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Промоакции для игроков не только в шутерах — воспользуйся промокодом Vavada от наших партнеров и получи бонусы, которые подарят азарт и атмосферу, сравнимую с игровыми победами.

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Argh :(

[World of Warcraft] After returning from my camping trip I looked forward to playing some WoW. However, I noticed my computer was much more sluggish than usual. It seems I was down to 2 gigs of hard drive space. So I go in and delete some files and run defragmenter and disc clean up. After that, my WoW won’t load properly. I might have to delete and reinstall the game, but I hate doing that especially with MMOs where that means downloading all the patches again. But unless I figure this out soon, that’s what I’ll have to do… argh.

DC

A New Beginning

eve[EVE Online] I’m downloading the free 14-day trial offered at Penny Arcade as I write this. I’m going to give EVE a shot, but I’m going to need some in-game assistance. Someone to show me the ropes a little.

Anyone up to it, send me an email and tell me how to get ahold of you. Thanks in advance!

UPDATE: “Currently there are 10692 players on the server and of that 799 are trial accounts. The server is configured to accept a maximum of 800 trial accounts.” Bah. They did tell me that if I wanted to subscribe I could log in right away. Thanks for that I guess. I suppose my 14 days is going to countdown regardless of my ability to try the game or not.

UPDATE p2: I did manage to get in a good amount of time this weekend, I hope to have a “beginning” write up sometime this week.

– Ethic

I’m A Carney

carnivalI love going to the carnival. You know the ones that travel from town to town. Every small town gets their chance to have a carnival and the whole city shows up. The rides get assembled and the carneys yell from the booths. “Win your girlfriend a teddy bear, kid!”.

I remember one carnival I went to in my grandparents’ home town. It started with a parade and ended with a concert. In the parade, they had soldiers in jeeps firing off blanks from machine guns and the shells sprayed all over the street. The kids ran out to grab handfulls even though they were blistering hot. I still have some of those.

One time I found myself at a booth where you would toss a dime and if it landed on a plate you would win a pocketknife. I only had a nickel but the guy said it was ok. I gave it a toss and it landed. I still have that pocketknife too.

Anyway, there is a new carnival in town. This one is for gamers. If you are a gamer, you should go check it out. If you aren’t a gamer, what are you doing reading this boring old site? Have fun!

– Ethic

Once A Hero, Always A Hero

[City of Heroes] I guess I know what I’ll be playing this weekend.

The recent arrival of Issue #4 and PvP marks a milestone in the history of City of Heroes and we’re celebrating by granting you 5 FREE days of game play! There’s no better time to check out the multitude of new features and updated game content the streets of Paragon City™ have to offer.

and

Just log into the game between 2pm (CDT) on Thursday, May 26th and 11:59pm (CDT) on Tuesday, May 31st and you will find your account reactivated FREE of charge!* Your hero characters will be waiting just as you left them, ready for new adventures.

I love free gaming…

– Ethic

What’s The Rush?

clock As I often spend more time thinking about games than I do playing them, I occasionally find myself discovering some aspect of gaming I had not recognized before. In this most recent inspiration, I realized that I hurry through games too fast.

Perhaps it is the monthly fee (doubtful because I’m speeding through Guild Wars too)? Perhaps it is the desire to reach a new level or the “end game” (whatever that is, I swear I’ve never seen it) or perhaps it is the desire to see a new area or a new monster to fight. Whatever it is, it gets me in a mode that has me blowing through the content as fast as I can.

I skim the quest descriptions looking for my objective and I run off seeking to accomplish it as soon as possible. I don’t read the story. I don’t get pulled into the plot. Thus, I find myself losing interest in MMOs at an alarming rate.

World of Warcraft is perhaps the most interesting MMO I have played in a long time and yet I only lasted a couple of months. Level 28 out of a possible 60 is the furthest I made with any one character. Having people playing more often than I do, I find myself trying to maximize my time to try to keep up. I have started to avoid crafting and side-activities like fishing. I figured that stuff is all in place to slow down the hard-core players a little, not for me.

I think I would like to try to play a game slower, but how? I can think of a few options here. I could play on a server that nobody I know is on. I could read EVERYTHING that there is to read (do you know there are many books in WoW to be read?). I could walk everywhere instead of using instant transportation. I could do more exploring and less fighting. I could take up role-playing. I could choose a place to live and make sure I start and finish each session there.

I remember back to my first MMORPG, Asheron’s Call. I played that game with a few people I knew. They had all been playing a long while and were high level, but they were also very social. We often spent the evening sitting on a rooftop shooting the breeze or making up quests for prospective allegiance members to do in order to be allowed to join. I look back on it now as one of the best times I have ever had in an MMO. So perhaps the socialization is what I am missing the most. It seems that a guild chat channel just doesn’t work as well as standing in front of someone and talking, even if it is just a virtual person.

Anyone else feel the same way? Have any other ideas? Feel free to share.

– Ethic

Another win for the home team

[City of Heroes] My original City of Heroes character, Zubon, hit level 50 (max) tonight. This marks my third level 50 (two Defenders, one Blaster). Part of me wonders what I could have done in the real world with that much time. Other parts of me enjoyed large parts of the journey.

The last bubble of experience came pretty quickly and smoothly. I was actually on a team running missions, rather than farming. When I originally hit level 50, in Issue 2, there were two common paths. One was to farm wolves – there were a couple of missions that spawned large numbers of easy to herd and clear enemies. After the developers gave the wolves stun attacks and put them on a timer, people moved to using Freakshow for the same purpose, and it seems to work even better. The other path was to farm Kora fruit – there was an endless stream of missions that required no combat if you could Phase Shift. After the developers added required combat to those, people could move to using Dr. Boyd missions, which are almost the same but give more experience, and 1/4 of them actually require combat. By my findings, those were going faster for me than Kora fruit did, so I am surprised that people are not farming that more. Or maybe they are, I just have not heard about it.

It is refreshing to see that normal play actually provides nice rewards. It can be hard to find a group for normal play at times, at least in a large, competent group. I think many people have been trained to believe that farming Freakshow is the fastest way to level, so they keep trying to do that, even if they don’t have a good herding team, even if they are not very good at it. I have had times when my soloing healer got experience faster on his own than in the powerleveling herds for which I was asked to assist.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled grind.

Zubon

The beauty and woe of multi-jobbing.

[Final Fantasy XI] In Final Fantasy XI players are afforded the opportunity to play as multiple jobs on the same character. The idea behind this is a great one, as players can play as any and all jobs that are available to them (some must be unlocked through quests after a certain level has been attained with one of the basic jobs). Players can become attached to one character, instead of playing a job for the life of the character, as is the case with almost all other currently available MMO’s. Another added benefit is that it prevents the game from getting “old.” Meaning that there will always be players that are leveling low level jobs, and since FFXI is almost exclusively based upon partying after level 10 (out of 75) there will always be players that can party in low level areas (well at least for a very long time).

There is a deep beauty in this formula. If one becomes disinterested in the job they are currently playing, they would only need to return to their Mog house and select a new job. This combined with the sub-job system allows players to create combinations that are useful for leveling, farming, soloing, etc. Many people start off playing MMO’s as a job/class because of the external appeal of the job and are unable to switch when they find that they don’t actually enjoy playing that particular job. Instead of the forced choice of pursuing a profession they don’t enjoy or creating a disconnect by having to produce a new character from the beginning, this system creates a level of immersion in the world that they play and creates the attachment that is necessary to keep players within the MMO.

But with the beauty also comes the woe. I currently play a character who’s main job is Dragoon. This is a job that many people are proud to play because it has one of the deepest storylines in the quest to open it. It is a popular class but it also has some weaknesses as the game progresses to the higher levels. This is not a problem for most people that play it, and there is no real deficit in those that play as Dragoons. But for me, the problem of envy arose. I wished to play a job that was much needed and always wanted. This came in two forms, Ranger and Ninja. Respectively, these are the highest damaging job and most sort after (well, equally with Paladin) tanks in the game. The problem with these jobs is that they cost gil. Lots and lots of gil. Playing these two jobs costs twice the lots and lots of gil. I enjoy them both so I have to pay through the nose to maintain them. This is not a problem, per se, with a system that allows players to have multiple jobs, but it does illustrate the harder work that is necessary to maintain them.

I believe that more and more MMO’s will pursue this multi-job tract. The attachment I feel to my FFXI character is definitely deeper than the attachment I have to my World of Warcraft characters. I suppose this may also be because of the “casual gamer” friendliness of WoW, but others have discussed the potential lack of sustainability of “casual gamer” friendly MMO’s. Attachment to MMO’s come from, I believe, attachment to the player’s role in the game. The friends they make, the level of there character, etc. The ability to sustain the same character while not being locked into the same job helps to cement the commitment of players to a particular MMO.

ringthree

GG PWNT!

[EVE Online] Well unfortunately the fabled “real life” has kept me from posting here recently, however while I’m here I’ll explain somewhat how EVE works.

There aren’t any true “classes” but you choose your race, what your character looks like (in very great detail), and your profession…however professions aren’t set in stone. You can be a miner one month…then a trader the next, only thing stopping you is your skills in the field.

As a Newbie you are given a “rookie ship” which is basically the only ship you will see for a while unfortunately, the slow grind of this game, in adverse to most MMOs where your newbie levels are the easiest… are the most difficult part of the game, and set aside people who have the time and want to succeed, to the people who enjoy a more fast paced experience. Basically you mine until you have enough money (and skill) to pilot a secondary frigate for mining…then you mine some more until you can afford and industrial ship….then again you mine until you have enough money to start running trade routes (500,000?)..and from there on, money is simple…. buy low, sell high and the shorter the trip, the better. It starts off slow, but eventually it will warm up, no matter how long the grind takes at the beginning…there are alternatives of course.

There are many corporations (guilds) that will let you join and give you a boost of 1,000,000 ISK or more as a starting amount….which in the end saves alot of time.

Hope I answered all your questions, if not let me know XD

-Zxyrox

Player-Made Content

[Saga of Ryzom] Why is this not a bigger deal in the industry? I think it is a very exciting step in a different direction for MMOs. Listen to the details:

…designing, creating and animating your own scenarios for the players of the Saga of Ryzom.

…allowing you to run your own zones within the world of Atys.

Create a setting and lay out the buildings, flora, fauna, challenges and safe zones that will bring it to life.

Delve into the complete libraries of SoR to dress and populate your map.

…use it to build a dank domain full of monsters, or a serene vale perfect for wedding chapel, the Ryzom Ring provides the means to express yourself.

Share your creation with massive numbers of players. Open your maps to everyone, or reserve them for a selected group of characters. Develop your maps in real time.

Provide a unique game experience for others players by controlling every aspect of a scenario that you have designed.

Fellow players will seamlessly wander from the mainland of Atys into your new map.

This is a bold step. It could be really great, or a huge failure, but it’s bold and I like it. It has potential to increase quality content or increase crappy content. It has potential to increase griefing and cheating. It has potential to give you the opportunity to actually leave a mark on the world.

I eagerly await more details…

– Ethic