July 28th Dev Chat Transcript

A Star Trek Online IRC dev chat has just wrapped up and the transcript is now available for those who weren’t able to make it.

The dev chat took a strong focus on ship certifications and progression, weapon firing arcs, and other minutiae. Some things that stood out were the fact that players can level all through all three tracks (Escort, Science, Cruiser) of ship skills. They say this will take much longer than focusing on a single ship track, but it can be done.

Also, the Federation will not be receiving a large carrier class ship (at launch) in the same vein of the recently unveiled Klingon Vo’Quov Super Carrier. This was a conscious decision made to offer distinct gameplay differences between the two factions.

Players will be able to set weapons to the forward or rear positions of their ship, and each weapon type has its own firing arc, with weapons like beams having a wider firing arc, but lower damage, and cannons having a narrower arc while dealing more damage.

Small ships such as the Bird of Prey will also have a place in end-game/fleet engagements, as well. They are nimble and can make efficient cloaking runs at targets, so all types of ship configurations will have their roles in engagements.

For more information check out the full dev chat transcript here

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Meet the Team: Joe Blancato

This latest edition in the Meet the Team series features Joe Blancato, Online Community Representative at Cryptic Studios.

Find out more about Joe below:

What do you do on Star Trek Online?

I’m the primary online community representative for the STO. This means I spend a lot of time interacting with our customers over a variety of media, do a lot of behind-the-scenes coordinating and scheduling, and write a lot of the stuff you see on the site. I also occasionally meddle in the affairs of dragons and challenge Craig to duels during our internal play tests.

What I’m doing right now (other than answering the questions I’m asking myself): Putting together some real information to share with the world about the game. This is a pretty cool project, since I get to spend a lot of time with folks on the dev team that I don’t usually get to bug during my normal routine.

Fun fact: I got my start in this industry working under Joe Blancato at the WarCry Network.

If you’d like to know more about Joe, read the full Meet the Team entry here.

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Jack Emmert on Microtransactions

Jack "Jackalope" Emmert took some time to clarify the hot-button issue of microtransactions in Star Trek Online. Given the fact that Champions Online will be receiving microtransactions, naturally, Star Trek Online fans are a bit nervous as well.

In a post on the official Star Trek Online forums, Mr. Emmert reassures us that like Champions Online, the microtransaction offerings will be mostly aesthetic in nature, and for the ones that do have a gameplay effect, they will also be attainable through in-game means.

Jack on micro:

• The vast majority are aesthetic items, such as costume pieces, action figures, emblems, etc.
• A very few are account-level management tools, such as being able to rename a character
• Micro-transactions should never limit your ability to enjoy the game or reach the level cap
• Any micro-transaction that has a game effect can also be earned in the game through play

The full post is available here

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July 14th Dev Chat Transcript

The transcript for yesterday’s Star Trek Online dev chat is now available on the official Star Trek Online website. The dev chat focused significantly on ship configurations and customization options.

For example, players will be able to customize a variety of cosmetic and functional aspects of their ships, though from the cosmetic point of view ships will retain the signature silhouette of their particular configuration.

There will be classes of ships that perform differently within each configuration, leaving many options for players to choose what kind of ship best serves their playstyle or the task at hand.

Cosmetic customizations will take place at Starbase (for the Federation) while functional customizations such as weapons mods can be done in the field.

For more information, check out the full transcript here

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Kobayashi Maru: Klingon Edition

The newest Kobayashi Maru entry is now available on the official Star Trek Online website.

This latest scenario is of Klingon origin and challenges you to do your duty, or sate your honor:

You are a Klingon captain guarding a defense station as it undergoes maintenance. The station is vital to the Empire, as it is being upgraded with new, top secret technologies that would automate the majority of its functions and allow the warriors currently operating the station to join their brothers on the field of battle.

You detect a Federation vessel moving at through the system and plot an intercept course. You manage to catch the ship near the system’s edge. It is a light escort, no match for your heavy cruiser. When you hail the ship, the Federation captain says he is delivering medical supplies to a Federation world and cannot stop for anything. You demand that he surrenders, but are caught off guard when he fires several torpedoes at you, damaging your ship’s propulsion system.

The Federation ship manages to slip away as your crew frantically repairs the damage. Their efforts bear fruit as in mere minutes you are able to give chase. Your warp drive is slightly damaged, but you are still slowly gaining on the ship.

Suddenly, the defense station hails you, saying a Romulan Warbird has decloaked inside the station’s sensor range. The Romulans are not attacking, but instead seem to be scanning the station. The station fires one of its weapons, knocking out the Warbird’s cloak and damaging its warp drive. The warriors on the defense station say the Warbird is retreating, but the head of security believes the Romulans were able to fully scan the new technology being added to the station.

If you turn around now, you could catch the Warbird before it makes it out of the system, but the Federation vessel that caught you off guard would get away, making you a laughingstock among the Empire. If you pursue the Federation ship, the Romulans would escape with technical readouts on one of the most advanced defense stations in the Empire.

Do you sate your honor, or do you do your duty?

The full entry can be found here

What would you do? Let us know in the comments.

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Bridge Crews

MMORPG.com’s Carolyn Koh reports from a recent IRC chat about bride crews in Cryptic’s upcoming Star Trek Online MMO.

In Star Trek Online, every player is the Captain of his own ship, but like the characters in the TV series, there are career choices. Captain Jean Luc Picard was a diplomat and archeologist, and players similarly will develop skills. Apart from the character development, players will recruit their Bridge Crews throughout the game. These are actually Bridge Officers; the Communications Officers, Science Officers and the like, your Spocks, Chekovs and Scottys, a distinct difference from your Ship Crew, which are your hundreds of nameless crew that help run and repair the ship. The gameplay mechanic for your Bridge Officers is somewhat akin to minions and pets. They are the "phat lewts" of the game and will be earned, leveled and can be traded, although some will be bound to you.

Read Bridge Crews

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Meet the Team: Denis Korkh

In this latest entry to the Meet the Team series on the official Star Trek Online website we meet artist Denis Korkh, who works on the game’s ships.

What do you do on Star Trek Online?

I build some of the ships that will populate Star Trek Online. Sometimes this means replicating what has already been tried and true and other times it’s definitely about sneaking in the awesome and hoping that the real hardcore fans don’t come after me with torches, bat’leths and phasers when all’s said and done.

Read the full interview, here

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Timeline Information

The official Star Trek Online website has been updated with a clarification on where exactly STO takes place in the Star Trek timeline. The new Star Trek movie changes things up a bit with the introduction of an alternate timeline, causing some potential complications.

In the update, Cryptic Studios assures their fans that Star Trek Online takes place during the "prime" reality, which includes all the previous Star Trek shows and the first 10 movies.

For more information on the timeline, go here

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Dev Blog: Going Someplace New

Star Trek Online Producer, Daniel Stahl writes this look at the technology behind the game that will allow players to truly explore a vast universe without requiring an army of developers.

Hello, my name is Daniel Stahl and I’m a producer on Star Trek Online.

Ask any Star Trek fan to quote the opening to the TV show and you’ll hear the words “…to boldly go where no one has gone before.”

It’s a defining characteristic and mission statement in Star Trek. Explore. Go out there and see what you find.

As a producer, it begs the question, “How?” How can you explore someplace new in an MMO where there are zones and maps and contacts and missions that everyone seems to have access to over the course of their character’s career? Most game content is hand created by a staff of designers and artists who spend time placing things where they should be, making sure that there is a natural progression to what you do. It is a lot of work just to make a single planetary system.

Read the Dev Blog: Going Someplace New

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Meet the Team: Matthew Kenneally

The Meet the Team series continues with the introduction of Star Trek Online UI Programmer, Matthew Kenneally, on the official Star Trek Online website.

What do you do on Star Trek Online?

I’m the UI programmer for STO. I am responsible for programming the functionality behind many of our in-game windows, HUD elements, as well as camera and targeting systems, which are in a constant state of iteration and revision. When you think about how complicated a UI for Star Trek can be, you get the duality of a challenging and thrilling job. The UI team is at a stage now where we’re getting some great looking visuals on the screen, and it feels like everything is coming together. This is why I love making games: to create an experience that looks as good as it is fun and functional.

Learn more about Matthew here

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Dev Blog: Anatomy of a Playtest

The folks at Cryptic Studios have checked in with another exclusive behind the scenes look from their developer blog. This week, we get "The Anatomy of a Playtest."

Each week, the entire Star Trek Online team gets together for an internal play test. It’s an incredibly important part of the development cycle, and I think our fans should know more about how we use our experience to shape the game and make it better. We play together every Tuesday for about an hour. Obviously, certain teams play the game quite a bit more than that, but Tuesdays are a special day where everyone on the team – Art, SW, Deign, Audio, Concept Art, Production, QA, OCR – is required to play our game. We get to really focus on key elements we’re adding to the game, and to sit down and have real discussions about what we’re working on.

Read it all here

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Excalibur Class Ship Revealed

Cryptic Studios has released new information on the Excalibur class ship, one of the vessels that will be available to Starfleet players in Star Trek Online.

Updating the iconic profile of the Constitution class, the Excalibur is the first of a group of new, state-of-the-art cruisers intended to fill a variety of roles for Starfleet.

Designed with the modular construction favored by the Starfleet Corps of Engineers, the Excalibur can tackle almost any task. Its expanded cargo capacity and advanced warp core make it an ideal solo exploration vessel, but it also performs well as a support ship during fleet actions.

During times of peace, the Excalibur class is well-suited for cargo or transport missions. Its massive holds make it invaluable to Starfleet, which uses the Excalibur class extensively to resupply planets, space stations and other starships. It has enough power to run industrial replicators non-stop, and is often the ship of choice for missions of mercy or rapid evacuations. Crews on Excalibur-class ships can convert cargo bays to temporary housing in a matter of hours, enabling the Excalibur to carry as many as 1,100 passengers in an emergency.

Read more here

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Meet the Team: Josh Ferguson

Cryptic Studios has posted an internal interview with Star Trek Online content designer Josh Ferguson.

What do you do on Star Trek Online?

I’m a content designer. Specifically, I deal with a lot of the "Exploration Content." One of the core components of the Star Trek universe is the whole "…where no one has gone before" idea, and I’m doing a lot the content work geared towards supporting that notion. No "One" may have seen precisely what the player is exploring, but there is a whole lot of work needed to make sure that it makes sense, plays well, fits Trek and above all … that it is fun.

How long have you worked in gaming, and what did you do before Star Trek Online?

I’ve been making games for 14 years. I’ve worked on quite a number of games over the years at companies like Turbine and Microprose, as well as more than four years here at Cryptic. I have a couple of shipped MMOs under my belt, but perhaps most relevant to STO’s community, I had a somewhat minor role on Star Trek: Birth of the Federation – a game which I still remember very fondly, even though it has been a decade since it shipped.

Read more here

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The Path to 2409: 2388

The latest Star Trek Online lore update from Cryptic studios charts the future history of the Star Trek Universe as they reveal yearly events leading up to 2409, the year the game starts.

Fallout from the destruction of the Romulan system dominates interstellar events in 2388.

The Romulan colony worlds reel from the loss of their homeworld and a vacuum in leadership. With the death of Praetor Chulan and the disappearance of Donatra, there is no one who has the authority to call the worlds to order or organize a new government. The leadership council of Rator III declares itself to be the new Romulan Senate and Rator III as the new capital of the Romulan Star Empire, but it is quickly challenged by the leaders of Achenar Prime and Abraxas V, who make similar claims.

One person many look toward to pull the Romulan people back together is Admiral Taris. She concentrates on evaluating what military forces remain, and issues a call for all remaining ships, even deep exploration vessels, to return to Romulan space.

Internal squabbling and politics hinder the Federation’s relief efforts in Romulan space.

Read more here

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Path to 2409 – 2387 Supplemental Log

Cryptic Studios has posted a supplemental log to the 2387 edition of their Path to 2409 lore series, which details the events of the Star Trek universe leading up to the year 2409 when STO takes place.

Commander Suran, once captain of the warbird Soterus, now lives as a gentleman farmer on the planet Talvath. Talvath has recently petitioned for Federation protection, which is what brings me here to interview him. He is the highest ranking military officer on the planet, and has indeed become something of an elder statesman. His intimate knowledge of Romulan politics, and involvement within definitive political events dating back to the conflict with Praetor Shinzon, makes him an even more important source of information. He smiles at me, offering me a glass of water as we sit on the porch of his sprawling ranch.

I know why you’re here. [he tilts his own glass at me] Oh, you may say it’s to gather information and determine whether your Federation will accept us. But you have all the same questions everyone else does.

What questions would those be?

Read more here

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Blog: Combating Combat

In his most recent official MMORPG.com blog update, Jumpgate Evolution Producer Hermann Peterscheck discusses combat in the upcoming game.

Most MMOs have some kind of combat system as a major basis for character advancement and progression. Jumpgate is similar in some ways, however as an action MMO, combat tactics are quite different than in other familiar and more RPG like MMOs.

When we approach combat we consider that at the core we must have various roles with both strengths and weaknesses. A dangerous temptation in design is to pick a favorite and overpower it. Avoiding super weapons is a critical part of balance and so the first rule is to design for weakness. As an example, our first two classes of ships were light and heavy fighters. The benefits are reasonably obvious. Light fighters are quick and nimble and heavy fighters are well armored and more heavily armed. The weaknesses are a bit trickier. Should light fighters have less weaponry or less armor or both? Should they have access to less powerful shields and if so, how is this accomplished? Most importantly is how this is communicated to the player and is it actually fun?

Read Combating Combat

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Codemasters Producer Interview

MMORPG.com Jumpgate Evolution Correspondent Sean Bamberger had the chance recently to speak with Mike Rowland, Codemasters Producer for the upcoming space MMO.

MMORPG.com:

Having your IP set in space, you are naturally more limited in quest variation than, say, a traditional orcs and goblins fantasy MMO. How will interest be maintained in what is essentially an experience/license based grinding system?

Mike Rowland:

The setting in space opens Jumpgate Evolution up to a much wider variety of scenarios and missions that you wouldn’t normally see in other MMOs and we’re working extensively to make the mission system as compelling and free-flowing as possible. With a sci-fi universe, anything is possible and as we develop more new technology new ideas come into the fold allowing us to make the player’s journey as fun-filled and exciting as possible. As you can see in the screenshots and movies released to date, we have made space vibrant and different to people’s perception of a black and empty universe. Couple that with intense battle scenes against capital ships, alien hives and enemy stations, there’s a whole lot of variety put into the mix that will keep interest high.

Read the Codemasters Producer Interview

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General PvP Interview

Recently, MMORPG.com had the opportunity to talk to Hermann Peterscheck of NetDevil about PvP in Jumpgate Evolution and how it will be implemented.

MMORPG.com:

What kinds of PvP will make an appearance in Jumpgate Evolution? One on one, 100 vs 100, etc.?

Hermann Peterscheck:

We have determined that large numbers of ships is certainly more fun than one on one battles in big, open space – though that is possible. Once you support huge scale battles, smaller battles are simply an issue of player preference. I suspect we will have many different sizes to the battles, but we are assuming that massive space combat will be the most compelling.

Here again, each nation’s personality is represented. In the large scale battlespace, for example, each group has their own distinct capital ship which they need to protect, while attempting to destroy the other group’s ship. The look and feel of these ships is very distinctive and helps players identify with their nation.

Read General PvP Interview

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Info, New Shots on the Quantar Nation

The official Jumpgate: Evolution website has been updated with information on the mystical Quantar nation. The site update details the culture, society, and background of the Quantar. Coming in alongside this update we have six new screenshots of the Quantar for you to check out.

For information on the Quantar, go here

Also, be sure to check out our new screenshots of the Quantar.

For even more screenshots, check out our full Jumpgate: Evolution gallery

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Video Interview with Scott Brown

NetDevil President Scott Brown talks to MMORPG.com at E3 about the space flight MMO remake. This MMO provides players with realistic space sim flight and shooter, skill based mechanics as they fight real and NPC enemies.

And then let us know what you think on the forums!

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Fourteen New Screenshots

Our Jumpgate: Evolution gallery has been updated with fourteen new screenshots. The new shots give us a look at some Solrain and Quantar ships.

Check out the new shots here

To see our entire Jumpgate: Evolution gallery, go here

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JGE Delayed Past June

NetDevil has posted an update on the status of Jumpgate Evolution, saying that while the game is nearly feature complete, it still needs a lot of work and they will miss their target for a June release.

It’s been about three years since we originally started thinking about making Jumpgate Evolution and in those three years many of you have been following the game’s progress quite closely. You’ve watched the project grow and gain momentum as it has become what it is today. Getting the game complete and into your hands is the point we’re really eager to get to and we strive each week to get to where we can share our adventures in space together.

One of the things we’ve always promised is that we would not release an unfinished product, nor would we subject players to a sub-par experience. The worst situation for a developer is that our game does not meet the expectations of our fans. This is constantly weighed against the need and desire to release the game and let our dedicated community play the game as soon as possible. I know that many of you have seen the targeted June release date and that has generated significant excitement. As with all game development projects, we constantly have to evaluate the quality of the product against anticipation. The question always asked among ourselves, does what we have meet the expectations of the players? Is what we have a good game?

Read more here

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System Talk With Scott Brown

MMORPG.com’s Carolyn Koh sat down with NetDevil’s Scott Brown from Jumpgate Evolution to talk about the game’s progress and some of its more interesting systems.

When I last saw Jumpgate: Evolution (JGE), it was at Penny Arcade Expo in August of 08. Then, attendees were treated to a slice of the game; hands-on play of a newbie mission. I was impressed then, although I had never played a space combat game at any length, not because I didn’t want to, I could not because the games gave me vertigo. Wing Commander, X-Wing, Freelancer, Privateer… you name it. They all gave me vertigo, so I’ve been following JGE closely. I want to pilot a space craft! Since then, our correspondent Sean "Pasanda" Cullinan has had the chance to write a hands-on Preview of the game, and Scott Brown, President of Netdevil was in attendance at the 2009 LOGIN Conference with Game Manager Grace Wong, but without his trusty side-kick Hermann Peterscheck, Producer of JGE. So amid jokes of not letting Hermann out until the game is ready, Scott gave me a status update on where they were on development.

Read System Talk With Scott Brown

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Exclusive Screenshots

NetDevil has provided us with four new, exclusive screenshots fromt heir upcoming space flight MMO, Jumpgate Evolution.

Check out all four exclusive screenshots

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Official Blog Kickoff – Ship Design

Hermann Peterscheck kicks of the first entry in the official Jumpgate Evolution blog by discussing ship design.

In Jumpgate Evolution, ship design is one of the most critical components in the game. When we first started working on it, we spent a lot of time with just one ship, in one sector, fighting a handful of enemies. At first we just wanted to make a ship that was both fun and intuitive to fly. This involved changing camera controls, controller input and lots and lots of unit tests. In the end it took about sixty to seventy iterations to get a flight model and control scheme that felt right.

The next thing we did is come up with what kinds of roles we wanted people to have. This was fairly simple in that the kinds of ships that people want are reasonably well defined. You want to have a quick and nimble fighter, a heavier combat ship, perhaps a missile boat of some kind. On the commercial side you need mining and transport ships. For the high end we considered things like “spy” class ships or heavy gunboats, support class ships that can repair armor or refuel ammunition and just about anything in between. It’s a really fun process to just throw ideas out and see what seems cool and fun to try.

Read the new entry

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Dev Answers From the Forums

MMORPG.com Jumpgate Evolution Correspondent Sean Bamberger has scoured the Jumpgate Evolution forums for developer responses to player questions. In this article, he presents some of those answers.

Tired of trawling through multiple posts, polls, trolls and goons looking for titbits of new information? Well let us here at MMORPG.com be the solution to your problem, condensing all the latest diatribes, answers and knowledge from the UK and European community officers at Codemasters and the development team at NetDevil.

Of course, if you are a fan of forum hunting, I’m sure the ND and Codies guys would love to see your input on the forums, so join up quick sharp! Since the last article here on MMORPG, there has been a sudden influx of dev and community team input, so qualms and queries alike are flying out thick and fast at the moment.

Read Dev Answers From the Forums

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First Look Preview

Sean Cullinan has had a chance to play in NetDevil’s Jumpgate Evolution and today he shares his impressions of the upcoming space flight MMORPG.

Jumpgate Evolution is a space flight combat game with elements of commerce, crafting, and mining. The primary focus of JGE is combat, and it is here where the game is slickest and really comes to life. The universe, as far as JGE is concerned, is made up of several Non-Player Controlled (NPC) enemy races and three playable Nations: Quantar, Solrain, and Octavian. I won’t go into too much detail here, as most of this can be found on Wikipedia here. Each of these three playable Nations has their own conflict and strife with one another, similar to the tripartite realm relationship found in Dark Age of Camelot (DAOC) by Mythic Entertainment. For me, this feature has the biggest potential to make this game a real winner; playing three sides off against one another, if balanced correctly, can lead to superb Player versus Player (PvP) and Realm versus Realm (RvR) or, in the case of Jumpgate Evolution, Nation versus Nation.

Read the First Look Preview

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Dev Chat Today

The folks at NetDevil will be on hand today at 2pm Pacific time to take part in a Jumpgate Evolution dev chat on IGN using Vivox’s Voon voice chat.

Tune into IGN Vault for a Dev Chat on April 21, 2009!

Chat with the Jumpgate Evolution Developers at 2.00PM Pacific time

Jumpgate Evolution developers will be on hand for a voice chat hosted at IGN’s Vault Network on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 2:00 PM Pacific time.

The voice chat will use the Vivox Voon program. Fans will send their written questions to be chosen by the Vault team and, if selected, fans may ask the devs themselves or, if they do not have a microphone, a Vault team member will ask for them.

Read more here

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Conflux Base and Boss Fight

Net Devil CEO Scott Brown guides us through a Jumpgate Evolution gameplay session at GDC, going deep into the heart of a Conflux base and fighting the boss within.

Watch the Conflux Base and Boss Fight

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Battle Space Tour

Net Devil CEO Scott Brown takes us through Battle Space, an area in Jumpgate Evolution where players can train against other players outside of the regular game.

Watch the Battle Space Tour

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Pet Enchanting Overview

IGG has posted details of the Pet Enchanting System in Myth War II.

As you may know, Resistances affect many aspects of battle for pet’s. Not only do they affect attacks, they can also affect damage dealt, damage absorbed and how long or how harsh a particular skill will affect the pet. While using the Pet Enchant system will take the mystery out of Pet Resistances. Today the official will talk more about this magical system.

Players can use Magical Crystals to power up their pets’ stats through the Pet Enchant System. Due to the great variety of resistances found in the game, players will end up with a wide range of choices for enchanting their pets.

Magical Crystals are the only item required for enchanting pets. After a journey to the Pet Lair, players will be able to get a hold of some of these Magical Crystals. Or simply purchase the crystals you need from the mall. Once you have the required crystals in hand, give them to a special NPC in the Pet Market and select the resistance you want, whether its for offensive combat, defensive combat, or magic. The Pet Market NPC will even allow players to double check if the resistance they’ve selected is the right one.

Read more here

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Patron Saint Guide

IGG has posted a guide to choosing a patron saint for you guild in Myth War II.

In Myth War II(http://mw2.igg.com/main.php), when your guild has grown into a powerhouse, with large numbers of members and domination of in game events, then it’s time for you to find a Patron Saint for your guild members to draw courage, seek guidance and increase their attributes.

Guilds that choose an appropriate Patron Saint for their guild will be able to exert control over the entire game world. With six Gods added to the list of Guild Patron Saints, now is the time to pick one of them to be your guild’s protector. Make sacrifices to your Patron Saint in your Guild HQ to curry favor from them. Be particular when it comes to the choice of God.

Sacrificing to different Gods will give varied attributes to your guild members. With high level Gods chosen to be Patron Saints, guild members will be awarded with better attributes and higher resistance builds.

Read more here

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VIP Pet Guide

The folks at Myth War II have posted a guide to the game’s VIP pets.

Myth War Very-Important-Persons are really lucky. With special privileges, they are the first patch getting to own VIP pets that have been introduced to the game recently, before anyone else.

The VIP pets in game are exclusively given to VIP players. The VIP pet group is composed of male human pets and female human pets. Wielding heavy hammers and riding an armored dinosaur, male human pets challenge the very essence of duals and PVP by making it seem like 2 on 1.

The rarity of these pets is also a big part of their allure. All VIP pets are combat oriented pets, ready for battle. Even the cute female human pets will bare their claws and brawl with the best of them. In addition to their fierce attacks, these pets all have 2 types of magic they can use.

Protect: Increases target’s defense

Flash: Utilizes the dazzling power of Flash magic to attack multiple targets

Read more here

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A Look at Pet Attributes

The folks at Myth War II have posted a look at attributes for the game’s 200+ pet.

Pets are a very important element of the game play in Myth War II (http://mw2.igg.com/main.php ). And the pets there are truly as individual as our players with over 200 different creatures to call your own. Players train their pets to share their journey, their happiness and even their battles. Today we will share with our players some of the main attributes of the pets of Myth War II.

Loyalty: A value which shows whether or not a pet really listens to its owner’s instructions. This value will decrease if the pet dies in the battle and the pet will not follow orders if the value is too low. It increases as the pet levels up, and Stone of Loyalty may also be used to increase the value.

Intimacy: A value which shows the success rate of a pets ability to use its skills like “Berserk” and “ Combo” etc. The higher the value is, the stronger the pet will be. It increases when players play and fight with their pet. Obviously the longer that a pet and its owner spend together the stronger the value of their intimacy will be.

Pet’s Attributes:A value shows how a pet’s internal stats affect its abilities. The higher the value, the faster their skills can be improved.

Life Span: Every pet has a default maximum life span. This value will decrease as a result of battles and death. The Phoenix Stone, which are available in the Item Mall, can be used to restore the life span of a pet. Should a pet’s life value decrease to 0, then they can not join their master in battle. The Phoenix Stone can also be used to revive a pet and restore its life span to upper limit.

Read more here

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Hints for a Happy Rebirth

IGG has posted tips for Myth War II players wishing to use the game’s rebirth system effectively.

Rebirth in Myth War II Online(http://mw2.igg.com/main.php ) is only available to players of a high level, and when players are successfully reborn, they take their game play to a higher level. Today, the people from the Myth War Online Team are going to teach us how to be reborn, and not screw it up!

Like most MMOs, this game will give reborn players bonus attributes after rebirth. Reborn players can make changes to their attribute growth and resistance with new avatars to distinguish themselves from non-reborn players. Players who carefully prepare for the rebirth process will get even more bonus attributes, as well as the best attributes, growth and resistance. Let’s look at some examples of players being reborn the second time:

1. Level requirements:

Players must hit level 120 to be qualified to be reborn the second time. After players Level 120+ are reborn, they will receive 8 bonus attributes for each level above level 120. That is, when players with a level 124 character are reborn, they will receive 32 bonus attributes compared with somebody who is reborn at Level 120.

2. Skill requirements:

Players must have a mastery of all skills graded from I to IV and power these skills to hit level 85 to receive the most bonus attributes and the best bonus resistances.

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2-Rebirth Quest Guide

IGG has published a guide to 2-Rebirth quests in Myth War II.

With the release of the 2-Rebirth, players are able to continue moving forward, fighting for life, justice and their Guild. Do you know how to complete the 2-Rebirth quest? Today the team from Myth War is going to take a few minutes and talk about all you need to know to be reborn the second time.

Before accepting this quest you must:

1. Take possession of the five soul stones after completing the soul stones related quests.

2. Hit level 120 after 1st rebirth

3. Gain 200 Reputation points

4. With mastery of skills available for 16 classes.

How to breeze through the quest:

Step 1: Go to the Snow Ridge and accept the quest by talking to the Elder of Faith.

Step 2: go to the Devil’s Gate and challenge the Dark Warrior

Step 3: Head off to the Flame Ruins and challenge the Dark General

Step 4: Go to the Cursed Abyss and talk to the Dark Marshal.Join the Dark Marshal and get reborn,or challenge the Dark Marshal.

Step 5: Go back to Snow Ridge and talk to the Elder of Faith to complete your second rebirth.

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The Story of Rebirth

IGG has revealed the back story behind the rebirth system in Myth War II.

With the release of Myth War II Online(http://mw2.igg.com/main.php), players will soon be learning about reaching new heights of power, long thought unattainable. This has been made possible by the discovery of the second rebirth process. Every time characters are reborn in game, it means a new beginning, a clean slate…almost. But there is a story behind this process, a story that hasn’t been told in generations and is at risk of being lost forever.

After the rebirth, you become a living legend. Those who have quested for the five soul stones are many, those that have succeeded are few. With the resurrection of the Gods, they then give their blessing that Rarus Continent remain forever peaceful. However, during this tranquil, divine moment, you receive a message from the Gods. You have been chosen by them, and entrusted with a great deal of responsibility. You are chosen to lead the continent on a new course, to return it to glory. This is a mission that will change your fate forever.

The traitor Hades’ and his distain and contempt for the rules meant the conflict between his underworld kingdom and the Gods’ would eventually be reduced to meaningless slaughter. In combat, Hades had inflicted heavy losses on the Gods’ armies. His seven commanders contributed a lot to this temporary victory. The seven dark weapons they possessed had no equal among the mortals and were devastatingly effective. With the inevitable death of Hades, his seven commanders fled the battlefield and hid in the underworld, where they could not be found. Their seven dark weapons were then sealed by the Gods for eternity.

Many years passed and people began to become complacent. They forgot the lessons of the past and the forces of darkness sensed an opportunity. The time is now for warriors on Rarus Continent to once again raise arms and help the Gods defend the peace, and their homeland. Three of Hades’ elite commanders have arrived at the place where their weapons were sealed and have tried everything to remove the seals. The second War of the Gods is on the verge of breaking out. If they break the seals, the flames of war will once more engulf the world, plunging it into darkness and death…

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New Version On February 19th

IGG has announced that the next update for Myth War II will arrive on February 19th.

It has been a long and impatient journey for all Myth War fans that have been waiting for the latest news on the new version. The most highly anticipated aspect of the game is probably the new reborn 2 avatars. Not only do they have that to look forward to, but the new version1.0.4.30, will finally be available on February 19th.

As the new version gets up and running, players will be anxious to see the new avatar designs. All of them are displayed in brilliant color with dazzling effects, and smoother animation. Character’s who have reached reborn 2 status will have their names displayed in purple. Come join us for the next chapter in the ongoing story of Myth War!

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Valentine’s Day Events

IGG has announced a series of events to celebrate Valentine’s day in Myth War II.

Since Valentine’s Day is coming around the corner, the air is thick with the sweet scent of roses and chocolates. Myth War team from IGG has prepared the wonderful event series for Myth War inhabitants to express their sentiments.

Event 1:

Love does not begin or end in one day. Since the day Cupid’s arrow penetrated the hearts of Kelina and Andrew, these two young men could never bear to part. But before we give them our blessing, their love must be tested. Team up with your beloved and complete our quest to find out the strength of love. Love Guru and take part in fights. Special prizes like Saint Pet are on offer.

Event 2:

A grand wedding ceremony will be held for 10 players with the most glorious deeds in PK battles. On Valentine’s Day, the GM will act as the Master of Ceremony to host the ceremony. Those heartfelt and touching wedding vows, beautiful flowers and the ringing of bells will be combined to give a most romantic feeling. Your wedding will be a splendid spectacle. February 14, for the whole day, let’s indulge ourselves in love.

Event 3:

We will hold a Valentine’s Day Screenshot Contest. You can take screenshots in the game or hand draw something game based, then submit them to us. Photoshop or other graphics programs can be use to process or edit images.

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Spring festival Event

IGG has announced details of the Spring festival Event in Myth War II to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Chinese New Year is almost here and the inhabitants of Myth War are looking for a brand new start. The Gods governing Rarus Continent have opened the Festal Treasury to see if any brave souls will pick up the gauntlet and fight without fear to grab these rare, divine treasures.

Event Duration

January 22 to January 31

Public access will be given during fixed time periods each day.

Event Description

Event One: Take the Festal Treasury

The Festal Treasury is an 8-story building. Each floor is guarded by a Patron Saint. Players must team up and battle against them and the Treasury Guards. As players venture to each new floor, the combat will become more intense as the Patron Saints you face get much tougher. Players will win Honor Points and even God’s Chest after the death of the Patron Saints and Treasure Guards. If there are players below Level 30 in party, bonus Honor Points will be given to all teammates.

Event Two: Honor Points Exchange

Players can go to Luna’s Palace to exchange their Honor Points for many fabulous prizes. High level pieces, Saint Pets or Deity Beasts are included in the prize list.

Event Three: New Year’s Wishes

During the event period, the New Year’s Fairy will be available for everyone to send their Chinese New Year’s wishes. Each player has only one chance to send their New Year’s wishes every half hour. Prizes will be given for sending well wishes.

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Myth War III in the Works

IGG has announced that they are working on a third game in the Myth War series, Myth War II, which is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The Myth War series will eventually consist of three main games, each of them self-contained. People who have participated in the development of Myth War and Myth War II may already have a good insight into this brand new episode, Myth War III. If all goes well, we aim to release the new episode during Christmas 2009.

Continuing the themes of the previous Myth War episodes, Myth War III develops the storyline as players are forced to battle against powerful eternals. In this new episode, you will be led by the five soul stones to the Rarus Continent in 1900BC, a time of great turmoil where myths become reality. You will fight against Gods, evil Mages and corrupted Witches, all powered by a real time 3D graphics engine to generate amazing visual effects in the game.

In the new episode, you will be able to preview your characters before they are geared up or riding on pets, to help you choose more easily. The game features 3D lighting techniques where every object becomes more lifelike, even changing as the time passes from day to night. We are also excited to let players know about the new Homeland Construction and Collection and Production features, as well as newly developed dungeon areas.

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Equipment Splitting System

The folks at IGG have posted an introduction to the Equipment Splitting System in Myth War Online, which allows players to recover valuable materials from obsolete equipment.

Still scratching your head trying to come up with some good ideas about how to handle the useless gear pieces that accumulate after extensive questing? Thinking of the time and energy you spent to obtain them, it’s not a smart choice just to give throw them away or sell them at a “charity” price before you’ve tried dismantling them and stripping off the valuable elemenst to be incorporated into other gear.

The people from the Myth War Online team think gear dismantling is an underappreciated art form. It is a beautifully ‘green’ process which results in the recycling of valuable and hard to find elements. The incorporation of ore into other combat gears maximizes the value of everything you loot as well as the time spent looting.

In the game, players can take advantage of this system design to acquire items for gear refining and power leveling. The game designers want to help players make rational use of every piece in their inventory and avoid the dreary process of material collection before any refining and leveling. Player’s may get white gear, gems or ore after dismantling is done. It makes gear upgrades that much more entertaining and enjoyable.

Through dismantling gear, you will get:

1. White gear pieces
2. Gems of the same level
3. Ore of the same level

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Client Update and Dragon Server

IGG has posted an update on the latest version of Myth War II and announced the addition of a new server.

The people at Myth War II are giving out a special New Years Surprise! The latest version of the game has been released (1.0.4.27) with a new server with a cool name Dragon.

Client Update

1. A new fully playable server: In this updated version, the game designers have added a new server called Dragon to the game. Lord Gaea, the creator of all lives on Rarus Continent is portrayed as a titan cursed with a dragons head, wielding a huge sword and wearing golden armor. Every realm in the game is guarded by 12 dragons which are the toughest and most violent creatures in Myth War II universe.

2. No limits to players’ titles for their pets involved in combat. In this new server, players are allowed to combat with many high level pets even as newbies.

3. A new NPC trying to help correct bugged resistance distribution for reborn players. This new NPC will be found in the Church. With one click, you will get the bug in resistance distribution fixed.

Download the latest client here: http://mw2.igg.com/download/client.php

New Server

The new server has been available since January 8th and new updates have all been unpacked. As a fair play is advocated, people from Myth War II hope that with the successful launch of this new server, all players can enjoy this game as much as possible.

The decision to shut down the old Myth War does not mean they chose to give up this classic MMO. Instead, most of features that worked well in Myth War have been maintained and even improved in MW2. What’s more, it is reasonable to expect Myth War ? to come out in 2009, which would probably take you into a 3D Myth World.

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Dragon Pet Overview

IGG has published details of the various Dragon Pets that are available to players in Myth War II.

At first sight, most warriors falter, terrified of their impending death. Or if you happen to be one of the lucky ones who have fought with a dragon, you know they are a warrior’s dream. With a dragon at your side, you are unbeatable. Today, the people from the Myth War Online team are spreading the news about these regal pets.

Dragon Pet Animation

Dragons, a myth shared by all cultures, are symbolic of the principle of terrifying force. With these beasts on your side, combat will never be as difficult as it seemed before.

Bog Nightmare

They are ruthless, and the most dangerous animals to roam the swamps. They have high anti chaos and are their own masters. You must nail everything, including your gear and combat skills before heading out to have a hard hitting fight against them to make them your pet. If you emerge victorious, it’s worth it in the end because Bog Nightmare’s possess fabulous combat abilities and deal a tremendous amount of damage to their opponents

Demon Dragon

They have three heads and live in Demon Square. They are merciless creatures with hearts of stone. Once engaged in combat, they will battle it out to teach you a lesson you’ll never forget. With high fire resistance, STR and AGI rate, they are a perfect choice to kill your opponents quickly. But with so many warriors seeking them, their numbers have dropped to almost nothing.

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Fast Cash Guide

The folks at IGG have created a guide to making money fast in Myth War II.

Last week, the folks behind Myth War II just revealed some tips for earning money in this game. Today they will continue to present more tips. Once a player knows the secret, it would not be a dream to be a billionaire in the fun game.

Fast Money Wins 3: Treasure Map

There is a treasure map sold at Hunter House in Woodlingor. Get that map and you’ll see there is a spot marked on the map. This spot indicates where the treasure is hidden. Get out there and get started, that treasure isn’t going to find itself! Besides the treasure, you will also get a good deal of experience and new treasure map pieces. After stringing these pieces together, you will discover a new treasure map and will dig out a necklace that is worth a king’s ransom.

Fast Money Wins 4: Guild Quests

You are well on your way to becoming rich after joining a guild. There are always some daily quests available for you to do. You can do these quests fives times a day, but you must complete them in 9 rounds to win money and experience. Also, you will have a chance to receive some mysterious income generating quests as well.

Fast Money Wins 5: Challenge the Fire God

You can team up with your game pals to kill the Fire God and get gear or other prizes. You can keep the gear you’ve won or sell them to make money. One warning, the Fire God is no pushover. Be advised, you’d better team up with a high level Female Human to complete the quest.

Fast Money Wins 6: Participate in these 4 events

These events are more suitable for players at Level 60 with a mastery of some high-level skills. They are known as the Enemies at Gates, Treasure Grabbing, The Test and Behind Enemy Lines.

You can complete these quests every day, for details check out when they are accessible at Luna’s Palace. Among them, Treasure Grabbing is the easiest. All you need to do is keep digging to find more treasure. By being a part of the other three events, you will receive valuable prizes, like high level classy gems or the fabled Armor of Dreams.

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