"2. Blogs" via Chris (Game by Night) in Google Reader

Destroying the CSAA at YVSL-2

2012-05-26T20:11:51Z

We were looking to blow up one of these.

A CSAA in its natural habitat

That is a capital ship assembly array, sitting happily inside a station’s protective bubble. That is where supercapital ships are build.

This one was slated to die.

More after the cut.

This line is to push the text after the cut into the reader’s line of vision and is otherwise meaningless and should be edited out by Riverini should he decide to syndicate this post.

It was so targeted because the CFC, in the (very subjective) peace in the north, still has “crap all over Intrepid Crossing” on its list of things to do.

Peacetime means that we are not actively trying to take territory away from Intrepid Crossing (IRC), but we are clearly making an effort to blow up their stuff. I cannot actually remember why we’re doing this. I think they helped Northern Coalition during the tower burning war in Tenal. But that was before the peace, OTEC, Burn Jita, Hulkageddon, and Diablo III, all of which have pretty much pushed the story behind this out of my brain. And the strategic ops announcements on the forums aren’t much help.

For all I know it could be to keep us from finding trouble elsewhere. There are people in the CFC who will start fires just to see what happens when they are bored. And IRC is convenient, being right over the border in Cobalt Edge and connected to the RAZOR Alliance in Tenal by a jump gate.

Our Neighbors in Cobalt Edge

Such was the setting on Friday night when, having finished Diablo III on normal mode, I was looking to do something besides clicky-click demon slaying. And, as if on cue, director bot on Jabber started announcing a strategic operation.

In exactly an hour from now Vily will be forming up an Alphafleet in VFK to destroy an IRC CSAA. We will be destroying a supercap fetus.
- NC. and IRC both have ops posted.
- VILY IS ON COCAINE.
100% CHANCE OF FIGHT – IT’S GOING TO BE A BLOODBATH.
Get your ships ready to go and be ready to join fleet when we broadcast.

I had not been in a fleet operation for ages, not since Dabigredboat lead us down to BWF-ZZ to kill Raiden super caps. And a fleet op seemed like the answer to my quest for something different.

The op was starting a bit late, 10pm Pacific time (yeah, yeah, I’m old), but it was Friday night on a long weekend with no plans until Sunday. So I got on, got to VFK, and started looking at what ship I ought to take. Basically, I could choose a Scimitar, though I would have to buy a new one since my last one got popped in the Venal ops, a Drake, which I was favoring since I really wanted to see a fleet missile engagement, or a Maelstrom, which is the backbone of the Alpha Fleet doctrine and which would be the primary actors in this operation.

My bias was towards the Drake and the new missile effects, but it started to sound like we might not have enough pilots for both an Alpha and a Drake fleet despite the “100% CHANCE OF FIGHT.” The pessimists no doubt saw that as the biggest sign that there would not be one. Anyway, there was a push to get everybody into Alpha Fleet, so I got out my Maelstrom and joined up at on of the more aptly named towers in our space.

Sometimes he starts sooner…

Even Dabigredboat joined Alpha Fleet in a Scimitar. Then it turned out that we had too many people… and DBRB was somehow already annoying the logistics people… and so he went back to running the Drake fleet to support us.

Then it was the jump bridge out to a waiting titan which in turn sent us to Venal where we started a 17 jump burn through Oasa to Cobalt Edge and our final destination at YVSL-2. We were harried throughout the run into the system and during the actual destruction by an IRC bomber fleet, though they were not that effective. In the continuum between Mister Vee and “The TEST bomber fleet just bombed the CFC Welp Fleet,” their effectiveness was certainly not at the Mister Vee end of things.

The highlight was probably when the Panther black ops battleship that was bringing in the IRC bombers managed to get itself squeezed into jumping into YVSL-2 with us, where it was promptly destroyed. That killed off a billion ISK ship and some of IRC’s tactical flexibility.

While we were killing the Panther and starting in on the guns surrounding the target station, news came through that DBRB was in trouble, having gone after a combined Black Legion and Northern Coalition fleet. Afterwards, it wasn’t clear whether DBRB’s entire fleet got wiped out, or if one ship actually escaped. A good night to have avoided Drake fleet.

Taking the station guns offline was a fairly straightforward affair, helped along by the IRC gunners who seemed to think the best plan was to shoot at the most expensive, most heavily tanked ships in our fleet. So rather than the 6,000 effective hit point Tornado, they went after Lazarus Telraven’s Machariel instead, making little impact. (Hey, I hear SynCaine has a Macharial BPC for sale.)

Machariel completely undamaged

Once the guns were down there, we did flit about the system a bit as IRC sent some more bombers at us. Again, it was to little effect, though one bomb did come in contact with the station shield. That causes bombs to become bugged, and they just keep traveling in a straight line, never to explode from that point forward, turning the bomb from a weapon with a 30km range into an unmanned space probe. And so there was one bomb on our overviews that was slowly traveling away from us.

bye bye bomb

I think the last time I saw it, it was past the 2,000 km point on the overview.

Vily then got us arrayed in a sphere around the station as the reinforcement timer ticked down the last few minutes to the shoot.

countdown to destruction

Using a rather clever method involving interceptors, we ended up spread out all around the station, so even if IRC got a good bomber run at us, it would at best take out a couple of ships.

And then the shoot began.

Another POS Shoot

Aside from the new missile effects, it was like any other POS shoot. I think you can see one of the new missile explosions on the tower. We circled and shot and eventually wore it down and it went boom. And then, very quickly thereafter… so fast that I had not finished targeting… the CSAA exploded in a ball of flame as well. Much to our disappointment, the updated kill reports that came with the Inferno expansion did not indicate what, if anything, IRC was building in this CSAA. There might have been a titan in there. Or it might have been empty. The discussion I have seen varies between IRC being completely inept and losing a titan to the whole thing being bait.

IRC sent in a few more bombers piecemeal as the station was coming down, but they fared no better than previous attacks.

Bombers explode

Then the word came through that IRC was threatening to get their act together and show up in force while the Northern Coalition fleet was approaching from the other direction. It was time to go home.

And then began the long and fruitless running battle back to the titan.

The fleets facing each other were mis-matched in capabilities, and so each fleet devoted its efforts to arranging an engagement that would favor its specific strengths while exploiting the opponents weaknesses. It was like a game of chess played over four different systems for about an hour. And if you think watching a game of chess is boring… well, I think it is boring… try being a pawn in a chess game.

Vily was trying hard, but he had a few things working against him.

First, some people in the fleet were having connection issues. A few people in the fleet were getting disconnected after every gate jump, and we were trying not to leave any easy kills behind. So there was a delay with that.

Then, every time the fleet jumped through a gate, we would put the system of origin into about 60% TiDi, slowing the move between systems quite a bit. We were trying to squeeze a 200 ship fleet through a small tube, and so any plan to jump through a gate and take up a position of advantage was thwarted by the fact that a fleet gate jump operation was taking several minutes with TiDi and disconnects.

Another gate, another bubble, another jump, another delay

Finally, Vily seemed to be convinced… correctly for all I know… that we had a spy in our fleet feeding data directly to the NC fleet commander. And so he spent some time telling us we were doing one thing and the warping us off elsewhere. This nearly gave me a heart attack at one point. He had warped us to a gate and told us to disperse around the gate and hold, and then he fleet warped us to another gate. My ship just happened to be aligned to that gate. So I warped off first and, from my momentary perspective, alone to the other gate. While I was trying to figure out how I screwed up, the rest of the fleet started landing around me.

Eventually, with only an exchanged of single kills due to stragglers or mistakes, Vily turned us back toward Venal and the titan bridge home.

From there it was back to VFK where it looked like most of us were going to log off.

The main goal of the op, to destroy the IRC CSAA at YVSL-2 was a success. There was, in fact, a bloodbath. It just involved the 60 ship Drake fleet getting destroyed. IRC took a few inept swings at the Alpha Fleet and, while they eventually took out that lightly tanked Tornado, on the whole we returned home with about the same fleet with which we left.

I did get to see some of the new missile animations, though I still want to see a Drake Fleet broadside in action. I also got a few kills on my kill board for May so my corp and alliance don’t think I am a complete slacker. And I managed to get some video of missiles which I might put together into another short video with another inexplicable sound track.

LOTRO Store Facebook Coupon Code

2012-05-25T20:38:39Z

There’s a new code for an additional 5% off your entire cart for LOTRO Store purchases up on LOTRO’s facebook page.

Code: 5LOTROFB
Expires: June 1, 2012

Cool thing with codes like this is that they stack with the current weekly sale! That means you could get 35% off quest packs or 80% off relic packs. The code can be used 3 times per account so plan your purchases wisely!

Turbine has done these social media exclusive specials before and so I advise we all keep our eyes peeled for additional coupons or specials from their twitter and google+ accounts in the near future.

Special thanks to @CosmeticLOTRO for alerting us to this!

Coupon, discount, facebook, LotRO Store, Sale, social media

About Goldenstar

Goldenstar plays a minstrel as her main and enjoys the small things in LOTRO like festivals, parties, & clothing. In her spare time, she will join in fellowships to root out evil from Middle-earth.

View all posts by Goldenstar →

Emeldir the Man-hearted

2012-05-25T13:00:48Z

In the First Age of Middle-earth, there lived in the land of Dorthonion a woman named Emeldir. She was of the House of Bëor and was wed to Barahir son of Bregor. Emeldir bore Barahir a son, destined for great deeds: Beren. In IA 455 Dagor Bragollach, the Battle of Sudden Flame, erupted to disastrous results. Morgoth’s forces broke the long Seige of Angband and poured forth, routing the Elves and Men that opposed them. The land of Dorthonion was destroyed, its forests twisted and ruined, and it became known as Taur-nu-Fuin, the Forest Under Nightshade. Barahir, Beren, and the surviving Men of Dorthonion remained to defend it, and Emeldir’s desire was to remain and fight by her husband’s side. Nevertheless, she was commanded to bring the women and children of Dorthonion to safety. She gathered them and gave arms to those that would bear them, then she led them into the mountains and, after great hardship, to safety in the Forest of Brethil. For these deeds, and for her courageous disposition, she was given the epithet “the Man-hearted.”

Here we see Emeldir against the backdrop of the mountains of the Echoriath, having led her people over their passes at last. She has arrayed herself in tough leather armour reinforced with steel plating, knowing that the hosts of Morgoth lay all about – and that though she did not have her wish to do battle in defense of Dorthonion, she may well have to fight to protect her followers in exile. A deep woolen hood shields her from the weather of the high passes, and she carries a large pack upon her back, laden with provisions for the difficult crossing. Turning back to face the Echoriath and ruined Dorthonion beyond, she raises her spear both in defiance of Morgoth and as a loving salute to her son and husband, left behind to fight.

Some people complain of a perceived lack of strong women in Tolkien’s writing, but I disagree. They’re not necessarily at the centre of many of the stories, but they can be found – and of course, being a strong woman doesn’t necessarily involve fighting with sword and shield (take Lúthien or Galadriel for example… and I feel there are other excellent examples as well, but that’s a subject for another post and another time!). Emeldir, mother of one of the greatest heroes of the Great Tales of Middle-earth, was certainly a strong and courageous woman in her own right (and clearly she could fight), so I’ve been eager to make a portrait of her. I also thought it would be a great opportunity to play around a bit with some of the Rift raid cosmetics that were recently made available for barter at skirmish camps, since I feel their epic styling is suited to a character of the First Age. I settled on the leggings from the Hunter set — I think they’re quite unique among LOTRO cosmetics, and I think they’ve led to a really nice combination here for a medium-to-heavily armoured warrior-woman or lady-Ranger styled outfit.

Head: Worn Ranger’s Hood (Volume 3 Book 5 epic quest reward), Rivendell green
Shoulders: Leather Shoulder Guards of the Leaping Stag (Dunland quest reward), washed
Back: Travel Pack (Yule festival token barter reward), dark green
Chest: Leather Jacket of Determination (world drop), Rivendell green
Hands: Gloves of the Aurochs (medallion barter reward — Hunter or Store), olive
Legs: Ceremonial Doom-hunter’s Leggings (medallion barter reward — Hunter), rust
Feet: Boots of the West-tower (medallion barter reward or Store), Rivendell green

Tips: If you don’t have access to the Worn Ranger’s Hood, there are a variety of other hoods available in-game that would look nice with this outfit; for example, the Traveller’s Hood (Store) or the Hood of Night (medallion barter reward). Of course, the Fine Grey Company Hood (Volume 3 Chapter 1 epic quest reward), which is the masked counterpart to the Worn Ranger’s Hood, may also look good with some dye experimentation. I used cosmetic pieces from the Aurochs set, the Doom-hunter’s set, which are the Hunter sets from Helegrod and the Rift, respectively; and the West-tower set, which is the heavy Annúminas set. The Travel Pack is available from Hobbit gift-boxes during the Yule festival. An easily-ontained (short-sleeved) alternative to the chest piece I used is the Falconer’s Shirt (medallion barter reward), available from the skirmish camp classic barterer along with the Halls of Night gear.

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Weekly Store Sale Starting May 25, 2012

2012-05-25T00:47:01Z

The following items are on sale from May 25th-31st. Below you will find the sale listings as well as our recommendation on purchasing.

Free Sample of the Week

Who’s going to say no to free morale potions? The answer is crazy people! I’m not one for buying potions in the store (I’m a scholar, I just make my own) but sure I’ll be happy to take some store potions for the cost of zero Turbine Points! Woo!

Put these potions into your cart and use the coupon code MRL552 to get yours this week!

Coupon: Scroll of Finesse

Now through May 31st there is a coupon code that allows a buy one get one free Scroll of Finesse (90 Minutes). That equates to 50% off!

In order to get this deal you must put two scrolls of finesse into your cart and apply coupon code SFS512.

Store Location: Buffs & Boosts > Damage

Limited Release: Tier VII Stat Tomes

The tier 7 stat tomes were available back in April and they have returned until June 7th. It is important to point out here that this is not a sale, just a limited time release.

Like the other tiers of stat tomes, tier 7 tomes are 295 Turbine Points each. They are not included in the tome bundles you find in the store.

Store Location: Character > Stats

Weekly Sale

Quest Packs

Explore the world of Middle-earth with LOTRO Quest Packs and adventure to iconic locations like Rivendell and Lothlórien. Experience the full breadth of in-game content, including region-specific quests, deeds, skirmishes and classic instances!
• All standard LOTRO Quest Packs are free for VIPs as part of the VIP membership
• Learn More about Becoming a VIP!
• All other players can use earned and purchased Turbine Points to acquire LOTRO Quest Packs in the LOTRO Store at any level

Grab a LOTRO Quest Pack from the LOTRO Store and continue the journey to defeat the endless evil that runs rampant through Middle-earth!

Store Location: Account → Quests & Content → Quest Packs
Levels: Varies
595-795
417-557

CSTM RECOMMENDATION: If you were looking to pick up a few zones you are missing, this is a great opportunity! 30% off is more than their typical weekly sale.

Also note that Rise of Isengard editions are currently on sale (for cash not Turbine Points) in the LOTRO Market at 50% off!

Legacies

Customize your Legendary Items the way that you want! Replace legacies with ones that are more appropriate to your needs. When you have the right legacies in your Legendary Items, you’ll be able to deal more damage, heal more effectively, generate higher threat, and more!

Store Location: Goods & Services → Legendary Items → Legacies
Levels: 50+
195-795
127-557

CSTM RECOMMENDATION: Legacies are cheaper and easier to just obtain in game. Yes, this allows you to select the item you want and I can see the temptation of a short cut so if that’s what you want go for it. We suggest having a few spare legendary items you keep to “harvest” legacies from. They just need to be level 30 to pull the legacy off of.

Tier VI Relic Packs

Deconstruct this Fused Profound Relic at any Relic-master for a random Tier 6 Relic! Single and 5-stacks available.

Store Location: Goods & Services → Legendary Items → Relics
Levels: 50+
550-2475
138-619

CSTM RECOMMENDATION: If you are one who are really into the legendary items system I can see maybe buying these but for the rest of us mere mortals I think your points can be better off spending elsewhere and getting our relics in the normal fashion.

Still this is 75% off! Holy moly that’s quite the discount!

Scroll Of Combination

Increase your ‘Critical Success’ chance to 25% when combining relics at the relic forge! This scroll will work when forging any tier 2 through tier 7 relics and lasts for 15 minutes!

Store Location: Goods & Services → Legendary Items → Scrolls
Levels: 50+
795
398

CSTM RECOMMENDATION: If you are planning on crafting a really critical relic I suppose you may find these very interesting but at $4 for 15 minutes (and that’s the sale price!) I personally will be passing on these. They aren’t necessary and that’s why they get the “meh” rating.

Skill Deed Boosts

Lesser Skill Deed Boosts double the rate of progress of Class Skill Deeds for 30 minutes; Greater Skill Deed Boosts double the rate of progress of Class Skill Deeds for 60 minutes. Every skill use that counts towards a skill deed will be counted twice. Skill Deed Boosts also unlock the daily skill deed limit for the length of the effect. Single and 5-stacks available!

Store Location: Buffs & Boosts → Advancement → Deed
Levels: 10+
50-450
35-315

CSTM RECOMMENDATION: These certainly can be nice boost especially for dratted skill ups such as rez deeds. Also can be handy for skills that don’t require you to be in combat so you can do whatever you please in game and keep smacking those skills for skill-ups during the time limit. For the most part though, you’ll able to earn these deeds as you play along and are not really needing any assistance from a boost.

Book Review – “Shadow Ops: Control Point” by Myke Cole

2012-05-26T13:15:18Z

I was lucky enough to have a book review of Myke Cole’s debut novel Shadow Ops: Control Point published on BuzzyMag.com (the same fine folks who bought my short story “Working Retail” a while back). The review is online at their site now, and I would appreciate it greatly if you’d head over there and check it out.

Here’s a snippet:

If there’s one thing I love in the world more than anything else, it’s literature that plays with genre conventions. So when I read about Myke Cole’s Shadow Ops: Control Point, I rushed over to Amazon and clicked the the button to send it to my Kindle.

You see, Shadow Ops is a fantasy novel. Kind of. Mostly. The main characters in the novel are magic users, sorcerers, but they aren’t in Narnia or Middle Earth. They’re right here in the good ole U.S. of A. Other books have done this, too– Jim Butcher‘s The Dresden Files is probably the closest comparison I can draw–but Cole’sShadow Ops takes this genre mash-up to the next level. If Battlestar Galactica is a military drama that just happens to be set in space, then Shadow Ops is a military drama where the soldiers just happen to have magic instead of M-16s.

The review in its entirety can be read at BuzzyMag.com.

Thank you for reading Book Review – “Shadow Ops: Control Point” by Myke Cole, a post from Professor Beej.

Could this be the answer to “What’s the name of Copernicus?”

2012-05-26T02:44:25Z

Too bad it’s too late at this point.

Caught In A Web #WurmOnline

2012-05-25T01:15:33Z

Wurm Online has been going through a lot of pretty neat changes lately. Due to a hacking incident the forums and web site have been revamped, and the wiki is now back up and running. Everything is smooth on those fronts at least. Kelp, reed, and papyrus sheets were added, along with ink and octopus to make it. Bison, hell hounds, hell horses, and hell scorpion were added, along with inner walls and new graphics for stone houses.

One of the latest additions to the unstable client (you must have experimental packs enabled) has been spiders. Now, as a gamer I am pretty oblivious to most types of creatures – but this updated spider graphic is actually causing a lot of stress for some players. Those with arachnophobia, in specific.

There have been forum posts made by these players, requesting some other method of enjoying the game that doesn’t involve looking at these incredibly well detailed (with amazing animation might I add) critters. If they can not find a way to play the game without avoiding these creatures, a handful are threatening to quit and leave the game for good.

Thoughts?

Well. I haven’t really decided. I think it’s a bit much to change graphics based on a few peoples fears. On the other hand, these graphics were not in the game when these players started, and if they were, they probably wouldn’t have started or stuck with the game. Alienating players is never a good thing. Is there an issue with graphics being TOO realistic? Just some of the thoughts in my head. I’m staying out of the debate aside from making it known that there IS a debate, simply because it is something that I can’t really form an opinion on.

If you’re not afraid of spiders, I highly suggest you download the unstable client and make sure experimental packs are selected and take a look at them. The way they approach during combat just makes my skin crawl (not a bad thing) and I personally applaud the developers for such fantastic work.

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

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Lowering The Price of EQ2

2012-05-26T01:43:00Z

In EQ2, SOE has the dubious distinction of developing the only major MMO that I otherwise enjoy playing but routinely do not play due to their business model antics. That said, a questionable business model attached to a product that is worth playing is one sale away from being a done deal.

This weekend is a 50% rebate sale on EQ2's Station Cash store, which includes expansion packs and non-recurring paid subscriptions. This is not an especially great time to buy Station Cash - a double SC sale, which happens more frequently, lets you pay half as much for the SC you want, while a rebate sale requires you to pay the regular price and gives you SC back afterwards. It is, however, a spectacular time to SPEND Station Cash.

A few weeks ago, I decided to spend $20 for 6000 SC at the last triple SC sale - enough to cover the 4000 SC expansion and a one month non-recurring subscription for 1500 SC so I wouldn't need to start paying for gear unlocks again until I hit the new level cap. For some reason, though, I held back on spending the SC after paying for it. My patience paid off.

That $20, tripled and then instant-rebated, bought me the $40 expansion, three months of subscription status (3897 SC) and still over 2000 SC left from the most recent purchase (4352 total counting a previous balance). The tough call now is whether to extend my subscription out from August through November (leaving me with around 2000 SC left after the rebate) or hold onto the balance in anticipation of being charged 4000 SC for another expansion in December.

Anyway, PSA: If you already have SC and are looking to buy stuff in EQ2's store, this is a good weekend to do so.

At Last, I Can Read the Diablo III Patch Notes!

2012-05-25T23:55:18Z

Normal mode complete

Because, of course, the damn patch notes contain spoilers. So I have held off until I got through the game at least once.

Spoiler Warning: If you have not yet completed Diablo III on Normal, some hotfixes described in this list may include spoilers.

Such is life. But I have run through the game once, with a barbarian, in normal mode.

Work sent us home early today due to the three day weekend, so I got home and started in on Act VI which, once I reconfigured my barb from an AOE focus to single target damage, went by pretty quickly and there I was facing the big guy.

Ah Diablo, we meet again!

Another thing that Diablo III has in common with Diablo II; the last act seems much shorter than the three before it.

I probably enjoyed Act III the most. The start on the ramparts of the fortress was amazing.

Anyway, now I have Nightmare mode to look forward to.

Or maybe I could play an MMO. I haven’t really done much of that since May 15th.

Filed under: Diablo III, entertainment

Community Q&A: May 25, 2012

2012-05-25T22:47:37Z

This week's Q&A Session from BioWare is live, offering some information on game Update 1.3. The bulk of questions focus on the upcoming patch and are expected to tie in to upcoming blog posts. Again, the community moderators have requested questions that particularly focus on existing features, rather than those in development.

Please note, next week's Q&A forum thread will close a day early. If you have a question for BioWare, make sure to post it in the official thread by 2pm CDT on May 28th, 2012 (12pm PDT/3pm EDT/8pm BST/9pm CEST/5am AEST).

Patch 1.3 Headed to PTS

2012-05-25T21:59:07Z

We have all expected for some time now that Update 1.3 would be on its way to the test server before deployment to live. Well, BioWare gave us a little better idea of when that would happen today.

BioWareGame Update 1.3 is almost ready for deployment onto the Public Test Server. We still need to finalize a few things, but we wanted to let you know that the Public Test Server will be coming down soon so that we can prep Game Update 1.3 for PTS deployment. You can expect the Public Test Server to come back up with Game Update 1.3 in the next few weeks.

Game Update 1.3 is focused around the new Group Finder function, which will help you find other players to group up with for Flashpoints and Operations easily. In addition, the Legacy System has been updated with purchasable character perks. Leveling a new Legacy character can now be customized to your preferred play style.

Our Character Copy tool is still in testing, so we are again using a manual process to copy characters from our Live servers to our Public Test Server. We have streamlined this process to ensure we can get as many players as possible copied to the PTS if they choose to help test our new systems.

If you would like to help us out in testing Game Update 1.3, please visit the following link and follow the directions within:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PTSCopySWTOR

We cannot guarantee that every character will copy to the PTS successfully, however we can assure you that characters on Live servers will not be affected in any way should the tool fail.

Please do not contact Customer Support with questions regarding PTS Character Copies, as they will be unable to assist you at this time.

Thanks in advance!

While there is no solid date, BioWare is at least confident enough about the patch to say it is coming in the next few weeks. Whether that happens to be two weeks or next month however, remains unknown. In the meantime, you may want to get in your request for a character copy to the PTS. Regardless of when it does, we will bring you news of it as it happens.

SWTOR Encyclopedia Information

2012-05-25T20:14:42Z

Some updates on Twitter today by several Star Wars: The Old Republic writers have shed some light on a new book coming out in October of this year. The Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia is listed on Amazon with a publication date of October 15, 2012.

Amazon
Since its release in 2011, the massively multiplayer online role playing game Star Wars: The Old Republic has captivated thousands of gamers and Star Wars fans alike. Now comes the ultimate in-depth guide to the turbulent and fascinating world featured in the game — The Old Republic.

Created in full collaboration with LucasArts, this in-depth companion covers the spectrum of characters, weapons, vehicles, events, and planets of Star Wars: The Old Republic. More than just an encyclopedia, it is the ultimate guided tour of the dangerous and mysterious universe found in a galaxy far, far away.

Check after the jump for some of the quotes by SWTOR writers who helped on the project.

TGIF!

2012-05-25T19:43:00Z

SWTOR PvP Guide – Valor Titles, Ranks, and Medals Explained

2012-05-25T13:15:43Z

Outside of the fantastic story you get while leveling up in Star Wars: The Old Republic, the most interesting part of the game for me is PvP. Unfortunately, it’s hard to jump right in because the system can be a little overwhelming.

Even so, it’s awfully hard to find a comprehensive guide to SWTOR PvP. So I thought I’d do my best to put one together. This entry is going to cover Valor Titles, Valor Ranks, and Medals earned while in Warzones.

Valor Ranks and Titles

First of all, you have to know what Valor is. Valor can be considered “PvP XP” because you gain it by completing Warzones (you can queue up for Warzones by clicking the faction icon on the lower-right of your minimap—but only after you reach level 10.)

As you gain Valor, you gain ranks, up to Rank 100. However, you cannot have a higher Valor Rank than your character level, so Ranks 50-100 can only be gained at max level.

For every 10 levels of Valor you gain, you get a new, special title for your character.

The titles—up to Rank 100—are as follows:

Valor Rank 10 – Skirmisher
Valor Rank 20 – Duelist
Valor Rank 30 – Gladiator
Valor Rank 40 – Centurion
Valor Rank 50 – Champion
Valor Rank 60 – Battlemaster
Valor Rank 70 – War Hero
Valor Rank 80 – Conqueror
Valor Rank 90 – Warlord
Valor Rank 100 – Elite Warlord

Warzone Medals

As you compete in PvP Warzones, you may notice that you gain medals. These medals increase your rewards for participating in the Warzone, but only up to a certain point. You can gain as many medals as possible, but you will only gain rewards for the first 8. These medals appear as a buff near your character’s lifebar.

For each medal, you gain the 250 Valor and 5 Warzone Commendations (used as currency to purchase PvP weapons, armor, and consumables).

While 8 medals may sound daunting, it’s really not. There are some 34 medals you can be rewarded.

Offense Basic – 1k Attacker Points
Offense Bronze – 3k Attacker Points
Offense Silver – 5k Attacker Points
Offense Gold – 7.5k Attacker Points
Offense Platinum – 10k Attacker Points
Offense Diamond – 15k Attacker Points
Defense Basic – 1k Defender Points
Defense Bronze – 3k Defender Points
Defense Silver – 5k Defender Points
Defense Gold – 7.5k Defender Points
Defense Platinum – 10k Defender Points
Defense Diamond – 15k Defender Points
Dauntless I – 10 Minute Victory
Dauntless II – 9 Minute Victory
Dauntless III – 8 Minute Victory
Dauntless IV – 7 Minute Victory
Dauntless V – 6 Minute Victory
Dauntless VI – 5 Minute Victory
Demolisher – 2.5k Damage Single hit
Annihilator – 5k damage from a single attack
Combatant – 75k Damage Dealt
Destroyer – 300k Damage Dealt
Commando – 10 Kills
Soldier – 25 Kills
Quick Draw – 1 Killing Blow
Assassin – 1 Solo Kill
Shield – 5k Defense
Protector – 50k Defense
Guardian – 2k Defense in 1 Life
Paladin – 10k Defense in 1 Life
Healer – 75k Healed
Savior – 300k Healed
Medic – 2.5k Single Heal
Trauma Surgeon – 5k Single Heal

In order to facilitate participation—i.e. no one AFKing their way through the Warzone—you must earn at least 3 medals in a Warzone to gain any reward at all.

I think that about covers it, but if I’ve missed anything or you have any questions, be sure to leave a comment, hit me up on Twitter, or shoot me an email.

Thank you for reading SWTOR PvP Guide – Valor Titles, Ranks, and Medals Explained, a post from Professor Beej.

38 Studios – The Legend, The Myth, The End

2012-05-25T16:00:39Z

Live fast, die young, leave a good-looking corpse

John Derek in Knock on Any Door (1949)

Well, I cannot speak to whether or not 38 Studios lived fast, and six years can be a long time in technology, so you can argue that the company did not die young.

But they left a good looking, if sparse, corpse in the form of a three pictures and a less than two minute fly through video of their planned virtual world.

Somewhere in Copernicus

Legends have been created out of less.

And now nobody will ever say that Copernicus, their as yet unnamed flagship game, to which the main effort of the company had been devoted for almost six year, sucks.

Nobody will complain about unbalanced classes or broken game mechanics or servers being down or sever queues being too long or any of the thousand other things that we find to pick on when it comes to MMOs.

Copernicus is pristine, a blurry mirage doomed to ever been in the distance, on which some will overlay their hopes and dreams for the future of MMO gaming. I’ve seen it already, with some bloggers mourning not just the fact that we will now never see this game come into full bloom, but that it somehow represented our last, best hope to return greatness to the genre. Some future games will find themselves compared to Copernicus that might have been. It was to be the holy grail game that brought joy back to fantasy MMOs.

Which is a tune I have heard before.

It was the sort of thing some of our guild members were saying about Vanguard in 2005 when we were playing EverQuest II and it had fully sunk in that the game really wasn’t a sequel to the EverQuest experience. And so Vanguard became the dream, the game destined to be the true successor to EverQuest.

And, well… we know how that turned out. Sigil Games, facing their own financial woes, opted to go to market early with a game clearly not ready for prime time.

In one of those twists of timing, it was just five years ago this month that Sigil folded up shop with the now infamous parking lot layoff, sans Brad McQuaid. But we got the word from Smed that SOE was swooping in to save the day. SOE was a hero for the moment, but I wondered how long they would remain a hero. Not very long, it seemed, as soon all the problems with Vanguard became SOE’s problems, and SOE’s fault for not fixing them fast enough.

It makes me wonder what image Vanguard would have ended up with had Brad opted to run out of money before launching the game.

And, alas, there will be no SOE white knight to rescue Copernicus. Those days are clearly done. Back when SOE was under Sony Pictures, which I am convinced really didn’t know, and didn’t care, what was going on in San Diego so long as the money was coming in, was able to collect orphaned MMOs like Vanguard and The Matrix Online. Now though, under the PlayStation people, who clearly want to hear about things that sell PlayStation hardware when they aren’t being evil, things have been trimmed back substantially.

There was an estimate that the assets of 38 Studios might be worth up to $20 million, though that sort of talk denies the reality of software development. If you buy a software company with no people, you have pretty much bought nothing. The people who write the software, they are the assets. Without them you have some source code, which can be interesting, but is tough to make your own. You can bring in your own people to try. I’ve been down that path. If you just want to be able to build the software and maybe make some small fixes, it can even be viable. But if you want to own the software and be able to use it to its full, you have to know it well, which is hard work. And the first thing that will happen is the devs will start saying that it is easier to rewrite some section of code from scratch than figure out what is really going on, and that way lies madness and repetition of the same mistakes to gain the same knowledge as the original authors of the code.

And then there is the outside influence of Star Wars: The Old Republic which, according to analyst Michael Pachter, has killed off interest in investing in MMO projects. To quote the money line:

Nobody is buying MMOs after Star Wars fizzled

So yeah, we can blame SWTOR! Because if EA can’t get MMOs right, then it is clearly some sort of once-in-a-lifetime black art not worth exploring.

Life in the big money lane.

I feel a bit sorry for Curt Schilling for not getting to live out his dream of creating a great MMO. But only a bit. I mean the guy had fame, fortune, and three world series wins coming into this deal, all while deliberately and maliciously being younger than me. He can go back to that. Maybe he can be a champion for small studios that reflect some of the things he was trying to bring to MMOs.

But I identify more with the team at 38 Studios, the worker bees who have to scramble to find another gig to pay the mortgage. I’ve been down that path a few times. The joy of Silicon Valley start ups, here today, gone tomorrow. I worked for eight different companies in the 90s, and only one still exists. I was there twice for the “everybody go home” company meeting. It doesn’t get easier with repetition.

I do want to throw out a minor “screw you” to 38 Studios for buying and shutting down the Azeroth Advisor. Grudge holding… we have that here at TAGN.

But other than that, I am sorry to see things turn out as they did. We won’t ever see Copernicus now, and so I will be denied the privilege of playing it while complaining about insignificant details that annoy me.

Addendum: And then there is the industry insider view of this debacle from the newly returned to blogging Lum and how it is killing the very concept of massively multiplayer online gaming.

Further Addendum: And there are always methods to make a bad situation worse.

R. A. Salvatore says Copernicus was awesome, but can’t actually back that up. He was right on one thing in that comment, he shouldn’t be commenting. More for the myth and legend department.

Steve Danuser puts the blame on the governor of Rhode Island.

It looks like 38 Studios may have screwed some employees worse than others. Was that the governor of Rhode Island’s fault as well?

Everybody wants to know where the money went.

And, of course, there is Curt.

Filed under: entertainment, Gaming Industry Trends, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Vanguard SOH Tagged: 38 Studios, Azeroth Advisor, No Real Point, Rambling Friday

Codex Guide: Korriban

2012-05-25T15:08:53Z

In our last guide we took a look at Codex entries on Tython, the ancestral home of the Jedi and current seat of the Jedi Council. This time around we'll turn our gaze on Korriban, host to the Sith Academy and homeworld of the Sith Pureblood. Korriban's dusty landscape provides backdrop to a number of tombs containing powerful Sith lords, three of which players have the chance to explore as a young Warrior or Inquisitor. To explore and unravel the associated lore of this desert world, read on after the jump for a complete guide to all codices avaliable on Korriban.

NBI: Traditions

2012-05-25T12:35:55Z

I’ve played a wide variety of games in my day. These MMO things tend to want to monopolize your time, but I’m just not wired that way. Some might consider World of Warcraft’s Azeroth or RIFT’s Telara to be home, then, for the social roots they put down there. Me, I don’t really have such a “home”, but no MMO feels more comfortable to me than Puzzle Pirates.

I have several characters there, but my “main” character and identity on their forums is Silveransom. I’ve actually spent almost as much time on the forums and community art and game design projects as I have in the game proper. To this day, my greatest “achievement” in the game is getting some of my art in as an Easter Egg, this little Croatian-inspired beauty. It’s no big deal in the grand scheme of Life, but the game and the community have been good to me, and I’ve had fun chipping in.

It’s not a traditional DIKU-flavored MMO, but it’s the first one that really wound up capturing my imagination. I actually made friends there. I started playing more than six years ago, and it has consistently been the one game I can go back to and feel comfortable. To be fair, I did try World of Warcraft thanks to a ten day friend pass shortly after trying Puzzle Pirates, so that wasn’t my only MMO at the time, but even then, the clear dichotomy between the DIKU level-grinding loot-heavy pedigree in WoW and the different design of Puzzle Pirates was very clear, and I had a strong preference for the latter, even though I really liked the sense of world that WoW offered (as I’ve noted a few times, especially here).

Anyway, as is so often the case when I’ve occupied a space for a length of time, whether it be mental space or physical space, I’ve developed habits and traditions in Puzzle Pirates. The very first sloop I bought was second hand, one a crewmate didn’t need any more. She left a piece of small driftwood up in the bow of the ship. It’s technically furniture in Puzzle Pirates, so it was placed there on purpose sometime, but she had just forgotten it. She let me keep it, though.

Thing is, that piece of driftwood, possibly the cheapest bit of furniture in the game, became a tradition. That little sloop was my transitional vehicle from a newbie in the game world to a pirate, more or less in control of his own destiny. That ship was freedom, and that little personality quirk of a piece of wood in the bow was inextricably tied to that phase of my Puzzle Pirates experience. It was, in its own way, a symbol of my change from a lowly deckhand who might just have washed up on shore, clinging to a piece of driftwood, to a ship’s master, boldly sailing into dangerous waters. To be sure, there are other, bigger ships (like my favorite ship, the Longship that I painted and renamed the Silver Dragon), and other transitional phases in the game, like when I scored my first Ultimate trophy (in Rumbling, on my alternate Silveransom character on the test ocean), but y’know, those “firsts” stick with you.

As such, I’ve had occasion to give a sloop to other pirates once in a while, and I always leave a bit of driftwood on the ship for them. Is it silly? Of course. Is it fun? Yes. Will they remember it? I hope so. It’s the little touches like that that remind people of where they have been and why. That’s important for charting a course to the future. To be sure, the future will happen whether or not you’re ready, but if you know where you’ve been and why, you can position yourself better for when it does come.

So what does this have to do with blogging? Well, tradition is a strong tool in maintaining information through generations. It can also be a strong tool in reserving headspace in readers, carving out your own little niche in the blogging hivemind. The human mind is geared to find patterns. Traditions are patterns, ranging from the tenuous to the tedious, perhaps, but the whole point is that they are repeated events. And people remember them, for better or worse. If you do something more than once, especially with any sense of regularity, you may well be establishing a tradition. Memes had a start somewhere, for that matter, but they grow because they are repeated and shared. The tradition goes viral.

If you are trying to maintain a tone or tradition for your blog, maybe you use a particular “signoff” line like Mark Rosewater’s Magic The Gathering articles. Maybe you just maintain a role or character for your posts, like Warchief Garrosh. Maybe you post a random My Little Pony cartoon or a photo. Whatever the case, you’ve done something patterned, consistent, and readers will remember it.

So go, have fun, and maybe, just maybe, carry over or establish a tradition. You might have fun with it, and your readers might have fun with it. That’s one of the best parts of blogging, when you share something fun with those people out there.

38 Studios Is Dead, Alas

2012-05-25T06:19:24Z

In the creepiest MMO news of the year, Project Copernicus died on the same day — May 24th — as Nicolaus Copernicus did in 1543. I just don’t have it in me to gravedance upon the officially kaput 38 Studios. Lots of quality folks are now unemployed, and that’s not happy for anyone. Curt’s getting his share of flak for what went on, and he’ll get more as time goes on. There’s no need for me to dish out more.

Ironically, though, the big winner in all this may turn out to be Turbine, which hosted a job fair mere blocks from 38 Studios’ HQ a few days ago — and surely everyone at 38 saw the writing on the wall when paychecks started to bounce. That is what I find most upsetting about the whole situation, the breach of the most sacred bond of trust between employer and employee.

Newbie Blogger Initiative – Fine Tuning Your Blog

2012-05-24T19:53:03Z

There has been a great deal of good, common sense advice shared over at the Newbie Blogger Initiative Forums. What I would like to do in this article is loosely group a few points together under the catch all term of “fine tuning”. These are things to possible consider after you’ve been blogging a while and feel that you are building up a head of steam. Personal taste plays a major part in all of them as does what you may be trying to achieve with your writing. As ever, it comes down to you to make a choice accordingly.

Advertising:

Okay, let’s get this particular Elephant in the room, dealt with. I have no problem with the concept of someone trying to make a few bucks out of their website or blog. If you have bought a domain name and have paid a years hosting fees, I can see sense in trying to get some money towards those ongoing costs. Ads can help with this.

However, you cannot guarantee that all your readership will feel that way. Most people accept a degree of adverts on sites as long as it is not overwhelming. Some people hate it and really do get upset by it. You need to consider the impact that carrying advertisement will have on your site. Bloggers build up a readership partly due to their reputation. Some folk see advertising as selling out, or associate it with low rent sites.

For example I read a blog post on a site today and under the title was a large banner ad. It totally detracted from the post and became the focal point. In my snobbish and elitist mind I considered that to be “bad form” and subsequently didn’t explore the site any further.

So if you do decided to advertise, then think long and hard about it’s effect on your reputations. Also consider how much it impacts upon your articles, so make informed choices about placement and the types of ads. Contextual advertising will randomly generate content based on keywords in your post. You may not be able to control this. I once wrote a piece about stereotyping girl gamers and the objectification of women in games, only to find that the corresponding ad was for “Mature Dating Online”. Hilarity did not ensue in this instance.

Finally with regard to adversing, please re-adjust your expectations when it comes to how much money you will make. 99% of these get rich quick articles you’ll find online are bullshit. Most ads run on a CPM model and you need a crap ton of traffic to get a return. Also remember that some people have have browser plugins that strip out ads.

Donations:

If you have a big site that incurs a substantial operating cost, then you may wish to ask for donations from your readership. This quid pro quo approach really only works if you have a big audience. Now again I see nothing wrong with this, if it is done correctly. By correctly I mean the money raised is genuinely used towards running your site. As with advertising, some people won’t mind where others will consider it begging. Tread carefully.

The moment you take money from people two things happen. Firstly, you immediately have a responsibility be totally transparent about your accounts. You have to credit all donations and show all expenditure to the last penny. Secondly, those who have contributed may feel that they now have a greater stake in your blog. Be aware of this. It could come up as a comment, if a reader doesn’ t like something you’ve done and said.

The moment you take money from someone it alters the dynamics of that relationship. If you make a mistake with regard to donations the blow back can be major. People are also swift to jump to conclusions. One minute you make a typo, then next you’re labelled a thief. Whether right or wrong. It can take years to build an online presence and to gain the trust and respect of your peers. It can be lost in a day. So I repeat, exercise caution.

The truth about “be yourself”:

I think nearly every veteran blogger has said on the NBI forums that it is important to be yourself. I whole heartedly endorse that sentiment. However, like anything in life it comes with some potential pitfalls. With regard to gaming, your readership will get to know what your likes and dislikes are over a period of time. You may follow common consensus or be unorthodox in your views. Either way, this can be part of your appeal. But because your readers enjoy your stance on gaming issues, it does not mean they will reciprocate with other subjects. So stay clear of ever straying into such troublesome areas such as politics,religion and wider social issues.

Now this is a lot harder than you may think. These personal views are things that contribute to you as a person. I have written posts about sexual stereotypes in games and also same gender romance arcs. These posts, although not overtly political, will betray some indication of my views on certain things. As a result I have been accused of being a “purveyor of filth” and such like. Gaming may well bring readers to your blog, but anything else may push them away. The internet provides you with a truly international readership. The immediacy and the use of common languages such as English can make you feel like we are all each others nextdoor neighbours. But cultural differences can and will become apparent.

So do be yourself by all means, but don’t ever assume that the audience of your gaming blog is willing to follow you anywhere else.

Oh and never admit to being a brony.

Spring Festival Cosmetics 2012

2012-05-24T15:44:46Z

Simbelmynë Dress – 18 Spring Leaves

Simbelmynë Tunic & Trousers – 18 Spring Leaves

Simbelmynë Cloak – 18 Spring Leaves

Wide Brimmed Spring Hat – 15 Spring Leaves Simbelmynë Circlet – 15 Spring Leaves

I don’t know who has been hired into the Cosmetics department at Turbine lately, but ever since the release of Rise of Isengard the armour designs and festival cosmetics have truly become something special. I am very impressed with everything that has been released over the past year (with exception of the Draigoch armour) and I hope that the team that worked on all these items is going to continue with this trend!
All older cosmetic items like the Spring Flinger Tunic and last year’s cloaks are also still available.
I love the Spring Festival Horse and Cosmetics, I know it’s going to be a grind but I will savour every minute, knowing that these beautiful goodies are waiting as a reward! Thank you Turbine for giving us something so special!

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