Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Life :: Update

By

On July 22, 2010

In General Cogitation

Well, I think its time for a quick Life Update. I have been working on these new MMO Times posts/emails that I don’t want it to overwhelm my blog.

I am in between clients now so during my time on the bench I have been researching all the new technology provided by Microsoft for the professional programmer these days. Specifically I have been delving into Silverlight 4 using some Visual Studio 2010. I will do a separate “Biggs On” post about Silverlight in the future but generally speaking I am really enjoying developing Silverlight applications.

I am 3 weeks into physical therapy for my right knee now. It seems that after 13 years of neglecting my knee has resulted in constant pain, but thankfully no surgery. While painful some days, I am looking forward to the time when I can go up and down the stairs or use a bicycle without any pain (or pain that requires the use of perscription pain medication).

If you have been following me on facebook you will know that my recent endeavor may soon be LASIK surgery. It would be very nice to be able to wake up in the morning and never have to put on glasses or contacts. I know the procedure is painless and the LASIK surgeon in the area is the best in the city, but I am still feeling a bit nervous about the whole concept.

Well, I think I am going to end here for now. I hope to be posting more to my blog, beyond the MMO Times posts.

The MMO Times (5)

By

On July 20, 2010

In MMO Times

Issue 5
Here is what is new in the world of MMOs.

( I was having some technical difficulties with the website but they have been resolved therefore issue 4 and 5 are now available.)

 
SWTOR Music, Audio, Comics, Documentary
In preparation for Comic*Con this week Bioware Devs have asked for Facebook and Twitter support as well as bringing us a documentary on the music of SWTOR. Personally, the music has always been one of my favorite facets of Star Wars. Check out the article and video at Massively.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/16/music-audio-webcomics-and-more-it-is-super-reveal-friday-for/
 
Aion 2.0 Release Date Announced
NCSoft has announced the release date of Aion 2.0: Assault on Balaurea, the next chapter for people of Atreia. Players will be able to get free digital copies on September 7th (September 10th for Europe); a boxed copy contains codes for pets. Read more at Massively.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/16/release-date-announced-for-aion-2-0-assault-on-balaurea/
 
STO Could Become F2P
I actually was reading a different story on Massively that mentioned the possibility of Star Trek Online becoming Free-2-Play. I had not heard of this rumor so I decided to google it. I found the following article on Subspace Communique, an STO fan site, that explains where this rumor came from.
http://subspacecommunique.com/content/2010/07/12/star-trek-online-could-become-free-play-possibly-says-new-sto-exec-producer
 
Star Trek Online Season 2 Preview
Cryptic releases a preview of their upcoming Season 2 patch for STO. It appears they have addressed several issues players felt the game was lacking as well as adding more additional Klingon PvE and six more levels. You can read more at Massively from the link below.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/14/preview-made-available-for-star-trek-onlines-season-2/

LotRO Allowing Addons
Meghan Rodberg of Turbine has unveiled a little secret, it appears there is a project going on to allow LUA scripting in Lord of the Rings Online. LUA is the popular programming language used to develop addons that alter the UI; the extent to which this will be allowed is still unknown. Read more at Massively.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/14/lotro-and-lua-turbine-gives-the-mod-community-a-thumbs-up/
 
Atari’s Haunted House Returns
I didn’t play much Atari when I was younger but for those of you who might remember it, apparently there will be a remake of the popular Haunted House to be released for XBLA, PC (downloadable) and Wii. Obviously the game has been improved from its archaic graphics to a more modern graphics engine. More information of this tidbit can be found at Joystiq’s website.
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/07/14/ataris-haunted-house-returns-to-haunt-pc-xbox-360-and-wii/
 
Guild Wars 2 Ranger Class Unveiled
On June 9th the Warrior class was unveiled from the upcoming sequel to Guild Wars and today ArenaNet unveiled the next class: the Ranger. Apparently the class is getting some upgrades from its predecessor; I honestly couldn’t tell you what those were, I have not played the first Guild Wars. Massively has the full article.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/14/you-can-have-a-shark-as-a-pet-arenanet-unveils-the-guild-wars-2/

The MMO Times (4)

By

On July 20, 2010

In MMO Times

Issue 4
Here is the latest MMO rumblings.
 
Reminder: Aion Server Merge Today
If anyone is playing Aion, this is a reminder that today NCSoft will be performing the server merge they promised last month. The link I provided is to a Wings Over Atreia article from Massively.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/12/wings-over-atreia-its-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it/
 
OGPlanet Announces N.E.O. Online
A new F2P MMORPG has been announced by OGPlanet. This game was an unknown prior to the announcement so I really don’t know much about it other then what I just read in the massively post. Apparently player actions alter the world in which everyone plays based on a Chaos Meter; sounds interesting. Read more on it at Massively.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/12/ogplanet-announces-n-e-o-online/
 
Final Fantasy XIV Will Not Be Released For XBox 360
I hope those FFXIV fans were not hoping to play the next chapter (in this unrelenting saga) on the X-Box, because Microsoft said No. Apparently they were unwilling to deal with the XBox Live setup. They are probably too busy with their Halo Reach to care about anybody else’s game. Read more at Massively from the link below.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/12/final-fantasy-xiv-not-due-for-the-xbox-360-according-to-hiromich/
 
Beta News:
 
ArcheAge In Closed Beta
I know this is a complete unknown, apparently the lead designer was one of the original artists for Lineage. Be that as it may, its the announcement of a closed beta. Which means if you are the kind that likes to wet their noodle on beta testing, here is one to check out. Article found at Massively.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/12/archeage-closed-beta-announced/
 
More Cataclysm Beta Invites
Blizzard announced in a blue post that this week they will be sending out another round of beta invitations for Cataclysm. Make sure you watch your inboxes and be espeically careful that its not a phishing e-mail. If you want to read the post about it, I found it at MMO-Champion, you have to scroll a bit past the Cataclysm UI screenshots.
http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/1863-Cataclysm-Interface-Part-1-Blue-Posts

The MMO Times – The Identity Issue

By

On July 9, 2010

In MMO Times, MMORPG

Issue 3

Here are the latest MMO rumblings. This week is short but with the huge uproar over Real ID I felt it was time to send out the latest details from this week. enjoy.

Real ID – Is It The WoW-Killer? [UPDATED]
If you are a avid Blizzard gamer you have probably heard about the latest controversary to hit the internet. Blizzard announced that a new forums system will be released with StarCraft II, and ultimately with Cataclysm, that will display your full first and last name on all forums associated with Blizzard’s respective games. There is pandimonium running amuck. Here are a variety of links.
UPDATE: When I first wrote this the Real ID on the forums was still a reality, now that I am on the verge of posting this week’s email, a recent post has unveiled that Blizzard has backed down on this issue. I kept the original posts at the bottom for prosterity but also below is the link to the wow.com article which shows Michael Morheim’s offical response and retraction.
Blizzard Backs Down: http://www.wow.com/2010/07/09/mike-morhaime-real-names-will-not-be-required-on-official-forum/#continued
Official Announcement: http://www.wow.com/2010/07/06/official-forum-changes-real-life-names-to-be-displayed/
Blizzard’s Responses: http://www.wow.com/2010/07/06/blizzards-responses-on-the-real-id-situation/
Massively’s Response: http://www.massively.com/2010/07/07/the-daily-grind-real-id-do-we-finally-have-our-wow-killer/

Another MMO Goes F2P
There is a new MMO called Monato Esprit, a game I have not heard of, but I only mention this post/link because its another example of another MMO switching to the Free-2-Play paradigm. The increasing trend definitely foreshadows an interesting future for MMO games.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/06/monato-esprit-switches-to-a-traditional-free-to-play-model/

Areia Games Announces Legendary Champions MMO
Areia Games has released details of a new MMO coming out this summer. It is called Legendary Champions. Apparently its PvP heavy and your characters are famous figures from history. Below is the link to the Massively article and a link to the game website.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/07/aeria-games-announces-newest-mmo/
http://legendarychampions.aeriagames.com/

SWTOR Uses Combat AI
This is a really interesting Hypterspace Beacon post (on Massively) about Bioware’s “Combat AI” in The Old Republic. The concept seems to be going over really well among fans that are in the alpha release of the game. See below for the link to the Massively article.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/08/star-wars-the-old-republic-impresses-fans-with-combat-ai/

Biggs On: The iPad

By

On July 7, 2010

In Biggs On

Over the holiday weekend we visited the mall and dispite my dissatisifaction with Apple, I still felt the technology calling me over to look. So, since I have absolutely no will power, we go to the Apple Store. I can honestly say that I stood there playing or watching my wife and our friends play with the iPad for probably a good hour, and after that time I feel I am qualified to say … I don’t see the big deal.

The iPad is basically an oversized, glorified iPod. I really don’t understand the attraction. It literally looks like a huge iPod Touch. I even listened in on a demonstration of the iPad by one of the Apple Store cronies and I still didn’t hear anything that made me soil my pants. I think I honestly would rather have a tablet PC then an iPad. Actually, I think the iPhone 4 is much more intreguing then the iPad (assuming you hold the iPhone 4 correctly … don’t want a dropped signal as a result of a misplaced pinky finger).

Now, in all fairness to new technology, I am open to hear what others think are the superior features about the iPad. Perhaps there is something about it that I am missing that makes this product so sought-after.

The MMO Times – Issue 2

By

On July 5, 2010

In MMO Times

Issue 2

Here are more blog posts and articles from MMO sites that I found interesting and exciting since the last issue of The MMO Times.

SWTOR Multiplayer Combat Video from E3
Of all up and coming MMOs, The Old Republic is the one I am most excited about. The video in the link below is probably the most exciting 4 minutes Bioware has given us about TOR to date. Enjoy, I know I did!
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/02/finally-bioware-unveils-a-swtor-multiplayer-combat-video/

Cataclysm Goblin Male/Female Silly & Flirt Audio
The data mining of the closed beta of Cataclysm has begun. The link below will take you to a post at Wow.com which has audio clips of the male and female /silly emotes and /flirt emotes. They are extremely hilarious. Enjoy!
http://www.wow.com/2010/07/01/cataclysm-beta-goblin-flirt-and-silly-sounds/

Cataclyms Worgen Male/Female Silly & Flirt Audio
We can’t have the Goblin emote sounds without the worgen emotes. If you are expecting to hear jokes about nipples, bacon, hairballs, etc … then definitely listen to these audio clips from wow.com.
http://www.wow.com/2010/06/30/cataclysm-beta-worgen-silly-and-flirt-sounds/

New Fable 3 Combat Video
I know Fable is still kind of big for a lot of people; I’ve never played it but I know its pretty big among gamers. Here is a new combat video recently released from Joystiq.
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/07/02/fable-3-combat-video-is-not-safe-for-wolves/

Cataclysm Blue Post
I know I have several posts about Cataclysm in this issue but with the NDA lifted and the closed beta having started, the news is going to keep rolling out; Pandora’s box has been opened. Here is a blue post provided by MMO-Champion where Blizzard devs discuss various class details in the next expansion.
http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/1844-Cataclysm-Beta-Blue-Posts

Starcraft II Wings of Liberty this Month!
Here is a reminder for all those Starcraft fans, this month Blizzard releases the first segment of StarCraft II on July 27th. Go reserve your copy now!

Aion Server Merge Postponed
NCSoft has alluded to an Aion server merge for a couple weeks now about it appears its still going to be another two weeks before it officially happens. The link below to the Massively article explains why it won’t be until July 14th.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/04/aion-server-merges-delayed-name-changes-explained/

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