Gaming, Reading, Movies, Star Wars and other Geek Culture

The MMO Times: The Force Has Arrived!

On December 12, 2011

Issue 23

Welcome back gamers to another MMO Times. We have some exciting stuff in this issue so I hope you enjoy what I have provided for you! I thinking about renaming the MMO Times to The MMO Pulse; not sure if I like the sound of it yet.

Diablo III Cinematic

So many people are excited about Diablo III. I haven’t even played the first two and I am excited so I can’t imagine what the people who are fans are feeling right now. Blizzard released the official opening cinematic for Diablo III so enjoy (because it looks frakking awesome!)
Massively article
Diablo Fans website

Updated MoP Talents

Blizzard recently updated the talent trees for the Mists of Pandaria talent system. The new system is receiving a lot of criticism from the player base. It seems many are upset that they are taking away the granular talent trees to the more versatile version Blizzard introduced. I’d be interested in some of your thoughts so please feel free to leave a comment on the post with your thoughts. The link I provided is to the actual talent calculator.
MoP Talent Calculator

SWTOR Tips & Tricks

This is another shameless plug. I wrote a post with some tips for getting started in SWTOR. These are some of the things that are often asked by people in the global channels and things I often forgot to do myself when I had to start toons over. I hope anyone playing SWTOR finds them useful.
Biggs Zone post

EverQuest II Goes F2P

Yes, you read that right. SOE announced Monday, 12/12/11, that EverQuest II is now Free-2-Play. You can now download, install and play EverQuest II without being charged, however you will be limited on what you can do. Things like races, bags, spell tiers, character slots are restricted for those playing for free. I found the article on The Daily BLAM.
The Daily BLAM article

SWTOR Launch Guide

I would still highly recommend checking out my post on starter tips for SWTOR, but Massively has assembled a launch guide for SWTOR. I haven’t gone through the entire post but just looking at it briefly it seems pretty comprehensive. Check it out and tell me your thoughts.
Massively SWTOR Launch Guide

Top 5 Biggest MMO Flops

Piki Geek has a list of, what they consider to be, the top 5 biggest MMO Flops. I only recognized like two of these titles, and I was a little surprised to see that Lego Universe didn’t make the list. Check out the list and see if any of them is something you tried out.
Piki Geek post

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SWTOR: Tips to Get You Started

By Biggs

On December 11, 2011

In Gaming, SWTOR

As I alluded to in a previous post, I decided to put together a list of tips and tricks for SWTOR. Some of these tips you will want to use after you have experienced more of the content. Also, be aware that some of these may not actually work when the game goes live.

Spacebar Helps the Long Winded – I highly recommend that you don’t skip any of the conversations when you are picking up quests for the first time. The stories in the game are very rich and listening to the NPC conversations helps bring the game to life. However, if you start to level another toon and you want to get through the dialog of the common quests, use the space bar to speed up the conversation.
Companions Add Value – Before you pick up your crew skills, make sure that you read about your companion. All companions have a bonus to some crew skill and it might help you decide which one to pick if you are torn between two. Remember, you can only have one crafting skill.
Class Story Is Paramount – Every class will receive companions at different times as well as their space ship. Completing the quests associated with your class story is the key to unlocking companions and ships. So you want to focus on the completing those quests the most.
Fulfill You Destiny – I’m sure you know that level 10 is when you can pick up your Advanced Class. Make this choice carefully, you cannot change it. You will not be able to pick up the quest until you get to Kaas City or Coruscant and an NPC along the way to your trainer should have the quest for your AC.
Always The Last Place You Look – Just like any other MMORPG there are some quests where the NPC gives you an item you need to use in order to complete the quest. You may often find yourself searching your bags trying to find the item you were given. Your inventory has a separate tab for quest specific items.
Sexy And They Know It – You can change the gear of your companion too. Make sure you take note of what kind of armor they wear so when something drops you don’t pass on an item that your companion could have used. Also, keep in mind that proper etiquette might dictate that rolling Need on an item for a companion is probably uncouth especially if someone needed the item for their character.

I think that’s enough to get you all started. If anyone has some additional tips they would like to add please feel free to post a comment with your tip. Good luck to everyone that will be playing Star Wars: The Old Republic and May The Force Be With You!

Blogging Has Been Humbling

By Biggs

On December 8, 2011

In General Cogitation

This website is the only place I really blog about anything. I was thrilled when I actually found out that someone other then my friends had read something I wrote (see Don’t Think I’m A Clone Now). I thought that perhaps if total strangers found that post interesting that maybe I would be able to write something else interesting as well.

I should qualify myself by saying that I am not a professional writer by any means. I’m just a gamer, computer geek and a programmer. I only post blogs because I like the mental exercise of writing. I feel like its a workout for my brain, much like doing sit-ups or push-ups. I became defensive from some of the comments that people left from my last post, but instead of getting upset, I turned their constructive comments into a lesson in writing.

My last post I wrote quickly and on a whim. It was something rattling around in my brain that I decided to whip out in 20 minutes and post it. What I learned was that I need to spend more time thinking about what message I am trying to convey to the reader. If I leave out key components that link what I’m trying to say to my main point then I think readers will lose the meaning of the post. It isn’t anything the reader is doing wrong nor is it a reflection on their comprehension skills; it’s my fault, as the author, for not making the message clear.

I really appreciate the fact that friends and complete strangers read the things that I post and I hope to improve my composition skills in future blogs. I encourage people to continue to leave their thoughts and comments so that I may continue to learn from their feedback.

Thanks and Cheers!

It’s Not As Cool As You Think

By Biggs

On December 7, 2011

In Gaming, Programming, Technology

I have been playing PC games for quite a while, and before that I was big into console games. I have beaten just about every Mario game that exists. I have stayed up all night playing Half Life. I have gotten my butt kicked playing Quake at LAN parties. I know a lot of people that are really good at playing video games. I often hear these people say, “dude, it would be awesome to make video games. I am going to learn how to do that!”

I have over ten years of experience developing software, none of which were video games, and heed my warning, it is not a glorious profession. Please make sure that you are doing it for the right reasons. Just because you are really good at video games isn’t a qualification for pursuing a career in developing them but a passion for video games is crucial. The stress of deadlines, defects and users is overwhelming; and that’s from developing any software. You probably want to multiply that by 10 when you are developing video games. For example lets use the grief the players constantly give Blizzard developers every day for the bugs and delays players encounter. Would you be able to handle that kind of criticism and negativity on a daily basis?

Let’s say you can. Now you have to know how to code, regardless of whether you are UI design or you are writing business logic. You have to be aware of CPU usage, memory allocation, storage capacity, memory leaks, ease of installation, user friendliness, and that’s just to name a few. If you want to do graphic design, you should probably consider taking a few courses, or even getting a degree. You will need some understanding of math, science, physics, vectors, splines, etc because if its not believable or somewhat realistic, then it won’t keep the players’ interests (games like Minecraft are a phenomenon, not a standard to be compared to).

I want to end on a high note, because I sound like I am trying to discourage people from pursuing a career in developing video games. That is simply not true. My goal with this post was to try to advise you as to what you will be in for mentally should you choose to pursue the career. Don’t get me wrong, the frustration, long nights, no sleep, stress and emotional break downs will pay off. It can be a very rewarding career and you have my unwavering support should you decide to do it.

Cheers!

SWTOR: The Home Stretch

By Biggs

On December 7, 2011

In Gaming, MMORPG, SWTOR

Well the SWTOR beta testing has ended and now all of us have to sit and wait for the live release of the game. I really enjoyed my time in the beta, although I stopped logging in when Bioware did the big beta weekends. I decided that since I had been in the beta since April that I would give up my spot on the server for someone else who hasn’t had as much time as I did. I’m sure it helped a little bit considering all of the queuing issues they had.

I’m thinking about putting together a tips and tricks post about the gameplay for some people, maybe it will help improve their gaming and leveling experience. If I come up with enough content I think I will do that.

The soothsayers are predicting the fall of WoW because of this game. I hardly think that will happen. Blizzard has enough money by now that even if they lost half the accounts they could still keep the game going for many years. The predictions, at this time, are still under 2 million. As far as my plans are concerned, I will be playing both games. I know many of my friends are insisting that I won’t be able to keep up with two games. While I appreciate their advice, I grew up on console games; splitting allegiances is second nature to me.

So for now we are playing the waiting game. Only a week now before the first day of the preorder early access and the question still remains … will I be “sick” on the 15th? 🙂

Cheers!

Gamers Are Adults Too

By Biggs

On November 30, 2011

In Gaming, General Cogitation, MMORPG

There is an old fashioned perception that seems to still exist that video games are the pastime of children. The demographic today has changed. Yes kids still play video games, but adults are playing too. In fact according to an article posted on CNET, the average gamer is 37. The thing I find most interesting, from the article, is the reason most adult gamers are still playing is because they are playing the games with their kids.

I remember a big movement that was circling, and maybe it still is, that was trying to bring back family game night. I remember when I was growing up it was common for my family to play games together at least one night a week. I can appreciate the concept but with the technology we possess today, board games are almost too old fashioned. I think it’s important to maybe keep one or two board games around for nostalgia purposes, but if you really want to engage your children I think getting involved in a game they enjoy as well will have more success.

This is why I think so many gamers are so much older now. I know my kids will be just into video games as my wife and I are. If they are not then they can’t be my children because they obviously don’t have my genes. I think a lot of software companies are starting to recognize this as well which is why some have been tailoring the games toward the more casual gamer. Gamers with families are not going to be able to commit to the hours that they use to 5-10 years ago.

My last statement leads me to my final point. I have noticed lately that many gamers, especially those still playing WoW, constantly whine about how simplified the game has become from its earlier years. Sorry folks, but most of us have families and lives now. You are now the minority so buck up, Sally! If you don’t like it then play something else and stay off the forums. You have zero control over the content of the game so whining about it only gets your ignored.

So while some adult gamers don’t act like it, the rest of us appreciate the effort by the software companies to design games that better meet our lifestyle.

Cheers!

Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences