A new European server called Bardo Euro have been taken into use and the launch will be celebrated with special events on the new server from the 3rd to the 9th of June:

Acclaim Games officially launches the new European server, Bardo Euro. With newphysical servers in place, we will offer our European players an improved game experience, with better connections, less lag and greater reliability. We have been working on this for some time, and in response to your requests, we are finally able to offer this enhancement to the 9Dragons experience.

To commemorate this great occasion, we will be running a week of several special events just for players on the Bardo server. Be sure to come and enjoy the fun!

Acclaim's version of 9Dragons is the subject of a preview-cum-interview at WarCry, based on a conversation with Acclaim's CEO Howard Marks at GDC:

It seems that 9Dragons is closing down.  The official website is carrying the following message:

It is with regret that we have to announce that as of Jan 22nd
Persistent Worlds has ceased trading. The servers will be shut down in due course.

RPG Vault shares some first impressions of Indy21's 9Dragons.

The basic concept of the game immediately sets it apart from the many persistent state titles based in fantasy or science fiction. So does the real-world setting, although in the interests of fun, it may not be completely true to historical accuracy. It appears that players will be able to choose among a nice variety of fighting styles such as those of the legendary Shaolin monks, the League of Beggars, the Black Dragon and the Sacred Flower. The combat animations are quite eye-catching and the overall art direction appears to be solid. The system requirements are pretty reasonable, making the game accessible to many potential players who may not have the latest generation of hardware.

More... 

Steven=Elliot Altman, author, Hollywood screenwriter and 9Dragons lead writer, has been interviewed at MMORPG.com about the martial arts MMORPG:

MMORPG.com: How historically accurate will 9Dragons be? What liberties will be taken to keep 9Dragons a long running MMO?

Steven-Elliot Altman: Good question, Garrett. As far as visuals go, our Korean design team was given a mandate: If it didn't exist in China during the Ming Dynasty, it doesn't exist in 9Dragons. That speaks to the design of the cities, the wardrobe, and even the available weapons. You won't find Shuriken (throwing stars) for example, because they were yet to be introduced during that period in China's history.

As far as the writing goes, I researched each of the Clans to the best of my ability (Shaolin and Wu-Tang Clan had the most available literature of course) and hopefully no one will observe any serious anachronisms. That being said, we have ancient Chinese wisdom being offered in English, so we have to allow for the cultural bias first, and then flavor as we go. I think it's the correct flavor we all strive to experience, not dead on accuracy. Believe me, that would be boring. The process is very similar to writing and then shooting a historically based movie. You have to balance familiar storytelling elements with historically accurate visuals and tune the language as close as you can without losing too much in translation. The only element that keeps me from total immersion in the time period is the fact that I have a mouse in my hand. As far as liberties go... without giving away too much... there just may be an invasion from a foreign land brewing in a not-too-distant expansion event... and we may be compressing time a wee bit.

MMORPG.com has posted a preview , in the form of a developer diary, on items in the upcoming martial arts MMO, 9Dragons. The article includes 10 new, exclusive screenshots.

Items can give you an edge in battle, right down to a strand of prayer beads a Shaolin monk might carry that raises his dodge rate, or a blessed hairpin that a Sacred Flower assassin might wear that raises her chance for divine intervention toward a critical hit.

If you are to become such a master, then you too must be prepared to pay attention to these details. You may have honed your Kung Fu through training, but if you have not researched your items then you may find out the hard way how much more there is to learn. If you come up against an opponent with a masterpiece sword (one that belonged to a hero of old) then your Kung Fu skills will likely not be enough.

While you read this, I want you to use your imagination and create a picture in your mind. A vision of a distant land, many, many years ago. See in your mind's eye ancient China, some time during the Ming Dynasty. See yourself, a poor young peasant, struggling down the dusty street of a small village. You do not have even a single coin to call your own. Still, you may not have money, but you do have great dreams. You have dreams of glory and wealth. You have dreams of standing up for yourself against the village bullies who terrorise you. But how? An old friend told you that by learning the skills of Kung Fu you could grasp these dreams. But who will teach you? How will you learn?

This is the starting point of your journey in the game 9Dragons. You do not need to use your imagination any longer because your story will unfold in front of you. The skills of Kung Fu are there to be learned. You can change the course of your destiny in ancient China with the decisions you make.

Exploration of the Dungeons in 9Dragons

9Dragons is the first authentic martial arts massively multiplayer online game. Think of the world of House of the Flying Daggers or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

There were also some evil groups who were bent on acquiring wealth at the expense of others. These monster clans had many followers. Often, they also had highly defensible headquarters, and sometimes, these were in strange dungeons. They also had lots of gold plus some very interesting articles and magical weaponry.

In 9Dragons, nine of these dungeons exist for your adventuring pleasure... well, it may not be such a pleasure when you find out what awaits you there.

Jonric: How will your newly announced business model for 9Dragons work? What are the main components, and what key benefits does it offer potential players?

Howard Marks: It is quite simple; a player registers on the www.acclaim.com website or www.9dragonsgame.com and then downloads the game. Once installed, the player creates a character and starts playing. During play, we will display some advertisements. This supports the cost of running the game and of development. The player has the option at any time to purchase the premium package, which features a list of benefits including no advertisements. Prior to completing beta testing, we will announce the complete details for this package.

In the conclusion to our week of features, we focus on a pair of clans, the Brotherhood of Thieves and the Wu-Tang.

The Shaolin are a white clan, on the side of good versus evil. As you will see, the game starts with a choice of three white (or good) clans and three black (or evil) ones. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, and its own fighting style. Whether you prefer the role of good or evil is up to you.

The world of 9Dragons is complex and deep. Not only are there thousands of other players in it, plus a vast array of monsters and monster clans to battle, but there are also hundreds of other characters who need your help, or who can help you. The heart of the game is the quest system. It is part of the universal power of the yin and the yang that you must both help others and be helped by them.

When you are just a new, weak peasant, desperately struggling to survive in this hostile world, you may find that certain people will help you if you help them. Allow us to give you an example. In return for buying a poor old blind storyteller a libation or two, he may tell you stories about the clans and their masters. You can learn which clans are where, and what their fighting styles are like... very helpful if you have not decided yet which style you wish to master.

Let's talk about Rep.

Your reputation, that is. Because like it or not, on the game grid or in the real world, our reputations often proceed us. It's like having a sign around your neck. In the real world, celebrities have their reputations built up (and often destroyed) by the content-hungry media. One day, you're at the top of your game, and the next, your reputation lies in tatters. So in 9Dragons, since we were unable to replicate the mass media (and word of mouth) of the real world, we introduced a system around which you can build a reputation.

Steven-Elliot Altman, best-selling author and Hollywood screenwriter, is the Lead Writer on 9Dragons, the first authentic martial arts massively multiplayer online game. Think of the world of Hero, House of the Flying Daggers, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Jackie Chan's classic Drunken Master. He wrote in to give us a taste for the gameplay.