Since its commercial launch last year, Perfect World and its operator in the Philippines, Level Up! Games, have kept up the tempo by holding events, both sponsored and unsponsored, to the delight of the virtual world’s denizens. I’ve never joined any of these events … that is, until the event dubbed The Lost Foreigner, sponsored by Nescafe 3in1 (yes, the coffee brand).
I didn’t really bite at first. I found The Lost Foreigner event, much like any other event in Perfect World Philippines, a chore. But at the prodding of my wife, I decided to give it a try.
The event requires players to craft three types of special potions at any Pharmacist NPC using four types of herbs, namely High Quality Coffee Bean, Essence of Intense Powder, Sweet Powder, and Leaves of Origin. These herbs need to be harvested from plants found in different parts of the virtual world of Pangu, and you need a lot of them to craft even one potion. Needless to say, it takes time, and a considerable amount of it, to make these potions named after the popular brand’s, uhmm, flavors: Nescafe 3in1 Original, Nescafe 3in1 Sweet n Creamy, and Nescafe 3in1 Intense.
Okay, let’s cut to the chase.
The Lost Foreigner isn’t held every day. There’s a set schedule for when the NPC comes out to purchase those tasty potions players concoct. So when I got wind of when the Lost Foreigner would appear, I grabbed the hundreds of herbs I so tediously harvested over the past few weeks, crafted hundreds of potions, and waited patiently for the day my coffee would turn into yuan, the in-game currency.
When D-Day finally arrived, however, I found the area where the Lost Foreigner was scheduled to appear already teeming with dozens of players. I thought, “Hey, there’s really nothing wrong with that. I know everybody will get their fair share.”
I thought wrong.
Even before the Lost Foreigner opened shop, a lot of players took it upon themselves to disrupt the event. Some chose to open shops identical to that of the Lost Foreigner, purchasing the supposedly 30,000-yuan potions for as low as 200 yuan each. Other, well-meaning players fell victim to these unscrupulous vendors. Other players, meanwhile, made nuisances of themselves either by crowding the Lost Foreigner on their mounts and flights, which take up most of the screen, giving other, again, well-meaning players a hard time spotting the Lost Foreigner.
Freakin’ immature, if you ask me. Although I’m not really surprised, considering that majority of Perfect World Philippines’ players are probably below 16. Hmmm, come to think of it, even those who are supposedly mature commit weird and immature acts.
Well, truth to tell, these imbeciles were not really what set me off. It’s the indifference of the game moderator handling the event. I mean, come on, it’s an event sponsored by Nescafe! Any irregularities that occur during the event reflects badly not only on Level Up! Games, but also the advertiser that probably paid handsomely just to market their products to immature players who don’t even drink coffee.
I do drink coffee, though, and I take these things seriously. Here’s a question for the head honchos of Level Up! Games, including friends Mon Macutay and Carlo Ople: Whatever happened to the event rules? Here’s a copy for readers of this space:
Event Rules:
• There are no limits on the amount of “qualified” items you can trade. • Players that (sic) disrupt the awarding in anyway will be dealt with harshly. A minimum of 1 week ban.
• All violators of the Mandate of Heaven will be penalized accordingly.
• Items traded will not be returned.
See those two rules I stressed using bold font? I want answers because I’ve got a truckload of those special potions in my inventory waiting to be traded … and I’m not the only one.
Whew! Long post. But we need screenshots. Here they are:
Yes, Requiem: Bloodymare has a new playable race and, of course, I’m one of the first to try it out.
Before I pass judgment, let me introduce you to the race:
Xenoas have an umatched high intelligence. In spire of their low physical power, they have good hand-skills and eyesight. To make up for their weakness, they have upgraded their long-distance attacks and knowledge-based magic.
Xenoas keep the order base on religion, faith and authority. To become the leader of the race, one should show the power of faith to the public. Xenoas believe that they are superior to other races, and are selective, disregarding other races. Currently, the Xenoa is a minority race. But their knowledge of science is very high.
Xenoa magic has been developed in a way so that the Xenoas can effectively protect themselves. But some of the magic is for attacking off-guard enemies. Due to its small body, a Xenoa is good at long-range attacks or traps. Its skills of healing or detecting are stronger than the ones of other races. Rather than direct magic attack, Xenoas are excellent in support magic. A Xenoa would even sacrifice itself to cast a huge magic attack.
Whew! Sounds great, right? That’s what I thought, too.
My Xenoa character, Alassra, named after the Witch-Queen Alassra Shentrantra Silverhand, a fictional character in the Dungeons and Dragons-based Forgotten Realms setting, started out as a strong Temperion, the basic job class (read: novice), leveling up faster than my Kruxena. When I got her to Level 11, however, and changed into my first job class, the Battlemagician, I quickly regretted it.
The Battlemagician’s skill set leaves much to be desired—at least to the kind of player that prefers to be in the thick of the battle, hacking and slashing at opponents or blasting them with spells. The Battlemagician, I learned too late, is more of a support character than a frontliner.
I don’t know … I’m still willing to continue playing Alassra. Maybe a change of weapon from wand to claws may do the trick, since Battlemages can use these and staves. Now I’m wondering if playing the other job, the Hunter, is better.
This piece of news is a bit late in coming but I’ll announce it just the same. Gravity Interactive, developer and publisher of a wide variety of online games, has just released the biggest update to its bloodiest title Requiem: Bloodymare, dubbed simply as 3.0.
Here’s what’s included in the patch:
New Playable Race
The Xenoa have done all they can to help against the imposing danger through the creation of advanced technologies. But now its time to take a more direct approach in saving Ethergia. Xenoa will come prepared with new classes and unique armor sets and weapons.
PvP Update
Battleground simulations are being reorganized to allow more players to participate faster. New Guild versus Guild weekly training exercises will be scheduled with the winning guilds being allocated more resources for their soldiers.
Item Update
Helms will be on display for fellow adventurers to admire. New set bonus will be updated and several item names will be revised. Many bugs will be amended.
Of course, I grabbed the opportunity to play the new race, and I’ve got a thing or two to say about it. But that’s fodder for another, future post.
It’s funny how character sprites can play tricks on your eyes, or on your computer monitor. Take this image (above) as an example. At a close view, the character’s appearance is pristine. Zoom out a bit and her hair goes poof (below).
The invisible woman
Some times the computer’s graphics card just fizzles out and fails to draw the sprites not only of player characters but also non-player characters. Here’s a prime example, a teleporter NPC from the game Perfect World.
Screenshots taken by Joel from the massively multiplayer online role-playing game Perfect World, developed by Perfect World Co. Ltd. of China and published in the Philippines by Level Up! Games.
First off, I’d like to apologize to the thousands upon thousands (yeah, right) followers of this space for the seemingly long lull this past week. Truth is, I’ve been slaving in front of the PC to bring you more Asian MMORPG goodness than you can handle.
Well, it has been both a very productive and unproductive week for me, depending on how you look at things. Productive because I’ve been playing non-stop, except for the repeated bathroom breaks due to cold weather and the body’s need to replenish energy by taking in food and getting short, energizing catnaps.
For the most part, I’ve been dipping my grubby fingers in five good MMORPGs, namely Perfect World, Ragnarok Online, Fly For Fun, Requiem: Bloodymare, and Dekaron. With the rig I’ve got, I can only play two games at a time—that is, if the hack-prevention program of the games don’t interfere with each other. (For example, I’ve found out that I can play Perfect World and Dekaron at the same time but not Fly For Fun and Requiem: Bloodymare. It’s also funny the way Ragnarok Online and Requiem: Bloodymare don’t get along well on your PC despite being developed by the same company, Gravity).
Ahh, wait! Did I say two games at the same time? No bots here, just a lot of micromanagement or time spent vending in one game and grinding in the other. There’s also the beauty known as craft leveling, which, to my knowledge, can only be done in Perfect World.
I was supposed to do a play for a few hours and post something about the experience thing. But the moments I spent playing these five games just gave me a lot of fun and stuff to waste time on that in the end I decided to gather as much data I could, collate them, and eventually come up with great articles for your reading pleasure. Let’s see how that turns out.
What better way to make diehard MMORPG players salivate for a game than showing them clips upon clips of videos. This is just what mobiusgames, operator of Dekaron in Southeast Asia, is doing.
So, in case you missed the jump onto the Dekaron bandwagon, I suggest you watch these videos to whet your appetite in time for open beta this September:
Some things never change. Player characters in the popular Korean-made MMORPG Ragnarok Online still litter the streets, not to engage in idle talk with fellow players but to hawk their wares. What else is new? Apparently not much. Check out one server, and your already taking a glimpse at what’s on the other servers. Every square inch of your computer monitor is cramped with vendors, much like the screenshot below:
Other players, however, are trying to set things right by vending on the sidewalks instead of cramming themselves in the streets. Their efforts are having little effect, though. I should know, I’m one of the pioneers of sidewalk vending back when Ragnarok Online Philippines was still in its infancy.
It’s time again for another lesson in etiquette in MMORPGs. Here’s an interesting topic: Is it proper to invite another player to a party, initiate trading with another player, or challenging another player to a duel without asking first?
The answer: Hell no!
Why? Because it’s rude, annoying and always done at the wrong time. If you can’t see my point, try to put yourself on the receiving end of all of it. There you are, minding your own business, suddenly another character walks up to your character and challenges you to a duel or player-versus-player combat. Since you’re doing something very important (such as rifling through your stash), you decide to ignore the spineless anachronism who threw the gauntlet. Five minutes later, the idiot’s still trying to get you into a fight. In response, you suddenly blurt out (with your fingers, of course), “If you only ask nicely, I’d probably take you up on your challenge.”
See the point? There’s really no harm in asking another player nicely if he or she wants to join your party, trade with you, or bash his Uber Scepter of Godly Flame +10 on your empty noggin.
Still don’t see my point? Whew, thank the Big G for game filters.
Screenshot taken from Perfect World Philippines and modified by Joel. Perfect World is a product of Perfect World Co. Ltd. of China and published in the Philippines by Level Up! Games.
That was about a month ago. I hit the tracks again a few minutes ago (that is, before my brother-in-law interrupted me with a plea for resurrection in the MMORPG Perfect World) and I came in at second. Second!
Excuse me for a few hours while I go whoop some butt in Crazy Kart. I’ll update you guys again later.
Yeah, you read that right. I’ve forgotten how to play Fly For Fun. This is what happens to players who jump from one MMORPG to another. It’s kind of like the culture shock you go through when you move from place to place: You just don’t know what to do and where to go. As the stark reality starts to sink in, I find myself groping for guides. Fortunately, patience is a woman, uhmm, I mean, a virtue.
First off, I’ve re-discovered that Fly For Fun, more popularly known in the video gaming community as Flyff, makes use of a point and click system for movement, as opposed to today’s MMORPGs that allow players to use WASD. For the uninformed, WASD stands for the four keys you have to press on your keyboard to move a character in the direction you desire, i.e. W for forward or north, A for left or west, S for … heck, you get the picture.
Second, the combat system takes some getting used to as skills don’t activate in coordination with keystrokes. Sometimes, they don’t activate at all. *sweat*
Third, if you’ve been playing an MMORPG that allows your character to jump walls and other obstacles, you’ll find jumping in Flyff very limited. Two years ago, jumping in Flyff was unparalleled, since its closest MMORPG competitors in my corner of the world, Ragnarok Online and RAN Online didn’t allow jumping at all.
Last, the thing about flying around in Flyff is the limited control you have over movement and combat. Yes, it’s the first MMORPG to feature flying and aerial combat but its system has never been updated to meet the expectations of today’s generation of MMORPG players.
Regardless of these setbacks to my warm return to the world of Roika, I’ll continue exploring, hunting and making friends. I love revisiting old characters. Now, if I can only revisit my characters on those old pay-to-play MMORPGs. Hehe.
I’ve even forgotten my bank or storage’s password. >.<
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Well, it has been both a very productive and unproductive week for me, depending on how you look at things. Productive because I’ve been playing non-stop, except for the repeated bathroom breaks due to cold weather and the body’s need to replenish energy by taking in food and getting short, energizing catnaps.
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