Thursday, December 29, 2011

Man Spends USD 16000 On Virtual Sword


Age of Wulin is a free-to-play MMORPG that takes players back into ancient Chinese history, where they will be immersed in traditional daily life during a period when martial arts culture was at its peak. Instead of a linear level system, players can develop their character by obtaining skills through the game’s dynamic armed and unarmed combat system, which combines a variety of martial arts such as Shaolin kung-fu,Tai Chi and ancient Chinese philosophies such as acupuncture and inner meridians. Age of Wulin also takes place in a beautiful 3D world with high quality graphics and deep engaging game play.
This man is holding an image of a sword that doesn't exist in real life. In fact, it doesn't even really exist on a virtual world—he paid $16,000 for a game sword that he can't play yet.
He got the virtual sword at an auction to celebrate the launch of a highly anticipated game called Age of Wulin. Set in ancient China, the players would be able to ramble through a beautifully detailed world crouching the tiger and hiding the dragon. Other items sold include a sheath for Hook of Departure—sold for $1,600—and a Lordly Spear Sheath—sold for $2,500.
It's going to be released in China soon, but it will not be available in English until Spring 2012.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Mass Effect 3 Leaked Beta HD Demo

Mass Effect 3 is an upcoming action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Officially announced on December 11, 2010, the game is scheduled for a March 6, 2012 release and will mark the final chapter in the Mass Effect trilogy of video games, completing the story of Commander Shepard.
Gameplay in Mass Effect 3 will be influenced by decisions from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and have settings throughout the galaxy, including Earth and Mars. Combat has been changed and refined; in particular, the cover system has been improved, there will be more options for moving around the battlefield, instant melee kills and more conventional grenades will be introduced as well as improved artificial intelligence. A four player multiplayer co-op mode will also be available.
Mass Effect 3 will follow from the events of the Mass Effect 2 DLC expansion Arrival and follows Commander Shepard's mission to save the galaxy from the Reapers by rallying civilizations of the galaxy together, while also having to deal with Cerberus, who have decided to turn against him/her.
Here are the 6 parts of leaked videos from the beta:
WARNING SPOILERS!!!

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Greed is Good in Eve Online

Thousands of players gathered in protest few months ago for several reasons, all of which related to the Incarna expansion. Some were upset over the lack of content in a full fledged expansion. Some were upset about their computers overheating. The vast majority were upset about the new cash for game items store CCP added. Items in the store range from $30 to $80 in cost at present moment. To make matters worse, an internal CCP memo titled "Greed is Good" and discusses all the ways the developers can exploit players for money was leaked.
CCP has responded to complaints with a blog in which they defend their position that people pay up to $1000 for designer Jeans. This has only inflammed players even more.

CCP Blog Defending Incarna:
Dear concerned citizens of New Eden
This week has seen quite a controversy unfold. In almost the same instant as we deployed Incarna - which by the way is one of our more smooth and successful expansions, not to mention absolutely gorgeous - an internal newsletter with rather controversial topics addressed leaked out. To further compound the confusion there was a clear and rather large gap in virtual goods pricing expectation and reality with a large segment of the community. I‘m going to address both these issues right here.
Fearless
Fearless is one of our company values. It‘s also the name of an internal newsletter that has been designed and developed specifically to catalyze discussions on controversial topics. One of the biggest elephants in the room these days, not just for EVE but for the gaming industry as a whole, is virtual goods sales and microtransactions. Therefore we dedicated an entire issue to exactly that topic. It‘s worth mentioning that the topic of the issue was "Greed is good?" as a way to ask a question that would then be debated back and forth and often exaggerated purposefully to draw contrasts and make points. The result of that is now widely available on the internet. The opinions and views expressed in Fearless are just that; opinions and views. They are not CCP policy nor are they a reliable source of CCP views as a company. The employees who submitted articles to that newsletter did exactly what they were asked to do, write about theories and opinions from an exaggerated stand. While it‘s perfectly fine to disagree and attack CCP over policies or actions we take, we think it‘s not cool how individuals that work here have been called out and dragged through the mud due to something they wrote in the internal company newsletter. Seriously, these people were doing their jobs and do not deserve the hate and shitstorm being pointed at them. 
Pricing structure
People have been shocked by the price range in the NeX store, but you should remember that we are talking about clothes. Look at the clothes you are currently wearing in real life. Do you have any specific brands? Did you choose it because it was better quality than a no-name brand? Assume for a short while that you are wearing a pair of $1,000 jeans from some exclusive Japanese boutique shop. Why would you want to wear a pair of $1,000 jeans when you can get perfectly similar jeans for under $50? What do other people think about you when they see you wearing them? For some you will look like the sad culmination of vainness while others will admire you and think you are the coolest thing since sliced bread. Whichever it is, it is clear that by wearing clothes you are expressing yourself and that the price is one of the many dimensions that clothes possess to do that in addition to style and fit. You don't need to buy expensive clothes. In fact you don't need to buy any clothes. Whatever you choose to do reflects what you are and what you want others to think you are. We will gradually introduce items at other price points, definitely lower and probably higher than what‘s in the store today. We hope you enjoy them and are as passionate about them as you are of the current items that are for sale. I hope I‘ve addressed your concerns and cleared up a lot of the issues you‘re having. We‘ll continue monitoring the forums and other communications channels and pick up and reply if there are concerns not covered by this blog.
Thanks, Arnar Hrafn Gylfason, Senior Producer of EVE Online

This video shows hundreds of protesting players shooting an invulnerable structure in Jita, the most popular trade hub in the EVE universe. The system is so full of players CCP keeps shutting down gate traffic and forcing people into other systems. Hundreds of players wait on gates to enter. Thousands of players are also protesting in other popular such as Amarr and Rens. EVE game time code value is currently plummeting.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Planet Cyrene comming in the next 3 monts

From the first unofficial trailer preview of Planet Cyrene made by Ed Robles the creative director of Planet Cyrene and owner of Digital Scryers we can see that planet Cyrene will be released in the first quarter of year 2012. The video is short, but long enougth to see what we can expect from Panet Cyrene - cool armors, rich environment, interesting cities and kick-ass creatures.
The official trailer video is done by a real pro named Mr. Rod and it will be much more detailed/pro, followed by an extensive ad campaign and marketing. In this video you cannot see the new gameplay systems as well as all the great custom interactions Cyrene team have made with the existing systems provided. As time gets closer and closer, Mindark has been revealing new and revised systems. These are the systems that Digital Scryers needed to launch and get Cyrene where they wanted it to be at launch. EU as a platform will become more amazing for all Planet Partners as they pick and choose what systems they decide to focus on (thereby separating the planets even more but keep within the same platform). Exciting times are ahead! This video was made for all the fans who have been keeping up with Cyrene (as Ed promised to keep them informed along the way with sneak peeks and behind the scenes previews).

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Virtual world, where millions of people can work, socialize, learn and fall in love

Interesting article from 2007:
China will soon have its first cash-based virtual world, where millions of people can work, socialize, learn and fall in love, Sweden-based Entropia Universe said.
Entropia said it was chosen to create an online universe of planets populated by avatars, the animated stand-ins for human users.
It took nearly a year to negotiate the deal with the Cyber Recreation Development Corp, the online entertainment division of the Beijing municipal government.
Entropia won out over competition, including popular virtual world Second Life, in part because it is built around "security, safety and control" of a cash economy, said Marco Behrmann, spokesman for Entropia's creator, MindArk.
"We are extremely happy both to present the Entropia Universe to the Chinese market and also to have found such perfect partners in CRD," Behrmann said. "The Chinese market is huge and we believe that the safe system that we have with Entropia is a very suitable fit."
Behrmann declined to disclose the financial terms of the deal. The computer servers supporting the virtual world will be located in the mainland and monitored by CRD and MindArk.
When asked whether Entropia has adapted to the practice of mainland officials monitoring and censoring Internet use, Behrmann said: "Our current system works well with the needs of CRD and China - no special accommodations were necessary."
CRD chief executive David Liu predicted that the virtual worlds will generate approximately 10,000 jobs in the mainland.
"An important aspect for this project is also the positive effects on our environment that we foresee," Liu said. "People will actually be able to work from home inside Entropia Universe, as many people do today, even from rural areas, thereby decreasing the amount of pollution generated by travel."
Liu said Entropia provides a secure operating platform for trade, business transactions, cultural exchanges and other activities.
Entropia's online universe has two planets but plans to grow to include hundreds with the expansion into the mainland, which is to be completed by September next year.
As many as seven million people will be able to access China's virtual universe simultaneously and the hope is to attract some 150 million residents from around the Earth to socialize and do business there, Entropia said.
China's virtual economy is expected to eventually generate more than a billion dollars annually.
Entropia supports sales of virtual products, on- screen items made of computer code. People represented by avatars can also negotiate purchases and delivery of items in the real world.
The currency in the virtual universe is the Project Entropia Dollar, which avatars can convert to and from US dollars.
Entropia entered the Guinness World Records in 2004 when a 22-year-old Australian with the in-world name "Deathifier" paid US$26,500 (HK$206,700) for a virtual Treasure Island.
MindArk was founded in Sweden in 2003, the same year it launched Entropia Universe, which charges nothing to join and has reportedly grown to more than 580,000 residents.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Beacons are back in Entropia Universe

Beacon Missions

Beacons are back! Gather your friends and society mates for an exciting new challenge.

To give participants a chance to try out and become familiar with the format of the new Beacon Missions, complimentary Level 2 Robot Beacon items will be distributed to participants possessing any of the old beacon items. For example, if an avatar has one Level 4 beacon and one Level 6 beacon in storage, they will receive two complimentary Level 2 beacons.

How to enter and complete the new beacon mission areas:

1.Form a team with fellow colonists (4 - 12 members). The team leader must be carrying the Robot Beacon in carried inventory.
2.Team leader uses the Robot Beacon to locate the robot gate.
3.Team leader activates the robot gate and enters, followed by the rest of the team.
4.Team must fight its way through the levels and destroy the main boss before the timer runs out. If the boss is not defeated before the timer expires, the beacon mission will end, and the team returned to the Planet.
5.Once the boss is defeated, a new timer begins. Find the loot stored in containers throughout the levels before the timer expires and the robot ship explodes! Any containers unopened once the timer expires will be lost!

New features and changes compared to the old Beacon system:

-Beacons missions vary in difficulty levels depending on the TT value of the Robot Beacon item.
-Be advised - Robot enemies inside the beacon areas may be much tougher than those encountered on the planet. Be sure to bring a strong enough team to complete the mission!
-There are checkpoints inside the beacon areas where team members will revive if killed.
-Team members can now exit and enter the beacon mission area (Note: A player must be a member of the beacon team in order to re-enter).
-If the team is somehow disbanded or you are kicked from the team after entering the beacon area, you can still open containers and receive loot.
-Loot from containers is now automatically shared equally between all members who have entered the beacon area.
-Some containers hold more loot than others. Make sure to find and open all of the containers to receive the maximum possible loot!
-All team members no longer need to visit the last room to be able to open containers.
-Watch out for automated defensive mechanisms and potentially dangerous traps!

Creatures in the Beacon Mission



Monday, December 5, 2011

Screenshot Contest in Entropia Universe

The MindArk marketing crew are in need of some high-quality screenshots for upcoming promotions, including a very exciting Entropia Universe Facebook app. Nobody knows Entropia better than the players, so get your cameras unpacked and start shooting!

We are looking for screenshots that capture the beauty, energy and uniqueness of Entropia Universe. The contest is divided into five categories, each with its own theme.

Categories
Landscape
Space
Social
Economy
Action!

Prizes
The winner in each category will receive one Adjusted Isis LR32 (L) [full TT value].

Rules
> Screenshots must be submitted no later than December 8, 2011.
> Screenshots must be uploaded to the Entropia Forum gallery, in the screenshot contest category. Link
> Participants may submit as many screenshots as desired, in any or all of the contest categories.
> Limit one prize per participant.
> Screenshots should have the user interface and shortcut keys hidden.
> Minimum image resolution - 1280x800 (1680x1050 or larger preferred).
> A committee of MindArk staff will act as judges for the contest and choose the winning screenshots.

Important Note!!
By participating in this contest and submitting images, you agree that MindArk may use any or all of your submitted images for promotional and marketing purposes, at its own discretion.

Here are my screenshots: