Category: News (Page 80 of 108)

LoL: Get double IP this weekend

February 18, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

As though you needed another reason to play LoL through the weekend. Yes, LoL managed to stay ahead long enough in the latest reader’s choice poll that Riot is giving everyone double IP this weekend. I know last time they granted the double IP boost I made enough to pick up a few cooldown quints along with a champion or two.

Though the official forum post is corny and invokes Abraham Lincoln about what is essentially a popularity contest, I’ve included the full text here:

Once again, the League of Legends community has shown their incredible ability to rise to the occasion. Despite being behind in the election not so long ago, we’re now leading the MMOSite contest in the running for Best MMORTS of 2009 and Best New MMO of 2009. Maybe it’s the spirit of the Winter Games, or maybe it’s the fact that you’ve catapulted us to the front of another two Game of the Year polls, but we really feel like celebrating, and we hope that you do, too. That being said, without further ado, it is my pleasure to announce that this coming weekend, from Friday the 19th through the end of Sunday the 21st, Riot Games will be awarding double Influence Points for all games played. Oh, and if you have an active IP boost or are planning on purchasing one, not to worry. You’ll still earn bonus IP from both your boost and the double IP weekend. You’ve all earned it, and we hope that you will celebrate with us this weekend by spending a lot of time out there on the Field of Justice.
That being said, while you’re waiting for that next queue to pop, please don’t forget to take a moment to show your continued support for League of Legends. President Abraham Lincoln once said: “The ballot is stronger than the bullet,” which is no small proclamation despite the fact that he never had to spend a game staring down the barrel of a solo-mid Tristana. There’s still time to cast those important votes, so let’s make that we stay ahead. Keep up the voting!

league of legends, News

bonus boosts bundles champions double ip extras gifts influence points ip riot points rp runes skins unlocks

LoL: Twisted Treeline timeline

February 17, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

When I opened the announcement forums and saw the words “Twisted” and “Timeline” next to one another I was ecstatic. Finally there was some news about the 3v3 map that we’ve long awaited. You know how this ends, though. There is no timeline, no new information. Just a nostalgic look at how far the map has come (which could actually be a good sign that it’s coming fairly soon).

It’s a fun read, and it does give me hope that we’ll see the new map by the time Spring rolls around. As I’ve said many times on this blog, I primarily play with two friends – we’re looking forward to the map for obvious reasons.

There is at least one more change to be made before the map is quite ready. Here’s the teaser for that change from the original post:

The Twisted Treeline originally envisioned needed a lot of work to bring it in line with the goals of the Design Team. In order to balance it to be on equal footing across the various champion types, to allow for multiple opening strategies, and to keep the game length under control, many different aspects of the map required extensive tweaking from the original design. Ultimately, the Twisted Treeline of today is a very different place than the one that debuted on October 21st, 2009.
And there’s more to come! The Design Team has authorized me to tease you all with the promise of at least one more, game changing feature that they intend to pull from their proverbial bag of tricks. Stay tuned!

Source: LoL Forums

Development, league of legends, News, PC

3v3 lol lol development new map official forums small map smaller map summoner's rift twisted treeline

Windows Phone 7 Series: First Impression

February 16, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

We’ve been waiting for a mobile version of the Xbox platform for a long time. A very long time. I think the success of the iPhone has killed that dream, and the new Windows Phone 7 is going to be the closest we’ll see for a very long time.

The problem is, the Windows Phone 7 doesn’t really do all that much. Ballmer and company were quick to tout its Xbox Live integration, but what do you really get? You can collect mobile achievements for some more Gamerscore (does anyone actually care about Gamerscore?), browse leaderboards, play turn-based games though not in real time, and take a peek at your Avatar (possible from any web capable phone already).

Those are pretty lackluster features for a phone that’s supposed to bring your entertainment experience on the go. Ron Pessner, the GM of Xbox LIVE Mobile had this to say: “It has always been our vision to expand the Xbox LIVE service to connect people to their games, entertainment and friends wherever they go, and the launch of Windows Phone 7 Series is an important step toward that goal.”

It’s a baby step, my friend, as in you guys finally have a platform that isn’t fugly so you actually did some development for it. Color me unimpressed.

Development, Mobile Gaming, News

ron pessner windows phone windows phone 7 windows phone 7 series xbox live zune phone

WoW hasn’t grown since 2008

February 13, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

The latest word from Blizzard is that World of Warcraft remains stable. So stable that it actually hasn’t grown in more than a year. Subscription numbers for the game are right where they were back in 2008.

In case you aren’t paying attention or find yourself too tired to bother with the math, that’s prior to the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. You know, that huge release that introduced a new class and a whole new starting zone for those players. The expansion that should have given WoW the same kind of revival and explosive growth we saw from Burning Crusade. Chances are there was a pretty big spike, but those numbers have leveled off.

The only shaky part of this numbers game is that the totals include China, where WoW is currently experiencing some serious turmoil. That situation could easily account for lackluster numbers if enough players have decided to back off until the mess is sorted out.

Source: Kotaku

Development, MMO, News

blizzard growth warcraft world of warcraft wow wow expansion wow growth wow new players wow patch wow revenue

LoL: The upcoming Twisted Fate remake

February 11, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

I stopped playing Twisted Fate a while back. Sure, he’s a lot of fun – you can rack up kills so quickly that your enemies are likely to surrender, if not beg you to march it down main street around the 18 minute mark. He is undeniably broken, offering more map control than any character should rightly have.

As you can see from the pic, I’ve regained a liking for him. It’s not always fun to stomp through your opponents, but this new skin is so cool I find myself unconcerned with the quality of gameplay for a few days. I especially love the detail on the back, which looks like a card sporting the letters C and M where you might normally find a card’s rank. That’s not what this post is about, though.

This post is about the upcoming TF change. It’s been a topic of red posts for months now, and Phreak finally said it will be coming “very soon.” I have to say, I’m excited. He could potentially get nerfed through the floor, but I do like his character design, and putting him somewhere in that range of deadly-in-the-right-hands but not oh-my-god-legendary-in-anyone’s-hands would suit me just fine. I’m willing to bet he’ll lose the global slow/visibility, and he might even lose his port. As for the other skills, I’d say anything is possible. Part of the problem with TF as I see it is his range of skill and the potential for nukes. Wild Cards has a crazy-low cooldown, which, when paired with Pick a Card turns into a lot of opponents getting 3-shot. There’s also the fact that Gold Card is a stun, a slow, AOE damage and has the potential to crit. It’s pretty tough to keep TF from scaling to unmanageable levels very early in the game.