EVE Online recently reached a new PCU record while WoW in-game protesters are being snubbed by developer Blizzard Entertainment. Not to be outdone, developer NetDragon jumped into the smorgasbord of MMO action by releasing a new content patch for their Asian-themed title, Conquer Online.

The latest modification, Patch 4330, contains a lot of changes but the most remarkable are server splits. These splits, otherwise known as sharding, has always been criticized by players. This is rather important because sharding prevents socialization among players across servers.

To those who are not familiar, Conquer Online players are involved in a relationship with other players. Changing servers would definitely severe the ties among players, should they be put in different ones. On a developer's point of view, splitting servers is necessary for easier management.

At any rate, the new splits are indicated below and a download link for the new patch is provided as well.

• Server WildSwan split from server Neptune will be added to the FairyTales Group.
  
• Server BeautyandBeast split from server Pyramid will be added to the FairyTales Group. It will be available after the server split on Dec. 7, 2006.

Download: [Conquer Online Patch 4330]

If Conquer Online is your thing and you are happily slaying monsters and building friendships on server "Glory," listen up. Developer NetDragon Websoft announced today that they are splitting the said server this coming November 22 at 10:00 PM, PST. Actually this is the second time they would be doing this as "Freedom" server is also scheduled for the same on November 20.

After the split, new server "SnowWhite" will then go live and added in where else, but the FairyTale group. Those players willing to move to SnowWhite are encouraged to do so prior to the scheduled time of the split. No action is required of players who do not wish to move.

A reminder though, your character's relationship will remain the same, given that the people who you are related with change servers as well. You won't be able to see your spouse anymore should he/she decides to stay. Awww, that's sad. Anyway, this is the chance for those who have always wanted to start anew. Join a new guild, or better yet, start a new one.

The main city and first station in the MMO Conquer Online will, as of tomorrow, become a "no violence" zone - or, as the folks at NetDragon Websoft call it, a "Peaceful City."

Twin City is "home base" for CO players. This is usually where they come to make friends, hold events, begin quests, etc. It is also newbies first arrive in the CO world. Apparently, many players who have suffered in the game clamored for some kind of "neutral ground" where they wouldn't have to worry about being "Player Killed," or PKed. Thus, the programmers have decided to make Twin City a non-PK map.

At first, this would seem to be an odd choice for any MMO game, the overwhelming majority of which are based on violence, death and mayhem. After all, most world cultures' classic myth structure, the Heroic Journey or Quest is a universal tale of violence and conflict - and the basis of not only MMO games, but virtually every good story, novel, play and film.

On the other hand (without going into the effects this "classic myth" has had on humanity in 10,000 blood-soaked years of written history), it's nice to have some kind of "safe zone" in which to rest and regroup...all that murder and mayhem has got to be wearying at best.

Conquer Online is  an Asian martial-arts MMORPG. With more limited graphics, it's a faster moving game for players with older machines.

Netdragon Websoft, publishers of the Asian martial-arts themed MMORPG Conquer Online, has announced stiffer penalties for players caught cheating - especially those using "bots."

As of this week, violators will be fined  a certain amount of DragonBalls instead of CO silvers in order to get out of jail. A first offense will cost the player one Dragonball. The fine doubles for each of the next two offenses. Offenders caught "botting" four or more times will be kept in jail until submitting an e-mail petition to Sherry at ND.com.

For those unfamiliar with the term, the use of bots, or "botting," is better known as AFK, or Away From Keyboard gaming. It consists of a using a software program to do repetitive tasks, such as "farming" (killing massive numbers of enemies) and crafting items while the player is not actually present. This gives the player who uses "bot" programs an unfair advantage over honest players, and is against the rules in virtually all MMORPGs.

It should be pointed out, however, that the activities for which "bots" are used - especially crafting - can be tedious, consisting of navigating through pop-up windows and clicking the same buttons repeatedly. Instead of punishing such behavior - which is easy - MMORPG developers  might do well to address the root problems that causes the behavior. Anyone want to pick up that ball and run with it?

Netdragon Websoft, publisher of Conquer Online, has made the latest patch available for their Asian-themed MMORPG of the same name.

In the mythical ancient world of CO, an evil guild has come to dominate the once peaceful world of Kung-Fu Circle. Living under its terror, a group of courageous men and women has gathered to fight the evil guild and bring justice back to people's lives. Combat is with a mixture of martial arts and weaponry. Players choose from one of four character-classes: the Trojan, who fights at close quarters and with two handed weapons; the Warrior, who basically kicks butt in a wide variety of ways, the Archer, whose title speaks for itself; and the Taoist, who is a magician/sorcerer.

In addition to fighting monsters, evil beings, etc. through 120 levels, the game also has its more sociable aspect. People chat, hang out, and apparently even get married in the CO world. According to the developers:

"This [game] is not intended as a full introduction to conquer. Only experiencing the land for yourself can fully prepare you for what is in store. By the way, conquer will be constantly updated to offer you a fresh challenge."

By which, one imagines they mean there's more to Conquer Online than fighting, but you'll just have to check it out for yourself. I also the last sentence to mean they look for feedback in order to make improvements. (Remember, next to Basque, English is probably the most difficult language for a non-native speaker to learn...)

Download [Conquer Online Patch 4314]