Atlantica Online

As we waited on the conference call for the Atlantica Online developers to start our virtual press tour, a fellow journalist and I chatted about the possibilities of virtual tabletops. I told him about my desire for a real virtual tabletop game, one that would allow players to take turns setting up scenery, adding armies and destroying each other. Little did I know that I was about to see something that would make me feel the same satisfaction as a tabletop does, despite their being different in a few ways.

Atlantica Online's new patch will allow players to participate in the new Tactical Battle System -- essentially a turn-based strategy game of moving pairs of soldiers across a map, avoiding and setting traps, and defeating mighty enemies. During most of the interview, I found myself asking questions that were already covered, since I was just having too much fun playing the game to hear our hosts speak. Frankly, I wasn't embarrassed. After all, isn't becoming immersed in strategy the point of a game like Atlantica Online?

Read on and I'll tell you the details of what I found, including the scoop on the eagerly awaited housing system.

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Fans of Atlantica Online and WonderKing will be paying extra attention to those games in the coming weeks, thanks to a pair of summer contests that offer over $30,000 in cash and prizes. Details on the WonderKing contest are still in the works, but Atlantica Online fans can start competing now.

The "Play, Win, Drive" contest gives players the chance to win everything from G Coins to an Alienware gaming laptop to a brand-new Chevy Camaro. Players enter by using master keys, which can be obtained through several methods of gameplay.

The event lasts until August 31st or until the final milestone (the Camaro) has been reached, whichever comes first. Check out all the details on the Atlantica Online site, and good luck!

Atlantica Online's latest developer diary brings welcome news to players: details of the latest major patch. NDOORS have made changes and adjustments to both the PvE and PvP sides of the game, so no matter where your gameplay preference lies, you're sure to find something new that interests you.

Many of the changes are small on the surface but will bring some important conveniences to fans. PvP players, for example, don't need to worry about finishing a competition with a full inventory. They'll now receive any items that don't fit in their inventory by mail. PvE players will find some updates to old quests as well as one completely new one.

We've included the full Atlantica Online developer diary entry after the jump, so follow along for all the details.

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It's not quite as stunning as the earlier announcement regarding Turbine and Warner Bros, but for the free-to-play world a big shakeup has taken place. Nexon, known for MapleStory, Mabinogi, and the upcoming Vindictus among others, has acquired a controlling share of NDOORS Interactive, known principally for Atlantica Online. The deal was announced in Korea late Monday evening, with Nexon explaining that they had acquired 67% of the company's shares including those of the former chairman, Seung-Mun Kwon.

Nexon CEO Su-Min was quite pleased about the acquisition, stating that the addition of the technical expertise and experience of the NDOORS team would help with the company's long-term plans and global expansion. There's no word yet on what this will mean for the operation of Atlantica Online in the US and elsewhere, although it's reasonable to assume that Nexon would likely consolidate their operations. We'll have more for you on this story as it develops and as further details come to light.

With the gorgeous spring weather coming to many of us, the enticing pull of the outdoors may prove irresistible -- unless a proper distraction arises, of course. The folks over at Atlantica Online are hoping that players will trade meadow romps for hardcore gaming with the advent of May Weekends.

For starters, there's a sweet 150% experience boost each Saturday and Sunday through the month, which is cause for celebration in and of itself. On top of that, players get to experience special themed events:

• Big Boss Bonanza (May 8-9) -- Special bosses will roam the land, offering additional challenges and rewards.
• Item Giveaway (May 15-16) -- Log in with your level 20+ character at certain times to receive free prizes.
• Pop Quiz (May 22-23) -- Answer a GM's pop quiz correctly and net yourself a nice piece of loot.
• Monster Invasions (May 29-30) -- Monsters are laying siege to major cities, and must be fought off!

With something different going on each weekend, players have a great reason to dally in Atlantica. Read the official article for the full scoop!

NDoors Interactive is pleased to announce new features coming to their Atlantica Online free-to-play fantasy MMORPG later this year in their latest dev diary. The update talks about everything from new security measures to new outfits, as well as the winning Mercenary design from an earlier contest.

Check out all the details after the cut.

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NDoors is bringing a couple of exciting updates to Atlantica Online, thanks in large part to the game's fans. Last month players had the opportunity to create a new mercenary for the game through the Mercenary Madness contest, and they've announced a winner.

Symban from the Macedon server is the player bringing you the newest mercenary, Vampire Countess Camilla: "She floats through the air, draining life from other players to sustain her existence. Camilla looks every bit the part of a Vampire Countess, with jet black hair contrasted against her snow-white skin and blood-stained lips." We'll find out more about Countess Camilla as her release date moves closer.

A new mercenary isn't the only thing players are looking forward to, though, because housing is on the way to Atlantica Online. Housing, complete with the ability to hire mercenaries to help out around the house, will come to Korean servers this Thursday. International servers will have to wait a bit longer, but they'll be able to enjoy housing later this year.

Keep an eye on Massively for more news on these upcoming additions!

It's time for another weekly update on Ndoors Interactive's Atlantica Online. The free-to-play fantasy MMORPG is celebrating Japan's Sakura Matsuri (Cherry Blossom) festival by making the craftable trees available to players for a limited time.

From April 20 to May 18, town owners can craft cherry trees, place them in their towns, and provide a beautiful view for residents and visitors alike. The trees will bear fruit which players can pick once per day by obtaining 100% will and paying 200,000 gold. Half of the gold payment will go directly to the sponsoring town's guild fund. Cherry tree fruit will also give players a 10% XP boost for two hours upon consumption, and the bonus stacks with other XP boosts such as the Blessing License.

The cherry trees can only be guild-crafted and require a building craft skill of level 5 or better. You'll need to gather a cherry leaf, stem, and root, then spend 10,000,000 Workload to place the tree in your town.

Free-to-play fantasy MMORPG maker Ndoors has just announced a new patch for Atlantica Online. The update brings a wide range of new features including a new Mercenary (Himiko), new Mercenary-only fashion accessories, and the ability to trade in unwanted mounts, decor, and clothing in exchange for AT Points.

Ndoors has also added the Decoration Book, in addition to the pre-existing Mount and Clothing Books, which will allow players to store their decorations as well as earn further Collection Points. Also, players can now earn new magic skill books by trading their elements to the Jules de Goncourt NPC.

Equipment repair has also been streamlined in the new update via changes to the Atlas Ore system. Atlas Ore fragments are now all that is necessary to repair equipment, and they can now be obtained by dismantling full Ores. Finally, the folks at Ndoors have given players a map save location, enabling teleports anywhere on the map.

Check out the patch notes for full details.

Vivox has brought voice communication to yet another MMORPG with today's news that Ndoors Interactive's Atlantica Online now offers the feature to its players. Interestingly, the voice-over-IP service has been made available through the game's official website, as opposed to within the game itself. While there's nothing stopping players from accessing voice chat while in-game, it's still an odd choice.

The only thing that really matters is whether or not it works, and given Vivox's fairly extensive experience via games like EVE Online, EverQuest II and Global Agenda there shouldn't be any unacceptable issues for Atlantica Online players. The feature should be available to players now, so long as you're logged into your account when trying to access voice chat.

Atlantica Online fans will be happy to see some new content in the form of "Empress Recruitment", a brand new quest that offers up a new Class B mercenary at the end.

Empress Himiko is a valuable ally in battle, offering blessings for friends and curses to enemies as well as a damage buff to bow-wielding players. Empress' Blessing will protect allies from all magic cast by an opponent, and its counterpart Empress' Curse prevents enemies from using any magic for a certain period of time. Players using a bow will find that they do more damage to ranged enemies in PvP.

The Atlantica Online team is looking forward to seeing how players take to this new addition to the game: "Empress Himiko is a formidable recruit for any Atlantica Online player looking to dominate," said Peter Kang, CEO, Ndoors Interactive. "We are excited to introduce her to the community and wait with bated breath to see the havoc she will wreak on her enemies with her powerful magic."

To recruit Empress Himiko, visit Sumi in the Haunted Tatami Room to begin the quest.

Ndoors Interactive has taken the wraps off their Mercenary Madness contest, which invites players to submit designs for a new Atlantica Online character. The contest winner will not only nab the thrill of seeing their design brought to life inside the strategic turn-based MMORPG, but also a nifty chunk of real world loot including artwork of their design autographed by Atlantica developers and as yet unnamed game merchandise.

"Our community has always played an important part in shaping Atlantica Online," said Ndoors CEO Peter Kang. "We want to further their involvement with the game and show our appreciation for their feedback by literally letting them become part of the design process."

Players have until March 22, 2010 to submit designs, which should include the following:

• Type of mercenary (existing classes only)
• Name of each mercenary upgrade (Initial Name, level 20, 50, and 80 Upgrade Names, and Hero Name)
• Back story of mercenary character
• Description of mercenary's appearance (images are encouraged)
• Mercenary skill names and descriptions

All entries should be submitted to event at ndoorsinc dot com. Full event rules can be found here and you can download a submission template here.

It's that time of the year, and love is filling the air. Cupid's arrow hit Atlantica Online big time with the introduction of the Love Struck event, taking place Tuesday, Feb. 9 through Tuesday, Feb. 23.

During the event, players can roam through Atlantica Online and purchase Cacao Beans from Wandering Merchants. These Cacao Beans, in addition to a few other ingredients, can in turn be crafted into sumptuous Valentine's Chocolate. Possible options and ingredients can be found in the Crafting Skill menu, under Food. Also, a player's food crafting rank must be at a level 1 or higher. Want to know more? Keep reading for specific info on available event items.

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Atlantica Online has rolled out another content update to the game, giving every player what they've longed for: the chance to beat the stuffing out of an impressive number of crab people. That's really what everyone wants out of a game, so we should all just go home and kill crab people. Of course, there were a couple other elements improved or expanded in the game's update, but who cares about little things like new skills and improved competition ranks when faced with a dynamic new cluster of enemies?

Leaving aside the awesomeness of getting to beat up homarids in Atlantica Online, the update is quite substantial, with a lengthy set of patch notes available on the official site. Players can enjoy augmented health points to extend the length of engagements, as well as the aforementioned new skills and competition ranks. The game has also streamlined its system of Mana Stones, combining and simplifying the Repair, Enhance, and Enchant stones to make life easier for players.

If all that's still not appealing enough to you, the fishing system has been improved, which might wind up bringing you back to crab people yet again. Take a look at the full notes to see all the additions and updates with this latest patch.

On the list of all-time classic burns, "we don't want your money" is pretty far up there, especially when it's a charity saying it. Atlantica Online has been burned pretty badly. We reported recently on the company offering an in-game grab bag in the game's item mall that would result in donating an unstated amount to Child's Play. Unfortunately, due to negative feedback, Child's Play has requested that they be withdrawn from this charity drive.

Why would players complain about donating to charity? Some facts have surfaced, chief among them the official statement that the donations would be 5% of gross revenue. For a $40 purchase, only two dollars actually wind up going to charity, which feels a bit duplicitous when one of the main selling points is a charitable donation.

Atlantica Online's official announcement is almost petulant -- it boils down to the company stating that they wanted to just do something nice before complaining players ruined it for everyone. Although the announcement goes on to state that they will look for an alternative recipient of the donation, for the time being none is listed. It's sad news all around, even in light of the popular charity's record donations this year.