A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Tag: MMO Page 25 of 26

The MMO Times: No Blizzcon & Giant Robots

Hey gamers! Welcome back to another MMO Times. I hope everyone is enjoying SWTOR, for those that are playing it. Check out the newest headlines and enjoy.

Rift: Carnival of the Ascended

Trion has announced patch 1.7 for Rift entitled Carnival of the Ascended. The oddest thing I find is Trion is including a marriage mechanic. As if these games don’t already create alternate realities which can pull a person in and dominate their life, now there is the ability to marry. I wonder if there will be a new profession soon too, Divorce Attorney. Follow the link to read the article on Massively
Massively article

TERA Release Date Announced

En Masse has officially announced a release date of May 1st for North America. If some of you forgot, this game received some pretty big awards at E3 last year including Best PC Game and Best MMO. Based on some of the videos and screenshots I’ve seen, the graphics look amazing. Follow the link to read more at Nerd Reactor.
Nerd Reactor post

Diligent Testing Pushes SWTOR Patch

If you were expecting the 1.1 patch in SWTOR on the 17th, you probably noticed that it didn’t happen. During the public testing, some issues were discovered that weren’t found during internal testing. As a result, Bioware delayed the release of the patch. I like to see developers taking player feedback and choosing to delay a patch. I think its the sign of pride in a quality product. Follow the link to read more from GameSpy.
GameSpy post

No Blizzcon in 2012

This October something is going to feel a bit off. Blizzard has announced that there will not be a Blizzcon this year since they have so many titles promised. They do have a full plate with Diablo 3, Mists of Pandaria and Star Craft 2: Heart of the Swarm promised by the end of the year. Follow the link to read more on MMO Crunch.
MMO Crunch post

Guild Wars 2 Beta Coming In March

An article on Game Bandits has a post about ArenaNet’s plans to have a beta starting in March. They are wrapping up some of their internal testing and closed beta testing in preparation. The president of ArenaNet still assures gamers that they plan to release Guild Wars 2 this year. Watch for invitations during March to get into the beta. Follow the link to read the post.
Game Bandits post

Centurion Unveiled for MechWarrior Online

Piranha Games has added an old favorite to the roster for MWO, the CN9-A Centurion. This was one of the fan favorites from the old school games and I’m sure fans watching the development of those game are rejoicing about this announcement. The article on Massively is short but they suggest going to the official website for more details.
Massively article |  MechWarrior Online website

WoW 4.3.2 Patch Notes

I am going to wrap up this issue with a link to the patch notes for 4.3.2 coming to World of Warcraft soon. I know its odd to single out a minor patch update but I wanted to because of a new feature coming with the patch. In this patch you will be able to form same faction raids with Real ID friends. I think this is pretty sweet because I do have a few friends on different servers and doing LFR with them will be great fun. Follow the link to read the patch notes on WoW Insider.
WoW Insider post

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The MMO Times: First of 2012

Issue 25

Hellooooo Everybody! Sorry for the delay between issues, the Christmas and New Years holidays have a tendency to make things pretty busy. So without keeping you any longer, check out these headlines that I hope you find interesting as I have. Enjoy!

TERA Beta Sign-ups Opens

January 12, En Masse has sent to call for TERA testers. This game got a lot of attention in the gaming conferences last year. The graphics look pretty awesome. I probably will not have time to try out the beta, but if anyone else does check it out, let me know what your thoughts are. Remember, this is just a sign-up which means its not a guarantee beta invite. Follow the links for the Massively article or the TERA website for signing up.
Massively Article | TERA Website

League of Legends Hits 11.5MM

This is probably another foreboding sign for Blizzard and World of Warcraft. League of Legends, a Free-2-Play MMO by Riot, now has 11.5 million active players far surpassing the 10.3 million that are playing WoW. I think its pretty interesting that a F2P game now has more players then WoW. Follow the link to see the Forbes article.
Forbes Article

More On MechWarrior MMO Going F2P

A developer at Piranha Games explains the reasons the MechWarrior MMO will be going with the Free-2-Play model. They mention in the article that the games anticipated release is expected to be in the second half of 2012. There is also a link in the article that elaborates on the CryEngine 3, which is the graphics engine the game is being built on. Follow the link to read more at VideoGamer.
Video Gamer Article

Rift Offers New Subscription Plans

Another interesting competitive move by one of WoW’s biggest competitors, Rift. They have adjusted their subscription plans which actually makes playing Rift cheaper then playing WoW. As if Blizzard didn’t have enough problems keeping players in WoW, lowering prices below their rate is going to make life even more difficult. Many have been clamoring for Blizzard to consider the Free-2-Play model and they have fervently stated they will not consider the Free-2-Play model beyond level 20. Follow the link to read more at tom’s hardware.
tom’s hardware Article

SWTOR ‘Fastest Growing MMO’

I love reading good things about SWTOR and I think this one is really exciting. Based on the millions of players that flocked to play SWTOR when it was released, it has been crowned the “Fastest Growing MMO in History”. I think that is a pretty prestigious acolyte. Follow the link to read more Attack of the Fanboy.
Attack of the Fanboy Article

SWTOR Covers New Flashpoint

On January 17th Bioware will be issuing its first content patch for SWTOR. The patch will fix several known bugs and introduce a new, level 50, flashpoint. The planet of Kaon has fallen victim to the Rakghoul plague (which is the Star Wars version of zombies – because who doesn’t like zombies!). Players must go to the planet to rescue survivors and eliminate the plague. Follow the link to read more on Massively and view the trailer.
Massively Article

WoW 4.3.2 Patch Notes

I decided to go way back on WoW Insider to find the post about the 4.3.2 patch. The reason is that I wanted to  point out a particularly interesting feature that will be in the patch. You will be able to enter Raid Finder with your Real ID friends (as long as you are the same faction). So if your friends are on other servers, you can now do a raid, or older normal/heroic raids. They are also fixing a few bugs, such as the annoying mature language filter, and players winning multiple copies of an item in Raid Finder. Follow the link to read more at WoW Insider.
WoW Insider Article

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SWTOR: Vette Doesn’t Seem To Mind

People are so inane it’s infuriating! The recent SWTOR rancor (see what I did there) floating around the Internet is that people are uptight because the Sith Warrior class has the option to “abuse” their companion.

Wait!! It’s not cool to be sadistic??!! Why am I just now finding this out??

Yes, when you first get Vette she is wearing a shock collar. You have the option, occasionally, to shock her for being insubordinate. There is a means to an end for it, she will eventually turn evil (her story is that she’s essentially a captive republic smuggler). You do have the option to remove her collar, which is actually the option I chose. In fact, here is a tip for you, the sooner you build affection with your companion, the quicker they will complete crafting quests and tasks.

I just don’t understand why people get so upset over pixels on a screen. I’m not going to buy into the argument that it promotes domestic abuse and violence. No it doesn’t! That’s asinine! Wouldn’t you rather the player “abuse” a video game character then a real person? It’s up to the parents to teach their children the difference between pixels and people.

I’m sure this is all happening because SWTOR is the new kid on the block and it’s rivals are just looking for fodder. This will all blow over in a week. I’m just tired of people blaming video games for bad parenting or a bad moral compass. Here is my advice for all these antagonists, life is a lot easier to endure when you buy the panties that don’t bunch up!

Cheers!

The MMO Times: The Force Has Arrived!

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

I also provide The MMO Times in an e-mail. If you are interested in receiving the e-mail version please subscribe.

SWTOR: Tips to Get You Started

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 ItYou 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!

SWTOR: The Home Stretch

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!

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