Curse

Quest Helper

Ryan8425 — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:27:01 GMT

I just bought a new laptop with the new Windows 7 installed on it. I need to find out a way to download Quest Helper and other Add-Ons onto Windows 7. I understand a few things have changed compared to Windows XP, but I've tried everything I could in order to download Add-ons. I was able to locate the "Interface" file which has the "Add-on" file inside. I've downloaded the files and was able to extract all files from the zipp folder, and placed them into the "Add-On" folder. The Add-On tab still did not show up in the character screen before you enter the world. I could really use more feed back about this issue.

Mass Effect 2 Tali and Adept Biotics Videos Released!

DoranM — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:20:07 GMT

Mass Effect 2 is due to be released January 2010, and we've received two new videos for the game!

The first video highlight shows us that Tali's still around! Following the Geth assault on the Citadel, Tali returned to the Migrant Fleet and joined the crew of the Neema. Renowned for her technical and engineering abilities, she is an important and respected member of the Quarian fleet.

Tali Video
(Please visit the site to view this media)

The second video highlights the adept class and the use of biotics. The Adept is one of 6 classes available in Mass Effect 2. They are the ultimate biotic warriors, capable of killing and controlling enemies with their mind alone.

In Mass Effect 2, the classes have been vastly improved, and the Adept is no exception. Curve a biotic pull around cover and lift an enemy out from hiding, exposing them for a lethal follow up attack. With the ability to unleash immense shockwaves, deadly singularity traps, and powerful throws, no one is better at controlling the battlefield than the Adept.

Adept Biotics
(Please visit the site to view this media)

Happy Holidays From Curse!

Kody — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:51:28 GMT

For those of you that celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, all of us here at Curse would like to wish you a safe and happy holiday weekend. If you don't, we still hope you have a fun weekend filled with whatever activities you like to take part in.

Enjoy the break from the daily grind and we'll see you back here as normal on Monday for more MMO goodness!

Pugging for the Black Knight's Rondel

jspies — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:09:20 GMT

As if I don't have enough commitment in my life, last Saturday I committed to gearing my rogue with the Black Knight's Rondel, a dagger from Heroic Trial of the Champions. Not only did I commit to getting one, but I decided to embrace the S&M in all of us, and committed to Pugging to get it.

I've brought some guildies in to help out where we needed holes, but every group has been at least 60% random strangers. It's been interesting so far and I've cataloged the experience at http://playervslife.com

World of Warcraft EU and U.S. Weekly Community Update!

DoranM — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:52:31 GMT

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

These are the latest EU, NA, and developer updates from the World of Warcraft staffers!

EU Forums:

Here are some of the most recent blue-posts made on the EU forums:

· Poll:How long have you been playing in the Warcraft Universe?

· 25/11 Realms and Migration

· WoW 5-Year Anniversary Celebration Begins!

· Blizzard Entertainment at Dreamhack Winter!

· On BoA items sendable between factions

· 24/11 The WoW TCG Design Contest!

· Bosstiary: The Frozen Halls

· Pilgrim's Bounty!

· Icecrown Citadel Interview

Other noteworthy threads:

· The Hardest elite/boss to be soloable?

· The best moments in World of Warcraft

· How to keep leveling fun

US Forums:

· On Turkinator

· On Cross Realm Grouping

· Patch day not this week

· Could you play WoW without addons?

· The Heart and Souls of Icecrown Citadel

· Bosstiary: The Frozen Halls

· on stop making gear worthless

Developer Posts:

· On a DK Tank Talent Tree

· On Moonkin changes to Eclips

· GC& Soul shard resource system implementation

· Locks and what happened?

· on tank balance

· on Elemental T9 nerf

· Fingers of Frost issue

· explaining new soul shard system

· on item bugs on the ptr

· Increasing stats

Bounty Bay Online Launches New Expansion

DoranM — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:37:41 GMT

Bounty Bay Online has just launched the largest expansion in the history of the game, dubbed: Beyond The Horizon! The game now boasts five unique classes, an active pet system, new equipment, new skills, a new marriage system, and a new tournament system. Players will also find themselves face to face with over 40 new main quests and exciting new instances!

Here's a run-down on everything new at BBO:

Frogster has successfully completed the launch of the biggest ever expansion for its seafaring online role play game Bounty Bay Online. With the new add-on 'Beyond the Horizon' players can now take the route around Cape Horn and circumnavigate the whole of the historical seafarer world for the first time. The free expansion will take advanced players to the new continent of South America where the legendary Maya civilisation awaits discovery with its impressive stepped pyramids, demanding quest lines and a whole new instance. From the 'Magellan Supply Station' in the south to the snow-covered 'Seward' in the far north, six new cities and harbours in South and North America await traders, seafarers and adventurers. Just like its predecessors, 'Beyond the Horizon' is available free of charge. The complete new version and the update are now available on the official website www.bountybayonline.com.

With the release of 'Beyond the Horizon', Bounty Bay Online now boasts five unique character classes on offer. While players only practised professions and skills so far, they can now choose the life of a Treasure Hunter, Armed Businessman, Imperial Guardian, Military Officer or a Caribbean Pirate. Each of the classes is defined by its special abilities which can be expanded in a comprehensive skills tree. After conquering high level instances or gaining a victory in PvP, an individual powerful equipment set beckons to all character classes. With the new expansion, a beginner-friendly tutorial quest series guides players gently into the new class system and through all of the basic game functions. New graphical dialogue boxes, an interactive quest guide as well as a new window for PvP events and world announcements mean that playing gets considerably more user-friendly.

'Beyond the Horizon' supplements Bounty Bay Online further with an expanded active pet system. Four new companions in arms called Hell Wolf, Ice Fairy, Shadow Reaper and Wild Bull, not only feature previous values such as loyalty, health, experience or pet levels, but new additional attributes such as 'Damage Bonus' and 'Critical Strike'. In the pet interface players can supply the four newcomers with special equipment or exclusive skills. Thanks to their own inventories, the new companions can also offer additional storage space for the main character.

The historical seafarer world is being further enriched with a new Merchant Alliance system. In 'Beyond the Horizon' not just individual players, but also entire fleets or guilds can now join different alliances such as the Iberian or Netherlands Merchant Alliance. With special quest series for everyone of these, there are some quite exceptional rewards on offer. Further highlights of the add-on are a new tournament system, a new marriage system, a new land and a new sea combat arena, some expanded instances and over 40 new main quests. What's more in 'Beyond the Horizon', players can measure themselves in various new ranking systems, such as a guild ranking, a land combat ranking, a millionaires' ranking, or a fisherman's ranking.

Mortal Online Sandbox MMORPG Key Features List

DoranM — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:28:27 GMT

Recently Star Vault, the creators of MMORPG Mortal Online, lifted the non-disclosure agreement from their closed beta testing. With this, we're about to see loads of information about Mortal Online flood the internet!

Mortal Online is a game unlike other MMORPGs most have played. It's what is called a sandbox; a game which has as few limitations as possible, providing an empty world for players to mold. Those of you who played Ultima Online in its very earliest days, or to some extent today's EvE Online, will understand the workings of such a game immediately.

Some of the key features of Mortal Online include:

· Built with Unreal Engine 3, the same graphics engine as Gears of War, BioShock and many more.

· No levels! Character progression is based on hundreds of skills which rise when you use them.

· A unique crafting system allowing millions of armor and weapon combinations.

· First person view for the most immersive experience.

· Combat where the skill of the player is more important than the skills of the character.

· Build your own house anywhere in the world you choose, or set up a guild to build a keep.

· Guilds can declare war, or alliances, with one another allowing PvP at any time.

· Battle legendary monsters which, if defeated, will reward incredible treasures and never live in that world again!

· No PvP restrictions, but be careful not to commit crimes in towns or become known as a murderer; you will have consequences.

· Not happy with any of the race choices? Mix blood, making your character a hybrid of multiple races.

· Mounted combat allows you to fight from atop your mount!

· Tame almost any creature in the world, including wild mounts, to keep as your controlled companion. If you can't find that perfect animal, breed your own.

As a "sandbox" MMORPG, Mortal Online is designed to give players absolute freedom with their characters and in shaping the world. Without the quests and levels found in traditional MMOs, you can take whatever path you like without forcing you to do anything you'd rather avoid first.

For more information about Mortal Online, visit www.mortalonline.com.

Steam Offering Big Discounts On Select Titles Through The Weekend!

DoranM — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:52:59 GMT

The Steam Early Holiday has begun, featuring a daily line-up of select games at deep discounts for just one day each. The Early Holiday Sale kicks off today with seven great deals:

Batman: Arkham Asylum    50% off
Champions Online    50% off
Dragon Age: Origins    25% off
GRID    75% off
Fallen Earth    50% off
Far Cry 2    50% off
Osmos    2 USD / 2 GBP / 2 EUR

On Friday at 8am PST and each day through Monday there will be a new line-up of deals.

Also look for deeply discounted publisher packs available throughout the duration of the sale. Grab the LucasArts Premiere Pack, at 60% off, containing 16 classic hit titles like The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.

Visit www.steamgames.com/early-holiday each day after 8am PST for another bunch of great buys.

Eve Online: Dominion Trailer And Features List!

DoranM — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:12:12 GMT

Eve Online: Dominion, the 12th free expansion for Eve Online is launching Dec 1st! The expansion is going to revolutionize alliances and warfare. Territories will be controlled by alliances and political maps will change according to resources available and the economic landscape.

Here's a newly released trailer for Dominion:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Here's a highlight of some of the new features that stand out in Dominion:

Sovereignty Changes

Sovereignty warfare, by many people considered EVE's endgame, is about to change. We're overhauling the way players control space into a more tactical, capture-based system. This will require a higher level of strategy to take and defend territory, allow for a greater effectiveness of divided forces and really open up the tactical nature of sovereignty to both the veterans and the pilots just entering 0.0 security space for the first time alike. The overall goal is to make systems more exciting to control, occupy and attack. Hand in hand with this, we'll be making changes to the way resources are drawn from those systems and their overall strength.

Sovereignty Infrastructure Upgrades System

Once players gain control over a system, they will be able to, through engaging in any number of a wide variety of activities, shape the system itself to their liking through the use of a structure upgrade hub. Time spent mining, killing NPCs or utilizing wormhole space will work towards the sovereignty owners earning the ability to purchase and fit "system upgrades" in their space. These upgrades can make permanent changes to the systems--drawing more NPCs out of hiding, uncovering more lucrative mining belts or any one of many other upgrades. This is, in effect, allowing players to specialize their own territory to a greater degree and providing another bonus to the playstyles they have already chosen. For instance an exploration-based corp will be able to cause more wormholes to open up in their territory. Truly customization on a personal and universal scale.

Pirate Faction Epic Arcs

Hundreds of players spurn the more "legitimate" side of the EVE universe and have sworn allegiance to the pirate factions. This darker side of EVE gets more love as the first of many Pirate Epic Arcs becomes available. These arcs will also exist in the furthest reaches of space, dangerous territory for any pilot. The emphasis in them will be speed-dodging both the pirates enemies and other players who are aware of your activities will be crucial. These missions are a quick way to make money and gain loyalty points with your favorite sinister organizations.

NPE

EVE has a notoriously steep learning curve, being a sandbox universe full of possibilities. But that reputation has, over the past year, been really tarnished by our New Player Experience team. Every release there is a team dedicated towards easing the introduction to EVE's universe. In Dominion they are revisiting the new player tutorial yet again and adding a whole Exploration path to character creation where players can learn what it takes to start down the adventurous path of plotting your own literal path through space and exploring the regions on the other side of the wormhole. Also, we're adding another layer of combat tutorial that's aimed directly at helping players understand PvP more.

Fleet Finder

Pick up groups. They are in many ways the heart and soul of an MMO experience. With a wingman, your effectiveness is amplified. In fact, new players can very easily overwhelm a hardened veteran with a little teamwork and cheap ship fitting. The Fleet Finder is a new system which allows you to broadcast open fleets, state your goals, and have people join you. Deeper, it Is the perfect catalyst for Alliance and corporation fleets, showing you what operations are going on and easing the logistics of finding the right group and getting your ship in to contribute to that battle or mining operation even quicker. For Factional Warfare, it is a blessing to those quick and dirty raid groups into enemy territory.

New Planets

They are gorgeous. They are procedurally done so not a single one of the over 50,000 in game is exactly the same. They are the same ones that match with those being developed for DUST 514 in the same universe. They are the next step in our never-ending quest to bring you the most gorgeous sci-fi game imaginable and follow on the heels of major graphics upgrades of previous expansions. Along the lines of the new planets, we are adding a breathtaking new starfield to mesmerize our players with the horizons they encounter while flying around.

Titan Super Weapons and Capital Ship Balancing

With the overhaul of sovereignty, we are also taking a look at the biggest ships and EVE. We're adding new capital cruise launchers and redesigning the torpedoes. The dreaded Titan-class ships are getting refitted with new doomsday devices that aim at a single target in an awe-inspiring volley of death and destruction. These are the first important steps towards altering the Capital battlefield and recharging the behemoths that dominate it.

Faction Ship Rebalancing

The ships rewarded for loyal service to your NPC corporation or faction of choice are getting the microscope. We're working to differentiate the ships themselves to they "feel" more like they should and give according bonuses. We're also making faction versions of 4 of the Tech 1 Battleships.

In Game Browser

The internet is a massive gateway to information about EVE and we'd be fooling ourselves if we thought people didn't alt-tab to their browser every once and a while during gameplay. We're upgrading the in-game browser for Dominion.

New Mail System

Communication has evolved a lot since EVE's launch-even the basics of e-mail methodology has shifted quite significantly. We're bringing the mail system up to standards and beyond because it is an integral part to any social group and especially the corporations and Alliances within EVE.

To learn more about this expansion visit the official website at: http://www.eveonline.com/dominion

Patch?

Exxoz — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:12:36 GMT

WHEN IS THE 3.3 PATCH RELEASING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NEEDZ CROSS REALM LFG TO DO LOW LVL INSTANCING WITH MY PALA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DAMN

-Exxoz

Help authors WOW addons

Microgod — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:57:27 GMT

Possible help in the localization of WOW addons from English to Russian

hello

yiwind0101 — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:45:43 GMT

hello everyone

Limited Support Hours: Thanksgiving Weekend

Kody — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:52:56 GMT

Just a heads up for those of you playing on North American realms. There will be limited support hours for certain support teams at Blizzard from the 26th through the 29th due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Check out Zarhym's post below for details.

Quote from: Zarhym (Source)

Blizzard Entertainment wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Due to this national holiday, our Technical Support and Account and Billing Services departments will be available from 8am-5pm PST on Thursday, 11/26, and 8am-8pm PST on Friday, 11/27. Both departments will be closed over the weekend, but will be available again on Monday, 11/30 for our normal business hours from 8am-8pm PST.

In-game Support: (available 24 hrs, 7 days a week)
If you have an in-game issue, contact information for our Game Master Department can be found at: http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/19775

Billing and Account Services: (available 11/26, 8am-5pm and 11/27, 8am-8pm)
General Billing and Account related information can also be found on our support site at: http://us.blizzard.com/support/index.xml?locale=en_US&gameId=11&rootCategoryId=2317

Technical Support: (available 11/26, 8am-5pm and 11/27, 8am-8pm)
For Technical issues, please visit our support site for the latest solutions available at: http://us.blizzard.com/support/index.xml?locale=en_US&gameId=11&rootCategoryId=2316

Please note that our normal email reply time may increase during the holiday weekend.

Final Two Classes In SWTOR Revealed!

DoranM — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:42:30 GMT

Starwarsmmo.net has announced that the last two classes for SWTOR have been revealed!

In a recent post they highlighted the two new classes, shown for the first time in an issue of PC Games magazine in Germany, which are the Sith Inquisitor and the Jedi Consular.

Here's a look at the original article:

In the December issue of PC Games magazine in Germany, which features TOR on it's cover, the remaining two classes have been revealed for the game: The Sith Inquisitor and the Jedi Consular. This may come as a surprise to many who were not expecting the final classes in the game to be Force-using classes. Details on the two classes are below.

Community Manager Sean Dahlberg also said several magazines in the U.S. and Europe will be releasing information this week when he addressed the SWTOR community:

"Fans of Star Wars: The Old Republic will be in for a treat this week! Several magazines in North America and Europe will have articles that not only talk about The Old Republic but also reveal our final two classes: the Jedi Consular and the Sith Inquisitor!"

SWTOR fans are discussing the Jedi Consular and Sith Inquisitor classes on the official forums, and you can get more information at the original article posted to StarWarsMMO.net!

Grand Fantasia From Aeria Games: Exclusive Video Trailer

DoranM — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:12:15 GMT

Grand Fantasia, the latest release from Aeria Games, is now accepting beta applications and has given us an exclusive trailer to show you to coincide with the launch of closed beta!

Here's a look at the trailer:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

To learn more about the game or try out for closed beta visit: http://grandfantasia.aeriagames.com/

World of Warcraft Announces Anniversary Website!

DoranM — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:34:30 GMT

The Blizzard WoW team has sent us this recent update about the 5 year WoW, and 15 year Warcraft, anniversaries! To commemorate the milestone Blizzard has launched the Warcraft anniversary website located at: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/wowanniversary/

Here's the official notice from Blizzard highlighting years of Warcraft:

Over the past 15 years, a lot has changed in Azeroth. Valiant heroes have travelled the length and breadth of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, taken wing in Outland to free the Black Temple from Illidan's clutches, and set sail for Northrend to battle the mighty Lich King. Whether you've been part of the adventure from the beginning or are just getting started now, we're glad to have you with us for the five-year anniversary of World of Warcraft and the 15-year anniversary of the Warcraft series.

To commemorate these milestones, we've just launched the Warcraft anniversary website. There you'll find video interviews featuring personal anecdotes from some of the shapers of Warcraft, as well as the Battlecry Mosaic where you can show off your faction pride. Visit the anniversary site now!

Warcraft Anniversary Website: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/wowanniversary/

Curse Fansite Exclusive Interview With Diablo 3 Lead Designer!

DoranM — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:43:45 GMT

DiabloFans.com has posted an exclusive interview with Jay Wilson, lead designer of Diablo 3! Our team put together some excellent questions from our community and other sources for Jay and got some juicy answers for one of the hottest upcoming Blizzard titles around!

Here's a look at a few of the questions:

DiabloFans: On the topic of the Monk, can you tell us if the skill trees have been named yet? So far they're listed as "Unnamed Skill Tree 1 - 3". Can we expect to see any more of his skills unveiled soon along with his female counterpart? Also, can tell me a little bit more about the new skill system?

Jay Wilson: In regards to the female counterpart, she'll be released soon. As far as exact dates go, I really can't talk much about them. A little news about the Skill Tree system should actually go up on our Twitter page pretty soon. About that, we've decided to remove the tree-type architecture and we are moving into a purely skill-based system. This new system is still in the development stages and if it does not work, we still have plenty of options to fall back on. Right now, we're just trying different things and getting a feel for the few ideas in regards to the skill system that we have going on right now. It differs from the World of Warcraft/Diablo II type hierarchical styles and is more of a skill pool/path than a tree per se.

DiabloFans: Will there be class specific quests in the game? If so, can you explain how they would work?

Jay Wilson: We are still discussing whether or not we would like to include class-specific quests in the game mainly because of the simple fact that it may not really fit in with the fast-paced play-style known to the Diablo series. While this is definitely something we would like to consider, we just haven't agreed on how just yet. However, we would like to do something in regards to character specificity. We are looking into having different dialogues and experiences for the same quest or interaction for each of the classes. Each character will react differently and have different responses for different scenarios. For example, the Barbarian may do or say one thing in response to what an NPC has to say, whereas a Witch Doctor will treat the encounter in a complete opposite manner.

For more of this interview and to post your thoughts visit the DiabloFans interviews Jay Wilson story over at DiabloFans.com!

Blizzard Entertainment at Dreamhack Winter!

Kody — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:16:17 GMT

Blizzard Entertainment is heading to Jönköping, Sweden from November 26th to the 29th for Dreamhack Winter 2009, and it's your chance to get hands-on time with both StarCraft II and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. If you're in the area, be sure to pay them a visit and play the games; you won't regret it!

Quote from: Ancilorn (Source)

We're pleased to announce that Blizzard Entertainment will be attending Dreamhack Winter 2009, the world's largest computer festival, which is taking place from 26th to 29th November in Jönköping, Sweden.

Dreamhack attendees will be able to visit the Blizzard booth to take part in various competitions and contests, and also to play both StarCraft II and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

You can find out more about Dreamhack Winter 2009 at http://www.dreamhack.se/dhw09.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Perfect World Announces 2 Hour Free-Trial For Torchlight!

DoranM — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:38:28 GMT

Perfect World Entertainment has announced that players can now try out Torchlight for free! The two hour free trial version of Torchlight can be downloaded from the Perfect World portal at http://torchlight.perfectworld.com/. Once the trial time has expired, players can unlock the full version for US$19.99.

For more information or to download a trial version of Torchlight from the Perfect World portal, please visit http://torchlight.perfectworld.com

About Runic Games, Inc.

Runic Games is a developer of PC-based entertainment software, designing games that focus on quality, approachability, and fun. Runic Games is staffed by a team with experienced members, including leads on "Diablo," "Diablo II," "Diablo II: Lord of Destruction," "Fate," "Hellgate: London" and "Mythos." Runic Games is located in Seattle, Washington, United States.

About Perfect World Entertainment

Perfect World Entertainment, a subsidiary of Perfect World Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: PWRD), publishes free-to-play, online games and provides online services in North America. The Company primarily publishes three-dimensional, or 3D, online games based on the Perfect World proprietary Angelica 3D game engine and game development platform. Perfect World Entertainment's goal is to provide North American users with perfectly polished gameplay, exceptional localization, the highest quality customer service, and an unparalleled online community experience.

For more information on Perfect World Entertainment visit http://www.perfectworld.com/about/aboutus

Another Razer Naga Contest Winner! Enter To Win Yours Before It's Over!

DoranM — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:30:37 GMT

Congratulations to Kandance from Oregon who won one of the Razer Naga mice over the weekend!

Didn't win this one? No worries! There's still time to enter and we'll be giving away one more before the end of the month! The next winner will be chosen November 29th and announced November 30th!

Here are the details on the contest:

Razer and Curse are teaming up to outfit you with the ultimate MMO Gaming mouse - the Razer Naga! Sign up for a chance to win one of three Razer Naga MMOG Laser Gaming Mice and Get Imba with Razer! To get more info visit: http://www.getimba.com

Grand Prize: A Razer Naga MMOG Laser Gaming Mouse (3 Winners)

The Razer Naga is the ultimate Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming mouse that shifts the balance between keyboard and mouse by putting an unprecedented number of in-game commands in one place. A multi-button thumb grid and Razer's MMO game interface add-on combine to place every command you need in the palm of your hand. An ergonomic form shaped to maximize ease of use lets you game in comfort for hours on end. With the Razer Naga, you will Get Imba.

Retail value of $79.99

***1 winner selected per week

Visit the Razer Naga Contest and enter to win!

World of Warcraft Anniversary Interview: The Creation of a Raid Dungeon

Kody — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:38:38 GMT

As I promised in the interview with Greg Street and Cory Stockton, here's a look inside the creation process of a dungeon like Ulduar. It's cool to have a better idea of what each dungeon goes through before players get their hands on it, and even some insight into the way the dungeons and encounters are designed!

Walk us through the creation of a raid instance like Ulduar. When do your various teams come into play, and how much influence do they have on tasks they're not directly involved in during the creation process?

Cory: As far as the kickoff goes for Ulduar... Ulduar was something we were working on all through Northrend, and we kind of realized that we had the content we wanted to ship it. Then we're sitting there with Ulduar, so we had some time to go back to it and beef it up from what we originally had planned for Ulduar.

We kick off, you know... brainstorming names, story, we have Alex Afrasiabi telling us the background, what we need to get across to players. So we kick off there, and it comes to a level design phase where we lay everything out in 2D. You've probably seen this at BlizzCon; we use these 2D illustrator maps to plan the layout of the whole dungeon, figure out where the bosses are gonna be, what we're gonna do.

From that point we talk about it more, decide we like what we have and start building it in 3D in what we call a "block out." The block out is just a really basic 3D form of the dungeon that we can run around in and see what the first stage is like. With Ignis, we knew how the fight was gonna be with the water pools on the side, how far we wanted players to have to drag the adds into the pool.

So in an instance like that, we're able to lay out all of that in 2D to get a sense of feel for units of measure, and then we get it into the basic 3D form and we can actually go in and spawn him, you know we didn't have his model done yet right, but we could spawn him there and get a feel for if there needs to be any changes before we get the final art going. We do that individually for everything in the whole place to lay it out, figure out how much space we need for the fights.

From there we get the encounter team involved. The encounter team comes in and we have meetings on the actual fights individually, and at the same time the art team begins working on final art. Those two work side-by-side from there until the end of the dungeon, or the production time, whatever that might be. Some dungeons that are smaller, we can kick out in two-to-three months, but something like Ulduar that's huge can take more time -- up to four-to-five months.

And during that time, they're working on the fights in Stranglethorn Arena spawning Razorscale there, fighting him, getting it down for how it's gonna play out and what he does while the art is being built for that room. As things start coming in, we'll start putting things together... we'll start placing the creatures in the actual instance and do internal testing.

Everything goes through testing here, we have a QA team that does that, but we test everything ourselves in 10-man form with the encounter guys, Greg is in on that, Tom Chilton, Alex Afrasiabi, all of us. So we go through as players and get a feel for it. From there it's just tuning, we get feedback after every session and work on tuning everything.

Then it goes on to Greg's team where the item art is getting hooked up, filling out the achievements, which all of those falls under Greg's team.

So could an item guy go up to the encounter guys and say "Hey, I have this awesome idea for a boss fight," or a class designer say "This room would look really awesome with a pink elephant ghost hovering near the ceiling."

[Greg Street laughs]

Cory: Oh 100%.

Greg: We're super collaborative here, our offices are full of very open people and we're talking to each other a lot. If someone gets this crazy idea about something and champions it can often get it into the game.

Cory: A lot of times we'll see a model come in from art and they'll end up creating a weapon the creature is holding and one of the item guys will say "oh I want to drop that," and at that point a task will go in, the artist goes in and rips the weapon out of the creature's hands, scales it down to fit the races in the game and we'll actually use that as a weapon.

Like with Razorscale when we saw his model we decided we wanted to get a mount for that. We had no idea until the art came in for him, and we saw it, and it looked so good we decided we had to get it in as a mount. So a lot of times things just happen... we try to plan as much as we can, but sometimes we end up getting things, and we all play this game just like anyone else. So there's a lot of things like that, that come out even though we didn't start with it planned and using it makes it feel so much better.

Whooaaaa

Exxoz — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:55:37 GMT

Whooaaaa awsome weekend of gaming :D 40 - 50 with my pala , some new gear dissapointingly not much but what can ya do. :D ive never EVER had a better char than the pala to do bg with! its awsome and it will probably become my new main when i get to 80 with it here is the current char sheet:

http://eu.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Dragonmaw&n=Belfwarr

Bienvenue

druimanthys — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:02:34 GMT

Salut tt le monde ^^

Bienvenue sur le BLog de l'arbre Blanc ^^

Anarchy Online Gets A Face-Lift!

DoranM — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:22:04 GMT

Funcom has told us that they're working on updating Anarchy Online with an improved 3D engine! It's still very early but they've decided to share a few screenshots with us!

Before and after screenshots:

WoW Dev Interview: The Heart and Souls of Icecrown Citadel

Kody — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:06:34 GMT

It looks like World of Raids wasn't the only one interviewing Greg Street and Cory Stockton this week! Blizzard's community team sat down with them and grilled them on Icecrown Citadel, including their philosophies behind the dungeon and more. Check it out below!

Quote from: Zarhym (Source)

To shed some light into the chilly gloom of Icecrown Citadel, we sat down to talk about the decision-making process behind Wrath of the Lich King's ultimate dungeon, the World of Warcraft team's design philosophy, and the dangers that lurk in the heart of Arthas's stronghold.

Check out the resulting interview to learn more: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/underdev/3p3/icecrown-interview.xml

Quote from: Blizzard (Source)

With the final battle against the Lich King just on the horizon, Lead Content Designer Cory Stockton and Lead Systems Designer Greg Street discuss what awaits players inside Icecrown Citadel and offer a glimpse at the design process behind Wrath of the Lich King's ultimate raid and dungeon encounters.

What were you looking forward to most about developing Icecrown Citadel?

Cory: I think the most exciting thing about developing Icecrown Citadel was just knowing that we were working on the final chapter of the Northrend expansion, and that we'd really be able to give players that ultimate sense of completion of the storyline. Arthas is a huge character in Warcraft lore, so we took a lot of pride in making this the best experience we possibly could.

Icecrown and the Frozen Throne are important parts of the world of Azeroth and have quite a bit of history, especially for longtime Warcraft players. How do you convey the significance of these places and the events that took place there in design?

Cory: History was a large factor in the design of Icecrown Citadel from the very beginning. When we first sat down to discuss the layout of the raid itself, we immediately went back to Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne to think about how the spire from the ending cinematic could be translated into World of Warcraft. We decided to actually build Icecrown Citadel around the original spire to pull players even more into the storyline. This kind of thinking carried on throughout the entire design process.

Greg: We want Icecrown to be an epic experience from top to bottom, and that includes the loot you get. We're not going to shower players in items -- well, more than we already do -- but we do want to make sure the items are sufficiently powerful so that they're upgrades for all of our players.

Is there an existing model in World of Warcraft for Icecrown Citadel's itemization or style of play? What lessons that you'd learned from earlier projects wound up being applied to Icecrown Citadel?

Greg: The nice thing about Icecrown Citadel from an itemization perspective is that we have lots of bosses. That's something of a relief coming from the Crusaders' Coliseum, where we had only five bosses. For Icecrown, we can afford to have multiple options for a particular slot -- say a healing leather bracer or a melee trinket -- and even itemize some of the more unusual pieces. We have a pretty effective system for figuring out who is going to drop what to make sure that an individual boss will be interesting to a variety of players in terms of loot. Most of our lessons learned are in the realm of what differences there should be between 10- and 25-player itemization, the role of tradeskill recipes, and what kinds of items to place with badge vendors.

Cory: I think we learn lessons from every raid that we do. We didn't model Icecrown specifically after any of our previous raids, but you can definitely see influences. For example, we have a winged structure in Icecrown that players will remember from Naxxramas. Another example of an influence would be the teleporters from Ulduar. We know that players really loved that concept, so we brought it back in Icecrown.

Can you talk a little about how artists and designers on the team collaborated on the creation of Icecrown Citadel?

Cory: The design and art teams worked extremely closely throughout the entire development process. The biggest single influence on the look and the layout of the dungeon comes from our concept art, and there was no shortage of that for Icecrown Citadel. Once we locked down the layout, we were able to get to work on the final art extremely quickly thanks to the existing style we'd developed for the Icecrown zone. We really wanted the players to feel connected to the environment, but we wanted to make sure it still had an amazing look. Oftentimes, these two things are hard to mix, but in this case, I think we've been able to pull off an amazing dungeon from both the art and design standpoint.

What sorts of new loot and item abilities will we see in Icecrown?

Greg: There are three main sources of loot for Icecrown: the bosses themselves, the Emblem of Frost badge vendors, and a new faction, the Ashen Verdict, that will provide suitable rewards as well, particularly at the Exalted level.

As far as the items themselves go, we want them to feel epic. In addition to having favorable optimization, we also want to try a lot of experiments to make the items feel cool and unique. We are going to try to do a lot of weapon procs, for instance, which is something we haven't done much since the original World of Warcraft.

When you set out to itemize "sister" areas -- like the Icecrown Citadel dungeon and raid, or Halls of Stone, Halls of Lightning, and Ulduar -- do you take any steps to make loot from these places feel similar?

Greg: Absolutely. We approach that on two fronts: the art and the names. When we did the Halls of Stone and Lightning, we hadn't completed the Ulduar raid yet, so the items there didn't necessarily have Titan-influenced art models for us to use. We are doing the Icecrown dungeon at the same time as the raid, and it's a style we already know pretty well, from Naxxramas and even the Warcraft RTS games.

Naming is something we've had a lot of fun with. There's a ton of lore to draw from for Icecrown loot and it has a very strong "kit." World of Warcraft players know to associate the Scourge with spiders, bats, and cultists along with more traditional forms of undead, like skeletons and liches.

Do you itemize Icecrown's "trash" -- the enemies between bosses -- differently from elites elsewhere in the world elsewhere?

Greg: We make sure there is epic trash loot -- specific items that only drop from trash. It helps keep players interested between bosses. However, we aren't doing Heroic trash, just Heroic bosses, so there won't be unique trash loot for Heroic versions of the 10- and 25-player versions of the raid. We try to construct the trash in such a way that it isn't trivial to go farm the first pull or whatever in hopes that an epic drops. We make our raids more accessible now in general, so I'm not sure the motivation is there to try stunts like that the way it once was. We want players who have raided so far in Wrath of the Lich King to be able to actually fight the Lich King, so chances are a lot of raiders will have plenty of opportunities to gear up. Now, the Heroics are another story -- those will be as challenging as they were in Ulduar and Trial of the Crusader, and the items will likewise be even better.

What have you done to make the tier-10 sets feel like a meaningful advancement from tier 8 and tier 9? How do they visually represent Icecrown's lore and history?

Greg: Not only do we want them to be a meaningful advancement, but we want them to feel really awesome. This is Arthas loot you're talking about. We started by spending a lot of time on the concept art to make sure it tied into the type of creatures you'll encounter and the whole Icecrown art "kit" in general. For example, the rogue tier-10 set has a strong geist look to it, while the hunter set has strong Nerubian elements, and the mage set looks a lot like the Blood Princes. You can see the Icecrown look and feel in a lot of pieces, which itself drew strongly from the Lich King's original helmet. Look for lots of blue, ice, skulls, and spikes.

We have also spent a lot longer on the set bonuses than we usually do. It's important that they feel awesome for every class and spec. Going back to the Crusaders' Coliseum, part of the challenge we made for ourselves was to create an instance that didn't require as much time or resources as Ulduar to develop, yet was still cool. We had set bonuses for the tier-9 gear, but they were often simple -- more crit on a common ability was a typical one. For tier 10, we're really going for set bonuses that change your game up a little. At the very least, you should want to change your rotation a little, though this is easier with some classes than others.

If you had something like a mission statement or a slogan for itemizing Icecrown, what would it be?

Greg: Epic. Cool things. Proc'y stuff.

Seriously, that's our mission statement. One of the risks of itemization is making things feel too formulaic. We know that when we step outside the bounds too much, players can have a bad reaction to it, like, "Why does my gear for this tier suck?" It's easy to fall into the trap of making the new gear feel just like the last gear with 20 more stat points. That is the exact design approach we use for the PvP gear, and left unchecked, it would be easy to go the same direction with the PvE gear as well. We're trying not to do that. We think we owe it to Icecrown for the gear to be memorable, but that means we're going to take a few chances.

Can you talk about any of the new mechanics we'll see in the raid?

Cory: One of the coolest new things we're doing in Icecrown is the gunship air battle. Players will be able to board their respective faction's gunship and then take to the air for a battle to the top of the citadel. They'll be fighting on the decks as well as using vehicles' cannon emplacements. If you're really daring, you can put on a goblin rocket pack and propel yourself back and forth between the two battling gunships. Needless to say, this will be a type of encounter that our players have never experienced before.

Icecrown Citadel's structure is extremely vertical -- what challenges does that present from a layout perspective?

Cory: Well, we knew from the start that the layout was going to be vertical, just due to the nature of the original spire. There are a number of things that we're doing to help players get around and not get lost. We're using elevators, teleporters, and even gunships to get players where they need to go in the dungeon. We are also going to have an in-game map with full support for all floors -- that should help too.

Icecrown is the last major raid and dungeon before the release of Cataclysm -- how has that affected the design?

Greg: The major challenge from an itemization perspective is that the items have to last basically until Cataclysm. That means we can't afford to give them away too quickly, but they also need to feel powerful enough that players are motivated to keep trying for them. On the other hand, the really fun thing about doing a final raid tier is how it unties your hands. We can afford to make these items great because nothing needs to follow on their heels. It's cool to be able to optimize the items very well, because it's okay if players don't want to replace these items for a long time.

Cory: We are really pushing as hard as we can to deliver the most epic experience possible. We know that our players have been waiting for this for a long time, and we plan to deliver. Everyone should expect to see this sort of storytelling and attention to detail in Cataclysm as well. I think we are always striving to pull the people who play our game into the storyline and really give them an explanation for why they're there. It won't be too long before they'll get a chance to bring the pain to Deathwing!

Thanks, both of you - we're looking forward to playing through Icecrown Citadel after patch 3.3 is released!