New Concept Art and Fan Site @ Age of Conan

Warriors, thieves, priests and mages are not the only citizens of Hyboria. This week we take a look at some concept work focused around defining the costumes of the everyday characters you will meet in the gameworld.


You can find the new images here in our concept art gallery.

Also keep an eye on the Age of Conan fansites over the weekend as we have sent out a series of these images to some of the sites for them to feature that continue the theme, and show you a little more of what the characters might be wearing when you get to walk the lands of King Conan!

1.81l Notes @ Dark Age of Camelot

More notes for joo:

EDITED 6:08 to add two Mauler notes.

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Dark Age of Camelot
Test Version 1.86l Release Notes
Labyrinth of the Minotaur Beta
November 9, 2006

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NEW THINGS AND BUG FIXES

Performance Related Fixes (Catacombs Client)

- Some elements of the sky dome were not properly being freed from memory upon zoning. This has been fixed.

- Fixed two memory leaks relating to trees and tree shaders.

- Fixed an issue where memory was not being released properly after using the Social window.

Note: The Catacombs client affects people who play Catacombs, Darkness Rising, or Labyrinth.

Read more.... ?

Burning Crusade release date is January 16. World of Warcraft hits 7.5 million players!

Blizzard Entertainment announced today that World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade will be released in North American and European stores on January 16, 2007. The release of the WoW expansion in Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore will follow in a similar time frame.

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade will be available for Windows 2000/XP and Mac and will come in standard and a special Collector’s Edition. This limited edition set will include the expansion on both CD-ROM and DVD, the Art of the Burning Crusade coffee table book, an exclusive in-game pet, a behind-the-scenes DVD, a World of Warcraft Trading Card Game starter deck and exclusive cards, a map of Outland mouse pad and the official soundtrack CD.

World of Warcraft Expansion: Burning CrusadeIn addition to the release date announcement, Blizzard has also announced that the WoW subscriber base has now reached 7.5 million players worldwide.

“While World of Warcraft has continued to grow rapidly along with its player population, The Burning Crusade will represent our single largest addition of new game content and new features to date,” said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment.

Morhaime also gave fans his word that the game would meet their expectations, stating that the company will “continue balancing and play-testing up until launch to ensure that The Burning Crusade achieves that goal.

WORLD OF WARCRAFT® THE BURNING CRUSADE™ @ Blizzard

Blizzard Entertainment® announced today that World of Warcraft®: The Burning Crusade™, the highly anticipated expansion to the world’s leading subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft, will be in stores on January 16th in North America and Europe. The expansion will be available in a similar time frame in Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore as well, and availability for mainland China and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau will be announced in the near future. In addition, Blizzard today announced that the subscriber base for World of Warcraft has reached a new milestone, with 7.5 million players worldwide.

"While World of Warcraft has continued to grow rapidly along with its player population, The Burning Crusade will represent our single largest addition of new game content and new features to date,"said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "With this expansion, we’re looking forward to offering the same level of quality that players have experienced in World of Warcraft so far, and we’ll continue balancing and play-testing up until launch to ensure that The Burning Crusade achieves that goal."

In World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, players will be able to advance their characters up to level 70, unlocking a world of power and possibilities along the way. Additional features coming in The Burning Crusade include two new playable races (the Blood Elves and the Draenei), flying mounts, new talents and abilities for all character classes, the new jewelcrafting profession, new magical weapons and armour, and many enhancements to player-vs.-player action. The expansion will also lead veteran players through the fabled Dark Portal and into Outland, former homeworld of the Orcs and site of a series of cataclysmic events that helped shape the history of the Warcraft® universe. In this shattered world, players will encounter new challenges and dangers in the form of new outdoor zones, quests, dungeons, never-before-seen monsters, and much more. Over the course of their new adventures in The Burning Crusade, players will grow in experience and power as they uncover the rich lore and mysteries of Outland and do battle with the demonic forces of The Burning Legion.

Read more ?

World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Release Date @ Mmorpg

Blizzard Entertainment has announced the release date for the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion, The Burning Crusade. Delayed until after the holiday season, Burning Crusade will hit stores on January 16th of 2007.

WORLD OF WARCRAFT®: THE BURNING CRUSADE IN STORES JANUARY 16, 2007

Street date set for the expansion to Blizzard Entertainment®'s massively multiplayer online role-playing game as subscriber base reaches 7.5 million players worldwide

PARIS, France. – 9 November, 2006 – Blizzard Entertainment® announced today that World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, the highly anticipated expansion to the world’s leading subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft, will be in stores on January 16th in North America and Europe. The expansion will be available in a similar time frame in Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore as well, and availability for mainland China and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau will be announced in the near future. In addition, Blizzard today announced that the subscriber base for World of Warcraft has reached a new milestone, with 7.5 million players worldwide.

“While World of Warcraft has continued to grow rapidly along with its player population, The Burning Crusade will represent our single largest addition of new game content and new features to date,” said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “With this expansion, we’re looking forward to offering the same level of quality that players have experienced in World of Warcraft so far, and we’ll continue balancing and play-testing up until launch to ensure that The Burning Crusade achieves that goal.”

In World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, players will be able to advance their characters up to level 70, unlocking a world of power and possibilities along the way. Additional features coming in The Burning Crusade include two new playable races (the Blood Elves and the Draenei), flying mounts, new talents and abilities for all character classes, the new jewelcrafting profession, new magical weapons and armour, and many enhancements to player-vs.-player action. The expansion will also lead veteran players through the fabled Dark Portal and into Outland, former homeworld of the Orcs and site of a series of cataclysmic events that helped shape the history of the Warcraft universe. In this shattered world, players will encounter new challenges and dangers in the form of new outdoor zones, quests, dungeons, never-before-seen monsters, and much more. Over the course of their new adventures in The Burning Crusade, players will grow in experience and power as they uncover the rich lore and mysteries of Outland and do battle with the demonic forces of The Burning Legion.

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade will be available at retail stores for Windows® 2000/XP and Macintosh®. A special Collector's Edition of the expansion will also be available. This limited-edition package will include the expansion on both CD-ROM and DVD, the Art of the Burning Crusade coffee table book, an exclusive in-game pet, a behind-the-scenes DVD, a World of Warcraft Trading Card Game starter deck and exclusive cards, a map of Outland mouse pad and the official soundtrack CD. The World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade expansion requires the original World of Warcraft game. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade has received a 12+ rating by PEGI.

For more on WoW click here.

Pirates of the Burning Sea: Dev Log: Beta @ Mmorpg

Over at Pirates of the Burning Sea, Misha has released a new Dev Log that gives us an update on the MMOG's beta.

Beta Update

I've managed to duck Aether since May but he finally caught up with me... I can't even begin to list all the changes to the Beta since May. We've added tons more people, established a regular schedule for the sessions and then changed that schedule, and I've got new GMs helping me to the point I no longer have to work the weekends to run the Beta. This makes for a much less cranky Misha!

Currently, our schedule is very focused on North/South American availability. If you're a Beta tester not in my hemisphere, chances are you can only play once per week. By far, the most whining I hear from Beta testers is that they don't get to play, er, test often enough. ;-)

We've changed the process of updating the Beta so that we can put out a build for testing and, if it doesn't work out, we can easily go back to the previous version or put out another build. One side-effect of this is that we sometimes run an extra session or run a regular session longer than usual as we try to put that build through its paces.

Read the whole journal here.

Nintendo DS Lite in the running for TIME's Gadget of the Year 2006

The DS Lite is one of 8 products up for TIME Magazine's Gadget of the Year this year!

This is probably where you are expecting me to rally support and encourage you all to go vote for the DS. Judging from the preliminary results so far, I don't think that will be necessary.

At the time of this writing, the Nintendo DS Lite is leading the competition with an astounding 58% of the overall vote. The next highest device, the Apple MacBook Pro, has only 28% of the vote, a full 30% behind the DS.

So, if you feel so inclined you can head over to TIME's voting page and make your voice heard. No pressure though, cause the DS has this one in the bag.

Reminder: Please beware of third party sites. @ Hero Online

We have received MANY inquiries regarding players who''''ve gotten disconnected and returned to find their inventory empty.

Many of these cases are occuring because our players are accessing web sites that claim to have bots, hacks, exploits, gold, guides, and more; but, instead, are key logger/phish sites that steal players login/pass.

We ASK our players to refrain from going to sites that may have illicit material (things that would violate the ToS); and to go to approved fansites (listed in the forum) for information about the game. Sites that offer to give you rare items, gold for money, cheats, hacks, exploits, guides, and even items are all sites that our players should be EXTREMELY WARY of.

Because of the massive influx of claims that have these symptoms (and the time it takes to deal with even just one), we ask those users who have already submitted 1:1 to be patient with their claim as we are working as fast as we can to set things right.

Restoring players'''' accounts after they have been "hit" like this takes quite a bit of time and investigation; and we are in the process of limiting compensation for inquiries of this nature. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Those inquiries submitted after October 1st describing accounts hacked as a result of going to these websites will receive only limited service on our parts.

In an effort to increase the knowledge-base of our players, we will be releasing several GM-made guides as well as in-game systems to help players with information about Hero Online. We also have an approved fansite section, where we can post APPROVED fansites that users can go to. Players can submit their requests to have their fansites posted on our thread.

PLEASE be careful when going to these third party sites.

Echoes of Faydwer NDA Lifted! @ EverQuest

The Echoes of Faydwer NDA has been lifted!

Feel free to discuss this highly anticipated expansion to EverQuest II as much as you like!

Exploring Middle-earth: The Ford of Bruinen @ The Lord Of The Ring

As travelers head east toward the Misty Mountains, leaving behind the barren Lone-lands and the treacherous hills of the Trollshaws, the roar of the River Bruinen, or "Loadwater," fills the air. At the Ford of Bruinen, where the Great East Road crosses the mighty river as it approaches the Valley of Rivendell, the swift waters can be easily crossed at these shallows just below the picturesque falls. Many adventurers, however, tell tales of sensing the presence of great and natural power emanating from the river, protecting the hidden valley of the Elves, which lies just beyond the ford.

The approach to Rivendell is at once awe-inspiring, tranquil, serene, and also potentially dangerous for travelers through this land. The Ford of Bruinen is well-known to readers of The Lord of the Rings as the location where Frodo made his last flight to cross the waters of the Bruinen in the hopes of making the safety of Elrond's home in Rivendell. It is also well-known that the Elves of Middle-earth, and especially those that dwell in the valley of Rivendell, are fiercely protective of their home against the darkness encroaching on the lands. Travelers would do well to declare their friendly intentions as soon as the roar of the Bruinen is heard, for the guards of Rivendell seldom make their presence known and can strike swiftly and silently at any they do not welcome as friends.