MMO | Krypton Radio

Video Of The Day: ‘Theme From Defiance’

Fantasy / Horror, Games, Science Fiction, Video Of the Day No Responses »

Apr 032013

Today’s Video of the Day is Bear McCreary’s Theme from Defiance. You’ve heard Bear McCreary’s music before, most recently on Krypton Radio from the soundtrack he wrote for the amazing web series Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome. His music also graces the popular zombie apocalypse series, The Walking Dead as well as the ill-fated The Cape.

Defiance, though, isn’t a movie, or a television series, or just a video game – it’s an unusual hybrid of all three. They’re calling it a “transmedia experience”.

Defiance tells the tale of a future Earth, and it’s an MMO that released just yesterday from Trion Games, but it’s also a series on SyFy Channel and the game and the TV series interconnect (admittedly in a way that the publicity is a little floaty about defining, but the creative content is something they share in common).

All that said, the music alone is the stuff that makes it onto the Krypton Radio playlist, and if you watch the video, you’ll see why.

Enjoy.

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Transformers Universe Beta Opens

Games, Net Culture No Responses »

Oct 302012

sci-fi-mmorpg-mmo-games-transformers-universe-screenshot-7-666x374

The Transformers Universe beta is now open and accepting applicants to beta test British online computer game developer Jagex Games Studio‘s new MMORPG. Based on the Transformers series of toys, cartoons, and movies, it was originally announced in 2010 as an MMO for Middle East, East and Africa, and was going to be handled by a company called NetDragon. That company is now obviously out of the picture, and the beta is going online as Transformers Online. The game is set for release sometime in 2013, and the release venues have completely changed. It is now going to be released in North America, Latin America, Europe, New Zealand and Australia.

The game was first revealed at BotCon 2011 in Dallas, Texas – the game is purported to be heavily team play oriented, and players can develop their characters according to various classes and can choose either Autobot or Decepticon alliance.

Visit www.transformersuniverse.com to register.

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‘Star Wars: The Old Republic’ Goes Free-To-Play This Fall

Krypton Radio No Responses »

Aug 032012

Bioware's "Star Wars: The Old Republic" debuted in Octoboer of 2010.

Bioware’s “Star Wars: The Old Republic” debuted in October 2010.

Austin, Texas – July 31, 2012 – BioWare™, a Label of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA), announced today that it will be expanding the story-driven, massively multiplayer online game Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ by adding a new Free-to-Play option this fall. This option will give players access to each of the eight iconic Star Wars character class storylines, all the way up to level 50, with certain restrictions*. Unlimited game access, including new higher-level game content and new features will be made available through individual purchases or through a subscription option.

“Players want flexibility and choice. The subscription-only model presented a major barrier for a lot of people who wanted to become part of The Old Republic™ universe,” said Matthew Bromberg, GM of BioWare Austin.

Jeff Hickman, Executive Producer of Star Wars: The Old Republic added, “Since launch we have been adding new content and refining The Old Republic at a breakneck pace based on the feedback from our fans. We believe we are in a position to help improve the service even more, not only by continuing to add new content, but also by expanding the game to many more Star Wars fans, increasing the populations on worlds and the vibrancy of the community.”

Starting this fall, there will be two different ways to play Star Wars: The Old Republic:

Subscription – A service designed for players who want unrestricted access to all the game features via ongoing subscription or by redeeming a Game Time Card. In addition to gaining access to all game content as our current subscribers do now, Subscribers will receive ongoing monthly grants of Cartel Coins*, the new virtual currency that will be introduced later this fall. Cartel Coins can be used to purchase valuable items including customizable gear and convenience features that will enhance the game play experience.
Free-to-Play –The first 50 levels will be free-to-play, with some restrictions on access to new content and advanced player features. Some restrictions can be “unlocked” with Cartel Coins.

As the first step towards adding the new Free-to-Play option this fall, in August at retail Star Wars: The Old Republic will go on sale for $14.99 USD, including one-month of free subscription.

Current and former players will also find additional benefits as part of this program. BioWare will be increasing the frequency of game content updates, with the first of many new releases coming in August. In addition, current subscribers will receive Cartel Coin grants and qualify for access to special in-game items. Even former players who re-activate now will qualify for special benefits. To learn more about these rewards, please visit www.StarWarstheOldRepublic.com/FREE.

Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of the most critically acclaimed MMOs of all time, having won MSNBC’s “Game of the Year” award in 2011, “Editor’s Choice” awards from IGN, PC Gamer and “Best MMO of 2011” awards from Game Informer, GameSpy, AOL Massively, Ten Ton Hammer and more. The game is set thousands of years before the classic Star Wars movies, with the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire locked in the middle of an epic, galactic war. Players choose one of eight iconic Star Wars character classes, including the Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Smuggler, Trooper, Sith Warrior, Sith Inquisitor, Bounty Hunter and Imperial Agent, becoming the hero or villain of their own personal Star Wars saga.

For more information on Star Wars: The Old Republic, please visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com, follow the game on Twitter at http://twitter.com/swtor or “Like” Star Wars: The Old Republic on Facebook at http://facebook.com/starwarstheoldrepublic.

Divina Free-To-Play MMO

Games No Responses »

Jul 262012

A destructive sorceror gets busy in Divina

Gamania Digital Entertainment today announced that after successful open beta testing, Divina is now ready to launch. The free-to-play 3D MMORPG went online yesterday at 3:00PM PDT with a full Cash Shop available for players. New content has also been added for launch-day, including the Rescue Chicken mount, White Miluko mini-pet, new hairstyles, and more. In addition, Gamania will be hosting a double loot drop weekend as well as running a ceremonial event to kick off the 2012 Olympic Games. Anyone can sign-up for a free account at the official homepage: http://us.beanfun.com/divina/

Game Maker Cryptic Studios Discovers Breach of Servers From 2010

Animation, Business, Comics, Corsair's Chronicles, Cybercrime, Internet, Net Culture, Science Fiction, Special Reports, Star Trek, Superhero No Responses »

Apr 262012

Krypton Radio Newswire

Cryptic Studios, maker of the popular MMO’s Star Trek Online, Champions Online, Neverwinter, City of Heroes, and City of Villians; has issued a press release indicating that they have just recently discovered a serious breach of their security systems from 2010.

IMPORTANT CUSTOMER SERVICE NOTIFICATION REGARDING UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS

At Cryptic Studios, your privacy and security is important. As part of our ongoing efforts to monitor and enhance security, we recently detected evidence of an unauthorized access to one of our user databases. The unauthorized access occurred in December 2010, and evidence of this has just been uncovered due to increased security analysis. Continue reading »

Dark Legends, Vampire-Themed MMORPG, Declared A No-Sparkle Zone

Fantasy / Horror, Games, Internet, Mobile Devices, Sci / Tech No Responses »

Apr 142012

"You're just my type! O-negative, isn't it?"

Vampires are driving the entertainment economy faster than anything. Well, except superheroes. And zombies. But for those who simply can’t get enough of blood suckers, Spacetime Studios is releasing on Android for two weeks only a new MMO called Dark Legends. This is definitely a no-sparkle zone. The tone is definitely on the adult side. In the game, you assume the role of a vampire (you can select your gender and appearance) and then do battle against countless supernatural foes. Developers Spacetime Studios have promised that the Android version of Dark Legends will deliver the exact same gaming experience you’d expect if you played it on your Windows, Linux or OSX machine. Players not on an Android tablet or smart phone can play using the Google Chrome Web Store and play it right in the browser. Spacetime’s games are the only 3D MMOs in the world that allow people to play the same game together on desktop computers, smart phones and tablets.

“Google Play and the Chrome Web Store allow us to upload and update our online, multiplayer games instantly. Their immediate and unified environment fits perfectly with Spacetime’s ability to push global content to our suite of games on-the-fly across mobile and desktop,” said Gary Gattis, CEO of Spacetime Studios. “We’re both at the forefront of creating cross-platform gameplay that connects players in a much deeper online experience, anywhere and on any device.”

Dark Legends is the third title in the highly popular Legends franchise of mobile and desktop games. The first two titles, Pocket Legends and Star Legends: The Blackstar Chronicles, are the world’s largest mobile MMOs with more than seven million downloads.

Dark Legends is free to download and play. The game features optional microtransactions and virtual currency that enhance the play experience with vanity items, health packs and premium revives. After the exclusive period the game will also be available for iOS devices.

For more details visit http://www.darklegends.com .

About Spacetime Studios

Spacetime Studios is an independent game development studio located in Austin, Texas. The company was founded in late 2005 by online game veterans Cinco Barnes, Gary Gattis, Jake Rodgers and Anthony L. Sommers.

Spacetime has been recognized by Develop as one of the world’s 100 most successful game studios. The company continues to expand its content and technology lead in the mobile multiplayer market. To learn more about Spacetime Studios, please visit www.spacetimestudios.com .

SOURCE: Spacetime Studios

The Ebb And Flow of MMO

Games, Net Culture No Responses »

Mar 032012

by Gene Turnbow

MMO’s are part of our culture, and can achieve a kind of legendary status.
This video, by ‘AJWillSing’ is of a guitar cover he did of the theme to
Meridian 59, the first 3D graphical MMO. And yes, you can hear this cut
on Krypton Radio.

The first 3D MMO, the ground-breaking 'Meridian 59'.

In 1992, the computer game industry was in pretty serious trouble. Production costs had skyrocketed, thanks in part to motion picture companies that thought that game development was just like making movies because the creative development cycle was so similar. They all jumped in with piles of money to spend on games based on movie properties, and made a pile of really bad games. They learned the hard way that games are not a linear experience the way movies are, and they’re exponentially harder to make in terms of design and storyline – and then there was the problem that each game required its own unique engine that had to be developed from scratch.

They all lost their shirts and clambered out of the pool nearly as fast as they’d jumped in, but the damage was done. Hundreds of game studios went under, unable to complete their contracts either because the technical challenges were too great, or because all their projects were canceled at once. This was the great Thinning of the Herd, and few but the largest game companies survived. For us gamers, this was an unlucky thing indeed, because only the largest companies could muster the resources to solve the great problem the industry was facing: how to trade quality customers for quantity and keep enough money flowing into the business to keep it afloat. Expectations had been pushed so high because of the outrageous sums of money sunk into production values by the studios that the consumer public would never again accept anything less, forcing many game companies out of business entirely.

Enter the massively multiplayer online game. People were already playing them, but up to this point they hadn’t been commercial. They were called MUDs (multi-user dungeons), which were a cross between a classic text adventure game and a chat room. The advantage was that you didn’t need much of a computer to play them. In fact, if you had a 300 baud modem and a Hazeltine terminal, you could play without a computer at all (ask my how I know).

Star Trek Online Now Free to Play

Fandom, Games, Internet, Sci / Tech, Star Trek, Television 1 Response »

Jan 192012

 by Gene Turnbow

Cryptic Studio's STAR TREK ONLINE

If you’ve been following the gaming news here on Krypton Radio, you may remember our article on the trend toward free-to-play MMO’s. This seems to be the new business model for online gaming: give enough of the game away for free that people get hooked on the experience and are willing to pay to get more of the same. The Star Trek Online MMO opened to mixed reviews almost a full year ago, but they seem to be listening to their customers and fixing some of the more glaring problems with the game – and removing some of the barrier to entry that was keeping many fans away.

Cryptic Studios’ Star Trek Online has adopted a tiered free-to-play (F2P) model where nonpaying “Silver” players will still get to have a robust Star Trek experience, while reserving some of the more advanced game features such as creating guilds and playing multiple characters for the players willing to shell out the monthly $14.99 subscription fee.

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