MMOtivational Screenshot #1: Recession

Today I'm launching a semi-regular posting for The MMOsh Pit called MMOtivational Screenshot. I know, I know ... this type of thing has been done before, but it's something I want to do and something that will keep me busy during lean days.

For those who have heard or read about or even viewed the website that contains the so-called RPG Motivational Posters, I hope these MMOtivational Screenshots won't disappoint you.

Let's get cracking!



Screenshot taken from the massively multiplayer online role-playing game Granado Espada, published in Southeast Asia by IAHGames.

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Atlantica Online Empress: Pincushions Beware!

I'm sure by now you've heard about the upcoming introduction of a new B-class mercenary to the virtual world of Atlantica Online. This new mercenary is called the Empress, and she packs quite a punch, thanks to her weapon of choice, the bow. Oh, did I forget to mention that she's a B-class mercenary?

The Empress is already out in the South Korean servers of Atlantica Online, but I have yet to see her being used to full potential. Oh, sure she makes pincushions out of soft-skinned mercenaries, but skills seem to be a rarity. It's either Empress skill books are expensive or very hard to come by.



Atlantica Online's Empress has two skills, both upgrades of existing mercenary skills:

Empress' Blessing. According to the Atlantica Database, this skill is a clone of Holy Guard in the sense that it blocks the casting of spells on specific mercenaries as long as it is in effect. There are differences, of course, the first—and most important—of which is the fact that Empress' Blessing does not block the effects of scrolls. This is great news for those who depend heavily on scrolls to decrease or remove stun counters.

Empress' Curse. If there's a blessing, there's also a curse. The curse is apparently an enhanced version of Silence, the archer's basic skill. Damage is, for obvious reasons, better than the lowly archer skill, and so is the defense debuff. Empress' Curse doesn't give the targets an attack modifier, though. It is also unclear whether this skill, being a skill of a B-class mercenary, can affect characters, non-player characters and monsters that have immunity to silence.

What makes the Empress more interesting is her damage potential, especially when inserted into a sniping formation. Players of Atlantica Online who frequent Free League and Competition League, and their big brothers, the Weekly Championship and the Titan League, will do well to respect the damage that the new mercenary deals.

To give you a better idea of the damage output of this new Atlantica Online bow mercenary, take a look at how it performs in this video of the Korean Atlantica Online Titan League:

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Restaurant City: No Need For Janitors

I've discovered something new on the addictive Facebook app known as Restaurant City. Well, it's new to me, as I'm sure it's new to a hundred or so other new fans and users of PlayFish's baby. What I'm talking about is the ability of players to clean any part of their restaurants with a click of a mouse button.

Like I said, old news for most Restaurant City fanatics, considering the feature was built into the application way back. What's new, however, is the fact that you can now do away with a janitor—that is, if you're actively playing by managing your virtual restaurant. Say goodbye to wasting manpower to unclog toilets!

Isn't that the reason why PlayFish included the janitor job in Restaurant City's staff assignments? That may be true, and it is still practical to assign one member of the restaurant staff as a janitor, but only if you're planning to spend several hours away from the keyboard.

Man, to think I wasted my entire play time yesterday switching staff assignments to accommodate the maintenance of clogged toilets! Good thing I discovered the Restaurant City feature that greatly helped me regain popularity and much-needed gourmet points.

Don't know what the hell I'm talking about? Here are a couple of Restaurant City screenshots to help you visualize:



Clogged Toilet. In this screenie, you can see that one of the restaurant's toilets is clogged. To clean up the mess, simply hover the cursor over the errant toilet and then click on it.



With Just One Click. Upon clicking on the wayward crapper, a timer will appear and countdown the time until the loo is clean.



Clean More Toilets. If the other toilet gets clogged while you're in the process of cleaning one, don't fret, just repeat the process.

Yup, it's as simple as that, and naturally you can also do this to the trash that your Restaurant City patrons dump in your joint from time to time.

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Hooked Once Again To Casual Social Games

Yes, I admit it—I am once again hooked to casual social games, particularly those found on the phenomenal social networking website known as Facebook. Not to Zynga's smash hit Farmville, though, but PlayFish's Restaurant City. This is despite the fact that my better half—formerly known in some circles as the Perfect World yuling (elf priestess) Cesky, the Ragnarok Online blacksmith TikaWaylan, and the Atlantica Online staff main Elphame—is playing Farmville like there is no tomorrow.

Why Restaurant City? Well, the first reason, I guess, is because this particular game is my first Facebook application, upon the goading of friend Khang, a girl gamer (although I can't exactly classify her as the girly type) who haunts the Philippine servers of Perfect World.

Now, I'm on my own, and I've found a challenge to hurdle. I need to get my virtual restaurant's popularity up. Ashamed as I am to admit it, the sudden resurgence of my interest in Restaurant City has caused my restaurant's popularity to dip from 30.5 points out of a maximum 50 to a pitiful 16.3 points.



I've mapped out a plan to get not only my restaurant's popularity up, but also my gourmet points (the basis for leveling up in Restaurant City). Let's go check it out:

Renovate My Restaurant City Resto. Hey, I've got about 30,000 coins with nothing better to spend on. I've come to realize how important a good layout is to achieving success not only in real world restaurants but virtual ones as well. My current setup sucks and contributes a lot to the decline of popularity. From what I've gleaned from the virtual restos of my friends and neighbors, a good layout means corralling incoming customers long enough for your staff—primarily cooks and waiters—to cope with the orders. You can do this by using dividers or walls or whatever item that can block movement and forming something like a maze from door to tables.

Fix My Restaurant City Staff Assignments. At my current level, I have five staff members. I assign three of them as cooks and two as waiters. The problem with this setup is the two waiters have nothing to do in the first minute or so after the first customer comes in. When all the tables are filled, however, I'd need to step up both cooking and waiting on tables. What complicates matters is the fact that toilets often get clogged, so I change the designation of one of my staff members from cook or waiter to janitor. I haven't figured out how to fix the staff assignments, but I'm sure the answer will come to me soon.

Try My Best To Stay Active In Restaurant City. Tall order, especially since I have to work. Playing on a workday is a big no-no. Believe me, I've tried it, and it sucks because it saps your remaining time for rest. My best bet is to play on weekends, and even this is difficult. But if I am to become a virtual restaurant mogul, I better step up my game.

Well, that's it for now. If you have suggestions on how to get my Restaurant City mojo going, do leave a comment.

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Perfect World's Heroes Of Three Kingdoms

News of the impending closed beta testing for Perfect World's Heroes of Three Kingdoms is finally out, and so is the list of the online games developer and publisher's partners in bringing China-made massively multiplayer online role-playing game to the Western world.

For those who are clueless as to what Heroes of Three Kingdoms is—that is, aside from its being an MMORPG, its original title might ring a bell in your noggins. In China, and presumably the rest of Asia, the game is known as Chibi. I've talked about this online game extensively in my past life (read: previous blog).



Enough of my prattle. Let's get down to business by checking out the announcement story on the upcoming CBT of Heroes of Three Kingdoms from Perfect World Entertainment:

Heroes of Three Kingdoms Closed Beta Key Partners

We've (sic) very excited to announce that Heroes of Three Kingdoms, also known as Chibi in China, will be making its way to North America. Based on one of history's greatest battles, Heroes of Three Kingdoms will allow players to experience the fight first hand and shape their legacy through pivotal moments in Chinese history.

In the word's (sic) of Lao Tzu, "A journey of a thousand miles starts from the first step," and your first step to greatness begins with securing a coveted spot in the upcoming closed beta. To make it easier, we've partnered with the top MMO sites to help distribute these closed beta keys.

Here's a list of the top MMO sites that are giving away the closed beta keys to Heroes of Three Kingdoms: ausgamers, CGE Network, Free MMO Gamer, Game Items, Game Ogre, Gamers Daily News, Massively, MMOABC, MMOhut, MMOsite, MPOGD, N4G: News For Gamers, The Gamers Hub, Warcry Network.

So what do you do when you get a closed beta key for Chibi, err, Heroes of Three Kingdoms?

First, you need to visit the Perfect World website and then login using your Perfect World Entertainment username and password. Once that is done, go click on the "My Account" link and then "Redeem Beta Keys." From there you can enter your closed beta key.

Easy as pie.

Now my only hope—and wish—is for Perfect World not to block the IP of international players so we can all enjoy the game.

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