A wall of text on mmo gaming

Reminder: Awot has moved to http://imtalkingames.com

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:25:00 PDT

If you are seeing this post in your feed reader, or happen to be visiting the site, this is just a friendly reminder that this blog has moved. It can now be found at

http://imtalkingames.com

Please update any links you might have, and if you subscribe to the feed please update that to the new one:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/itg/posts

Thanks!

Reminder: Awot has moved to http://imtalkingames.com

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:46:00 PDT

Just a friendly reminder that this blog has moved. It can now be found at

http://imtalkingames.com

Please update any links you might have, and if you subscribe to the feed please update that to the new one:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/itg/posts

Thanks!

A Change Of Pace: AWOT Is Moving To Imtalkingames.com!

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:00:00 PDT

I've loved every minute of time spent on this site ofter the last year and a half. I've learned a bunch and have forged some new friendships because of it. However, I've been thinking about moving to a Wordpress based site for a long time now, and I finally pulled the trigger. I purchased some hosting space, and got my very own install of Wordpress up and running. I installed lots of plugins and rolled up my sleeves to turn the PHP and JavaScript wrenches to add things like Twitter/Facebook/Open ID logins. I've even got a few new posts up, and then I realized it was time to update the folks following this blog.

But first, some history. A Wall of Text was named because my blog posts can get long. When I'm in blog mode, the stream of consciousness into words can be long process for me. AWOT was named because I just gave in to the fact that this site would be the home of "TLDR". Then came Warhammer Online and all the video, which presented a bit of a mismatch between long articles and video posts. Not really a big deal, I think a few people were at least ok with that.

I have also long regretted getting the cheap ass .info domain name that this site wields. There have been beta sign up forms that wouldn't take my .info web or email domain name, Askimet regularly puts my comments in people's spam folders (check your spam folder, you no doubt have comments from me in there) and its just the redheaded step child of domain names. Many people don't write code that validates past .com/.net/.org and it was a royal p.i.t.a. to deal with.

In one fell swoop I corrected the domain name and hosting problems all at once. I created a new web site at the URL below, and will officially be putting my efforts into that site from now on. Its very fitting, and now my color commentary videos have a place to call home, and I can still write some TLDR style posts if I want to as well. See all the info you'll need below:

New self hosted site:
http://imtalkingames.com

New feed, please add this to your readers:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/itg/posts

Another goal I have for ITG is to not only be a blog and creative outlet for me, but for others as well. That said, I'm looking for others who may want to join (and share in the smallish amount of coins we may get from Google Adsense payments). Another goal is to build a community of gamers, to have a whole gaming family that loves to play and talk about games. I have a whole bunch of information the ITG site if you'd like to join the ITG Steam, Xfire or BSN groups or follow @imtalkingames on Twitter or even become a fan of ITG on Facebook if that network is to your liking.

So there you have it. The new site will still be in a state of flux for a while as I tweak and modify things. Let me know if you experience any problems on the new site so I can get the bugs stomped out quickly. This will likely be the last post on this site, unless I make more posts to encourage people to update their feeds.

I'll close by offering an extremely sincere thank you to those that have been regular followers. But I'm not done! Follow to the new site! Off we go...

Contact me with any questions/feedback!

The Next Generation of Gaming Hardware: The Multitouch Mouse

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:55:00 PDT

The folks at Microsoft Labs are up to some really cool research and development in respect to hardware, specifically with the mouse peripheral. I came across a video I thought I'd share, where the guys show off some of the very cool prototypes they are building. About half way through the clip, one of the prototypes displayed showed the application of such a mouse to a gaming environment. It was some unknown FPS game, but it still made the point that such hardware could really change how we get our game on. Check out the clip after the break.

The clip below shows off some of these really cool multi-touch mice. The one that looks most like an actual fat mouse is the one that shows how it can handle gaming, and you can click this shortcut to jump right to the 4:56 part of the movie where it is shown. The entire clip is shown below if you'd rather see all the cool concepts and not skip anything:

Imagine being able to do most of the controls and movement from the mouse alone in this way. You'd have very little need for the standard WASD keys for movement any more. What do you think, cool or no?

The MMO Month That Was: September's Great Line Up

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:26:00 PDT

There's no mistaking that September 2009 was a huge month for MMO gaming. As others have stated, its been a pretty hectic month for any gamer that is interested in MMO's. We've seen the launch of Champions Online, Fallen Earth, Aion, the relaunch of the now free to play Dungeons & Dragons Online, and the internet melting bombshell of SWTOR's beta sign ups beginning. Lets not forget that there are other great games in beta or in a pre-launch crunch like Global Agenda, Left 4 Dead 2, Borderlands, Star Trek Online...and the list goes on. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the existing games like World of Warcraft's Onyxia raid, City of Heroes power customization, and LOTRO's new expansion announcement, each offering some content updates for their respective player bases. Read on for my thoughts on the September launch titles.

Here's my thoughts on last month's MMO gaming. The September line up threw a ton of good stuff at us:

Champions Online: Enjoying the game and still leveling. But a bit dismayed.
I've been pleasantly surprised by Champions Online. I enjoy it very much and I wish I had the money for the lifetime subscription (and knew then what I know now) when they were offering it, because I think the game is good now and will only get better. I'm about midway through the leveling experience and think Cryptic has made a very good game to this point. What remains to be seen is the "end game", which could make or break me sticking with the title for very long. I've read plenty of negative thoughts from others about the game, but all that matters at the end of the day is whether or not I'm having fun.

Despite its new launch growing pains, (and to be honest they've all been relatively minor to me) the game is enjoyable even after I've leveled several characters to nemesis creation range. Sadly, my super team is full of bloggers that illustrate the point of this article (about September being a crazy MMO month) perfectly. They've fragmented off to other games like Fallen Earth and Aion and its been a pretty lonesome existence while leveling. I am a bit dismayed that I'm reading plenty of articles about people not liking the game as well. I still like it, and its natural to wish that others could appreciate it the way I do, but I can't be blind to honest and legitimate criticisms being levied against CO and Cryptic. And lets be honest, I don't really know how long I will continue to like it since I'm only level 26 now.

I still think CO still has plenty to offer me though. I haven't maxed out my crafting. Hitting the mid 20's has opened up some new PVP maps and game styles, and I'm about to create a nemesis for a few of my toons. From there, the final 15 level journey to 40 awaits, and I'll probably get to enjoy the upcoming Blood Moon update in the process. I recently made a video about costumes and builds in CO, and I'll likely be creating a video or two to follow up on my beta impressions soon™.

Fallen Earth: No interest, primarily due to post apocalyptic setting, but others are loving it.
I played the game in closed beta, and the game's style and setting were just not to my taste. I didn't like the combat, and the art style and animations were not to my liking. I know it was closed beta and that stuff has improved since then, I think I just don't care for the post apocalyptic setting at the end of the day. I didn't really care that much for Fallout, so I guess that's not too much of a shocker.

I hear some really good things about the game from people that are playing it though, so if you seem interested in that style of game and its setting you should probably try it. I think that the game might have more appeal with the DDO free to play model, but the FE made their choice to go with the standard 50/15 model. I might have actually downloaded and tried the game again, but I'm not shelling out the retail box price for it. I am subscribed to Champions Online, World of Warcraft (though probably not for much longer) and DDO. Fallen Earth just doesn't make the cut for me, despite the fact that I hear that it plays very much like pre-nge SWG. I am really rooting for the Fallen Earth guys to be successful though, I really feel like we need to see more indie developers in the MMO space operating successfully.

Aion: Waiting it out, but growing more curious by the day.
I was firmly in the "not another Korean designed MMO" camp, but I have started to drift a little closer to the curious side lately. Right now I still feel that it is probably too "grindy" and not different enough from WoW to warrant the investment. On the other hand, my ears have perked up with the understanding that PVP is the end game in Aion. I would normally have just jumped right in with the rest of the head start folks, but with my budget and existing time commitment to CO, WoW and DDO it just didn't make sense. I really should have played the beta when I had a chance, but was consumed with Champions Online then.

I read a metric crap-ton of blogs regularly, I scrape twitter conversation streams on gaming topics like #swtor, #aion, #fallenearth, #championsonline and more, and I generally keep my finger on the pulse of the MMO community. That said, I've not yet read much negative about Aion from people that are playing it right now. They all seem to be very happy with their play time in that game, and that's a good sign. But like any game, what remains to be seen is what's happening after max level is achieved. Sure the queue's are terrible from the rush of people trying to get in at launch, but the dust will eventually settle from that and regular reports will stream in.

Dungeons and Dragons Online: Intrigued, and dropping in every now and then.
Turbine removed any barrier I had to trying their game. I am all in favor of removing the hefty retail box fee and subscription cost to MMO's, and I hope their re-launch serves as a model for future development teams and publishers launching games soon. However, I do not want to feel like I'm constantly being sold something. This is what eventually turned me away from Runes of Magic, and it may just be the unfortunate consequence of the free to play model. I haven't spent enough time in DDO to really know that yet, as I've only been through the first dungeon with my Dwarf Ranger and have not been back. The beauty of the F2P model is that I won't cancel my subscription, I'll simply drop back in later and play more when it is convenient. I do like the puzzly and trappy style of dungeon experience DDO offers, and if I manage to find a group that plays the game and has room for a newbie, I may play more. I've been told that it really focuses on small group play, which is also attractive to me.

So there are my thoughts on the September that was, in my typical wall of text style. I look forward to November, specifically to Left 4 Dead 2, Global Agenda's next closed beta phases, and whatever other MMO craziness awaits.

I'm Talkin Games: Builds and Costumes in Champions Online (Video)

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:18:00 PDT

I'm very aware that Aion is all the rage right now, and while I wouldn't mind trying the game out now I just don't have the time or money to try juggling another MMO right now. The other new hotness in MMO's is Fallen Earth, but that apocalyptic setting still doesn't appeal to me. That leaves me with Dungeons & Dragons and Champions Online, the latter of which I am playing a bit more. I still like it, I understand that it might not be for some people, but it is still very engaging and fun for me. To that end, I created a video for Champions Online to show a little about builds and costumes. This is the first in my ITG video series, I'm Talkin Games! Check out the video after the break.

I thought it was really cool that you could tie a costume to a build. If you have a hero with a diverse set of skills, you can change into your healing/tanking/damage costume along with the appropriate build and gear to support that build. To me this seemed to be akin like combining World of Warcraft's dual specs with a gear manager and barber shop and rolling it all into one feature.

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Beta Process, FAQ's and Bottleneck Culprit?

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:42:00 PDT

BioWare's brought in extra hamsters and the servers seem to be responding a little more reliably, for the moment. I just got through most of the beta sign up process and thought I'd share a little of that for those that are not yet able to see it for themselves, given the whole unresponsive servers thing. Check after the break for the official beta FAQ's, screen shots of the sign up screens and what I think is the possible reason their servers have choked during this process.

Once you finally get the page to load you'll see the button to begin the process. You'll need to have your account created and be logged in to see this page if I'm not mistaken:

Below that image is the official beta FAQ's, which I've pasted below for those that can't get it to load:

What is Star Wars: The Old Republic game testing?
Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ game testing is a program set up to enable the game’s developers to test game content and game features prior to the launch of the game to the public in order to gain valuable feedback and begin the process of balancing our content during development.

How do I sign up for the chance to test Star Wars: The Old Republic?
First, make sure you are a registered member of the Star Wars: The Old Republic Community. If you’re not already a member, click here to become one today! Be sure to check the box to indicate you are interested in becoming a tester. If you’re already a member, go to the Game Testing Portal page to begin the registration process. If you are selected, you will receive notification via email with more details.

How many people will be chosen for testing?
This number of testers required at any given time will change throughout the duration of the testing program. There will be several testing groups, each made up of varying numbers of players to test different areas of the game. We anticipate there being far more applicants than testers needed. All applications are subject to the review of BioWare and LucasArts and may be accepted or rejected in BioWare and LucasArts’ sole discretion. Submission of an application and agreement to the terms and conditions of the testing program does not guarantee your participation in the test or that you will be selected as a tester.

When does testing begin?
A date for the commencement of testing has not been finalized. Once we feel that we are ready for testers, we will contact the selected applicants via email with further instructions.

When each testing session ends, will the chosen players be able to test again?
Our approach is to have new testers for each testing session. That said, players who give excellent feedback or find and report good bugs may be considered for additional testing sessions.

How long is each testing session?
The duration of each testing session will vary depending on what content or features are being tested.

What are the requirements for signing up to test?
To be eligible for consideration and possible selection as a game tester, you must be a registered member of the Star Wars: The Old Republic community and be 18 years of age or older. There are confidentiality and license restrictions as well as other terms you must agree to in the Game Testing Agreement in order to complete the tester application process.

How and when will I know that I am chosen for testing?
You will be notified by email if you are chosen to test the game. Please visit your My Account page to ensure the address you used to sign up for the Star Wars: The Old Republic Community is correct. The email will contain information on how to access the tester forums, patch notes, and test plans as well as other instructions relevant to the testing program, such as computer systems cans and other testing program requirements.

How do I know that I signed up for testing correctly?
To verify if you have successfully registered for Star Wars: The Old Republic game testing, visit the Game Testing Portal and view your Game Testing Sign Up Status.

Why haven’t I been picked for testing?
Our goal is to thoroughly and successfully test the game. There may be any number of reasons why you have not been selected, including that we have more testers than available spots in the program. Application for inclusion in the testing program does not guarantee you will be selected to participate. If you have not been selected for initial testing, you may be eligible for future testing.

What information are you collecting when I sign up?
During the application process, we collect your name and contact information as well as the following information about your computer system: CPU, System RAM, Video Card, Sound Card, and Operating System.

What if I have an error while signing up for testing?
If you are having problems submitting your application for game testing on Star Wars™: The Old Republic, please contact us. Be as detailed as possible to help expedite your issue.

From there you'll check the "Yeah, whatever" terms of agreement box and land at a screen that will ask you to update your account's contact information and system info. Here is also the point where you click the button that says, "Yes, I would like to be considered for testing." which I really don't understand by the way. If you've gotten this far, isn't that your sole purpose for being on this screen? Why ask? I digress..

From there you'll update your contact information and start a system scan. And this is what I think is causing the problems. A Java based plug-in is used to do the scan. That means their web server (which is already being crushed) must serve said file to each person requesting it, scan their system, and submit that data back to BioWare's servers. Needless to say, I never saw this Java plugin load and do anything. I stared at the following screen until I was done for the night:

The screen above is my best guess as to what is causing the performance bottleneck to happen. Rather than capturing a DxDiag file, this thing has to do some sort of "auto scan". Well, I hope you guys got further than I did. I called it a night on this screen and will try to get it going again in the morning, or maybe it will be automagically finished. Who knows.

At any rate, this is what I've seen in the process and should give you some idea of what you are getting into with the SWTOR beta.

*Update* This is definitely a problem caused by the (hopefully) soon to be unemployed web development team at BioWare that is in charge of this site. The last screen shown above, the one showing the scanning progress bar, is where I constantly got stuck in FireFox 3.5 on Vista. The Java plugin never loaded and the page just sat at the progress bar. I then tried to do the same thing in Google Chrome, only to see a message to the effect of "This browser is not supported."

Well damn. Ok Chrome is still relatively new, but FireFox should be working. My next step was to fire up the dreaded IE 8. I was able to get the Java plug in installed this time, and it actually scanned my computer. However, the window of scan results was broken and the "submit" button was not shown. I was able to get the scan done, but unable to submit the data in the window. DOH! I turned on compatibility mode (IE's method of reverting IE to a previous version of fail) and after running the scan this time, I was able to see the submit button in the results window. Upon clicking submit IE crashed. /facepalm /postal /punchkittens.

I was ready to give up, then I noticed that the scan actually submitted despite the crashing, so my submission is complete. Good luck to you guys dealing with this horrible web process.

BioWare's Beta Announcement: The Fail Is Strong With This One

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:45:00 PDT

Yesterday we had the premature announcement of SWTOR's beta test sign ups. Today, we find out the leak seemed to be what many thought it was, an accidental and premature publishing of the real story. SWTOR's beta sign ups were confirmed when the story was published for real this time, complete with an official announcement. Then, as everyone (but BioWare apparently) expected, hordes of Star Wars and MMO fans stormed the web site and crushed its very soul. Here we are at least 8 hours later, and the site is still down. I have to ask the question, how could this happen? Am I the only one that knows that 1) betas are popular, and 2) SWTOR is the most anticipated title in a long time?

I know this article will incur the wrath of fanboy vitriol everywhere, but this is a real big blunder in my book. This kind of thing makes me wonder how a game developer can fail this hard before they've even really started. It feels just like the movie Friday, when Smokey asked "How you gonna get fired on your day off?" Its that hard to believe. With as much money as publisher EA is throwing at this, I can imagine that they can't be too happy with today's events either. Perhaps they should hire a few less writers and a few more folks in the data center?

I do very much realize that mistakes happen, and that launching an MMO of this size and scope is no easy task. I'm sure in a few days time this will be all over and forgotten, but not before it makes many of us wonder if this could be a sign of future failing. I'm wondering if this kind of blunder at this stage of the game shows just how ill prepared BioWare is when it comes to launching the next big MMOG.

I think that many of us know how popular this game will be, that it is very anticipated, and that any beta announcement would be met with an internet tidal wave of excitement. There are more fan sites and blogs that dissect every part of every interview and video relating to this game than I imagined there would be. Its very obvious that fans are frothing at the mouth for this game, and that means that a beta announcement would be met with an extremely large amount of users trying to sign up. That apparently was not obvious enough for BioWare to avoid this kind of flub however.

My guess is that BioWare has been scrambling to try and figure out how to pull off these beta sign ups on a scale in proportion to the game they are trying to launch. It would not surprise me one bit to see an announcement of a SWTOR beta signup process on FilePlanet after this, at least IGN has the infrastructure and process in place to handle such a thing. I may not like FilePlanet betas, but if they stop this kind of meltdown then I guess its worth the subscription, especially when a highly anticipated game like SWTOR is involved.

Is BioWare ready to take on an MMO launch of this scale? Am I just making mountains out of molehills? Sound off below and let me know.

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Beta Test Signups Are Open!

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:07:00 PDT

I would have posted this earlier, but Ive been busy trying to get to the site myself. The SWTOR beta testing leak from yesterday is confirmed, see the release below and good luck getting to the server to sign up. If you are interested in beta testing SWTOR, head that way and get your form filling on. Be warned, the SWTOR site is getting crushed by the stampedes of fans right now so the site will likely load slowly...if at all. Here's the official release:

We are excited to announce that we are now collecting information for those interested in applying for the opportunity to test Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. Our goal is to get feedback to help us make the best game that we can.

We will be selecting testers from the Star Wars: The Old Republic community based on various requirements such as systems specifications, age, and region. Because the testing program requires feedback from within the community, you must have an active Star Wars: The Old Republic (“TOR”) community account to participate (no banned accounts). The testing is limited to members who are 18 years of age or older and requires the acceptance of the Game Testing Agreement included in the TOR community sign-up process. Users that meet the requirements of the test and are selected for inclusion in the test program will be contacted via email (so make sure your email address is up to date!).

Game testing for Star Wars: The Old Republic will be rolled out in several phases over an extended period of time. These test phases will begin with smaller, tightly focused test groups, and later tests will expand.

Want to get your name on the list of potential testers? First, make sure you are a registered member of the Star Wars: The Old Republic community. If you’re not already a member, click here to become one today! Be sure to check the box to indicate you are interested in becoming a tester. If you’re already a member, go to the Game Testing Portal to begin the sign up process.

Please keep in mind that there are no guarantees that you will be selected once you have completed the sign up process. For more information about testing Star Wars: The Old Republic, take time to read the Game Testing FAQ.

We look forward to your help in making Star Wars: The Old Republic a success!

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Beta Test Starting Soon?

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:41:00 PDT

Today at lunch I fired up Google Reader on my iPhone after I was done eating and was waiting on the check. I was sitting there enjoying the new fall air, skimming through the posts I had missed this weekend. To my amazement, I came across an entry that I thought was really interesting. The entry in my reader was titled:

Sign up to test STAR WARS: The Old Republic!

I paid the check and immediately got back to a computer to begin my sign up. However, clicking the link brought me to the news articles page on the SWTOR site, with no such announcement listed. Did someone accidentally publish the beta announcement too early? Hrm...

Check the screen shot after the break as well as my complete thoughts on this item.

Here's the screen shot of my Google Reader, just so you know that I wasn't dreaming when I saw this. Click for the full size image view:

Is this the product of an accidental or premature news entry on the SWTOR site? I think so! Others in the SWTOR community think so too, and have posted on the official forums to that effect. I always thought that BioWare was much further along in their development process than people thought they were. You just don't get to the point where you have a demo like the one they've been showing at the conferences unless you are very close to being ready for beta testing. Many stated that we wouldn't see the game until 2011. I firmly believed that it will launch next year in 2010, and this solidifies that theory if the closed beta sign-ups are are indeed announced soon.

What do you think about this? Beta coming soon or just some mistake by SWTOR's Community Manager Alyson Bridge?

Eating My Own Words: Warhammer Online, A Year Later

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:36:00 PDT

Oh what a difference a year makes. This time last year, the interweb's darling MMO game was Warhammer Online. Many people, including yours truly, were singing its praises. GameSpy gave it a 5/5 rating. The game had 500,000 accounts after just one week. All the signs pointed to this being the next big thing. Just about a year ago, I even went as far to say, "Warhammer Online will compete with World of Warcraft...like it or not.". Uh...yeah. Note the picture to your right, which depicts me eating those words.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to cast Warhammer Online as a failure, but they (EA) fell far short of the crazy WoWish numbers they were hoping to get. Many people were starting to believe that the good start meant crazy high subscription numbers were attainable. We were believing the hype created mainly by Mythic, but partly from the fan base. Many of us simply wanted to be a part of the next big MMO sensation to sweep across the land, and we were ready to anoint Warhammer Online as our savior.

You know the rest of the story. After the free month was over and people had to put their money where their mouths were, subscription numbers dropped. The WoW tourists began to go back to old faithful in droves. At its height War's subscription numbers might have been creeping up on 800k. But when the dust settled, the numbers were actually down to about 300k. Eventually, servers that once had crazy queue times were being closed and Mark Jacobs own words came back to haunt him.

By most measures, the 300k subscribers War had by last count makes it a very profitable and successful game. I'm not quite so sure they still have even that many subscribers any more, but I'm not going to go down that path in this article. I will however go on to state that the purpose of this article is that of a cautionary tale, one that many fanboys of mediocre performing games can tell. The story is short and sweet: don't believe the hype, its that easy. I don't even necessarily mean developer hype, I mean the hype of the mob. The mob is fickle. I was a part of it, and now I blow the horn of caution at every MMO release. I will do my damnedest to never hype a game like that again (Looking squarely at BioWare and SWTOR as I say that) and give a game many weeks, if not months, before I begin singing its praises as the next MMO savior.

The moral of the story is to temper your enthusiasm about a game until you've experienced more of it. Alot more of it. Just a dose of reality for those enamored with Aion, Fallen Earth, or even Champions Online right now. Give it time before singing its praises, you could end up eating your words.

Screencast: Build A Better Gaming Blogroll (Video)

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:15:00 PDT

Today I decided to deviate from my normal style of gaming video and created a screen cast for bloggers and those that read blogs. Specifically, I discovered how to replace the default blog roll that most blog sites have, with one powered by "bundles" created from Google Reader. I don't know how long the functionality has been in Google Reader, but it at least dates back to May of this year. While the feature isn't brand new, its new to me. If its new to you too, I have a video after the break showing how you can use it to improve your gaming site's blog roll. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Not long ago I noticed that the load time on my site was getting to be unbearable. I had so many widgets and 3rd party things trying to load that most browsers were choking just trying to load it all. I removed many of the widgets, including the default blogroll and comments system. Hopefully this feed bundle will be a nice replacement, and also give anyone visiting the site the ability to read what I read as well as suggesting other good blogs to add. If I have missed yours please let me know and I'll work on getting it added.

A few notes about this clip:

You can mix and match what feeds go into a bundle.
Once embedded on a site, it updates any changes you make to the bundle in your reader. If you delete a feed, it removes it from the one embedded on your site.
It does not update the bundle feed once its imported to other people's readers.
Once subscribed, people can add/remove feeds from it as they wish, or even re-distribute a tweaked version of it.
I was rambling on a bit much and had to trim the clip to fit in YouTube's 10 minute limit.

Hit me up with any questions or feedback in the comments!

APB: Now Accepting Beta Applications, Trailered (Video)

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:49:00 PDT

If you are even remotely interested in jumping into a car that your friend is driving, shooting out of the passenger's side window while zooming through a sprawling city at top speed, and even running over people with said cars, then APB might be a game that interests you. Realtime Worlds just sent out an email update that they are now accepting beta applications, so check it out if you have any interest in this GTA style MMO.

Words can barely express how much fun this game might possibly be, and I look forward to getting my grubby gaming paws all over it. What's weird is that I'm pretty sure they have been accepting beta applications for a while now, so either their email newsletter is slow to go out, or something else is out of whack. Perhaps they didn't get the beta response they were looking for when they first activated it, and want to drive in more testers from their mailing list? Who knows? Who cares! Check out the beta announcement and trailer video after the break.

The trailer above looks to be more mindless fun than I can fathom in an mmo right now. I eagerly anticipate getting to try APB. If you do too, hit the link below and sign up for beta testing:

We’re happy to tell you that we are now inviting applications for beta testers! You have the chance to be one of the first people to visit San Paro and have “hands on” experience with the world of APB!

Just click on the link below to start our beta application process. Don’t worry, your personal information is safe, we will never pass it on to third parties. All the questions are aimed at making sure we get a broad cross section of players and the best possible selection for our beta testing process.

http://www.apb.com/beta-application/

Once you’ve completed the application, we’ll keep you in our pool of beta players. We will have multiple rounds of selection, so if you don’t hear back straight away, you may still be chosen later in the process.

Meantime, why not visit our website at www.apb.com to find out the latest news on the game or subscribe to our podcast to get a behind the scenes look at the game being developed and meet the team.

Thank you and we hope to see you in game soon!

— APB Team

If that trailer wasn't enough (or you haven't wasted enough time at work already) then hit this link for tons of APB video or this link for APB's YouTube channel.

Champions Online: If You Show Me Yours, I'll Show You Mine...

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:33:00 PDT

Today I'm gonna take a page out of Stropp's book and post my Champions Online characters and some info about them. I'm still enjoying the game alot, and plan to post more thoughts about the game soon™. To date, I've filled up all my character slots, and even deleted 3-4 level 10 characters so I could keep going. I sit at 7 of 8 slots full at the time of this writing. I've got mad altaholic syndrome in CO, but that's ok with me because I'm in no rush to get to the end game of a brand new MMO. I'll likely be disappointed anyway, so playing many alts gives the Cryptic team time to fix bugs, plug content gaps, and generally improve the game. While I am largely in agreement about what CO's down side is right now, I'm still upbeat about the game.

Keep in mind that is hard to be original and good at the same time when creating things, so I'll definitely understand any dislike for what I've made, and that my character biographies need some work, etc. Just be civilized when you comment :) Anyway, without further delay I'll show you the result of my toiling away at the character creation tool in CO, and show you what I have in my current lineup:

Name: Bonesaw

Level: 16

Powers: Supernatural/Might/Gadgets

Biography: Jim "Bonesaw" McGraw did not survive the Qularr invasion. But somehow, you see him here. He's half dead, half alive...and very mad. He was out cruising on his Harley one day when the attack started. A direct hit on his stretch of the highway wiped out everyone in a 3 mile radius. All he knows now is that someone or something brought him back from death, and now he is bent on wreaking havoc on those assaulting Millenium city. Stay out of his way.

Background: I created Bonesaw to be a tankish/pvpish type character, making heavy use of the perpetually fun chainsaw power. After playing around with might, gadget, and supernatural powers on other characters I decided to roll Bonesaw to take the best of what I liked in the other toons. I intend to take the plus threat advantages to his chainsaw, along with some chain attacks from supernatural. I also intend to have a PVP focus with Bonesaw, so I have selected (or will select later) powers to help him close distance and keep his chainsaw going.

Note: As great as the CO character creator is, there are no skeleton chest or feet pieces to use, so I improvised with the zombie chest (see the exposed, bloody gut) and peg leg/combat boot for this Ghost Rider inspired toon. Bonesaw is my new hotness (pun intended) and I'm currently leveling him up now. The chainsaw never gets old people!

Name: Rajun Cajun

Level: 20

Powers: Dark/Supernatural/Sorcery

Biography: Alfonz "Rajun Cajun" Boudreaux is a 7th generation voodoo mystic, born in the most remote and swampy region of Louisiana. He is said to be a master of the dark arts, capable of healing wounds and even raising the dead. He tends to keep to himself and is regarded as a hero to most that know him. Rajun Cajun has been alive longer than anyone knows, and most suspect his voodoo magic for his longevity. He wields strange and powerful magic, so be careful not to cross him...

Background: He has two costumes, one tied to his normal/healing sentinel build, and one tied to his damage/survival protector build, which is why his image is split to show the two sides of this swamp mystic. He summons zombies, does lifedrain and heals. In PVP he just stays alive forever, and I will add more support/healing powers to his arsenal for late game play.

Note: I was raised in Louisiana, and I went to this school for 2 years, so that should explain alot about this character :)

Name: Reflex

Level: 20

Powers: Archery/Gadgets

Biography: Sam enjoyed hunting, fishing, and spending time with his family while not working for UNTIL's cybernetics and weaponry division. When the Qularr attacked, Sam's home and family were destroyed. UNTIL rebuilt his damaged body with experimental grade cybernetics, and the simple outdoors man and family man was reborn as the hero Reflex. Using advanced technology and military grade weaponry, Reflex seeks to avenge his slain family, to destroy the Qularr, and to protect this world.

Background: In the powerhouse one day, another player challenged me to a duel. He opened with Tazer shot (12 second stun basically) and dropped the since nerfed mini mines on me, which proceeded to kill me before the tazer shot wore off. Not being afraid to use the flavor of the month skills against the turds that bring these builds to life, Reflex was born. Instead of mines, I use a chainsaw to hack down tazered enemies. The chainsaw was so fun I decided to roll Bonesaw (see above) and use it as his main skill.

Note: Reflex is a crazy damage build, great for pvp. His main arrow shot has an advantage on it that makes it do AoE damage. He two shots most 3 man henchmen group before they come out of stun. Archery is one of the power sets that utilize cool items that visually enhance the character.

Name: Manimal

Level: 16

Powers: Might

Biography: The last thing I remember as a normal man was being out for my daily jog, then I felt something hit me in the head. I woke up to sound of howling, my howling...in pain. I was dumped somewhere n the Canadian wilderness, and I wasn't...right. I can only assume that I have been the victim of some experiment or curse, and whoever did this to me will pay. I possess inhuman strength, and feel indestructible as a result of whatever happened to me. I am half man, half animal. Call me...Manimal.

Background: I made this guy to be a tank, but have no idea how much a true tank is actually needed at level 40 content. Playing a melee character is extremely fun (in PVE), because there few better feelings than picking up a military transport truck and one-shotting a group of enemies with it.

Note: I found out there are things in the later levels of the game called Manimals, and that killed my enthusiasm for playing this guy despite his cool costume. Again, its hard to be original and good :(

I still have 3 characters remaining at level 10, and they may likely stay there for a while before I level them further:

Rattus, level 10 Gadgeteer/Stone Cold, level 10 Cold/Count Shockula, level 10 Electric. I don't even have biographies filled out for these guys, but still love their theme and powers:

So that's it for the crazy characters I have in CO right now. Are me and Stropp the only ones having this much fun making characters in CO? Show me yours!

Discuss: The Disqus Comments Experiment

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:17:00 PDT

After talking with a few of my gaming buddies last night on Ventrilo, it dawned on me that some people find it to be a royal p.i.t.a. to have to authenticate the way that Blogger/Google wants you to in order to be able to comment on this site. I was unaware that some people disliked the way it is done on Blogger sites, so it was news to me.

In an effort to remove a layer of suck from that process, I evaluated a few commenting systems. I liked Intense Debate, Echo and Disqus. Echo was my first pick, but required a payment to use the product. I spend more than $12 bucks on lunch some days, so the price is not a barrier. However, I don't want to invest even that much in a system just to evaluate it. Next up was Disqus and I liked most of what I saw, except for a few random 503 errors.

Commenting systems bring some cool things to the table, like social networking integration, consolidate comments and semi-forum feel, and many other benefits I won't go in to right now. I may try others, but Disqus is the first attempt at bringing better commenting to this site. Let me know what you think about the new commenting system, and feel free to email thoughts/complaints/etc to br3ntbr0-at-walloftext-dot-info if the commenting system isn't working for you.

Gaikai: Is It Time to Start Believing in Cloud Gaming?

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:29:00 PDT

I've covered this topic quite a bit, because I do think it is the next radical change to how we get our game on. As MMO and PC/Mac gamers, this technology effects us first and foremost. Both Gaikai and OnLive are entering the cloud gaming (read: cloud computing for providing streamed games) space pretty much simultaneously, and as a consumer it is wonderful to see these guys race to prove their technology and business models to us. OnLive came on the scene last year at GDC, and Gaikai was announced soon after. While they are both fundamentally the same in that they offer cloud computing models to stream games right to our computers, they are slightly different. OnLive recently announced their intentions to enter closed beta soon, and Gaikai followed suit. It was announced that Gaikai would begin beta in Europe first, then America.

Today we have a video from IGN showcasing this Euro beta with a video demonstration. Perhaps I'm just a bit blind because I want this technology to materialize so badly that I'm willing to suspend my doubt a bit more than other skeptics. However, after watching the video below I truly believe that this is coming soon, and it will change everything about gaming. Read up on Gaikai and OnLive to see what I mean, then check out the clip below on Gaikai's European beta:

I think we can say the technology is proven, or at least will be very soon. Gaming is a multi-billion dollar business. I think its time to grab some popcorn and see what business deals materialize with the presence of this kind of technology. If I were a financial big wig, I'd be looking to cash in on this one a.s.a.p. Do you think makers of high end gaming hardware might be sweating this a little? If they are smart, they should. I think the previous statement applies to other little companies like Microsoft and Sony, as this could potentially take a huge bite out of their console sales.

What do you think? Game changer, or flash in the pan?

Star Wars: The Old Republic - End Game Info and Trooper Game Play (Video)

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 06:51:00 PDT

SWTOR has the potential to be the game that breaks the mold, the game that could actually approach ludicrous speed, err...ludicrous subscription numbers, to challenge the 800 lb. gorilla from Blizzard. The key word here is potential. Everything I've seen so far has been drool worthy, but its early yet. Any MMOG veteran can tell you that the path to success in the MMORPG space is laden with pitfalls, as anyone on the early LucasArts/Star Wars Galaxies teams (or just about any other mmo) can attest.

With that in mind, a few weeks ago G4TV posted an interview with Lead Writer Daniel Erickson, and he dropped a few interesting bits of information. Check out the clip below if you have not yet seen this one:

Perhaps I'm just behind the times and many of you knew this already, but based on that interview I deduced a few key things. One of them, was that the max level for SWTOR at launch is likely to be level 40. It hasn't been officially announced as max level yet, but at 3:07 in the clip above I believe he slips and mentions this while describing the ramifications of decisions made earlier in the game:

..you might have decided to give up your "crazy ways" from when you were a kid, and now at level 40 you are a pretty good guy, and these people come to you and you have to decide...

That seems to be a pretty good indicator of what the max level in SWTOR will be, wouldn't you say? I think he forgot that he already mentioned level 40 earlier in the interview, because there was a point here where he stopped himself from saying the level 40 and just said "max level" instead, at later point in the clip.

More importantly though, at 4:30 in the clip he really lets an important piece of info out that I think many have not yet talked about. He talks about end game content and raids, in the context of consequences of the light and dark system:

..but also we want to make sure that the light and dark side stuff affects you, gives you cool stuff, lets you have some rewards, but does not inhibit you. It can't actually be what defines your character, because when you get to le...(pause) the top level, and you decide that you want to go run with a bunch of friends to do your end game content, we don't want anyone to ever look at you and say, "oh you're a light side sith warrior? yeah, no you can't come on this raid."

The quote above is one that is the first time I've heard anyone with the SWTOR team mention the philosophy behind the end game. To me, it sounds like the game breaks down this way: the leveling up process is like a KOTOR single player game and the game after max level is a WoW style raiding game. I'm not quite sure how I feel about that personally, but there's no mistaking that this would probably be a winning combination.

Think about it. You pick a class, and for the next 40 levels you are basically playing a KOTOR rpg. Then once you hit max level (which appears to be 40, see above) it opens up into a WoW style raiding game, where raiding content gets patched into the game regularly. This could take advantage of 2 proven game play mechanics all in the same game. Also, if raiding isn't your game...reroll and play a different KOTOR style game from 1-40, since you won't repeat a single quest and will be in totally different areas. No repetition, high replay value.

Now that I've given you some SWTOR end game thoughts to chew on, check out the latest game play videos from PAX below. The first one is some Republic Trooper game play video captured by the Darth Hater guys:

I've already stated that I think the Trooper is the bomb, but I haven't seen all the classes yet, and BioWare is doing a tremendous job of making them all look fun to play. While the Trooper is still one of the more interesting classes when I think about which one I'll play (first), alot more has yet to be seen.

So there you have it. Trooper game play, max level 40, and end game raids. I'm not sure how I feel about a WoW style raiding treadmill in SWTOR. I've done it plenty in WoW, and I'm not sure how you do end game content any other way. Hopefully it is balanced with PVP content as well, so that your only option isn't just to reroll if you don't feel up to end game raids.

What do you think, are end game raids something that you look forward to in SWTOR, or totally turn you off?

WAR Contest: We Have Brains!

scarybooster@gmail.com (Scarybooster) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:27:00 PDT

Today is the day I drew the winner for the Warhammer Online 60 Day Game Card. I got some help to draw the name, because I don't like the feel of brains.

BRAINS!

Not for long I found a brains eating Spider Monkey!

Oh no! A Zombie football fan is serving up desert to the hyper Spider Monkey.

"YUM, these brains are Delicious. I wonder who's name is on this chunk of brains?"

And the winner to the year supply of Crush Orange soda goes to.... wait, one minute. I didn't unchain the Spider Monkey and Football Zombie for Crush Orange soda. I had my pinkie finger chewed off so a fan of Wall of Text could receive a 60 day WAR game card. Let's try this again.

And the winner of the 60 day Warhammer Online game card is...... MrAnderson!!!

Congradulations to MrAnderson! Now, it is up to you MrAnderson to send me and email with your name and mailing address. You Have 2 weeks before I draw a new person. Again my email address is SCARY[AT] SCARYBOOSTER [DOT] COM. Thank you all for reading A Wall of Text and commenting. It means a lot to us.

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Imperial Spy the Next Class to be Revealed? (Video)

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:28:00 PDT

In the latest Holonet entry on the official SWTOR site, labeled The Empire Changes Strategy, is now available for viewing. Per usuale, I've taken the liberty to include it below (since BioWare chooses to set their video player to auto play, which I hate) for your viewing pleasure. Video after the break:

I think that the key to watching these clips is to not only try and follow what they are talking about, but to notice who the key players are in the story. These stories give very solid clues to what the playable classes in SWTOR may be. A few episodes ago the story focused on the Mandalorian blockade, specifically how a lone smuggler helped to turn the tide of that conflict. I picked up on this focus and predicted a playable smuggler class. Soon after, the smuggler class was officially announced. What is key in this video to me is the focus on spies and their role in recruiting the Mandalorians into the battle in the first place.

The key role of the Imperial Spy in this segment of the story leads me to believe that the Imperial Spy will be the next playable class announced. If its not the next one announced, it will be at some point thereafter. I don't think that the effort being taken to include the spies and their association with the Empire in this story to be circumstantial. Several weeks ago I deduced that the smuggler was coming, now I'm placing my bets on the Imperial Spy as a playable class, and probably the next one announced. It makes too much sense to be wrong, and would make a perfect balance of classes. It appears to me that the Trooper and Bounty Hunter are in one pairing, the Sith Warrior and Jedi Knight are in another obvious pairing, the Smuggler and Spy would be in a pairing as well, followed up by the remaining unannounced classes. The balance is starting to become clear.

I think the Imperial Spy will be announced and then the story will shift to how the Jedi Knights helped the Republic win a few battles (as this video eludes to) which then gives the perfect chance to announce the Jedi Knight as a playable class once their story has been told. So what say you? Am I on the mark with this one, or might it be the Jedi Knight, which we know has to be announced at some point? Or perhaps another class will be announced? Channel your inner Yoda and let me know!

Warhammer Online Free 60 Day Game Card Contest Closed!

scarybooster@gmail.com (Scarybooster) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:55:00 PDT

Today is the day I said the contest for the Warhammer Online free 60 day game card contest will close. It is now officially closed. If you didn't get to comment on On the 8th Day or Brains then you missed it. If you did get your name in the comment section, then watch for Friday's follow up post to see if you won.

The winner announced on Friday will need to send me an email with his/her name and address so I can ship it out asap. Good luck to you all.

Champions Online: Headstart and Beyond

scarybooster@gmail.com (Scarybooster) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:41:00 PDT

Buzz Lightyear is kind of a superhero. Today is the day Champions Online goes live, kind of. If you are thinking about buying or have bought Champions Online, today is the day early access starts. If you have been sitting on the fence about this game I urge you to read as much as you can. Both positive and negitive reviews. The best way to know if you want to play, is to play. You don't want to fork over $50 to try a game? You don't have too. $5 is all you need.

I'm not endorsing a retail company, I'm just stating what I am doing as a fence sitter myself. I went to Bestbuy lastnight and preordered a copy of CO for $5. With my preorder I get to get into early access for 4 days before launch. Really, if I don't plan on buying a 6 month subscription, I could play till September 6th without buying the $50 version. That is 10 days of game play for $5 and well worth it to me. My plan is to play till August 31st and then ask myself if I want to pay $110 ($60 for 6 month sub and $50 for retail box) to keep playing for 7 months (first month is aleays free and the 6 month sub) more. What do I have to loose, $5?
For the last few weeks I have read the good, bad, and ugly about CO. I know nothing about the IP and I have never played the game, so I'm not going to hype it or tell you it sucks. I truely don't know. I do know, I want to see this game for myself. $5 is worth checking it out for myself for a weekend.
I hope CO is good and does great, because that means more money for Star Trek Online. The 6 month deal was only on the table for me because, I really want to see STO. What makes it better is, if I like CO I will most likely love STO. My trust in Cryptic faultered when they pulled that moron stunt this week, but if CO pans out for me I might forgive them. They are human and do make mistakes. If you are remotely interested in CO, go down to Bestbuy, pick up preorder for $5, and see for yourself. If you are not from the USA, I'm sorry I don't know if there is any deals like this out there for you.
Remember, the best way to to know if you like it, is to try it for yourself.

World of Warcraft: 5 Level Conspiracy

scarybooster@gmail.com (Scarybooster) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 07:38:00 PDT

Now that everybody has had time to think about WoW's new expansion Cataclysm, I can post my calm, well thoughtout, elegant, dynamic, a utterly awesome conspiracy theory. I know Blizzard is up to no good. Out of all the news, I am dumbfounded as to why they only increased the level cap by 5. I came up with a list of 5 myths and the conspiracy behind them. Caution: If you read this Blizzard might come for you too.

[Update: I love you Blizzard. I was really kidding and thank you for the succubus, she made me red and sore but I had a wonderful time]

1. Myth: Blizzard only increased the level cap because they want people to enjoy the Old World.

Conspiracy: When I say enjoy, I mean force us to look at all the new stuff they put in the game. They said, "hey, if we add 10 levels to this expansion people will be grinding to end game instead of looking at our new Old World. We don't want that. How about we increase it by 5 to make the hardcore players happy and that way the casuals don't feel pressured".

2. Myth: With the revamp of the Old World, it introduces all new quests into the game to revive the game.

Conspiracy: With the introduction of new quests, Blizzard can slow the level process down again. It could possibly take you longer to get from level 1-60 than it does to get from level 70-85. This way Blizzard can secretly clean the fast leveling slate and slow it down again, so you have to smell their roses. When I first played WoW it took me 6 months to get to level 60, now I can get 3 characters to 80 in that same time frame. Is Blizzard going to slow leveling down again?

3. Myth: Phasing technology will enhance the storyline and add new found excitement to the game.

Conspiracy: Phasing Technology just adds confusion and loneliness to the game. If they overdue this feature, at times, the world will feel barren. If you have to play longer to force yourself through different phases to catch up to your friends, you might feel the same pressure as leveling to end game asap. I'm afraid they are going to phase too much and seperate players by the time they spend grinding phases.

4. Myth: The new world will bring old players back to WoW to enjoy it again and not feel like they need to raid right away.

Conspiracy: You stil need to bite your lip and level your main 5 more times. If you were a raider and left the game because you were burnt out, when you return the shoe will still fit. Once a compulsive raider, always a compulsive raider. You might have time to try an alt when you are not raiding in the most raid content ever added to an expansion pack, but I doubt it.

5. Myth: with the reset of the Old World Blizzard can tie all the lore together and make a stronger storyline.

Conspiracy: Blizzard is just going to steal more stuff from Warhammer's Lore and any new game features in other games will be swiped too. I fear for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Blizzard has their evil eye on them with all the hype surrounding the game. If SW:TOR has something new and revolutionary, Blizzard will yoink the carpet right out from under them. Don't hold it past Blizzard to announce their new expansion release date a month after SW:TOR announces theirs. I bet they will be with in months of each other just like WoW did to WAR.

Cataclysm reeks or evil subplots. I fear for my safety after posting this. I know Blizzard will come for me. They already have my monthly subscription. They are coming for my children now. I'm sure they will force me to make this post seem outlandish and a joke.

.... Oh gosh there is a knock at my door. I see a Night Elf female, Blood Elf female, and a succubus... Hey, this isn't half bad. I'm thinking it is party time. G2G suckers!

Champions Online Open Beta Report, Day 8: Win! (Video)

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:21:00 PDT

If day one of my Champions Online open beta experience was summed up as a failure, then a week later I have to continue to call it as I see it and tell you that I think Champions Online is actually full of win. My initial impression wasn't even really an impression of the game, I never got to play it because of Cryptic/FilePlanet's blunder of offering a bad beta client to download. This things do unfortunately happen during open betas, so I had to be patient and continue plugging away.

I had serious problems getting the game installed and patched, but after they fixed the problem and offered the correct beta client I was off and running. My actual impressions are largely positive, and I think that Cryptic has made a great game from what I have seen. Peep at the video below for some of my initial impressions on various game play elements that stuck out to me. The animations, environments, combat and questing are few of the things I briefly touch on. See the rest of my thoughts after the clip:

What I liked:

The game gets out of the way of the experienced mmo player. NPC's marked with a blue letter "i" over their head indicated that they had text for newbies trying to learn the game. For me, this was a clear indicator to skip talking to them.
The character customization is fantastic and completely allows you to build any type of hero you like. I think that this is an understatement, but also extremely obvious if you know anything about CO or its predecessor, City of Heroes. I saw some really great heroes in my time in beta, and had a blast seeing the good (and bad) costumes/themes that people come up with. There is so much customization its almost difficult to figure out how to find the right costume pieces. Saving costumes is an awesome game design idea. Having them for re-use, or simply to remember where the costume options are by saving them is a great feature.
Character names and friends are also the result of an excellent game design concept. Your character's name is always in the format of name@accountname. So, my toons were Firefox@br3ntbr0, Landshark@br3ntbr0, etc, etc. Anyone who adds me as a friend adds "@br3ntbr0" as a friend, so that no matter which of my characters I am playing they will be notified. No more having to tell everyone who my alts are so that they can find me when I'm online. The other benefit of the name design is that there can be more than one Landshark (Landshark has to be the greatest hero ever btw) since the names Landshark@br3ntbr0 and Landshark@youraccount are technically different names. You'll always get the character name you want this way.
The graphics and animations were excellent in my opinion. The way the beast body style runs on all fours was believable, the spell effects like flames and ice blocks were cool looking, and the animations of the travel powers and melee combat moves were polished and generally well done. Seeing the ground crumble beneath my feet as I landed from a super jump did alot to make me feel like a super hero.
The UI was clean, uncluttered, and should be familiar to most MMO players. Most importantly it just plain worked, and didn't seem to lag the client too much. The key mappings were intuitive to me, and the game made a point to ask me about that set up when I started. Choosing "mmo style" (or whatever it was called) put a default set of key bindings in that had me off and running with no hiccups, plus they were easily configured when I wanted to change something like camera zoom or auto run keys.
The starting area did its job, as it offered plenty of information for new players to read. Quests were there to guide users through new mechanics like blocking and picking up objects. The starting area finished up with a public quest, which featured the hero Ironclad and some voice acting. It tied together the game's story for the introduction of an alien invasion, and features you as the person that helps the other champions fend it off.
The NPC artificial intelligence was good (at times) insofar as they would run for help and bring back friends. Without some understanding of group composition, knowledge of how some skills and builds work, and your own skill you won't just bulldoze through most quests. Some of them are hard and will hand you your ass if you aren't careful.
Grouping was easy, and teammates were clearly labeled on the map, mini map and instance list so that I could find them. Switching instances to meet people was as easy as opening the map and clicking "switch instance", and if I found an NPC I needed to be already dead or camped, I could just switch instances and find him standing there waiting for me.
The arena hero games system provides an alternate playing experience aside from the PVE. There is a reward system for participating in the hero games, which gives PVP'ers something extra to work toward. The arena queue system worked well and I got into several matches at level 10, so I was able to get into some PVP rather quicly.
For me, the game's performance was great. I didn't suffer one single disconnect, and only occasionally had some graphical lag, even with most settings at or near max. In fact, my graphical lag didn't come until the last day of beta when there were many players trying to kill the large robots and I had to render alot of avatars and effects at once on high settings.
The environments were huge, immersive, and I was able to impact them. I liked how rubble kicked away from my feet when I ran across it, showing the rocks scattering from beneath my feet as I kicked them out of the way. I enjoyed picking up crates, benches, trucks and whatever else I could find to smash the daylights out of stuff and discovered that I enjoy interacting with the environment in this way.
The questing was a good mix of existing conventions. There were item collection quests, crafting quests, kill quests, escort quests and open (public) quests. The quests seemed to effect my world in some way, unlocking previously inaccessible areas and opening up other quests. I don't know if this was done with phasing or some other mechanic, but I do know that progressing through certain quests would change several things about my current environment, from weather effects changing to new npc's appearing.
The powerhouse is a great feature allowing you to "try before you buy". For WoW players, this is the equivalent of trying a talent spec out on the target dummies BEFORE you pay for the respec. Its a great way to test out builds by tweaking combat powers, character stats and travel power combinations.
There are "flavor" items in the game, like unlockable costumes, perks, (read: achievements) and small pets. There may be more than this, but those are what I saw in the game in a week's time.
Blocking is a simple way to put some level of importance on the player's skill in regard to PVE and PVP. In PVE, the mobs put a big symbol over their heads that screams, "Hit the block key, or I'm going to curb stomp you". You are either intelligent enough to hit it, or you eat a boatload of damage and die. I was amazed at how many players weren't able to pick up on the block skill. To me it seemed to be a simple skill check, the less skilled players wouldn't do it and the skilled players (or ones that simply figured it out quickly) did do it and had some sense of reaction to be able to block the big damage.
The tailor is a well placed NPC that allows you to tweak your costume after leaving the starting tutorial area. Nearly every character I made stopped at the tailor in Canada or the Desert after loading in so that I could tweak my hero a bit.
There's one server. ONE. That means that I get to play the game with everyone else, no more finding out that some friends I have at work all play WoW, but they are in an alliance guild on another server, so we'll never play together. I'll be there with everyone else when CO launches.

What I disliked or worry about:

TLDR. There is far too much text to read in the game. You can rest assured that any character with a big blue "i" over their heads had a ton of instructional text for you to read. As a new player, they are going to have to read alot and I couldn't help but think that most of that stuff could have been better delivered via quests in the starting area rather than just information text in dialog boxes.
Pounding the Z key to get out of holds. Here is where the naysayers about this being a game for consoles have some bite to their argument. Repeatedly spamming Z to get out of a hold (crowd control) wreaks of beating on the big read button of my Atari controller and requires no skill. No likey. At least blocking requires some sort of reaction time to pull it off.
While the customization is fantastic in scope, I think the UI needs to be better (I have no clue how) at helping you find the options you want when building a hero. It can take a long time to sift through all the options in hopes that you'll find the right style of armor for your toon. At least costumes can be saved.
I liked the graphics as I said earlier, but only after I turned the comic book style black outlining off. Its just personal taste I guess, but the game looked infinitely better when it didn't try to mimic comic book illustrations to me.
I generally like the @accountname character naming design. However, I wonder what problems are presented by having the @accountname part be visible to others in chat and friends lists? If someone puts you on their friends list they'll always know what you are up to (in a limited sense) when you play. You can't just play an alt when you don't feel like getting pestered on your main, like you can do in other games. Not a big deal to me, but will probably worry others.
I only saw 3 PVP style events that I could queue up for, even at level 40. This wreaks of WoW's AB/WSG/AV battleground repetition if they don't continually add more of these. The 5v5 arena matches were fun to me, but I'd like to see some more scenario/battleground style of objective based pvp too.
From what I could tell, defensive abilities are greater than offensive ones in PVP. Players with defensive shields and healing abilities can just outlast the glass cannon builds in the arena matches I was in. I would guess that Cryptic will be doing the same style of balancing act for their PVP that games like WoW already wrestle with, and early on it will likely be very imbalanced.
What zones or environments are in the game after Canada, The Desert and Millenium city? I found a teleporter that had options for Monster Island and some other place (Lemura?), but only offered a strange error message when I tried to access them. Did these get tested? Were they ever available? Is Cryptic pulling a Funcom and putting these zones in with little content, just before launch?
What kind of end game will there be? Will there be raids? PVP? Something else? What will keep me wanting to play once I hit 40? I was only level 40 for a few hours before I had to go to sleep (damn you, day job!) so I didn't get to explore and test enough things at max level, but it was clear that there was much to uncover. Perhaps this was done in closed beta and I just wasn't a part of it, but in open beta I don't recall anyone being able to test the level 40 zones, quests and skills very much. I did get to log on during the last day of beta and got to instantly become level 40, so I did get a feel for my Gadgeteer/Force powered hero might play. The skills I had seemed pretty good and they all worked as I expected them to, so hopefully there aren't nightmares awaiting us at max level in that regard.
Cryptic seemed to patch the nearly every time I logged in. Were they fixing things found in open beta, or was this the result of the final crunch to get poorly tested (or God forbid untested) content into the game?

Summary
I had more fun playing CO beta for a week than I've had playing WoW in a few months. This isn't to say that WoW is bad, I still love the game but am just in a lull with it right now. This tends to happen when you've played a single MMO for over 3 years. I realize that new game feel will wear off and I will likely feel differently about CO it in a month or two, but right now that is no reason to stop me from buying the game and playing it at launch. It is a much deeper, fleshed out and polished game than I expected to see in beta. Most games at this stage are in far worse shape, so kudos to Cryptic to having their game somewhere above the failure level that is expected with most new MMO's. Right now is a perfect time to launch too, so perhaps Cryptic can get a good player base and keep them. There are likely many players looking for a new game, and CO just might be it for some of them.

Champions Online really caught me off guard, I was not expecting to like this game and didn't really anticipate the open beta as much as others did. It just drew me in though, as every time I played it I wanted to play more. Its a deeper game than City of Heroes was when it was new, and that is what it needed to be for me to give it a serious spin. The open beta has proved to me that this is a solid game, worth my money...for now.

I've enjoyed the game, despite the negative things I heard from others before playing. Now that open beta is done, some really good reviews are starting to come out as well. As far as reviews go, its a mixed bag so take them all with a grain of salt. Like all games, you just have to try it for yourself. No game will make everyone happy, but for my personal gaming tastes Cryptic has a good inital offering with Champions Online. I'll be negotiating some gaming money into my budget with my wife, and will be looking to form or join a guild (are the called Super Teams in CO?) as soon as I can find a good one. If anyone wants to look me up in CO, just look for any players with @br3ntbr0 in thier name :) See you September first!

MMO Madness: WoW's Cataclysm, SWTOR's Developer Walthrough, and Busy with Betas

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:57:00 PDT

Cataclysmic!
Head, spinning. If you follow MMO's your head is probably spinning right now, too. This has been quite the start to the weekend, so much info given out about our favorite games that I almost can't stand it! First, we can officially put the word rumor to rest and say that the leak we reported on last week was spot on...Cataclysm is the next expansion for World of Warcraft and it is the doozy we thought it would be:

Unless you live completely outside the world of gaming you probably knew all of that already since BlizzCon is becoming a religious pilgrimage in its own right, and carries a media frenzy that few other companies in the world enjoy. The full scoop on the expansion and Blizzcon can be found at the official Cataclysm expansion site and through WoW.com's extensive coverage of BlizzCon, but I'm pretty sure about every gaming site and blogger on the planet have written something about it so you can find info easily.

It wasn't all WoW though, as Diablo's 4th class was revealed as the Monk:

SWTOR, give it to me now!
Next up is Star Wars: The Old Republic. While Blizzard has gamers buzzing right now, BioWare won't appear to be outdone. Today we got to see 4 fantastic developer walk-through videos, showcasing several different elements of game play:

I just can't rave enough about Star Wars: The Old Republic right now. I have that "oh boy, here we go again" excited fanboy feeling, when I know all too well that even the most well marketed MMO is not without problems, potentially letting down the people with unreasonably high expectations. But then again, there are just certain games, by certain developers, of certain IP's, that you just have to let it go and enjoy the ride. For better or worse, I'm riding the SWTOR fanboy train now.

And I didn't bother to try breaking down the videos this time, as Darth Hater has done his usual meticulous job of pointing out every little detail from these videos. Its all so much to soak in, I'll probably still be trying to digest everything a few days from now. I'm amazed and excited about all this MMO news.

Betas Betas Betas!
There's news, then there's beta madness on top of it. The good folks at Hi-Rez studios graced me with a beta invite, and I am plugging away in Global Agenda. That's about all I'm permitted to say right now, but I'll stretch it a bit to say that I am still very interested in the game and have been enjoying myself so far. I plan to shoot alot of video, and bring you the full scoop when the NDA drops, or Hi-Rez lets me bring you some info pre-release.

I'm still trying to get my Champions Online beta characters out of the tutorial areas to experience more of the game. I was hacked off at Cryptic/Fileplanet for the beta client fiasco, but have enjoyed the time I've been in that beta as well. Between those two betas and all the BlizzCon/SWTOR info, I've had time for little else, and am trying to hang tough. With all this gaming and gaming info going on, I'm feeling a bit drained. Is there anything with WoW, SWTOR, or any of the games in beta now that have you hyped up (or hacked off)? I know I'm pumped about more than a few things myself!

A Sizzling Summer of MMOG's: So Many Games, So Little Time

noreply@blogger.com (br3ntbr0) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:49:00 PDT

We are now deep into the dog days of summer (pun intended, see the picture of my beasty fire damage champion, aptly named Firefox) and MMO developers have alot going on for us gamers to get involved with. Champions Online has overcome its early patching woes to get its open beta running (I have enjoyed my time in CO, but more on that later), Fallen Earth has its open beta running, Global Agenda is in closed beta, and there are games I've been invited to beta test that I just don't have time to look at right now. Heroes of Newerth, Huxley and Aion will have to take a back seat to Global Agenda since there simply isn't enough of me to go around. C'mon lottery, pappa needs to play games all day!

So many betas mean that September will be quite a month for gaming, so tuck aside some money now if you plan to buy any of these. Its not just the betas either, as the guys who've gone gold long ago are keeping things fresh too. There's a little event called BlizzCon this weekend, and as I predicted earlier, I expect to hear some big news from Blizzard around the leaked Cataclysm info, new playable classes, PVP changes, and more. Also be on the lookout for Diablo and Starcraft scoop to boot. Perhaps we can get some new info on the unannounced MMO as well? We can hope! In non Blizzard news, my former MMO love Warhammer Online is getting into the summer swing with their anniversary celebrations, Wild Hunt event, and armor set re-styling. Age of Conan is talking Rise of the Godslayer expansion...jeez there is alot going on in the MMO world right now!

Aside from the beta testing and news on existing games, in the (distant?) future we have highly anticipated titles like Star Wars: The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2 coming. I'll be following SWTOR like a hawk and am intrigued by GW2 as well, so expect plenty of updates on those games, but who knows when we'll get to play them. SWTOR has a big update coming this Friday, and Guild Wars 2 just dropped an awesome new trailer on us. I couldn't take a trip around the upcoming gaming horizon without mentioning DC Universe Online and Jumpgate Evolution, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some great games that deserve a mention. Stay tuned on those and more titles.

Its a great time to be an MMO PC gamer, its enough to make my head spin. I just wish I had more time to soak up all these great games have to offer. Do any of you ever get to feeling like that? What are you looking forward to as this summer comes to a close?