If you've been yearning for more information on Funcom's upcoming MMORPG, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures for the PC and Xbox 360, well the new FAQ has just been released, including the game's specs, both required and recommended. Find out more of the things included in the FAQ in the full article.

If you're playing CCP Games' sci-fi MMORPG EVE Online, we certainly hope that you're running the game on Windows Vista. It was confirmed that the recent update using the Trinity patch causes the game to overwrite the boot.ini file on Windows XP, leaving the operating system unable to boot upon restart.

And knowing is half the battle; read more about this fatal bug after the jump!

 

Codemasters has released the latest set of patch notes for their free-to-play MMORPG ArchLord, ensuring that folks everywhere can enjoy quality MMO gaming for absolutely no cost. The latest patch's biggest improvement seems to be compatibility for Windows Vista users, but there are also numerous gameplay fixes and tweaks made available for gamers.

Without further ado, here are the patch notes:

• Option Window updated
• (For Effect Advanced, skill effect changed to have On/Off instead of High/Med/Low)
• (New option added "Loot Item" which turns on Monster loot item names when dropped)
• New Launcher updated (Window Vista compatibility)
• Emotes for German/French version fixed
• Numerous localisation updates
• Archlord skills for German/French version now working
• Catapult deadspots fixed
• PK level restriction changed from 15 to 30
• Items not in game but in AH removed
  
• (Shield items above level 71, Armour set above level 83)
• Rensphere map data changed
• Packet and login process changed
• Level up message changed for PvP
• Guild window text changed (Guild/Guild member information)
• Various collision issues resolved
• Change text on Chantra passport from 'Prohibited Mine' to 'Forbidden Mine'
• Guild Npcs restored (players will be able to use the various npc features again)

ArchLord is free to download from their website and is also free-to-play. If you'd like to try your hand at becoming the lord of all Chantra, then feel free to visit the website below and sign up for the game.

One of the more important things to keep in mind while playing World of Warcraft is to keep your chat boxes open. Needless to say, this option allows you to communicate with other WoW players for raids, general conversations, and whatnot. However, player Forma from the official WoW community forum claims that he's having some problems with the said feature since patch 2.1.

The problem actually concerns chat boxes' opacity. According to Forma, the opacity setting doesn't apply to the chat box when more than one is opened. Blizzard's Nickjs suggested that the problem might be caused by add-ons or temporary corrupted files in the WTF, CACHE, and INTERFACE folders from the World of Warcraft game directory.

If the latter is indeed causing the problem, what you should do is remove these folders entirely and recreate the Chat Windows. Nickjs also added that third party programs like custom UIs sometimes create these issues as well. The forum moderator also reminded Forma that Windows Vista has known issues with WoW.

Accordingly, when you installed the game in the C:Program Files or C:Program Files (x86) folder, the settings applied might not always turn out okay. A more detailed explanation is as follows:

• Resetting settings or settings that does not apply properly - Vista may deny you write access from the World of Warcraft folder if it is installed in the Program Files folder. You can remedy this by either right-clicking the game and selecting "Run as administrator" or to move it outside of the Program Files folder.
• Settings and mods that won't stay deleted - If you installed the game in the Program Files folder, Vista may redirect the game to look in another set of folders: c:UsersAppDataLocalVirtualStoreProgram FilesWorld of Warcraft. It will save all of your custom configurations there instead of the C:Program FilesWorld of Warcraft folder. You can delete your settings by going to the folder above or moving the game outside of the World of Warcraft folder.

 

Some players have complained about a problem with regards to the handshaking process in World of Warcraft. Those who have been affected by it shouldn't despair though as Bloodshot from the Death and Taxes guild and Triselly posted a fix on this for users who use XP, Macs, and Windows Vista. Sorry Linux people, if you're being plagued by the handshaking problem, just flush your DNS cache and hope for the best. Anyway here's the fix:

For Windows XP:

1. Close the game.
2. In Windows click Start, run..., in the window type cmd and press enter.
3. In the new window type: ipconfig /flushdns

Alternate Fix: Go to "My Computer" -> "Control Panel" -> "Network Connections" -> right click your LAN or Wireless Connection -> Select Disable, then re-enable it.

If you are still unsuccessful, reset your modem/router, then perform the instructions again. As explained below in the thread, some ISP's hold the cached DNS data for longer periods of time; therefore, this will not work for you, YET. There isn't much you can do apart from trying again later.

Mac version (Triselley)

1. Close WoW.
2. Open Terminal.app in /Applications/Utilities
3. Type: lookupd -flushcache

For Windows Vista:

1. Click the Microsoft Vista Start logo in the bottom left corner of the screen
2. Click All Programs
3. Click Accessories
4. RIGHT-click on Command Prompt
5. Select Run As Administrator
6. In the command window type the following and then hit enter: ipconfig /flushdns

That said go forth and play your problems should be solved. If not, then you'll have to contact Blizzard on this one. Keep checking back here for more news on World of Warcraft.

Following an official announcement by Big Blue Blizzard, World of Warcraft's Technical Support and Billing & Account Services now run for five days in a week for 12 hours straight.

So from Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific Time (PST), you'll be able to be put on hold for 12 hours straight following an account reactivation that is already days late - or something like that.

Sarcastic humor aside, at least now people will have a larger time slot to get hold of some aid if they're account gets jacked by a keylogger author, if their spanking brand new 8800 GTX doesn't seem to break 30 FPS on Windows Vista, or if they're just lonely and need someone to talk to.

After all, just like what Kiyo of Smolderthorn said, "More support hours is always good." We couldn't agree more. And just in case you haven't pegged these notes to your walls, we're jotting them down here for a dded reference:

Contacting Technical Support
Phone Support: 949-955-1382
Email Support: support@blizzard.com
World of Warcraft Email Support: wowtech@blizzard.com

Contacting Billing & Account Services
Phone Support: 800-592-5499
Email Support: billing@blizzard.com

And yes, they've got spam mail protection, so don't even think about it. Thanks to Ceasar S. for the tip! Whoa, wait, I am Ceasar S. Boo yeah!

 

Straight from Barcelona, Spain, an official press release from Microsoft Game Studios revealed that an MMO game themed by the comics world repertoire of Marvel Entertainment is now under development by Cryptic Studios. Marvel Universe Online, which should be available for Xbox 360 owners and Windows Vista PC-goers, will sport interconnectivity play over Xbox Live and Live for Windows, bringing the MMO fans of the PC and fans of the Microsoft next-gen console closer together.

"The vision behind the alliance of Microsoft Game Studios, Cryptic Studios and Marvel is to expand the MMO genre and create an epic gaming experience exclusively for Xbox 360 and Windows Vista gamers to experience together online," Frank Pape said, who's senior director of business development at Microsoft Game Studios.

With MMO veteran developer Cryptic Studios at the development helm, the exclusive team-up of Microsoft, Marvel and Cryptic will attempt to deliver "the best possible experience in Marvel Universe Online." The World of Warcraft-killer we've been searching for, perhaps?

You may know Cryptic Studios for their hit MMO games City of Heroes and City of Villains, which are also superhero-themed like the Marvel MMO should be. Bringing in monsters, villains and Marvel superheroes to your favorite gaming platform, the MMO is expected to bring out the uniqueness of the Marvel IP.

When is it coming out? It hasn't been announced, but expect it to be a long way off from 2007. Still, with an MMO looking to rival that of Fury's graphics, it's definitely worth the wait.

  

Every single World of Warcraft addict player is either a member of the Alliance or of the Horde. But regardless of allegiances, every player wants to get the best possible gameplay experience by having the best hardware system possible. In this case, AlienWare PC units are probably one of the most suitable systems out there today.

No, we're not selling AlienWare items, and no, they're not paying us for this. It's just that the company has teamed up with Blizzard on various occasions now whenever the latter comes up with contests and competitions. Anyway, AlienWare recently announced that these units have been customized for players depending on the side they're playing for.

 Here now are the specs of an AlienWare WoW PC:

• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Intel Core 2 Duo E6700
• Dual 640MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer
• Exclusive AlienFX lighting control
• 2GB DDR2 PC-6400 SDRAM at 800MHz
• 500GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7,200 RPM
• Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard
• Logitech MX518 Gaming-Grade Optical Mouse

Also, these systems come in either blue or red. Just imagine being with the Horde and playing with a blue unit. It just feels weird. Anyway, try your luck in those contests and you might win one of these. If you aren't so lucky, you can still get them for £ 2,499.22 or US$ 4,870. These AlienWare PCs will be shipped starting March 5.

A recent statement from Rick Wickham, director of Games for Windows, said that many developers and publishers are excited about Vista and are making games for Vista. But that's the future. What about our current games? Remember the problem with Dark Age of Camelot and Vista? What about the bugs that ruin the games we paid good money for and are still currently playing? Remember how Final Fantasy XI players couldn't access the game?

And what about the fact that hundreds of family-friendly online casual games are blocked by Vista's parental controls?

Wickham addressed some of the concerns about Vista's incompatibility with games. It's just "growing pains" he said, and that's something you can expect from any "platform of this magnitude".

He also went on to say really good things about parental controls and security features:

Parental controls are just one part of the improved security in Windows Vista. You will be notified when a program attempts an installation on your system, so you will have the choice to block it, or accept it. By being given a choice, you will have a larger say in the overall health and performance of your system.

We're happy for Microsoft that their new OS launched with much good publicity and positive reception. We're also glad that developers are supporting Vista despite the lack of Vista games during the launch.

The statement from Rick Wickham is a good start towards addressing the remaining concerns of many gamers.

But what happens next? Is it a matter of Microsoft making Vista more compatible with our games? Or is it a matter of our game developers rushing to make our game Vista compliant? Well, considering that our game developers have little choice except to comply with Microsoft (because, hey, it's Microsoft), it's probably a bit of both. Teamwork is good.

We'll see what the next statement from Microsoft will be. We look forward to the day when Microsoft has addressed the remaining bugs, game incompatibilities, and driver incompatibilities. Microsoft, throw everything you got at those bugs!

We will  be featuring another batch of World of Warcraft mods in a minute, so keep yourselves perked  as we introduce today's three choice cuts for your gaming pleasure.

First up is Aquendyn' SuperMacro mod, which should be a handy upgrade for the more writing-intensive adventurers among us. Features included are its ability to show all 18 global and 18 character macros, and its ability to exceed the game's 256 macro limit.

Second, we have something for the more-health conscious players by way of  StrifeCUK's HealBot mod, all readied up for your next Burning Crusade Outland adventure. This allows characters to automatically activate a sequence of buff and heal spells of their choosing, leaving your hands relatively free to do something else (like killing the attacker).

And lastly, for the Mod-savvy gamers, we announce the introduction Amthea's UI Central 3.0, a mod manager app that informs you of any new version of whatever mod you're carrying, and auto-installs them for you. Just make sure have .NET Framework 2.0 from Microsoft installed - the app also auto-installs that in case you don't have it. Amthea says the mod should work fine with Windows Vista, so you shouldn't have to worry about compatibility issues. As always, we strongly advise the players to click on the README and related texts you may find in the bundles - the devs have a lot of extra notes to explain what these mods can do. Enjoy the download!

Download:[SuperMacro 4.02]
Download:[HealBot]
Download:[UI Central 3.0]

The changelogs await after the jump!