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Latest Mabinogi News Updates and Reviews Updated daily
Mabinogi : 2008 Best of F2P AwardsJan 04, 2009 06:00:50 PM News Item: 7622
Danny "Ralsu" Gourley played free-to-play (F2P) games almost
exclusively in 2008, and he told Ten Ton Hammer readers about his best
experiences in his Top
Ten Free-to-Play Games. Now that 2009 is here, Ralsu takes a
look back and celebrates the best F2P games he tried in a number of
categories:
To
the uneducated observer, Mabinogi
is a simple game. Don’t let the pastoral setting fool you. Nexon
started from the ground up to create a fantasy life with their
game.
Check out the 2008
Best of F2P Awards to see what else Ralsu enjoyed.
read more  Comments
Mabinogi : Anti-Aliased: Top 5 things MMORPGs should learn in the new year pt. 2Jan 02, 2009 10:00:00 AM News Item: 7555
Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, MMORPG industry, belief, Virtual worlds, Anti-Aliased
#2 -- Balance microtransactions with game substence.
Real money trade (RMT) was big news this year. The rise of the microtransaction model was on everyone's lips. I'm not calling for a death-knell of subscription fees or anything (I like the predictability of the subscription system; I know how much I'm going to pay) but I am saying that microtransactions need to be carefully monitored.
"Just remember the first rule of actually having an avatar in an online space -- citizens want to look cool above everything else."
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This writer's suggestion: cosmetic pieces. The item doesn't have to do something to make citizens love it. Take some hints from Gaia Online, Mabinogi, and City of Heroes. Their models have proven that citizens will pay for things -- awesome abilities or not. Just remember the first rule of actually having an avatar in an online space -- citizens want to look cool above everything else.
Many citizens may not agree with John Smedley on everything he says, but he's dead on the money with ideas like toonaction figures, guild calendars and pictures, and posters with your toonon it and the official branding. Those items are amazing models, easy to produce, and a great way for an alternate revenue stream to flow into your company.
#1 -- "Kill/Quest, Level" model is a dead horse, get on with it already!
Yes! Get on with it! This is, without a doubt, in my mind, the biggest failure of the industry today. We're following along a solved formula, and it's shooting this industry in the foot. Player needs to level, gamer completes quests and kills monsters, gamer reaches next level, gamer gets new abilities, gamer uses abilities to go complete quests and kill monsters, et cetera.
We keep asking the question, "Why don't these new games seem like they're as good?" And then we begin this in-depth examination and begin checking every aspect of the game to find out why this feels like we've done it all before. The answer is taking a step back, looking at the model and exallegeing aloud, "Holy heck in a handwoven handkerchief, we have done this before!"
The factorwe keep playing single gamer games is because each one has it's own twist on the core formula. Couple that with the story and personal experience, and you get a great game. Our MMORPG industry needs to learn this fact this year -- not next year. The quest/kill, level, quest/kill model has been done and overdone. Gameplay needs to expand past this. Even reputation grinding is nothing more than the quest/kill to level system.
"The quest/kill, level, quest/kill model has been done and overdone."
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One game that has been taking off faster than a warp drive engine has been EVE Online, because it has broken from this methodology. Before you begin your complaints, yes, the grinding system is there. Doing missions to get money is the quest/kill system. What makes EVE different and attractive is that this system is not the core of the gameplay -- it is a tangent of that play. The gameplay centers around the tools offered to let users shape and mold the universe according to their wishes. Money is a requirement, but it does not only come from mining and missions; it can come from basically anything you can twist to make money. If you can dream it you can most likely do it in EVE -- that's the magic. This is why EVE is simply one of the best MMORPGs you can wrap your hands around.
2009 has a chance to be something special. With titles like Jumpgate Evolution, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Darkfall Online coming at us, this should be a very good year.
 Colin Brennan is the weekly writer of Anti-Aliased who remembered Darkfall before the rabid comment fans ripped him apart for not point outing it. When he's not writing here for , he's over running Epic Loot For All! with his insane roommates. If you want to message him, send him an e-mail at colin.brennan AT weblogsinc DOT com.Anti-Aliased: Top 5 things MMORPGs should learn in the new year pt. 2 Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:00:00 EST. Comments
Mabinogi : It's a Mabinogi and MapleStory Christmas!Dec 19, 2008 09:00:00 AM News Item: 7330
Filed under: Fantasy, MapleStory, Events, in-game, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Mabinogi 
You've been very good this year, and Nexon knows it. They know it so well, in fact, that they're delivering two major updates to Mabinogi and MapleStory just in time for the holiday season! These updates not only include the two Christmas festivals, but also a variety of other new features as well.
MapleStory gamers can get their hands on the new city of Magatia, the Christmas festival in Happyville, special Christmas Sock mobs that will randomly appear in the world, and many smaller holiday quest events. Plus, on December 23rd, MapleStory will undergo the "Day of Darkness" event, where GMs will be spawning special monsters all day long before the holiday cheer of Christmas.
Mabinogi gamers not only get to help out a troubled Santa Claus and watch fireworks for New Years Day, but they also get the enormous addition of being able to own their own houses! Players may now own houses, while guilds can own castles and improve upon their guild stone. Guilds can now also clash in guild battles and create their own special "guild robes" to wear to show membership.
So happy holidays to all Mabinogi and MapleStory gamers! Go take out those evil stockings and help santa pay for his expensive reindeer!
It's a Mabinogi and MapleStory Christmas! Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:00:00 EST. Comments
Mabinogi : best of - Favorite new MMORPG of 2008Dec 16, 2008 02:30:00 PM News Item: 7329
Filed under: Warhammer Online, Mabinogi
Winner: Warhammer Online (writeup by William Dobson)
The hype-o-meter was off the charts just prior to Warhammer Online's release this year, and when the game finally did come out, gamers found it to be a refreshing change of pace at the same time as being a heck of a lot of fun. Unlike so many other MMORPGs out there, WAR allows you to get into the meat of the game right from level one if you so choose.
And what is that meat? Player versus Player combat, or Realm versus Realm (RvR) in this case. With the option to join a queue for an instanced setting battle from anywhere in the game, and open RvR battlefields located in every tier, bloodshed is always just a short step away. The distinction between Player vs Player and RvR is made extremely clear in WAR.
Class balance is not based on 1v1 battles, but rather, group-versus-group combat. The underlying goal of all the factional warfare is to siege keeps and capture territories, which is intended to require the co-operation of larger groups of gamers, and is reminiscent of Mythic's older and much-loved MMORPG Dark Age of Camelot. The ultimate glory in WAR is to have the chance to pillage the opposing realm's capital city,bootytheir dungeons and kill their king - sounds exciting just reading about it, right?
Even if you look past the RvR aspect of the game, WAR still brings a lot to the table: Public Quests, which give gamers a new way of coming together to accomplish PvE goals; the construction values and the way the world of Warhammer is brought to life; the Tome of Knowledge, which provides little incentives to achieve things in all areas of the game, and offers detailed lore.
Troubled, perhaps. Flawed, for sure. But with a team dedicated to improvements and a fantastic new spin on the fantasy standard, everything comes together amazingly well in Warhammer Online. It's nospeculateat all that it is our favorite new game of 2008.%Gallery-21882%Continue reading best of - Favorite new MMORPG of 2008 best of - Favorite new MMORPG of 2008 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:30:00 EST. Comments
Mabinogi : Nexon's MMORPG Fighting Game Sugar RushNov 20, 2008 11:48:53 PM News Item: 6594
Nexon shows its pugilistic side.
The words Sugar Rush don't bring online multigamer fighting to mind, but that is exactly what Nexon has for us today. Launching their closed beta today, Nexon is proud to announce it's closed beta has started and will last until December 4th. What is Sugar Rush? Glad you asked:
"Sugar Rush unites combatants in the City of Bashew, an extraordinary world where a school girl carrying a baseball bat is as dangerous as a hulking tough guy swinging a giant salmon. Players battle in different combat arenas to collect “spark,” a vitalcause of energy, to win trophies and improve their rank in the game. Players can choose from three toonclasses - brawlers, ninjas or morphs - and customize each class with different weapons, clothes and physical features."
Nexon Publishing North America's parent company, Nexon Group, is well known for successful games in Asia such as Maple Story and Mabinogi, but Sugar Rush has been designed specifically for North America. Apparently we're all sugar addicts who like to fight, and after watching a few hours of the news, I'm convinced that they may be on to something.
For more information and to start your account, go to Sugar Rush and put up your dukes. read more Comments
Mabinogi : .com giveaways: Nexon Currency CardsNov 04, 2008 11:00:00 AM News Item: 6163
Filed under: Fantasy, MapleStory, Contests, Free-to-play, Mabinogi
We hope you enjoyed yesterday's NCsoft giveaways. Today we're doing a potpourri of giveaways from some Titans of the MMORPG game industry. Titan Tuesday kicks off with an import from the nation of South Korea that's become a enormous winner in the North American market: Nexon. This innovative company has been kind enough to send us 10 currency cards to customize your MapleStory avatar, tweak your Audition singing experience, or up your Combat Arms ante. Nexon currency cards are good with any of the company's games. The games themselves are free to play, you see, something you might already know from our lengthy look at MapleStory earlier this year. We've been sent 5 $10 cards and 5 $25 cards, for a total retail value of $175. If you win, you'll randomly be assigned one of the cards.
All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post. MapleStory is very well known for its holiday events, so we want to know what your favorite holiday is! Let us know and you might just win a currency card. You'll need to comment before 7:00 AM EST Thursday, November 6th. You can only enter once per person, and after the contest closes we'll ship out these fantastic prizes to 10 randomly-selected winners. Give us at least a week to ship out this massive pile of swag, though. To win you must be age 18 or up and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec). For full eligibility facts, we suggest you read our official rules. Good luck!.com giveaways: Nexon Currency Cards Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:00:00 EST. Comments
Mabinogi : guide to Halloween 2008 in MMORPGsOct 29, 2008 09:00:00 AM News Item: 6042
Filed under: World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Guild Wars, Culture, Events, in-game, Second Life, Mabinogi
Halloween, an ancient Gaelic festival that once marked the Celtic New Year, has been exported by popular culture and immigration to a number of countries, meticulously finding a home in North America. The United States, Canada, Ireland, Puerto Rico, the Netherlands, Mexico, Romania and Japan all celebrate Halloween in some way, while in other most countries the occasion is usually only marked by syndicated television specials, and the occasional movie marathon.
Halloween, though, is alive and well online in virtual environments and MMORPGGs. World of Warcraft, City of Heroes/Villains, Mabinogi, Guild Wars and more all have Halloween events running; And as for Linden Lab's Second Life, it's always like Halloween there -- but it ascends to something of a fever pitch in the last weeks of October.
Join us for a whirlwind tour of just some of the juicy Halloween season events going on at your favorite games and hangouts.
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 guide to Halloween 2008 in MMORPGs Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:00:00 EST.
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Mabinogi : Anti-Aliased: Games you should have played, but most likely didn't.Oct 17, 2008 11:00:00 AM News Item: 5855
Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Nexus: The Kingdoms of the Winds, belief, Hands-on, Mabinogi, Anti-Aliased
So I learned two things since my last column. The first is if I point out Warhammer Online or Playboy models in any capacity, my traffic rating graph begins to resemble the Swiss alps. So... Warhammer Online and Playboy models.
The second thing I learned is that everyone is pretty much agreed on Warhammer, except for a few outliers. The game has faults, but all those faults are easily overlooked when the game provides a fun environment to romp around in. But that made me start thinking... what other games on the market are pretty good, but overlooked due to a lack of popularity? What games would I recommend to my readers who just aren't happy with the current mainstream market? What games should you have played, but most likely overlooked? I think I have a few.
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Mabinogi : Beckett MOG magazine offers in-game items for WAR, EQ2 and moreSep 24, 2008 06:00:00 PM News Item: 5460
Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Business models, Culture, Warhammer Online, Mabinogi, Kids  Beckett Massive Online Gamer magazine, the publication all about MMORPGs and all the stuff we love best, has just announced a collection of exclusive in-game items they're including in their magazine's issue #15. These items include the following:
- The special Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning in-game item is the Vanquisher's Emerald Band. The item offers +2 to all stats, plus a special effect that gives you a chance to inflict additional corporeal damage.
- The exclusive EverQuest 2 in-game item is a Limited Edition Guild Hall Statue. EverQuest 2 gamers can now proudly display this unique item in their Guild Halls.
- This issue of MOG also features two in-game items, a Cat Club weapon and Special Cat Earmuffs, for Nexon America's Mabinogi. Players can now customize characters in a feline way using these two new items.
As an added bonus, the first 1,000 citizens who subscribe to the magazine online will be emailed an exclusive key code within one business day, so they can enjoy their in-game item right away. This special issue will go on sale the week of September 28 at your favorite book store or magazine stand. Comments
More Mabinogi News
(Click to read)
Aug 31, 2008 09:00:00 AMMabinogi : Western MMORPG fan plays Eastern MMORPG, gets disoriented
Aug 26, 2008 04:00:00 PMMabinogi : News from the Wider MMORPG World: August 26, 2008
Jun 17, 2008 04:00:00 PMMabinogi : Mabinogi introduces furry friends
May 03, 2008 08:00:00 AMMabinogi : The Daily Grind: WASD or click-to-move?
Apr 17, 2008 05:45:00 PMMabinogi : Nexon coils up the Long Tail at VIDFEST 2008
Apr 11, 2008 08:00:00 PMMabinogi : Nexon's Min Kim on the importance of Target to free to play gaming
Mar 25, 2008 11:30:00 AMMabinogi : First Impressions: Mabinogi
Mar 25, 2008 08:30:00 AMMabinogi : Mabinogi lives!
Mar 06, 2008 01:00:00 PMMabinogi : FilePlanet IP Blocks download; thinks domestic computer is foreign
Mar 01, 2008 08:00:00 AMMabinogi : The Daily Grind: Is combat necessary?
Feb 29, 2008 07:00:00 PMMabinogi : Mabinogi in open beta in March; Euros and Ozzies left out
Feb 01, 2008 07:00:00 AMMabinogi : Mabinogi English beta open in North America
Jan 29, 2008 05:30:00 PMMabinogi : Mabinogi hacked by a 16-year-old for $325K of virtual currency
Jan 16, 2008 05:00:00 PMMabinogi : Nexon bringing Mabinogi state-side
Dec 26, 2007 10:00:00 AMMabinogi : Nexon counting down to Mabinogi English beta
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