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June 2002 News:
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^ top-Welcome to UO 2k.2
[Nieves] June 30 - 11:54 PM EDT | 
Hasta. |
^ top-More Public 16 Madness
[Nieves] June 30 - 2:32 PM EDT | KNOWN ISSUES We are aware of several issues that have been reported on Pacific (note that these issues should only be relevant to the Pacific shard at this time). Please do not call a GM or submit bug reports regarding these issues, since they are already being addressed.
We do, however, encourage players to continue to report any new issues to uobugs@uo.com.
- Currently, stabled pets with two names separated by a space cannot be claimed. (Using the "claim all" command may solve this issue for now in some cases, but we are addressing this currently.)
- Stealing is still considered an aggressive act. (This is considered a priority.)
- We are looking into issues with the Minax stronghold sigil.
- The flaming head is not flaming while not locked down. (The fact that Vet Reward banners, Holiday trees, and Flaming Head are no longer able to be locked down is actually as designed. These items do not need to be locked down to keep them from decaying. The bug, however, lies in the fact that the Flaming Head is supposed to be flaming while not locked down, and it is currently not.)
- Escorts are not going into gates properly.
- Some Felucca runebooks are not functioning properly. (This is the case with runebooks that have a default location set in the Felucca dungeons or Lost Lands servers. To fix this, simply set a new default location outside of the Dungeon and Lost Lands servers.)
Thanks to Blietz for the info.
People losing old pets, pets they have had for a long time (Even though I have an issue with TWINK Tamers, I understand the loss of a long time 'pet').
'Rares' not functioning as designed.
Flagging when stealing not working right at all. Sad for those of you that have (Maybe) turned red because of this bug.
Message to OSI: Revert the damn shard to Thursday morning's back up. Take the publish out. And this time, finish the freaking thing. To hell with the schedule. If you want to shove this shit down our throats, then do it right
Hasta. |
^ top-Pacific Publish 16 Notes
[Nieves] June 30 - 12:05 PM EDT | I thought you might want to know some of these things
about Pacific now...
- Bards haven't been hurt that much.. they still rule
the gold market.. still provoke just fine..etc
OSI didn't change that much with bards.
- Tons of new Slayer instruments... just kill
Lizardmen.. the instruments are EASY to get.
- All the BODs that aren't Exceptional or higher are
dull colored cloth... anything higher are Neon
shades... Large Cloth BOD have a chance of Sandals...
Large Leather above are sandals and slight chance of
Bear rugs, etc...
- PvP is trully ruined... when 5+ GM Mages run around
casting Global spells
regardless of the Blues around, that is just
mindless... all your enemies die.
- Powerscrolls are EASY to get for sure. It isn't as
difficult as they say. Stat Scrolls are difficult.
So far I've only known 1 person with +5 stat.
- Stats are jacked up hard... if you don't lock your
skill for instance... and you already have GM Magery..
you might gain +1 Int... to 101 int, 99 str, 25
dex..etc... it's tough without seesaw.
- Emma Frost
Thanks for the info Emma. It's appreciated.
Hasta. |
^ top-Some Thoughts on Scripting In Neverwinter Nights.
[Nieves] June 29 - 9:38 PM EDT | At IGN, there is a Scripting Tutorial series of courses you can take to teach yourself the NWN Scripting Language.
For those of you that have taken C or C++, realize that the NWN Scripting Language uses some of the same principles but the language is different in many ways. Think of trying to code in C and trying to code in Java. Although the languages are similar in many 'aspects', their conventions and syntax are different enough that you need to actually learn the language's fundamentals, rules, and it's own specific syntax before sitting and down and punching out code.
One of the most interesting things I have found out about this scripting language is the way it 'behaves'. You see, programs run sequentially. Which means the commands in a program execute one at a time. They go onto the program stack with their pointers and code that will be executing next. It's not that cut and dry or EXACTLY that way, but it's the simplest way ol' Nievesy Pooh can explain it so bear with him ::winks at Watts::.
Well, let me give you a different way of looking at it: When any program is executing, it does so sequentially: meaning, the processor can only do one job at a time. Even though we have "multi-tasking" operating systems, the processor is still only doing on command at a time; the operating system merely "shuffles" the jobs that the processor should be executing so many different programs can all share the processor at once. (This is related to the notion of a task's priority; in Windows, for example, setting a task to "high" causes proportionally more of that task's executions to be sent to the processor than others).
The "program queue" is essentially the list of commands that the processor will execute. Think of a queue like a line of people (in fact, in Britain they use the word "queue" in place of what we call a "line" in America). If you're waiting at the grocery store, and you're forming a line, the first person to enter the line is "served" (and therefore exits the line) first. An abbreviated way of thinking about a queue is by saying that it behaves "first in, first out."
So, essentially, every line of code you write gets added sequentially to this list of executions to run, referred to henceforth as the "program queue."
Did you get that? Good…now…
Now, NWN Scripting uses TWO stacks. Along with the Command Stack, it uses something called an "Action Stack". In fact, they operate independently of each other, as though they were being added to two different queues. And in effect, that is exactly what is happening. They being the command and action stacks/queues. According to the above linked document, the particulars of how that stack works are not known (I have to read it again to be sure; but even so, the inner workings of it are still to be discovered). But, with help from a friend (Thanks T'Koda), I postulated that maybe the reason for these two stacks is to allow for faster processing in the executing of tasks NPCs and monsters are programmed with.
A quote: The reason for this is because unlike script executions (referred to as "commands" so far) will always operate within a fixed amount of time (usually in nanoseconds, dependent on the speed of your processor). Actions take longer to complete, so they can't be run "instantly."
If actions were computed like script commands, and were only run on one central stack, imagine how poorly that would run! Since we can have many NPCs doing many different things at once, it is clear that the BioWare engine evaluates script commands like a multitasking operating system running many tasks at once, which works quite nicely as long as all of the operations are being calculated incredibly quickly (and consistently in regards to execution time). But what happens when you have an NPC walk across a 32x32 map?
If his "walking across a 32x32 map" were inserted into the command queue with all of the other commands, your game might freeze up; nothing would be moving, or doing anything, except for that one NPC walking across the (large) map. As soon as he was done, the game would universally freeze again until the next NPC who was lucky enough to get an action on to the command queue finished his action. And so on, and so forth. You would basically have a game that is entirely unplayable.
So, it makes perfect sense why they would've created this 'work around' to make the game run smoother.
The problem is the game has a memory leak (thanks again to T'Koda). The game isn't flushing itself from memory as it moves along. If anyone remembers, Diablo II and Ultima Online: 3rd Dawn had big memory leak problems which eventually locked up your computer. The problem was the code would load all the data required for say, Shame, then when you left Shame and went to Destard, instead of flushing the data from your memory, the data for both Shame and Destard would be there and start hogging up resources in a major way. What happens is your computer locks up and you will need to reboot that machine and allow it to come back up in a "clean state". Which means all that other data is now gone and all that is loaded is the information that comes up when you start up your computer (Windows, misc. Services, ICQ, etc.). So when you restart your game, you are fine (usually) and can run your game again. Until it once again uses up all your resources and locks up your computer.
Not all computers are experiencing this type of memory leak, but some are. So, I am thinking that maybe, just maybe, this type of processing is foreign to some of the computer processors and RAM we have out today. And it also makes sense why the system requirements for the game is so high. It needs all that processing power to run the game smoothly.
Yes, we can use multiple stacks when programming applications, but this is sort of like having TWO command queues running at once. It’s hard to explain, but if you understand any type of hardcore programming (not drag and drop stuff) you will understand what I am saying as to how ‘weird’ this is.. Everyone else will just have to trust me.
My theory is the computers that are having this problem are having a problem with the way NWN Scripting works.
Granted, this is ONLY speculation and if I am wrong, I am wrong. But it could explain it.
In the world of Computing, there is something called F.M. Translated, "Fucking Magic". That's a term many computer professionals use to describe what happened when a computer wouldn't come up all day, then all of a sudden it does. My thinking on that is computers are powered by one of the most volatile forms of energy on this planet: Electricity. If you have ever studied electricity, you would know that it is some crazy acting shit. It's a wonder man ever got it to work for him....
Anyway, I am blabbering.
I am going to dig into this scripting stuff and see if I can figure out exactly how the 'dual command stack' processing works in NWN and then dive into the coding of the game.
There are a lot of good guides out there. NWN.Stratics actually has links to some VERY good sites. Maybe NWN Stratics will not go the way of one of it's predecessors and not fall behind in staying current in it's content and information.
One of the most interesting scripts I found was this one. Just click it. You will see why that's interesting.
One of the most interesting features a Dungeon Master (think Seer with Uber powers) has available to him is: dm_cowsfromhell - Cows burst forth from Hell and kill everyone in range. If anyone remembers Blue Bolts from Heaven or "make your 3d6, six times saving throw" you will know what those Demon Cows mean...
Also, for those that have NWN already (NOT ME! :( ), and want to PvP, here are some PvP Modules you can download and use.
Hasta. |
^ top-Warlord <-- Is Da Shit
[Nieves] June 29 - 7:17 PM EDT | 
No promises as to it's final release...but it's being worked on.
Hasta. |
^ top-Sensitivity Training
[Nieves] June 29 - 2:59 PM EDT | From PvP Online comes, Sensitivity Training.
And if you give a shit about the underground music scene, check out this girl. He fucking rocks. Now if he would just get a new website that matches his mixing talents.
Hasta. |
^ top-Some MORE Pub 16 News
[Nieves] June 29 - 2:41 PM EDT | Reset the default rune location of your runebooks. If they are set to a spot in the Lost Lands or the Dungeons, they will not work. That might be what is causing the problems when you are trying to use them and you can't recall.
If the house is owned by an inactive account, it has been set to a state of "inactive." Players do not get to see the actual house state, you only see the refresh type. In this case, a refresh type of "condemned" is correct -- it means that after we turn decay back on, the house will decay. However, before that happens, we will turn on coowner claiming, and you should be able to take ownership of the house.
MrTact
Enchanted harps are being found on Lizard Men. Some with a high number of charges.
Um, Lizardmen are spawning powerful magic items? Does anyone else see this as a problem?
You can find a FAQ about housing here.
On a non-UO related note: Blockbuster (in my town anyway) is selling Lord Of the Rings Rental Cards. You pay 24.99 and you get 1 free DVD or VHS a week for ten weeks. If you miss a movie in one of those weeks, you forfeit your free movie for that week. Here is the cool part: You get a free copy of the Lord of the Rings DVD coming out on August 6th. And you can choose letterbox or regular format.
Own...if you can get it.
Hasta. |
^ top-Found On A Pacific Shard Near You
[Nieves] June 29 - 8:32 AM EDT | +10 Scrolls (Fencing, Swords, and Eval) were found early on. And Thalen can't sell them for a high price.
Also, Fire Horns. From what I saw have this really cool Flamestrike effect when activated on a target or on targets..
Anyway...I guess those powerscrolls and Fire Horns aren't as rare as previousely stated.
Hasta. |
^ top-Stat Cap Method Not Working?
[Nieves] June 28 - 11:31 PM EDT | There are indications that gaining stats in what has been the 'traditional way' since skill locks were introduced is no longer viable.
Anyone know if this is true?
UPDATE: I can confirm that the see saw method on Pacific is broken since we revieved Publish 16.
I was working Strength for 2 hours trying to gain using the see saw method, ,and for 2 hours I didn't gain JACK! This is either planned by OSI or it is a bug. Either way, it's fucked.
Pathos (Pacific)
Thanks Pathos.
Hasta. |
^ top-Pub 16 Pacific News
[Nieves] June 28 - 2:12 PM EDT | system message on Pacific: In order for you to recall in Feluca, you must remove runes from the runebooks, as they don't work inside the runebooks.
.....
Hasta. |
^ top-Publish 16 On Pacific
[Nieves] June 28 - 8:47 AM EDT | It's on!
No wait! We can't do it. Storms!
Oh, hold on, it's Friday, they can't patch it in. People don't like to work on the weekends! Wait! They will do it next week.
OH NO! We can't. It's a holiday weekend! Woops. Sorry.
OH! Friday! Perfect! And since next week is a holiday weekend, they will put it in now so you can truly enjoy the holiday in UO!
Whew.
I am glad that is straight now.
From Blitz: This will suck like it never sucked before!!!
Hasta. |
^ top-More nerfs to tamers revealed
[FrozenFire] June 28 - 1:05 AM EDT | Or not. . .
This is what Oaks had to say about tamers:
"With publish 16, pets will no longer walk through moongates by themselves. They will follow their owner through a gate, however."
Thats right, now tamers wont have to have to fear that their poor (and soon to be ressable, I might add) pet dragon will be killed by any bad evil players that stands up to them in peeveepee.
Bards will be toned down soon. Fine, it was overdue, at least since UO:R. Tamers? They wont go the same way, instead theyve been annointed by the "gods". Newsflash: They are now the freaking preferred class in UO. Bad news for the game, if you ask me.
|
^ top-Too Bad I Wasn't There
[Nieves] June 27 - 8:21 PM EDT | I am sure Blackened would find this damn hilarious had I been there.
I hope you got your jollies Bill/Blackened/Darkken Rabbi/Jerry Garcia/Infestus/Slap Your Face/Jarlaxle/Creeping Death/Darkken Rabbi/ Wolfbrew. I mean, I would surely be happy if I went out of my way to gank someone and totally fuck someone in the ass in game that paid my "real life bills, kept my roof over [my] head, kept [me] fed, helped [me] with [my] computer by sending [me] computer parts, and helped [me] keep [my] Ultima Online accounts active".
Pay that woman back that helped you all this time. It's the honorable thing to do. Oh wait, "[you] have no honor nor integrity". My bad on that.
Oh, and you surely are a big fucking man NOW! I mean look at you. You are with the King Gank Squad of Great Lakes! Too bad you couldn't even handle RP PvPers solo. Oh, that's right, it was because you were lagged all the time. My bad. I take that one back.
Go ahead, gank me, my friends, everyone I know (just make sure it REALLY is me you are getting this time k?thx). I could give a shit. Why? All that means is I got to go and get resed and reequipped. It means nothing because it's just a fucking game. Do you realize that? A fucking game.
Oh, and you SURELY are a big man when I tried to confront you about the shit you said about me to others. I mean, really, ignoring me but crying to your little friends? I especially loved it when they came back and said: 'could you please leave Bill alone'? Lots of balls there 'bro'.
Yeah bitch. Big fucking tough guy. Not.
Oh, "who is the new girlfriend this month"? I mean, have you met a "new virtual babe that feels sorry enough for [you] to want to take care of Poow Wittle Bill"? Oh I am sure your little circle "feels sorry for PWB, because you know, he's the fucking victim". PWB never does anything wrong, does he?
"[Have you] posted anymore logs to your friends lately"? I mean, "[you] keep everything and just HAVE to share it with people just to show how much of a victim you really are". Wah.
"[Have you] found a job yet after a year? Or are [you] still sitting in front of the fucking computer crying to people about your bills? Or did you find a virtual 'Big Momma' to pay your bills? Or did you find some other 'thing' that will pay off big for you?"
Laugh Bill. Laugh all you want.
You are nothing.
You are pathetic.
Oh, and some advice (if you care to listen): "Go take your fucking pills so you don't keep having panic attacks and quit getting flat faced drunk around your kid."
Maybe if you had a job and "kept current on your emotion control pills, you wouldn't feel like such a victim. Maybe, just maybe, you would have a real life."
Kiss my ass and suck my dick backwards.
UPDATE: Lest I forget, Pepper, Regulus has some information for you.
UPDATE2: For the record, Alana had nothing to do with this post. It was all Nievesy. All the information above was gathered by various sources. These sources have saved information (contained within logs) about said individual. The information also includes direct quotes from this individual. What was spoken here was spoken in open forums and discussion groups. I merely summarized and repeated them here. I modified the above post to show the quotes as given to me by those various sources. They contacted me and demanded their information be given proper recognition and I have done so.
Hasta. |
^ top-Powergaming NWN
[Nieves] June 27 - 2:09 PM EDT | And it begins....
Quick Leveling in Chapter 1
I was playing through with my second character (Gnome Wizard) and was just playing as normal, and defeated the Yuan-Ti in the graveyard. I then decided it would probably be a good idea to go through the part of the dungeon I hadn't explored and get all the items from those parts.
I noticed I missed the Mummy Room at the entrance of the crypt. I went inside, Tomi unlocked the chests, disabled the traps, I took the armor out of the sarcophagus and the mummy instantly spawned. After defeating it, I had a hunch.
I took the armor, and placed it back inside the sarcophagus. Voila! Another mummy spawned. Hmmm...
It seems as though EVERY time you take an item out or put an item in, a mummy spawns. At level 7, these give + or - 250 exp EACH. Since I was a wizard, I found I could kill up to 6 of these at a time (Myself, Tomi, and my Panther summon, that is) which was 1500 experience every minute or so. Needless to say, I went from level 7 to 8 pretty damn quickly.
Though when you hit level 8, you only get about 150 exp each... hell, it's still enough to level like crazy.
So.. happy leveling everyone.
Thanks Albi.
Feeling it yet?
Hasta. |
^ top-NWN Graphics Rock.... Sorta...
[Gator] June 27 - 11:12 AM EDT | Just like many others I rushed out for a copy of NWN last night. And let me tell you, just the intro movie alone had me VERY impressed. But immediately encountered the black screen of death. :/ No biggie. I exited the game and tried again, and this time I got the game menus, ALRIGHT, now we are in business. Character creation setup was very easy and worked quite well for someone who has no experience with the AD&D III ruleset. Finally got into the game and it started. I experienced a lag worse than any time I ever played with in UO. I am talking worse than the first night housing was allowed in Trammel. Anyone remember that night? ::shudders:: So anyways, I quickly saved and exited and checked out Biowares web site for more info. And there it was...
3DFX is no longer in business; although some Voodoo 5 cards may work occasionally they are no longer supported by 3DFX and available drivers do not generally include complete OpenGL support required for Neverwinter Nights. Hence, 3DFX graphics cards are not supported by NWN.
Once again my $300 VooDoo 5500 bites me in the ass. :/ Ohh it will run alright, but personally I would have more fun shaving my nut bag with a rusty razor then dive into a swimming pool of Isopryl Alcohol than to play through that again. Not gonna happen.
Moral of the story?
Plan on spending $170 bucks on thsi game if ya got a VooDoo. $59.99 for the game... $110.00ish for a GEFORCE III.
Later |
^ top-Why Publish 16 Hasn't Gone In Yet.
[Nieves] June 27 - 10:03 AM EDT | Due to a storm that produced repeated power outages throughout Austin last night, we were unable to complete the necessary backups and maintenance necessary to bring Publish 16 live on the Pacific shard.
We will post another update once we have determined the new date and time for the publish, but our current forecast is early next week. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused!
If UOPG's forum hadn't been down twice in two days for the very same reason, I would question it. Kudos for being quick with this news.
Now OSI has time to work out more bugs, and we, the players, have time to GM out more characters. WOOPEE!
BTW: From what I am reading and hearing in our forum, Anatomy+Eval Int isn't as effective as Wrestling alone is. Something to think about.
Hasta. |
^ top-NWN Scripts
[Hennarr] June 27 - 9:50 AM EDT | If you're like me, and a little moronic, the scripting for NWN might have frustrated to the point of sobbing uncontrollably. NWNscript lets you do just about anything. It fucking rocks, end of story. Well it's not the end of the story because it's pretty hard to work with if you're a total coding newbie, and/or a little too lazy/busy to take a course on C++ or go through the massive tutorials that some sites have posted. So instead, you should just see what other people have done, take their scripts, and put it into your modules. Cut and paste can go very far in scripting, and I've even been able to tweak things quite using the foundations of other scripts. Check out this really great NWN scripting resource that is definitely the largest I've seen so far, chock full of amazing scripts, and growing daily.
|
^ top-Publish 16 Is Not In Yet.
[Nieves] June 27 - 8:57 AM EDT | Tools are not showing durability.
Houses are not going condemned.
Justice virtue is not active.
Etc.
I am sure OSI has had some issues that need working out. That's a good thing. Fix it before it's released.
Hmm...I think it's be nice to OSI day today.
BTW: Next time I want to talk politics, someone shoot me.
Hasta. |
^ top-What's Wrong With Publish 16?
[Nieves] June 27 - 6:39 AM EDT | Well, how about I just list some of the taming bugs again?
+ Loyalty decrease too rapid
+ Pets unable to return (be summoned) when gated away.
+ Undecayed pet ghosts may block control slots for a lengthy period of time.
+ No disobey sounds
+ Z-axis bug still in effect when healing/resurrecting
+ Choppy Nightmare graphics
+ Fire Steed armor class changes reason for no apparent reason. Both Fire Steed and Nightmare stats reset to the lower defaults when the character logs out or stables the pets. (Additional details would be appreciated)
+ Nightmares and Fire Steeds lose their ability to breathe fire
+ Blue bonded pets are attackable in Trammel (Additional details would be appreciated)
+ Pet skill and stat gain appears to be broken. Unicorns have difficulty gaining tactics, ‘mares with evaluate intelligence, and frenzied ostards won’t gain strength (Additional details would be appreciated)
+ Successful commands no longer raise loyalty
+ Pack instincts don’t appear to have an effect on attack damage (Additional details would be appreciated)
+ Second taming attempt brings up the message “someone else is taming this” even when no one else is
+ The number of days required to bond with a pet appear random; seems to take more than one week to bond.(Additional details would be appreciated)
+ The loyalty level would be more helpful on the first page of the lore gump
+ Pets can become stuck on regular ground (Additional details would be appreciated)
+ Fire Steed spawn is very slow
+ The character stamina controls the stamina of his or her mount
+ Pet ghosts regain health
+ Dragons don’t respond to “guard” command (Additional details would be appreciated)
+ There does not appear to be a “[pet name] looks around desperately message any longer, when the owner is out of LOS.
Publish 16 has been released to the Pacific shard and I am waiting to hear from the players their impressions of it on a production shard (hint). Now, you see the list above? Well, do YOU, the players, think Publish 16 is ready to be released just based on the above? I would hope you agree when I say it is -NOT- ready to be released. It's bad enough they are releasing changes many of the players do not want. But because of corporate deadlines and other Corporate America bullshit, it's going out now.
Thank you for your attention to quality. It's appreciated.
You have to excuse me, I am getting ready for a Chess Match (scroll down a bit) being played on the Lake Superior shard between a player and a dev team member. Normally, I would say "COOL!" But then, due to my nature of having to find something to bitch about, I realized something. They modified the Nujel'm chessboard so the two opponents could have the chess match. They are going to have a GM (or GMs) on hand to help monitor the event. I am positive there will be other OSI reps there watching the event. Hell, I am going to be there myself.
But what concerns me is this: Time, effort, and resources were taken to run a chess match. Does that mean they can do that on every shard? I mean, it's fair right? And if they are going to do it for this chess match, why can't they take the time to help run 'Seer run" quests? Kind of like Vasul and his undead henchmen a few weeks ago.
Excuse me while I go grab some toilet paper. ::looks:: Hmmmm...I better get the whole roll. This reeks of BULLSHIT.
Nope. Noone at OSI plays favorites.
Oh, another thought crossed my mind. Release the announcement about this chess match, but fail to tell us until the day before, and after I mention it, about Pacific receiving the (BROKEN) Pacific 16 changes? Skewed priorities maybe? Nah, can't be.
It's ok. You can now all go back to playing Neverwinter Nights. I hear mine is coming for my birthday. Joy of joys!
Hasta. |
^ top-And here it Is!
[Lealla] June 26 - 8:09 PM EDT | We are targeting to publish the “Publish 16” changes listed in General Testing to the Pacific shard, to be active following a modified Thursday (June 27th CDT) morning maintenance period. This maintenance period downtime will begin at 8:00am CDT (6:00am PDT) and may last around 90 minutes.
We will monitor the shard closely, and barring any unforeseen issues, will announce a publish schedule for the remaining shards as it is determined.
Till Next Time...
Lealla |
^ top-Court Rejects Pledge of Allegiance.
[Nieves] June 26 - 3:15 PM EDT | The Pledge of Allegiance is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion and cannot be recited in schools.
Totally unrelated to UO, but I need to say this.
What next? If I am praying before my meal at McDonald's, someone is going to come up to me and tell me my execution of Freedom of Religion is clashing with his rights as a citizen.
I guarantee you that because of ignorant motherfuckers that have to make an issue of every fucking detail of their pathetic lives, we will see the ideals of Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Expression clashing in a court room and our ideals as a nation go flying to holy hell.
Common sense should prevail here. Simply replacing "under God" with something that you are more comfortable with (i.e.-under Allah, under Jehovah, under Yaweh, under Buddha) or simply not stating that at all is fine.
Anyway, whatever, I am starting to sound like a conservative instead of an intellectually honest person.
To the person that first had a fit over the Pledge Of Allegiance and the "under God" portion, a big fuck you too.
UPDATE: A few things I failed to mention. Thanks to those that brought it to my attention and made me feel it was necessary to bring to you here.
In it's original form the Pledge of Allegiance did not have 'under God' in it. That was added some time ago and became the 'normal' way of saying it. Although I agree that there should be a separation of Church and state, our country as "under God", "in God we trust", etc. in many of it's documents, and coinange. What's the difference between now and then? I don't know. Maybe it needed to be brought to light and dealt with now, or maybe someone was born.
BTW: I hear that person that originally filed the lawsuit was found dead with her, also dead, daughter. I understand that the same 'liberalistic' friends she hung out with responsible for her death. Sad. Really.
People hungry, dieing, sick, and we worry about 'under God' in a simple statement that, with common sense, can be rectified. I am glad my tax dollars are hard at work.
Hasta. |
^ top-Taming Bugs
[Nieves] June 26 - 2:31 PM EDT | There are some hefty taming bugs on Test Center 2 right now.
Some of them include: Not being able to summon a bonded pet that has died and still having the control slots assigned to that pet, being able to get pet owners guard whacked, or being able to freely attack a tamer and kill him or even giving them murder counts (I believe this includes Trammel too), and pets losing their loyalty way too fast.
Anyway, if you can, read the link, there is some serious interesting information in there. Hell, even Sir Bart of Great Lakes' Black Company makes an appearance.
Maybe this is why Publish 16 is delayed? Has it even been released to Pacific yet? Has anyone seen any public announcements about the delay anywhere? I haven't. I know Stratics hasn't because I haven't seen it posted on their site yet.
Hmmm..::checks::..nope. Not announced anywhere. Damn. I guess it's not important really. You can go back to playing Neverwinter Nights now.
Hasta. |
^ top-More Forum News
[Nieves] June 26 - 10:58 AM EDT | Welp, another power outage took out our forums again :/
The host is working on it as we speak.
UPDATE: And the Forums are up again. Fry is working on acquiring a UPS backup power device.
Hasta. |
^ top-Forums
[Nieves] June 26 - 7:20 AM EDT | The Forums came back up yesterday afternoon.
Stay tuned for some more news to our forum and a possible upgrade in the near future.
Hasta. |
^ top-The Epiphany
[Nieves] June 25 - 10:57 PM EDT | NWN is much better than UO
Argue with me if you want, but NWN just fucking smokes UO like a crack rock at a re - hab clinic.
It has soo much more potential as far as satisfying the various factions within UO's neurotic and self centered gamers. Its the fix.. the epiphany.
That is all.
-Spion Kopp
Hasta. |
^ top-UOPG Boards Update
[Nieves] June 25 - 1:40 PM EDT | Power outages and bad storms in the Houston area are keeping us from getting our boards back up :/
We will continue to work the problem.
Hasta. |
^ top-Client Patch Today
[Nieves] June 25 - 12:10 PM EDT | They are changing Enticement to read Discordance. But it won't work like Discordance untill after Publish 16 is live. So when you use Discord, it will still function like Entice.
Hasta. |
^ top-UOPG Boards
[Nieves] June 25 - 10:44 AM EDT | I know I know. It's down.
It seems the whole server is down. Fry is on it. From Fry: Yea.. but it's not the os on the box.. the hub or the fuck there has assigned my ip to another box by mistake or something else... could be that the power flickered something fierce and it's paused on a file system check...
Hopefully we can have the boards back up soon.
My apologies to the readers.
Update:Update: #1
[...] there was a big storm that took out the power for a short period of time... This caused the machines to cycle... Falsehope should be back online shortly, it paused at the filesystem check as I assumed...
Hasta. |
^ top-This just crossed my desk
[Lealla] June 25 - 9:36 AM EDT | While sifting through a few stories the following one caught my eye. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!
Hail friends. Pull up a stool and pour yourself a tall one. For the tale I shall tell thee tonight is a testimony of our guild mates Of the Knights Of Britannia. On the night of Kildair' Axeman’s Knighting, we retired to our usual festivities of beating the newly honored Knight into submission. Although I must confess, I did not take part in this horrid behavior due to the kindness in my heart. I knew it would be a long night for our would be hero so I gave him his first taste of victory by tripping on the stone floor of our tower and faking to be beat into submission myself. For is a Knight's duty not to sacrifice when need be? So I willing gave of myself to my guild mate.
Ah duty, but back to the tale at hand. As the night wore on and many of our numbers diminished, a few of our guild stayed to continue the time honored dance of death. With only four of us left the stage was set for the fight that would be seen by few but known by many. Beowolf stood in the eastern circle with his armor dented but by no means less strong. For if Beowolf knows anything, it is the quality of his equipment that makes the difference between life and death. How many times have we seen this warrior cheat the mages flame of pain and destruction by throwing an explosion potion or by drinking a timely heal. This man knows the ways of the warrior.
In the corner facing him stood the mage known as Jim. Little is known about Jim by this story teller but I am beginning to see the errors of judging a book by its cover. I see mages from time to time. They hurry about town with their silly llamas trying to barter for a few more precious reagents. This man did not seem to follow this template. Instead his arms and hands were steady as his face showed not the arrogance of most casters. This is not a house mage at all this man is a combat mage a warlock.
This captivating tale continues at the Knights of Britannia website.
Till Next Time...
Lealla |
^ top-Fishing Submissions
[Nieves] June 25 - 9:02 AM EDT | From OSI:
Have you ever felt that you could write better game information than the tips at UO.com? Well, now’s your chance! If you think you’re the expert on everything related to Fishing, or if you just want to share your particular secret to fishing your way to the top, we want to hear from you! Selected guides may be featured in the UO.com Playguide and Game Wizard, along with the author’s name and shard.
Here is UOPG's submission. But we all know that will never make it to the UO.com playguide. I mean, it's from UOPG, and they can't support us anymore. Awwww....
You know, I couldn't stop laughing for two minutes when I saw their request for skill submissions.
Oh and: We will be covering other skills in the future. The work is already done. Yes, it will need to be updated a tad come Publish 16, but the bulk of the work is done (thanks to Phazer). Hmmm... Any guides containing exploits or the abuse of game mechanics will not be used. Interesting. How would we ever know if they are exploits or abuse of the game's mechanics if they refuse to answer or give us consistant information in the first place about exploits? Nice. Very nice.
Hmmm...I just thought of something else. Why are they asking for guides now? I mean, they are changing the way we gain skill because of Publish 16. Oh wait. That works in my favor. They will get outdated guides and will still be behind the Power Curve.
Oh, and another thing, this is THEIR game. They maintain it and make changes to it. Why would they need skill guides from the players? I mean, shouldn't they know what the best, legal ways to grandmaster skills in the first place?
Does OSI ever ask themselves these questions? Doesn't somebody over there THINK? You know, the thing your brain does when you use it?
Thank you again OSI for making my job easier. And thank you again for the laugh. I surely needed it today.
Hasta. |
^ top-I Hate To....
[Nieves] June 24 - 3:01 PM EDT | Click , and help me keep UOPG up.
Give what you can. Anything will help.
I won't get into the particulars of what's going on because it's personal.
But it boils down to this, if I don't get this resolved, UOPG goes down in 3 weeks.
Hasta. |
^ top-Inhale the Deep Dark Blue
[Fixxxer] June 23 - 11:44 PM EDT | Ah, where to start... I've been rather busy the past couple weeks and failed to keep up on these posts. A lot has happened since. A lot. A few new games here and there. And a couple old games I personally recently discovered.
Eat it up and inhale the Deep Dark Blue:
Adellion- Major Update.
Adellion has hit a few speedbumps. And a newsletter was sent out by Paul Hutson:
"Since I started Adellion with Andrew in 2000 we have worked hard to get the game up and running. We have both been strongly committed to building a different, immersive world that will enable true roleplaying instead of what is currently on offer. We are both still committed to that goal.
We are well along the way to this. Seven of the cultures are highly developed and improving as time goes on. We have a lore team that has worked very hard to create societies that players can immerse themselves in. The basic maps are done and more realistic detailed maps are in progress. The music is pretty much complete. The skills and combat systems are in place although there still remains much to be done. There is a fine portfolio of art and design. The basic workings of the game - GUI, character creation etc.. are mapped out.
BUT, as those of you who follow the Stratics site will know we have had a problem with the programming. The Java engine no longer seems the right basis to go forward on. This is a great disappointment to us and obviously puts things back. We have to get a new game engine and get the programming re-started. On the other hand we can make use of some programming already done.
At the same time both myself and Andrew have qualifications to obtain and need to devote more time to our careers. That does not mean we are abandoning the game - far from it. But we are taking more of a back seat role.
I am pleased to announce that John Bates (aka Crydee) has agreed to take on the job of Adellion Team Leader. This is a project management role for which John is highly suitable given his experience in the army and the law.
John intends to hold a House of Commons on the Stratics site on Sunday 14th July at 10pm BST and will also provide bi-monthly progress reports starting on 1st September 2002.
Our next steps are to decide on an engine, licence it and then re-start programming. At the same time we will continue the landscaping design, town design and town modelling. We have started work on non-player characters and this will also continue.
To reduce the programming load we have decided to remove the Bahhiran and Pollyian cultures from the game for the time being. The Rhallyns are likely to be confined to one of the poles only. We will restore these cultures after the game starts.
I appreciate that this news is not altogether welcome. But this is a big project and, for volunteer workers who have jobs and families to sustain, a difficult one. We owe a deep debt of gratitude to those who have worked long and hard to try and realise our goal. In such a project as this there are bound to be upsets on the way. But we are determined to continue and release the game. I look forward to seeing all of you in the Adellion world."
The After- New Publisher? Races and... Underground.
The After came back from E3 with a few publishers in mind. They will likely announce who will be publishing the game in the next few months.
The races section will be completed soon per the website. "It will include 2d and 3d versions of each race, as well as detailed information on each." They will also be expanding the lore sections by the end of the month.
Also:
"The After will be going underground at the end of June. Basically, public interaction is going to be very slow and rare as we work heavily on the game for the next three to four months. When we come out from being underground, we will have plenty of updates as to the progress of The After as well as new content for the website."
Ages of Athiria- Newsletter 6.
In the most recent newsletter, there is a sneak peak at the magic system. Also thrown in is a quicktime sample of the High Elven music, a beastiary update for the Rock Troll and an interview with Bhel Khazul:
"I think the industry and its fans are ready for more immersive experiences in their MMP games. It's not enough to just go out and kill things. It's not enough to just chat with your friends. Those things have already been done. Future games that just repeat that formula might be successful to varying degrees, but they are really missing the 'big picture'. What sets AoA apart from our competition is that we see the "bigger picture" and are bringing that to reality."
Nothing different than what every other game is saying. We'll see who can actually back it up.
Age of Mythology Online- Alpha Playtest.
Ok, so you played Warcraft. You played Age of Empires. You played Civilization. Well here is the newest of the genre. And you can alpha it.
"Sign up for a chance to be among the first to experience the wrath of the gods. Microsoft Game Studios and Ensemble Studios are inviting 10,000 gamers to participate in the Age of Mythology Online Playtest.
Between Friday, June 21 to Sunday, June 30 (11:59 PM PST), fans can enter to participate in this epic multiplayer event.
Participants will be selected via a random drawing from all qualified entries received and gamers from around the world are eligible to enter.
If you are selected, you will receive an alpha version of Age of Mythology which will contain two of the nine civilizations that will be available when the game is released this October. Up to four players will be able to compete head-to-head as a follower of either Zeus or Poseidon on one of two multiplayer maps. Fans can enter both here, and at the Ensemble Studios site."
So, sign up.
America's Army- Soldiers and Operations.
This one kinda snuck up on everyone at E3. Using the Unreal game engine, this game will be similar to Counterstrike; except more realistic ie you aren't going to get shot 4 times and be fully functional. Check out these screenies, they aren't too bad.
Now you can virtually be all that you can be...
What's real nice is that it is following in Project Entropia's footsteps in that it is totally free to play. You will find it in magazines or as downloads off websites. Buh bye Counterstrike.
The game is divided into Soldiers and Operations. Soldiers being single player game and Operations being the MMOsomethingG.
Gamesdomain wrote a preview of the game here which states:
"While portraying an experience of modern infantry combat with unparalleled realism is a motive for the Army's first videogame venture, the primary objective is actually much more interesting. Sick of wasting millions of taxpayers' dollars on ineffective marketing campaigns (like expensive 30-second spots during the Superbowl), the Army believes games can be their new recruitment tool to encourage today's game-addicted youth to take an interest in pursuing a military career.
America's Army is actually the name given to the
overall package that is comprised of two separately developed projects: an RPG style career advancement sim entitled Soldiers and an online, squad-based first-person shooter, Operations. Although individual games, there are plans for the two to be intuitively linked later down the line; something akin to allowing you to bring the soldier you develop in Soldiers directly into Operations, with particular benefits based on whatever skills he's acquired"
No more TV commercials, the US Army has a new way to make you want to be all that you can be. Do ya blame em? I don't.
Anarchy Online- L33t Dolls and SE.
I r0xxx0r j00. Anyone who has played AO knows what a Leet is. It was comical at first; I mean, ya gotta laugh at the fact that someone actually put this into their game. But did you like it so much that you want a plush Leet laying next to you in your bed telling you how much you suck? If so, then vote on it. So far, 'yes' is winning at a 6 to 1 ratio.
The Special Edition is available to order.
Asheron's Call 2- Macros, 3rd Party Programs, Quests, FAQs and others.
The AC Team has taken public input and expressed their views on macros and 3rd party programs in this press release.
Also, plenty of info has been released on the games quest system. A tale from the Wandering Scribe has been posted. New screenshots can be found in the Multimedia section. And lastly, the FAQ has been updated.
A Tale in the Desert- New Client.
From the main sites news page:
"We have officially switched over to the new client, which supports pixel-shader effects on GeForce cards, and runs faster on some systems. "Granny Errors" should now be a thing of the past. Also, we have revamped the terrain system - much more variation in terrain is now possible."
ATITD is an open beta. This means that anyone can join in whenever they wish. What is nice about beta testing this game is that the Dev Team is immediately available for tech support during beta test sessions in #ATITD on the Stratics IRC server.
Atriarch- Q&A and Beta News.
Atriarch is chugging along nicely after a several month absence:
"To let people know what to expect on our site, our current mode is to update Atriarch.com once a week. We will continue to bring you an update every week (sometimes more often) with some new content or with a brief summary of what is occurring behind the scenes."
The Atriarch Vault is releasing weekly Q&A's with the Dev Team. Each week World Fusion (makers of Atriarch) will choose 3-5 questions to answer about Atriarch, World Fusion, or the Volcano Engine. The questions are submitted each week by you or whoever else is interested. If you would like to submit questions for the weekly feature, then email DQ at: DavidQuick@vaultnetwork.com.
And news on beta:
"It has been a long while since our last technical beta play session. We are slowly, but surely exterminating some nasty technical bugs before beginning another play session. We know that many people are anxious to get testing regardless of the bugs. We thank you all for you incredible support and eagerness to jump right in!
For those who have signed up for Technical Testing... we had many more people sign up to test than our current bandwidth capacity will allow. We accepted a number of people for the Stage 1 Technical Test and have closed the sign-ups for this stage.
However, we still encourage you to sign up for future stages. Anyone who is already signed up or submitted an application previously will not need to sign up again.
New Email Testing Application: A few people who have signed up for testing have had errors with the form. For those of you who would like to sign up, but the testing form is not working, you can now sign up via an email registration form here.
If you have already signed up, then there is no need to do so again. If your information has changed, for example, you have a new email, then you can email your changes directly to: jaruh@worldfusion.com
Again, thank you to everyone who is so eager to help with Atriarch. We have had a lot of people offering services... everything from art to programming. This is so encouraging to us and thank you so much. We all know this is a long process and thank you for your patience!"
BigWorld: Citizen Zero- Now Hiring!
BigWorld is 'ramping up' their development team. Apply here.
Blackmoon Chronicles- Newsletters and New Client.
No MMORPG in the making puts out newsletters like Blackmoon. My email gets more Blackmoon info sent to it than any other game. They really keep their fans informed.
Since my last post, newsletters #18, #19, #20 and #21 have been released.
The new BMC client has been made available to download. "This version will make all future patches more efficient and will take up as much as 500 MB less disk space than previous clients!"
Computer Games Online- Road to Nowhere.
Interesting article has been posted about vaporware. Give it a read.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon- Announced.
Oh yea baby, you heard me. No website yet, but the press release states:
"Phantagram announces its upcoming massively multiplayer online game based on the popular kung-fu fantasy film.
Phantagram Interactive has announced that it will develop and publish a massively multiplayer online game based on Ang Lee's popular kung-fu fantasy film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The game will feature fast-paced kung-fu fighting and an involved storyline.
We are very excited to bring this unique property to life in the form of a massively multiplayer online game that will redefine the genre," said Sangyoun Lee, chairman and CEO of Phantagram Interactive.
Phantagram plans to launch an official Web site for the game with more details in the coming months. The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon game is scheduled for release near the end of 2004. We'll post more information about the game as it becomes available."
I look forward to shoving Green Destiny up your dewd ass.
Darkfall- Screenshots and HoC.
Some new screenshots have been posted. Not too bad though the trees still look like they are melting.
There was a Stratics IRC HoC as well, the log can be found here.
Darkspace- New Version.
From the website:
"Palestar Inc has announced that the release of DarkSpace version 1.472. Several new fixes and features have been included in this release, for full details of what has been added check the development log."
Dominus Online- AVI Animation and Concept Art.
From the website:
"We are getting closer and closer to the next build for Dominus. We are releasing an AVI format animation of one of the races (Domins). You can download the AVI here. Soon we will be moving into a much more interactive phase of the alpha series.
Our team has also developed a new zone creator to bring more zones with much nicer detail online soon. We look forward to the next phase of our alpha series, and we thank the community for your ongoing support of Dominus Online."
The concept art page has been updated.
Dragon Empires- Dev Chat and Diary.
The latest Dev Chat can be found here.
An E3 Dev Diary has also been posted.
Earth and Beyond- Beta Phase 7 and IGN news.
E&B is hitting beta Phase 7. In short:
"The Plan(tm) as I have it from this morning's meeting is to push all dates back a week. Which means CDs shipping next Thursday and Download Instructions going out the following Monday (July 1)."
IGN.com had a lot of nice things to say about the game and a new AVI movie.
Elancia- Beta Announced.
Just found yet another MMORPG, an anime. An overview of the game per the website:
"Elancia is a Massive Mulitplayer Online Role Playing Game. It is an internet game where people such as yourself lead a virtual life in a graphical, colorful and dynamic ever changing world.
It is a world that never sleeps, even when a player logs off, life in this virutal world carries on. It is also a place where you meet other people from different cultures, make long lasting friends and have fun together.
Elancia, unlike other games, is a place where skill and strategy play a very important role. Be it skill in combat or trade skills such as fishing.
Learn to cook, fish, blacksmith, mine and most importantly, learn to be best that you can be.
For the seasoned player, you will be delighted to know that Elancia is unlike other MMORPGs. You'll need food to be efficient. Trading with other players is very important as no one player can master all the skills in the game.
You can fish, cook, blacksmith, pickpocket, tailor and more. Choose from the many occupations available such as pugilist, knight, archer, ranger, assassin and professional trader/merchant.
Read the Elancia story. Or start learning how to play Elancia now.
Did I mention you can fish? The beta client was released this past week, download it here. And the forums just recently opened.
Endless Ages- Launch.
They have extended the pre-order date of the Gold version of Endless Ages till June 25th.
EVE Online- Gamespy Interview and Stories.
Gamespy sat down with LD Kjartan Pierre Emilsson and talked about the current status of EVE. They tackled an interesting question:
"GameSpy: A lot of people feel that you'll be going toe-to-toe with Earth and Beyond. What key features are going to make your game shine brighter in the eyes of gamers in the long run?
Kjartan Pierre Emilsson: We think that the two games are taking two different approaches that will appeal to slightly different crowds. Earth & Beyond is aiming for the more casual gamer, that likes to level off in some finite amount of time. Our approach is slightly more hardcore, with a lot of high-level gameplay and freeform character advancement that will appeal to a more resilient crowd. This might lead to a longer lifetime for EVE, though it's really hard to predict. As we see it, both of us are kind of introducing the genre in the massively multiplayer field, and hopefully that will make the market larger for both of us."
A 'peek' of short story about dopplegangers was posted, and then one of the Amarr Nation.
Everquest- On Tour.
From Gamespot:
"Sony Online Entertainment has announced that it's kicking off the EverQuest Invasion Tour starting today in San Diego. Sony Online representatives will be traveling the country in a 26-foot EverQuest-branded trailer equipped with a dozen high-end PCs to publicly demonstrate EverQuest at fairs, shopping centers, and college campuses."
Read the whole article and the schedule here.
Horizons- It's Back.
The Horizons (dull) main webpage is back... can't say much else about it. There is a FAQ, some assorted screenshots, and some very small tidbits about the game. In fact, you can find more info from it's fan sites, such as:
HomeLan posted an interview with Producer Steve Snow and Designer Paul Peterson. The Horizons Vault had an interview with... someone. And Gamespy posted a preview.
Jumpgate- Expansion Pack.
A new expansion pack has been released titled Episode 2: Attack of the C.......onflux. Thought I was gonna say Clones didn't ya?
erm
Lineage- HoC and Off-Line PKing.
The Lineage HoC occurred, the log can be found here.
So, let us say you are in Korea, just for shits and giggles, and you are inside a PC Cafe getting your drink on. You are at a computer playing Lineage. Your good buddy is sitting next to you sharing some laughs, and his character is fighting next to you, in game. You are fighting some l4mer that you decided to PK. He drops, and you high-five your buddy. Suddenly, Paek Jung Yul of the clan Strong People Blood Pledge comes up from behind you and beats you, and your friend, to death. R0xxx0red.
It's called 'off-line PKing' and it happens.
The website for Time Magazine posted an interesting article about off-line PKing.
"The game has also caught on with the loan-sharking gangsters active in the Korean entertainment industry. Some have seized control of Lineage castles, gamers say. They do a brisk side business trading in virtual weapons and levying taxes in the game. In between off-line heists, they boast among themselves about their online exploits. 'They guard people for money in the game,' says the sweet-faced girlfriend of one gangster, as she leans back into a red plush couch at a Seoul bar. 'It's just like reality.'"
Yea. No shit. But it isn't.
Lineage II- FAQ Updated and a New Story.
The FAQ was updated. A nice story was posted as well.
Lunatix Online- Say Wha?
Ok... this is one hilarious game. I just found it today and tried it out. From the webpage:
"Lunatix Online is a web-based multiplayer role-playing adventure game. Players assume the role of a mental patient, locked away in a wacky mental institution (called “Imenz Aine”) on a crazy quest to escape.
Lunatix Online includes an awesome feature called “IGM” (In-Game Module) support. This means anybody with the inclination to do so can use our FREE developer's kit to create add-ons for the game. Not only will this allow the institution to grow, but it also paves the way for new places and adventures created by Lunatix Online players -- even you can do it!"
There aren't any classes. No warriors. No Mages. No Rogues. Instead there is Homicidal Maniac, Paranoid Schizophrenic and Manic Depressive.
I found myself in some pretty funny situations: Realizing I have not had ANY sex since being committed (I could tell by the lack of 'notches' in my bedpost), fighting shadows on my walls in my closet, attacking lunch ladies, grabbing the nurses tits, buying weapons from Socrates (I bought a toothpick) and armor from Napoleon (I bought fluffy bunny slippers). Yea, your character actually thinks he is dealing with those historical figures.
Oh yea, this game is focked up. Go try it, you will definitely get some good laughs.
Magic: The Gathering Online- Launched.
The game will launch on June 24th. Read the press release here.
Microsoft- Playtest Program.
Do you live in or near Seattle and love to play PC and XBox games? If so, then today is your lucky day. You can apply to be in Microsoft's new Playtest Program:
Be one of the first people to see future Microsoft games by participating in our Microsoft Games Playtest program.
* Novice and experienced players needed!
* Play UNRELEASED Microsoft PC and Xbox games!
* Make your opinions heard!
* Brief sessions that fit your schedule!
* Get FREE stuff!
Apply here if you are 16 years of age or older. Apply here if you are younger than 16.
Middle Earth- Stratics Site Relaunched.
Now now, don't get too excited. There isn't an ME MMORPG... yet. Until then, settle for this. I am sure you will spend countless hours playing.
Stratics relaunched it's ME page which now focuses on any games and/or movies involving Middle Earth and/or Tolkien.
Monsters! Monsters! Grendel's Revenge- Public Beta Announced.
Yea, that is a real name. And yea, that is a real game. From the site:
"Grendel's Revenge is an online storytelling game created by Worlds Apart Productions in conjunction with Skotos Tech Inc. It first opened for beta release on May 6, 2002. It is a game set in a high fantasy world where monsters are the heroes and evil adventurers need to be put in their place. It contains strong roleplaying and achievement elements.
Grendel's Revenge is similar in technology to a traditional MUD on the Internet with significant innovations, particularly in its use of a dynamic graphical map and its empowerment of players to extend the world through lair building. An intricate combat system and a highly granular ability system allow for considerable achievement within the game. However, like many MUSHes, it also provides ample opportunity for roleplaying. Clans are the hearts of social play in the game, and regular events further encourage interaction. Thus, it's able to enjoy the best of both worlds."
Basically it's a MUD. But creating your monster is hilarious. Some of the descriptions for your character are too funny.
Motor City Online- Update 6.3 and the Woodward Dream Cruise.
Update 6.3 is on test center. The State of Motor City was posted recently:
"In summary, we have identified 3 major areas that need our immediate attention:
1. Social Experience - Improve ways for players to interact and help each other. Also features that foster and enhance our community.
2. New Player Experience - Assist the new players as they learn the game and protect them from falling. In addition, ways for the community to be involved in this process.
3. Content - Add more appealing content, content that players of our demographic can relate to."
I'd like to take this moment to tell you about Woodward Avenue, the historically famous road in Detroit that MCO, among other things, and the whole hotrod theme is based upon. If you live in Michigan, or even if one of your parents or relatives once lived there, chances are they have Woodward vintage stories to tell... and they tell them often. Stories about how their '69 Dodge Super Bee beat out a '68 Mustang 428 Cobra Jet on Woodward Avenue. Stories about how your dad proposed to your mother in a '64 Merc Comet Caliente. Stories about Hemi Cudas, GTOs, Shelbys, Chevelles. Whatever.
This was/is life in Michigan. Detroit is not called the Motor City for nothing.
Now to my point. Something special happens every year on the third weekend of August. It's known as the Woodward Dream Cruise. About 1.5 million of those people bring 30,000 cars of all types to the 16 mile stretch of road. And boy is it a sight to see. If you live in Michigan, or even in Ohio, Indiana, Ontario or any other nearby state, I highly recommend attending. If you are into cars of any type, then it's worth even a longer voyage to witness this (some people come from Europe and Asia for this cruise).
Neocron- Players Guide and Neocronicle #3.
A Players Guide has been released, download it here. The 3rd issue of the Neocronicle, a fanzine, has been released. It's a fockin pdf.
Neverwinter Nights- Mac, PvP Module and a New Patch.
NWN is now available on Mac per this press release. ETA is fall of 2002.
Bioware has made it's first PvP module and it is ready to download. It's called the Contest of Champions. "This module is designed to allow a group of players to jump into combat against each other on up to for 4 different teams. Anything goes within the two different battle arenas. The last team standing at the end of combat wins the round."
And if you have not already done so, download the new patch v1.18.
The Path to Zenrai- HoC Log Posted.
The Stratics IRC HoC log has been posted, DL it via their news page.
Planeshift- New Server.
Planeshift has gone to a new, more powerful server provided by GAMIIX.COM.
PlanetSide- FAQ Update and a Team Comment.
The FAQ has been updated with new information on Characters, Group Play and more.
A Team Comment was posted by PlanetSide's producer, Dave Georgeson.
Project Entropia- R0xxx0r.
BIG SURPRISE! It happened. It was bound to happen. Everyone knew it would happen. That is, everyone except MindArk. Ahem:
"Some initial bug and balancing problems have affected the participants of Project Entropia. Some items have been lost and recently a problem with a battery back-up system during a blackout of the electricity supply caused the economy server to fail. This is not the way things should be, and the situation has to be corrected. MindArk takes participation satisfaction and security issues very seriously and therefore some new ways of progressing are under review.
Due to the nature of these errors and problems, there is no way for MindArk to compensate only those users who actually lost items. In the future, after the Commercial Open Trial Phase, this will not be a problem, as we are currently working on solutions. This may have only affected a few users. If we restore the accounts to what they were, this would mean restoring them to an original state, thus restoring the PED balances, but also restoring all skills, attributes and items acquired to zero."
HA! So, I went to their website to pluck some quotes off their FAQ only to find them removed. It has been a long time since I have read the FAQ, so I do not know when they were removed. Anyhoo, the FAQ once read something along the lines of "Every item is accounted for. We have a system that is 100% immune to bugs and exploits. It will never happen." Like I said, they may not have said exactly that. But it was damn close.
In the mean time, a Stratics IRC HoC occurred on June 6th. And once again, Stratics failed to post the log of their own chats. I hate that. So, some off the wall fansite posted it unedited. It's messy.
Purge Online- Beta Begins and 2 Interviews.
Closed Beta has begun this past week.
Gamers Hell caught up with Richard Cheung, one of the programmers, for an interview. RPG Vault also interviewed the programmer.
The Realm of Ralnar- MP3 Demos.
Two new demos of music have been released, find them here and here.
Redwyrm- New Screenshots.
A few new screenshots have been posted. They aren't much yet.... let's hope they'll end up like the concept art.
Rubies of Eventide- New Concept Art and Screenshots.
Some concept art and screenshots have been posted in the 'Whats New' section. The site sucks ass.
The Saga of Ryzom- Beta Signup.
Beta will begin soon, sign up here. From the site:
"A third-generation, science-fantasy, massively multiplayer on-line role playing game in a persistent world featuring:
• Intuitive, deep and subtle role playing game rules designed specifically for the MMO genre.
• A sumptuous, authentic and unique new world.
• An evolving, dynamic game environment.
• Ground-breaking community play.
• An unprecedented depth of role play.
The game design knits these features into a single coherent concept: Players actively participate and contribute to the life of a civilization: its conflicts, its federating needs and its constant drive for expansion, exploration and discovery in an awe-inspiring new world in perpetual evolution."
Just like what every other MMORPG is doing... only worded differently.
Shadowbane- Beta News
The two hundred and fifty testers who did not make it into beta are still first in line for the next wave of testers. Among those currently in a holding pattern for beta entry are the Laugh Out Loud Contest contestants, including the five winners. We also have many visitors from our Electronic Entertainment Expo booth in May who will be starting their entries into the beta test.
LOL contestants will soon start receiving emails asking for their beta Database user name. If contestants do not have one, please fill out the Online Beta form.
The new version of Shadowbane, including the new graphical engine improvements of terrain and textures, have been slowly getting prepared for beta launch. Upon the release of this new version, we expect over a thousand new testers will be selected and admitted to the greatest MMO to ever grace the Internet.
Shining Lore- Beta Announced.
Another MMORPG for you anime lovers. The game has recently announced beta.
"Mini-games are integral parts of Shining Lore. There are arcades within Shining Lore where you can enjoy many different small games with your online pals.
You will have your own house in Shining Lore. Regardless of the character's class, you can build your house and decorate it, then use it as a storage place or a place to hang out with your friends.
The environment and objects don't stop at being just a backdrop. You can pick up, carry, or use everything you see. And there are plenty of locations to explore or visit. Enterole, a land of fire and desert, is the first place to start off, and four more continents will be added soon. Each continent will feature different climate, inhabitants, culture, and environment, and they all have at least 5 major cities."
The Sims Online- SIMM and HoC.
The State of the SIMM Address has been posted for June. It states that internal testing has begun.
The first ever Stratics IRC HoC of the Sims Online will occur on June 26th at 6:00pm PST, 7:00pm GMT, 8:00pm CST, 9:00pm EST. It will be held in the #simsonlinehoc channel.
Starminer- Starnaming.
Want your name to be in an MMORPG? Here is your chance. Enter your name in the field on this webpage and a star in the game will be named after you.
heh.
Star Wars Galaxies- FAQ Update, Sweepstakes, Dev Page and a Petition.
The Smuggler and the Marksmen profession have been added to the FAQ.
SWG announce an Alien Species Sweepstakes where the winner will receive real concept art of the game.
So you don't have to search the forums for posts by the Dev Team, they made it easy on you by putting them all on one page.
A petition has begun for a German Server when SWG is released.
And uh.... from the newsletter, SWG in the news:
GameSpot - Awards SWG “#3 editors choice of E3”
CNET Electronics- Awards SWG “Most Anticipated for 2002”
IGN - Awards SWG “Best MMOG of E3” and runner up for “Best Graphics” and “Best Presentation”
IGN - Preview of SWG
IGN - Interview with SWG Producers
WRE - awards SWG as one of “Best PC Game of E3”
CNN - Mention of SWG
Computer and Video Games - Interviews Technical Director Jeff Grills
E! Online - Mentions SWG as one of the top games of E3
Gamers.com - Preview of SWG
GameSpy - Preview of SWG
HomeLan - Preview of SWG
OuterSpace - Portuguese preview of SWG
Penny Arcade - Preview of SWG
PC Magazine - Mention of SWG
PC Magazine - Another mention of SWG
TechTV - Preview of SWG
Unknown Player - Preview of SWG
VG Nett - Norwegian preview of SWG
WarCry - Preview of SWG
Washington Post - Mention of SWG
Hope that's enough for your dose of Star Wars.
Steppenwolf- Episode 2 of Chapter 5 Released.
Ok, this isn't exactly an MMORPG... but it is an online (browser-based) story game. It's not shitty and slow like all other browser games. In a way, it reminds me of the first Monkey Island game. Anyways, Episode 2 of The Chupakabra (Ch5) is out. If you are bored, give it a shot.
Trials of Ascension- Timeline.
A timeline has been posted that follows the Age of Shadows.
Unknown- Relaunched.
Well look at that. It's alive and kicking. On June 22nd, the website was relaunched... with info this time. They have done some updates since the launch, but only to correct spell errors and dead links. Though, they did get in a java IRC client.
UGO- Top 11 Online Games.
UGO released it's top 11 Online Games. Can't really say it's a big surprise who #1 is.
Venise- Relaunched.
Well, I just figured I would throw this in for ya if you wanted a good laugh. Seriously.... want a chuckle? Go 'play' this.
That's all for this weekend. Now tell me, am I full of shit? I spend a lot of time digging through emailed newsletters, game websites, popular news websites, small news websites... Though I learn a lot about these games, I often wonder... is anyone else getting use out of all this? Are my posts informative or do they spam this news section? Want them shorter? Suggestions or ideas?
Please send some praise or shit upon me.
dabu |
^ top-More NWN News.
[Nieves] June 23 - 10:19 PM EDT | Mao (10:15 PM) :
btw....i don't know how you feel about recall but they give you a recall stone that brings you back to the hall of justice (you can get healed here and buy/sell equipent) also dead henchmen wait for you there......unlimited charges on that stone...not sure if its just a chapter 1 thing
Starting to sense a trend here?
Hasta. |
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