The One About More Upcoming Games!

If you haven't already seen the front page of just about every gaming magazine out there, GTA4 (Grand Theft Auto 4) for Xbox 360 and PS3 is set to hit stores tomorrow.


The 20,000 copies of GTA4 which we are distributing for the region has been completely sold out to various retail stores even before its launch date tomorrow!

What I am most looking forward to is getting my hands on the Limited Edition GTA4 set which is absolutely to die for... Check out the limited edition boxset which comes with a duffel bag, safety deposit box, art book, keychain and the soundtrack which has some very impressive tracks:


Fresh from the warehouse:


I managed to get a chance to test out the game and I was simply blown away by how detailed it was and the AI had definitely improved to an even more stunningly realistic feel compared to the previous versions of GTA. Getting flung and crashing through the windscreen of my car upon major impact was definitely something I need to get used to in Liberty City. This game is an absolute MUST TRY. The cinematics are so well directed that you feel like you are part of an epic movie.

Another upcoming game that is likely to be released pretty soon is a casual racing game called Topspeed. But before you write it off, thinking that you ain't interested in cars or racing games ( like I did ), it's more than just some car racing game. Its kawaii factor is undeniable and one of the hugest draw factor (to me at least) are the various items you can collect along the race track that you can use to sabotage other players to slow them down or to boost yourself to drive at top speed.


Other attractive elements include being able to drift around corners (like InitialD!) and put together your own kart with various parts and even customizing it to be as badass as you like it to be or even as cutesy as a cow!

Batmobile, anyone?

Got Milk?

More coverage coming your way soon!

In the meantime, if you haven't already heard by now, V2.6 The Requiem is scheduled to be launched on 12 June 2008. Currently, we are still on schedule - having recently handed over all localization material & new voiceovers for Bai Hu and Vincente Rio to IMC who is working on producing the new V2.6 client and patch. Let's all keep our fingers crossed and hope that nothing major crops up last minute!

The One About Philippines - Domination II

I just got back from Philippines and oh man... I was simply blown away and hopelessly inspired by the GE Philippines gamers. In all honesty, the past few months had me feeling rather burnt out and weary. But this trip to the Philippines - seeing how passionate the gamers were, the strong bonds they have created within this community was more than enough to cast revitalize me again!

Domination II was a HUGE event with a massive turnup of 18,000 people! Seriously long queues...

From external queues...

...to internal ones!

Each of the games featured at Domination had its own stage and booth. Here's the booth setup pre-event:

Granado Espada Booth

Cosplay is a really big thing in Philippines, such that they even had a huge cosplay area, splat right in the middle of the entire event setup, with all kind of props like bridges and mini stages for cosplayers to pose. Here are some of the Granado Espada cosplayers: Catherine, Elementalist, Wizards, Grace Berneli (Bistre Costume) and Feng Ling!

Granado Espada Characters Coming To Life!

There were many events that went on that day - from PvP tournaments, to Philippines Community Heroes prize giving ceremony etc.

Some of the most unforgettable moments of the trip:

1) Faction Banner Competition

It was such a sight to behold! Seeing massive numbers of faction members who created their own faction banner and coming down to support the event. The atmosphere was so highly charged with cheers and shouts. It was a superbly rah-rah event and a strange reminder of my freshman orientation camp back in school. The unity and bond of trinity could not have been any more real during those moments:


In the finals, there was a tie between Vradical's banner and Outcasts' banner. It was finally decided that whoever cheered loudest for their faction would win the competition. Outcasts Faction nearly deafened us with their screams and cheering. LOL. Congratz to Outcasts Faction!


2) Show me the money!

We were delayed at the airport customs for some time due to the tons of prizes and gifts that we had lugged all the way from Singapore. Amidst the Seagate hard disks, Microsoft Vista and Office, Limited Edition Boxes etc... was also the USD2500 that was meant for the top 3 winners of the Fantazzztic Film Awards:

Show me the moola!

Framing the money into picture frames was a last minute inspiration from our Marketing Vice President, Yoda Chuan. Which has us scrambling to buy picture frames and sticky tape at the very last minute.
[Backstage] 10 minutes before the moolah ceremony....

Last minute art-and-craft session of pasting cold, hard cash into picture frames!

3) Meeting the Philippines Bloggers Group

Having regularly read their blogs for almost a year, it was such a heartwarming feeling to finally meet these great writers in person! And I must say they are as intellectual and interesting as their blogs.

Philippines Bloggers Group - A REALLY tight group

I was particularly delighted to meet "THE VOICE" that launched a thousand laughs. That's right. I'm talking about Mena Family who did all the voiceovers for one of the winning films of the Fantazzztic Film Awards, Le Blanc. His real life personality is truly as multi-faceted and colorful as his amazing spectrum of voices! I certainly wish I had a friend in Singapore that was just as hilarious and entertaining as he is!

The Voice that launched a thousand laughs - Mena Family

It was a wondrous reunion with the first blogger of Granado Espada, NineMoons, who was the very first gamer from the Philippines that I had met up with on my last trip to the Philippines 1 year ago. I guess I will always have this soft spot for her due to this =]

Also got a chance to meet the talented director, Reclusion Family (Carracci), who had bagged the top 2 prizes in Fantazzztic Film Awards. This guy is incredibly gifted - both KingKongJon and I agree that he will be someone great in future. (Don't forget me when you become famous one day, Darrick!) On the other hand, Artaxerxes & Fiksdotter really impressed me with their friendly and kind demeanor and Stiles was a very charming, little sweetie. :)

The most touching moment of this entire trip was when they presented me with a photo mosaic that was made up of all the photos they had taken together. It was likely one of the most moving, overwhelmingly feel-good moments in my entire RCM life. ~>.<~

*Touched* is an understatement...

4) The Dinner Poll

After the Domination II event, we (me, Yoda Chuan, KingKongJon and Alex) were privileged enough to have a dinner with the Pinoy Faction leaders, their deputy leaders and the Bloggers group. During this dinner, we got to hear a lot of feedback from them and we also shared with them some of the operational issues we had on our end. We also shared with them some of the upcoming plans for V2.6 tentative launch on 12 June 2008 (*May be subject to change)

There's this famous dish in the Philippines called Balut (I dare not post images here lest you lose your appetite, but if you are REALLY up for the challenge, here's google image search results)

Desanggria Family was particularly evil! When the dish arrived, she did a dinner poll:

"Who would like to see RCM Hrin eating Balut?"

All hands unanimously shot up, including the hands of my DEAR IAHGames COLLEAGUES.

?!?!#!~@!#@$%#^......"Et tu, Brute?"

Ah well. The community has spoken. I lit my torch and ate Balut.

The vague image of Cockatrice pecking me to death flashed in my mind briefly.

Strangely, it tasted like Marmite. Hmm. Does that mean that Marmite is made up of...?

5) Meeting the Egames Peeps!

The peeps from Egames were such great hosts! They were so hospitable and sweet to us, that we felt so loved and well taken care of. Bonds were formed on a much more personal level, with all the jokes, laughter and conversations held.

And I have a new BFF (Best Friend Forever)! Bye bye Leticia, hello Jason! Audition's Community Manager, CM Jason, is THE most hilarious dude ever! We got along so fabulously - there's not a single moment of boredom with this guy. Here is Jason endorsing Coca-Cola...

CM Jason amusing us endlessly with his comical antics

Many, many thanks to you guys at eGames for making our time there so meaningful and well-spent. :)

Photo Sources:
Ninemoons
[CM] Veya

Reclusion

Artaxerxes
Mena

The One About IAHGames Upcoming Games!

It's gonna be a busy yet exciting year ahead for us. Some of you may have heard already - we will be launching FIFA 2 Online in the Quarter 3 of 2008. We are all very much excited about it!

As mentioned in the newspaper articles below, it's likely to be a Free to Play game, but gamers can purchase extras such as jerseys and improvements - like helping Liverpool's Peter Crouch shoot better.

But before we even hit Quarter 3 this year, the next game that we will be launching in Quarter 2 is Dragonica! It's a casual type MMORPG that is screaming with cuteness overload. I am aware that there are a lot of anime fans within the GE community so this might just be your cup of tea every Thursdays from 0900-1700hrs. (Yes! During GE maintenance time :p )

Dragonica's game developer is Barunson Interactive and their Korean publisher is NCSoft. Here's the promotional video:

MMOsite has done up a lovely feature section on it over here. Here are some of my fave screenshots from MMOsite:



We are currently undergoing Alpha testing with a select group of gamers and in the midst of completing localization. Closed Beta Testing will be launching pretty soon! Meanwhile, Dragonica website and forum are scheduled to be up by next month. I'll let you guys know when we have officially launched the website. In the meantime, you can also visit CM Kaye's Dragonica blog for more information and updates!

The One About Granado Espada Special Edition 2008 Diary

Well, I've got some pretty exciting news! My boss had gone to Korea recently to visit IMC and Hanbitsoft and he brought back some goodies! Amidst the V2.6 posters, GE stickers etc... there were 2 items I fell hopelessly in love with...

One) Jabra- Granado Espada Bluetooth Earpiece

I swear it was love at first sight. Or maybe lust at first sight... considering how I went into psycho mode, pounced on it ruthlessly and declared that it was mine! MINE! MINEEEEEE!!! Well, you would probably do the same too once you've laid eyes on this baby!


Two) Granado Espada Special Edition 2008 Diary!

Yeah, I do realize that Quarter 1 of Year 2008 is already over... But this diary is absolutely gorgeous!


Not to mention it is timeless - the weekly schedule doesn't have any dates on it. Thus, you can input the dates for that week instead.


The world map is the first thing you see when you open up the diary:


The last few pages have snippet scenes from GE.

My Best Friend, Leticia's Portrait

Gotta love Novia...

Baihu (White Tiger)! Very likely the most powerful martial artiste of 'em all

Calyce, the first crossbow user!

And... we are going to have a contest to give out 10 of these diaries to the community! As for what this contest is, we are still discussing it, so feel free to give your suggestions.

April Fools is coming up and there will be an in-game event programmed by IMC that is going to patched in pretty soon. We've received the documents and are in the midst of translation and localization. And of course, Dark Lord Returns Part 3 is coming up soon. There's going to be role playing for this event - both on the forums and in-game, something that I am really looking for to!

Well, it's late now. Gotta sleep soon. Goodnight folks! :)

P/S It's pretty obvious by the end of this blog entry that I am a terrible photographer. Sorry about that folks. The real diary looks a lot better in real life... >.<

The One About Bad News, Good News and Congratulatory News

Well, I'm finally back to work after being down with one of the worst flu bugs ever, which left me bed-ridden for more than a week.

And well, I hate to be the bringer of bad news but... Bahamas Swamp which was scheduled to be released on 20 March 2008 is now postponed to 17 April 2008 instead.

Nyuuu! Say it isn't so!

IMC has a certain set of requirements before they allow Bahamas Swamp to be opened up. I'm not allowed to reveal the exact statistics but in summary, it is a % combination of Expert Characters and equipment that give a good rating. Their concern is that by opening up Bahamas when the majority of the community is not yet ready will further widen the gap between the hardcore users and the casual gamers.

So guys, getting to veteran level is still not enough! Aim for Expert! And at the same time, do strive for better equipment. We're discussing with IMC about expanding the Weapon, Armor and Craftsman Toolboxes to include more Elite 84 Armor Recipes. Meanwhile, do strive to get your Elite 92 weapons from the old man at Los Toldos. I'll write another blog entry about the Los Toldos recipes, but there is already a very good guide on the GE forums done by KENZAI / FungForever from Vivaldi (Thanks KENZAI! ) here about Los Toldos Elite 92 Recipes and how to get the various spirit stones to craft these weapons.

With Bahamas Swamp being postponed, the original release of pretty boy Gavin Jameson would have to be delayed as well since his questline involves the Bahamas Swamp. We haven't yet decided the release date, most likely 24 April 2008, Thursday.

With all the bad news out of the way, I do have some good news as well! We are currently discussing with IMC about preparations for the release of V2.6! V2.6 will likely see the release of bard-type RNPC Vincente Rio, crossbow-type RNPC Calyce and taekwondo-type RNPC Bai Hu (White Tiger). Their names haven't been decided on yet though - I will need to discuss with the localization manager regarding this. Once again, likely to be released on a monthly basis.

Some pretty interesting features about V2.6 include an in-game bulletin board (Think: in-game forum), new items like belts and earrings and a new chat tab which allows you to add up to 50 people in a chatroom. This would definitely spice up colony war faction alliances! We are hoping to launch V2.6 some time in late May-early June.

More exciting news is that IMC is currently working on V3.0, which is likely to be named "Third Civilization". From what I understand, there will also be a third currency, in addition to vis and gpoints. As for what this currency is for... let's wait and see. Meanwhile, the pet function is undergoing development stage and from what I hear (assuming nothing gets lost in translation), this pet function might even have harvesting abilities!

Alright, enough excitement for one day already. Before I end off, I would like to wish the very first sGE blogger, Ninemoons Family from Cervantes, for her blog's one year anniversary! Kudos to you, dear & faithful Ninemoons! I'm truly touched that your love for Granado Espada has withstood the test of time and overcome all trials. It takes a tremendous amount of perseverance to write as faithfully as you have done. (Not to mention, they were interesting and well-thought-out blog entries!) And it only serves to reflect your strength and character. I truly admire you for that, Lady Ninemoons! Thank you for your continued support through good and bad times and may you never lose that spirit and innate strength that far and few possess. :)

Love, Hrin.

The One About Airforce Three

Someone emailed me the other day asking me why was it that a Level 100 Elite La Ventisca Recipe will produce a Elite Level 92 La Ventisca and not an Elite 100 type armor.

I think there's a slight misconception here. Ok, you see, an Elite La Ventisca Recipe says this:


Thus, one might assume that it is an Elite Level 100, but this is not the case. Now let's look at the finished armor:


From the description, it shows that it is Level 92, yet exclusively for Veteran.

Thus, it has the stats of an Elite 92 armor, but can only be worn at Level 100 (Veteran). Hope this helps clear up the confusion - of whether such similar recipes are Elite 92 or Elite 100.

Since we are on the topic of elite 92s, from what I understand so far, Elite 92 armor recipes drop from normal mobs at Katovic Snowfield. I haven't explored enough to know if there are any other mini bosses that drop them. The old man over in Los Toldos (will be unlocked when you do the Baron Quests) sells only Elite 92 weapon recipes, and not Elite 92 armor recipes. Rafflesia and Chaos Boneless at the Secret Temple Super Fight do drop Elite 92 armor, but since they are raid bosses with a rare drop rate for these armor, thus, the hunt for Elite 92 armor recipes will still need to be at Katovic Snowfields.

"But Katovic Snowfield mobs are painful and I don't have good armor!"

Not to fear! There is always the Airforce Three way to go. Some of you probably already know this, but this little tip is more for the casual gamer who wishes to conquer Katovic region.

What is Airforce Three?

Airforce Three means to have 3 levitating characters like wizards, Emilia The Sage or M'Boma.

With levitating characters, most of the Katovic Mobs will be unable to target and hit you 80-90% of the time.

Hurrah for levitation! Time to start training them wizards! ;)

The One About Adelina's Booty Mechanics

Adelina's Booty will be launched at 6pm today. In the meantime, here's how it works:

How do I play the game?

1.To play, log in at the main page using your IAHGames Passport account.

2.Once you’ve logged in, the search counter will display the amount of searches you have on this account.

3.You can now search. To search manually, click any of the ‘X’ on the map.

4.For a faster search, you can click the 1, 3, and 5 numbers on Adelina’s Compass. These buttons will execute an auto search for one, three, or five items.

5.The compass will spin and an icon will show what item you have found.

6.For a longer description of that item, you can click the “Booty List” button and see everything you have won.

The One About Searching For Adelina's Booty

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

I'm so glad that I finally have a few days off during this holiday to clear up my backlog of work, blog, spend some quality time with loved ones and to finally do some catching up with my dear community crew and player mods. I've always felt a little sad innately that due to the nature of my job, I am constantly fire-fighting and always having to give my attention to those who scream the loudest rather than those who have been quietly supportive and encouraging all this time. Nonetheless, do know that you are in my heart and at the back of my mind constantly. =]

Wow come to think of it, I remember greeting Happy Chinese New Year on the GE website to everyone as well last year. Has it been one year already?! One year since CBT (Closed Beta Testing), that is.

I'm really looking forward to "Searching for Adelina's Booty" flash game that will be coming out next week! The poor creative team had to work through Chinese New Year, weekends and overnights in order to get the system up before Valentines Day. The flash game itself is not at all complex - I'm not exactly sure if you can classify it as a game per se. It's a 'point and click' type of game where you guess where Adelina's treasure might be buried. Sometimes you might get really good stuff, other times you might well.. find a watermelon skin or a patch of dress left by Torsche's servants.

Here's a look at some of the loot that you could possibly find. We'll be reviewing and updating the booty loot every month to keep up with current trends:

Top 20 Booty Loot (February)

Pirate Adelina Esperanza Character Card

Grandice Character Card

Gavin Jameson Character Card

LeBlanc (Fighter)

LeBlanc (Musketeer)

LeBlanc (Scout)

LeBlanc (Wizard)

LeBlanc (Elementalist)

Assassin Dagger

The Black Dragon

Bracelet of the Three Kings

Carbon Gaiters

Carbon Knuckle

Daemon Slayer

Desert Storm

The Grim-Shout

Marionette Ring

The Rod of Armageddon

Elite Staff of Gnosis

Vampiric Edge

Top 5 'Hmm... I think I can live with that' Loot
Forgotten Territory Pass (1 day)
Key [Room of the Dead, Skull Dungeon]
Master Level Valkyrie Crasher
Grim Reaper Spinelle
Enchantment Chip Level 84

Top 5 OMGWTFBBQ?! Booty Loot
Coconut
Watermelon Skin
Pose Guide Volume 2 (No doubt hidden by Monsieur Janzur!)
Level 10 EXP card
Queen's Dagger

It's still a work in progress, but here's a sneak peek of the interface:


The Booty List at the bottom right hand corner will also show what were the last few loot that someone else had obtained. This could possibly help in some form of strategy as to when you want to conduct your own searches for Adelina's Booty.

Meanwhile, there are a few events and contests still running currently:

Ecard Challenge contest ongoing till 15 February 2008.

Love, Me Contest ongoing till 13 February 2008! Last few days! Quickly submit your entries!

Win a date with a [GM] event is ongoing as the various [GM]s go around campaigning to get votes. The Final Showdown Session is held on 13 February 2008, Wednesday

Time:

Vivaldi 1700 SGT - 1800 SGT (GMT +8)

Cervantes 1800 SGT - 1900 SGT (GMT +8)

Carracci 1900 SGT - 2000 SGT (GMT +8)

Caravaggio 2000 SGT - 2100 SGT (GMT +8)

Pachelbel 2100 SGT - 2200 SGT (GMT +8)

Here's a short intro about each of them, if you haven't been keeping up with what's happening:

Evil has a name and it's known as [GM] Selva, or better known as Empress Selva among her dark force followers. If you are into villains or cold jokes, Click here to interact with [GM] Selva on the forums or visit her not-so-secret-diary at http://diaryofselva.wordpress.com/

Vote for [GM] Aimee if you are into the strong, silent, ice-queen type. Click here to interact with [GM] Aimee on the forums.

[GM] Eulaile is a true poet at heart, melancholic and sentimental, always searching and seeking out the finer things in life. Think Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson. Click here to interact with [GM] Eulalie on the forums.

[GM] Eciney is all cotton-candy, sweet and idealistic with romantic notions about life. Your typical anime girl-next-door type. Click here to interact with [GM] Eciney on the forums.

[GM] Lorenza is a little of everything, all rolled into one! If you like a well-balanced mix of qualities, Click here to interact with [GM] Lorenza on the forums.

Well, here's wishing all the [GM]s and their various supporters good luck for the final showdown!

The One About Premium Toolboxes

Edited Post: Release date of toolboxes changed to 4 Feb 2008. Removed repeat of "Recipe - Elite Bracelet of Sylphide" and replaced it with "Hilt of an Ancient Sword". Release of Tierra De Los Muertos has been shifted to 21 Feb 2008.

Originally we had planned to release Tierra De Los Muertos on 31 January 2008 but a large bulk of the community would have difficulty taking on this map since Tierra De Los Muertos' mobs have an AR/DR which ranges from 50~55.

In light of this, IMC proposed to us 3 boxes they were developing. These boxes would drop random elite recipes and ingredients, much like Andre costume type boxes.

Tentatively, these boxes are scheduled to be released on 4 February 2008, while Tierra De Los Muertos is scheduled to be released on 21 February 2008, alongside the Baron RNPCs - Kurt Lyndon & Edward Jameson and Premium item releases - Los Toldos Package, Otite perfume & Wheel of Destiny.

Enjoy a sneak preview of the contents that could potentially drop from these boxes:

1) Weapon Toolbox

Content Qty

Recipe - Elite Arondight	1
Recipe - Elite Finisher	1
Recipe - Elite Calabrone	1
Recipe - Elite Bracelet of Sylphide	1
Recipe - Elite Mystic Knife	1
Recipe - Elite Mantis Rod	1
Recipe - Spear of Jiz	1
Hilt of an Ancient Sword	1
Enchantment Chip Level 40	3
Enchantment Chip Level 84	1
Enchantment Chip Level 88	1
High Quality Wood	8
Piece of Sapphire	3
Piece of Emerald	3
Piece of Ruby	3
Red Jewel Fragment	3
Composite Steel	30
Solvent	5

1 Weapon Toolboxes : 900 GPoints

10 Weapon Toolboxes : 8000 GPoints

2) Armorsmith Toolbox

Content Qty

Recipe - Elite Plate Mail	1
Recipe - Elite Robe of Neptune	1
Recipe - Elite Striform	1
Recipe - Elite Studded-leather Armor	1
Recipe - Elite Robe of the Yeti	1
Recipe - Elite Robe of the Salamander	1
Recipe - Elite Chain Mail	1
Enchantment Chip Level 40	3
Enchantment Chip Level 84	1
Piece of Sapphire	3
Piece of Emerald	3
Piece of Ruby	3
Red Jewel Fragment	3
High Quality Cloth	10
Red Dye	1
Blue Dye	1
Yellow Dye	1
Mustard Dye	1

1 Armorsmith Toolbox: 900 GPoints

10 Armorsmith Toolboxes : 8000 GPoints

3) Craftsman Toolbox

Content Qty

High Quality Wood	10
Composite Steel	30
Soft Leather	10
High Quality Cloth	10
Recipe - High Quality Emerald	1
Recipe - High Quality Sapphire	1
Recipe - High Quality Ruby	1
High Quality Emerald	1
High Quality Sapphire	1
High Quality Ruby	1
Mega Ionium	5
Mega Aidanium	5
Mega Etretanium	5
Piece of Sapphire	3
Piece of Emeral	3
Piece of Ruby	3
Solvent	5
Mana Stone	5

1 Craftsman Toolbox: 700 GPoints

10 Craftsman Toolboxes : 5000 GPoints

*Disclaimer: The above information is accurate at this point in time, though it may be subject to changes.

The One About Rewind Mode

Was clearing out some of my old December 2007 emails and came across an email that one of the GE community, vonUtteresk Family of Cervantes, sent to me. It was regarding the EOY 2007 cosplay. He had caught sight of some Granado Espada cosplayer and sent me some of the photos he had taken. I must say a lot of effort went into the details of the costumes!

And of course, what would life be like without Catherine the Summoner:

Photo Source: http://s172.photobucket.com/albums/w35/vonUtteresk

As I was browsing his online album, I caught sight of an article he posted up on the forums last year in December which I thought was very endearing - Capybaras in the zoo! For the non forumers, enjoy:

So now we know that if we do not take care of the environment - years down the road, Capybaras will back with a vengeance:

And now, for the last rewind moment of the day - last year we produced some Granado Espada Chinese New Year Red Packets (Ang Paos) that was exclusive only to the internal staff of IAHGames:


This year, we decided we will give some of these away for a contest. Details will be out tomorrow!

P/S Tierra De Los Muertos has been postponed to 21 February 2008, Thursday instead. I'll explain why in a few days' time, once other details have been more firmed up.