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Horizons: Virtual Property Auctions Begin
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Artifact Entertainment made the following press release today regarding new property auctions in the game:
| September 30, 2004 MESA, Ariz. - Artifact Entertainment, the developers of Horizons: Empire of Istaria today announced the commencement of in-game property auctions for subscribers. Horizons, a massively multiplayer on-line game (MMOG), allows subscriber characters to bid on over 1770 available plots of in-game land. Once the auction is complete, the plot owner has the opportunity to build, or contract other players to build, personal houses, and workable structures ranging from a blacksmith shop to a jewelry center, to storage silo on that property. Groups of players with similar interests who have banded together as a Guild may also pool their resources to purchase a master Guild plot. When the associated Guild house is complete, over 900 other Guild Plots are then available to guild members for purchase and development. Artifact Entertainment's CEO, David Bowman says, "In Horizons, crafting is an integral part of community building and the player developed economy. The Istarian Auction was necessary after our shard consolidation and provides a well-rounded and equitable solution for many players who previously owned property." Bowman continued, "Right now Horizons has 20 trade and craft schools a player can join. Our crafting system is well known to be intricate, specialized and fun. Increasing the number of available structures a plot owner can develop on their property continues our tradition of this robust crafting system." Istarian property is available in many different sizes. Depending on the size of the plot a player can construct a single building or, on larger plots, develop many buildings that provide different benefits to the player and their community. Player built structures also feature new functionality. "Previously, player built personal residences were simply meeting areas, now these homes can be used as inventory storage for the many items a player accumulates through ordinary game play." stated Mr. Bowman. "If a character chooses to create the structure themselves they earn crafting experience points in that crafting school; this is another reward and incentive for players to experience all that Horizons has to offer. This plot auction is the first of its kind in a massively multiplayer fantasy world; it adds a new level of excitement to the game and allows players to form a strategy to get the plot they want. The process for all 1,770+ plots will take about 10 days to complete. To accommodate this auction we have added technology and functionality to the game that can be used again and again." said Bowman. |
- MMORPG.COM Staff -
- MMORPG.COM Staff -
The dead know only one thing: it is better to be alive.
Comments
1770 plots...
That's perfect, one per subscribed person...
Are they selling them for real money? Might help them out of bankruptcy.
Gee aren't they BANKRUPT right now?
Morally AND financially. They repeatdly lie to everyone about everything. They cheat and steal. When their ISP, Verioo, whom hasen't been paid in 6 months demanded payment....AE asked for 1 week to get it's affairs in order. They DECLARED BANKRUPTCY during that week and CLAIMED VERIO AS A UTILITY.
Thus FORCEING VERIO TO CONTUINE SERVICE to them, despite the fact that they have never, and will never, pay them a dime.
Didn't they only have to do the auction because they had to close servers down due to NOBODY PLAYING?
Aren't they now BEING BOUGHT OUT BY THEMSEVES, via a sham-company arrangement, thus escapeing 95% of their debt and leaveing their investors high and dry? Not to mention their LANDLORD, who ALSO hasen't been paid in 6 MONTHS.
www.wattzbeatz.com/eq2
"They say im different... Well im not the same."
www.wattzbeatz.com/eq2
"They say im different... Well im not the same."
AE said they had 906 players at primetime on NA servers a few days ago. But they are having major problems right now with many people leaving. Between the lag, mob spawning (20 minutes if not longer), missing items, tokens for plots not showing right or plot not the one it is suppose to be. It was just stated they are working on the problems and the spawn problem should be fixed by Friday. I was shocked it would take them till Friday to fix it.
If you look at court papers and see AE's IT guys idea of the low end server this game could run on then you can understand why they are having major problems. This is a real joke.
There is an art of which every man should be a master the art of reflection. If you are not a thinking man, to what purpose are you a man at all?
William Hart Coleridge
Take no thought of who is right or wrong or who is better than. Be not for or against.
Bruce Lee
Don't forget the European Servers ... there are 3 of them.
and Horizons has received an offer from another company and now they are deciding wether to take it or not.
I really appreciate the fact that AE still does a lot of work for being bankrupt almost.
I really wished people not playing this game would stop makeing vague assumptions and generating rumors of things that are definetly not true.
monster spawns of 20 minutes +++ if this would happen than it might only happen for some very rare named mob and not for the usual monsters... or I miss problems on the NA shards. on the euro shards there is nothing like that.
suscriber base +++ there is NO offical number of people playing. but after the shard merger you will most likely have ~3000-5000 on each NA server. Still noone knows how many players on the Euroshards. (3 of them)
There are obvious problems at the moment, but HZ is undergoing a big change (merge, plot auction) which is turning our world upside down. I don't mind having a drawback of 1 month or longer if this secures a better base for a game experience that will last much longer.
Because I assure you that the release of EQ2 or WoW is NOT the death of this game. There is a certain potential for a certain type of player that will stick to HZ.
I am not a totally loyal HZ fanboi but i do not like people talking about a game, who know nothing about it.
Wow I see that even on this forum there are always the same griefers that spew venom on a game they don't even play since months.
Keep the good work. I hope you are getting paid for the huge effort of flaming about it on all the possible forums over Internet (well all those signatures tell something...), because never I found so much effort invested in a concerted project.
Anyway thank you! 2 new guildies joined the game reading about it from your posts. You are doing massive publicity to it
, way much more than the AE dudes are doing by themselves.
Cheers from those that care of their imperfect but beloved game
I played the Beta, bought the game and played for 3 months. I recently went back for a free 10 days. This game had great potential but due to lack of support and communication ( Europe Servers ) this game failed to live up to my expectations. If you are thinking of playing then get the free trial first.
My main faults with the game are :_
Only houses with RCI status are worth having, its not possible to upgrade a R plot.
No dragon lairs
Distribution of resources very poor.
Storage in bank not sufficient for a crafter to keep stocks, try keeping all dye colours, all metal and drops for enhancing, its frustrating.
lag during fighting/healing..... its improved since the early months but still noticable.
I think the game will keep a new player busy and happy for 3 months but there are better games out there and new ones on the way.
Welcome to the rest of the Internet dude, where the consensus seems to be Horizons isn't a good game, to put it politely.
horizons is theb iggest load of crap ive seen,, its even bigger than Shadowbane.. which is saying a lot.
and David bowman is a rat
Hey, don't forget about me, I'm part of the rest of the internet too! For what it's worth I have played and enjoyed playing this game since January. While I only speak for one guild, since the merger we've taken on 30 new players into our guild, and not one of them has left. The general concensus amongst those I play alongside daily is that we're all having a blast. Only time we hear bad stuff about the game is when we're on forums and hear from people who don't play
Well I dunno about the rest of you, but I want to get back to the game
{alt-tabs back to Horizons}
Of course the release of WOW and EQ2 is not the death of this game. The devs and DB is the death of this game. If you can't see that you have a problem. ROFL, 3000 to 5000 on NA servers you are a joke and have no clue what you are saying other than lies. Hmmm, maybe you are DB? Too many of us have gone in and checked the numbers on the NA servers to know the 609 number was pretty right on and now is a lot less. Let us not forget that 609 is also a lot of free trials. As far as the rest I said about lag and mobs it is all true and no not just a few mobs it is all and if you read VN or Tazoon the dev even admits to mob problem and says it will be fixed by Friday just like I said. The shock is fixed by Friday, a good dev could fix it faster.
Get it thru your head no one is going to pay for this game, now or a month from now. Even if the Judge allows Tulga to buy during the chapter 7. Don't forget others may be bidding on that HZ source code, Tulga is not an automatic winner.
There is an art of which every man should be a master the art of reflection. If you are not a thinking man, to what purpose are you a man at all?
William Hart Coleridge
Take no thought of who is right or wrong or who is better than. Be not for or against.
Bruce Lee
The few thousand who still subscribe you mean? Out of what, the at least 100K who bought or tried the game? Sure, but the fact is gamers have spoken, and the effect was server mergers and AE not even paying their rent.
If you read the story of what this Bowman character did to the guy who originally came up with the Horizon's game, then you would turn against it.
No matter whether the game is good or not, anything this guy Bowman gets involved in deserves to die a miserable death.
If he would backstab his friend and the CEO of his company, he will surely backstab anybody else, including the players of the game.
Good point Sparky and who will trust a company that never pays off the debts it created. I see no way for AE to pay off Verio and they knew this 2 months ago which is why Tulga was setup and they went Chapter 11. How about the 68k they owe IGN? 5K or more now they owe Warcry? I fail to see how anyone can support a company that has is screwing so many others over. I also love how some of the fanbois have blamed Verio this. What a joke.
Don't forget Bowman was fired for good reasons from Turbine. That has to count for something.
There is an art of which every man should be a master the art of reflection. If you are not a thinking man, to what purpose are you a man at all?
William Hart Coleridge
Take no thought of who is right or wrong or who is better than. Be not for or against.
Bruce Lee
I am not going to address the issues with the Bankruptcy or the company per se because I do NOT support alot of what AE has done. I also will not address or repeat all the negativity. You get plenty of that from the other negative posters as is. What I AM going to address is the GAME ITSELF. Because for many people here and on the Internet that IS the MAIN issue.
People overall have a love-hate relationship with Horizons: and it is usually one end of the spectrum or the other. I have followed this game since 2000, was in BETA 1 of Horizons to the present time and overall, despite all the problems (and don't get me wrong here...there are MANY PROBLEMS....the fact is I STILL enjoy playing this one game more than any other MMORPG out atm. I have ACTIVE subs in DAOC, EQ, FFXI, and Horizons and yet...I keep coming back to Horizons
Because it offers something for ME personally that these other games do NOT. I am a crafter and an older gamer (RL age 45) and my husband and I play together along with the guild I founded for this game in 2000 named Ascension.
I DO visit EQ and DAOC from time to time but I rarely if ever play: I just keep coming back to Horizons. My husband and I both are builders and crafters in Horizons although primarily builders and we are VERY EXCITED about the land auctions for one reason: we will get to do ALOT of what we LOVE BEST which is building buildings
Together. Lots of different kinds of buildings: buildings for crafting and storage and homes of our own and a guild hall. I wish the other MMORPG's out there would put in this kind of a crafting and building system along with what they do best. If a game came out with Horizons' crafting system, Horizons building system (land that one can purchase and then build upon while developing actual building trade skills as opposed to pop-up insta-housing like DAOC and others have) and then the adventure and questing capabilities of say EQ mixed with the quests of FFXI or WOW...THAT game would mop the floor with all the others!!!!
But since no such MMORPG has yet come into existence, for those of us who enjoy crafting and building ala UO (the crafting is complex and reminiscent of UO yet greatly expanded and many EX-UO crafter players migrate enthusiastically to Horizons) Horizons IS the BEST option out here. Most MMORPG's focus on adventuring and that's GREAT for those who enjoy that aspect. But Horizons has tapped into a Niche market that many game companies did not even realize was there: the OLDER gamer, the crafting dedicated gamer. And they cater to this group.
Not that Horizons does not have adventuring content!!! In fact, again it is one of the only MMORPG's I have ever seen that allows people to multi-class in 5 different adventure schools hence building their character's strengths and functionality in many different ways as opposed to the adventure system that limits the play to ONE main adventure class or only allows specialization in one line of adventure per character. Imagine being able to be a spiritist (akin to the DAOC necromancer)--->move to cleric (adding a full line of healing, buffing and resurrection to that---> moving to druid to pick up nature based spells for attack as well as the drain life line---then specializing as "shaman" a mix of all of these with many skills from each area available to the ONE character as opposed to having to make 6 different alts!!! Horizons allows this....no other game that am aware of does.
It is this amazing diversity of things you can do and things you can BE that makes Horizons special. It is this same diversity (imagine never running out of choices of what to do in a game!!!) that honestly keeps me coming back. I see many many older gamers in Horizons as well which makes me happy as myself and my husband are both older. We feel much moreso like we "fit in" in Istaria as opposed to some of the other worlds we have been in. In teh MMORPG market, a game where the older player feels "at home" is also a rare commodity. Horizons has picked up this niche market of the 30 somethings and drawn them in admirably!!! One of the members of my guild was 65!!!!
In short, I would highly recommend that anyone who wants to find out for themselves, do the 7 day Trial account....especially NOW during the land auctions. You who LOVE to craft and love to just BE socializing with friends and crafting...Horizons might be what you have been looking for??? You who are older and have enjoyed some aspects of the MMORPG world but not yet found a place to game where you felt comfortable..again Horizons may just be what you are looking for??? All you can do is come try it out!!! Ignore the hype..and MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION.
Cosi Lumiere, Guild Mistress
Ascension: Guardians of Light
Founded 10/20/2000
Bringers of Divine Light Into Darkness
Website: http://www.hzascension.com
Contact EMail: cosigm@hzascension.com
"Hope Abides In The Light!!!"
Xander
Xander
Xander
Xander
After the last patch they released, everything got broken. None of the quests were working right. You couldn't craft, buy plots and build on them and the mobs spawn were broken. Even if you could fight a mob, no XP was being given. LMAO!!
Like I always say, "Lousy developers, lousy game!"
It's the end of Horizons as we know it, and I feel fine.
Xander
Xander
There is an art of which every man should be a master the art of reflection. If you are not a thinking man, to what purpose are you a man at all?
William Hart Coleridge
Take no thought of who is right or wrong or who is better than. Be not for or against.
Bruce Lee
This game is a total piece of crap. I played it from beta to about 2 months ago...
It is dull, and not worth the TOTAL headache. Ask those that defend this game how many times, and for how long it has been down in the last 7 days (I think 3 days)
I would not go back to this game unless they gave me a REAL plot of land, like deeded, and somewhere in Northern VA, 3 acers. What good is a plot of land when there is no one to see it.
If you are looking for something to do, Go Start -> Games -> Solotare that is more fun!
West (Ioo)
Dozer:
I merely told the truth with regard to the game all other things aside. In the possible eventuality that Horizons were to be sold to a legitimate company, my point is that it could live on to be a great game
The fault lies NOT with the game itself but with the company and the CEO currently. Other games have turned around with time to become better under different management and I personally honestly feel Horizons THE GAME has this potential. What I stated are my honest feelings nothing more.
Cosi Lumiere, Guild Mistress
Ascension: Guardians of Light
Founded 10/20/2000
Bringers of Divine Light Into Darkness
Website: http://www.hzascension.com
Contact EMail: cosigm@hzascension.com
"Hope Abides In The Light!!!"
Xander
Xander
Xander
Xander
Xander
Xander