NCsoft has enacted what it calls a “massive” ban across North American and European servers for its Aion subscription PC MMO, removing user accounts for violations.
The violations targeted were primarily “botting” — or modifying the client to automate play — or illegally buying and selling in-game currency. The offending accounts — “nearly 16,000″ in total — were closed as part of a server-wide reboot.
“Please note that if your account was closed for the use of 3rd party software (botting) or participating in RMT (gold buying/selling) the evidence for the account closure was gathered over several weeks,” wrote community manager Andrew Beegle on the game’s official forums.
Beegle explains that NCsoft monitors accounts for actions that modify the game client or automate in the fashion of a bot and “flags” possible violators for a closer look, gathering several instances before banning an account.
Aion saw a strong launch, selling a total of 970,000 copies in its first week in North America and Europe. The game was largely single-handedly responsible for driving NCsoft’s third quarter revenues — despite being released at the very end of the quarter — creating an 836 percent leap in year-over-year quarterly profits on revenues that more than doubled.
Tags: Aion news —
NCSoft has released a new Aion trailer titled ‘Vision’ showing many features not currently in the PC MMORPG, with only a florid cryptic description for explanation.
“As the Daevas dream, they see Atreia’s future,” the description reads. “The future of Aion–revealed! Your dreams your imagination becomes reality. With innovation Aion will make your imagination into reality. Aion’s future will be your dreams made real.”
Features on display include majorly revamped graphics, a weather system complete with flooding and settling snow, what appears to be player-built housing with decorating, mounts and mounted combat, swimming with underwater zones, plus epic battles.
“There will be at least one major update a year,” NCSoft has said, explaining “there will be free content updates for all players, and we’re looking then at how big the major updates will be.” It is unknown whether ‘Vision’ will be free or is even a single update.
Tags: aion gold, Aion news —
For those of you who want your friends and family members to give Aion a try, NCsoft has just announced its new Refer a Friend program. Players who have had an Aion account for at least 60 days can send their friends a demo code to try out the game for three days, five hours, or until level 7, whichever is reached first. If your friend buys Aion and purchases at least one month of game time, you get a free month in return.
You can earn multiple months of free game time using the program, but you can only have four outstanding invitations out at a time. While the demo time may seem a little short, it sounds like a great way to get your friends interested in the world of Atreia.
You can read all about the Refer a Friend program after the jump and discuss it in Tatsumi’s thread in our Aion forum.
Refer a friend to play Aion, and we’ll give you a free month credit* of Aion game time! All you have to do is log in to your NCsoft Master Account, enter some simple contact information for you and your friend, and click the Refer a Friend button.
We’ll send an e-mail containing a free demo serial code to your friend. If your friend buys a new standard account and pays for a subscription for at least one month of Aion game time, you will be automatically credited with one month of free game time!
*Subject to the terms and conditions listed below.
Eligibility
To be eligible to participate in the Aion™ Refer a Friend program:
- Your game account must have existed for a minimum of 60 days.
- Your account must have had at least 60 days of play time applied.
- Time included with a full version (box or download) is applicable.
- Paid time from a game time card or credit card subscription is also valid.
- Your account must be current.
Step by Step Process
- Log in to your NCsoft Master Account.
- Select your Aion game account from the accounts listed under Game Accounts.
- In the Actions section, click the Refer a Friend link.
- Fill out the requested information.
- Click the Refer a Friend button, and we’ll email your friend a free demo serial code.
- Once we have sent your friend the email, you’ll receive a confirmation screen.
- Periodically, return to the Refer a Friend page to check the status of your outstanding invitations.
For additional help, refer to the knowledge base at the Aion Help and Support page.
Terms and Conditions
This offer is void where prohibited and is subject to server space availability. This offer can be suspended by NC Interactive, Inc. at any time and for any reason. At the time of the referral credit, both the referring and the referred customer must be current in their payments and in compliance with the Aion™ User Agreement. If both parties are not current and in compliance, the referral credit will be denied. If a referring customer cancels his or her account, all remaining referral credits are forfeit. A referral credit cannot be refunded. A referral credit has no cash value.
FAQ
Q: What is the Aion Refer a Friend program?
A: The Aion Refer a Friend program rewards you with a free month credit of game time whenever you refer a friend to come and play Aion after your friend upgrades to a standard retail account and purchases at least one month of game time.
Q: How do I refer a friend?
A: To refer a friend:
- Log in to your NCsoft Master Account.
- Select your Aion game account from the accounts listed under Game Accounts.
- In the Actions section, click the Refer a Friend link.
- Fill out the requested information.
- Click the Refer a Friend button, and we’ll email your friend a free demo serial code.
- Once we have sent your friend the email, you’ll receive a confirmation screen.
- Periodically, return to the Refer a Friend page to check the status of your outstanding invitations.
For additional help, refer to the knowledge base at the Aion Help and Support page.
Q: Who can participate?
A: To be eligible to participate in the Aion™ Refer a Friend program:
- Your game account must have existed for a minimum of 60 days.
- Your account must have had at least 60 days of play time applied.
- Time included with a full version (box or download) is applicable.
- Paid time from a game time card or credit card subscription is also valid.
- Your account must be current.
Q: I referred a friend. When do I get my free month?
A: You will receive your free game time after your friend buys Aion and pays for the first month of game time. (Time included with the digital client or boxed game purchase doesn’t apply.)
Q: Can I earn multiple free months of Aion game time?
A: Yes! For each new friend who you refer who meets the requirements, you’ll receive a free month of Aion game time.
Q: If my friend uses a game time card to pay for the first month will I still receive my free month?
A: Yes! No matter which payment method your friend selects, you will be rewarded with your free month.
Q: Is there a limit on the number of friends that I can refer at the same time?
A: Yes, each eligible account may have a maximum of four invitations outstanding at any one time.
Q: How can I check the status of my referrals?
A: Once you are logged in to your Aion game account, you can check the status of all of your outstanding invitations on the Refer a Friend page.
Q: Are there any limitations on the Aion demo serial codes?
A: Yes, Aion demo accounts are good for three days, five hours, or level 7, whichever is reached first. At that point, the Aion demo account expires. All of the character information and progress is retained so that a player can continue the adventure when he or she upgrades to a standard Aion account.
To upgrade an Aion demo account to the standard game, go to the Aion section of the NCsoft Store, or purchase a retail box at one of our partner retailers.
Tags: aion gold, Aion news —
Greetings Aion Players,
It has been a very busy year for us here at NCsoft West and our executive producer would like to take the time to address our communities today. Lance Stites is the head of NCsoft West’s Game Production Studio in Seattle, overlooking many game franchises; including Aion, Lineage and Exteel.
In order to keep you updated on what is happening with our games, Lance would like to provide some insight into recent events and a scope of what is on the horizon for our studio as a whole. Please read on to gain a piece of unparalleled insight into NCsoft West’s current operations.
Greetings and salutations,It’s been just over three months since I’ve settled into the Seattle office, and I must say it’s been an incredibly busy 100 days. The restructuring has resulted in the staffing of the NCsoft West Game Production Studio, which, as previously mentioned is tasked with supporting the Lineage and Aion franchises, as well as Exteel. At this point I’d like to pause and address the wider audience of all of the products supported by our NCsoft West Game Production Studio—Lineage, Exteel, Lineage II, and Aion.
Our major release with Lineage II on the North American 5 year anniversary was a big accomplishment on April 28. This was Producer Sam Han’s first launch at the helm of this project. His many years as Associate Producer and Customer Service experience with the project served him well. Sam and team are currently in planning stages for the upcoming months. Recent additions to the team include Assistant Producer Marissa McWaters and Community Manager Lauren Duncan.
With Lineage and Exteel, we welcome a new face via our European and Korean office. Hyunah Chun will be taking the lead of both projects as Producer. Hyunah will be in transition mode while she relocates to the Seattle office from the European office. We’ll continue working with the existing Lineage team to deploy weekly maintenance, events and also work to deliver our next big update. We are also working to update Exteel with the latest content from Korea. While we are making every effort to deliver timely updates, our resources are being stretched supporting existing and upcoming projects.
Of course, all eyes are currently on our next big release: Aion. We have some staff announcements of the team that will lead this project through launch. Brian Knox has been functioning as the project’s Producer for the past few months and is doing a fantastic job. He’s wrangling all the production elements and working with the various teams to ensure a top quality product and service. Supporting him in this role is Chris Hager, recently transiting from the Lineage II team. Chris is ensuring Quality Assurance support, age ratings submissions, beta tests, coordination with IT teams for server and software deployments, and host of other support issues. Adding to this leadership is Lani Blazier, whom I am happy to report has transitioned from Community Manager to Associate Producer. Lani will continue to support the community effort, but from the production standpoint and will provide guidance to our other Community Managers, Martin Rabl and Sebastian Streiffert. We’re interviewing for the French Community Manager position—I’m personally well aware of the enthusiastic French gamer community, having witnessed the Festival du Jeu in Paris of last year, so I do consider this a priority addition to the team.
I know that many fans are extremely anxious, impatient even, awaiting the release of Aion. I can assure you the team is fully engaged in the release of this product. We’ve got an army of creative writers generating an enormous amount of rewrites as we execute to our total commitment of quality of content. Our Localization Manager has vendors in place, keeping pace with the French and German translation. We’re actively recruiting an additional native German speaking localization Project Manager and have added QA Testers (native French and German speaking) to the Seattle office. We’ve got Voice Over recordings underway (of course for all three languages) and our PR and Marketing teams are releasing the hounds—you’ve likely seen the articles on class descriptions hit the internet. We also have tutorial videos in production, this should provide a great Aion first experience—both to novice and experience MMO players. We’ve shared details of our Collector’s Edition recently, our first public access beta event was very well received, and we’ll continue these events through our launch. We’ll have a flood of information in the upcoming days and invite you all to share the experience as Aion takes flight in North America and Europe this fall.
Faith and arms,
Lance Stites
Executive Producer, Game Production Studio
NCsoft West
Tags: aion gold, aion guide, Aion news —
It’s time to see another locale on the Aion zone tour! Stop by Kotaku and Massively to get your first look at the icy lands of Beluslan in Asmodae. Beluslan is no place to relax and chill out - this is a realm of ice and shadow, inhabited by some of the most chilling creatures in Asmodae.
Want to venture out on more video zone tours of Elysea and Asmodae? Check out previous videos on Kotaku for your look at the lands of Aion.
Tags: aion gold, Aion news —
The next Aion closed beta event is coming your way on July 2-6, 2009. Enjoy a long weekend of fun in Atreia as testing concentrates on first 20 levels of the Elyos and Asmodians (yep, that’s right, Elyos AND Asmodians). Choose your side and tell us all about your escapades in Elysea and Asmodae in this exciting event.
We thank all of our players in our first two closed beta events. Your feedback has been invaluable!
For this event, participants must have a full-access beta key or have received an invitation for the third closed beta event specifically. (Single event keys for the first two beta events are no longer valid.)
There’s more than one way to join in the fun:
- FilePlanet is giving away keys to the third closed beta event on Monday, June 29. These keys are limited to North America only; please visit FilePlanet for more details.
- Players who have pre-ordered Aion have access to all beta events. You can pre-order online at NCsoft.com or through participating retailers, including GameStop, Amazon, Best Buy, and EB Games Canada.
- Keep an eye on the Aion team Twitters (@aion_ayase, @aion_amboss, @aion_liv, and @aion_xaen) and Aion Facebook page for your chance to score an invite.
Updated notes for the latest game changes and additions are coming soon.
The third closed beta event starts on July 2 (12:00 PM PT, 9:00 PM CEST, 8:00 PM BST) and we look forward to seeing you there!
Tags: aion gold, aion guide, Aion news —
Your adventures in Aion begin this September! NCsoft is proud to announce that Aion launches in North America on September 22, 2009 and makes its official debut in Europe starting September 25, 2009.
Not only can you find the game at your favorite retail store, Aion will also be available as a digital download at NCsoft.com, Direct2Drive, and through Steam this September.
Don’t forget to take advantage of the special preorder promotion at participating retailers now to receive access to the Closed Beta events as well as a head start to your journeys in Atreia.
Take to the skies and become a part of a stunning world brimming with otherworldly inhabitants, mysterious enemies, and ancient secrets. Become a part of Aion this fall!
Tags: aion, aion gold, Aion news —
Visit IGN.com now to check out the first of four video podcasts from the Aion team. Hear directly from the NCsoft West team as they talk candidly about the world of Aion and its inhabitants, as well as their own thrilling experiences in Atreia.
Take a peek inside the NCsoft office in Seattle and feast your eyes on never-before-seen scenes from the game in this exclusive video podcast!
Tags: aion, aion gold, Aion news —
Good news for all of our fans who received beta access from our partner websites for the first beta event weekend!
If you received a key which originally granted access to the first beta weekend only, you’ll be delighted to hear that your key will get you into the next beta event starting tomorrow.
We’re pleased to give all our beta players the opportunity to create an Asmodian character and see—for the first time ever—the story content we’ve created just for you.
Have fun!
Tags: aion gold, Aion news —
The second Aion closed beta event kicks off this weekend Friday, June 19th (12:00 PM PT, 9:00 PM CEST, 8:00 PM BST) and ends Monday, June 22nd (12:00 PM PT, 9:00 PM CEST, 8:00 PM BST).
For this event, enthusiastic testers will focus on the beginning player experience for the Asmodians as well as testing server stability and live launch simulation. Take the time to read the story of your quests, pay close attention to the words of the NPCs sharing their knowledge with you, and explore the first ten levels in the shadowy world of Asmodae during this weekend’s exciting beta event.
If you’re a part of this weekend’s closed beta event, drop by the official beta forums beginning on June 18 to share your reports and experiences.
Thanks to the diligence and reporting from the first closed beta event, this weekend’s event also features several updates and changes in the game content:
- Updated with culturalized content for Asmodian levels 1-10
- Updated UI at login screen
- Localization fixes for various in game maps
- Fixed various NPC messages
- Initial zone channels increased from 4 to 10
- Server queue added
Coming Soon!
- Localized voice overs for cut scenes
- Localized tutorial videos
- In game pre-rendered movies
- More culturalized content for Asmodae
- Culturalized content for Elyos
- Community Events
Participants in the closed beta events will also be excited to hear that the NDA has been lifted. Chat, blog, post, and tweet about your experiences in Aion!
Wondering about even more upcoming beta events? Check out the current closed beta schedule below and plan now for your fun-filled summer in Atreia.
Upcoming Closed Beta Events
Closed Beta Event #3 - July 2-July 6
Focus: Asmodian levels 1-20
Closed Beta Event #4 - July 17-July 20
Focus: Elyos and Asmodian levels 1-25
Closed Beta Event #5 - July 31-August 3
Focus: TBD
Closed Beta Event #6 - August 14-August 17
Focus: TBD
As always, stay tuned to the official web site and the Aion team Twitters (@aion_ayase, @aion_amboss, @aion_liv, and @aion_xaen) for more news and your chance to be a part of the closed beta.
Tags: aion, aion gold, aion guide, Aion news —