Next week, True Games Interactive will be releasing its free MMO-action title, Warrior Epic. In an effort to bring you a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming title, I took some time to participate in the recent closed beta test.

I have to admit, it isn’t what I expected going in. Warrior Epic isn’t your typical MMO. You won’t spend hours running around obtaining quests and crafting. Instead, it follows in the footsteps of games like Diablo and Dungeon Siege. Players can play for free, with the option of purchasing things like double XP potions, exclusive clothes, and other things. However, True Games says that only convenience items will be available for purchase, and that, “anything along the lines of “broadsword of one-hit kills” would never be available for purchase through micro-transactions.”

You’ll start with control of one warrior, who has a few abilities. Obviously, those powers vary depending on the type of hero you select. After you finish the tutorial level, you gain access to your warrior hall. From this central hub, you can recruit new types of heroes, browse and equip new items, and find new quests to take on. You can also see the spirits of fallen warriors, who can be called back to life under certain circumstances.

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Until tomorrow, gamers who are currently rampaging through Middle-earth can get a limited glimpse of Turbine’s newest social network for those who play The Lord of the Rings Online. Currently in Beta, this preview closes tomorrow, December 12, so if you want to see what it entails you better go check it out.

Currently, this Beta is only open to North American users which is the section of the world whose servers are maintained by Turbine. Codemasters Online services the game servers in Europe, and while unfortunately there is not a preview Beta available for them, they can still check out the My LOTRO page to see what will be in store for them as well.

My LOTRO was announced back in October of this year and was promised by the end of the year, so they are cutting it pretty close. Kind of like a MySpace page, it is free for subscribers of the game, and has a searchable database of players, characters, monster characters, Kinships, and tribes. You can start your own blog (like we all need more of those), make a custom profile, and maintain a friend’s list. This will be a great way to stay in touch with friends who play but who are not on the same server as you (ahem, Shawn) and allow you to check out what sort of gear your buddies have accumulated.

What I am finding very cool about it, are the Kinship updates. When using the search engine, I was easily able to find my Kinship and while perusing through the list, I noticed that my character was already updated. It showed my latest deed accomplishment, when I leveled last, what my PvP stats are, and will eventually show off all my gear, and morale, power and armor stats along with my bio.

While all functions will be live throughout tomorrow, pages created will not be linked to your character(s) by default. So far, it is pretty fun to play around with, but if it’s even half as addicting as Facebook can be, then I am personally in serious trouble.

Craig Morrison, game director for Funcom’s Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, has confirmed via the MMO’s forums that the company is currently at work on merging the North American and European servers.

Morrison issued a two-part statement yesterday regarding some of the upcoming gameplay changes that will be occurring over the next few weeks, which mostly entail added content and an enhanced PvP consequence system which can result in a player no longer being welcome in certain parts of the game should they choose to gank another player. These changes have been expected for quite some time now, but the most interesting thing Morrison decided to address was the possibility of a server merge which had been discussed by gamers on the forums.

According to Morrison:

“I can today confirm that we are actively working on an approach to merge servers, both in Europe and North America. It’s important for us to ensure the best gameplay experience for you all, and more healthy populations on each and every server will make sure we maintain healthy communities for the game in the future.

That work has now started, and we are naturally making sure that guilds and players can get to new servers in the best possible way. We will come back with more info on this, but I hope that this will serve as a positive injection to the social scene in the game.”

This could mean one of two things. First, an easier way to manage the servers from an IT standpoint, or secondly, Funcom is loosing money on Age of Conan and it is more cost effective to combine the servers into one locale. I would almost assume the latter is the case because according to some research by Joystiq, stock in the company has fallen to $5 per share, which is down $20 since July and down $50 from Age of Conan’s pre-launch. Stock in Funcom was already headed downward before the current economic crisis.

Also mentioned by Morrison in the forum post was that the long-awaited DirectX 10 version of the game was almost ready for launch. This version has been kept on an internal test-server for quite some time now, but when the next update is made players can expect to see some DX10 functionality in the test environment.

“How long it will take to transition to live will depend on the testing of course,” stated Morrision, “But it’s starting to shape up nicely. Having done some reviews of it internally over the last few weeks I can admit that a few of the features really do give some added visual punch.”

Hopefully, both the merging of the servers and the launch of the DirectX 10 version will give Funcom the much needed boost it needs to keep Age of Conan going and draw newcomers to the fold, despite the plummeting stocks. I know a lot of gamers out there who actually enjoy the game, and I would hate to see an MMO with so much potential go by the waste side so soon after a promising launch.

EA and Mythic Entertainment announced this morning that Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning has gone gold, and is being prepped for shipping as we speak. WAR will open its North American, European and Oceanic servers on September 18 and will be offering players a variety of flexible subscription options, meanwhile, gamers who pre-ordered the game in North American will enjoy special benefits such as a live game head start, and bonus in-game items.

It has indeed been a long, arduous journey for the fantasy MMORPG based on Games Workshop’s tabletop game. The development process started back in 2000 when Microsoft and Climax, the original team working on the game, canceled the project in 2004 and handed the reins over to Mythic Entertainment in 2005. One year later, Mythic was purchased by EA and renamed EA Mythic – part of Electronic Arts’ plan to own or hold stock in every gaming company known to man.

Recently crowned “Best Online Game” at GC ‘08, WAR has been built to contain five years of content as well as the innovative Realm vs. Realm play where players meet upon the battlefield to decide whether Order or Destruction will reign supreme. With less focus on PvP and on constant raging wars instead, each fight you engage in will have both an economic and strategic impact on your faction so you need to choose your moves wisely. Both the Order and Destruction sides have compelling character classes with simple and straightforward choices, and it will bode well for player to explore every nook and cranny in the realms instead of just hacking and slashing your way to the top.

Despite the delays, some content hitting the cutting room floor and company name changes, WAR is finally headed our way folks. While you wait for it to go live you may want to brush up on your Warhammer lore and choose a side, because I have a feeling it is going to be one hell of a fun ride.

See you in The Inevitable City – last one there is a stinky Greenskin.

Fury, the PvP focused MMORPG from Australian game developer Auran, has had some issues for a while now but today it looks as if the hard times they were having have come to a dramtic but not wholey unexpected end.

Over on the official forums, a post was made by Bossman (Auran Staff Member), which I have posted bleow:

We have reached our time limit to find a solution that would help us keep the Fury servers open. Sadly, no solution has been found and so we have no alternative than to shut the servers down in 48 hours.

To all those players who have enjoyed Fury and played countless battles, I am sorry that we could not find a viable business model that would allow you to continue playing. To all those naysayers and doomsdayers, we know that deep down you wanted Fury to succeed. Have fun with your parting wishes.

To the Auran team, who put their heart and soul into making Fury, thanks for your efforts. As I said many times before, we need to be much better than the competition to have a chance of succeeding. We gave it everything we had and history now judges that it still wasn’t good enough.

Whilst this marks the end of the Fury chapter, who knows what the future may bring. There were many gems hidden within Fury and many lessons learned. Hopefully one day the full potential can be realized in some other form.

So for now, so long and thanks for all the fish.

P.S. We informed all stores more than a month ago to remove stock from their shelves. If you have purchased a copy of Fury in the past month, we suggest you return it to the store.

P.P.S. This website will also close down in 48 hours

You may recall that back in December 2007, Auran laid-off several employees and filed for a chapter 11 bankruptcy despite heavy launch sales of Fury. Many gamers who played Fury believe that the game failed when Auran releasesd the expansion “Age of the Chosen” – various opinions state that the game became “dumbed down” afterwards.

Whatever the cause for Auran shutting down along with the subsequent death of Fury, we wish all the former employees the best of luck and we hope gamers who stuck with Fury through thick and thin find something else to enjoy very soon.

Thanks to the folks over at VG247, we have learned that over on the WoW forums Bashiok (Blizzard-type person) has posted the following information in regards to the PK vs PvP discussion going on in the Diablo III thread. Turns out, Pk is out and PvP is in:

“We’re – in general – not big fans of griefing for any game. It’s really only “fun” for one person, and that definition of fun isn’t generally something we’re going to want to encourage. It’s far more positive to encourage and support meaningful and skillful options and systems within a game, than a mechanic for people to instantly turn against one another for no meaningful gameplay reasons.

I definitely remember running with my friends, and someone toggles it, and bam everyone is dead and your one friend is laughing. Ok, ok, good joke I guess, and then you run back and *bam*, you’ve toggled it to get them back. After a while everyone usually agrees to a truce because it’s just a waste of time. But I also remember running with random players and losing extremely nice items because of it, not cool. I’m sure that it was a feature that was right up some people’s alleys, I won’t deny there are some that would enjoy nothing more than to see others frustrated, but is that truly something that should be encouraged through design – if not directly opposed?

We have a large focus on cooperative play for Diablo III, and the mechanics and design decisions related to multiplayer are likely going to be based on supporting and encouraging it as much as possible, and not breaking it down.

That doesn’t mean that PvP won’t have its own focus, but those are details and features we aren’t yet discussing.”

Thanks: VG247

The press conference is ongoing for the next hour or so; therefore, I will provide you with a bullet list of facts coming from the event live, as I get them from VG247. I will refrain from turning them into a thesis for you and just give you the facts. Here they are.

• Blizzard vice president Frank Pearce has stated that at this time there is no set release date for Diablo III. ““It’s far too early in development for us to put a release date for it,” says Frank. “It’s been in development for four years”. Lead designer Jay Wilson stated: “We’re in hardcore production and working mainly on content at the moment”.

• Jay states that the game will use a new engine designed specifically for the game and developed in-house. The engine has no name as of yet. The game has real physics, but it’s not a “pure, physics reactionary system”.

• Jay also stated that Diablo III will be coming to Mac as well as the PC so that should make Apple users extremely happy. “It’s always our goal to run on a broad range of systems,” says Jay. System specs will be confirmed at a later date when development is getting closer to goal. As far as mods go, “It’s not very mod-friendly game because of the random nature,” says Jay. “Mods haven’t been a big focus. It’s difficult with this title”, he says.

• The Diablo III storyline takes place 20 years after the events of Lord of Destruction and that the length of the game will be “similar to Diablo II”.

• We have a new version of Battle.Net that will appear in the coming months,” says Jay. Frank says the new features for Battle.Net will be seen in conjunction with StarCraft II’s release. “The biggest thing we have to help us protect against piracy is the community”, says Frank.

• The ideal of the game have stayed consistent with only the look and style changing the most. As far as monsters, Jay stated that while they have toyed with having one hundred of them on screen at once, they have not accomplished it – yet. However, the game is going to mix random and static maps and the development team which consists of 50 people, has been experimenting with random exits, entrances, monster placement, items, and so on. They have loads of monsters to reveal to us in the future.

• On the subject of co-op: “We really see the single-player and co-operative play as the same thing,” says Jay. So I guess this means that both will be equally as awesome as the other. Frank stated that they’re also planning PvP features but they’re not saying anything about it right now. They also would like to add web-functionality to the game somehow.

• Jay talks about how World of Warcraft and the Zelda games inspired the boss designers, and that while they do not have a boss frequency yet, the bosses will be much more complex this time around than they were in Diablo II. He also mentioned that he though the “Seasonal” stuff that WoW does is a “cool idea”.

• Characters in the game will have their own plotlines and stories. You can pick your characters gender, but no customization options will be available because they want you to jump in and start killing monsters as soon as possible.

• A beta will be discussed by all involved, but nothing regarding a beta has be confirmed or discussed as of yet. The Diablo III team is also hinking about e-sports and whether or not it makes sense for the game.

• According to Frank, Blizzard’s main goal is to ship Diablo III in as many languages as possible, although that will be very hard to do. Since all regions are different as well, they have not made a decision regarding their financial model either.

• Trading will be improved in the game, although the team is still working out how to do it, and the skill tree format has not been nailed down yet, so they refused to discuss it at this present time.

• Frank stated that they are very interested in consoles, but that at this time they have no plans on becoming a console developer.

With all of the information that is coming out of the event, it looks like it is going to be a big year for Blizzard, and for Diablo fans who have been looking forward to this game, well, its just getting started.

Thanks once again to hard working gents Pat and Mike over at VG247. They clearly deserve a pat on the back for all the live-blogging during the event. If they were not thousands of mile across the huge Atlantic pond, I would buy them a round or two, or hell, even three.
Thanks a Bunch: VG247

FunCom has big plans to celebrate the end of the Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures Beta. On May 10th, the company plans to unleash havoc of epic proportions. The servers will go down for a short update; and when they come back on line, Funcom promises players PvP mayhem.

All servers will be PvP with no level restrictions. PK will be allowed every where but major cities. To give newer characters a fighting chance, all level 13 characters will be raised to level 20. Their inventory and gear will be changed out for lots of cash and level appropriate equipment. All characters will be zoned to their race’s hub, but will have access to all zones and levels after 20.

You can expect more detailed information on this deadman’s party soon.

via Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures

Turbine’s Jeffrey Steefel talked with Eurogamer recently about the new Book 13: Doom of the Last-King content for The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar. He also gives players a glimpse into the future of LotRO including Tolkien lore used to create content and possible directions for PvP.

One of the big changes for LotRO in Book 13 was the introduction of hobbies, starting with fishing. Steefel hints that more are to come. The next non combat past time in the works is painting, which would allow players to create works of art to sell give or decorate their home. Having heard some very intricate uses of the music system to create some incredible live performances, I can imagine that painting could capture the imagination of many a Tolkien fan.

As for Monster Play, as characters and the story cross the Misty Mountains, those who wish to engage in PvP will find more opportunities as the war heats up. As you can imagine, Helm’s Deep, Minas Tirith and even the Ents’ assault on Isengard will all give players the chance to throw themselves into the fray.

Anyone who plays LotRO or is interested in the game should check this interview out. It covers virgin territory and will give players a good feel for the direction the MMO is headed over the next few years.

via Eurogamer

Funcom has released more specific details on PvP in the upcoming Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. Players who enjoy PvP will have many opportunities to indulge in their favorite pastime. You can choose an all PvP server or a PvP-RP if you like a healthy dose of Role-playing with your PvP. Players can participate in Massive PvP / Siege PvP with their guild members waging war on player owned battlekeeps. If you prefer to to stay a free agent, you can still get in on the GvG battle by offering your services as a mercenary.

PvP minigames are designed to be more like FPS matches then traditional MMO PvP at this point there are two games to play:

• Capture the Skull
  You will join one of two teams with the goal of capturing the opposing side’s skull as many times as possible. They will, of course, not take kindly to this and will try to stop you.
• Team Annihilation
  You will join one of two teams, with the goal being to kill as many players on the opposing team as you possibly can. Of course, they’ll be trying to do the same to you.

For full details on PvP in Age of Conan, visit the Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures website.