March 2006 Entries
Two today, as my blogging difference engine got it’s cogs in a twist yesterday and ended up with me having to revert it all to Sunday and repost all this week’s stuff, ending up with me a day behind. Or something.
Anyway, having rambled extensively on the ins and out of the more esoteric aspects of the big old chess-game that is Planetside, I figured I snappy list of "Things Reservists Can Actually Use" would be a nice contrast. Here come the bullets!
Gold/Orange Ammunition is mislabelled – it should really be called AV ammo. It does very little damage to Non-MAX...
So by now, you’ve read my concise yet elegant guide to the rudimentary business of base capture, below and now have some handle on the bigger picture, and some idea of what you ought to be doing, and when. But why that base, and that planet? Why can’t we go attack the ice planet, or play in the volcano? This largely comes down to the command rank system.
As well as Battle Rank, earned with BEP, soldiers can earn Command Rank as well. This is a separate second pool of XP, and unlike BEP, which is earned for killing, support activity...
So you’ve kitted up, spawned into battle and seen first-hand the carnage and pandemonium of the typical base battle in Planetside. You’ve charged about, shot at people, and been killed lots. You may have even killed some people yourself, but mostly you’re confused, somewhat lost and probably asking yourself what the hell is actually going on here?
Well, despite the almost total anarchy of moment-to-moment fighting, there is a bigger plan in progress; one that is second nature to most Planetside veterans, to the point that no orders are felt necessary. Understanding the timeline of the typical textbook base assault can...
Yep, it’s definitely up and active:
PlanetSide: Reserves
It’s a 2GB download, so plan accordingly, and existing (or past) players, like me, will need to create an entirely new Station login to be able to use it, but the whole thing is nicely integrated into the launcher, and does not need to see credit card details – just an email address.
I’ve been in already, and numbers don’t seem to be up noticeably so far, but it is early and a big download – a more real measure of success will be what the populations are like in a fortnight or so.
So, to...
So, you’ve raced around the VR shooting and driving ranges, and are now BR4, with 10 Certification Points. The remaining one point and implant slot are to be earned in the field and the minimal Character Sheet (Press ‘O’) will keep track of this for you. Looking at this, you’ll soon notice that Planetside is trying to help you, and has spent some of your Cert Points already. Don’t panic – characters under seven days old are allowed to ‘forget’ Certifications at will, without timer delays, so during this period, you can quickly and easily juggle these about and experiment...
Seems the Planetside: Reserves FAQ has just been updated:
Planetside.com: FAQ
It's today! Still no idea where you ned to go to get hold of everything - more as I find out. It really is the sort of thing any MMO gamer ought to see for themselves at least once though, and now is your chance. Look out for rudimentary newbie guides and battle report features here next week!
My local branch of 'GAME', on the ball as ever:
Van Hemlock: Latest New Releases!
Yes indeed, that is a real copy of the Asheron's Call 2: Legions expansion - there's actually two there. This pic was taken on a friend's mobile phone last Tuesday. Now I know, and you know, that Asheron's Call 2 is dead, rendering that particular box there, about as useful as an AOL CD - i.e. Will keep coffee warm for a reasonable length of time, but is no substitute for a real cork coaster. That CD cannot function.
I'm guessing someone missed a memo somewhere along the...
This just in:
“Dear Anarchy Online player,
We have agreed to participate in a program to measure results of advertising
in Anarchy Online. If you would like to participate in this survey, please
visit the link appropriate for your country of residence below and answer a
few questions regarding your impression of the ads. There is also a chance
to win a certificate worth $100.00 (in local currency) for use at local game
retailers for those who choose to enter!”
And there were a bunch of links to websites on domains I’ve never even heard of. Assuming for a minute that this isn’t just an elaborate phishing scam,...
Well, that’s me flummoxed. I’m sure you’ve all seen this by now:
Blue’s News: Shadowbane Free
At first glance, I figured this was just another MMO joining the growing ranks of the currently in-vogue movement away from monthly subscription, be it pure box sales - like Guild Wars, long-term free trial - like the any-day-now Planetside: Reserves thing, or just gaming sponsored by advertising - like the Anarchy Online Basic package now. Turns out its even more revolutionary than that – as far as anyone can tell at this stage, they just can’t be bothered to charge anyone any money for it...
I accidentally fell out of World of Warcraft the other day. It was an unfortunate combination of apathy, fatigue, annoyance, and a bizarre billing muck-up that got me this time. In the UK, we have a payment system called ‘Switch’, which is basically like a credit card, but much less irresponsible, as it pays direct form your own bank account, rather than turning into the potential landmine of an high interest loan. I prefer it, but very few online games allow payments in this manner, being mostly US-run affairs.
World of Warcraft does offer it’s UK players this option, but...
Surfing other gaming blogs, as I do, it’s interesting to see how many other Monsterhunters are poking about in EVE Online at the moment. It seems there's a bit of a run on it currently, and indeed, check out this impromptu mini “Carnival of EVE Newbies” I’ve put together:
Buttonmashing: Learning the ropes, the hard way…
Kranky Kraut: EVE = Weird
Heartless Gamer: Joining a Corporation in EVE Online
Virgin Worlds: EVE Fails Me
Game Memes: Vaporized
And the various comment threads there show that these folks are not alone in having a go at what seems to have become the quiet ‘other’ MMO success over...
GuildWars is rollicking along, and I’m discovering it to be a rather strange gaming experience, and quite different to most of my previous online excursions (see sidebar). It has a strange duality to it.
One the one hand the extensive use of instancing, and story-driven mission areas, with cut-scenes, makes for a much greater sense of actually being in a story, than any MMO I’ve come across, and only Asheron’s Call 2’s ‘Vaults’ had offered a similar level of participation in any non-‘event’ type capacity. My own personal version of this epic story is moving along (no spoilers here), and...
Episode LXXVI - DONUT WARS
It is a dark time for Star Wars: Galaxies
Faced with increasing Player unrest, The Shock
Imperial Dev Team impose more and more drastic changes
on the game, in an attempt to restore contentment to the servers.
After a somewhat bizzare skirmish with an online webcomic, involving 1200 donuts
elite teams of SOE scientists redouble their efforts on turning the tide of rebellion that even
now threatens to overwhelm Galaxies and bring massive unsubscribing indifference to every corner of
the network.
Meanwhile, on the remote moon of Slashdot IV, Bothan spies bring news of an amusing turn of events from deep
within an Imperial...
It's Carnival time again:
Virgin Worlds: Carnival of Gamers March 2006
I was going to attend, but my tux was at the dry-cleaners. Another excellent line-up - head on over!
Wailing on message boards is all very well, but it’s not often you get MMO game devs actually asking you what you want from their game:
MMOSite: Anarchy Online Design Survey
Now’s your chance to be heard. The 15 free accounts competition bit needs a MMOSite login, but you can still do the survey without bothering with that bit. For want of anything better to write about, I’m going take you through some of my answers!
Recommendations: Well, that’s part of what this blog is all about, so I’m on firm territory here.
I gave the basic game 6 – it’s a bit dated...
Ha!:
Kill Ten Rats: Bust the Cap
Yes, well done you. It seems that pre-order players of Dungeons & Dragons Online have ‘won’ already, despite the fact that game is only just going in to the shops for the rest of us to buy as I type. Clearly the beta test previewer estimates of two to three months of content were generous. I’m not sure what I’m expected to feel…admiration? Pity seems to be nearer the mark.
The chap there seems to have raced out of the pre-order starting gate, dug in and ground like a man possessed, having min-maxed all the quests...