PangYa
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| PangYa | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Ntreev Soft |
| Publisher(s) |
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| Latest version | Various across different servers |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Golf |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| System requirements | Celeron 500 MHz or higher, 128 MB of RAM, DirectX 8.1 |
| Input | Keyboard, Mouse |
PangYa (Korean: 팡야, lit. "Bang!"), is an online multiplayer casual golf simulation game designed by a Korean development company, Ntreev Soft and published by Korean online game publisher HanbitSoft. The full game is free to download, although certain special items for the game (such as clothes for characters, new equipment and new playable characters) can only be purchased with real money. The game awards players with Pang, a currency that can be used to upgrade a character, or items to gain the upper hand during a course. The game's outcome is usually determined by personal skill.
PangYa currently has servers in Korea, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Europe, Philippines, China, Singapore (serving Southeast Asia as well) and the US (known as Albatross18), with plans to expand to more English speaking countries. A fair number of players outside of the current server regions play on the Korean, Japanese or US servers.
Contents |
[edit] Gameplay
PangYa's gameplay is designed similar to most other golf games. The power and accuracy of a shot are determined by a meter located at the bottom of the screen, using the "three-click method": one click to activate the meter's bar, one click to set power, and one click to set accuracy. Clicking is either done by moving the mouse pointer over the bar and clicking, or simply pressing the space bar.
Should the player hit the ball with perfect (or almost-perfect) accuracy, the shot is called a "PangYa". Missing a Pangya will result in a loss of power, and either a 'hook' (where the ball angles to the left from the intended trajectory) or a 'slice' (where the ball angles to the right from the intended trajectory).
The similarity of PangYa with other online golf games end here. The game's graphics look more like that of a Japanese anime than real golf, and many features are derived of creative imaginations rather than realism. For example, players have the option of using golf clubs that resemble household products or baseball bats, courses such as Silvia Cannon and Wiz Wiz are set in fantasy realms, and certain special shots that do the physically impossible can be performed.
[edit] Courses
All courses in PangYa are rated in difficulty on a scale of one to three stars. To balance out the increased difficulty of the tougher courses, the game awards the player with more Pang for scoring par or better. If a player beats their personal best score on any course (provided the score is below par), they are awarded 1000 Pang.
[edit] Blue Lagoon [*]
This simple, tropical-themed course is designed for beginners. The course is mostly surrounded by water and sand, but wide fairways, easy pin placements and a low amount of obstacles make it fairly easy for novices to play. Some risky shortcuts are available for the more experienced players to take.
Available in all versions of PangYa.
[edit] Blue Water [**]
Blue Water follows the same course as Blue Lagoon, except with different pin placements and more obstacles. For example, Hole 6 of Blue Lagoon is a straight Par 3 over a body of water; however, in Blue Water, that same body of water is home to a massive rock formation, making a straight shot all but impossible. It's hard to eagle or birdie here.
Available in all versions of PangYa.
[edit] Sepia Wind [**]
Sepia Wind is an autumn-themed course dotted with windmills and trees. Power is required as some drives require length to clear imposing forests and sand traps. Clever players can use the many cart paths to add distance to their drives. The windmills as well as the hidden rivers and bunkers (if not spotted on overhead view) should be noted as well as some risky shortcuts through some forests.
Available in all versions of PangYa with the exception of the European version.
[edit] North Wiz/White Wiz [*]
North Wiz, known as White Wiz in many versions, is a Christmas-themed course, covered in ice and snow. The snowy rough is more punishing than on other courses, meaning more power is needed if you intend on going off the fairway. North Wiz introduces a unique terrain type: ice. Unlike bunkers or rough, ice does not impose a penalty on distance while taking a shot. It does, however, reduce the player's control over the shot. Bouncing the ball off of ice has a similar but more pronounced effect as bouncing off a cart path, enabling high Overdrive possibilities. Although the course is festively themed, the course is always available to play on at any time of the year. North Wiz has an event in which a Santa Claus-like figure will appear over the course, upon completion of the hole each player will receive a gift. There has been some debate amongst players as to why the course is 1 instead of 2 stars.
Available in all versions of PangYa with the exception of the European version.
In the US version, during Season 2 for some time, the name was changed to White Wiz. It was changed back to North Wiz after a while. Although it seems to retain its name on the course selection, in-game it says White Wiz. [1]
[edit] Wind Hill [***]
As Blue Lagoon is to Blue Water, Sepia Wind is to Wind Hill. This course is nearly the same as its easier counterpart, though there are certain changes that cause this course to be the bane of most veteran players. Wind Hill adds more windmills and obstructive trees, and other objects have been moved slightly so that a shot that would normally work on Sepia Wind may not work on Wind Hill. Bunkers in the course themselves almost seem bigger and wider, making a straight shot over them with little power difficult. The rough is extremely thick, even worse than the snowy rough of North Wiz. The greens are physically harder, making most approach shots bounce higher and subsequently longer. Finally, as a unique feature to the course, wind speed and direction are not consistent during a hole, known as "Wind Tunnels" by players of Albatross18. Even while the ball is in flight, if the ball enters an area with different wind, the new wind will affect the ball. These modifications make Wind Hill a vastly different experience than that of Sepia Wind.
Available in all versions of PangYa, with the exception of the Chinese and European versions.
[edit] Blue Moon [**]
Blue Moon is another variation of Blue Lagoon, taking place at night rather than day. There are two major differences between Blue Lagoon and Blue Moon, the first one being that the tee and green switch places, and the second being that the holes are played in a different order than Blue Lagoon and Blue Water. Players will also encounter new obstacles and situations that will require planning to safely traverse the course. Apart from the obstacles and different placements, Blue Moon is not much harder than Blue Lagoon.
Available in all versions of PangYa with the exception of the European version.
[edit] Wiz Wiz [***]
Wiz Wiz is set-up high in the mountains. Players will find themselves forced to shoot between cliffs and through windmills much larger than the ones found on Wind Hill as well as horribly placed watch towers which make a straight shot under them sometimes risky. The first few holes are not too taxing, but the later holes can be brutal for people who are unable to consistently perform special shots. It should also be noted that hole 9 on Wiz Wiz provides an obvious use for the underused "Cobra" shot in the game. The back 9 of Wiz Wiz makes it deserving of its three-star ranking. Other than its difficulty, Wiz Wiz has no real unique features to further test the player.
Available in all versions of PangYa.
[edit] West Wiz [*]
Don't be fooled by how similar it looks to Wiz Wiz, West Wiz is far easier for the rookie player to play. Most tee shots are onto downward facing slopes, enabling the ball to roll overdrive of 50+ yards on a high number of the holes. Some of the treacherous chasms still remain from Wiz Wiz, however in all cases they are optional and provide more distance/overdrive if successfully crossed. Like Wiz Wiz, West Wiz possesses no real unique features.
Available in all versions of PangYa, with the exception of the Philippines and European versions.
[edit] Silvia Cannon [***]
Silvia Cannon is arguably the hardest course in the game, with nasty distances for the player to traverse, and low par requirements. However, the course has several unique features that can either help or hinder the player. The first of these features is that gigantic cannons are located on a majority of the holes. These cannons charge up energy, then fire at some as-yet-unknown target (it is explained on the PangYa website that the cannon is "fired ceremoniously to challenge players"), resulting in the wind direction changing to that of the cannon, along with the wind speed being set to a high value determined by the hole. The second feature is the large fans embedded into the water near a landmass or ship. The fans have a large updraft above them blowing the ball upwards (possibly with the effect of making the ball behave as if its spin had been set to maximum backspin while the ball is travelling above it). If the ball bounces off the fan, it will be launched high into the air, but the direction that the ball travels depends on how the ball lands on the fan, making bouncing off of a fan risky. Lastly, the course has helicopters stationed along some of the holes. The blades of these act like the embedded fan, except blowing the ball downward instead (sometimes causing the ball to act as if it had maximum topspin instead).
Available in all versions of PangYa with the exception of the European version.
[edit] Shining Sand [*]
Shining Sand is a desert-themed golf course. The course has special "warp gates" on some holes which launch the ball in a certain direction. Proper use of these can result in a low score, though the player needs to remember that they are one-way aids, and shooting the ball into the wrong way can result in the nasty surprise of getting the ball launched back into their face.
Available in all versions of PangYa, with the exception of the European version.
[edit] Ice Cannon [**]
Ice Cannon is a slightly easier version of Silvia Cannon that takes place on ice-covered terrain. Due to the ice, balls will bounce higher and roll farther than normal throughout most of the course, resulting in large overdrive areas. Most of the holes are easy to play and a par or birdie can be accomplished with little effort. However, some barriers, as well as the occasional Water Hazard are what gives this course it's 2 star rank.
Available in all versions of PangYa with the exception of the European version.
[edit] Pink Wind [*]
Pink Wind is a beautiful spring course released in Korea for a special event. Overall the course is just like Ice Cannon and Shining Sand, brightly colored and moderately easy to play. The putting greens are overall flat and are probably the easiest to putt on most, even from 30 yards away. There are not many overdrive chances except for the occasional slant on a few select holes. Chances of OB or Bunker are very few and far between here. A score of around -20 is very much easily achievable.
Available in the Korean, Thai, Indonesian, Taiwanese, Japanese, and SEA versions of PangYa
[edit] Deep Inferno [***]
Deep Inferno is a course set with boiling hot lavas, volcanoes, demons, and dragons. Korea's initial release was during their Season 3 upgrade. Numerous traps, lava, volcanoes, and other obstacles make this course a recommendation for seasoned (skilled) players and not the best for the typical rookie in mind. The rough is one of the thickest, almost stopping the ball in its tracks the moment it lands. Some of the holes have nasty spikes (usually with barren trees surrounding for at least a good 20 yards on each side) protruding from the ground, making sure one takes care when trying to make a straight shot. One can get a slight chuckle out of landing in a lava trap and seeing "Water Hazard" displayed on the screen. Another unique feature is the bunkers which, if not looked at carefully, will blend in with the rest of the landscape until it is too late.
Available in the Korean, Japanese, Thai, and Taiwanese versions of PangYa.
[edit] Ice Spa [**]
Korea added the new course, Ice Spa which is rated AA (2 Stars) Another overdrive heaven, rookies and pros alike can harvest pang when not on the hard greens. Slides exist similar to those on Ice Cannon but are much deeper and the chances of bouncing out of them are very slim. There are many chances to get easy Albatrosses here. The rating of this course is confusing considering that one can easily achieve a score in the range of mid twenties strokes under par. Korea opened a celebration event with the opening of Ice Spa.
Available in the Korean version of PangYa.
[edit] Character Stats
Character stats affect a player's ability to play the game. While skill is more important than stats in the game, extra stats often give an edge over other players. Stats can be boosted in two ways: by purchasing items (either with in-game 'pang' or with cash 'cookies') and by upgrading slots.
The five main stats in the game are :
- Power : Power increases the length of the players drive.
- Control : A higher control makes the power meter move slower.
- Accuracy : Accuracy gives the player more room for error if he or she misses PangYa.
- Spin : Spin increases the amount of spin which can put on the ball.
- Curve : Curve increases the amount of curve which can be put on the ball.
Players are awarded with a power increase slot for every rank (e.g. Rookie -> Beginner) to each of their characters. Control and accuracy will decrease by 1 for every power over 20. However, in Korea and Japanese Pangya, power increase as a result of rank level up (not from clothing) are not taken into consideration for decreasing control and accuracy if the power exceeds 20.
[edit] Characters and Caddies in PangYa
There are seven characters in PangYa (eight in the Season 3-servers, where Kaz is included) and nine caddies. Each character has different strengths and weaknesses making some characters better suited to players over others. Characters may be improved throughout the game by buying various items such as clothes, shoes, accessories, etc.
The following characters are the characters currently available in PangYa (names appear as they would appear in Albatross18):
- Scout/Nuri/Nico/Leorio
- Hana/Ana/Fiama
- Uncle Bob/Arthur/Fred/Hendry
- Cecilia/Angelina
- Max
- Kooh/Katia
- Arin
- Kaz
Caddies, on the other hand, are assigned specific attributes that will instantly improve the players abilities and occasionally give advise to the player throughout the game. The longer the player plays with a caddy, the more experience a caddy will get. Caddies will perform more tricks and give more advice as their level increases.
The following caddies are the caddies currently available in PangYa (names appear as they would appear in Albatross18):
- Papel/Bongdari/Bogo/Paps
- Pipin/Salpin/Pippin
- Dolfini/Dolphini/Dofku
- Titan-Boo/Titang Boo/XueXue
- Quma/Kuma/Black Jacques
- Tiki/Sabrina
- Lola/Lolo/Luna/Sereena
- Brie/Caddie/Breula/Kyla
- Minty/Mint
- Black Papel/Black Bongdari
When a player registers and plays the game for the first time, they are assigned a Starter Character: Scout or Hana. Which character the player receives is based upon the gender indicated during registration. If the player completes the tutorial in its entirety, they will receive the starter caddy, Papel. Through Pang or Cookies*, they will be able to purchase the additional characters and caddies.
[edit] Clubs
A player will start the game with the default golf club called the Air Lance (or Air Lancer). As player progresses, they are given the option to purchase new clubs, either by Pang or Cookie/A-Cash. Club sets differ from each other in term of stats provided, available upgrade slots, level requirement, and appearance. Some club sets are not shaped like golf clubs but instead they look like household items, baseball bats, or medieval weapons. Just like in real golf, Pangya club sets contain 4 basic type of clubs, they are :
[edit] Woods
- Denotation: 1W, 2W, 3W
- Maximum Distance: Varies according to the total power points a character has and have a 20 yards difference between Woods. Base distances are 1W - 200y, 2W - 180y, 3W - 160y. The total distance can be calculated like this: Base + (power*2). Players start with a power of 15, which makes starting distances 1W - 230y, 2W - 210y, 3W - 190y. Power can be advanced with clothes, clubs and upgrades, for example 21 power will make the 1W club reach 242y.
A shot done with a wood travels with a low arc and will roll a lot when the ball lands. Woods are useful to cover a large distance where accuracy on the landing isn't really important. Woods have the fastest slider on the power meter so it is not very suitable for shooting on uneven terrain (Ice, Bunker). Wood is is the least affected by wind. Players are often restricted from using Woods if the ball is on a slope with an extreme gradient.
[edit] Irons
- Denotation: 2I to 9I
- Maximum Distance: Between 180 yards(2I) and 110 yards(9I) with each descending club 10 yards apart of each other.
Iron shots arcs higher than Woods but have a more predictable roll. Irons have a slower slider than the Woods making it useful for more accurate shots like approaching the green, making 'chip-in' shots, or getting out of shallow bunkers. Because of the higher arc an Iron shot has, it is more affected by the wind (than a shot using a wood).
[edit] Wedges
- Denotation: PW (Pitching Wedge) and SW (Sand Wedge)
- Maximum Distance: Varies according to the distance of the ball from the hole but they're between 30 yards to 100 yards.
Wedges create the highest arc in their shots and is useful when an obstacle stood right in front of a ball or getting out of a very deep bunker. This allows player's ball to avoid tall obstacles directly in front of the ball's path. The high arc means the ball rolls the least in a shot, but is severely affected by the wind.
The difference between the Pitching Wedge(PW) and the Sand Wedge(SW) is that the Sand Wedge has an even higher arc than the Pitching Wedge. The price of having a higher arc is less roll and a larger influence from wind.
[edit] Putters
- Denotation: PT
- Maximum Distance: Varies according to the distance of the ball from the hole but they are between 10 to 40 yards with 10 yards increment each.
A club used to 'push', or putt the ball into the hole. The putters are the only club available if the ball lands in the green. Putters are also used to 'push' a ball into a playable position (from an unplayable position) or onto a better chip in position.
[edit] Currency
The currency of PangYa is Pang. Pang is normally earned by finishing a hole at even par or lower, pulling off unusual shots and making difficult chip-ins. Pang can be used at the Shops to buy equipment or items. Equipment generally improves the player, while items generally help the player to perform certain shots. For example, the Lucky PangYa item widens the white PangYa zone on the power meter so the player can hit a PangYa without much difficulty. The Pang can also be used to upgrade equipments and clothing avatars for different characters via a slot system, which grants slots for players to upgrade their character's attributes.
A cookie system has also been established on most PangYa servers (PangyaSEA's A-Cash system deviates from this, but is inherently identical), which allows people to buy equipment and items using real cash. Cookie/A-Cash items usually give a slight advantage over Pang-bought items as they usually possess innate attributes as well as more slots to offer than Pang-bought avatars. (An example on PangyaSEA would be the Hawaii Shirt worn by Leorio (Scout/Nuri/etc.), a Pang-purchased shirt offering one Power Slot, versus several pieces of Leorio's A-Cash clothing that offers an immediate Power+1 attribute and 3 additional Power Slots.)
[edit] Criticisms
There have been criticisms of bugs within the game. Most prominent is the disconnect bug that cuts users communication with the server at certain points during the game. This problem has resurged during newly-completed upgrades to the Season 2 client. When users disconnect, their Quit-Rate rises, which makes their acceptance to matches harder. NTreev Soft and the publishers are bringing this up as their top priority and the correction to this bug is in progress.[1]
Another common problem is the in-game lag created by users' slow Internet connection or when the disconnect bug is taking effect.
A hack exists that causes all holes in a course to be replaced by copies of a single hole (for example, all 18 holes of Blue Lagoon become copies of Hole 15), which may have been used to obtain the -54 scores, this is difficult to verify, despite the fact that -54 is in fact -3 per hole (an albatross) and that hole 15 of Blue Lagoon is an "easy" albatross. It should be noted that within the game mechanics -54 is actually impossible as it would require Hole-in-Ones on every single par 4. There is no possible way to reach the Hole-in-One shot on any of Blue Lagoon par 4's. Asiasoft have been taking action though to remove such illogical records from the database. The highest recorded legitimate score is -41. [2]
[edit] Concerns
After the recent shutdown of Pangya Brazil, as well as the release of the Renewal License Expense for Pangya Japan[3], there has been worry of such servers such as Albatross18 of shutting down due to not having enough money to pay for the renewal license due to the high success of Season 3. However, it has been recently confirmed by a GM of Albatross18 that the game should be here for quite some time, and it has also been confirmed that A18 will get Season 3 [4].
[edit] Super Swing Golf (Nintendo Wii)
First unveiled at Nintendo's E3 press conference during a montage trailer, Super Swing Golf was confirmed to be released for the Nintendo Wii game system. The game was in joint development by Ntreev Soft and Tecmo, was released on December 2nd, 2006, by Tecmo in Japan, and was released on December 12th, 2006 in the U.S.
IGN also revealed that the game has been built from the ground-up for the Wii. Unlike the computer version, PangYa for the Wii focuses more on single player. Each character has their own story arc and earns gear and apparel throughout the game through the gain and use of Pang.
[edit] External links
[edit] Official sites
- Official Albatross18 Website - Game Factory, Inc. (PUS) OGPlanet (OGPL)
- Official Chinese PangYa Website - T2 Entertainment Inc.
- Official Korean PangYa Website
- Official Japanese PangYa Website - Gamepot Inc. (PJP)
- Official Indonesian PangYa Website - PT Boleh Net Indonesia (PIN)
Note: In exclusion of boleh.com, the said link may not load in some countries as the IP through the countr(y/ies) will be refused connection.
- Official Thai PangYa Website - Ini3 Digital Company Limited (PTH)
- Official European Website - GOA (PEU)
- Official Philippines PangYa Website - Level-Up Games, Inc. (PPH)
- Official South-East Asia PangYa Website - Asiasoft Corporation (PTE)
- Official Taiwanese Pangya Website - Gamania Digital Entertainment Co.,Ltd. (PTW)
- PangYa English Manual
- Albatross18 Insider News MySpace Page containing blog entries by Albatross18 staff about upcoming updates on Albatross18 and chances to receive pang.
[edit] Fan sites
- Albatross18 Fansite - List of administrator-approved Albatross18 fansites.
[edit] References
- ^ Disconnection Bug thread on Albatross18 Forum. Albatross18 Forums. Retrieved on October 12, 2006.
- ^ Rankings page on Korean Pangya Website. Ntreev Soft. Retrieved on February 17, 2007.
- ^ Pangya Financial Information. Pangya Press. Retrieved on March 27, 2007.
- ^ PPossible A18 Shutdown thread on Albatross18 Forum. Albatross18 Forums. Retrieved on March 27, 2007.
