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.
.

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.

.

Going Planetside

[Planetside] Yep that’s right. I’m going to reactivate Planetside. I’ve been jonesing for it and with my limited free game time that is not being used by testing MMO’s being so … um, limited, I wanted something I could jump into and out of easily.

Planetside fits the bill at the moment. Anyone out there with a good squad that I can join and subsequently get us all wiped out, let me know.

I was just looking and I see they have a few expansions. I’ll have to read up and see how much they added. Looks like it is only another $9.95 to buy so not a huge deal. Perhaps someone can fill me in on the details and if they are important to have or not.

Nevermind.

– Ethic

Dark Iron

[World of Warcraft] I was going to join the great webcomic PvP battle server over the last few days, but every time I tried to connect to the server they chose (Dark Iron), I had to sit in 20-25 minute queues and didn’t bother to wait. Too many people were doing the same thing I guess.

While they (the webcomics) seem to think the server’s population will drop after summer is over, I don’t think so. August has been a traditional low activity time so I only expect populations to pick up towards winter. Oh well, it sounded like it might have been fun to be a part of something bigger, but this one got too big.

For what it is worth, the webcomics guilds participating in this is Ctrl+Alt+Del, Penny-Arcade and PvP.

I really think it was a great idea, but they turned a brand new PvP server into one of the most overpopulated servers in a few short weeks. I probably would have had some fun.

– Ethic

DDO Delayed

[Dungeons & Dragons Online] It appears the the official release date for DDO is being pushed back to 2006, so no Christmas release for the eagerly anticipated Turbine-created MMORPG.

Players eager to get their hands on Atari’s upcoming Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach will have to wait a little bit longer, as the game’s release has slipped from November back into the first quarter of 2006.

Read the rest here.

I’m happy to hear they aren’t going to rush it out, but was looking forward to it. I’m torn. When you think about it though, if all xp is gained from quests only, that is a lot of content that is needed to be put in the game. You can’t just go hunt creatures for xp.

– Ethic

Old Friends

One of my life-long friends is moving across the country soon. This last weekend we had a going-away party for him. Quite a few people there I had not seen in a long time, like since high school.

It turned out to be a blast because several of these are the ones that first introduced me to RPGs. We talked about gaming all night, even dipping into MMORPGs for a bit. It was strange for me to be able to talk openly with other people about MMORPGs because most people I mention them to stare at me with that “what the hell is he talking about?” blank face. They just don’t get it.

Mostly they are playing Neverwinter Nights on a private server and they invited me to join them. I’m sure I will at some point. They also talked a lot about City of Heroes. This is not suprising to me as a few of them got together and ran a comic book shop for several years right after high school graduation. World of Warcraft? Guild Wars? Everquest 2? They’ve heard of them, but have no interest in playing any of them. Dungeons & Dragons Online? Their eyes glossed over and they started drooling. Major excitement and interest in hearing more.

Really, I was just shocked to sit at a party of regular folks and discuss video games all night. Crazy.

– Ethic

Froggie Went A-sailing

[Everquest 2] More game testing downtime (servers offline) led me to create a Froglok in the Trial of the Isle. I wanted to see if I could enjoy myself enough to justify the $30 box cost for a month of goofing off.

The intro movie is good, the style was sort of like a set sketches. I really liked the voice they chose and the visuals used. After watching that, my Froglok appeared on a ship sailing on the ocean. A Froglok looks just about how you might expect it, like a frog. It even hops when you move. Well, except for when you jump it seems. I don’t know if the animation is broken, but when I jumped the Froglok just levitated up in the air and then back down. Anyway, I really enjoyed the effect they made of sailing on a ship.

The captain greeted me and through him I learned some of the basics of how to move around and interact with the NPCs. He had me go talk to another person on the ship. Through interacting with these various NPCs on the ship, I learned all the basics I would need to get started.

Then, as I was just about to kill ten rats on the ship, I lost all power in my house. After the power came back on, my computer would not power up. Oh oh.

This morning before work I thought about the power strip. Sure enough, it was dead. My computer was saved from damage. Now I just need to get another one and I’ll continue my tales on the next testing downtime.

– Ethic

Priest Takes A Trip

[World of Warcraft] I had some downtime from testing last night so I created a Dwarf Priest on the Scarlet Crusade RP server. He was a brand new level 1.

His first quest was self-imposed which was to get out of the snow. He hates the cold believe it or not. He ran when he could and walked when he was tired but eventually made it to Iron Forge. He took the tram to Stormwind and from there he marched to Northshire. He liked the weather better here so he set about making money, honing his skills and getting some priestly training.

After much work, some fighting, a little bit of bartering and several attempts at making friends he found himself tired out. With his hard-earned wealth in his pocket, he travelled to Goldshire and rented a room at the Inn.

Before retiring for the evening, he spent some time chatting with several of the locals. A few had been drinking, but for the most part the time spent here was pleasant. On one occasion, there was even a Troll running about trying to hurt people. A small group gathered to teach him a lesson.

He went to sleep soon after and felt very good about his day’s adventure.

– Ethic

Nothing To See Here

Over the next few weeks or months, I will be involved in testing two upcoming MMORPGs so I will not have much to say here. Why not? *NDA*.

I’m going to let any current games sit on the back burner while I focus on this testing. Hopefully the other gamers/writers here can keep things hopping.

Which two upcoming MMORPGs? The first one is called *NDA* and the second one is called *NDA*.

Wish I could say more, but *NDA*. I hope you understand.

– Ethic

DDO Goes Alpha

[Dungeons & Dragons Online] This just in:

We’re pleased to announce that we’ve sent out the first round of Alpha acceptance e-mails. Our internal Alpha has gone very well, improving by leaps and bounds on an almost daily basis, and now it’s time to take the next step: giving you, the public, your first real look at Dungeons & Dragons Online®: Stormreach. This project has been in development for over two years now, and we’re very excited to share our hard work with you.

– Ethic