Dark and Light Interview: NPCube has been rather silent since e3 when it comes to Dark and Light, the largest mmo game world we will ever set foot in, which by the way impressed all of us. Some people begin to even question if it's becoming a vapor title. To learn more, Selenia tracks down the lead designer for an interview asking the hard questions about the game. Check her interview. Posted July 28 2004 by Div Devlin

Atriarch Dev Update: A new development update has appeared on the Atriarch site pertaining to the NPC knowledge base, feedback from last weeks update about an article which appeared on 3dgamers. I noticed the game Atriarch looked interesting, after going to their website it was love at first site, the game I've always dreamed about. A truly dynamic world where the player really affects what happens in the game, I don't understand why everyone else has been afraid to approach this, but World Fusion is taking a huge chance. Check it. Posted July 28 2004 by Div Devlin

City of Heroes Teaser: "A Shadow of the Past" will be the name for the next publish in City of Heroes that will add two new zones, two new villian groups, three new trials, and of course, the log awaited return of capes. Teaser: Power Re-specification – The Terra Volta reactor has been running beyond full capacity for quite some time. Heroes who venture within it may experience untold side-effects. Capes at level 20 – Only those heroes who prove themselves worthy may wear this symbol of heroic might. Effects at level 30 – New visual effects add a whole new dimension to your character. Badges – Explore Paragon City and achieve badges to proudly display your accomplishments to other heroes. Check the full update of features. Posted July 28 2004 by Div Devlin

Endless Ages Kingdom Update: Avaria Corp sends word of a new update by way of apology for the silence last couple of weeks on Endless Ages. To make up for it they have a new update with a beta screen from the new kingdom air world that they are working on. Just know that materials and such will be changing on this but they just wanted you to be able to get a glimpse. Posted July 28 2004 by Div Devlin

Guild Wars Community Day: Arena Net has released their Community Day recap for Guild Wars where they invited five members from the fansite community to Washington to tour the studio's and interview dev's. Three pages and pictures. Meanwhile, as reported on every other website EBGames has changed the release date listed to Feb. Arena Net reps state they plan for a release 1stQ'05. Posted July 28 2004 by Div Devlin

New Lineage Episode: NCsoft announces the latest chapter to Lineage. Lineage 1, Episode 2: Heaven and Earth, launched on North American servers and gives players even more areas to explore and creatures to battle. It also introduces the Lastabad Dark Elf army, which is wreaking havoc on the towns and castles of Lineage’s fictional world of Aden. The Lastabad have laid waste to the town of Gludin and now threaten every castle in the kingdom. If the marauding Dark Elves take over a castle, heavier taxes will be imposed on players in nearby villages. In addition to this new gripping storyline, Heaven and Earth unveils many other new features. A completely renovated user interface improves the game experience for players. Included in the improvements—visual spell delay timers, overhead hit point (HP) and mana point (MP) visuals, and text macro and chat text color display options. There are new quests including a high level Dark Elf quest, which provides players with the "Finger of Death," an assassin's blade capable of poisoning its target. Pets can now evolve past their current state of simply following and fighting. In the Heaven and Earth expansion, some pets will have access to more powerful magic and can equip special pet weapons and armor. Heaven and Earth also offers more regions to explore, more items, weapons, armor, creatures and monsters including the dreaded Grim Reaper. Ultima Online's expansion has some work to do? Posted July 28 2004 by Div Devlin

Ryzom Preorder Gift: Nevrax has announced that they will be offering an in game gift for those who preorder Saga of Ryzom. The Armlet of Atys is a sacred symbol of the living planet, Atys, awarded to only the most devoted disciples of the goddess Jena . You will receive a pre-order activation code for the Armlet of Atys with your shipment confirmation email. Online offer only -- not valid on in-store pick up orders. It looks pretty sweet, check the animations here. Posted July 28 2004 by Div Devlin

Time of Defiance New Client: Time of Defiance has a new funky-clunky game client on it's way from Nicely Crafted. It would appear that we are on a roll at the moment and you can expect another new client release very soon. Included is a full trading system whereby you can buy and SELL resources that you have acquired to the Eighth House. We have also introduced a new particle system that provides some amazing effects and adds even more detail to the game. There have been some additions to the way the allegiances work and we've added filters to the chat window so that all important messages are divided into their respective types. Groovy. Posted July 28 2004 by Div Devlin

Playball in UBO: Netamin sends word via press release that they are ready to release Ultimate Baseball Online this fall. Netamin Corporation (www.netamin.com), today announced the world’s first virtual reality, massive multi-player online sports game – Ultimate Baseball Online (UBO) – is in the final stages of testing and will be ready for a worldwide launch in Fall 2004. Unlike current video games that aspire to simulate professional sports, UBO delivers a first person perspective online sports experience as real players team up and face off against another team in real-time. In order to ensure accuracy, Darrell Evans, a two-time Major League All-Star ('73 & '74) and World Series winner (1985), serves as UBO’s principle baseball consultant. UBO software is available for download and free trial immediately at www.ultimatebaseballonline.com. In UBO, baseball enthusiasts and gamers compete in 3D virtual stadiums. With stunning graphics and surround-sound audio reactions from the crowd, participants control a player for a specific field position. Players use an avatar to bat, pitch, field, run, steal and perform any baseball action. Participants can practice, play pick-up games, join or found their own teams, compete against rival teams and win a league championship in the post season. Gamers build their skill level (player stats) through successful play on the field against other real human players. Netamin is now offering Ultimate Baseball Online at a special preview discount price of $19.95 with free monthly play until the game officially launches in Fall 2004. Once launched, Ultimate Baseball Online will cost $29.95, which includes the first month of play free, with a monthly subscription charge of $9.95. If you have not checked this game out, you should. It's becoming an addiction at my place. Play Ball! Posted July 28 2004 by Div Devlin

WoW Action Figures: Blizzard announced that they will continue their action figure line with World of Warcraft. Coming soon from the dusty plains of Central Kalimdor and the ruins of Lordaeron willbe three new action figures based on characters from the game. Wielding wildly different forms of magic in service of the Horde, the Tauren Shaman, Undead Warlock, and Jungle Troll Voodoo Priest will hit stores around the same time as the retail launch of the game. Posted July 28 2004 by Div Devlin

A Tale in the Desert Giveaway Ends: Tonight will be our last night in which we will be giving away beta slots for the upcoming second telling to A Tale in the Desert by eGenesis. If you have not already signed up to help test the game, this is the final chance as we send over the list of names we have. Slots are running out, so don't delay as they begin letting the first round of testers inside this upcoming Thursday. Sign Up! Posted July 26 2004 by Div Devlin

As The Market Turns: Artifact Goes Chapter 11, Partners with PlayVault Last week Artifact Entertainment announced that they have filed for Chapter 11 after reducing staff to cut costs in an attempt to keep Horizons, their MMO game profitable. Following that news that have announced a partnership with PlayVault, the only approved company for trading virtual goods within MMO Games. Lucas Arts Names New VP John Geoghegan has been named Vice President, Marketing, at LucasArts, a leading developer and publisher of entertainment software for video-game consoles, computers and the Internet, it was announced today by Jim Ward, President of LucasArts. Geoghegan is a veteran marketing executive with nearly 20 years of experience creating and managing marketing, communications and advertising campaigns and brand-building programs for such globally known companies as Sun Microsystems, Procter & Gamble, Sprint, Nestlé, British Airways, Dupont and Chevron. NcSoft Goes to Europe In their plan for global domination as the ultimate MMOG publisher, NCsoft announced their plans to expand to Europe. NCsoft is planning to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary company called NCsoft Europe Ltd. located in London, UK with an investment of £3,223,470 (GBP) (approximately US$6 million or 70 billion Korean Won). NCsoft already has successfully established itself in North America, Japan, Taiwan, China and Thailand. With the upcoming venture into Europe, NCsoft takes one step closer to constructing a global network for online game services. NCsoft Europe will be headed by Geoffrey Heath, who has a history of building businesses in Europe. In addition to being instrumental in helping Activision establish a foothold as the UK's first third-party publisher for the Atari 2600, he has also advised other major US game companies such as Origin Systems and Maxis. Heath also established Mindscape International and was a key member of the team that managed the sale of the Mindscape Group to Pearson. Heath is also chairman of Climax Group, a leading games developer. Tabula Rasa Reorg NcSoft had a recent shakeup for Tabula Rasa in which Carly "Lady Moi" Staehlin, lead programmer Bill Randolph, and artist Scott Jones have left the building. Richard Garriot will now be the lead developer per an article over on GameSpot. Posted July 26 2004 by Div Devlin

City of Heroes Quicks: Ncsoft and Wizkids announced that they have a new figure coming out for HeroClix based on City of Heroes. The new Statesman figure will be available through various WizKids and NCsoft promotions, including being featured in NCsoft’s City Of Heroes Collector’s Edition Box Set, slated to be on shelves this winter. In news that really gains respect and huge plugs is that Ncsoft is giving away 2,00 copies of City of Heroes to real heroes of the US Navy and Marines personnel returning from duty in the Middle East. The game giveaway program, dubbed "Heroes for Heroes," is a way for NCsoft and its employees to show gratitude to the military men and woman returning from difficult duty. They startedgiving the games out last week at the Norfolk (Va.) Naval Station Exchange. That rocks. Once again from the NPD Group are the results showing City of Heroes has the staying power in the top ten, although the have fallen back to fourth for game sales the week ending July 10. The Break down: 01. MS Age Of Mythology 02. Rise Of Nations 03. MS Flight Simulator 2004: Century Of Flight 04. City Of Heroes 05. The Sims Mega Deluxe 06. The Sims Deluxe 07. MS Zoo Tycoon: Complete Collection 08. The Sims: Superstar Expansion Pack 09. Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising 10. Battlefield Vietnam Have they reached their peak? Posted July 26 2004 by Div Devlin

DAoC Roundtable Gathering: There is going to be a party in Vegas! The Camelot Herald reports they are planning on having a "RoundTable" in Las Vegas this September 24th and 25th in which the Mythic folks will hold events, speeches, food, contests, movies, and a "darn good time." While no details are yet available this will be the place to meet guildmates and mortal enemies in person or even dress up like an elf in a socially acceptable setting to Dark Age of Camelot. Read the blurb on the Herald and stay tuned for more. Posted July 26 2004 by Div Devlin

Dragon Empires Quicks: Peter Tyson has left the Dragon Empires buildings over at Codemasters. He sent his final farewells last week as he plans to head down to New Zealand with his fiance that he became engaged to back at Christmas. With his departure Sam 'Satine' Russell will be taking over in his place. Sam has proven a real asset to development and has done an excellent job of working with beta testers and the community already. Welcome to the front lines Sam, and farewell Peter! Best Wishes for you and your fiance! Posted July 26 2004 by Div Devlin

Mourning Spell Videos: Limitless Horizons has released new spell effects video's for their upcoming game of many titles currently dubbed Mourning, along with new screenshots located in their gallery worth checking out. 10 videos in total which run in Windows Media player lasting on average about five seconds each. Posted July 26 2004 by Div Devlin

PotBS Teaser Movie: The Nvidia site is now host to a new combat teaser for Pirates of the Burning Sea, in which the 5th Rate Heavy Frigate is inn battle with a trio of pirates. The official site from Flying Labs also is host to five new combat centric screenshots worth checking out. Posted July 26 2004 by Div Devlin

SWG:JTL Beta Registration: Sony announced that they are now sign-ups for beta in Star Wars: Galaxies space expansion Jump to Lightspeed. With the recent patch fixing a majority of the graphics lag issues select users were having, SWG is once again playable. For those just purchasing the game there was an issue with the account keys getting duplicated in error by the publishing house. Instructions to correct the issue have been issued as well as an apology for those affected. Posted July 26 2004 by Div Devlin

Ultimate Baseball Online Slugfest: While Netamin has not released the game yet and summer drawing to a close, they have geared up for release of their online sports game Ultimate Baseball Online with their Summer Slugfest, in which players who have reached at least state level and are on a team can have their own custom uniforms to created for the winners. To allow the maximum number of players joining the tournament, Netamin has extended the deadline of the application date to July 31st, 2004, upon which a schedule will be immediately generated. The tournament will start on August 4th, 2004. Posted July 26 2004 by Div Devlin

Lucas Arts Shafts Staff: For the past couple of days it's been a wild ride over in Star Wars Galaxies as they patch and break more items, not fixing the orignal publish which was broken, and rather interesting to watch is the Dev's post upcoming changes, then removing entire threads which were about upcoming fixes. Maybe the reason why it's become so dysfunctional over in that part of the galaxy is due to an internal memo that Lucas Arts sent to their staffers by Jim Ward announcing the disheartening news that staff will not recieve any bonus pay or merit increases as they shore up and focus on their titles due for release. Read More Below. Full Story Posted July 16 2004 by Div Devlin

City of Heroes Heroics! City of Heroes has got to be the new heroic champion as once again they remain in the top ten for games released during the week ending of July 3rd per the NPD Group. The break down: 1. MS Age Of Mythology 2. City Of Heroes 3. Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban 4. Rise Of Nations 5. Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising 6. The Sims Deluxe 7. Call Of Duty 8. The Sims: Superstar Expansion Pack 9. The Sims Mega Deluxe 10. Battlefield Vietnam Champion of MMO Games to date? If you play a scrapper or are thinking of starting one up, be sure to check out Selenia's "Scrapper Guide" which she just completed for GameGuidesOnline. Posted July 16 2004 by Div Devlin

Mourning Preorder Now: Mourning (Formerly known as Realms of Torment) has become available for preorder direct through Limitless Horizons site. Benefits of doing the preorder? Savings of 40% with a purchase price of $29.99 No word though if it will be by digital download only, or if you will get the box as well. Posted July 16 2004 by Div Devlin

Time of Defiance Asia: Time of Defiance is on it's way to Asia thanks to Nicely Crafted's new partnership with Typhoon Games who are pleased to announce they have signed a deal to bring the MMO RTS to 14 Asian territories. Under the terms of the contract Typhoon will release Time of Defiance in English and localized dialects, the territories include Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, China and Malaysia. Posted July 16 2004 by Div Devlin

Ultima Online Expansion: With the cancellation of UX:O Electronic Art's promised to focus more on Ultima Online with new expansions. Well, the announced expansion has arrived in the form of UO: Samurai Empire. From the press release: Traveling around a mysterious Asian environment filled with exotic beasts, expansive dungeons and scenic housing areas, players can strive to become a fierce Samurai, dedicated to the art of Bushido and focused on learning new physical combat abilities. These skills include Lightening Strike, a ferocious and fast single attack with a 50 percent hit bonus; Whirlwind, where a Samurai's powers increase as the number of enemies he's fighting multiply; and Honorable Execution, which is an attempt to eliminate an enemy with a single attack. Players also have the choice of joining the elite ranks of the Ninja, where they will concentrate on magical combat and stealth. The Ninja player will master many deadly arts that include Smoke Bomb, which they use to make themselves disappear. By using Animal Form, Ninjas can turn into seemingly harmless creatures like wolves and serpents, allowing them to move freely among their enemies. With the Mirror Image skill, Ninjas can confuse their enemies by creating up to four mirror images of themselves. In addition to becoming either a Samurai or Ninja, players will have new house customization themes and decorations to use as they build new homes or modify existing homes. For instance, players can start by constructing a simple dojo and then build it into a massive Japanese-themed castle. The adventurous will be rewarded with a vast array of new Japanese-inspired items such as weapons, armor, clothing and house tiles. So it's just new art that was in the anniversary edition? Expected ship date is this November. Posted July 16 2004 by Div Devlin

Anarchy Online Contest: Are you looking to check out the "Alien Invasion" expansion for Anarchy Online as an eager beta tester but unwilling to wait for an e-mail announcing you have been selected? The folks over at MMHell are holding a Sci-Fi Contest in which they will be giving away 100 beta accounts by answering a simple question and following the three steps to validate your entry. Check it, and Good Luck! Posted July 12 2004 by Div Devlin

Endless Ages Character Screens: New character assets have made their way out from the secret bunkers of Avaria Corp for Endless Ages with three new shota now appearing on the website. You can see the new Ateaus armor color which was changed due to much demand for a new shade, as opposed to the old pink. Also available is a female wearing one of her new jetpacks, and the last pic is an example of some new graphic techniques that will be in use. Check Em. Posted July 12 2004 by Div Devlin

EverQuest II Beta Update: Steve Danuse from SOE gives an update on the state of Beta for EverQuest II. Hello all, Some weeks have passed since we began taking EverQuest II beta applications, so we thought the community was due for an update on the status of the beta program. I'm happy to report that we're pleased by the things we've learned through our in-house testing and are now ready to expand this private phase by bringing in family members and other close associates to help us test the game further. After this initial phase, we will begin inviting testers who qualify for special phases of our beta. This will start with our long-term Legends subscribers, followed by those who took advantage of our Lords of EverQuest preorder offer and other special promotions. This will be followed by a wider public beta consisting of people who applied on our official website, with preference given to long-term EverQuest subscribers. Those who won slots in beta through contests and giveaways will be invited sometime during this phase. Our French, German, and British beta tests will be timed to coincide as much as possible with similar phases of the US beta. Applicants to the European beta will be contacted in the coming weeks with more details on those programs. Finally, I thought it would be fun to share with you some details gleaned from our beta program since the last player wipe. Many of us have been playing at home until the wee hours of the morning, and it's interesting to see how some of these stats are shaping up. The most-played adventure archetype is the fighter, followed by mage, priest, and scout. The most-played races are dark elf, half elf, and kerra; the least-played races are ogre, halfling, and troll. The ratonga are just edging out humans right in the center of the pack. The wealthiest character has nearly two gold to his name (remember, we're on a base 100 monetary system as opposed to EverQuest's base 10). Lots of characters already have multiple days played, so we're happy to report that people are having fun playing! Thanks once again for your interest in EverQuest II. We're looking forward to seeing many of you in beta! Steve Danuser Community Manager, EverQuest II And everyone thought they forgot. Posted July 12 2004 by Div Devlin

Guild Wars Community Day: Five sites got to head out to Washington as guests of ArenaNet and check out Guild Wars. Warcry's affiliated fansite has their updates available after heading back with an interview. Posted July 12 2004 by Div Devlin

Mourning Screenshots: Limitless Horizons released three new screenshots for their upcoming game Mourning on the website. Now you can check out the razzle-dazzle of their spell effects from within game. Posted July 12 2004 by Div Devlin

Jolt to Host Roma Victor: RedBedLam sends word that they have partnered with Jolt to deliver Roma Victor. From the Press Release: RedBedlam, developer of the historically authentic MMORPG Roma Victor has announced a hosting partnership with Jolt Online Gaming to provide a first class gaming service. The Roma Victor game and web servers are now hosted at Jolt's London-based Telehouse suite and testers are already enjoying the finest connection speeds available. "Jolt is the premier online games service in Europe which confirms to our community that Roma Victor will be able to compete at the highest level," said RedBedlam's President & MD Kerry Fraser-Robinson. He added that, "the partnership is an excellent blend of independent and innovative organisations that share the same community-driven ethos". RedBedlam has confirmed that they will be announcing a call for more testers for Roma Victor in the near future in order to help achieve the game's development targets. Posted July 12 2004 by Div Devlin

Wish Beta Reopens: Mutable Realms has opened up the sign-up page for thier game Wish once more. Of interest is that they are now running the beta applications for this phase, which was previously done through Themis-Group, if you pay attention to small things like that. Posted July 12 2004 by Div Devlin

Vivendi Programmer Sues: One of the programmers at Vivendi has filed suit against the company, already in financial woes, claiming he and his colleagues were regularly forced to work extra hours and denied overtime pay. The suit, filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, is one of many filed against companies in the state in recent months, as employees seek to be classified as overtime-eligible to obtain compensation for working more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week. The games industry is well known for its periods of "crunch time," where programmers are called on to work long hours for weeks on end to finish games on time. A spokeswoman for VU Games was not immediately available for comment. Last week the company said it would cut more than one-third of its staff, excluding a key division. According to the suit, Neil Aitken has been an "application programmer" at the company since February 2000, paid bimonthly on a 40-hour-a-week schedule though he said he and his colleagues regularly work more than 12 hours a day. Aitken said he and his fellow "nonexempt programmers" have been ordered by managers to falsify timesheets to indicate they worked shorter days. "Specifically, VUG managers have instructed NonexemptProgrammers to enter 8 hours for each workday regardless of the actual number of hours worked by an employee," the suit said. The suit seeks payment of back overtime wages plus other damages. Corporate America at it's best? Posted July 8 2004 by Div Devlin

Civilization Dawn Funded: Civilization Dawn announced last month by iEntertainment has recieved funding to bring this title into production. From the Press Release: iEntertainment Network, (IENT), an award-winning developer of high quality computer game titles, announces that is has received an LOI (Letter of Intent) for funding of Civilization's Dawn, the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game announced at the E3 show in May. The funding from the LOI will underwrite IENT's entire 30 month development schedule for Civilization's Dawn. The final funding arrangement, which will be through a European financial consortium, will be completed over the next two months. iEntertainment is the company who also brings us Helbreath and Savage Eden. Posted July 8 2004 by Div Devlin

Dragon Empires Twins Release: Dragon Empires released news about the mysterious, mystical Twins who play a vital role in the games lore and background story. The five mighty dragons of Dragon Empires, the forthcoming player-driven fantasy MMORPG epic for PC, are not the only inhabitants whose past and destiny will form an integral part of Fortitude, the game's world. Two young women, both intrinsically linked to the empire dragons, will be influential forces within Fortitude: they are the mysterious and enchanting Kite and Mooneye, known collectively as the Twins. Dragon Empires' lore tells that the Twins are of the bloodline of Fortitude's original human founders. Separated shortly after their birth following a bungled raid by hired outlaws, they were discovered and raised separately; Kite became a strong survivalist and excelled in combat, while Mooneye evolved a natural mastery of magic As they neared adulthood, both Kite and Mooneye were summoned separately by Fin Greenwater and Quill Redwing, the bird and fish dragons, who revealed their true relationship and divulged their powers, including a psychic link between each other, which is mediated by the two dragons. When Dragon Empires goes live, Kite and Mooneye will present a potent force on Fortitude as they strive towards their greater goal, but only the dragons know truly what this may be. Select players will meet and receive high-level quests from them in the game, which may unravel their ultimate destiny... Live Events? Posted July 8 2004 by Div Devlin

UbiSoft Does Final Fantasy XI: UbiSoft announced that they will be the universal publisher for the upcoming Final Fantasy XI expansion pack Chains of Promathia that will release simultaneously to Europe, North America and Japan which will also include the retail game and previous expansion Rise of Zilart for Windows PC's. From the Press Release: Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, is proud to announce the signing of a distribution agreement with digital entertainment publisher, Square Enix. As part of the deal, Ubisoft will distribute the Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) role-playing game FINAL FANTASY XI for Windows, which will include both the previously released "Rise of Zilart" and new "Chains of PromathiaTM" expansion packs, and also Tetra Master, the wildly popular and addictive mini-game from FINAL FANTASY XI. The title is slated for a European release (PAL territories) in September 2004. /end Posted July 8 2004 by Div Devlin

Pirates of the Burning Sea Dev Logs: ARGH! Pirates of the Burning Sea has put to sail two new developer logs. Misha talks about chasing bugs, while a new diary from first timer Niel on ship damage and graphics which he has been working. Posted July 8 2004 by Div Devlin

Ragnarok Online Championship: I live in a cultural bubble. Little did I know, that Gravity Corp was holding a World Wide Web Event for Ragnarok Online and for the win was Team XGMR who competeded at the Anime Expo. From the Press Release: XGMR swept the competition, winning the first four games of the seven series finals against team Denuo Convena. Both U.S. teams are heading to Seoul, Korea to take part in the first Ragnarok Online World Championship, from July 17 - July 18, 2004. The U.S. teams will meet challengers from 18 countries, including Brazil, China, Germany, Japan and South Korea. The world champion will receive a team prize of $10,000. A total of $64,000 will be awarded during the competition. "The U.S. Ragnarok Championship has been a great success - strengthening our resolve to continue organizing e-sport competitions for our game in the future," Peter Kang, senior director, Gravity Interactive, said. "The response from our fans has also proved that Ragnarok is one of the most popular MMORPG games. We had hundreds of entrants from different age groups - one player in the finals is a woman in her 40s." A Congrats to everyone on their win and good luck in Seoul! Posted July 8 2004 by Div Devlin

Wish Server Hosts/UO FAQ: Mutable Realms has announced their partner who will be providing bandwidth and server hosting for their game Wish. Gearing up for its ground-breaking release, Mutable Realms, Inc. announced today that is has chosen Hypernia to host its highly anticipated Ultra Massively Multiplayer game "Wish". Wish defines a new category of online game, the "Ultra Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game" (UMMORPG). Unlike existing MMORPGs that confine players to a server with only a few hundred other players, Wish's highly-scalable server cluster infrastructure allows the game to support tens of thousands of simultaneous players in a single shared world. Wish is also the first massively multi player online role playing game that truly tells a story, and lets player actions have lasting implications on the world. Its single-world approach allows Mutable Realms to employ a dedicated Live Story Team whose singular purpose is to keep the story moving forward, providing a fresh gaming experience for its users each time they play. At its Tier 1 MMOG hosting facility in Miami, Hypernia will be providing Wish with the largest gaming network ever built to accommodate the tens of thousands of users eager to play the game. James Vallord-Costa, CEO of Hypernia commented, "We're very excited about working with the team at Mutable Realms. Users of their new game Wish will be experiencing first hand some of our most advanced Internet technologies available today, and will be playing on one of the largest IP backbones in the world." Wish will be hosted on Hypernia's next generation Internet nGI(tm) service that will provide players from Europe, North America, South America and Asia unparalleled performance and speed. "Hypernia provides us with top-end Internet hosting, with incredible speed and very low latency, as well as reliable 24/7 customer service," said Marc Laukien, President of Mutable Realms. "By partnering with Hypernia, our users will get an optimal gaming experience without interruptions thanks to their advanced routing capabilities." In other news, Mutable Realms has created a special FAQ Update or somesuch to appeal to Ultima Online players on why they should play Wish. Someone please inform the folks at Mutable Realms that those folks who enjoyed Ultima Online are still playing it, especially inlight of the new promise's made to the UO Community with the recent cancellations, and those who enjoyed UO past are on free servers. Trying to win that audience when the next generation games which has the classic UO feel with the modern eye-candy already has come in the form of World of Warcraft and Guild Wars. Be original! Posted July 8 2004 by Div Devlin

ARGH! WoP Begins Open Beta: Argh! World of Pirates another game set in the Carribean in which players battle for supremacy over the open sea has entered open beta. Sail ho, captain! Today the public beta of World of pirates starts. You are invited to explore the world of the Caribbean of the 17th century: It is your choice if you become pirat, head hunter, merchant or governor. The closed beta phase is finished and WOP is now available to all hobby captains. Hundreds of adventurers can now let steam off in the virtual pirates world! You will be a captain who will increase his abilities during the game - e.g. fencing, shooting cannons, trading or navigating. And the plunder travel is worthwhile: Among nine individual upgradeable ship types like sloop or war galleon over 100 cities and numerous quests awaiting the courageous explorer. While the great seafaring nations like Spain or England making alliances or are at war you will rival in sword fights and thrilling sea battles with other human adventurers. Players who likes it more profitable instead of dangerous can make a business career with the filed economic system. Want to play a free game? Download the beta client! Posted July 8 2004 by Div Devlin

WoW EU Beta Sign-Up Open: Blizzard announced that EU Sign-Up's for the World of Warcraft beta are now open. One of the Rules: Applicants must speak French, German or English. Applicants must be 18 years of age or older. Minors over the age of 13 must have their parent or guardian register on their behalf. Testers that are chosen to participate in the World of Warcraft European Beta test will be notified by e-mail. In the event that you are selected to Beta test World of Warcraft (the "Product"), your use of the Product will be subject to a Beta Test License Agreement that you must agree to before you can install the World of Warcraft Beta. Additionally, you will be required to accept the World of Warcraft Terms of Service each time you log-on to play the World of Warcraft Beta. Canadians probably can't sneak into this. Posted July 8 2004 by Div Devlin

Interview w/ Lee Sheldon Lee Sheldon is the author of the recently released book "Character Development and Storytelling for Games" in which he shares his knowledge as a writer for many popular television shows including "Star Trek: The Next Generation", "Charlie’s Angels", and "Edge of Night" in the 1970s and 1980s. While continuing his Hollywood projects, Lee branched into writing and designing games in 1994, with his latest work within URU. Selenia tracked him down and took him away from his busy and hectic schedule to ask what inspired him to write a book on this subject that all game developers should have as a reference in any office. Read On. Posted July 6 2004 by Div Devlin

Ed: The Instanced Content Revolution It's been an argument brewing for some time now. If you are an MMO RPG player, than you have had this talk with countless people who all agree that instanced content detracts from game play. If you are one of the vast minority of players who indulge in "Kill Stealing" and "Random Ganking," than your days are numbered and you no doubt know this. Haren tell's us why "Instanced Content" will revolutionzie our game play entertainment, and who the leader for the next generation will be providing our gaming enjoyment. See What Haren Say's. Posted July 6 2004 by Div Devlin

Gallery: E3 Booth Babes! Tons of talk about the booth babes from the E3Expo held in Los Angeles in May, and by popular request we've finally gotten out booth babe pictures up in the gallery. Now you can see all these "Actress/Models" who sold themselves to game companies to make geeky game dorks feel loved. Check Em. Posted July 6 2004 by Div Devlin

Anarchy Online Phat L337: Funcom announces a special for those who pre-order their Anarchy Online expansion Alien Invasion, which adds another whole new dimension to the game. Funcom introduces Athleet, Shaoleet, Leetzilla, Cheerleet, Masculeet and five other virtual Leet pets with the upcoming 'Anarchy Online - Alien Invasion'. Exclusively available to those who pre-order the retail box online from selected vendors, the new pets are meant to be a fun and social addition to the considerable feature set in Anarchy Online. The strange little Leets have always had a cult status among the Anarchy Online fans, but it’s not until now that players can possess their own crew of Leets. The small critters will loyally follow their owners and are available to all professions. The Leets serve as more than eye-candy though, as each of the 10 pets comes with unique personality and looks. For extra measure Funcom has also included the possibility to pit the Leets against each other in pet fights. "With this unique pre-order feature we seek to give early birds something special." said Nicolay Nickelsen, Funcom's VP of Sales and Marketing. "We know how popular the Leets are among our fans, and this funny addition will hopefully stimulate new and current players to pre-order 'Anarchy Online – Alien Invasion'." Without further ado Funcom proudly presents the pet Leets: Athleet - The sports dude Leet Leetzilla - Godzilla meets Leet Masculeet - The manliest Leet on Rubi-Ka Cheerleet - Your own loyal cheerleader Leet Deleet – The lethal assassin Leet Shaoleet - Watch out, he knows Leet-foo! Invaleet – Talk about a bad hair day Bulleet - His old neighborhood makes the Brink look like paradise! Violeet – The maniac Leet Calculeet - The local office geek Leet All the Leets can be claimed through in-game Leets-R-Us shops after the launch of 'Anarchy Online – Alien Invasion' on the 1st of September. Order Today! Posted July 6 2004 by Div Devlin

As The Market Turns: TKO Software Layoff TKO SOftware the company which aquired Dransik and rebranded it as Ashen Empires layed off three out of it's fourteen staff members and moved development to the Santa Cruz headquarters. The rest of the staff of the Austin office are being moved to other projects. One of the people impacted in the layoff was Jason Ely, the original designer and programmer of Ashen Empires. Posted July 6 2004 by Div Devlin

Dragon Empires Contest: The latest newsletter for Dragon Empires made it's way out yesterday and within it was the announcement that it is time for thier sound competition. As you may remember we previously wrote a dev diary on sound you can read here. In this diary we had three sounds from the game, one of them a mystery sound. If you can tell us which creature you think this is you could win some great prizes! The creature is one that is either on the page or has been spoken of before so that should narrow down your search. For the winner we have two brand-new games, Soldiers: Heroes of WW2 and Perimeter, a Dragon Empires beta account, a Dragon Empires T-Shirt and a Dragon Empires poster. This time around we also have a booby prize for the most awful entry. Yes, if you are judged most awful then you can win your very own, slightly used, Richard Clayderman CD! To enter the contest send mail to decompetitions@codemasters.com and tell them what you think the monster is! The competition will close on the 5th of August, check the terms and conditions. Also included is another edition from Gadsolme's letters. Posted July 6 2004 by Div Devlin

NCsoft Game Day: Not doing anything this week after recovering from the fourth? If your local to Austin check out the NCsoft GGame Day being held the 10th at two different locations and check out Tabula Rasa! Game Fellas – 10 Year Anniversary Event "Join Richard Garriott – aka "Lord British" father of the video game industry (Ultima series, Origin Systems and NCsoft) , for a special in-store appearance at Game Fellas new location 3601 W. William Cannon #275 @ Brodie Lane on Saturday, July 10th from 12noon-2pm. Giveaways, prizes and the first public sneak peek at Richard’s latest futuristic adventure game Tabula Rasa." Where: Game Fellas – 3601 W. Wm Cannon #275 Austin, 78749 ph: 327-GAME When: Saturday, July 10th 12:00noon – 2:00pm Presentation will be towards the beginning followed by meet/greet, photo opportunities and 1 on 1 time with Lord British. Giveaways, prizes and in-store specials. AND and AND and AND and AND and… NCsoft Gaming Day – LAN’s Edge Gaming Center. Northcross Mall. Saturday, July 10th. Noon – 8pm. Pizza, Prizes, Free Game Play and a Presentation by Austin’s own… Richard "father of the video game generation" Garriott on the gaming industry and his new futuristic adventure game Tabula Rasa. Plus Enjoy free gaming with NC Soft’s exciting new titles City of Heroes and Lineage II all day. (regular LAN’s Edge computer rental time applies) or BYOC (bring your own computer) for reduced rates. Where: LAN’s Edge – Northcross Mall. 2525 W. Anderson Ln. Austin, TX 78757 ph: (512) 275-0761 When: Saturday, July 10th. 12-8pm 12pm – 8pm gamers arrive/byoc setup 1pm – Open gaming available 1:30 – City of Heroes/Lineage 2 Presentations 2:00 – Free play/ informal questions with NC Soft Q/A staff 4:30 – Richard Garriott presentation 5:00 – Meet/Greet/ autographs/photos with Richard Garriott 5:30 – Open gaming 6:00 – Wrap Up – Pizza and Door Prizes 8:00 – Last gamer out the door – It's Richard Garriot! Who would miss out? Posted July 6 2004 by Div Devlin

Shadowbane Resource System: It's was promised during development. It's one of those selling points that fans were eager for on release. It was one of the most talked about parts for Guild vs. Guild Combat. It's finally being brought into the game. Lietgardis from Wolfpack Studio's announced the details of the first phade of a "Resource System" into Shadowbane last week. What to expect: So what IS the resource system? Or to rephrase the question using words we have gotten used to hearing from the public, "What were you thinking?" The answer arises from one of our design goals and strategies we had while developing the new system. Our primary goal in adding resources to the game is to deepen Shadowbane's strategic layer, and we are confident the new system does so in several ways: it provides skirmish points for players to fight over; it makes city location matter; and it makes it much easier for guild leaders to maintain their cities. Later, guilds will find that resources and resource control also provides a new way to equip their troops by way of PvP activities instead of PvE (that's a topic for another time – best not get ahead of myself). Check the Full Details. I tried to make it in to Shadowbane over the holiday weekend. I had to reinstall the game due to a new PC. During patching it kept telling me files were corrupt and to reinstall the files from the installation disk. I did that. I would end up with the same messages. Go figure. Then you need to search the help pages which informs you to "remove" the corrupted files from your hard drive and wait thirty minutes to patch again. All in all, it took two hours to reload the game and then I lost interest in playing. Bah! Posted July 6 2004 by Div Devlin

Ultima X: Odyssey Artwork Released! With the announced cancellation last week of Ultima X: Odyssey, the games art developers, Liquid Development have released images which would of appeared in game. Concept works, to renders. Check em. Posted July 6 2004 by Div Devlin