Perfect... Again

The fall semester ended a while ago, but I never posted my results. Well, receiving a letter congratulating me on making the President's List, spurred me to post. After a tough fall semester I achieved yet another 4.0. For the sports fans keeping track at home, that is a cumulative 4.0 GPA.

Pirates of the Burning Seas will be Published by SOE

Pirates of the Burning Seas will now be published by SOE.

Here is the breakdown:

Flying Lab Software
• Game Development
• Community
• Customer Support
• Server Operations

Sony Online Entertainment
• Billing
• Launcher
• Retail Distribution
• Localization
• Marketing

Here is my problem. I have spoken strongly towards voting with my wallet for the games I choose to play and subscribe to. I have stated that I refuse to "vote" for any SOE sponsored game; from Vanguard to Star Wars: Galaxies.

Sadly, I was 100% set on playing Pirates of the Burning Seas. The game design looks solid. The graphics look great. The developers, Flying Lab Software, have been stellar through the entire process; ensuring the community is always up to date.

I don't know where I stand. I understand the need for a publisher and SOE is a valid choice. I will have to monitor this situation closely and hopefully I can be convinced that SOE will not try to dictate development; regardless of what the contract states.

I'm really pissed that I didn't see this coming. Flying Lab Software has been looking for a distribution solution for some time. SOE, in a mad push to gobble up as many MMOG projects as they can, was a perfect fit. While SOE is just the publishers at this time, it still worries me that they have their hand in the cookie jar.

Violent Crimes in the US have Fallen by 60% since Doom was Released

Since Doom was released in 1993, violent crimes in the United States have dropped to 40% of what they used to be. Coincidence? Possibly, yes. However, the year Quake and Duke Nukem 3D were released, violent crimes fell by 4%, and a further 2% when Grand Theft Auto was released.



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This Is Sparta!

This is Sparta!

Neverwinter Nights 2

I picked up a copy of Neverwinter Nights 2 and have started playing it. I was in the NWN2 multi-player beta test, but the game didn't seem ready to launch. Unfortunately, it launched to a myriad of mixed reviews. There were obvious bugs and technical issues at launch.

Still, as a huge fan of the original NWN, I decided to keep NWN 2 on my radar. Well, the game has gone through a series of patches and for the most part seems to have turned around. I decided it was time for me to jump in and give it a fair shake. So far, I have not been disappointed. Graphics are good, gameplay is better, and most technical issues have been resolved.

The one weak area is with multi-player play. According to the developers this is the next issue they are going to tackle in patch 1.07. That should give me enough time to finish the single-player campaign and play around with the toolset.

Alien Puppy!

It's attack of the ALIEN PUPPY! Actually this is a picture of our wonderful new Doberman puppy, Sadie (say dee), holding her favorite frisbee. Enjoy!

What Happened to eBay?

I was a big fan of eBay six years ago. I enjoyed selling and buying used items, from skateboards to video games. Rarely did a search return with dozens of "NEW" results. There were very few items with a buyout of $0.99 and a shipping total of $19.99. Back in the day, eBay was actually a virtual Auction House.

Currently, eBay is nothing more than a glorified and unfriendly Amazon.com. It amazes me that eBay is still actually in business. Most items are sold for dirt cheap buyouts with an insanely high shipping cost. And if I understand it correctly, eBay makes nothing from the shipping cost. A while ago, eBay posted saying they were going to remove auctions with over-inflated shipping costs, but any search on eBay will tell you a different story.

Another annoying trend is the auction listings themselves. Once upon a time, the listings actually described the item that was up for auction. Now a days, the listings are templated, automated, and filled with garbage. There is two lines mirroring the auctions title, a stolen image from Google, and then two pages of nonsensical legalese stating that God himself has jurisdiction over Canada. Is it too much to ask for eBay to police listings so they actually LIST something about the item being sold?

Honestly, I wish eBay would split the auctions into two categories:

Category 1: Hey, I am too lazy to get a real job, so here is a bunch of garbage I bought on clearance you can bid on. Oh, and I get great deals from my distributer, so I will sell this crap well below retail while fucking the brick and mortar stores of the world. BTW, shipping starts at $19.99.

Category 2: Hey, I have this great item that I have no use for any longer. If it something useful to you, then please feel free to bid and pay a reasonable shipping cost based on it's weight.

In the bid to become the best auction site on the Internet, they have simply become the most bloated.

At Least the Review is Good

Slashdot has a review of Lord of the Rings Online up. Just take a moment and read through a few of the comments. There are gems like this hiding within:

Frankly, I was really disappointed. The combat system sucks - it actually has a window that says things like "You hit the wolf for two points of damage". It felt like going back in time to the 80's.

While the poster does make some valid points about video games vs. realism, I don't really think he bought the game for the right reason. But that comment isn't what really frustrates me about the comments.

Everyone defending MMORPGs is using World of Warcraft. WoW has this. WoW has that. WoW, the most fucking awesome thing to hit planet earth, does it that way too! WoW has somehow become the definition of MMORPG.

WoW has done a lot of things very well and has finally put everything into a polished, complete, and fun game. But for the love of MMORPGs, it is not the only way to do things. I made the mistake once of trying to define MMORPGs. I failed. Raph Koster beat me over the head with a big stick for it. I learned.

My suggestion to everyone. Get out and play a wider variety of games!

Anyways, at least the actual review is worth a read.

EVE, CCP, and Players

This is what happens when a developer lets their players take over a game. It is also a case study for why official forums are a bad idea. In the end though, it is just another day in EVE Online.

Currently Playing.... Nothing?

I haven't touched a video game in nearly two weeks. We have just gotten our first puppy (a Doberman) and she is quite the handful. On top of that I have started my packed summer semester of classes.

So, my gaming time has been owned. But I really haven't been compelled to play anything recently. I thought World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade was in my future, but I just don't think so any longer. I want to play something new.

So, here I sit, eagerly awaiting the release dates for Pirates of the Burning Seas, Warhammer: Age of Reckoning, and several other games I can't think of right now. I may have to take another hiatus from MMORPGs and refresh myself on a good RTS, FPS, or RPG.

Aside from Dreamblade, a collectible miniatures game, I don't see much gaming anytime soon.