Tagged News: soe

FreeRealms is a new adventure for SOE. They're making a browser based MMO with free-to-play, microtransaction and subscription elements; and they're targeting young girls. Does that sound like SOE? Not exactly, but they no doubt hope to expose a whole new segment of the market to MMOs and give some of their regular subscribers an option to play with their daughters.

As this game works through popular web browsers, it also made sense to make a Facebook-esque network so players could show off their collections, customization and information. These are not sites for the player, but definitely the character. It's no fun to collect if people cannot brag, and the overarching site lets people do just that.

They also made customization a major theme of the game. Despite the fact it's in a browser, the game is fully 3D and has as many character customization options as one would expect from a traditional MMORPG. Players can be humans or fairies, for the initial launch. Each race has an impressive array of options, and an even more impressive number of clothing options.

Read it all after the jump.

A new documentary, titled Second Skin, is all about virtual worlds and gamers. EverQuest 2 is one of the games featured in this film.

Here's the trailer to a new movie, Second Skin, a documentary about virtual worlds and the gamers who play them. EverQuest II is one of the main games the film documents, including an interview with Scott Hartsman, a trip to Fan Faire and in game Machinima. It's just been completed and is in the final round of SXSW (they're saying it has an extremely good chance of getting in- official announcement Feb 5th) where it might premiere. The filmmakers are in talks with HBO and The Sundance Channel about distribution, and are waiting to talk to theatrical distribution companies at the festival.

You can view the trailer here.

SOE CEO John Smedley will keynote the ION Game Conference in Seattle this May. Formerly known as OGDC, this conference is one of the few MMO dedicated events and is in its second year.

More after the leap.

John Smedley the President of Sony Online Entertainment is set to deliver the first keynote speech at the upcoming ION Game Conference. The conference will take place between May 13-15 at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Seattle. Smedley is expected to discuss the past, present and future of Sony Online Entertainment as well as that of the general MMO industry.

For the full release click here or click Read More below.

Want to know a little bit more about the SWG Team? Remember - they don't just work on the game ... they also enjoy playing it! Get an inside look at how the folks behind-the-scenes enjoy Star Wars: Galaxies.

Click below to read this week's profile featuring SWG Programmer Lee "Torsion" Nagar.

It's hard to say that Vanguard started one year ago, but on January 30th that's exactly what the fans will be saying. With the Big One Year coming up, the Devs have some special plans to help you celebrate with.

All players will be able to choose one of three bags, representing each sphere of the game. Choose wisely, as you will only be able to claim a single bag per account.

Avarem's Messenger Bag
This is the bag of Avarem, famed messenger of Telon. His swift feet made him a legend in the realm of delivery.

Equipping this bag will increase your run speed.

Silius' Enchanted Utility Pouch
A bag used by the master crafter Silius. Said to be a sadist, Silius' insatiable hunger for crafting made him a legend in the world of Telon. Some even say this bag is made from the skin of crafters which is why it seems to enhance the base attributes of the person wearing it.

Equipping this pouch will increase your crafting attributes.

Jansan's Valise of Ages
This valise was used by the great diplomat known as Jansan. His accomplishments have been lost in the winds and nowadays are nothing more than fairy tales told to aspiring diplomats. Of these stories there is one about a valise that granted him great presence and held an endless amount of information.

Equipping this valise will grant you 40 presence.

It gets better because the Devs are working on titles for the veterans of Vanguard. Also cake will be given out to players on the 30th to celebrate this event.

The official EQ2 site has been updated with a letter from producer Bruce Ferguson. Discussing the imminent release of update 42, here's a portion of the letter:

1) We have the deities returning with renewed strength, and additional members...The Tribunal, Karana, and Bertoxxolous. You will find these encounters even more challenging than ever!

2) Also coming in this update are the new mannequins, which will allow you to show off your armor and weapons inside your house. If you're anxious to get one of these, be sure to touch base with your local crafting expert, who will be filling orders soon.

3) Searching for items that you care about on the broker will become much easier, as we have implemented the ability to search for items by the effect name on the item.

4) We've added a new Pet Options window to allow you to set your pet name, hide status and how they'll act around you.

5) While we can't control the entire internet yet, we can show you what may be happening between your computer and ours, with a new Connections Stats window to show you your ping, bytes per second, frames per second, and packet loss.

6) Oh, and someone mentioned epics. I think there are some epic quests in this update.

There's more so go over and take a look.

We've given you our thoughts just in advance of its launch, but now that everyone can get their hands on Pirates of the Burning Sea, we want to know what you think.

This week's discussion topic:

What do you think of Pirates of the Burning Sea so far?

Let's hear your thoughts on the discussion thread.

Flying Lab Software and Sony Online Entertainment have launched Pirates of the Burning Sea. After years of development, this sea-faring MMORPG finally gets to see the light of day. It's available through regular retail outlets and through digital download.

Check out the press release after the leap.

Avast! Pirates of the Burning Sea launches tomorrow and I've been playing for the last two weeks as part of the pre-order head start. The first MMO from Flying Lab Software seems to be a game that will soon be taking up all of my free time. To find out why, read on.

Graphically, PotBS looks wonderful. The amount of detail on the ships is simply amazing and has almost resulted in me getting my ship shot out from under me because I was oohing and ahhing instead of paying attention to the large French frigate with 34 guns trying to make large holes in my pretty boat. The avatars and land based environments are well done. However, there is one detail in some sea battles that I cannot fail to mention, and that is waterfalls. Some of them are quite beautiful and looks like they should be in the ads telling you that it's better in the Bahamas. It's little details like this that make the game special for me.

The client also has a lot of sliders and can be scaled back for those who don't have the latest and greatest video cards, which should open it up to a wider range of systems than many of its competitors.

For the full preview, click below.