Magic in Wizard101
There are six main schools of magic and a meta-school that modifies the use of the other six. The three external schools are Fire, Ice, and Storms, and they relate to the ancient Titans that ruled the world in the Days Before (dragons, giants, and tritons). There are three internal schools, Myth, Life, and Death, which encompass the internal powers of the mind, body, and spirit. The school of Balance blends all of these. Each of the six major schools exhibits a feel and philosophy, in rhythm with its own nature. In addition, each of the three inner schools dwells in the midst of two outer schools, drawing some small part of themselves from those framing forces.
Inner Schools
The spells of the inner or internal schools focus their energies on channeling your own power, drawing on your life force to create what you need. Each school has its own particular method of doing such, but each one is fed by an internal force.
School of Death (Body)
“Timor mortis conturbat me.” (The Fear of Death Confounds Me)
Death is finality, absolutism, the study of the corporeal. All things pass eventually, and time cannot be held back indefinitely. Practitioners of the Death Art, known as Necromancers, understand this limitation and strive to face it unafraid, making the most of the time they have. Beware, though; some among its adherents grow morbid or try to cheat death through undeath. Necromancers use Whispers to hone their will, drawing on the power of courage to channel their own fears out of themselves and at their adversaries. Death sits between Ice and Storms, for the cold energy of undeath draws on those two forces.

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Rumble Fighter, OGPlanet’s massively multiplayer online fighting game, offers plenty of ways for players to customize their characters, but now players also have the chance to customize their own wardrobes in Rumble Fighter-style.

Beginning today, Rumble Fighter players have the opportunity to design their very own T-shirts inspired by OGPlanet’s massively multiplayer online fighting game. The Rumble Fighter-inspired designs can include up to eight colors, and should be designed to look great on the front of a black T-shirt.
Rumble Fighter players have until Sept. 10 to submit T-shirt designs on the Rumble Fighter MySpace page (www.myspace.com/rumblefighter). The following week, voting will be held on the OGPlanet forums to determine the best designs, and on Sept. 15 the top T-shirt design will be announced.

The players who submitted the top 10 T-shirt designs will each receive a real T-shirt emblazoned with the winning design.

Further details regarding the Rumble Fighter T-shirt design contest can be found at http://rf.ogplanet.com.

The First Release of the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game, “Champions of the Force” Now Available

LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment announced today the launch of the Star Wars Galaxies™ Trading Card Game and its first release: Champions of the Force.

Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game: Champions of the Force marks the first ever Star Wars® trading card game offered exclusively online. Available to both current and former Star Wars Galaxies subscribers*, the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game provides players an entirely new gameplay experience by combining the challenge of a trading card game with the adventures and community of the massively multiplayer game. For the first time online, players can:

· Choose between the light and dark sides of the Force and build their own Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game decks to fight virtual matches for the Rebel, Imperial, Jedi or Sith;
· Enhance their digital card decks with 15-card Booster Packs;
· Find more than 20 “loot” cards in the first release, Champions of the Force, that can be redeemed for fantastic virtual items for use within the Star Wars Galaxies massively multiplayer game for players with a Star Wars Galaxies account*;
· Challenge their skills in story-based solo-play or against other Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game players in epic one-on-one matches, cooperative Heroic Encounters, and official tournaments. (more…)

Starr Long, the Producer of Tabula Rasa® at NCsoft® North America, talks about the newest changes to the game with Deployment 11 and the impact of Operation Immortality™.

We’ve seen a lot of attention focused on Tabula Rasa® within the last few months, culminating with the release of Deployment 11 last week and the launch of Operation Immortality™ in July. The influx of new players from our promotions has been great, and with the monthly updates we’re continually keeping our veteran players happy with new and interesting content. While we push forward with continuing to develop and promote Tabula Rasa, it’s important to examine how we’re accomplishing this and there’s no better example than Deployment 11.

starr_long.JPGWith all these new players coming into the game, we knew we had to look at our new user experience and make sure it was the best we could possibly have. We engaged in video-taped usability sessions and other metrics to determine what new players were doing and what we could do better. Then we re-examined the course of the game, as well as the storyline, to see how we could integrate new players better into our universe. When a new player finishes watching the intro trailer to Tabula Rasa, their first moments afterwards should be a continuation of that story. The new player experience needed to convey that Tabula Rasa is a science fiction game, and you’re put into the meat of the drama almost immediately. We also wanted to manage the tutorial system better, as well as the context and delivery of the gameplay tips. Our incoming players and even the veterans who have gone through the new player experience agree: it’s awesome.

Speaking of the veterans, we can’t just concentrate on the new players. Our community and support teams do a terrific job supporting a constant slew of activities for everyone to participate in, many of which the community creates themselves. There are plenty of fun events and feature exclusive content on the public test server (PTS), like the Friday Night Fights boxing matches—including a bout you might have heard about, featuring General British trading blows with Jesus Chavez. We have a player vs. player (PvP) wargame map and even something else that’s very current to the times, a Tabula Rasa-themed Olympics created by the PlanetTR fansite staff. (more…)

Highly anticipated prequel will release worldwide on September 5

GSC Game World, computer games developer, its publishing subdivision GSC World Publishing and Deep Silver, the games label of Koch Media, a leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products, today announce that S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky has gone gold. The international release date of the game has been set to September 5th of 2008.

More information about the game is available on the official S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky channel on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/stalkerofficial

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is a survival FPS game for PC based on a ‘what-if’ scenario of the second Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident. The game is created as a warning to mankind against mindless play with technologies. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is the official prequel to the renowned S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game by the Ukraine-based GSC Game World studio. The game is set in 2011and brings forth the events to have preceded the third campaign of Strelok to the Zone center. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky introduces an alternative look onto the events of the original game and offers the player to try himself out as a mercenary s.t.a.l.k.e.r. in search of his own path in the world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Official game site: www.stalker-game.com

Scott Johnson, Olympic gold medalist, three time National Champion, and 2006 Olympic Hall of Fame inductee, has been invited to send his DNA into space as part of NCsoft’s Operation Immortality

Operation Immortality™, a project intended to collect and archive the very best of what humanity has accomplished, is creating a digital time capsule of the human race, including messages from people around the world and DNA samples from some of our brightest minds and most accomplished athletes. Scott Johnson, Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics, three-time National Champion and 2006 USA Olympic Hall of Fame inductee, now stands among those who have been asked to participate in Operation Immortality’s mission to preserve the most talented and influential people of our time, and has submitted his DNA to be added to the capsule.

Johnson, represented by 4U Management in Orlando, Florida, is most commonly known for leading the U.S. Men’s Olympic gymnastics team to victory in 1984 in Los Angeles, when he emerged out of nowhere to win the title and help the U.S. win its first gymnastics team medal since the early 1930’s. He then went on to captain the U.S. Men’s Olympic Team in the 1988 games, before retiring later that year.

Now, twenty years later, Scott is once again being recognized by being invited to add his DNA to the “Immortality Drive” and have it placed upon the International Space Station (ISS) when video gaming luminary Richard Garriott makes the exhilarating journey to the ISS on Oct. 12, 2008.
“Participating in Operation Immortality is an incredible privilege,” says Johnson. “Knowing that my DNA will be immortalized for all time and that I have been chosen as one of mankind’s most “accomplished athletes” is truly an honor.”

The “Immortality Drive,” is currently in the process of being loaded with information from people all over the world at the OperationImmortality.com website. Players in Garriott’s latest game, Tabula Rasa®, will also have their character information downloaded onto the drive.

“This is your chance to leave your mark,” says Garriott. “I’m thrilled to have Scott Johnson on board with me.”

Mankind is encouraged to submit their suggestions for humanity’s greatest achievements, and leave their immortalized message for future generations. A select few may also have their DNA chosen to join Garriott, Johnson and other icons on an out-of-this-world experience, and possibly become the future of mankind.

Highest bidder to have digitized DNA stored on International Space Station; Proceeds to benefit Planet Make-Over

NCsoft® announced today that it will auction an opportunity for one person to send their digitized DNA into space on a special Operation Immortality sale on the popular Internet auction site, eBay. The news comes just days after the company announced that an Immortality Drive, a time capsule with the digitized DNA of select video gamers and space aficionados, and a collection of humankind’s greatest achievements, will be carried to the International Space Station (ISS) by famed game designer Richard Garriott on October 12.

The auction can be accessed at the Operation Immortality auction site located at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250282465825. There are two items up for bidding in the auction. The first is a DNA swab kit, which allows users to swab the inside of their cheek and send the sample to a certified testing lab, which will provide a digitized version of the purchaser’s DNA to be placed on the special Immortality Drive. Garriott will leave the drive on the ISS prior to his return to Earth.

Players can be immortalized in Garriott’s latest game, Tabula Rasa® with the second item in the auction package, a character in Tabula Rasa to be named after the winner. Anyone who isn’t already playing the game can access a free trial at http://www.rgtr.com/trial.

The auction is currently open and will close on August 20.
The proceeds from the auction will benefit Planet Make-Over’s non-profit Arts Endowment via the Nobelity Project. Planet Make-Over is company based in Austin, Texas with a mission to reverse the effects of global warming. The funds will provide financial support and guidance to performing artists who evangelize Planet Make-Over’s efforts to reverse global warming. On August 12, NCsoft announced that recording artists Eric Johnson, Patrice Pike, and musical director Stephen Bruton in association with Planet Make-Over will be participating in NCsoft’s Operation Immortality and sending their DNA into space via the Immortality Drive.

For information about Operation Immortality, including full terms and conditions, go to http://www.OperationImmortality.com. For information on Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa go to http://www.rgtr.com.

Tracy Hickman, famed author of the best-selling fantasy fiction series Dragonlance plans to send his DNA into space as part of NCsoft’s Operation Immortality.

Operation Importality

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Operation Immortality, the project to create a digital time capsule of the human race, has joined forces with famed author and game designer Tracy Hickman.  Hickman is best known for his work on the Dragonlance novels and the innovative Ravenloft module of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game system. As part of Operation Immortality’s mission to preserve the most talented and influential people of our time, Tracy Hickman will be sending his digitized DNA into space with video gaming luminary Richard Garriott as he travels to the International Space Station (ISS) on Oct. 12, 2008.

Hickman will not only be adding his digitized DNA to the “Immortality Drive,” excerpts of his writings will also be included on the storage device Garriott will store on the ISS as part of Operation Immortality.  The Immortality Drive is currently in the process of being loaded with information from people all over the world at the OperationImmortality.com website. Hickman will be talking about the project as he addresses crowds at the Gen Con gaming convention today in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Visitors to the website can submit their suggestions for humanity’s greatest achievements, leave their immortalized message for future generations, and may even have their DNA selected to join Garriott and other luminaries on an out of this world trip to possibly become the future of mankind.

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Coming soon to PC ,PS3, X360

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New update, Gracia – Part 1, completely changes the way Lineage II is played

NCsoft®, the world’s leading publisher and developer of online computer games, today announced major changes in its massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, Lineage®II. In an update from The Chaotic Throne™ series called Gracia™ – Part 1, players will find advancing in the game to be dramatically faster. This, plus a host of other changes to enhance the player experience, makes this update much more accessible to newer players than before.

The increase in leveling speed is due in part to a new Vitality system, which rewards the player with an experience bonus for time either spent away from the game or in safe zones. New characters will start out with maximum Vitality, so they can begin improving their character’s advancement within minutes.  An increase in rewards for accomplishing quests, battling boss creatures, as well as greater accessibility of items also enable players to increase their character’s level more quickly.

“Gracia represents a huge change to Lineage II,” said Tim Tan, NCsoft’s North American producer. “The increase in leveling speed allows players to create new characters and advance nearly twice as fast as before. This will allow players to experience the meat of Lineage II quickly, giving them the ability to visit new and exciting areas and cool high-level content much quicker than before. While this game is still a hardcore game, these changes with Gracia – Part 1 make the game much more accessible to new players. I hope gamers will take another look at what Lineage II has to offer.”
Continuing the storyline and changes brought with the earlier expansions, this first of three updates involving the land of Gracia, introduces a new terror with the strange dream-like inter-dimensional world of Kamaloka. Adventurers of varying levels can easily travel to Kamaloka and face a series of incredibly potent creatures that are tailored to the experience of the players. The expansion also offers a selection of new and improved skills, many new items, and improvements to the Cruma Tower, as well as other hunting zones.

Lineage II is known as the gaming market’s premier player-versus-player (PvP) online role-playing game, with a customer reach of more than 19 million players worldwide.

The Lineage II 4th Anniversary Edition pack is now available at retail. For more information about the retail box contents and where to purchase go to: www.lineage2.com/4thanniv.html. To find out more about the game, please visit the Lineage II web site at: www.lineage2.com.