Author: Ethic

I run this little MMO gaming blog but I hardly ever write on it anymore. I'm more of a bloglord or something. Thankfully I have several minions to keep things rolling along.
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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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My Late Night WoW Theory

I believe: The majority of the players in World of Warcraft are first-time MMO players. We all know how hard it is to leave that first MMO, and the popularity of WoW makes it even harder because it’s not about the game as much as it is about the people you have met.

I believe: The majority of those first-time WoW players will eventually realize how much time they have “lost” playing WoW and will not move on to another MMO when they do finally decide to quit WoW.

I believe: New MMOs will not have a lot of success targeting the first-time WoW players and will have to rely mostly on people new to the MMO genre as well as the old-school MMO players that try them all hoping to find “The One”.

I believe: The first-time MMO players that do leave WoW for another MMO will have a very hard time finding another MMO to equal their first and will not give new MMOs much of a chance unless they dramatically improve on the WoW gameplay experience.

– Ethic

Happy 4th, EverQuest 2

Sony Online Entertainment today announced that EverQuest II is scheduled for a simultaneous release in North America and Europe on November 8, 2004.

“After more than four years in development, the wait for EverQuest II is almost over,” said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. “We’ve invested heavily on development of the game to ensure that EverQuest II has the highest production values of any online game produced to date. We want to deliver a game to our players that will provide an experience like nothing they’ve ever seen.”

EverQuest II is a parallel online universe to the hugely successful gaming phenomenon EverQuest. Featuring breathtaking graphics and a vast, beautiful game world to explore, EverQuest II sets new standards in graphical realism as players are immersed in the game’s epic storyline with thousands of other players online. Players will encounter more than 160 unique creatures as they journey across the majestic landscape of rolling hills, lush forests, and bustling cities. Thousands of new items, hundreds of magical new spells, and unlimited adventure await all who enter the world of EverQuest II. Choose from 16 races, 100 levels, and 48 classes; own apartments, homes, guild houses, and ships; and log information regarding quests, adventures, encounters, transactions, and more in your in-game journal.

– Ethic

Asheron’s Call 2 Screenshots

I pulled out a few of my old screenshots of Asheron’s Call 2 to share. I find these interesting because they show the user interface and you can see how it really was not that different from the MMOs that came after it.

The first one is of my Feral Intendant fighting a Squall Tyrant out in what we called the Tyrant Bowl. You can see my shreth pet off to the left. The boxes below my health bar are all my buffs and debuffs.

This next one is of my FI about to finish off a Storm Tyrant and a Squall Tyrant has noticed me. He is moving in for what he thinks is an easy kill, but I did finish him off too. Yes it was fun to feel like a hero.

The third shot is me standing where you first arrive in Dereth after the training, just outside of Arwic down the hill.

This final shot I included because it shows me just outside of Arwic and it also shows the inventory management system.

Hope you enjoyed these little peeks back into Asheron’s Call 2.

– Ethic

Dairy Heir

Another flashback of Asheron’s Call 2. You’re welcome!

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The following is a quest that a group of players (including me) in Turbine’s Vanguard program helped to create and which was put into the game. The Vanguard program was a developer selected group of players that were given early access to new content on the test server, as well as having a forum with direct developer contact for feedback.

They placed special Dillos in the game, which were named after the players that were involved in creating this quest. I was one of them, it was quite surreal to go see my NPC in the game.

Continue reading Dairy Heir

Feral Intendant Guide

This was originally written by me on Feb 20th, 2004. I hated to see it go away forever so I put it here mostly for my own gratification. This is in regards to the long-gone Asheron’s Call 2. I dedicate this weekend to AC2 flashbacks.

General

Turbine describes the Feral Intendant (FI) as a resilient creature of the jungle. He is a hunter, a killer, an explorer of the deepest undergrowths. He claims some of the jungle creatures as his friends, and they have learned to work with him to achieve devastating results in combat.

Continue reading Feral Intendant Guide