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Interview with Turbine’s Jeffrey Steefel

I had a chance to talk with Jeffrey Steefel, the executive producer for Lord of the Rings Online, and I decided that it would be great to discuss some of the lore aspects of the MMO.  Since I had recently completed most of the Mines of Moria quests, I figured talking about the lore of the black pit would be a good way to go.

Continue reading Interview with Turbine’s Jeffrey Steefel

Giveaway: EQ or EQ2 In-Game Items – CLOSED

I have two codes from my recent issue of Beckett Massive Online Gamer magazine that may be used in Everquest for an “Aqua Goblin Familiar” or in EverQuest II for a “Nagafen at Rest”. It looks like the codes are good for either item.

I don’t play EverQuest or EverQuest II so these codes are burning a hole in my virtual pocket. If you are interested in getting one of these codes, reply to this post with something about your EQ or EQ2 adventures. The most interesting (or funny … or ANY) two responses, chosen by me, will be awarded a code. I will give the codes away tomorrow so get cracking. If nobody enters, I will burn the codes slowly and painfully until they have left this mortal realm forever. The choice is yours.

– Ethic

Two Bogeys

Two new hits popped up on my radar this morning.

Sanya over at Eating Bees is starting a new blog at examiner.com on MMOs.  Check it out because not only is she an excellent writer with insider information but it will also help feed her ancient beagle.

I am also currently listening to A Life Well Wasted.  I am only on the first episode, but it is a video game podcast done in the style of This American Life (one of my favorite radio shows).  It is well worth a listen.  Hopefully the Ira Glass-analogue for the show, Robert Ashley, will animate his voice a touch more during narrative in future episodes. 

–Ravious
this is not a test, this is rock’n’roll

NOTE: As a warning A Life Well Wasted, episode 1, is rife with curse words from ex-EGM employees. Headphones at work are suggested.

A Different Goat Thought

The rental goats in Moria are absurd. Not their appearance, not how they get drunk and stuck on things: their use of mechanics is nonsensical. This is a standard thing in games: you get used to a mechanic in one case, then still accept it even when the context that made it coherent is gone.

In this case, the mechanic is “you cannot be attacked on rental mounts.” This makes sense as gameplay: that would suck, especially as you have no control at that point. In the early days of Dark Age of Camelot, there were horse routes that would kill people, because they took hills very sharply, and you were not flagged as immune to falling damage. Yeah. Anyway, throughout Shadows of Angmarâ„¢, you use the rental horses along roads. There are few to no enemies on the roads, and you can buy blowing by the occasional orc or bear on your Fast Horse. There are a few horse routes through dangerous areas, but they all use the fast travel mechanic: you teleport from one stable to the next, not seeing the monsters you must have dodged along the way. Immersion is preserved!

All that goes out the window in Moria. Except that Moria lacks windows. The goats ride directly through large camps of monsters, who ignore you because … because you’re on a goat. Right, orcs fear goats, or goats and their cargo are invisible to bats’ sonar, or…

You are standing there in Moria, starting a risky solo fight, and a rental goat silently zooms in and runs you over. It looks like some double-stacked warg rider just added to your fight, so panic! panic! Wait, no, it is another goat that somehow is immune to everything. But if you ride your own, identical goat, they are all over you.

Can I buy one of those invisible, invulnerable goats? How do they tell them apart?

: Zubon

Kindle 2

Since I had a review request: I like it. It does a few things well and a few others well enough.

I do not intend to make much use of the Kindle store. I have review and library copies of recent books. I will use this for the many free and public domain books around, many of which folks are converting to the Kindle format. I hope that prevents unfortunate line breaks, which are distracting.

I have not yet had a long reading session with it, but it seems as easy on the eyes as advertised. I have found it uncomfortable for reading things that I am used to seeing on a larger page or screen, but it is the right size for a paperback. It is light, thin, and small, and the button layout is good. Like a real book, you still need light; unlike a real book, you need not hold it open, which allows for more comfortable and flexible reading positions.

Continue reading Kindle 2

Goat Chopper

I seem to be getting a lot of money in Lord of the Rings Online lately.  I think it is mostly that I have few things to spend it on, and between slayer deeds, black dye profiteering, and hard mode runs, I am racking it in more than ever.  Which leads me to the ultimate buyable (not auctionable) item in Moria… the Nimble Redhorn-Goat.

This caprine pile of fur and pockets weighs in at a decent 6 gold and some change.  For many players this is a drop in the bucket.  For casual players, like me, this will take most everything.  But, this is not the issue because the money will come back and the elves in Lothlorien abhor cash in order to use twig and berries to barter.

The problem is I can’t use my horse in Moria (decrees Tolkien), but I can use a goat in Moria and under the sky.  If it were merely an unlockable skill, which Zubon discussed earlier, there would be no discussion.  But, with a bag full of status potions, legendary items, traveling rations, maps, hope tokens, and random crafting materials, it feels like it is a decision.

I suppose I have plenty of options.  Hoof it (colloquially) in Moria and use my horse elsewhere.  Hoof it (literally) in Moria and carry my horse too.  Stuff one of the hoofers into the bank vault.  Retire my dapple gray.  Etc.

The big things against buying a goat is that the travel system in Moria is very good and the mobs are packed tightly in the narrow stone halls.  Buying the beast feels a little superfluous.  Sure, it might be nice to dodge past fungus-filled trolls or cross the 300 m back to the quest hub, but I have gotten so used to 35-45 silver rides where I high five a warg-rider on my way to the depths that the control might shake things up a little too much.  Plus, goat eyes were not meant for this world.

–Ravious
seventeen dollars and a good watch

Silicon I have loved

“Finished” Fable 2 last night. Slightly disappointing ending itself, but the buildup to that ending… by Saint Meier, it’s magistral. Of course I say “finished” because it’s not really-really The End(tm). Now I got a bunch of post-ending quests that opened up, so we’ll see how that goes.

That’s not what I wanted to talk about. I’m still in a reminiscing mood this week, so after talking about games, I started thinking of all the little and not so little machines I owned throughout the years. It struck me as amazing how in only two decades and change the available power at our fingertips increased so much. I know we know this, but it helps to map it out and visualize it.

Continue reading Silicon I have loved

On Sunsets

I’ve been in Moria for too long.  Far too long.  I forgot that the light shifted from night to day.  When I ported back to Bree it was raining, and I wanted to run inside the nearest hole until the foreign precipitation stopped.

Moria is beautiful and expertly crafted, but I subconsciously missed the real world landscapes and skies.  Scientists should be doing psychological studies on the affect of environments on player depression and guild drama rather than doing heuristics on terabytes of numbers.

I think Lorien is going to breath fresh air into everyone’s psyches… those of us that aren’t coal miners.

–Ravious
no coolness in me at all