Fortunately I had Pay-Pal so I could get this game to see if it would even run on my system. I seem to have some sort of sound driver issue that I will address soon, but right out of the shoot I got mad creating a character.
In the creation process, you are asked to choose a side, and so I picked one, but upon doing that the game told me that I wouldn't be able to create a character on the other faction later... I was not thrilled with that, but I went ahead and picked one anyway.
I don't think that a game telling you that your choice now will forever lock out another kind of character in the future is a good thing.
Anyway, so far I have a character, and I killed a couple of bugs. I'll have to get back to you on the rest...
Friday, January 8, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Shout Out!
I don't know why, but suddenly I was thinking about Ultima Online and all of my good friends I used to play with on Napa Valley... Then I read this little article and it reminded me about all my guildies in the Spanish Inquisition, [SI]. Okay so there were only 6 of us, but we were tough! ;)
I just wanted to wish all of them well if they are still out there. Cardinal Kryx, Cardinal Ximinez, Cardinal Fang, Cardinal Sin, Cardinal Biggles, and of course to me, Cardinal Fear. I miss you guys!
What a fun game that was. What a fun time in my life.
Siege Perilous will live forever! Oh, and even though I don't really miss most of them too much, a shout goes out to all my former BV forum users who have re-connected under the Blather Vortex banner. There were some good people here back in the day.
Peace Out My [SI], and Siege Perilous homies, and remember "There's no OoOoOo in WoW"!
I just wanted to wish all of them well if they are still out there. Cardinal Kryx, Cardinal Ximinez, Cardinal Fang, Cardinal Sin, Cardinal Biggles, and of course to me, Cardinal Fear. I miss you guys!
What a fun game that was. What a fun time in my life.
Siege Perilous will live forever! Oh, and even though I don't really miss most of them too much, a shout goes out to all my former BV forum users who have re-connected under the Blather Vortex banner. There were some good people here back in the day.
Peace Out My [SI], and Siege Perilous homies, and remember "There's no OoOoOo in WoW"!
I have 5, count em 5 whole followers now!
After almost a decade of being AFK, I have received 5 followers to this blog including myself, and I am damn, and I mean DAMN proud!
Bust that Tobold! Even after being gone that long, I still have over 3.4 million unique visitors to my page, which is pretty cool IMHO...
Of course, since my return, the counter has only gone up maybe 4 visitors, but I am working on it people! ;)
Laters.
Bust that Tobold! Even after being gone that long, I still have over 3.4 million unique visitors to my page, which is pretty cool IMHO...
Of course, since my return, the counter has only gone up maybe 4 visitors, but I am working on it people! ;)
Laters.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Innovation Wanted...
Just to sum up what I think on this subject quickly, a brief background is in order. You Got Tobold talking about Cuppycake, who is in turn talking about Keen and Graev's complaint that we are working backwards with MMO innovation.
From what I have read so far of their initial blog post is that the bar has been set in several different games since Ultima Online, and to be honest, no one has ever been able to release a game of that complexity, or hit the minimal bar level, at release since.
Even for a top-down 2D client, UO had a huge amount of gameplay and options from the start. Granted, there were no web sites out there like WoW-Wiki or Thottbot to help you find anything out about your game either. You had YOU and if you were lucky enough to have a guild then you had them too. That was it. There were of course, many problems, but there were several ideas and systems that everyone loved.
What I think the guys are trying to say is, why doesn't anyone release things that were proven to be good in many different MMO's and make an MMO soup of pure goodness? Then improving on all of that goodness instead of just roughly copying what came before or dismissing it entirely.
I have asked similar questions in the past. I mean, there is still no other game that has housing like UO did, even after the little issue with ten-million tents cluttering the entire landscape. The chat systems are okay, but there is a world of work that needs to be done there. UO also had a huge socal aspect to it that no game has ever matched that I am aware of. Then again, I don't play every single MMO anymore and may have missed something out there. What about pack horses? I mean damn, we can't even kill each other anymore, where's my damn pack horse?
I often wonder what the hell happened to Bow Fletching and Lumberjacking. I hear Cartography will be comming along soon, but why didn't WoW pick up on either of those other skills? You know I am also steaming mad that I can't even ask Evocare to give me a Castle! They don't have em! WTH?
The RvR that was also mentioned by K&G, is apparently a great idea too. Why aren't new games coming out with all of these things that we know already work, instead of releasing these games that have a tiny subset of good things and try to patch in the rest for the next ten years?
I have always wondered about that myself. It is like we are aware of what was cool from a customer standpoint, and most of the entire industry of programmers and developers must know each other by now. So why are we not able to create a fully robust game from the start and improve on it?
Now, don't get me wrong. WoW, and I am sure a multitude of other games have had great new developments and innovations, but what the heck is taking so long? What is the big picture, and who is gonna pull it together and give us what we have all wanted for over a decade? I don't really think it is going backwards, but they are so slow in giving us things we already had ten years ago, that it does give the appearance of going in reverse.
I think that WoW updating the fishing skill almost five years after release and ten years since we went fishing in UO, seems a bit on the backwards side to me. That is one of the greatist things people liked in UO, but WoW just kind of put something in there, that had no real purpose, no one liked it, until they fixed it so it is at least workable for the average player. Even with all those fixes they did, it is still not very innovative. They could do a much better job of making Fishing a fun experience, and make all of that stuff we can catch worth more then vendor trash.
To be fair though, WoW has come a very long way since UO and EQ. I really like some of the new instancing and phasing techniques they are coming out with now. There are a great many things I think we are yet to see from these guys and I look forward to watching the end result.
I just hope that going forward, MMO developers will take these great ideas and innovations and put them in their game before it is released. Instead of releasing the core components over years of patching in the game, and then going back and fixing the mess.
Hey, I am just a DJ out in the country that has been playing games since the 80's. What could I possibly know? I wish Jinx was around to give me a crayon drawing so I could understand this stuff better.
Overall, I don't really agree with Keen and Graev about everything going in reverse, but I can understand their frustration with the industry. Believe me, I have been an angry gamer forever. Fix your game people!
That's all I got... Laters.
From what I have read so far of their initial blog post is that the bar has been set in several different games since Ultima Online, and to be honest, no one has ever been able to release a game of that complexity, or hit the minimal bar level, at release since.
Even for a top-down 2D client, UO had a huge amount of gameplay and options from the start. Granted, there were no web sites out there like WoW-Wiki or Thottbot to help you find anything out about your game either. You had YOU and if you were lucky enough to have a guild then you had them too. That was it. There were of course, many problems, but there were several ideas and systems that everyone loved.
What I think the guys are trying to say is, why doesn't anyone release things that were proven to be good in many different MMO's and make an MMO soup of pure goodness? Then improving on all of that goodness instead of just roughly copying what came before or dismissing it entirely.
I have asked similar questions in the past. I mean, there is still no other game that has housing like UO did, even after the little issue with ten-million tents cluttering the entire landscape. The chat systems are okay, but there is a world of work that needs to be done there. UO also had a huge socal aspect to it that no game has ever matched that I am aware of. Then again, I don't play every single MMO anymore and may have missed something out there. What about pack horses? I mean damn, we can't even kill each other anymore, where's my damn pack horse?
I often wonder what the hell happened to Bow Fletching and Lumberjacking. I hear Cartography will be comming along soon, but why didn't WoW pick up on either of those other skills? You know I am also steaming mad that I can't even ask Evocare to give me a Castle! They don't have em! WTH?
The RvR that was also mentioned by K&G, is apparently a great idea too. Why aren't new games coming out with all of these things that we know already work, instead of releasing these games that have a tiny subset of good things and try to patch in the rest for the next ten years?
I have always wondered about that myself. It is like we are aware of what was cool from a customer standpoint, and most of the entire industry of programmers and developers must know each other by now. So why are we not able to create a fully robust game from the start and improve on it?
Now, don't get me wrong. WoW, and I am sure a multitude of other games have had great new developments and innovations, but what the heck is taking so long? What is the big picture, and who is gonna pull it together and give us what we have all wanted for over a decade? I don't really think it is going backwards, but they are so slow in giving us things we already had ten years ago, that it does give the appearance of going in reverse.
I think that WoW updating the fishing skill almost five years after release and ten years since we went fishing in UO, seems a bit on the backwards side to me. That is one of the greatist things people liked in UO, but WoW just kind of put something in there, that had no real purpose, no one liked it, until they fixed it so it is at least workable for the average player. Even with all those fixes they did, it is still not very innovative. They could do a much better job of making Fishing a fun experience, and make all of that stuff we can catch worth more then vendor trash.
To be fair though, WoW has come a very long way since UO and EQ. I really like some of the new instancing and phasing techniques they are coming out with now. There are a great many things I think we are yet to see from these guys and I look forward to watching the end result.
I just hope that going forward, MMO developers will take these great ideas and innovations and put them in their game before it is released. Instead of releasing the core components over years of patching in the game, and then going back and fixing the mess.
Hey, I am just a DJ out in the country that has been playing games since the 80's. What could I possibly know? I wish Jinx was around to give me a crayon drawing so I could understand this stuff better.
Overall, I don't really agree with Keen and Graev about everything going in reverse, but I can understand their frustration with the industry. Believe me, I have been an angry gamer forever. Fix your game people!
That's all I got... Laters.
All The Ninja Raiders!
I had to steal this from Lummies page... Too sad, too true, but great video! Ninjas must be killed.
On a side note, this doesn't just happen with Hunters, but I have also heard stories from my guildies about, tanks especially at lower levels, such as a warrior wearing cloth to a dungeon and need rolling on all that stuff.
DYNAMIC PHAT LEWTS PEOPLE! (I just had to say that one more time.) We shouldn't have to worry if Joe Annonymous out there in Cyber Space is going to have morals or not.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Speaking About Halls Of Reflection, Try This!
Players always find a better way of doing things, to help, ya know, be LAZY. Well HOR is no different. Now, you may remeber that I liked to call the escape from the Lich King encounter, the "Run Forest, Run!" ending, but there is a better way.
Instead of running away from the Lich King, many groups now are parking off to the side, and then following the Lich King as he walks AWAY from your doomed party.
Once the LK gets past your party, he will cast his minions who will then come back to you where you can AOE and DPS until your lips fall off, without the worry that you might aggro old LK. You also lose the sense of fear wondering if he is actually going to catch up to your party and kill all of you. Once you kill the minions just move up, kill more minions, then rinse and repeat.
On the last barrier, you will be pretty far behind the LK at this point, unless your DPS is off the chain. So when you catch up to him, the gunship may have already came and blown the rocks down to block the LK inside. Have no fear, you won't get stuck! Once the rocks come down, the LK and the rocks will vanish. You and your homies can walk right on through to finish the dungeon.
I don't think this is a cheat exactly, since, you know it lets you do it, but... It works, and it makes things a lot less stressful!
Let me know what you think of running HOR in this manner.
Instead of running away from the Lich King, many groups now are parking off to the side, and then following the Lich King as he walks AWAY from your doomed party.
Once the LK gets past your party, he will cast his minions who will then come back to you where you can AOE and DPS until your lips fall off, without the worry that you might aggro old LK. You also lose the sense of fear wondering if he is actually going to catch up to your party and kill all of you. Once you kill the minions just move up, kill more minions, then rinse and repeat.
On the last barrier, you will be pretty far behind the LK at this point, unless your DPS is off the chain. So when you catch up to him, the gunship may have already came and blown the rocks down to block the LK inside. Have no fear, you won't get stuck! Once the rocks come down, the LK and the rocks will vanish. You and your homies can walk right on through to finish the dungeon.
I don't think this is a cheat exactly, since, you know it lets you do it, but... It works, and it makes things a lot less stressful!
Let me know what you think of running HOR in this manner.
In Other News, Oculus Gets Better?
Well, I don't know when this will be in effect, but apparently Blizz has noticed our dislike with that crazy dungeon Oculus..
I'll tell you what... I have been there all of TWO times, and the first time I went there, I just wanted to kill myself, repeatedly, with an ice pick. The second time, myself and all of the other participants said "oh hell no!" and all of us jumped dungeons after the timer expired for starting a new dungeon que.
I don't know guys, I mean the chance at getting a drake sounds cool and all, but that dungeon, hands down, SUCKS! I can't say much more about it really. I had the worst experience of my life there, and for me to go only one time and NOT try to conquer it, is saying something very serious. Seriously, if you want us to try it again, I think you should just give us a drake first. Then see if we are even willing to give it a try. This dungeon should be erased from WoW, permanently!
Well, maybe when I feel like I haven't been abused enough running Halls Of Reflection, I may go and try that hell-hole of a dungeon again...
I leave you with this lovely picture of my level 41 Druid sporting her new heirloom shoulder armor. To be honest, this dungeon finder has got me interested in gearing my 80's again, so I am not sure when I will get back to my leveling project. Once I do though, I should experience much faster leveling. At least 10% faster. ;)
WoW is down for "extended" maint, so I guess I will just go get some sleep. Better day tomorrow!
Anyway, that's all I got... Until next time!
I'll tell you what... I have been there all of TWO times, and the first time I went there, I just wanted to kill myself, repeatedly, with an ice pick. The second time, myself and all of the other participants said "oh hell no!" and all of us jumped dungeons after the timer expired for starting a new dungeon que.
I don't know guys, I mean the chance at getting a drake sounds cool and all, but that dungeon, hands down, SUCKS! I can't say much more about it really. I had the worst experience of my life there, and for me to go only one time and NOT try to conquer it, is saying something very serious. Seriously, if you want us to try it again, I think you should just give us a drake first. Then see if we are even willing to give it a try. This dungeon should be erased from WoW, permanently!
Well, maybe when I feel like I haven't been abused enough running Halls Of Reflection, I may go and try that hell-hole of a dungeon again...
I leave you with this lovely picture of my level 41 Druid sporting her new heirloom shoulder armor. To be honest, this dungeon finder has got me interested in gearing my 80's again, so I am not sure when I will get back to my leveling project. Once I do though, I should experience much faster leveling. At least 10% faster. ;)WoW is down for "extended" maint, so I guess I will just go get some sleep. Better day tomorrow!
Anyway, that's all I got... Until next time!
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