Lewterslounge

Aion to go free to play in Europe in February

2012-01-27T15:55:00.000+01:00

Ultra-pretty flighty MMO Aion is set to drop the monthly subscription fees and go free to play in February next year. The free to play version will be rolled out in the UK, France and Germany first before spreading across the whole of Europe. “In the last few months the lands in Atreia have become more and more deserted,” NCSoft write on the new Aion free to play site, “we want to reinvigorate the world of Aion and attract new adventurers to the towns.” There’s no mention of a free to play version for the US yet.

Aion’s been updated many, many times since its release. New dungeons, new endgame quests, new missions and pets that will collect your loot for you are a few additions. The seriousness of the stoic angel warriors that made up Aion’s character base on launch have thawed considerably over the years with the addition of new outfits, afros and a ton of new gear.

Aion’s world has become more impressive, too, with a raft of graphical updates. It’s powered by Crytek’s CryEngine, making it one of the best looking MMOs around, though through it all, it’s never quite managed to shake its reputation as a bit of a grindfest. Come February, you’ll get to download the client and find out for free.

In the Aion free to play FAQ, NCSoft mention that in”every quest, class, instance and zone is freely playable and is free of charge for every player.” There they also mention that new players will be able to pay extra for a “Gold package” which will remove “a few minor restrictions in an effort to protect the game against bots and gold sellers” If you’re already a subscriber, you’ll be rewarded with “Veteran” status. “With this, all game options are open to you free of charge and you also receive special bonuses.” Find out more on the official Aion free to play site. If you’re an Aion subscriber, NCSoft recommend marking your account for transfer ahead of the free to play switch. There are instructions on how to do that here.

DotA 2 Leaked Screenshots

2011-08-12T20:18:00.003+02:00

Thailand's DotA-team, MiTH-Trust, attending the DotA 2 championship tournament
for 1 million USD accidentally released a couple of screenshots of the team practising
where you can clearly see DotA 2 running on one of the guy's display. The non-blurred
images were almost instantly gone from the team's site: Valve appears to be rather strict
when it comes to images of unreleased games.

Following screenshots are not of the highest quality at all, and if you are not really
a dedicated DotA fan like me, you might not find it that much interesting. After all
this is the first DotA 2 leak of it's kind, and I'm happy to share it with you here on
LewtersLounge.

Original image of MiTH-Trust players practicing that was taken down very quickly.
Can't see it? Check the next zoomed image!

Here we can see the DotA 2 UI (interface) and some other interesting things such
as the cool shadow rendering as it looks like.

This image was taken down also very quickly, it is the official DotA 2 logo.

Diablo III Beta Announced!

2011-08-04T16:54:00.000+02:00

Blizzard has just recently made an announcement of the Diablo III beta and has decided to answer a few questions people might have. This article was published around noon yesterday in an effort to bring awareness to the community and its chance at being invited.

Diablo III Beta Test Overview

After 10 years of anticipation following Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo II (2000) and its expansion, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction (2001), the iconic action-RPG gameplay of the Diablo series is back with a vengeance in Diablo III. In the upcoming Diablo III beta test, selected participants will be among the first in the world to rejoin the battle against the minions of the Burning Hells as they explore part of the game's foreboding first act.

After hearing all that good news I'm sure most of us are going to be pretty eager to get our hands on one of those lucky few that are going to be chosen to try this beauty of a game. People were curious as to what Blizzard's goals were for the Diablo III beta testing and they replied,

What are your goals for this beta?

The primary reason for the Diablo III beta test is for us to test out our new hardware, see how the server–client infrastructure holds up, and look for bugs in the installer and patcher as well as the game. We’re also looking to get some quality feedback about the beginning game experience and how the different classes feel. The beta test will help us ensure that the release is stable and fun, and that we’re ultimately able to deliver the experience we intend with Diablo III.

As you all probably already expect it, this beta will ensure that we all get to have a great experience with the opening night of Diablo III. I had a chance to test out the game during Blizzards convention, Blizzcon, in 2010. That was one of the main problems they had wanted to tackle, and thats the class balancing. From my experience of what I've played so far, they are going to need a lot of testing on the current class situation.

I'm sure you're all wondering, how do I sign up for this wonderful opportunity?! As most people already know, you enter mainly through Battle.net and attending Blizzcon. Here is a more in-depth answer that was a part of the FAQ.

How do I sign up for the Diablo III beta test?

To sign up for the Diablo III beta test or future Blizzard Entertainment beta tests, you first need to create a Battle.net account. You can then opt-in to the beta test for Diablo III, as well as beta tests for future Blizzard Entertainment games, through the beta opt-in process. To get started, simply click Beta Profile Settings in Battle.net Account Management. Please note that opting in to a beta test through this method does not guarantee that you will be selected.

Of course not everyone will get in, but I can tell you this. Blizzard needs testers from all different perspectives. That's why the opt-in copies your computer specs. They need to test the game for people that have really low end computers, as well as those that have good or great computers. They understand that not everyone can stay up to date, so I am sure those with lower computer specs will be able to get a chance at this beta. As I was saying before, Blizzcon also increases your chances of association with the Diablo III beta. Here is a question someone asked and they replied with,

1,000 Diablo III beta keys were promised at BlizzCon; how do I know if I am a winner?

We will be sending out emails with beta keys to winners along with detailed instructions on how to access the beta test. Players who receive a beta key via email will need to create a Battle.net account, click “Add or Upgrade a Game” in Account Management, and enter the key there. The beta client will then be available for download from within Battle.net Account Management.

A common question a lot asked was when they planned to end the Diablo III beta, here is there reply even though it's very generic.

How long will the beta test last?
We have not determined an exact date for the end of the beta test. We will notify participants when the beta test is nearing completion.

Blizzard is allowing the beta test in all regions where Blizzard games are available. That's good news for those not in the U.S. or more common areas they choose to test at. The only catch is that North America will be the first to receive the chance to play the beta, as they widen their horizon. Here is a question that was asked concerning what regions they plan to allow the beta test.

Which regions will be able to participate in the beta test?

All regions will be able to participate in the Diablo III beta test; however, to keep the process as efficient as possible, and ultimately to release the game as soon as possible, we plan to roll out the beta hardware in waves, starting with North America. This means that players outside of North America who are granted access to the beta test may experience some latency issues. Once the new hardware setup has been optimized, we plan to roll it out in additional regions. This should provide a solid connection experience for beta testers in those regions who are connecting to the new local hardware infrastructure.

We are all really curious as to what we should expect to see in game when they open the doors for those who receive keys. Players were wondering what content they are going to see in the opening of the beta, Blizzard replied,

What game content will be available in the beta?

You’ll be able to try out all 5 character classes and experience the early stages of Diablo III from the start of the game through the Skeleton King encounter. You’ll be able to interact with new and returning characters in New Tristram and fight the reawakened evils emanating from the cursed Tristram Cathedral. You’ll also experience the randomized elements of Diablo III as well many of the new system designs that take many of the core Diablo design elements to a whole new level.

As I'm sure we have all read the article by Unholyshaman, Diablo 3 using in-game gold and real life money. The players asked a question about the Diablo III Auction House system, and they replied,

Will the Diablo III Auction House be available in the beta?

Yes, we plan on testing the functionality of the Diablo III gold-based auction house during the beta phase.

Here is another direct dialect from their "overview" of the Auction House, CONFIRMING that there will be a real life money auction house system! Here is the confirmation.

The Choice Is Yours
Use of either the real-money or gold-based auction house is completely optional -- that decision can be made on a per-item basis, and both versions of the auction house are functionally the same. In addition, players have the option to simply sell the items they obtain to in-game vendors for gold. They can also trade items to other players through a direct character-to-character trading system in the game in exchange for gold, other items, or just an overwhelming sense of goodwill.

As time goes on and we all begin to check our battle.net emails and hope to be greeted with an invite, not all shall be stoked. Those that receive chances at the beta, let us know in the comment section below! What's your opinion on all of this? Do you think the beta will be a successor towards Diablo III being fair and balanced? Speak your mind!

UPDATE: Diablo III Beta Profile Update

Just recently, about 35 minutes ago, Zarhym, a Blizzard Community Manager made an announcement for everyone that's interested in any future beta testing, they should probably update their Beta Profile through BNET. Here is the link for the announcement:http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2957126089
Credit for the link: Shadowsx

Diablo 3 using in-game gold and real-life money

2011-08-04T14:56:00.000+02:00

A few days ago World of Warcraft and Diablo Fans a like woke up a piece of absolutely mind blowing news. Real-life money used for in-game transactions? Has Blizzard gone off their rocker? Who cares let's make some money!

In short, there will be 2 separate Auction Houses, one that utilizes in-game gold, and one that utilized real-life currency, and players will be able to choose which Auction House they wish to use per individual transaction - in other words you won't have to choose between the two.

The way I imagine it working, will be if you want quick, easy sales - use the in-game gold auction house. If you have a very very rare, high-ticket item that you don't mind being patient with, use the real-life money auction house. Of course there is no reason why you wouldn't put either of those category items on either of the auction houses, it just seems less likely right now.

First thing NOTE: this information was posted on MMO-Champion, WITHOUT any source links. They state "Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment" but usually the words "Blizzard Entertainment is a hyperlink, this time it isn't - so take everything here with a grain of salt.

Sinuviel brought up a good question in one of the World of Warcraft related IRC channels:

Originally Posted by Sinuvial

Who is going to be able to check if it is Blizzard, or a player selling goods anyways? Blizzard Trader-X makes an account, uses some l33t getItem command and posts some pure profit items on the AH. Nobody can tell if he is an actual player, or a Blizzard employee!

Something else that I want to point out is Auction House cuts and Deposit Fees.

25 million players.
On average, each player sells 5 auctions per day.
Blizzard puts a 1 cent AH cut per auction.
25 million cents per day.

It's clear that, if this is true, Blizzard is finally facing the facts that Gold selling/buying is an unstoppable force. I just wonder what kind of exact effect this will have on the game's economy. Ever since pre-bc, players have been constantly bringing up the suggestion that Blizzard should allow buying and selling of gold with real-life currency straight from their website.

I'm not going to spam you guys with all the FAQ quotes by Blizzard, but I will post some of the more interesting ones that are more relevant to our community. When Blizzard releases more information and we get proper source quotes I'm sure one of the news team members will do an update post on the situation.