One of the longest running MMORPG’s is getting a much needed upgrade. Runescape, which is the successor to DeviousMUD, is a popular persistant online world that has been running since 2001 and has retained a respectable player base, due in large part to it’s free to play option. For the past 7 years, the game was very bland in that it had flat colors and a very blocky look. The game is browser based and the client is pretty small and the game is java based, so when it was created the ability to have advanced graphics wasn’t there yet.
Times change, java has evolved and so has RuneScape. For the past 18 months, RuneScape artists and developers have been working hard to incorporate graphics effects which are commonplace in today’s games to keep RuneScape competitive. One of the biggest and most challenging upgrades are textures. Previously, RuneScape had very plain, flat graphics which didn’t really blend together creating a blocky feel. Through advances in technology, RuneScape developers can now send a set of instructions to clients to have the video cards produce textures on the fly, rather than download additional graphics components. This will keep the client small and load times comparable to previous versions of the game.
Additionally, RuneScape will now incorporate advanced shadow effects into their engine, adding more immersive effects to the game. Where previously no shadows existed, now dynamic shadow effects will add flavor to an otherwise bland world. Shadows will be cast based upon both where the sun is located and the slope of the terrain.
The last effect being added to the game is fog. The view distance in the game isn’t going to change, previously when a building or other object would come into view it would simply ‘pop’ into view. Now, with fog effects objects will blend into view out of the distance fog giving the game a much more natural feel. The idea behind fog, shadows and textures is to have the player not notice the effects at all. The effects are meant to blend and smooth the world to make it feel more real, so taking those effects for granted is considered a win for graphics artists, it means they did their job in creating a natural world.
Cursed.com has launched a beta of the Age of Conan Armory. The beta version of the Armory currently supports a functional feat calculator as well as community driven feat builds for players to show off their PVP feat setup. The beta site also features a feat commenting and rating system for players to chime in on what they think the best build is for their class.
The site is currently in the beta phase but will soon have multi-language support as well as item, NPC and Quest databases, character profiles and a variety of tools to enhance your experience in Hyboria. Go checkout the beta Armory!
There are rumors floating around that Bioware is working on two things right now, first they seem to be working on a new MMO project. Kotaku has an article about some of the MMO rumors and is speculating that the new MMO is not going to be based on KOTOR. However, if you look at the team being put together for Bioware’s new Austin, Texas based MMORPG division, you’ll notice some interesting choices in lead designers and developers. Leading the design team is James Ohlen, who’s previous work includes Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Also, coming over from Star Wars Galaxies developer Sony Online Entertainment’s MMO team are Richard Vogel and Gordon Walten.
This is all of course speculation on which title will be Bioware’s first MMO as they have several great past games that could be big hits in the MMORPG world. Some of their popular title include Neverwinter Nights, Baldur’s Gate, Mass Effect and of course Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
Add to that rumor mill this excerpt from 1Up.com:
“Today, a tipster contacted 1UP with portions of a script for what was said to be a “Star Wars online” game. The script’s description of the game reads:
“This is a role-playing game set in the historical past of the Star Wars universe. Jedi and Sith battle across the galaxy with the power of the Force and are joined by soldiers, politicians and nobles. Players must choose the destinies of heroes and villains in a thrilling and dangerous universe.”
Historical past? Jedi and Sith battling across the galaxy? To we Star Wars nerds, that sounds quite a bit like the “Old Republic” timeline, which BioWare Senior Writer Drew Karpyshyn helped flesh out with the KOTOR series and by penning the Darth Bane novels.
The script goes on to show an exchange between the player and a character named Fuse, a naive bomb designer. The portions of the script that we received are fairly heavy with dialog, which isn’t typical for an MMORPG, but it does read very much like a script to a KOTOR game. This could mean that the two projects are still separate. On the other hand, the game was described to the tipster as an MMO, and “heavy dialog” is practically BioWare’s calling card.”
Blackwings
