Age of Conan Beta
2007-04-04 17:37:47
It’s here. The game that I haven’t talked about much at all, nor read much about is going into beta. I said a while ago that I planned on looking into the game a bit more, and I still plan to, just haven’t gotten around to it.
For those of you who are interested, you can sign up now.
Now for me, it’s time to go read up on the game a bit.
funcom, age of conan, beta test, launch beta
Read more: Conan
Free Music Downloads
2007-04-03 15:50:34
And the RIAA isn’t going to sue you either!
A post over at Aggro Me pointed out that the soundtrack for Auto Assault is available freely off the official site. Kind of cool. It’s good to see them giving out bonuses like this for nothing.
So if you are bored at work and want to hear some AA music to remind you of all that time you spend blowing up cars, go download it.
auto assault, ncsoft, aggro me, free downloads, free music
Read more: Music
, Downloads
Time to Chime In
2007-04-05 16:09:15
It seems everyone has an opinion on what Brad McQuaid said. And those are just 4 links that I could stick in the 4 words. To be honest, I probably could have found enough to stick a link per letter.
My personal favorite response was from The Ancient Gaming Noob. (If you are thinking to yourself, “that seems rather poorly placed in there, as if he just wanted to throw in another link but didn’t have any more words above” you can go straight to hell.)
But…as I was saying, Brad McQuaid, what’s his deal? First off, I give him credit for posting and “explaining” his position. However, I do have to say that the whole thing seems like a giant way for him to prove it wasn’t really his fault.
Don’t get me wrong, plenty of times in his epic he says things like “the buck stops here” several times, but only to mask the fact that he is trying to pass the blame to all other circumstances beyond his control.
It’s WoW&rsquo
Read more: Chime
Feel like Crap
2007-04-06 19:45:34
Well, just a short post for today, I’ll try to get something else up later, but I am sick as a dog at the moment.
It seems The World Series of Video Games is putting WoW as one of it’s games this year. Not that I’ll be able to attend, or that I would compete anyway, but it is pretty cool, and a nice chunk of money as well.
Like I said, I’ll get some more up later.
World of warcraft, world series of video games
Google Ads are Funny
2007-04-10 16:00:42
My favorite part is the ridiculous way the sentence is broken up.
More than 3000.
Satisfied Power.
Leveling.
Customers.
If you read it line by line it makes no freaking sense at all.
The other thing that makes no sense? Power leveling in WoW. Honestly, the game is so easy to level in it’s ridiculous.
google ads, world of warcraft, power leveling
Read more: Google
, Funny
Gaming Mice (Mouses?)
2007-04-10 08:00:58
Since I’m going to be getting a new computer soon I’ve been looking at various accessories I want to grab with it. I’m stuck on the mouse. I already have a great gaming pad (the n52) and am not really looking for a gaming keyboard because of it, but I am looking for a good gaming mouse.
I’ve been looking at the Logitech MX518 or the Creative Labs Fatal1ty 1010. There’s also the Razor Diamondback that I could get or there is, of course, the R2 Gaming
Mouse to check out as well. Have I missed any good ones? Let me know.
Anyone have any suggestions? I don’t really know what I should be going after.
mouse, gaming, gaming peripherals
Writer’s Blocked
2007-04-09 17:32:14
A post that I can’t seem to find over on Kill Ten Rats from a bit ago (might have been a few weeks, may have been just a few days, but I sure as heck can’t find it) brought out a point about games and writing. Namely games don’t seem to have anyone doing it. Or, to go along with what I remember from the article more, TV/Movies have a much higher quality of writing than games do. Is that true?
I was thinking about it, and at first I agreed completely, but then I started looking at it again and I couldn’t decide.
Let’s take two ideas that are fairly similar, one MMO and one show (rhyming not intentional, but awesome nonetheless.) City of Heroes/Villains and Heroes, the NBC show. The show does have good writing, I’m not going to argue that (though that whole “Save the Cheerleader, save the world” line was the stupidest thing I’d ever heard…ever) but is it really better than City of Heroes? I don’t think so. Of cours
Read more: Writer
, Blocked
Interesting Post
2007-04-09 17:03:46
Google Alerts, are pretty much the best thing ever. No lie.
Without them I would have never found this post from the LOTRO forums.
Now, I’ve mentioned before about people saying MMOs are all the same and there is nothing new and original but this is a bit different. I think this quote sums it up pretty well for me:
AN MMO IS ONLY DEFINED BY IT’S LORE. THE RECIPE (AT ITS CORE) DOESN’T CHANGE, IF YOU LIKE MIDDLE EARTH THAN THIS IS THE PLACE TO BE. IF NOT, THERE ARE OTHER WORLDS TO EXPLORE. Just please stop assuming YOUR first MMO was THE first MMO!!!
Really just the first one and a half sentences there.
Given my previous post about MMO Gamers being spoiled, you might assume I would stick up for this guy, but quite frankly, he’s dead wrong. Or rather, he’s right, but he shouldn’t be. I took a bit of time to download and play LOTRO over the weekend (and I’ll get to my opinions in another post) but his defense of stagnation and completely unor
It’s Cross-Linking Day
2007-04-12 02:03:28
No, not actually, but I’m going to link to another article, this time from sister site 1PStart.com.
I have a problem with this. Not so much what the article is saying, I think it’s great kids are reading more, but the attitude which it seems to take (that’s right, I’m putting attitude into the written word, it’s visible attitude.)
If you aren’t seeing the attitude, here’s what I am getting from it. Games make people dumb. Well, maybe they aren’t that harsh, but they give that idea which is bad enough. I’m not sure what games they are playing, but a lot of games (especially those I play) require as much reading as any book does. Perhaps not all at once so you don’t really notice you are reading, but there is still plenty there.
Well, at least RPGs require reading, should we start pushing kids to play them over other types of games so they don’t become stupid? Yes…yes we should. Mostly because I don’t w
Read more: Cross
, Linking
Heathens!
2007-04-11 11:00:10
Just wanted to bring out a post from sister-site Find Religion, on Religion in MMOs (or lack thereof?). Is it an effective way to add realism to a world? Does a lack of any sort of religious ideology detract from the game setting?
Reminds me of a post I saw recently on another blog (bad memory this week) dealing with how developers ideas influence game design, interesting topic to explore more.
As my tenth grade English teacher always said: “More on that later.”
mmo gaming, mmorpg, religion, religion in games
Blizzcon ‘07
2007-04-13 16:26:34
Hmm…I may have to see about going to this one. $100 per ticket though? Plus air fare and hotel? That’s some expensive crap to hear them tell me everything is “working as intended”.
I don’t know…I’m just a little thrown off by the way they are mugging me by the high entrance fee…I mean…don’t I already pay them monthly to not answer my questions?
Check out the Press Release.
blizzcon, blizzard, world of warcraft
Highlight of the Week
2007-04-13 02:22:10
This week it is a post from Kill Ten Rats by Oz about priests in WoW. I’ll get into why this is true another time, but it is. Priests need buffs to their holy line. Not as much as warriors need buffs to…well…everything, but buffs are needed nonetheless.
And, one of the most important things I think mentioned in the post is the idea of not nerfing classes. Why is this always overlooked? You don’t need to nerf everything to hell to bring balance to the game, there are, in fact, other ways of doing it…but if I continue down this road I’ll start off on a long rant that will be hard to get out of, so let’s leave it at that.
priest, world of warcraft, blizzard, kill ten rats, buff
Read more: Highlight
Podcasting Update
2007-04-16 23:04:52
Well, I mentioned a bit ago that I was planning to do some podcasting if I could get the time and that is still the case. I haven’t done it yet though because I am waiting for my brand new microphone to arrive. I’m hoping the sound quality will be better than my headset. After I get it I’ll be sure to post and put up a podcast soon after.
podcast, podcasting, microphone
Read more: Podcasting
, Update
This is Why
2007-04-18 19:47:56
I want Tabula Rasa. I want it now. Seeing as that isn’t going to happen though I’ll take a moment to explain why I want it so badly. Well…okay…I won’t explain it, I’ll let Mr. Garriott do that. Take a look at this article. If you don’t think that Tabula Rasa is going to be the game pushing the genre ahead after reading that then you can’t be pleased at all.
Seriously…I want it.
Via Curse Gaming
Tabula rasa, garriott, ncsoft, destination games, curse gaming, upcoming games, innovation, mmorpg, mmog, mmo gaming, mmo games
Tabula Rasa this Fall
2007-04-17 20:59:38
According to the PlayNC Spring Newsletter Tabula
Rasa will be coming out this fall. About a week or so ago a letter was sent out to all those who signed up for the beta test saying that closed beta would begin “soon.” Given that is the case I imagine the “Fall” launch of the game would probably be around late October to early November.
Why?
The way I am figuring if closed beta starts at or around May giving the game six months of time in beta (a few months in closed beta and then another couple in open beta) would seem fairly appropriate.
Given, this is all speculation, but it makes sense to me. I know one thing, I can’t wait…I’ve had my game on pre-order for a long time (yes, I’m that hardcore about it.)
Tabula rasa, garriot, ncsoft, plaync, newsletter, closed beta, beta test
Read more: Tabula Rasa
Dreaming the Impossible Dream
2007-04-17 20:15:40
Imagine yourself playing an MMO where all players used proper spelling and grammar. That’s right, no more “leet-speak” (1337 5p34k if you prefer…I feel dirty just looking at that). No more “your a fat bastard” (that’s “you’re” for all you geniuses who missed it). And certainly no more “pwn3d” being spewed in chat.
At least… that seems to be Blizzard’s plan. I can only hope this is real, it would be so wonderful. A world where some semblance of intelligence existed…just imagine.
spelling, grammar, spelling tests, stupidity, world of warcraft, blizzard
Read more: Dreaming
, Dream
Unique Like Everybody Else
2007-04-17 16:55:55
A good read from Darren over at The Common Sense Gamer.
OK, so we all need to feel like a hero in an MMO
I think that doesn’t accurately portray what we, MMO gamers, need. What we need is for each of us to feel like our adventuring matters. We can’t all be heroes. It isn’t possible. A hero separates himself from others, rises above others, that’s not possible in an MMO. What is possible is for all that time we spend to mean something. That’s the key that needs to be worked on. I don’t need to be unique in every sense, I need to feel as if my slaying the dragon actually helps move something along though.
You put yourself into that role and pretend that this story in unique to your character…and when you think about it, it is unique.
This ties back into what I was saying before, about making actions mean something. If the actions of my other characters mean nothing, then it is impossible for me to feel special. Even if I put myself in
Read more: Everybody
Highlight of the Week
2007-04-20 02:24:35
A quickie this week.
I got a comment yesterday on my post about Tabula Rasa from a certain person who calls himself “Fangbear”. What’s not to love about that name right? So, because of that I decided to mosey (score one for using that word) on over and check out this site (so obviously named fangbear.com.)
Well, that’s this week’s highlight, Fangbear.com. Yes, the entire site. Congratulations, you’ve made it on to my list of blogs to read each day. Keep up the good work Mr. Bear.
fangbear, blogs, new blogs, highlight of the week, mmo games, mmorpg, mmog
Read more: Highlight
Tragedy at Virginia Tech
2007-04-19 20:06:10
Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund
April 16, 2007, will be remembered as one of the darkest days in the history of the Virginia
Tech community and the world beyond.
To remember and honor the victims of those tragic events, the university has established the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund to aid in the healing process and generate financial support.
The fund will be used to cover expenses including but not limited to:
Grief counseling
Memorials
Communication expenses
Comfort expenses
Incidental needs
If you plan to give, please click the link below:
Steve Shickles
451 Press, LLC
Read more: Tragedy
, Virginia Tech
Some (Not So) Random Links
2007-04-21 03:51:49
So, there are so many things I want to talk about that I don’t get the chance to immediately that I wanted to make up a list (for my own benefit and yours) of some of the topics I want to discuss and some of my favorite posts up to this point on those topics, so here they are.
Evolving from Game to World - Tobold
A Better Tradeskill System - Tobold
The Square of Pi to Slay the Dragon - Darren (The Common Sense Gamer)
I know, I know, it isn’t Thursday for the Highlight of the Week…but it feels like it, doesn’t it?
mmorpg, tradeskill, math, common sense gamer, tobold, mmog, genre evolution
Read more: Random
Richard Garriott on Hawking, Zero-G Flight
2007-04-28 05:45:35
How incredibly cool this is I can’t describe, so I won’t try. I’ve been looking forward to reading about how this went since I heard about it, and I can only imagine how awesome it would have been. Richard
Garriott wrote up an entry over on PlayTR.com about the experience.
Damn, I’ve got to get me in on one of those.
stephen hawking, richard garriott, tabula rasa, zero-g, space, ncsoft, plaync
Read more: Hawking
, Flight
Highlight of the Week
2007-04-27 03:47:17
I’m not going to spoil what Common Sense tells you by reciting my own version of it, but he’s got the Highlight
of the Week for this week. And what are we talking about? Leaving an MMO. I don’t necessarily agree with all the points brought out, but like I said, I won’t spoil the Highlight by tossing in all that. Take a minute and read it.
leaving an mmo, common sense gamer, mmorpg, mmog, mmo games, mmo gamer
O RLY?
2007-04-26 04:44:02
So apparently Fangbear has found something interesting in the latest issue of EGM. Yeah, it’s unconfirmed of course but I think entirely plausible. I mean…SWG is a travesty and disgraces the Star Wars name by its existence. KOTOR on the other hand is a good game and would make a great MMO.
I’ll have to keep my eye out for any more rumors I hear about this, as I am intrigued.
star wars, egm, fanbear, kotor, knights of the old republic, star wars galaxies, mmog, mmorpg, new games, rumors
Getting that Feeling
2007-04-24 20:19:21
So…LOTRO launched today. Cue excitement and music and general fanfare…OK, I can’t muster it. I’m sorry. I can’t pretend that this is great news or…for that matter…even news that I care about.
I played it. I was, shall we say, under-impressed. It wasn’t that good. It wasn’t bad, of course, but it wasn’t good. It…exists. I must be playing a different game or something than all these other bloggers I’ve been hearing from because all I hear is constant praise for a mediocre game. Is that what we are reduced to? Praising games that are ho-hum because there hasn’t been an actual decent release in, well, a while? I hope not.
I do like the payment structure that was offered to people that pre-ordered. I think all games should do something like that. But…um…that’s about the most interesting thing I found. Sorry.
I guess I’m just stuck waiting with WoW for a while longer t
Read more: Feeling
Why Make Billions…
2007-04-24 04:50:12
So, I’ve been reading a bit about people discussing the cost of MMOs. Or, more exactly, what it costs to get one made and what a realistic budget is.
Don’t get me wrong, I basically agree with what some have said about not requiring all that much money, but one thing that I haven’t heard about is what kind of money people making “blockbuster” MMOs are dishing out. Big companies like SOE, NCSoft and Blizzard/Vivendi.
So that’s become my new pet project. I’m currently working to figure out just what goes into pricing an MMO and how much it actually costs, from the big names in the industry. I’ll update soon and see how far I can get with it. Hopefully I’ll have some responses to share.
money, cost of mmo, blizzard, vivendi, ncsoft, soe, mmog, mmorpg
Read more: Billions
The Pie I Don’t Like
2007-05-03 04:50:32
Well…I’ve started playing EQ 2 a bit now. The worst part is…it’s actually really fun. Damn. I’m still messing around with a bunch of classes, not sure what I want to stick with. I’ve got a level 7 Guardian, a level 6 Wizard, 3 different level 4 characters (a Berserker, a Fury and an Illusionist) and a level 2 Monk. I didn’t enjoy the Monk to be honest. I might delete him to try out Ranger or something like that.
I also downloaded Lineage 2 to try out a bit as well. I haven’t gotten far enough into it to say much about it though. I will say I don’t think it’s my kind of game exactly. I mean…it uses the function keys…I hate that (not that it matters at all with my gamepad) and there is no jump button. That doesn’t bode well for a game…I love to jump. Anyway, I’ll have to spend some more time with Lineage before I can judge.
I’ll update later, possibly tomorrow, on EQ 2 again wi
My Entire Kingdom
2007-05-02 04:41:21
To start things off right:
We really needed a big, AAA title to fail miserably trying to follow the old “release now, fix later” mentality. World of Warcraft slammed open the door on this market, but the old standbys just didn’t believe that anything had changed.
First of all, I’m not going to comment on the whole McQuaid thing. I simply don’t have the time to run around crying every time he makes an ass out of myself. Nor am I going to rant about the morons who say everyone should get off his back. OK, after this paragraph I won’t rant on it any longer…I mean it. But the above quote from Heartless Gamer does bring up something interesting, which I can get into in the next paragraph and quit all forms of ranting.
I don’t know the cost of Vanguard or what kind of budget they had, but I believe I remember seeing the number 30 followed by six zeros somewhere (was it in Brad’s own post, how…crap, I can’t say anything i
Read more: Kingdom
EQ II
2007-05-01 03:03:19
I didn’t give EQ 2 much of a chance when it first came out. Partially because…well…it sucked. But I’ve heard from several people that it is actually quite enjoyable now so I figured I’d give the 7 day free trial a chance and see how I like it. Starting…as soon as I download all these updates. Only 3 hours to go.
I’ll let you know how it goes later in the week.
everquest, everquest 2, sony, sony online entertainment, soe, free trial
A Very EQ2 Week
2007-05-05 06:16:19
Well, time for a quick wrap-up of my goings on in EQ2 this week.
I’m currently sitting at level 9 on my Guardian and level 8 on my Wizard. Not sure which one I want to go with for sure yet. To be honest, I’m really enjoying my Guardian, but I know from other games that the “tank” class can quickly feel like a chore so I’m holding off on declaring a “main” for the moment.
I like a lot of things about EQ2, several things I think it far surpasses WoW on. This wasn’t true at launch, but SOE seems to have tried harder to make sure they keep a quality game on the market. Maybe it is partially burnout, but WoW has been showing less and less creativity and polish in design and instead throwing the old “put it in now, fix/balance later” approach with a lot of their content. I don’t enjoy it and seeing a game that is (at least at low levels) as polished as WoW was at low levels is nice. If it keeps that same level of quality
A Little More EQ2 Buzz
2007-05-03 21:43:22
So, with me starting to play EQ2 a bit now I thought it would be a good idea to try and do a weekly update of my progress. Partially so I can personally look back and remember how much fun I was having, especially at particularly frustrating points in the game (which I’m sure there will be.)
I still have yet to decide on a definite character, I’m going to have to delete a few current ones to try out ones I haven’t yet. Not that it will be hard, I already know which ones I am not liking. So, starting probably next week I’ll keep a running journal of activities in Norrath.
Speaking of which, if anyone wants to meet me in game, I’m on the Permafrost server. Currently probably playing either Demus or Kalven. I’ll update again with any more information I have including my final character that I plan on sticking with for a while so anyone that wants to drop by can do so.
More to come later…
eq2, everquest, everquest 2, soe, sony online e
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