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"An all out epic modded final battle of good vs evil!"
(Throne of Bhaal screenshot submitted by Silverstar)
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Latest General News Headlines:
New Items in BioWare Store - July 1, 2009, 11:22 pm by Azereki
Dragon Age: Origins Collector's Edition Available for Pre-Order - July 1, 2009, 11:14 pm by Azereki
Microsoft Windows 7 Upgrade 50% off on Amazon.com! - July 1, 2009, 10:57 pm by Azereki
UK Game Tax Break Coming True? - July 1, 2009, 10:22 pm by chevalier
TACD Says Consumers Need a Say in Copyrights - July 1, 2009, 10:12 pm by chevalier
Mysteries of Westgate Alan Miranda Interview at RPS - July 1, 2009, 9:58 pm by chevalier
Majesty 2 Screenshots at Voodoo Extreme - July 1, 2009, 9:41 pm by chevalier
Dungeons & Dragons Online - Eberron Unlimited Preview at Massively - July 1, 2009, 9:34 pm by chevalier
The Old Republic Best of Show at TenTonHammer - July 1, 2009, 9:28 pm by chevalier
Fable 3? - June 30, 2009, 7:26 am by The Magister
New Items in BioWare Store
Posted: July 1, 2009, 11:22 pm by Azereki
 New Mass Effect and Dragon Age items have been made available in the BioWare store. They are listing a few new lithographs, one for Mass Effect 2 and two for Dragon Age as well as a new Commander Shepard Statue.
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Dragon Age: Origins Collector's Edition Available for Pre-Order
Posted: July 1, 2009, 11:14 pm by Azereki
 The EA website store has listed Dragon Age: Origins for pre-order in three separate flavors. The first is the standard edition listed at $49.95 ($59.95 for consoles), Collector's for 79.95, and finally the BioWare Edition for a whopping $99.95. You may be asking what goodies these special editions are going to contain. Well, apparently the contents are still to be determined. Hopefully for the price they are asking it is going to be something spectacular. You can currently pre-order the regular edition from our store at this link.
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Microsoft Windows 7 Upgrade 50% off on Amazon.com!
Posted: July 1, 2009, 10:57 pm by Azereki
 If you are looking forward to Windows 7, Amazon.com is currently featuring a fantastic deal to pre-order the upgrade package now for a whopping 50% off. Windows 7 Home Premium comes out to $50 while Windows 7 Professional is $99. Unfortunately, it looks like there are currently no deals for the Ultimate Edition.
  
This offer will last through July 11, 2009 or while supplies last, whichever comes first - so buy now! You can check out all the Windows 7 versions here.
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UK Game Tax Break Coming True?
Posted: July 1, 2009, 10:22 pm by chevalier
 Albion wants more business to sail up the Thames and is looking into the possibility of offering a culturally based tax break to game developers. Here's a clip:
Writing to ELSPA director general Michael Rawlinson and Tiga CEO Richard Wilson, MP Sion Simon, the minister for the creative industries, said: "[Digital Britain] highlights the value of the games industry to the UK economy, the opportunities we would like the industry to be well-placed to grasp and the challenges it faces, including competition from rival games producing countries offering financial incentives not available in the UK. Our commitment to work with you, and others in the games industry, to gather evidence that may support a case for the introduction of culturally based tax breaks for computer games, was influenced by these previous discussions."
Read the rest at Develop and thanks to Blue's News for the lead.
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TACD Says Consumers Need a Say in Copyrights
Posted: July 1, 2009, 10:12 pm by chevalier
Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue demands a halt in the negotiations of ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement), an international treaty designed to strengthen copyright protection, until consumers are adequately represented. As TechDirt points out, lobbyists have no problem getting in, but consumers are rejected. Apparently, Obama administration claims the matter includes state secrets, which is apprently not a concern when it comes to big corporations. Here are some of the demands, as quoted by TechDirt:
Public policy on the enforcement of intellectual property rights should be informed by creditable evidence, transparent and realistic assumptions and objective peer reviewed analysis. Multiple approaches to addressing the legitimate concerns of right owners and consumers should be considered.- Statistics on counterfeiting and or infringement must be objective, accurate, and presented in the appropriate context.
- Statistics on counterfeit and substandard medicines should not be combined when this misleads policy makers about the extent of either problem. The solutions to counterfeit and substandard products are often quite different.
- Estimates of losses from infringements of intellectual property rights should be based upon realistic demand and usage parameters.
- Governments should collect and analyze statistics on the relationship between infringement and affordability of products.
Thanks to Blue's News for the lead.
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Mysteries of Westgate Alan Miranda Interview at RPS
Posted: July 1, 2009, 9:58 pm by chevalier
 Rock, Paper, Shotgun has interviewed Alan Miranda, the CEO of Ossian Studios, which is the developer that created the Mysteries of Westgate adventure pack (cf. premium module for Neverwinter Nights 1). They talk long and hard and a lot is said about the cancellation of premium modules for Neverwinter Nights 1, back when they released Darkness Over Daggerford, which was their first project as a company. So here's a snip:
RPS: Let’s start with the basics and origins – could you talk about the progress from doing Darkness over Daggerford to Mysteries of Westgate? The cancelling of the premium mod program, to you pressing on with the release and then being asked to do something for NWN2… it’s quite the emotional roller coaster.
Alan Miranda: The summer of 2006 was like a roller coaster for Ossian Studios, to be sure. After getting word that the NWN Premium Mod program was being cancelled, along with all its mod projects because Atari wasn’t giving approvals on them anymore, we initially felt crushed. Working for a year on a game only to have it shelved or canned happens more frequently in the industry than gamers might realize, but it never feels good on the developer’s end.
The purpose of Ossian to do the premium mod, Darkness over Daggerford (DoD), was to break into the RPG scene with a splash by releasing a really great commercial game – something the size of an expansion pack. So to have the project officially cancelled, lose all that time we’d spent working on it, and miss out on releasing anything at all as a company, really put us in a “we’re not going to take this lying down” mode. So we gritted our teeth and spent another 3 months to finish the game and gave it to fans for free. We only had a limited window to release the game before BioWare was due to release their re-instated premium mod, Wyvern’s Crown, in September (that’s a whole different story that I won’t get into). So we crunched, and crunched hard. We’d always been confident about the quality of Darkness over Daggerford, but we were truly overwhelmed by the awesome reception from fans when we released it. To date, the game has been downloaded almost 70,000 times and just keeps going.
There's also talk about The DRM Thing, i.e. the three activiation limit that has ultimately been removed. So here it goes:
The 3-activation limit turned out to be very upsetting for many fans, which wasn’t a good thing for Ossian to see. We were supposed to be elated when MoW finally released. Instead, it felt tainted that half of NWN2’s fanbase refused to buy MoW on principle because of its DRM limit. It was an issue that we very much sympathized with and I started talking to Atari about it shortly after release: seeking a removal of the activation limit. It took a while, but eventually Atari agreed (this came not long after the process was underway for selling Atari Europe off to Namco-Bandai). The activation limit was removed on June 15, allowing NWN2 players to reinstall MoW as many times as they wanted. Ossian has tried to spread the word as best we can about this, but we are left to wonder how many potential buyers we’ve lost from players initially passing up MoW because of the activation limit and then not looking back.
Enough snippets for now. Time to read the whole thing on your own, at RPS. Thanks to GameBanshee for the lead. By the way, if you haven't played the Darkness Over Daggerford module yet, do it. You can download it here. The fact that it has a 9.74 voting grade average from 433 votes surely means something. It comes for free, as Alan said in the interview.
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Majesty 2 Screenshots at Voodoo Extreme
Posted: July 1, 2009, 9:41 pm by chevalier
There's a strong chance you don't know, but there's a very nice little fantasy game in which you run a country, you build the infrastructure (kinda), recruitment buildings (that's where the fun starts) and you hire heroes to do the job for you. You fill up the roster to have them around and then you post awards on monsters, ruins and so on. Meanwhile, they can shop in your shops and you get some tax income too. The game has tremendous playability. This is why I decided to post about it and encourage you to take a look at those screenshots. Ever wanted to become the quest giver for a while, for a change?  Thanks to GameBanshee for the lead.
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Dungeons & Dragons Online - Eberron Unlimited Preview at Massively
Posted: July 1, 2009, 9:34 pm by chevalier
 Massively has been taken on a guided tour around the revamped Dungeons & Dragons Online, now Eberron Unlimited, hence we now have a preview to see. Here's how it starts:
Love can sometimes be a fickle thing, but I'm pretty sure that I love what Turbine has done with the DDO Store in Dungeons and Dragons Online Unlimited. I'll admit that initially I was a little concerned with the concept of an in-game store, but after playing with it at bit and asking some questions my fears have pretty much melted away.
I was lucky enough to be given a developer tour of the Dungeons and Dragons Online Unlimited beta last Friday, and had a thoroughly good time. The DDO Store is a streamlined and snappy experience. The store doesn't simply attempt to shove its wares onto the unsuspecting player. Instead, it attempts -- and largely succeeds -- in being a helpful, generally friendly addition to the game.
Read the rest at Massively and thanks to GameBanshee for the lead.
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The Old Republic Best of Show at TenTonHammer
Posted: July 1, 2009, 9:28 pm by chevalier
 Based on what folks at TenTonHammer have seen at E3, they've declared BioWare's upcomming MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic, the best game of the whole show. Here's the brief rationale:
Maybe it was the absolutely phenomenal trailer that BioWare led off with (which many at E3 were calling the best Star Wars cinema in 30 odd years), or the retro-styled booth where they were doing the demo of the highly convincing bounty hunter and smuggler classes or the revelation that a game can go full voiceover without obstructing gameplay. SWTOR is still a long way away and we have much, much, much more to see, but not only did Bioware bring the full package to this year's premier games event, the core of the game looks very compelling and so far, worthy of the hype.
Click this link you must, to fulfil your destiny. Thanks to GameBanshee for the lead.
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Fable 3?
Posted: June 30, 2009, 7:26 am by The Magister
Found in a wedding announcement found in the New York Times:
Mr. Atkins, 34, is the lead game designer for Fable III, a video game series produced by Lionhead Studios in Guildford, England.
It may be a simple typo, or a mistake on part of the writer. Anyway you look at it it's definitely an unusual method to have a game announced. You can find the actual wedding announcement here.
Thanks GameBanshee.
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Mass Effect 2 Will Not Have New Game+
Posted: June 29, 2009, 10:36 pm by Azereki
 Spotted from a post on the Mass Effect Forums, Preston Watamaniuk, the Lead Designer for Mass Effect 2 responds to a question about whether the New Game+ option will be in the sequel.
"Ahhh, ok my bad. The question then is:
"After finishing ME2 can I take my character and restart a new playthrough preserving that characters gear and abilities."
The short answer is no.
The reason is progression. We have been working very hard to make sure we design the abilities system to offer smooth progression into ME3 from ME2. Allowing double progression on characters makes that almost impossible. We have to have reasonable knowledge about where a character could end up finishing all content on a playthrough. We also want to offer choice of character build within specific classes.
We replaced that feature with playing after you were done because it preserves progression and allows for smoother downloading of PRC."
So there you have it, there will be no New Game+ option in the sequel. It does appear, however, that you will once again be able to carry your character over to the next game in the series.
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David Perry on Michael Jackson the Gamer
Posted: June 29, 2009, 9:42 pm by Azereki
David Perry, founder of Shiny Entertainment, has posted an interesting look at what it was like to visit Neverland Ranch and have the opportunity to hang out with Michael Jackson. Perry also mentions their discussions to release his next album as a video game first and then a music album. Here is a small excerpt from the blog:
Michael Jackson was a gamer, he wanted me to come up to Neverland and talk to him about games. The first time I went up and after walking in the door, he handed me a black plastic trash bag and told me to put it on. I was like, "HUH?" He started putting his trash bag on. Then one of his staff walked in with a giant PILE of eggs. A bunch of his friends came in (wearing the requisite black trash bags) and we all went into the garden area and started a giant egg fight. I threw my first egg FULL FORCE (I have long arms), then the world went into slow motion, I thought, "Oh No!", as I saw the egg flying full speed towards his son's face, and I noticed they were filming everything for Michael's home video collection (so they'd know who did it!) What a great start to make his son cry. Luckily, it whizzed right by his ear missing him by millimeters. I then went into "Here, take this" as I performed the lamest egg throws you've ever seen. So everyone survived, and I was invited to stay.
For the full post, head on over to this link.
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World of Warcraft Delayed Starcraft II
Posted: June 29, 2009, 9:32 pm by Azereki
 According to an interview between Rob Pardo and Eurogamer, development of StarCraft II was delayed early in development because a fair amount of the design team was pulled away to help polish off World of WarCraft for release.
"One of the reasons that StarCraft II had some delays very early on in development is because a fair amount of the design team went onto World of Warcraft for a year to really help finish that game off," Pardo told us.
"They had a lot of really great experience to bring, with their knowledge of how they approached the map editor problems, how they dealt with balancing - which we could then leverage into class balancing."
StarCraft II lead producer Chris Sigaty confirmed that WOW had affected the development of the game, saying that "during the time that we were working on World of Warcraft, our team got sucked into that to some extent. A lot of our artists went over and worked on WOW - I was called off, too."
Sigaty is philosophical about the delay, though. "That's a question we get asked," he said. "Wow, you made this decision in 2003 and now it's 2009, what's going on? It's just been that what we've been trying to do as a company is bigger than any one project."
Despite the delays, Pardo says that StarCraft II is the first time in Blizzard's recent history that a game has been developed from start to finish without having to go back to the drawing board.
"This may be the first game in our recent few games that we haven't done that major reboot with," he told us. "It's been a long project for sure, but if you look at say World of Warcraft, or Warcraft III - or even the original StarCraft - there was a halfway point where we took a dramatic left turn and took a different direction. We haven't done that with Starcraft II. That said, it's certainly taken a long time to get to where it's at, for a variety of reasons."
For the full story, head on over to Eurogamer.
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Final Fantasy XI - Add-on Pre-purchase Date Announced
Posted: June 29, 2009, 9:13 pm by Azereki
 The Pre-purchase date for the upcoming "A Moogle Kupo d'Etat - Evil in Small Doses" Add-on content for Final Fantasy XI has finally set for July 5, 2009. The content will be available via the PlayOnline Viewer for $9.99 in the US, £7.99 in the UK and €9.99 for the rest of Europe. The new content requires players to own the Rise of the Zilart expansion pack and have at least one job at level 10.
"LOS ANGELES (June 29, 2009) – Square Enix, Inc., the publisher of Square Enix® interactive entertainment products in North America, today announced that the second add-on scenario for FINAL FANTASY® XI, their MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online Game), will begin pre-sale on July 5, 2009. Titled “A Moogle Kupo d’Etat™ – Evil in Small Doses,” this upcoming add-on scenario will launch simultaneously worldwide later this summer.
Beginning on July 5, 2009, “A Moogle Kupo d’Etat – Evil in Small Doses” will be available for pre-purchase for $9.99 via the PlayOnline® Viewer. Slated to launch at the end of July following the next FINAL FANTASY XI version update, players whose in-game character’s main job level is at least 10 can begin to enjoy this new content. Introducing a brand-new story arc, this new scenario requires the purchase and installation of RISE OF THE ZILART®, the first expansion pack in the FINAL FANTASY XI series.
The development of these add-on scenarios, including the already launched “A Crystalline Prophecy™ – Ode of Life Bestowing” and the upcoming third and final scenario, “A Shantotto Ascension™ – The Legend Torn, Her Empire Born,” is led by Masato Kato, who created the stories and scenarios for FINAL FANTASY XI and its first expansion pack, RISE OF THE ZILART. With the summer release of this second scenario, “A Moogle Kupo d’Etat – Evil in Small Doses,” players will delve into a dark mystery set in motion by a single drop of water."
More information about the new add-on can be found at the official site.
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Weekly Wizards of the Coast News Round-up
Posted: June 28, 2009, 7:52 pm by Taluntain
 » Eberron Campaign Guide Excerpts: The Mournland & Monsters
» Divine Power Excerpts: Destruction Domain
» One Week Left to Take Advantage of Intro Pricing
» Contrition of a Full-Time Wizard
» D&D Alumni: Minis in the Game
» Martial Heroes 4
» D&D Podcast: Customer Service (June 2009)
» Design & Development: The Artificer
» Sell Your Sole Competition
» EPG Wallpapers
» Dungeon 167 Art Gallery
» Dungeon 167 Map Gallery
» PH Heroes Preview 2
» Eberron Campaign Guide Excerpts: Karrnath & Travel in Eberron
» Divine Power Excerpts: Malediction Invoker
» Class Acts: The Bard
» Dragon 376: Monster Manual 3 Playtest
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Baldur's Gate, Tales of the Sword Coast, Baldur's Gate 2, Throne of Bhaal, Baldur's Gate 3, Neverwinter Nights, Shadows of Undrentide, Hordes of the Underdark and Dragon Age: Origins are © BioWare. Icewind Dale, Heart of Winter, Trials of the Luremaster, Icewind Dale 2 and Planescape: Torment are © Interplay. Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor is © SSI. Dragonshard, Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone, Neverwinter Nights 2, Mask of the Betrayer, Storm of Zehir, Mysteries of Westgate, The Temple of Elemental Evil, Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach are © Atari, Inc. Dungeons & Dragons material is © Wizards of the Coast. All original content is © Sorcerer's Place. Please read our Privacy Policy and Legal Disclaimer. | |
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