MPOG News-Log

Devoted to covering the ever-expanding world of Multi-Player Online Games (MPOG's).

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Saturday, August 31, 2002
 
Ballerium Beta Test and Newsletter Registration Form Now Available:

The following is yet another email sent by Mike Fisher, mfisher@fishermarketing.com :

For Immediate Release:


Ballerium Beta Test and Newsletter Registration Form Now Available

Bney-Brak, Israel, August 31, 2002 - Majorem Ltd., a developer of
massively
multiplayer games and technology, is pleased to officially announce
that
they are now taking initial registration forms from individuals
interested
in beta testing their upcoming massively multiplayer real-time strategy
game
'Ballerium'. Interested parties can register by visiting the official
Ballerium website at www.ballerium.com and clicking the beta and
newsletter
registration link located on the news page.

Ballerium is scheduled to enter beta testing in Q1 2003, with final
release
set to occur mid-2003. In developing the game, Majorem is using its
revolutionary OPIUM technology to create a fully persistent world that
is
able to handle an infinite number of players. Ballerium looks to be an
innovative new entry to the massively multiplayer gaming market,
providing
players with never before experienced levels of persistence and
control.

About Majorem Ltd.

Based in Bney-Brak, Israel, Majorem Ltd. approaches the games market
from
its technological aspect, developing technology for massively
multiplayer
persistent games. Majorem's server technology will support MMP games
for the
Internet, DTV and cellular. At ECTS 2002 in London, England, Majorem
will
have on display their upcoming Massively multiplayer strategy game
Ballerium' as well as information regarding the OPIUM Software
Development
Kit for use in developing massively multiplayer worlds. For more
information
on Majorem Ltd., please stop by stand 1647 at ECTS 2002 or visit the
respective websites for Majorem Ltd. and Ballerium at
http://www.majorem.com
and http://www.ballerium.com .




 
Star Fury Round 2 - [ Development Hour ]:

The following email was sent by notice@star-fury.com :

Dear SF Players,

The Development hour for Round 2 will take place on September 1st @
10PM
(SF/UK Time), thats 5PM Eastern Standard Time (US) and 2PM West Coast
(US).

It will take place on the IRC Network (SFNet) in channel #development.

Use 'irc.star-fury.com' port '6667' to connect using a client like
mIRC,
or use the java applet on the SF site, at
http://www.star-fury.com/chat.asp

Development hour will give you the chance to suggest
additions/updates/revision for Round 2 of SF.
Also, the arranged updates/changes for SF Round 2 will be announced.

See you there!




 
Prowler Productions Announces StarLock Beta Test Signup Date:

The following email was sent by Mike Fisher, mfisher@fishermarketing.com

Prowler Productions is pleased to announce that beta tester signup for
their
upcoming Sci-Fi MMORPG StarLock will begin October 1st. Beta testing
itself
is slated to start November 1st with the final public release of
StarLock
planned for January 1st. Please stay tuned for more information on
StarLock
and on how to register for the beta test as the October 1st signup
draws
closer. In the meantime, those looking to learn more about StarLock
can
visit the official website at http://www.prowler-pro.com/starlock .



 
Space Merchant Realms Udpate:

The SMR Newbie Game #2 is about to end & Newbie Game #3 is about to begin. In NG #2, the Trex Mercenaries once again showed the rest of SMR just how the game is played. Following is the roster for the Trex Mercenaries in SMR NG #2:

TREX MERCENARIES (21)
Message of Day | Roster | Message Board | Planets | Forces | Options | List Alliances




Soldiers of Fortune for Fun and Profit Who Serve As The Official Space Merchant Realms Affiliate of HousE ForsakeN....................... http://www.clan-forsaken.com

Alliance Name Total Experience Average Experience Number of Members
Trex Mercenaries 88018 3035 29


Current Members

Trader Name Race Experience
1 Pilot Tenstar (369) Thevian 10583
2 Pilot Yarno (296) Salvene 9902
3 Pilot Graduate nate (568) Creonti 7833
4 Pilot Apprentice AlphaOne (464) Human 6213
5 Pilot Apprentice Nak'Thor (1112) Salvene 6052
6 Ensign Jengard (1266) Salvene 5277
7 Ensign I C E (1258) Alskant 5194
8 Ensign Hyphven (230) Alskant 5059
9 Master Petty Officer terek (1118) WQ Human 3820
10 Master Petty Officer Jammen (340) WQ Human 3364
11 Master Petty Officer jomomma (1280) Thevian 3356
12 Chief Petty Officer Kestral B. (889) WQ Human 3030
13 Chief Petty Officer Hiolen (872) Alskant 2762
14* Chief Petty Officer crector (124) Human 2513
15 Petty Officer Warloc (1250) Salvene 2164
16 Navigator Atilla (1285) Thevian 1528
17 Navigator elle (1060) Human 1318
18 Navigator Kaiyen (1226) WQ Human 1314
19 Navigator Hal9000 (1213) Creonti 1249
20 Navigator Lothgow (410) Human 1169
21 Junior Recruit @ur0n (789) Alskant 709
22 Junior Recruit InTheBag (1032) Human 616
23 Junior Recruit Rhino (1182) WQ Human 589
24 Sophomore Recruit Marvin (1225) Ik'Thorne 538
25 Sophomore Recruit ANALARAN (1300) Human 518
26 Sophomore Recruit Razor High Trader (1215) Ik'Thorne 507
27 Sophomore Recruit knightsb (1279) Salvene 404
28 Sophomore Recruit Grizzly (1264) Creonti 295
29 Freshman Recruit DracoLichB (1306) Ik'Thorne 142








 
Andromeda 9 Going Open Source:

From the Andromeda 9 News Page at http://www.andromeda9.com/news.php :


The developers of this ambitious download game have decided to release their creation as an Open Source game. However, this means that more work will have to be done until its released.






Thursday, August 29, 2002
 
Remember to send News to: crector@clan-forsaken.com



 
World of War Update:

The following News was posted in the past month on the game's front page:

19.35 GMT+1 - 28th of July 2002
Here are some of the changes in the game for this round:
No Loans
Nation Embassy is the place where you declare war
Personal Savings account holds money for you (max
20billions). It is persistent and will not dissappear as you move to a new
nation.
Some stuff are still not working correctly, I am doing my
best to get it ready asap.
By: Svenneman

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19.35 GMT+1 - 28th of July 2002
The game should now be operational, partially anyway =), all important
functions are ready I think, and I am trying to get it all done as soon as
possible
By: Svenneman

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19.35 GMT+1 - 28th of July 2002
Finally I have got the new wow site online, but it is not yet as you might
notice. At the moment I am struggeling with my failing computer, the
processor fan connectors on my motherboard has burned so I have no vent for
the cpu :(. In addition to that my harddrive have started to mess with me
again so I spent the whole sunday trying to reinstall Windows with no
success. Sigh... I am trying to get the coding done for the game as quick
as I can but I am afraid that it will take another day or two before I can
start the game.

Now to some info about this new wow site. You will no longer need to
do a new signup for the game after each and every round as the account you
create on the main site is a persistent one and won't dissappear until you
delete it. Cool huh? =). The forums are still separated from the wow site,
but I have planned to integrate this site with the forums and through that
make it all more dynamic. I will post more info ASAP.
By: Svenneman

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




 
StarLock Update:

The following News/Announcements were recently posted on the front page of this long-awaited massively multiplayer pay to play space RPG:


Saturday, August 10th, 2002

StarLock Forum Opened: The StarLock message forum is now open. The first message is a reminder to stay on-topic. With the StarLock launch only months away, and beta testing even sooner, this is a good time to start sticking around. Also, check back for links to possible StarLock previews, news, and interviews popping up at other game news sites, like this one at rpgviewer.com.


Tuesday, July 30th, 2002

Release Timeline: Although I would urge you not to forget that distractions can often interfere with even the best of plans (for instance, my right hand is currently in a splint - I broke a finger - and that alone makes work slow and painful), we're at least ready to offer a fairly realistic timeline for the launch of StarLock.


Tuesday, Oct. 1st Beta Signup/Announcement Made
Friday, Oct. 25th Very Limited Closed Testing Begins
Friday, Nov. 1st First Phase Closed Beta Testing Begins
Sunday, Dec. 1st Closed Beta Testing Enters Second Phase
Wednesday, Jan. 1st StarLock Goes Gold, Available to the Public

As you may have noticed, there is no scheduled "open beta," and here's why. We're serious about debugging, and have no desire to launch a ragged game as an excuse to gain more players. It has also been my experience and observation that "open beta" is often an excuse for people to treat a game as "finished," offering no assistance in testing, and worse, complaining about any and every glitch that does crop up. When beta sign-ups begin in October (please do not offer your assistance prior to the announcement - we are not yet ready to even consider you), we will pick appropriate numbers to help in the week-long preliminary tests, followed by two months of closed beta where we will admit more testers as various milestones are confirmed. Two months may or may not be sufficient. If not, the launch date (Jan 1st) will be pushed back to allow more beta time.

More News from IMGS: Today, Incan Monkey God Studios sent the questions for StarLock's small spot in their upcoming premier issue of Massive Online Gaming (watch for their magazine to appear on newsracks in the next few weeks). Below, I've shared my answers. :)


Name StarLock
Accepting Beta Testers? Not Yet
Developer Prowler Productions
Publisher Prowler Productions
Platform Web Browser (HTML, CGI). Broadband recommended
Official Website http://www.prowler-pro.com/starlock/
Current Version 1.0d Alpha
Scheduled Release Date January 1st, 2003
Brief Description Epic, expanding Sci-Fi RPG/Adventure (Space Opera). Illustrated MUD.
It's Different Because Largest BBG ever. Accessibility (school, work, home, etc). Add-on ability.
Latest Big Change Nearing the end of alpha development phase. Release date set.
Upcoming News Will begin accepting beta applications soon. Game world will expand.
Pricing 3 Tiers: Free (time limited daily), $0.25/hourly, or $5.00/monthly
Number of Active Servers Undecided. Will increase to meet demands.

I'm personally excited about Massive Online Gamer... not just because of the new exposure for StarLock, but because this may be the first magazine of its kind. There are mags with a focus on handheld gaming, consoles in general, specific consoles, PC games, and some cover the world of online games in part. MOG is all about Massively Multiplayer online games, and so far they seem to have no bias for or against any particular platform. After all, they're covering a massively multiplayer browser-based game, and that's strong reinforcement for the viability of the web as a worthwhile gaming platform.

Three-Tier Specifics: After months of uncertainty, the pricing and time limits have been decided. If you've been wondering, read on! StarLock will have a tier perfect for everyone.

Tier 1 (free) will start each player with 10 hours, followed by 20 minutes (cumulative up to three hours) each day. A free player can play every day (if you're quick -- the game is designed to provide a set number of daily turns), play for an hour every third day (as an example, since daily time accumulates if not used), or let the time accumulate to be used later, when time permits. This means everybody gets to play. This is especially good for quick players, for people who want to keep an account but don't play every day, and for anybody who doesn't want to spend money on a game they're not totally ready for. Twenty minutes doesn't sound like much, but just think about other games you've played. 20 minutes a day, or 40 minutes every other day, or an hour every 3rd day, or over two hours once a week is all most players will ever need.
Tier 2 will allow players to purchase additional time, at $0.25 (25 cents) an hour. This may be a popular choice, for several reasons. One, free time isn't lost. A tier-2 player uses free time (which, like tier-1, can accumulate up to 3 hours) before dipping into paid time, and it's all automatic. As a basis for comparison, 20 hours would cost $5. If spread over a 30-day month, that's 40 minutes a day. With 20 additional minutes of daily free time, that's an hour a day all month long. An hour is more than most players should need for their turns. Also, paid time isn't lost. If you stop logging in, your time is still there waiting when you return. You don't lose anything when you aren't playing. This is a great thing for those of you who don't like the concept of "subscriptions," for that reason.
Tier 3 is the traditional, well-known subscription. For $5 a month (or $25 for 6 months), you won't be limited at all. As demonstrated above, when paid hourly, $5 is worth about an hour of time a day (which includes free time). Players who want to socialize more, or "hang out," or play slowly, or simply like being in the StarLock world as much as possible, can do so for just $5 a month, without worrying at all about running out of paid time. Although free time doesn't really apply to a tier-3 account, it still accumulates, for immediate use when your subscription expires. In reality, a player could build up some free time and buy a few hours and get a subscription -- the free/paid time would sit waiting as a fallback when and if your subscription runs out!

When designing StarLock, one of my chief concerns has been how most games expect to monopolize my free time. I, for one, can't spend 5 hours a day playing just one game, nor would I want to. I have a job... a wife... other games I play, and other hobbies (I try to read as much as I can, and movies are big with me). It's really disappointing to know that the kid who's home from school for the summer with nothing better to do than focus hours and hours a day on one game is going to have a huge advantage over me. So, StarLock isn't designed like that. If all the talk about "free minutes" and "paid hours" seems a little odd, that's why. You play the turns you're allowed each day (as quickly or as slowly as you are able), and anything beyond that is more for socializing, not stat-building. This keeps everybody on fairly equal footing, and affords a free player as much chance of success as a subscriber, without requiring a heavy commitment like so many other massively multiplayer games.



Friday, July 19th, 2002

Poll Results: I've taken down the two StarLock polls, and posted the results below. Following the results, I've posted some of the comments/feedback from a few of the voters. I don't have much else to report at present -- with recent issues in Lunatix Online to resolve, I haven't had time to work on this game in the past couple of weeks. From your comments, and from email I receive frequently, I can tell that I need to announce a release timeline soon. Things are going to be hectic with my "day job" over the next few weeks, and this may severely limit the free time I have, but look for some info regarding StarLock beta testing in the next few weeks.
Something I noticed from the results, and from some of the other comments I received, is that people have assumed this is a Pay-to-Play Only game. It's actually a free game (yep, the largest, most involved browser-based RPG ever is going to be available to play for free), with options to pay or subscribe. Although this is explained in the FAQ a little better, I understand that some people just want to maintain a game account to play every once in a while. I know there are games I sometimes play a couple times a week for a few minutes, which certainly wouldn't justify the expense of a monthly subscription, and there are times when if I did have a subscription, I'd be worried about losing my character if I didn't continue to subscribe forever. With StarLock, that won't be a problem. It's a fairly unique approach to the membership problem, and one that may become more common if it proves viable. Because the free-level players won't be using nearly as many resources (being limited on time each day), we should be able to maintain the free membership level for as long as the game grows and stays profitable from those who do pay. Plus, with a design that is built to keep things fair whether you're a paying member or not, free players won't feel outclassed.
But, we think that you're going to want more time in the game, to socialize, travel, and be a part of the game world (instead of just playing your turns). I'm confident that this is going to be a game everybody can enjoy.
And without further ado, here are the results from the two recent polls:


How long have you been waiting for the release of StarLock?
Choice Votes Approximate %
I didn't know about StarLock until now! 77 45%
Since it was first announced in early 1999 35 20%
More recently - I found this site in 2001 33 19%
I've been looking forward to it since 2000 21 12%
I first found out about StarLock later in 1999 6 3%


What's the biggest reason you have for playing Browser-Based Games?
Choice Votes Approximate %
I only play free games, and most BBG's are free. 60 38%
I'm not sure, or none of the above. BBG's are just fun! 55 35%
I enjoy playing text games, and most BBG's are text-based. 18 11%
I like limited turn-based play - I'm a busy person. 14 9%
Only BBG's are accessible from my work or school. 11 7%


Some comments/feedback from those who voted:
I love Lunatix-Online's innovation, as it has more than most games. If Starlock's half as good...=)
I know it's a big game, but hurry up and get it launched lol
Really looking forward to playing this one! Love Lunatix!
I love the new screenshots...
Looking good
looks great, cant wait to play!
Sounds excellent!!!!!!!!, I am just waiting :-D
I think StarLock will be awesome
when When WHEN :-P
Looks *extremely* promising!
RELEASE IT!!! PLEASSSSSSSS!!!!!!!
Can't wait to play :)
Sounds great, hurry please! :)
Hurry StarLock up! I`m waiting!
StarLock rox! although its not out yet...
More fun polls plesase
This BBG looks interesting.
I love these kind of games
Hurry StarLock up! I`m still waiting!

StarLock Press Coverage: Prowler Productions was recently contacted by reps from Incan Monkey God Studios, creators of strategy guides for popular Massively Multiplayer games like EverQuest, Asheron's Call, and Ultima Online (I believe they even started out as Origin's own documentation department, before branching out). IMGS is teaming up with Versus Books (the only publisher, I'm told, who currently produces high-quality color game strategy guides) for a new magazine called Massive Online Gamer. Their focus will be ongoing coverage of Massively Multiplayer games, providing tips, info on the ever-changing worlds, and more. I'm told that this won't be a "review you then forget you" magazine. They're going to cover these games on an ongoing basis, and have requested to include StarLock as part of this. Prowler Productions is excited by the idea - this is quite a milestone in the history of BBG's, as this seems to be the first professional magazine (even many websites ignore BBG's) to consider a large-scale BBG as a viable MMPOG. Look for Massive Online Gamer on newsracks in the next two or three months - and look for more info about it here, soon.




 
Lands of Sorren Update:


The following Announcement is from the Lands of Sorren front page:





Round 7: Nightbringer.

Next round will start Nov 2nd, 2002 at 9:00PM Central Time

For those that are new here all you have to do to play is use the "Start Playing" link, then log into the game using the "Enter Realm" link at the left. The live game requires only 1 credit to play and you get 1 credit for each dollar donated. The credit is required to help prevent people from creating multiple accounts in order to cheat in the game. Usually you will find a beta game running on the site which is completely free of charge. What is most important is that you have fun and enjoy ruling in The Lands of Sorren.

If you have any questions feel free to contact us.

Sorren MUD: The Heroes of Sorren.

The role playing game will feature a world that takes place on a planet called Aér'aí'chán or Sorren as humans call it. For individuals interested in learning more about what the world is like please visit Santharia.

We welcome those interested in helping to build the game, please contact Artimidor to help with story line and content, or Myrik to help with world building or C# programming.






 
Trade Wars: Dark Millenium Update:

The following Press Release was recently posted on the TWDM website:








NCsoft to Publish Realm Interactive’s
Trade Wars: Dark Millennium



Action Oriented RPG Will Come to Life in a Unique Massively Multiplayer Online Experience



AUSTIN, Texas, July 9, 2002 - NCsoft™ Corporation, the world’s largest independent online game company announced today that it will publish Trade Wars: Dark Millennium ™ (working title) from Realm Interactive, LLC™.


Trade Wars features a fast-paced action RPG combat experience set in an enormous virtual world where players are able to explore the vastness of space as well as mysterious uncharted planets, a first for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) genre.


“Trade Wars: Dark Millennium is set on both planetary and space environments that look as if they came straight out of a science fiction movie,” said NCsoft President Kim Taek-Jin. “Gamers who are used to fantasy online games will soon be able to experience a new form of entertainment with Trade Wars. With its unique action oriented role-playing style and heavy emphasis on player questing, we believe it will significantly grow the online game market.”



“We’re thrilled to be part of the NCsoft publishing family,” said Salvatore Sferlazza, COO of Realm Interactive. “NCsoft has a proven track record in publishing subscription-based online games. We can’t imagine a better partner for helping us launch Trade Wars to a global marketplace.”


For more information on Trade Wars: Dark Millennium visit www.tradewars.com.



About NCsoft



Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, NCsoft Corp. is the world’s largest independent online game company. Established in 1997, NCsoft has leaped to become the world’s leading online game software company. In Korea, its blockbuster hit game Lineage™ commands a 42% market share and attracts the greatest number of concurrent users in the world. Earlier this year, NCsoft announced plans to provide service for Sony Online Entertainment’s massively popular EverQuest® in Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Currently NCsoft is positioning itself to fund online titles for worldwide distribution, and is now actively recruiting more subscription-based online titles for publishing in Asia and other territories. NCsoft is a public company and is traded on the KOSDAQ Korean stock exchange. In fiscal 2001, NCsoft posted revenues of 124,735,958,000 Korean won or approximately US$95 million. More information about NCsoft can be found at www.ncsoft.net.


About Realm Interactive, LLC



Established in 2000, Realm Interactive is a game development studio based out of Phoenix, Arizona. Realm Interactive's team is focused on developing its first title Trade Wars: Dark Millennium (working title). For more information, visit www.realminteractive.com.



# # #



NCsoft is a trademark of NCsoft Corp and Lineage is a trademark of NC Interactive. Realm Interactive, LLC, Trade Wars: Dark Millennium and Trade Wars are trademarks of Realm. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.








Wednesday, August 28, 2002
 
M.A.R.S. Project Update:

The following news items were recently published on the game's website:

2002-08-28 17:36:45 • Shayne • Stir the pot oh yes!


Well, lets have another update shall we? A few things to keep the world informed about right now.

1. Pricing for the game has been set. The overall game is 100% free, but since I cannot possibly keep a server running and growing on nothing we are introducing a REALLY SMALL fee to get some advanced features. Nothing really huge, but extra advancements, better search tools, market logs, more stocks can be purchased, stuff like that.

2. We are also going to introduce a gold clan. This will have a ton of features to make clan management and player interaction really easy; however there will be a charge for this as well. The basic clan will have a message board and clan messaging system; the gold will have things like Kill charts, player networth comparison graphs and a bunch of neat and cool features.

3. Anti cheating code implemented. Suck it down cheaters. We know how you are.

4. Forums will be done tonight come hell or high water. I have a good start on them, and I am trying to get security in place. Posting shall be possible this evening or morning.

5. We are listed on a couple of places right now. So voting for MARS might take place soon...get a few more people in here and things can change a lot in a very short time.

If I could live on the money MARS makes I would, I would not even hesitate, so the more people, the more money, the more the game will go forward.

And not to toot my own horn or anything, but the current big dogs in the MMOBG are really crappy, trust me. MARS has NO BANNERS, NO POPUPS, FAST SPEEDS, GREAT SERVERS and we are working WITH and FOR the people. You will see. Sooner then you think.



2002-08-27 14:29:14 • Shayne • Seems to be a bug...


Well, almost done creating the MARS forums. The old ones were ugly, broken, and stupid to change the look. So we are making our own.

Seems to be a bug logging in. You can only login right now from the front page, not the forum page. You must loging to post a message.



2002-08-27 11:47:17 • Shayne • Project update...


I guess I could be straight forward with whomever comes to this website anymore. The MARS Project version 3 developments have been rather slow. We have all been doing our own separate things for these last few remaining weeks of summer. So it pretty much goes with out saying that the development has been on hold and will not make a September 1st release date. However we are very sure that a mid to end September release is in the cards.

Adam has taken command of the clan website functionality. He is building a website construction system that will allow clans to manage themselves and be a community in a website that was built around the MARS engine meaning that all the information will be grabbed directly from the database and none of that “Stats Uploading” that other clan sites have.

I have been going from screen to screen recoding older stuff and adding in new stuff. The same old same old from a development standpoint.

Jerry has been working his ass off on the game management from an administration side. So if people are cheating we should know about it.

That’s that, another update soon.




 
Black Nova Traders Update:

There is a brand new server running this open source space trading strategy game at http://www.noctu.net/game.htm





 
Advanced Powers Merchant Empires Server Update:

The game that until recently was the premier space trading strategy game on the Internet has a new Gold Membership plan designed to help keep the game afloat as a free game. Those who pay will receive extra benefits. Following the the cut and pasting of the in-game page announcing the plan:

MERCHANT MEMBERSHIP



Membership Status
You are currently not a member.

Advantages At A Glance

Show your support with the Gold Medal next to your name on most screens
Rename your ship for free, you can even use colors in the name
Have Battle Reports and Planetary Reports emailed to you when you are offline
More features planned.. See bottom of page for how to use these features.

Membership Information
As we continuously work hard to try and improve the game, we constantly face expenses such as ISP bills, cost of upgrading our hardware, and so on.

To get money for these improvements we need your donations. To that end, we have introduced a new Gold Supporter membership scheme, where you can buy membership for 1, 3, or 6 months.

Gold Supporter members will have a Gold Medal next to their name in player listings, current sector, etc. In the future, adding more features exclusive to Gold Supporter members is planned, however we will consider these carefully, so that paying members will not gain too much of an advantage to free players, as far as gameplay is concerned.

Since the Admins/developers spend horrible amounts of time on dealing with support and help requests from players, you can expect that as a paying member you will receive higher priority when you have a problem - we will prioritise requests from paying members over those from people without a memebrship.

To become a member, you can use the links below to purchase a Membership Key. When you complete the online purchase (which will appear in a new window), you will receive by e-mail a key that you can use to upgrade to Gold Member. Keys can also be used to extend an existing membership.

All keys can only be used once, but you are welcome to buy keys for your friends and alliance mates, for example if they don't have their own credit card or find it hard to use one of the other methods of payment.

The fees for Gold Membership are outlined below.

FAQ:

Q: What if I buy a membership in the middle of a month?
A: In Merchant Empires, a month is defined as 31 days, no matter when you buy your membership. From the time you enter your key, your membership will last for 31 days * the number of months you bought membership for.

Q: What's the difference between the high and low price?
A: There is absolutely no difference. It is possible, if you wish, to pay a higher price for a key, if you feel that you are able to support the game with a greater amount than required for membership. Just click on the price you are interested in paying. There is absolutely no difference between what you get for the normal and the higher price.

Q: I want to buy keys for some of our alliance members. What do I do?
A: You just order the number of keys you want, for the amount of time you want. You don't have to fill any special forms or information to do so. All the keys will be sent to the email addres you provide, and you can then send the keys out to your friends for them to use. It's that simple!




Buy Membership Keys
1 Month Gold Membership [BUY @ $10.00] - [BUY @ $20.00]
3 Month Gold Membership [BUY @ $25.00] - [BUY @ $50.00]
6 Month Gold Membership [BUY @ $40.00] - [BUY @ $80.00]

A new window with a secure server connection will pop up when you click a buy button above. You will NOT have to give your Credit Card information over the Internet if you do not wish to do so.

All prices are in US$. Click link to check the price in your currency. Prices shown in other currencies are guidelines only, your card will be billed in US$.

We accept PayPal, Discover/Novus, Amex, Diners, MasterCard, VISA, Solo, Switch, JCB, Connect, Eurocard, Delta, most Electron but not all, UK and US checks, USD wires against Proformas.






 
Remember to send gaming news to: crector@clan-forsaken.com

 
Space Merchant Realms Update:

The ending date for Newbie Game #2 has just been moved up from September 13th to September 1st. Newbie Game #3 is expected to begin either on the 1st or the 2nd. It is generally expected that NG #3 will be far more newbie-friendly since most of the hard-core space stalkers will be ineligible to play in newbie games.






 
The TDZK Crisis is over as evidenced by this announcement on the game's front page:

It turns out our bandwidth issues were a result of problems with our server hosting company, and is being resolved (we hope). TDZK is up and running, and there should be no more problems. We've also turned on gzip compression to cut down on our bandwidth.






 
Department of Questionable Judgement:

Here's the unnecessarily disgusting fundraising gimmick being pushed by Solar Empire developer Walker Berry aka TheMadWeaz aka FunkyJedi:

http://www.cafeshops.com/cp/prod.aspx?p=solarempire.3069993&zoom=yes#zoom



Monday, August 26, 2002
 
DarkSpace Update:

Here's the latest news concerning the pay to play ($9.99 per month) DarkSpace game from its front page:

Version 1.479 Release
- posted at August 24th, 2002 - 13:17 by Faustus

The next version, 1.479 will be release on Monday August 26th. See the Development Log for full details on the changes in this release.


- Jump Drives now take longer to recharge and consume more fuel for larger ships. This is a HUGE improvement in balance for the smaller ships since they have now have a much faster recharge rate and longer range than before. Additionally, the jump velocity has been increase dramatically to imrprove the playability of the MetaVerse.


- Grouping now awards full prestige and is no longer scaled. This means, players can increase their prestige gain dramatically by forming groups in-game. This change should encourage team-play and help new players into the DarkSpace universe.


- Sever stability has been improved, which is the real reason why this version is being released more quickly than normal.


- All torpedo weapons track now, including the ICC fusion torpedo and the K'Luth AM torpedo.


Gamers Hell Inteview...

- posted at August 14th, 2002 - 08:43 by Faustus

Gamers Hell as put online an interview with Richard "Faustus" Lyle. Read the article


Version 1.477 Release...
- posted at August 2nd, 2002 - 15:44 by Faustus

Version 1.477 will be released next Tuesday, August 6th 2002. This version includes some major changes, features, and fixes.



- The Interface has been overhauled and made much more user friendly. Context sensitive help has been added for all the interfaces in game. Additionally, new icons for features previously only available by hot keys have been added. A new font is now being used, making the text much more readable and clear. Lastly, two new camera modes have been added, TACTICAL camera shows your ship and target from above, and the much requested FOLLOW camera mode.


- The K’Luth cloaking device has been made more limited to correct irreconcilable balance problems with that faction. This much-debated change was done for the long-term betterment of the game. This change required the addition of armor to all K’Luth ships.


- Several new moderator and administrator commands have been added. Moderators can now do their job better and easier.


Check the Development Log for full details on what has been changed in this release.






 
TDZK Crisis: The following was posted on the TDZK Front Page :



TDZK will be down for an indeterminate amount of time,
probably at least a day or two. We are having some major bandwidth/cash problems
due to our recent explosive growth, and can not keep our current arrangement running.
We are working on the problem, and hope to keep providing a quality game,
but we are facing a rather large dilemma at the moment. ~TDZK Staff








 
Here's the latest press release from Mike Fisher, mfisher@fishermarketing.com touting the forthcoming Ballerium game:



A sampling of musical pieces from Majorem's upcoming massively
multiplayer
strategy game 'Ballerium' is now available for download on the official
Ballerium website. To have a listen, please visit
http://www.ballerium.com
and click on the Download section of the website.





Sunday, August 25, 2002
 
Remember to send all news to: crector@clan-forsaken.com



 
One game that has made great strides since its inception a little over a year ago is Chivalry . From a few dozen players around this time last year to over 1,200 players currently, this game has continually grown whilst its erstwhile developer has been systematically been fixing bugs & introducting new features to the game. Following is the cut & pasted "Status Report" from the game's front page:





Everything has been going very well with the update so far. I will not be releasing a planned date for the update to go 'live' until I've let the test team bash on it a little bit. There are a lot of changes to the game and I want to make Beta 3 a fairly smooth launch. I learned my lesson about rushing the update, so it will be released when it is ready, and not before.



That having been said. I do plan to announce the date in the next few weeks. I will also be allowing the 'test' team to talk about the changes and new features here in the tavern/inn so you can be ready for all of them.




If I do my job right, this next phase is going to be a huge step forward for Chivalry. It has many features I've wanted from day one.




More to come. Please visit the Inn (live chat) and say hello to the gang in there.