Wargaming.net has released patch 0.6.5 for its flagship game, World of Tanks.

Among the big changes is an entire U.S. Tank Destroyer line from tiers 1 through 9, two new maps and the introduction of the top-tier M46 Patton main battle tank.

Wargaming.net recently announced that World of Tanks has surpassed 3 million registered players!

2 million are now registered in Russia alone, while Europe and the US host over a million players and climbing fast. With the release last month in China, we’re certain that this is just the beginning of World of Tank’s meteoric rise.

“At the very beginning of development for World of Tanks, we were assuming that the maximum number would be around 600,000 players worldwide. Now, we have 2 million registrations in Russia alone, not to mention the Western audience and its immense growth,” said Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi. “With the tremendous number we’ve reached in Russia as well as the dynamics of community growth in Europe and North America, we are looking forward to the many more milestones to come.”

Aeria games, who runs BigWorld-powered Realm of the Titans, has begun a machinima overdubbing contest.

It’s an interesting approach toward user-generated-content. Download the original video here, sign up at the forums here if you don’t already have an account, and submit.

Continuing our exclusive coverage of the recently-announced, BigWorld-Powered, Userjoy MMO “Moego,”, we have reached the point in the show were we take a look at… ANIMAL CASTLES. By far our favorite awesome anomaly to come out of the Userjoy collective brain, the animal castle is a superstructure riding on the back of a gigantic, but nonetheless adorable, uber animal. Undoubtedly, depending on which kingdom you fight for, your family will have access to the appropriate mobile animal castle, an entity that can be upgraded progressively over time. The strategic benefit of having a building-sized animal holding a building on its back should be, at the very least, moderately clear.

MOEGO is a “community-centered free-to-play MMORPG,” with all the expected accoutrement, as well as some very unique offerings in the MMO space. These include family groups, “animal castles,” pet armies, and a few others.

The BigWorld Developers Conference in Suzhou is rolling.

We’ve sold out the hotel, and are loving the opportunity to engage with more of our clients and interested parties.

Check out some of photos of the event thus far here.

BigWorld Developers Conference: Suzhou from BigWorld Tech on Vimeo.

Suzhou, Jiangsu, 4/6/11 – This weekend in Suzhou, the BigWorld development team will be interacting with and presenting to Chinese developers, journalists and publishers for the BigWorld Developers Conference.

The conference will span two days and over 12 presentations covering all aspects of BigWorld Technology, including server optimization, lighting, client modification, user acquisition and so forth. The team will also be taking this opportunity to engage in a dialogue with the Chinese development community, in order to better understand what is being done with BigWorld Technology, and what can be done to improve the offering and add to the host of over twenty high-quality products that have been built on it.

BigWorld has long held a strong presence as the leading MMO and online games middleware technology solution in China. Over 20 Chinese organizations have enrolled, including current BigWorld licensees such as Netease, Sohu, Konzhong, and platform partners such as Umbra.

About BigWorld Pty Ltd

BigWorld provides a mature middleware platform for developers of Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) and Virtual Worlds that is fast becoming the industry standard.

The BigWorld MMO Technology Suite is a complete technology solution, consisting of a tightly integrated suite of high performance server applications, tools, advanced 3D client and APIs designed specifically for the fast and efficient creation of MMOGs. We give you the power to focus tightly on your core business of game production, rather than risking your project on uncertain, expensive and time-consuming research & speculative software development.

BigWorld’s unrivalled MMO Technology provides licensees a massive competitive advantage over “DIY” developers by significantly reducing risk, cost and time to market.

For additional information, Contact:

Matt Daly
BigWorld Pty Ltd.
+13133554374
press@bigworldtech.com
http://www.bigworldtech.com

The BigWorld-powered World of Tanks MMO has been receiving quite a bit of press attention recently, but this one surprised even us.

Behold the latest development in a long string of awesome emanating from Wargaming Studios in Minsk: La Gargantua.

The massive “treaded fortress” apparently sports a long-range impulse rail turret, mine-laying capabilities, and a host of other yet-to-be-revealed functions.

This news has the BigWorld team questioning a number of its assumptions about reality, but also whether or not this signals a new change in the theme of the until-now period-based tank warfare game. Should we be expecting even more futuristic tech appearing from vortices across the WoT world? Steampunk, anyone?…. anyone?…. Bueller?

Still, rumors suggest that this may be the work of an independent faction or individual using the BigWorld Indie development license.

At the very least, the WoT player community can’t complain any longer about Russian tanks being overpowered. This unprovenonced beast now takes the cake… and basically anything else it wants to take….

Yikes.

La Gargantua

Laura Parker from Gamespot wrote an excellent article covering the history of the Australian game development scene, as recounted by luminaries in the field. BigWorld Technology’s CEO, John De Margheriti, opines heavily throughout the article, sharing his perspective on the tumultuous progression of the game industry in Oz. In the interview, John discusses the founding of Micro Forte (creators of Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel), and the eventual birth of BigWorld Technology from that.

“I don’t think we as an industry have ever succeed as the development costs kept on escalating, so doing an original title was like betting the farm each time. We were the small guys Down Under, but we did world-class, honest work and had a small group of talented and committed people. This got us a long way, but it’s no longer sustainable.”

John also talks about his founding of the Academy of Interactive Entertainment, and its growth into a multi-national learning institution, aimed originally at replenishing the then-scant supply of creative talent in the country. Other Aussie game dev veterans such as Steve Fawkner, George Fidler, and John Passfield join in the discussion, as well. The general consensus is that Australia is on the move toward more independent-IP-focused productions with leaner production teams and timelines.

“This is the renaissance of the games industry in Australia and I believe it will eventually be bigger than what it was. Now is the time because we are at the beginning of a new product life-cycle… I think diversification is the real key [to the industry’s future]–if you’ve got more than one thing going, then you have a better chance of success.”

Go have a read!

In the following video, the Wargaming team convinces us with little-to-no arm-pulling to sign up for the EU or North American open betas.

Realm of the Titans has unveiled a new character in its DotA-style RPG/RTS game, built on BigWorld Tech.

Samurai Spirit is a ganking, harassing melee character that has the distinct ability to attract attention and administer surgical doses of folded steel.

Speaking of folds, run over and sign up for the closed beta.

Realm of the Titans (RoT) is an RTS RPG built on BigWorld technology.  The game is an adaptation of Defense of the Ancients (DotA), an uber-famous Warcraft III mod that Gamasutra notes as being perhaps the most popular “free, non-supported game mod in the world.”

The dev team behind Realm of the Titans joins the ranks of DotA devotees such as Valve (DotA2) and Riot Games (League of Legends), and they’ve chosen BigWorld’s platform tech to do it. Awesome. Gameconnect says “RoT seems to have all the bases covered to shape up an unforgettable gaming experience.”

The game’s been in closed beta for a bit. Should you wish to defend the awesome, sign up for the beta here.

The team at Wargaming has just launched World of Tanks in China!

The team presented their MMO tank warfare game to the Chinese market at a press conference in Shanghai this afternoon. In attendance at the were a battalion of journalists, bloggers, and a bona fide PRC General.  The party continued through the afternoon with an interview, presentation, and obligatory soju-drinking competition.

The game has thus far garnered massive attention in Europe and North America. We can only assume that their introduction to the massive Chinese gaming community will have them breaking their own Guinness record for the maximum number of users playing concurrently on the same game server.

If you’re not able to join the mayhem in China, you can always sign up now for the North American open beta here, or the European open beta here.

Wargaming.net just announced an April 12 release date for it’s hit title World of Tanks.

“Our team has been working really hard to create a unique blend of action, strategy, simulation and RPG elements in World of Tanks, and now the moment all fans across the globe have been waiting for is right around the corner”, said Victor Kislyi, CEO of Wargaming.net. “We are delighted to be finally announcing the release date for this ground-breaking title and invite all veteran players and those new to the game to enjoy tense and uncompromising armored warfare on World of Tanks battlegrounds”.

You can sign up now for the North American open beta here, or the European open beta here.

Wargaming.net recently announced that it has set the new World Record for Most Players Online Simultaneously on One MMO Server. Guinness stated that the World of Tanks Russian server broke the previous record on January 23, 2011 with 91,311 players.

Victor Kisliy, Wargaming’s CEO says that since that date, World of Tanks has set new records in excess of 120,000 concurrent players.

To get in on this runaway success, you can join the EU or North American open betas and break some records yourself!

Wargaming.net just released a new trailer to celebrate the launch of World of Tank’s Open Beta!

Wargaming.net have today announced the open beta for their BigWorld-fulled game World of Tanks is set for January 27th. Speaking through a reinforced, multi-layered plasteel slit from within his reinforced concrete bunked in Minsk, Victor Kislyi, CEO of Wargaming crypted,

“We’ve been very pleased to get such a response from our players that means the direction we are moving in goes in line with the views of our community. I’d like to thank our fans for their crucial contribution to the development of the game and remind that there’ll be a lot of new stuff added in the open beta”.

Is announced, innit?

Slap on some new treads and head over to the fuel depot.

Vie

VIE or Virtual Island of Entertainment is trying something a little different. From their website :

VIE™: Virtual Island of Entertainment is a mature 3D virtual world and social experience that invites adults to escape and indulge in its island paradise.
Luxuriate in fashion, shopping, games, mysteries and quests amidst the powerful and supernatural in this free-to-play resort. Explore and indulge in the wonders of VIE.

If you are interested, you should wander over and sign up for the beta.

A look at how a persistent DOTA-style game might look from a developer in China :

BigWorld-Powered Game: Tianyijue (Realm of the Titans) from BigWorld Tech on Vimeo.

BigWorld Technology will soon be available in your favourite web browser. You will be able to run MMOs, virtual worlds and online persistent games in a Windows-PC based browser using BigWorld’s Web Player plug-in. The browser plug-in complements the existing full-screen PC client/server and server-only solutions for consoles and mobile devices. The company will be demonstrating the new technology at the upcoming GDC Online conference in Austin, Texas during October.

Chief Technology Officer of BigWorld, Simon Hayes, said that “The social and casual gaming markets present their own unique challenges – ideally you want to get the game content to the gamer in the quickest, hassle-free way and as cheaply as possible. The BigWorld Web Player brings the solid technology underlying numerous BigWorld Technology online games in the market today to a new arena – PC browsers, with a minimum of installation, security, or development overhead.”  The Web Player plug-in will support Internet Explorer, FireFox, Chrome and Safari.

BigWorld staff will be available for developer meetings and media interviews at GDC Online at the Austin Convention Centre, Texas, from October 5 – 8, 2010. Email appointments@bigworldtech.com to arrange an appointment.

About the BigWorld Technology Suite
Comprised of the BigWorld Server Software, Content Creation Pipeline, 3D Client Engine, Live Management Tools & Instrumentation, BigWorld Technology is the premier, complete, and proven massively multiplayer game development solution, providing all of the complex systems required to produce engaging, highly scalable next-generation MMOs and Virtual Worlds.

About BigWorld Pty Ltd
BigWorld Pty Ltd was formed in 2002 to commercialise years of intense R&D, which started in 1999 and continues to this day. With a direct local presence in the USA, China, Japan and Europe, BigWorld licenses its middleware platform to game studios and publishers around the world to build successful next generation MMOs and Virtual Worlds. For more information and links to currently released or in production titles, visit www.bigworldtech.com

BigWorld Website
www.bigworldtech.com

BigWorld Indie Website
indie.bigworldtech.com

BigWorld Blog
blog.bigworldtech.com

Media Contact: Casey Gregory
Email: caseyg@bigworldtech.com
Phone: +61 2 6162 5120

GDC Online Austin

For anyone who wants a hands-on or conversation with some of the development staff behind BigWorld, we will once again be at GDC Online at the Austin Convention Center, from October 4-8th 2010.  If you would like to set up a meeting you can reach us at appointments[@]bigworldtech.com or set up a meeting time directly, here. Many of our partners including Umbra, Scaleform and others will be there, as well as BigWorld licensees like 38 Studios and Wargaming.net participating.

We will be showcasing BigWorld 2.0 and the BigWorld Browser capability – launch and run a BigWorld-powered game in a Windows browser!

Keep it weird – see you in Austin!

PC users with even relatively modest gaming machines can now experience BigWorld in a web browser. Internet Explorer and Firefox users on PC can try this beta link to have a look at a small, 40MB minimum spec world. Support for other browsers is on the way, but keep in mind this is a *beta* demonstration. BigWorld staff will be at Cologne Gamescom next week – email to appointments(at)bigworldtech.com to line up a live demonstration.

“World of Tanks promises to be a team base MMO dedicated to armored warfare. As tank commander you will experience some of the most action packed tanks battle, while having the ability to buy and drive over 150 armored vehicles from Germany, America and Soviet Union plus some from the allies tanks (from Churchill up to Matilda, there are all there)

As young promising tank commanders players begin their career within a light tank division. From there three subdivisions will be opened for future paths: Self Propelled Artillery (SPG), Tank Destroyers(TD), moving up to Medium Tanks or going for the big boys like Tiger/IS, Heavy Tanks.

Thanks to MMORPG Center.

Wargaming.net’s BigWorld-powered title – World of Tanks is going into beta. Kind of a cross between Counterstrike, Tank-Chess and ladled generously with WWII carnage, this is the most action-packed MMOTANKFPS you will ever play. Get on it.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wargaming.net® Announces Closed Beta Test for World of Tanks

London (1st July, 2010) – Wargaming.net® is glad to announce that the closed beta test for its anticipated MMO game World of Tanks is due to begin on July 8, 2010 with the registration for it starting today at http://game.worldoftanks.com/registration/cbt/ .

Over the next few months World of Tanks players worldwide will get access to more than 70 authentic military vehicles representing German and Soviet sides with a chance to unlock and explore their full upgrade and level-up potential in tense PvP battles. 7 unique maps featuring various types of terrain designed to provide the ultimate action-packed experience will serve as proving grounds for the beta test.

Wargaming.net® is inviting keen history enthusiasts and all fans of online multiplayer games to sign up and participate in World of Tanks closed beta stressing the importance of their feedback for further polishing and tuning the game.

“We are extremely happy to give the green light to World of Tanks closed beta, “says Nick Katselapov, producer of the game. “After three and a half years of hard work the development team is eager to listen to the opinion of our players as we hope to gather a lot of valuable information. In the course of the beta test we will keep on adding new content by introducing new maps, modes and features and expanding the fleet of vehicles”.

Register for the beta test at http://game.worldoftanks.com/registration/cbt/

For more information on World of Tanks, visit http://www.worldoftanks.com/.

About World of Tanks

World of Tanks is the first and only team-based massively multiplayer online action game dedicated to armored warfare. Throw yourself into the epic tank battles of World War II with other steel cowboys all over the world. Your arsenal includes more than 150 armored vehicles from America, Germany, and the Soviet Union, carefully detailed with historical accuracy.

A flexible system of authentic vehicle upgrade and development allows you to try any of the vehicles and weapons in the game. Whether you prefer to exhaust your foes with fast and maneuverable light tanks, make deep breaches in enemy lines with all-purpose medium tanks, use the force of giant tanks to eliminate opposing armored forces, or become a heavy sniper with long-range howitzers, each unit type has its own advantages and can be extremely effective when operated by a true tank ace.

But being a great tank commander alone isn’t enough to win! In World of Tanks, it’s all about teamwork. Victory is achieved by combining your combat skills with those of the other members of your team, each playing their own role on the battlefield. Just add your favorite strategy to build your own iron empire and manifest the indisputable authority of the tank! Feel the TANK POWER!

Key Features:

• Action-packed 15-vs-15 PvP Tank battles
• Mixture of Action, Strategy, Simulation and MMORPG genres
• 150 Vehicles, thousands of upgrades
• Unprecedented global Clan Wars

About Wargaming.net®

Wargaming.net® is an award-winning strategy game specialist, incorporated in the UK. Its 140-strong development team is located in Minsk, Belarus. Since 1998, the company has shipped 13 titles, including acclaimed Massive Assault series, Order of War RTS published by Square Enix, and three add-ons for Blitzkrieg II. Wargaming.net’s Operation Bagration RTS was awarded the Best Strategy! Game of 2008 at Russian Game Developers Conference (KRI). At KRI 2009 and 2010 Wargaming.net® was named The Best Developer Company from ex-USSR. At KRI 2010 World of Tanks won “Best MMO” prize.

Official web site: www.wargaming.net

《三国群英传》，这是一个拥有12年历史的系列游戏，这是一个被数以万计的玩家记住的系列游戏，从单机版到网络版，一直被中国玩家所追捧。在单机版中，玩家们与电脑厮杀，挥洒着满腔热血，施展着雄才大略，最终一统全国！虽然倍感畅快，但却又感受到一丝丝孤寂和无奈，毕竟那只是战胜了电脑。

现在，十二年经典传承，新3D巅峰巨作！中国首款开放式战争网游《三国群英传2 Online》预计于5月开测。这里有全国有志之士与您同台竞技，让您能够充分施展自己的雄才大略，不愁英雄无用武之地。不仅如此，我们还将为您开启“百万公会计划”，重奖三国第一人！

活动奖励：
1,000,000人民币现金巨奖（税费自理）

活动规则：
自不删档测试开服后，各服务器开启的100天内，首个统一本服务器所有城市的公会，将会获得《三国群英传2 Online》颁发的100万人民币现金巨奖。

活动时间：

　　不删档测试开启当日-2010年12月31日

　　各服务器活动周期：100天

　　报名时间：40天

　　公会绑定时间：30天（开服后，开启军团与公会绑定功能）

　　活动结束判断：

　　（1） 单组服务器开启100天内，只要有一个公会统一该服务器三国势力，活动结束。

　　（2） 2010年12月31日前若未有公会统一服务器，活动结束。

　　活动流程：

　　报名创建公会→不删档测试开启后，招募游戏内军团前往活动页面与公会绑定→统一三国→公会长领取百万现金。

十二年经典传承，新3D巅峰巨作，中国首款开放式战争网游《三国群英传2 Online》于2010年4月25日24：00圆满完成中国大陆地区盛世内测。4月26日《三国群英传2 Online》将开启全新旅程开放不删档测试游戏大区激活和客户端下载，迎接从5月10日开始的中国大陆地区大规模不删档测试。

网易旗下“创世工作室”历时四年、倾力打造的首款国产3D回合制重量级力作《创世西游》，将于2010年4月15日上午10点正式开放“不删档不限号内测”，注册即可玩！届时，这款耗时四年研发的东方神幻网游精品，将揭开神秘面纱，恢弘壮丽的西游三部曲新章，为你开启！

客户端下载地址：http://csxy.163.com/download/client.html

五行的起始和寂灭，六道众生的征战与纠葛，玄奘西行是掌握了棋局还是不过棋子一枚？这一切的背后，是谁在操纵？风扬云动，尘封已久的历史等你揭开！

四年磨一剑，创世出鞘，谁与争锋！《创世西游》开创性地打造全开放式召唤兽系统，变异宝宝也能手动打造，特质系统尽显个性，满成长高悟性修技能，最终迈入传说中的天罡地煞之位，化身神宠不再是梦想！而独创的人物流派双系技能树，更是开创回合制策略战斗新格局，将回合游戏带领到一个全新巅峰。相同的流派，不同的玩法，不到动手的那一刻，你永远不会知道对手是专精一系还是双系同修，回合游戏战术革命时代即将到来！

《创世西游》采用华丽神幻中国手绘美术片风格，创造性地将中国创世古神话与《西游记》相融合，讲述在玄奘西游之前那不为人知的隐秘故事。在佛祖如来与魔王波旬的绝世豪赌中，六道轮回，谁持吴钩守明月？是谁在掌握着棋局，操控着赤明世界的兴衰！谁又只是棋子一枚，所有的挣扎都是徒劳无功！那顽劣的猴子真是天生天养还是隐藏着天大的秘密？赤明大地之上，芸芸众生何去何从？

Massively recently sat down with Wargaming.net’s Mike Zhivets to discuss their upcoming MMO World of Tanks.

“When we thought of epic armor clashes with up to 60 vehicles unfolding on huge maps we just said bingo! – that’s what our next game’s gonna be about.”

You can catch the full interview HERE

Userjoy’s BigWorld-powered title is going live in mainland China after a successful launch in Taiwan :

The9 (Nasdaq:NCTY) plans to start alpha testing of its licensed 3D MMORPG Kingdom Heroes 2 Online on March 10, according to a posting on the game’s official site. The company is accepting applications for activation accounts from March 1 to March 10, according to the notice.

The9 obtained exclusive operating rights for Kingdom Heroes 2 Online in mainland China from Taiwan’s USERJOY Technology (3546.TW) in July 2009.

Userjoy’s BigWorld-powered MMO, Kingdom Heroes II has another new trailer showing some fantastic content available in the game :

网易游戏频道讯 网易首款3D回合制新作、西游三部曲终章《创世西游》，自技术二测以来，以“手绘东方神幻”画卷、宏伟庞大“新西游前传”的特色，获得不少玩家青睐。据悉二测情况良好，为接受更多玩家检验，开发组决定增派激活码，于12月4日开放深度测试！没有激活码的玩家可参与活动或填写问卷获取。二测“赤明开图”服务器的用户角色数据在“深度测试”中将全部保留不会删档，玩家可继续享受畅快游戏体验。

恢宏的神仙画卷

在“深度测试”中，玩家不仅可以体验“双系技能树”享受无与伦比的对抗体验，更能感受强大社区的多变玩法，在吸收众多玩家建议及多次调整后，《创世西游》核心“社区”已现雏形并初步完善。喜欢回合制的玩家，经过初期短时间的升级，既可快速享受社区交互乐趣，还可在众多不间断活动中获取大量奖励。

丰富多彩的剧情插图表现

关于“深度测试”版本内容，一直是广大玩家和创世西游迷关注的焦点。现在我们揭开测试版本的神秘面纱，让玩家快速了解版本“奥秘”，开展西游前传的历险之旅！

六大超越，人有我优重社区

一、1级新人不怕生，高手宗师抢着带

贴心特色的“高手宗师”系统，让初出茅庐的你不会无所适从。当新玩家进入游戏，系统会出现拜师指引，玩家可在短时间内配对合适的学习对象，享受高级宗师的亲密陪伴与细心指导。

二、5级见面勤招手，30级后炫舞蹈

游戏设有独创表情系统和炫酷真人动作捕捉舞蹈。新手达到5级，系统会赠送第一个表情动作道具，玩家还可通过剧情技能使用来获得其他表情。变化多端的动作表情，除了能让玩家在战斗场景以外丰富自身肢体和神态语言，还能略施小计对其他玩家使用，从而增强互动。到达30级，系统更开放八大流派舞蹈动作，超炫舞蹈比拟真人动作，鲜活你的游戏世界。

三、10级360度换造型，70级享流派专属装备

在《创世西游》中，玩家到达10级便能收集装备。KFZ为每个流派每个性别设计多达120套装备，每套又分八个部件，总计整个游戏装备总量达到万位级别。为了方便玩家收纳装备，还独创衣橱系统，打开“衣橱”界面，海量装备尽收眼底，系统备有混搭功能，流行趋势由你掌控。等级达到70以后，各流派人物还能得到特殊的专属装备，独一无二服饰只为你而设。

数以万计的海量装备

四、45级坐骑拉风显尊崇，百变造型惹人羡

当玩家等级达到45级，轻松参加系统任务，就能获得第一个坐骑。在《创世西游》中每位玩家最多可以拥有多达“100种形象各异，独具特色的坐骑”。玩家通过培养一枚“八荒四气盘”，依据不同四气奥秘就可以驾驭各种坐骑“换外形换属性”。

帅气炫酷的坐骑

五、变异宝宝想变就变，丰富技能自由搭配

为了能让玩家更快更好地融入《创世西游》东方神幻世界，玩家捕抓任何一只野外宝宝喂食换骨丹，就有机会使其变异。变异宝宝拥有良好资质及实用技能，游戏中加入独有的宝宝内丹修炼系统，对宝宝呕心沥血的培养都不会白费，自由卸取转换，贴心实际。还有丰富技能自由搭配，这些都直接影响玩家战斗策略，不同类型的宝宝在战斗中的用处也不同。

技能丰富的召唤兽

六、全方位电影式3D回合制帮战

《创世西游》首在回合制游戏中开放全方位电影式3D帮战，让游戏充满真实对抗冲击力。战场战斗可以达到立体程度，即便在战斗状态下玩家也可以360度转换视角，从多角度时刻观察队伍战斗状态，还能感受到电影式镜头带来的震撼效果，无论是战斗中炫目震撼的技能特效，还是地图中细腻柔润的火光幻影，全都表现得绚丽多彩，堪称媲美TV游戏画面的效果！

四大独创，潜心研究显心思

七、10级透过副本回味西游色彩

《创世西游》是西游三部曲终章，演绎恢宏强大“西游前传”的世界观。当玩家到达10级，便能开启副本任务。在副本任务里面，玩家可以透过剧情故事回味东方神幻西游色彩，从中体验宏大严谨的世界体系，在充满种族特色的神话故事中慢慢成长，激荡联合，排除万难，开创一个壮丽的西游天地。

精彩副本回味西游色彩

八、40级独创PVP战场，展现大唐国技“蹴鞠英雄传”

贴心的《创世西游》给广大热爱团队活动、充满挑战心的玩家准备了一个得天独厚的“蹴鞠”系统。蹴鞠起源于我国，是现代足球的鼻祖。蹴鞠作为大唐国技之一，其技变换万千，其形游龙戏凤。唐王深好蹴鞠之艺，现召告天下，广开蹴鞠比赛。到底谁可以问鼎，获得与西梁蹴鞠魁首争冠的资格？我们拭目以待！

九、帮派建筑自主选择，独创十二生肖魂守

游戏社区型一直是网游魅力所在，而“帮派”一直都是回合制玩家极为重视和追捧的系统之一，开发组为了满足不同玩家需求，帮派场景特设了自由转换功能：除了建筑会升级，整个场景也可以随心转换。据悉，还有数款全新的帮派场景正在设计中，将会给玩家带来多姿多彩的帮派环境。而游戏独创的十二生肖魂守，更能帮助玩家根据自身的装备激活出强大的潜能，这股未知的力量让你毫无畏惧驰骋沙场！

独创十二生肖魂守

十、玄灵娃娃养成奥秘

除了造型多变的召唤兽之外，超萌造型的玄灵娃娃更是开发组精心研发的一个独创系统。多种不同造型供玩家自由选择，而且玩法新颖：“抢位置”、“攒道行”、“寻宝”、“叫卖”、“拯救与吞噬”等休闲玩法，不仅能让玩家更快地在游戏中结交到好友，同时能增进玩家彼此间的友谊。

让你爱不释手的玄灵娃娃

更多丰富内容无法一一阐述，随后游戏中还会陆续推出高级生死劫、疾行竞赛等创新新玩法，敬请各位玩家期待！

即日开放激活码申请通道

《创世西游》采用BigWorld引擎，支持无缝超大场景和各种华丽的3D效果，带给玩家们与众不同的震撼享受！游戏客户端下载已开放，激活码抢号倒计时，进军西游前传的号角已经吹响，让我们一起加入终极体验之旅。赤明大地之旅，将由此开启！详情敬请关注《创世西游》官方网站：

http://csxy.163.com/index.html

由上海游趣网络首款完全自主研发的大型全3D纯中国探险网游《鬼吹灯》Online即将与10月19日正式开启封测之门。

全3D画面 顶尖引擎制作

《鬼吹灯》Online，采用国际顶尖的“Big World”引擎，历时2年，倾力打造，全3D画面精美流畅。作为中国境内授权数量最多、应用上最为成功的网络游戏引擎，BigWorld引擎在本届ChinaJoy上展现了其强大的应用能力。而游戏中精心录制了数十首背景音乐，风格迥异，委婉动听，有的雄浑深厚，有的悠扬婉转，根据所处场景的切换贴合画面氛围播放，令探险过程中始终体验到余音绕梁的境界。

纯中国风 古代现代完美结合

游戏剧情在中国大陆上展开，内蒙古-查干哈南北岸、旧时的北京火车站、古色古香的潘家园。随着游戏的进行，玩家游历中国大陆的同时，会渐渐接触到已鲜有流传的十六字阴阳风水秘术、世代相传的明器、还有掩埋在山林和地下的古城墓穴。当你带着驾驶着现代的坐骑，背着新型的防身武器，踏上这片土地，古代和现代这一刻在你眼前同时出现了。

　　机关解谜 探险之路惊险刺激

游戏初期，你将会先接受各种考验你胆量和机智的训练。在全息影像中预见未来将面对的怪物；在训练室帮助鼠灵和他的主人解开几世的束缚；普度被纸娘附身的少女的灵魂；在黑暗中点灯照明；越过机关陷阱在无名将军手上夺取明器。

当你踏上中国探险之途的时候，你也许又会遇到白昼和谐安宁，而一到黑夜就出现邪恶事物的村庄；会进入前辈们曾经在生死边缘挣扎过的古墓副本；你还会在途中遇到到遇上共同战斗的生死挚友。

更险恶的路程等待着你，敌对势力-“龙盟”的加入让你和你朋友的探险之旅更为艰难。你真正的探险才刚刚开始……

一段扣人心弦的探险之旅，即将在这个秋天展开！10月19日，锁定《鬼吹灯》Online封闭测试，与你一同揭开这款纯中国全3D探险网游的序幕！

《鬼吹灯》，真的来了！

In what appears to be some significant licensing to-ing and fro-ing, we may be able to shortly confirm the following :

1) Netease (NTES) is publishing the BigWorld-powered ‘Tianxia 2′ in Taiwan through BigWorld licensee, Userjoy.
2) Userjoy themselves are publishing BigWorld-powered Kingdom Heroes II in mainland China through The9.

All of this is assumption and inference at the moment – stay tuned for confirmations.

38 Studios

• Project Art Director. Timonium, MD. (USA)
• Senior PS3 Programmer. Timonium, MD. (USA)
• Graphics Engineer. Timonium, MD. (USA)

Seeking Alpha offers up some initial observations surrounding the strong debut of Netease’s BigWorld powered title, Tian Xia 2:

TX2 reached 245K PCU during first week of open beta. NetEase’s 3D game Tian Xia II (TX2) reached 245000 Peak Concurrent Users (PCU) on September 26, according to my tracking in the chart below. This represents a 32% increase from 185000 on September 19, the day before TX2’s open beta. During this 7-day period, TX2’s server capacity expanded 36% to 53 server groups. These two data points (32% and 36%) show that TX2’s usage level has increased at a similar pace to server additions, and indicate the game’s strong ability to attract new users.

Gamasutra has some AGDC coverage of Steve Danuser from 38 Studios, one of the writers for Curt Schilling’s upcoming BigWorld powered title, talks about some of the difficulties in writing for online :

“No one wants to read in MMOs. As much as writers want to think their quest prose is for the ages, reading is not a popular activity in online gaming. The genre is a bad fit for classic storytelling. The strength of the MMO genre is that it is a social medium, a communal experience with a shared narrative.

Giving players the tools to create their own story experiences within that narrative is what keeps them coming back to a game. Both directors firmly believe that MMO writers should be leveraging the strengths of both the medium and the playerbase far more than they do right now.” – Gamasutra

More over at the article

After posting some very solid numbers for Tianxia 2 over the weekend, let’s head over to MMO Culture to check out Cinderboy’s review of this Netease’s title :

TianXia 2 is one of the typical oriental fantasy MMORPG churned out from China, but its the really refined graphics, questing and simplicity which really captivated me. The game was actually in Beta a few years back, but I suppose the company, Netease, had to do some financial shifting to acquire the rights for WoW China, hence the long delay for this game. In case you are wondering, WoW China’s chaos is soon to end in the coming weeks. Here’s my short journey so far as one of the 8 clans available, the pure magic damage clan.

For more on the game, fantastic screenshots and detailed opinion, head over to MMO Culture.

Tian Xia II (TX2) had a strong open beta debut. NetEase (NTES) launched the open beta testing of its 3D game TX2 on Sunday, September 20. According to my tracking in the chart below, TX2 reached 227500 Peak Concurrent Users (PCU) on Sunday, surging 24% from 185000 in Saturday. During the peak time of Sunday, TX2’s overall server utilization rate was about 90%, indicating that average popularity per server remained high despite the aggressive expansion of total capacity from 35 to 51 servers (up 46%) since last Friday.

With thanks to Seeking Alpha.

NetEase.com Inc. (Nasdaq: NTES) lately purchased BladeCenter HS22 blade servers from IBM for the operation of its heavyweight 3D online game Tianxia II.

BladeCenter HS22 adopts Xeon 5500 processors made by Intel Corporation (Nasdaq: INTC; SEHK: 4335). It is redesigned on the basis of former BladeCenter servers, adding many new functions. Analysts believe that BladeCenter HS22 has been the most advanced and strongest game server by far.

NetEase.com spent tens of millions of Chinese yuan for the purchase, showing its great confidence in Tianxia II, which is going to start an open beta test on September 20, 2009.

NetEase.com is a leading online game developer and operator as well as Internet portal. It is currently operating online games such as Fantasy Westward Journey, Westward Journey Online II, Heroes of Tang Dynasty, and Westward Journey 3.

In the second quarter of 2009, the company got gross profits of CNY 692 million or USD 101 million. Its revenues from online game services hit CNY 872 million or USD 128 million. By June 30, its total assets reached CNY 7.4 billion or USD 1.1 billion.