Gaming News - April 2003

Fairfax, VA (April 16, 2003) - Mythic Entertainment, developer and publisher of Dark Age of Camelot, plans to release a free download-only expansion called Dark Age of Camelot: Foundations that adds player housing to the immensely popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game. The expansion enters closed beta testing this week and will be available for free via optional download to all subscribers in mid-June.

From Mythic Entertainment:

Dark Age of Camelot: Foundations is the first of three expansions Mythic will be releasing in 2003 according to Mark Jacobs, CEO, Mythic Entertainment. Foundations will be followed by another free expansion that will concentrate on further enhancing and developing the game's unique Realm vs. Realm combat system in the second half of the year. The third is a major expansion, which will be sold at retail in the fourth quarter.

The most significant new feature in Foundations will be the ability for players to purchase property and build their own homes. Players will first claim a housing lot and then buy a deed to one of several different types of houses. Houses and items are customized in appearance for use in each of the game's three Realms. Real estate in Dark Age of Camelot: Foundations will resemble actual life, with prices fluctuating according to location and market demand. Houses can be owned and maintained by either a single player or a Guild (group of players).

Homeowners will be able to furnish the interior of the house with beds, chairs, carpets and other items, based on what they wish to spend. Proud players can showcase their weapons, trophies and animals they hunt by hanging them on the walls; they may also display a wide variety of pictures, torches, and other wall-hung art. All Dark Age of Camelot: Foundations houses will have basements where trade tools can be set up for the character to practice tradecraft at home - including merchants who sell various tradecraft items. Also, vaults can be placed in basements that hold up to 100 items - a major increase for player storage.

In a groundbreaking new improvement over other online game housing, players will be able to decorate and landscape a garden around their house, choosing from a variety of lawn and garden objects such as trees, hedges, benches, walls, archways, and sculptures. Each house can also have a porch, where a trade merchant non-player character (NPC) can be situated. The NPC will be able to sell goods even when the player who owns the house is not at home.

Foundations will initially be a 40-50 megabyte download for Dark Age of Camelot and will be compatible with both the original version and the game's successful first expansion, Dark Age of Camelot: Shrouded Isles, which was released in December 2002. Mythic plans on continuing to expand the features and selection of houses available to players over time.

Currently Dark Age of Camelot has more than 220,000 paying subscribers. More than 600,000 people have played Dark Age of Camelot worldwide, since its release in October 2001. The popularity of the game is evidenced by the fact that more than 60,000 people play simultaneously at peak times.

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