players. “The meetings that we had were really about conveying a lot of cultural differences between North America and China,” says John Belliss, product manager for PWE.

Technical issues aside, the cultural differences made themselves known strongly in the gameplay design. Battle of the Immortals is the first game to be sent to North America from the Shanghai studio, and the development team naturally designed the game along the lines of what they knew: Asian gaming preferences. The development team explained to Belliss, “Chinese players like this game to be very easy [...], they just want to hang out with their friends and use it as a virtual chatroom.” This philosophy led to a game full of monsters with no AI and no willingness to aggro unless they were attacked. Even when fighting after players attacked them, damage was very minimal, and players needed to grind, killing the creatures over and over to get anywhere.

“Soul Gear” — high level gear in BoI that changes and evolves as your character does — was given the same treatment. “In China, the only way to attain Soul Gear was to get into large groups of people [...] 40 people or more, do an instance at only a certain time during the week, and compete against other guilds, and it’s very hard to get access to this armor.”

The cash shop was the final issue in the game. Item shops are a tricky feature at best in North America, with game developers searching for the middle ground between keeping their players happy and making the best profit they can. As the BoI cash stop stood, the guy with the biggest credit card wins. The player that spends money is the player that gets the powerful gear, enabling him to essentially destroy the player who doesn’t spend money. Again, this is standard procedure in the Asian market, and the Shanghai development team viewed the suggested changes as PWE giving up their profit. As we all know, most North American free-to-play gamers — if they visit the item shop — will happily spend money on items that are vanity or shortcut based, but will not respond well to power-based items that are only attainable through a cash purchase.

In the end, the Shanghai team gained a much better understanding of the Western gaming mentality and were very willing to work to make the changes needed. “…the development team is incredibly receptive to all of the feedback that we’ve been giving them, and as a result they’ve been tweaking and changing the client and game in order to address those.” Monster AI and damage will be improved. Soul Gear is still appropriately difficult to obtain, but will be available as a drop in several areas outside of limited, lengthy 40+-man raids. Players will find the item shop much more suited to their tastes, and many behind-the-scenes technical details such as monitor resolution will be improved as well.

The necessary changes will obviously take time to implement, but the teams on both sides of the ocean agree that it will be worth the wait. As they’ve pointed out before, “A late game is only late once. A bad game is a bad game forever.” While there is not a specific date available at this time, look for a closed beta to arrive in mid-April. In the meantime, check out the video at the end for a closer look at Soul Gear in Battle of the Immortals, and we’ll keep a close eye out for more beta information.

Tags: Battle of the Immortals, delay, Perfect World, Soul Gear

Starcraft II: Some Thoughts On The Beta

Feb 20, 2010 Articles Recommend|235views

I’ve been playing the Starcraft II beta for a couple of days now. On the off chance you actually want to hear what I think about it, read on, reader, read on.

Before I get started, let me establish what I am. Or, rather, what I am not. I am not a “hardcore” Starcraft fan. Sorry. I loved Starcraft, yes, but I loved it in 1998. I played it then, I finished it, I got on with my life. So if you want somebody who goes toe-to-toe with Koreans, who can agonise over the minutest details of this sequel, from build times to scroll speeds to how this is going to affect your next competitive match, sorry. I’m not your man.

If you’re a casual observer, though - as I imagine the vast majority of you are - then you’ll probably be in the same boat as me; loved Starcraft back in the day, and are simply curious to see just what’s changed (or hasn’t changed) over the past 12 years. That, I can help you with.

(Since this is neither a preview or a review, I’m just going to give you all my thoughts at once)

The Water Still Beads - My goodness this game is polished. I mean, I know this is Blizzard, and I know it’s been 12 years in the making, but still. From menu screen to interface to terrain to the behaviour and animation of the units, this game is dripping with incidental detail. You want to see what Blizzard mean when they say “it’s done when it’s done”, you boot this game up and compare the trimmings with any other game you’ve ever played, you’ll see what they’re talking about.

12 Years? - It’s unfair to say this game has actually been 12 years in the making. It hasn’t. Blizzard has, in case you missed it, been busy making other stuff during that time. Still, when you play a game that comes so long after its sequel, you expect at least some things to be different. To have evolved. But no, at least in terms of the multiplayer game, aside from some new units and the fancy trimmings, at a fundamental level this is essentially Starcraft HD. How you feel about that depends on whether you wanted a change or not; personally, I’d have liked to see Blizzard be a little more adventurous (though, to be fair, they may be saving that for the singleplayer game).

Listen To It Purr - My PC is what you’d call “slightly above average”OK, above average (DualCore 3.0ghz, 4GB, GTS 250 1gb). It’s not a $3000 rig. And yet I can play the game on its highest detail settings at a smooth and consistent framerate, regardless of the size of the map or the number of units on screen. If you’re running an average rig, then, or even a below-average rig, slide the settings down a little and you’ll be well looked after.

So Far, So Good - For a beta, things sure are running smoothly. As somebody who doesn’t play World of Warcraft, Blizzard’s Battle.net system was a new experience for me, but over two solid days of play I’m yet to run into any problems whatsoever, whether in terms of dropped connections, lag or trouble finding a game.

If It Ain’t Broke - While I wish Blizzard had made some more sweeping changes to the game, Starcraft’s second-most treasured asset - it’s universe - already feels stronger and more confident. The developers have successfully tread the fine line between preserving old favourites and making necessary tweaks, leaving us with Protoss that are a little more Predator, Zerg that are a little more repulsive and Terrans that have, smartly, been shifted a little in tone, from Southern hillbillies to Wild West pioneers (complete with Deadwood-esque soundtrack). You’ll especially love the Terran’s new mech, above, whose inspiration is a little more foreign than the rest of their units.

So, yeah, that’s what I’ve come across over the past two days, from being the 167th person connected to the game until now, when there’s an average of around 2500 people online at once. If you’ve got any other questions, feel free to leave them below; I’ll be playing a lot more over the next few days, so I’ll try and answer them to the best of my abilities/knowledge.

Tags: abilities, knowledge, Starcraft II, Thoughts

World of Warcraft Argument Leads to Violent Dispute

Feb 19, 2010 world of warcraft|274views

Some people tend to get very obsessive, World of Warcraft clearly among this group of games that players cannot put down. However, at times this line of obsession can boldly be crossed as a form of addiction. James Swan proved this point just a few days ago, when he was playing World of Warcraft and doing some heavy drinking.

Just a note, I believe you can pin most of this on the alcohol.

The dispute took place at about 10 p.m., a reasonable time for younger children to be in bed. James Swan is not a young child, he is 27-years-old, but he does live with his mother and younger siblings. While the five children were trying to sleep, James was getting a little too loud in his WoW session. Reasonably, this led to the mother asking him to quiet down so others could sleep.

When Swan refused to be quiet, his mother asked him once more, leading to the beginning of the dispute.

James Swan grabbed his mother by the hair and threw her on the bed, doing the same to his younger brother when he attempted to see what was amiss. After the mother had regained her form, she quickly ran to call the police. James did not accept this course of action and decided to rip the phone from the wall, proceeding to smash his head into the area the phone formerly rested.

The dispute escalated to the point where Swan began choking his mother, threatening to kill her. When Grandfather checked in to see what was going on, the mother was already losing consciousness. The grandfather then attempted to intervene, at which point Swan threatened his life as well.

Swan’s grandfather was not going to take death threats sitting down, so he went into his room and picked up a gun. When Swan saw this, the two wrestled over the weapon, ultimately leading to the bullet bouncing off Swan’s head, and going through a nearby window.

Swan was only wounded by the bullet, and was taken to the hospital where he refused treatment and was arrested.

Rumor: Final Fantasy XI to Be Closed this Year

Feb 19, 2010 Articles Recommend, FFXI|417views

Tags: Final Fantasy XI

Blade and Soul: CBT in The First Half of 2010

Feb 9, 2010 Articles Recommend|1,089views

Blade and Soul, the most anticipated title from NCsoft, will launch its first closed beta test in the first half of 2010. NCsoft has announced via its financial report in last September that Blade and Soul and Guild Wars 2 will meet the public in 2011. Now Blade and Soul is scheduled to launch closed beta test earlier than Guild Wars 2.

For more Blade and Soul videos

Kim TaeJin from NCsoft said Blade and Soul has entered the final stage of development and they are speeding up its development, aiming to get it officially released in 2011. According to NCsoft, Blade and Soul will continue the closed beta test till the second half of 2010.

Tags: Blade and Soul

Choose my Adventure: Exploring Fallen Earth-PVP

Feb 3, 2010 Articles Recommend|324views

Oh you evil, evil readers. Voting for us to PvP like that. You should be ashamed. Although I have to admit, it was really quite fun.

That’s right, this week the Choose my Adventure clan in Fallen Earth tried their hands at PvP and I’m very excited to bring back news from the front lines. In addition to the regular in-character journal format this week, I’m also going to explain a good bit about the clan’s impressions of this first jump into PvP, how Fallen Earth handles it and how you can make that first leap yourself. Follow along, won’t you?

Continue reading Choose my Adventure: Exploring Fallen Earth’s PvP

Choose my Adventure: Exploring Fallen Earth’s PvP originally appeared on Massively

Tags: Choose my Adventure, Fallen Earth, PvP

DC Promotional Trailer First Unveiled

Feb 2, 2010 Articles Recommend|334views

Quillas, Father of Heaven, awoke from chaos to find that the universe was quite vast and tedious. He then created thousands of unique worlds and separated them with boundaries. He plucked hair from his body and enchanted them with part of his power to make them gods with different capabilities. These gods were then sent to the different worlds as guardians and builders in his stead. None of these worlds was ever close to perfect and stable. The rise and fall of good and evil forces was breeding conflicts and crises. But Father of Heaven decided this should be the way, and after the order was initially established, he fell into long sleep again.

Our story unfolds in one of these worlds, StilLand, a magic world accommodating various creatures, including humans, elves, dwarves, giants, orcs, dragons, animals and evil forces with tremendous power.

Now, chance has come to you, a young adventurer growing up in Willshire situated in the countryside of Glance, who dreams of becoming a hero every day and night.

you may find the youtube link for this trailer here -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAGHaI2u_qE

To present players more first-hand game info and make them take the lead to experience the western fantasy charm of Dragon’s Call, the Dragon’s Call official released a 90-second full game trailer for the first time. In the trailer, Glancer, the birthplace of heroes, is peaceful and harmonious, and assassin, mage and warrior, the leading characters of our story, look bright and brave. The gorgeous game graphics, the fantasy world, the multi-race town system, the flash battle scene and fierce combat with monsters showcased in the trailer will give you a glimpse of the strong visual impact the game will bring you. Four factions, three classes, equipment refining and combining, PVP and challenge with strong bosses in heroic instances…all these diversified gameplay content will surely trigger your passion and interest to try it out.

EverDream Studio has put a great deal of effort into developing more attractive gameplay, in addition, we always put the game’s stability in an important position and devote ourselves to creating a more stable gaming environment and offering more fun for players.

Tags: DC, Dragon's Call, Trailer

Dutch OPM Final Fantasy XIII Feature and Interview Scans

Feb 1, 2010 Articles Recommend|270views

The Dutch version of Official Playstation Magazine has conducted an interview with Final Fantasy XIII producer Yoshinori Kitase as we mentioned a few days ago. Thankfully our new best friend, Shlizar Axis, has scanned the entire feature as well as translating the interview. Inside it, Kitase confirms the DLC rumour was true as well as revealing a few other interesting facts such as the PS3 and 360 versions of the game using different engines apparently. This seems odd as Square said Crystal Tools was developed to work with both the PS3 and 360 as well as other platforms but whatever he says. See the scans as well as the fully translated interview below.

Interview with Yoshinori Kitase:
From director of Chrono Trigger to scenario writer of Final Fantasy VII; Kitase has had a hand into all major Square-Enix productions during the past two decades. And also his task as senior producer of the biggest RPG of the past decade is almost at its end…

How does it feel now that Final Fantasy XIII is completed?
YOSHINORI KITASE: It’s a big sigh of relief. It has taken a long time before it was completed. It’s good to see that Final Fantasy lives brightly within the people when you are walking down the streets in Tokyo. This is what it makes it worthwhile.

This is the first Final Fantasy on the PS3. In what way was the development different then with the previous instalments?
KITASE: This time we needed to work extra hard. Final Fantasy XIII was originally meant to be a PS2 title, but we had to switch systems due to the arrival of the PS3. That cost us about one and a half years and was constantly a case of trial and error. However, because we worked so hard at the beginning, we got to a cruising speed much faster then anticipated and therefore could start on the translation and international voice recording process at an early stage of the development. It’s because of this that we can release both the European as well as the American version barely three months after the Japanese release.

Are the European and Japanese versions identical, or do the western gamers get extra content in exchange for the long wait?
KITASE: At first we wanted a simultaneous release for all markets, so therefore it was intended that we would create identical versions. When we noticed that we couldn’t make it, we decided that we wanted to keep the period between the Japanese and the Western release as short as possible. We had a moment where we considered to add extra content to the western version, but then the release date of the international version would have been pushed back for a couple of months. We did prepare DLC, but it will also be available in the West in the future.

The Western fans aren’t unhappy that they didn’t have to wait realise months this time…
KITASE: It’s because of the fans that we wanted to do a simultaneous release. A while ago, during my vacation, I went to Europe and talked to many European fans. With each conversation this particular frustration came to order. I didn’t know that it weighted so heavenly with you, so i made sure that the localization process could start early. We didn’t have to take the different television standards into account. No NTSC and PAL anymore, in every livingroom stands a digital television nowadays, so we didn’t have to spend an extra month in development for it.

Didn’t the simultaneous development on both the PS3 and the XBOX360 cause difficulties?
KITASE: We have made it our top priority to deliver the same quality on both consoles. It was self-evident that it brought some difficulties with it. Both consoles require a different approach. Especially on the graphics section. We had to build a different engine for both versions. We needed a year of tinkering on each engine in order to get the same level of graphics.

How do the side missions come together?
KITASE: As you know, the in-game world consists of two parts: Cocoon and Pulse. In Cocoon you will get a strong story-driven RPG. Pulse on the other hand is mostly a wilderness where the game switches to explorations and numerous side missions become available. Without the side missions, the game will be 60 hours long. If you visit the Grand Pulse in order to clear side missions, then you will be busy for a long time. You can keep playing these missions in order to earn Cystarium-points, so basically the length of the game is endless.

We found Lightning didn’t really fit within the line of Final Fantasy-Protagonists. First and foremost, she is a woman and no androgen youngster. Second, she’s the toughest lady we have ever encountered. She doesn’t flinch when it comes to hitting the macho Snow several times in the face.
KITASE: “Change” played a part when selecting Lightning. It has been a while since we had a female protagonist, but gender didn’t really matter actually. We just wanted to create a strong personality.

Has lightning been designed to be the female version of Cloud Strife, or did we discover another fault on Wikipedia?
KITASE: It’s indeed incorrect. The only thing Cloud and Lightning have in common is their background as a soldier. Lightning does come across as cold and tough, but further along the story you will notice that she has a fragile side to her. Cloud didn’t have that. We surely didn’t try to copy Cloud’s success.

You have been working at Square Enix for quite a while now. How do you see Final Fantasy XII in comparison with its illustrious predecessors?
KITASE: I consider this Final Fantasy as the most evolved instalment of the series. On the area of setting, it looks a lot like Final Fantasy VII, but we went beyond that. Much more futuristic then you can imagine. I’m mostly proud of the battle system. It’s one of the most advanced system you’ve ever played. If you experience it for the first time, you will immediately be reminded of Final Fantasy XII, especially because you participate in a battle as a group. But, basically we have taken the best from the previous Final Fantasy instalments and put it into this one.

Why did you choose to replace the original theme song with a song from Leona Lewis within the European version? Wouldn’t have translating the original song been a better solution?
KITASE: We have tried to translate the original theme song, but the singer had difficulties with that. This is a new type of tactic, an experiment if you will. Why not use a different artist for every region? If both the content and atmosphere of the song would match with the game, then we would expect it will score better within that particular region. Square Enix as a company is thinking more and more internationally and localization plays an important part within that strategy.

Is that the reason why the Japanese language option with European subtitles isn’t available within the International version? That’s something the fans would really want…
KITASE: It’s because of the storage capacity. The Blu-ray disc has already been filled to the max due to the countless CGI-movies, so a version with both Japanese as well as English voices was impossible to realise.

Tags: Dutch, Feature, Final Fantasy XIII, interview, OPM