Jim Moreno finishes his look at how to RP using magic with some handy links from around the web.
News
News, from other sites, press releases, or in-house
NCsoft is stepping up the Halloween season this year with a range of events, quests, costumes and other goodies across all their titles. Event details for Aion, City of Heroes, Exteel, Guild Wars, Lineage and Lineage 2 --after the jump!
In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks at the actual act of casting the spell itself.
Spooks and scarecrows are coming to Lineage II. The haunting event is set to debut on October 20th. Find out all about the Halloween happenings by clicking 'read more'.
In this week's RoleCraft, we'll look at how a spellcaster puts their magic to good use in the world of roleplay.
This week in RoleCraft, we look at how players can work the mystical arts of magic into their RP.
Jim Moreno looks at how roleplayers can create a character who is in the military.
The Lineage II team has a terrific event planned for players. Eva's Inferno is set to run from August 25th through September 8th. The event rewards players with unique items for their participation. Check it out!
Felicia Day's MMOG-focused comedy series is great at getting laughs, but can it also teach us things about roleplaying in online worlds?
Lineage II community manager, Lyzira, is the subject of a Q&A on the official forums. Questions were submitted by fans and you can grab the link by clicking below.
A collection of the finest RP links from around the Internet.
Morale is a very real aspect of warfare. Historical battles are as often won through moral superiority as physical strength. Rules that account for morale loss (and less frequently, morale gain) are very common in military computer, miniature, and board games yet have been largely neglected for games where a player controls a single avatar.
As long as player action sequences are the driving force behind special maneuvers, MMOs will be nothing but a numbers game. The key to break this cycle is to focus on responses to the enemy's actions.
Lineage 2 players are encouraged to let loose their inner artist to create player guides for Gracia Final. Keep reading!
How much of an MMO is button smashing and how much involves actual skill? This installment is an investigation of how armor choices and shield employment can yield more combat decisions.
I like stats as much as the next person (probably more), but when warfare is boiled down to raw probabilities, battlefield skill disappears. The building of the best stat base becomes much more important than any sort of tactical competency. Instead of seeking a skill based work-around, games come up with new statistical probabilities.
Korean MMO giant NCsoft released today its first quarter earning results for 2009, showing significant profit increases in the Asian market, while the North American figures are still spiraling down from 17% market share in 2006 to the current 8%. The report also noted Aion's upcoming Western market release and beta tests for new titles: Punch Monster, Dragonica, Steel Dog and Metal Black "within the year". Full report after the jump
In this installment, Jonathan Steinhauer looks at the last MMO class archetypes, the Healer, and why this role at least is solidly developed.
The gigantic content expansion for Lineage 2 is now live just in time for Lineage's fifth anniversary. Gracia features all sorts of new quests and improvements, as well as tweaks to the leveling system. Check out the official word by clicking below.
The developers at NCsoft West are busy putting the final touches to the free Lineage II expansion, Gracia Final, which will include some major clan updates. Check the Dev Diary detailing these changes along with 8 new screenshots after the jump!
Lineage 2 developers have released a detailed look at the combat changes introduced with the game update, Gracia. Included with the text description are several screenshots to put visuals to words. Click through to see it all.
The archetypal concept of the tank assumes that PvE opponents have the mental capacity of cattle. Instead of a monster intelligently attacking what would make his enemy most vulnerable (the Healer) or what is the greatest actual threat (the DPS), it attacks the one opponent that isthe smallest real threat and the hardest to kill: the Rodeo Clown... er Tank.
In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks at the issue of player housing in MMOGs and how it can shape one's roleplay experience.
Starting a new series on the archetypal MMO classes, Jonathan Steinhauer begins by looking at DPS and the issue of hitting versus damaging.
This week on RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks into how roleplayers can prepare for an adventure - Research, Plan, Go!
In this edition of RoleCraft, Jim Moreno wonders about a crucial element in tabletop gaming missing from the MMO - the Dungeon-Master.
In this installment, Jonathan Steinhauer takes a look at the weapons of fantasy MMOs and how they have all become identical.
On this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno wonders how exactly one can define roleplaying in an MMO due to the absence of a key player in tabletop RPing - the Dungeon Master.
Jonathan Steinhauer takes a look at roleplaying and why he has such a hard time fitting it into the MMO genre.
In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno tries his hand at role-writing, telling the story of one particular Blood Elf in the World of Warcraft.
Lineage II is going full Valentine mode next week with cute cake cooking and eating activities, hidden rewards and more. Details after the jump!
In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno tackles Blizzard's recent debacle with the RP-PvE realm, Wyrmrest Accord.
Game designers face many challenges, and one of the largest of these is balance. Yet curiously, one facet that seems to garner a much smaller degree is the economy. That isn't to say MMO economics don't get a great deal of attention but as they stand the balance is more reminiscent of a band-aid than any real resolution.
This week in RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks back at the RP scene in one of the very first MMOs: Ultima Online
In many of my recent articles, I've proceeded from the assumption that real life comparisons with games are a logical and natural concept. Apparently, I am mistaken. I have been told that the game is fantasy or sci-fi and that means it's not supposed to be real. Yet one of the great strengths of the genres is their link with the human experience.
