A new week, a new screenshot for NCSoft's Tabula Rasa. Last week, we hooked you up with the screenshot of the Bane Interior Hallway wherein we saw the AFS soldiers fighting their way into the Interior Hallway. Of course, the Bane soldiers wouldn't let that happen. But enough of the trip down memory lane and on with this week's screenshot.

The battle between the AFS and Bane soldiers continue today as this week's screenshot, called Take Cover, will let us in on a small group of AFS soldiers trying to battle for control. Those guys are crouching behind Bane control panels (how ironic), and if you click on the image, you'll be treated with a better view of several armor and weapon types. You could also check out more Bane architecture.

The picture speaks a thousand words indeed and we could only hope that we have more to share with you come next week. Keep checking us for updates about Tabula Rasa!

From the looks of it, more people are getting drawn into the world of Middle-earth. Indeed, The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar is getting people hooked and with places like Ost Ringdyr, who wouldn't want to explore Middle-earth. Ost Ringdyr, just in case, you didn't know is a great fortress established by the Free Peoples of Eriador who are led by Lainedhel the elf when they pressed further into the Ettenmoors.

Ost Ringdyr houses the main body of Lainedhel's host. The Free Peoples also found two new comrades here - lesser eagles (who are distantly related to the Great Eagles of the Misty Mountains) and a great ancient race of bears. This is where the Free Peoples are safe - and it came as no surprise when they decided to establish their command here.

The Ost Ringdyr halls have been mute witnesses to the Free Peoples planning, organizing, and orchestrating of the Ettenmoors and the North's defense. Battles may take place here and monster-players would encounter quests here that could bring them into conflict with Free People players at Ost Ringdyr. Capturing this fortress would surely be a gargantuan task.

  

Months back, we first reported about Guild Wars' Design-a-Weapon Contest. And now, the results are in - and judging from the contest winners, the creative juices did flow - big time. Entries poured in from the U.S.A., European countries, and Asian countries. Among the thousand entries that were sent in, 11 were chosen as the winners. Three of the winning designs could be seen in the screens above. There are roughly 17 honorable mentions too.

Of course the winners are entitled to some goodies. The designs would serve as an inspiration to the Guild Wars Art Team for the creation of new weapons, shields, and other what not. The contest winners will receive their choice of a copy of Guild Wars Nightfall signed by the GW Development Team; or they could opt for a Guild Wars Skill Pin Set #1 or a PvP Unlock Pack.

The honorable mentions aren't going home empty-handed as they would receive a Guild Wars Nightfall t-shirt, a GW character slot, and two random GW Skill Pins.

We here at QJ congratulate the winners of Guild Wars' Design-a-Weapon Contest! Check out the rest of the winners by clicking on our read link below.

 

We first reported about Richard Garriott and Stephen Hawking's "vomit comet" trip during the earlier parts of April. We also reported about what happened during this trip, but now, we have some photos to share with you, be sure to click on the thumbnails to have a better view of the pics.

Garriott joined Hawking, his entourage of assistants, and 25 other passengers on the converted Boeing 727 as it ascended 25,000 feet from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was Garriott's fourth trip to the edge of space but he clearly can't hide his excitement in his blog post (which you can check out in our read link below). As for Prof. Hawking, this trip is indeed another feather in his cap.

Jon Jacobs is one of the more popular folks of the Entropia Universe, thanks to his virtual venture, Club NeverDie. From the looks of it, the gamble paid off and although Entropia's cash card scheme was cancelled, Jacobs still has a lot of things to smile about in Entropia.

He has just announced that he won one of the first five virtual bank licenses for US$ 90,000. This new venture will specialize in short-term bridging loans to help finance avatars building virtual manufacturing and constructions. The auction started last February, with the price starting at US$ 0.10 and climbing to US$ 99,000. When asked for his reaction, Jon Jacobs had this to say:

We had a ball! The auction came to a close to virtual cheers, dancing and champagne popping when the more than 125 visitors to Club NeverDie’s VIP bar got the official word that Anshe Chung and I scored two of the coveted five banks on the block. We gamers achieved victory!

Whether or not this new gamble pays off, well we don't know. But heck, that's open for speculation.

SEGA Europe has recently announced the future release of their new MMO - Football Manager Live - developed by Sports Interactive,scheduled to kick off in Spring 2008. Basically, Sega and Sports Interactive is packaging this game as a new take on the Football Manager series. This also joins the ranks of sports MMOs such as Ultimate Baseball Online and Shot Online.

Football Manager Live will allow its players to build a football club from scratch, only this time, you could compete against your friends and other football aficionados online. The price? Some serious bragging rights. Matches will take place in real-time with a range of tactical options for managers to control as they follow all the action via the 2D match engine. In addition, the in-game chat option means managers can exchange comments, while other aspiring managers can view their competitors and learn their tactics.

You'll have to choose your club's name, colors, badge, and pitch size. After you've taken care of the small stuff, it's time for you to focus on the serious issues such as balancing finances (because athletes could sometimes be spoiled brats), buying, selling, trading players using an auction style transfer system.

A month back, we mentioned that you guys could submit your interview questions for Tabula Rasa's community manager CuppaJo, herself. The interview is with POJ Radio's DJFanny and at that time, the show date and air time for the CuppaJo interview hasn't been revealed. Now, we might have updates connected to this.

Over at the TR Stratics boards, DJFanny mentioned that he'll be interviewing the good community manager next month (that's May, guys). Again, he is asking for your questions about Tabula Rasa which is set to make its presence felt on September.

We don't know if this is the same interview sessions we talked about last March or if it's an entirely different thing. But whatever the case may be, your questions should be submitted to pojfanny@gmail.com. TR Stratics and POJRadio are working together for this event.

So go ahead, click on the read link and ask away. Or you could leave out your questions in the comments section below.

 

After being poetic about Aragorn and Arwen and telling you about the early access feature of The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, we now receive word about the first update to LOTRO - Shores of Evendim. Slated to begin in June, LOTRO could start adventuring to the Shores of Evendim, which would be the first of many free updates to the game.

This lies about a 100 miles north of the Shire. This vast region is dominated by the "Lake of the Twilight" or Lake Nenuial. Aside from the vast body of water occupying Evendim, it was said that great wealth and powerful artifacts could be found on the ancient abandoned city of Annúminas. Located on the southern shore and is known as the former capital of kingdom of Arnor, Legends have said that wealth and artifacts abound the place - coupled with evil beings and the nefarious forces lurking in Angmar. Wealth and power comes at a price indeed. Key features include:

•  Discover the lands of Evendim
•  Explore over 60 new Quests
•  Raid in the Battle for Helegrod
•  Fight against 9 new monsters
•  Upgraded music system adds new instruments and lets you share your music with others
•  Equip collectible Armor Sets

Gandalf has asked for help in Aragorn's search of the ancient Evendim lands - specifically the ancient jewel that once belonged to the Sword of Elendil's hilt. Find the jewel, before Sauron finds it.

Acclaim Games recently showed their moves on the dance floor, err, MMO block, by launching their latest online game DANCE! Online. Bound to be your little tween sister's new best friend, DANCE! Online is a free-to-play MMO dancing game and it will feature top talent and recordings from the Warner Music Group.

According to Howard Marks, "this is by far the closest collaboration any major music label has ever had with an online game". With artists like Paris Hilton and Ashley Tisdale among many others on the Warner recording stable, we bet a lot of people would have fun with this game.

Anyhow, the U.S. open beta for DANCE! Online will be starting this week. Atlantic Records' recording artist Cupid will make a personal virtual appearance in the game. Other artist-related announcements will follow where they will create their own avatar and play the game live online and chat with fans.

The game will feature the artists' latest music and personalized virtual items including artist-branded clothing and accessories. Players can compete to win autographed merchandise and other artist-branded products. Players could use either their keyboards or PC-compatible dance pads for their character to rule the dance floor.

A few days ago, we featured the first ever screenshots for Dragon Ball Online, the Dragon Ball Z-themed MMO video game being developed by NTL and to be published by Namco Bandai. But now, a rumor about Dragon Ball Online has surfaced. The rumor? A Dragon Ball Online Xbox 360 edition is also in the works.

This speculation erupted when developer NTL posted a job opening on GameJob. The company is looking for developers that would work on the rumored Dragon Ball Online for the Xbox 360. The ideal person for the job should have some experience in developing MMOs and for the Xbox 360. Of course C++ know-how is a must.

The Dragon Ball Online for the PC was already confirmed to conquer Japan come 2008 and this coming summer, testing phase in Korean labs would also begin. There is still no word about the game's availability in other countries, but if the speculated Xbox 360 version materializes, it could reach a worldwide audience.

But as of now, nothing about the Xbox 360 Dragon Ball Online has been confirmed, so everything is still open for speculation. Check out the GameJob advert by clicking on our read link below and speculate away.