To be honest, I’ve known about the plan of E-Games to launch Runes of Magic, an MMORPG developed by Taiwan-based Runewaker Entertainment and adapted for the North American and European market by Frogster Interactive, in the Philippines for quite some time.

I should be glad that Runes of Magic is finally here, but I can’t seem to muster enough happy thoughts to make a dent in my stoic face. Perhaps it’s due to memories of my unhappy childhood in the North American server of the game. Don’t get me wrong, the game is great, especially if you consider the fact that it’s free-to-play. I just can’t get over the thought that my supposedly sexy and ultra-feminine character looks like a man in Runes of Magic.

Seriously now. I think E-Games should spend more time adapting Runes of Magic for the Philippine market. Filipino players are a fickle lot. If a game fails to tickle their fancy in the first week of open beta, it may never take off, and even a game as good as Runes of Magic isn’t immune to that.

Personally, I hate Runes of Magic’s gameplay. I find it achingly slow, although in hindsight I realize that it may just be the byproduct of the lag. The character sprites are also a break from the norm. Most Asian-made MMOs have curvaceous, too-good-looking-to-be-real female characters. The females of Runes of Magic, despite being Asian in origin, appear blocky and too muscular to be, uhmm, women.

No offense to old and new-found friends up at E-Games. Like I said, Runes of Magic is a good game, but some of its aspects just don’t cut it.

Runes of Magic has a couple of features that takes the cake, including the dual class system which allows player characters to choose a secondary profession when they reach level 10. There’s a full list of features on the website of Runes of Magic North America.

Speaking of features, I better hie off to the virtual world of Taborea and continue exploring it while an IP ban isn’t in place yet.

Post from: MMOtaku

This is, of course, due to a video trailer of Granado Espada Version 3.3 hitting the Internet through our favorite video broadcast site, YouTube.

I won’t expound anymore on what Granado Espada Version 3.3 will bring to the table. Instead, I’ll let you watch the video and see for yourself.

From the looks of it, Granado Espada is shaping up as a survivor. I think I’ll continue playing the game if only to find out its conclusion.

Post from: MMOtaku

Just like what I did on January 21, 2009 for Atlantica Online, I’m posting here on MMOtaku the patch notes (well, at least an excerpt) for Version 3.0 of Granado Espada in Southeast Asia:

• The Ancient Shelter has been introduced to the game. This is a non-PK version of the Ancient Territory. There are two Ancient Shelter dungeons—Shelter of the Ancient Skeleton in Ustiur and Ancient Underground Shelter in the Bahamas.
• Occulta Fortress has been added to the game. This dungeon comprises of a free dungeon and a mission-based boss raid.
• Hrin’s Treasure Mission has been added to the Treasure Hunter minigame.
• Necro Shaman boss has been added to the game. He is found in Occulta Fortress.
• Grade 28 armor recipe drop chance has been greatly increased for the following bosses: King of Greed, Swamp Frogfish, Sekhmet, Merman Eater, Bribantra, Argus, Montoro, Garim, Betelgeuse, General Guard, Undertaker, Necro Shaman.
• Constellation Symbols added to drop list of raid bosses.
• Chancellor Delegation quest added to Reboldoeux Culverts.
• Reboldoeux Culverts quest added to Emilia and Brunie.
• Return sheets and special warp scrolls can be used in town now.
• All EXP cards reward 150 percent more experience now.
• Experience points awarded by quests have been increased.
• Arnis stance added for Scout, Soho, and Lisa Lynway.
• Equites stance added for Fighter, Reboldoeux Soldier, Coimbra Trooper and Romina.
• Hanging Guard added for Fighter, Idge, Ramiro, Tiburon, Grandice and Claire.
• Rapiere stance added for Andre Janzur, Karjalainen, Kurt Lyndon, Edward Jameson and Gavin Jameson.
• Rapiere of Grim stance added for Kurt Lyndon and Edward Jameson.
• Flintlock stance added for Musketeer, Grace Bernelli, Najib Sharif, Rescue Knight, Romina and Auch Infantry.
• New user interface has been introduced to the game.
• Agility stat has been modified to increase ATK damage for Melee and Ranged characters if it is above 6 points.

Well, there it is. If you want to know more, check out the entire list.

Post from: MMOtaku

Okay, I’m not here to gripe about the tragic state of the Internet in this little tropical country I call home. This post is about The Zeia, the latest patch of Granado Espada in Southeast Asia. To veterans of the online game, the patch is called Version 3.0.

Let’s make this short as I don’t want to again end up trying to post articles only to find out later that the Internet connection has conked out on me.

Here is what’s in store for Granado Espada pioneering families in the new patch:

New Areas: Zeian City and Occulta Fortress

The hidden Zeian Civilization has emerged beneath the Reboldoeux Culverts, unleashing a new conflict in Granado Espada. Explore the massive pyramids of the Zeians and test your might in the new dungeon deep within.

New Recruitable Non-Player Characters

At the moment, we only know of three new RNPCs—Ania, the queen’s protector who’s fueled by revenge; Nar, a powerful warrior with a mysterious past; and Selva, the mysterious fighter.

More to Come

According to IAH Games, publisher of Granado Espada in the Southeast Asian region, there’s a whole bunch of updates coming, including new Constellation Weapons, Quests and Monsters experience points modification, and five new Expert Stances.

Here’s the Granado Espada: The Zeia trailer:

Post from: MMOtaku

I haven’t been playing Granado Espada lately simply because the servers are too laggy, giving mobs enough time to kill off members of my family one by one with nary a sword swing or fireball. Couple this nasty tidbit with the long wait for family members to revive or having to journey back to the point where they fell, then you’ve got a recipe for getting turned off.

No, I’m not giving up on Granado Espada. I’m just laying off it for a while, at least until the guys up at IAH Games resolve the problem. Yes, I know they’ve resolved it, but I hate going into the game only to find out a few minutes later that the problem persists. I think it’s better to give it a few more days despite the loss in valuable grind experience points.

Oh, in case you missed the official announcement regarding the problem in Granado Espada, here’s a copy:

[Resolved] Network Issues causing intermittent disconnections

Dear Gamers,

We are aware of the current intermittent disconnections and latency issue in the servers, please refrain from activating premium items until this issue has been resolved.

An official announcement has been made, any premium items activated from 9 January 2009, 1900 hours (GMT+8) onwards will not be entertained for compensation.

All premium items activated during 4 January 2009 1000 hours – 9 January 2009 1900 hours (GMT+8) will be compensated until the server is stabilized. Meanwhile, players do not have to drop a ticket in regards to the compensation issue.

We apologize for the inconvenience caused and thank you for your understanding.

This issue has been resolved, the premium items will be compensated by 15 January 2009 19 January 2009. Meanwhile, players do not have to drop a ticket in regards to this issue.

Post from: MMOtaku

A few minutes ago, members of my fledgling family, the Estrangheros, turned Level 14. Although not exactly waning, my interest in the game isn’t really growing as well. I find the AFK leveling option, also known as Keep Mode (which you can activate by pressing the space bar), is convenient, but not necessarily recommended.

Take my characters, for example. Yes, they’ve leveled to 14 without any hitches (read: getting themselves killed) but their equipment sucks. Keep Mode, you see, orders your Granado Espada characters to attack all nearby enemy monsters but disregard all dropped loot. This ensures a balance of sorts, making sure that characters that level up through this fashion don’t become overly rich or strong. It’s also handy for distinguishing characters that are AFK leveling from bots. Oh, don’t get me started on bots. Moving on …

Here are some screenshots of my first day on Granado Espada Southeast Asia’s Giovanni server:

More screenshots after the jump.

Post from: MMOtaku

Play now and get double rewards for 30 days, says the email sent to me by Infocomm Asia Holdings Pte. Ltd., the authorized operator of Granado Espada in Southeast Asia. Of course, the IAH guys are talking about Giovanni, the game’s latest server, and what pioneers will get when they play on it.

Here’s an excerpt from the announcement:

Hakkyu Kim’s legendary baroque fantasy game, Granado Espada, just got even bigger. A new server, Giovanni, opens specially for new players today. For those who have yet to experience the award-winning online game, it’s the perfect chance to enjoy it in a world where all players start at the same level. As a bonus, all players in Giovanni will earn double experience rewards for the first 30 days.

I’m tempted. Like I’ve always said to former Granado Espada pioneer and blogger PJ Punla, what I dislike most about playing the game is that I failed to start out fresh. Hmmm, that didn’t sound right. Okay, let me rephrase that. I hate the fact that I only started playing Granado Espada when my online buddies’ characters were already in levels 30 to 40.

Oh, sure, they can tank me, help me in quests, but they won’t be able to do that every day, or whenever I encounter difficult quests. And I hate imposing. I hate bothering others so that my characters can advance, not just in Granado Espada, but all online games I play.

So, yes, it’s tempting. I’ll probably give it a shot.

Post from: MMOtaku

Well now it’s official: Supreme Destiny Philippines is shutting down.

Without further ado, let me give you an excerpt from IP e-Games’ open letter to loyal players of Supreme Destiny:

Supreme Destiny has gone beyond the traditional high-fantasy online adventure game. It has transcended the genre and blossomed into something truly wonderful for e-Games. Its players have become an incredibly diverse, passionate and loyal community.

The last two years of Supreme Destiny has been amazing and truly memorable. This year, Supreme Destiny Philippines won the World Championship League which gave recognition to the Filipino gamers as one of the best in the world. We offer the community our profuse thanks and our gratitude for making it possible.

Without your support and commitment, none of this would have happened.

But there is an important matter we wish to tell you. Hanbitsoft, developer of Supreme Destiny, has informed us that it will stop supporting the Philippine version. In the days and weeks that followed, we tried to convince them, going to great lengths to make them reconsider. But their decision was final.

It is with sadness that we are announcing that Supreme Destiny Philippines will cease operations on December 31, 2008.

Sigh. Not that I care a great deal about Supreme Destiny, but the line Hanbitsoft has informed us that it will stop supporting the Philippine version prompts a lot of questions. Why is Hanbitsoft shutting the doors to the Philippine server of Supreme Destiny? Are they stopping development of the game? If so, are they pulling out support from all Supreme Destiny servers?

For those who have no inkling of what Supreme Destiny is (soon to be “was”), here’s the game trailer:

Oh, before I forget, let me thank avid MMOtaku viewer Alcarcalimo for the tip.

Post from: MMOtaku

First off, I’d like to thank MMOtaku’s avid readers, those who visit the blog every day, those who come and go for a dose of MMORPG news, reviews and what-have-yous, and those who have dropped in just to take a gander at what we have to offer. Without your constant support, MMOtaku would have floundered a long time ago.

Second, I’d like the acknowledge the inputs and help of several key people in the life of MMOtaku. To Mike Leaño, former b5media Video Games Channel editor, for putting trust in my abilities to bring the blog to life; to PJ Punla, pioneer blogger and player of Granado Espada Southeast Asia, for showing me that love for video games extends beyond playing them; to Siege Malvar and Alcarcalimo, for keeping me on my toes, a constant reminder that MMOtaku does have readers who crave insights on MMOs available in the market today; and to Joyce, my wife, for being the rigid wall off of which I throw my ideas to see if they stick.

Third and last, I salute the growing online games industry in Asia for giving us topnotch games (yes, despite Mike Leaño’s opinion that MMOGs developed in Asia are, ehem, excrement. These games are getting better, and they’re grabbing the attention of MMOG players in different parts of the globe.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, I give you the best of MMOtaku:

November 2008
Granado Espada SEA pioneer pooh-poohs IP e-Games’ ‘mishandling’ of game
Zhu Xian: I came, I saw, I … got disappointed
Endless fun with Perfect World character customization

October 2008
Beach Volleyball Online: The latest craze
Florensia: Kill-stealers and other dregs of society are moving in
RF Online to go offline in November

September 2008
E-Games clamps down on Cabal botters
Perfect World: Bots popping out of the woodwork
NBA Street Online: Soon, real soon
Requiem Bloodymare: New race, yes, but what’s there to like?

August 2008
MMO Etiquette: Stop poking me!
Granado Espada fails to please Chinese market

July 2008
9you crushes Audition shutdown rumor
China’s online games market: 147 million players!
Dragon Nest: The King of MMORPGs

June 2008
Perfect World inks deal with IP e-Games
Requiem Bloodymare launched
Perfect World: Jump hack? Stop crying wolf

May 2008
MMO Etiquette: Pay it forward
Fly For Fun Penya Hack!
Khan Online Philippines bows out

April 2008
Philippines to host Ragnarok World Championships
In this part of the world, MMORPGs and cosplay go hand in hand
Pandora Saga to grace Philippine shores

March 2008
Fantasy Westward Journey online posts 166 million concurrent users
They’re cute and cuddly, and they’re coming to your PC
Not so supa anymore

February 2008
RF Online Crimson Dawn is now online
Blog post on Perfect World clan too hot to handle?
Third job classes coming to Ragnarok Online
Blog post on Perfect World clan’s struggle stirs hornets’ nest

January 2008
GigaMedia bags license to operate Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
Reign of Revolution: No rules, just power
Counter-Strike Online to give other online shooters a run for their money
Top Ten Thursdays: Best MMORPGs in the Philippines

December 2007
China’s Perfect World claims strong presence in Asian MMORPG capital Korea
What’s in a(n MMOPRPG) name?
The Vista Trap: How to make your Asian MMOs work on Microsoft’s latest baby
FlyFF Philippines launches Volcane Legends
MMO war: Korea versus China

November 2007
Craving for a slice of Zhu Xian
Asian MMO, meet world

Screenshot taken by Joel from the online game Perfect World, developed by Beijing-based Perfect World Co. Ltd. and published in the Philippines by Level Up! Games.

Post from: MMOtaku

If you’ve read the comments on my last post, the one about Zhu Xian’s great character path-find system, and are a fan or player of Granado Esapada in Southeast Asia, then you probably already know that pioneer NineMoons, also known as PJ Punla, is quitting, not only from playing the online game she adores but also from blogging about it.

Okay, yeah, so a player is quitting a game, it’s nothing new. Does it really merit a commentary from MMOtaku and other blogs that talk about massively multiplayer online games?

The answer is a resounding yes. Here’s the reason why:

With this blog, I put out relevant and sometimes important information about MMORPGs in Asia and those developed in this part of the globe. The range of topics I talk about is, despite claiming a niche as an MMORPG blogger, pretty broad compared to real niche gaming blogs like PJ Punla’s Granado Espada: Dispatches from the New World, which just talks, more or less, about Granado Espada, its community, and events.

When a niche blogger suddenly decides to pack up her bags, shuts the door to her blog, and throws away the key, that generally means trouble, especially for the company that operates the online game, whether they know it or not.

Why? Simply because when this scenario happens, as in the case of NineMoons, it means the game and its operator have turned off their Number One Fan.

And Number One Granado Esapda SEA Fan PJ Punla is, or was, as the case may be. This Gamer Girl has championed the merits of what is supposedly the Philippines’ first Triple A MMORPG on more than one occasion. She has even engaged the MMOtaku in a debate over features of Granado Espada that we have labeled negatively.

Did she get anything in return for these services? Not really. Did she expect anything in return for these? Only for IP e-Games, the Philippine partner of Infocomm Asia Holdings Pte. Ltd., to do a better job in marketing Granado Espada.

Just how disappointed is PJ Punla, formerly Granado Espada SEA’s biggest fan? Let me excerpt her final post where she pooh-poohed IP e-Games’ “poor handling” of the game:

It’s been a recurring theme in this blog, ever since that extreme disillusioning sometime during 2007. Thanks for nothing. Yes, you lot brought in the game, you distributed the pretty posters and the very first set of installers — and then after that, there was really not a whole lot of anything. You let us down and dropped us as though we were hot potatoes, all the while enticing people to play your other games instead without mentioning the game you once marketed as the first Triple A MMORPG brought to the Philippines. I don’t know how to run a game publishing business, but I am certainly not going to run it as you attempted to do for GE, because you botched it, big time.

As a friend—and fan—of PJ Punla, aka NineMoons, pioneer Granado Espada player and blogger, here’s my way of saying good luck in your future endeavors.

Screenshot taken by PJ Punla from the online game Granado Espada, developed by IMC Games Co. Ltd., published by HanbitSoft Inc., and operated in Southeast Asia by IAH Games.

Post from: MMOtaku