Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

The Amazing Impact of Novels

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On November 14, 2011

In General Cogitation

I just finished reading the last book of the Inheritance Cycle (which I highly recommend, seriously, read it!) and I cannot remember the last time, if ever, I felt such heart ache at the end of a series. You can call me whatever you want, a dork, and pansy; but Christopher Paolini created such a connection between the characters and the reader you would swear the inspiration was taken from the relationship between Rider and dragon.

The series ended the way they should have ended and I was still nearly moved to tears. I still find myself (even hours after having finished the book) yearning for a different ending. I keep amusing myself with the thought that maybe if I read the last one hundred pages again the ending will be different. Rarely will a novel make such a profound impact on me.

Despite my longing for the proverbial “fairy tale ending” I think its the sign of a great author to leave me feeling the way I feel. I think Christopher Paolini has an amazing career ahead of him. The Inheritance books are an amazing series, so amazing that I find it difficult to pick up another book until these feelings have passed.

Forever “Eterno Paterno”

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On November 10, 2011

In General Cogitation

Before I express my opinion of the firing of Joe Paterno, let me make one thing very clear. Jerry Sandusky is a scum bag of the worst kind. What he did is reprehensible! Any kind of sexual abuse where the victim is of any age is reprehensible, but his egregious acts are of a different level. A level that has a special place in hell. He should be castrated and imprisoned with cell mates convicted of similar crimes. I’m sure his pretty face will be quite pleasing to the other sex offenders.

So what about Joe? First of all I am not a Penn State fan by any means. As a Purdue grad, I loathed playing Penn State because they were always tough to beat. The reason they were tough to beat was Joe Paterno. Despite the fact that I wasn’t a fan, I respect Joe Paterno for what he has done for the university and for his acolytes as a college football head coach. His accomplishments will be insurmountable.

Nine years ago Paterno learned about Sandusky’s crimes and reported him to the university authorities. Many would agree that he should have done more, perhaps even fire Sandusky on the spot. Nobody, except Joe, knows why he didn’t do more. Perhaps he was so offended and revolted by the crime that he wanted nothing more to do with Jerry Sandusky.

Yesterday Joe Paterno announced that he would resign in light of the scandal, stating that he wish he had done more. A respectable exit, for a respectable man. Before his signature had time to dry the board of trustees had an emergency meeting and fired Joe Paterno under the guise of sparing the universities’ reputation further damage.

This is how they treat a legend?!? In my opinion their actions have tarnished the reputation of the school more than what Paterno allegedly should have done nine years ago! Again, nobody knows the real reason the board fired Paterno but my guess is they just needed to flex their muscles for everyone. They wanted to illustrate that they are doing something to calm the swell of controversy.

Pfft!!! Tell that to the 2,000+ students that rioted in retaliation for the board’s decision!

Obviously the board was just looking for a scapegoat. So why does Joe Paterno have to be the one to bend over and take it up the ass? (Too soon?)

In my eyes Joe Paterno’s impeccable reputation remains in tack. I don’t think legendary status should be tarnished because some staff member couldn’t keep it in his pants!

The MMO Times: Issue 20!

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On November 8, 2011

In Gaming, MMO Times, MMORPG

Issue 20

Wow! I have made it to my 20th issue of MMO Times. Thank you all for reading. I’m excited that so many of you enjoy reading these posts. So here are the topics for the 20th issue; there are quite a few topics this time so I hope you enjoy!

More 4.3 Changes

The latest build on the PTR for the 4.3 patch has some interesting changes. They made some more changes to the World Map and the mini-map by adding additional tracking filters. They also made some more minor adjustments to the druid hurricane animation and I gotta tell ya, I like it. There is a video. Check out the post on MMO-Champion.
MMO-Champion post

Details on SWTOR PvP Warzones

GameSpy has some details about the PvP aspect of SWTOR. The comments are pretty harsh about Huttball. I think Huttball sounds pretty cool, and its a new type of PvP. Obviously most of the comments come from hardcore RP players. There is a video that explains how Huttball works. Take a look and see what you think.
GameSpy article

MechWarrior Online MMO

Yes, MechWarrior fans, Piranha Games has announced that there will be a MechWarrior MMO. They haven’t given too many details other than there is a tentative 2012 release. MMO Crunch has the article.
MMO Crunch article

Lineage II Going F2P

Another known name in MMOs will be going Free-2-Play. MMO Crunch, again, has the details on NCSoft’s announcement of Lineage II going Free-2-Play. It’s interesting to see the paradigm switching among the bigger names in the MMO industry. I still wouldn’t look for Blizzard changing their mind, they are holding their ground.
MMO Crunch article

A Zombie MMO!

I’m not joking, there is going to be a Zombie MMO. I am going to give you guys a minute to calm down from the excitement. GameDev has the details, it sounds like they are behind the development of the game.
GameDev post

Lego Universe Shutting Down

As a Lego fan growing up (and still a fan as an adult) it sucks to see this game going away. I was in the beta for it last summer and I found it only OK. So from a gamer perspective, I’m not surprised it didn’t survive. Massively has the article including the official press release.
Massively article

Aion 3.0 Trailer

Last issue I talked about the upcoming Aion 3.0 patch that included player housing and mounts. Massively has another post with a trailer for Aion 3.0 which includes not only how you can customize the player house but various mount options. It also includes scenes from the new zones, bosses and instances. Check it out at Massively.
Massively post

SWTOR Pre-Order Early Access Is …

So its the time all of us who have pre-ordered have been waiting for, how early will our “early access” to SWTOR be? This past weekend Bioware announced that, depending on when you redeemed your pre-order, your early access will be up to five days. I think that’s pretty significant; I mean you could be max level before the game officially launches. The article I decided to post from GameSpy also has an Imperial Agent character progression video. Enjoy.
GameSpy post

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Occupy A Cubicle!!!

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On November 3, 2011

In General Cogitation

Here I go again, about to get political. I try not to on this blog, but sometimes I just get so tired of the idiocy that continues to get media attention.

As you can probably guess from the title I’m talking about the Occupy Wall Street morons that are spreading their stupidity to every major city across the country and the globe. I wish I had that kind of time to squander but I have to pay my bills (i.e. I have to make an actual contribution to society)! Ah, but they are there “to represent the 99%” The 99% of what? The way I see it, you are only representing the 99% of the stupidity and freeloaders in this country.

Get A Job!!! If these people spent half the effort getting a job as they are spending on these protests they could all “occupy” a cubicle by now, earning the money they feel they deserve! I have no idea what they have done to earn that money, I guess loitering in the streets and public areas is suppose to warrant a paycheck? There are enough homeless and bums loitering in the streets (and at least they have a reason).

I think its time to end this insanity because America isn’t taking you seriously anymore. Your protests are now the source for mockery and punch lines.

Why Are Gamers So Angry?!

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On October 31, 2011

In Gaming, MMORPG

I’m sure all of you are familiar with the term “nerd rage”. It often occurs when something happens in a game (more often in MMOs) that doesn’t go the players way and they throw a fit. I often akin it to a 5 year olds temper tantrum. It can also happen when the game developers change something about the game or introduces some new feature. It clearly stems from the fact that they have absolutely no control over the situation and the anonymity of the Internet. The fact that they cannot change the outcome or stop the implementation of something they disagree with compels them to rant and rave. It’s so childish it makes me want to nerd rage.

So where has all this hostility come from? Why are gamers so negative about the games I thought we all loved? Yes, developers will make changes to a game that we may not necessarily agree with but we shouldn’t be too quick to judge. After all they made these changes for a reason. Perhaps it’s industry trends, perhaps it’s an emerging pattern in the predominate player base, it could also be in response to majority player feedback. Just because you don’t like a new feature or the next expansion doesn’t mean the rest of us won’t. The game is tailored to the majority because the developers know that they can’t please everyone and they certainly won’t change their mind because you recorded yourself deleting all your characters.

Personally, anyone that actually makes the effort to record themselves nerd raging, or posts condescending or negative remarks on the forums about features you haven’t even tried yet, I don’t want you in my game. Go play the new My Little Pony game, something that matches your maturity level. Stay off the forums too because nobody cares why you decided not to play anymore, we’re just glad you’re not playing anymore.

So that’s my nerd rage 🙂

Cheers!

The MMO Times: Panda Edition

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On October 30, 2011

In Gaming, MMO Times, MMORPG

Issue 19

Welcome back gamers! Issue 19 is brought to you by our new panda friends. We have a couple of interesting things to read in this issue but it is a little short. There is dated news in here so this issue needed to go out before November 1st. I hope you enjoy.

Aion 3.0 – Housing and Mounts

Aion is getting a huge patch soon and apparently it includes player housing and mounts. I guess the PvP players of Aion are none to excited about player housing the everyone else is. I guess there will be an armoire to store the variety of Daeva wardrobes (some of those costumes can be quite … interesting). The Wings Over Atreia post on Massively has a pretty good write-up.
Massively article

Secret Word Beta Has 500k Signed Up

I hadn’t realized there was so much interest in the upcoming Secret World MMO, and apparently Funcom was also surprised. They have already had half-a-million players sign up. I may have to check out this game to see what all the fuss is about. Speak up if you have an idea. Along with the link to the GameSpy article I have also provided a link to the games website where you can register for the beta.
GameSpy article
Secret World website

DC Universe Online Going F2P

Another MMO hops on the Free-2-Play bandwagon. SOE has offically announed that on November 1st (that is this coming Tuesday!) DC Universe Online will be Free-2-Play. I always find it interesting when another MMO decides to go Free-2-Play. I know it has to make things more competitive for other companies also trying to release and promote their titles. Personally I’m on the fence about Free-2-Play, perhaps a topic for a future post. Massively has the article.
Massively article

Diable 3 for WoW Players

I haven’t read this post in its entirety yet but I definitely will (that’s what the iPad is for), but I am definitely one of those WoW players that hasn’t played the first two Diablo’s but will be playing D3. I think a post like this is excellent for players, just like myself, to get caught up in the lore so we don’t feel so lost when we start playing Diabloe 3. Check it out on WoW Insider, it looks to be a good read.
WoW Insider article

Mists of Pandaria Developer Q&A

You can probably find the summary of the developer Q&A for the next WoW expansion everywhere, but I like the way MMO-Champion does it where its a transcript written like a blue post. You do have to scroll a bit to get there (there is a video of the Tyrael’s Charger mount for Annual Pass subscribers as well as a couple other PTR things). There is some good things covered but its a long read.
MMO-Champion post

[Shameless Plug] SWTOR: Bioware’s Launch Plans

One of the things I’m concerned about is how Bioware plans to handle launch. The way I understand it, and anyone please correct me where I’m wrong, is that Bioware plans to limit or control the number of players that can log in at launch… <read more>

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