The Ramblings of JoBildo

Updates shmupdates...

2009-12-15T09:05:00.000-05:00

Dreadfully sorry there's been a lack of posting both here and over at ITG. It's the holidays which means lots of family stuff happening. My condo is possibly about to sell on top of all the festivities. And thus my lady and I are off trying to find a new place as well. I'm also hunting for new jobs now that I've got he Masters degree in hand... that's not an easy task either. It's been a crazy hectic few weeks.

I'm still playing LotRO when I can, though not as much as I wish I could. I've stalled on Dragon Age too. Quality gaming time is just not on my list of things right now, and no sir... I don't like it. Just when one part of life settles down, another picks up. Still the condo selling is a good thing, and hopefully everything will go through there. That's the only thing tying me still to my old life and my ex, and I can't wait to be fully rid of both.

That's all I got for now. If you want more frequent Bill updates, just find me on Facebook as username JoBildo. Cheers, you lot.

LotRO: The Road Goes Ever On

2009-11-05T09:19:00.000-05:00

I bought the Mines of Moria expansion for $10 yesterday, and I started downloading the most recent client so I can maybe/possibly get into the game this weekend. I say maybe because I need $30 for a 3-month subscription so I can get Siege of Mirkwood for free. That's $10 a month, and I'm pretty sure I'd actually be playing it for that long in my spare time, but I need to make sure I have the $30 to toss toward it first. Stupid first half of each month always has that niggle mortgage payment to deal with, hence my hesitation.

But I'm really quite stoked to get back in, as you can see over at ITG! I've got a level 38 Champion to use, but I also really want to play a Warden. Apparently they've revamped the elf and human starting areas, so I'll probably start off with that before acclimating myself with my old Champion again. That's a feat I'm not sure I can accomplish really. It's been since August of 2007 that I last played the Champion. How long is too long to go back to a character? Will I have any clue what I'm doing? How much has the class changed, and how will I know where I need to go to quest? I guess I'll find out.

I hear the entire leveling curve from 1-40 has been decreased, much like what WoW did with 1-60, in order to help new players and alts catch up to the end-game content. So I'm sure even if I did have to or decide to play a new character it wouldn't be long before I was out of the early stuff and into the Lone-Lands and Evendim where I last remember playing.

I'll be posting a sort of re-review of the game over ITG! once I've had some decent time to get reacquainted with LotRO and all that's chaned in the two years I've been absent.

Borderlands First Impressions

2009-11-02T11:32:00.000-05:00

I managed to snag Borderlands for the PC over the weekend, and I have to say I'm just as impressed as I thought I would be. This hybrid of games is something I can't believe hasn't been done until now. Like Genda over at ITG! states, it's got a certain something that makes it just plain ol' fun.

The things I noticed at first that I didn't like were that even with the hardcore aiming in place (as opposed to dice rolls determining if you hit an enemy or not) the accuracy of certain guns means you can still miss an enemy who's just standing there even if you're trained right on his torso. But in my short time playing it, I got a much better gun and this little annoyance went away. Also, enemies have that weird "twitch" when you hit them with a bullet which doesn't give the best feedback for shooting someone in the stomach. It's not very believable, but then neither is hitting them with ten bullets before they fall down. It's a videogame with a cartoon art style... I shouldn't be so picky.

But the world seems huge, the quests varied, and the gameplay and RPG elements are going to make for a very addictive game. I'm gonna roll solo for now, but once I feel comfortable with the mechanics, look for me as JoBildo on Steam.

New Tattoos and Other Thinguses (Thingi?)

2009-10-30T07:53:00.001-05:00

Last night was a pretty good time. Get home, kiss fiancee, hug dogs... run out to Akron and get tattoo, end night by eating Lebanese food at Aladdin's Eatery. Of course now I have a funny circular bald-patch on my chest where the new tattoo is. I think I might have to become one of those shorn (or at least trimmed) chaps so that this tattoo can shine in all it's glory. I was going to do it on my shoulder, but as I'm not sure what I want the eventual sleeve on that arm to be, I decided on the chest instead. What is it? So glad you asked! It's a jack-o-lantern with Jack Skellington's face carved into it. I wish I'd had the forethought to take a picture of it, but I didn't get home until 10:30 and then had to run back out to the store to get lotion for the damn thing to help it heal.

Other than that, not much new to report. I've been playing the crap out of Torchlight whenever I have the chance, and I should be getting Borderlands this weekend and Dragon Age next week if I'm lucky. I'm also thinking about dipping toes back into LotRO soon. I've still got access to a lifetime account, and I'm curious to see how that game's doing on the eve of its second (albeit less in scope than the first) expansion.

I've got a Halloween party at my house this weekend (yours truly will be dressed as Buddy from Elf), so if you're in Medina, Ohio... look me up!

Cheers folks, and more later if something grabs me by the ghoulies.

I'm Talking Games (Too!)

2009-10-29T11:19:00.001-05:00

My fellow Casualties Br3ntbr0, Genda, and Oakstout are all over and posting up a fury on Br3nt's new site: I'm Talking Games! Out of the kindness of their hearts, or perhaps the madness of their psyche, they've invited me along to post there too. I'm pretty stoked about the new venture, and can't wait to start doing some more writing there.

TTH and I recently parted ways, so I've got a lot more free time to dabble in more things than just Champions Online now. I'm anxious to get back to blogging regularly, even if it takes me a little time to get back in the swing of things. I'll still be posting here when it's something sort of inane or rambling or personal, but for the most part I'll be doing editorial type work over at ITG, using this site and Facebook to cross-promote of course.

So here's to the new site, Br3nt! Glad to be a part of it!

Torchlight: Or Why I Haven't Posted Since Friday

2009-10-28T10:57:00.001-05:00

Travis and Wonder of Runic Games made sure I had my review copy of Torchlight Saturday afternoon. My goal was to post impressions that day... until I got lost in the game... over the past 5 days.

The game brings back the same feeling of simple gaming goodness that Diablo 1 and 2 did back in the 90s. The game comes from the shared creative efforts of the team behind the ill-fated Mythos, which itself was comprised of the core members behind Diablo 1 and 2 and Fate. So it's plain to see why this group of developers decided to make their first game a clear-cut Roguelike or more appropriately (but not derogatory) Diablo-clone.

Needless to say, since I burned myself out on Diablo 2, I've been searching for that next hack-n-slash fix. I've played everything from Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, to X-Men and Marvel Ultimate Alliance on consoles to Sacred 1 and 2, Titan Quest, Fate, and so on and so forth on the PC in the past several years. Nothing really quite gave me the same feeling of "I must keep killing and collecting loot" that the Diablo series once did.

That is, until Torchlight.

I won't fully review it until I've had more time with all the classes, but really the review will likely end up being me just glowing about it and its extremely low pricepoint for the value you get ($20) for several paragraphs. Go get it. From the Torchlight site itself, from Steam, Direct2Drive, Gamers Gate, or any other site that might have it. I was given a press copy, sure... but I still bought it off Steam too because I want to see these guys get the success they deserve. Rising from the ashes of Flagship and Mythos to create what's probably the best action-RPG in ages in 11 months' time is no small feat.

They deserve your money.

More on the actual game and its awesomeness to come.

Torchlight Cometh... this weekend?

2009-10-23T13:13:00.003-05:00

I've got my pre-order ready to go on Steam, and the download should be starting on Tuesday as soon as possible. But the wonderful (ha!) Wonder Russell tells me that review copies should/could/hopefully will be going out today. They're cramming as much polish as possible, and not the sausage, into the code before they ship it off to the press.

I'm hoping to write a review for TTH (unless one of my cohorts beats me to the punch), and most assuredly will be writing in-depth impressions and a review here as well. So if you're following me since my return, do keep an eye out here over the weekend.

EDIT: I think dearest Wonder forgot all about me. No Torchlight this weekend, but review/impressions etc. coming ASAP once the game launches.

EDIT 2: Travis Baldree to the rescue! I should have a review copy of Torchlight downloading in no time flat, and then I'll start in on the main campaign this evening. I really heart these folks at Runic.

I hate being broke...

2009-10-23T08:51:00.000-05:00

My fiancee and I's puppy needed to have her innards taken out. We've finally saved enough to get the yearly rec-center passes we want for the winter months. All done, that's about $350 out of my pay this past period that would normally be spending money or savings. So what that amounts to is a broke JoBildo with no Borderlands, no money to go see one of the new movies he's aching to watch, and boredom all weekend long.

The good news is at least I've got plenty of stuff to fill my plate until next payday. Work, last week of school, and I did manage to snag Torchlight and that drops Tuesday.

Bah well... life goes on. I just needed to bitch about it a bit.

Run to the Border... lands.

2009-10-22T10:00:00.001-05:00

I get it. I give in. Really. You don't need to convince me anymore. Borderlands is apparently what Hellgate: London could have been, and I'm going to trade in some old games this weekend in order to snag it up for the PC. I'll probably order it off of steam so it can pre-load and be ready for when I decide to be sick that day. I mean... for when I come down with H1N1 mysteriously.

So if you want to goof off with JoBildo in Borderlands, add me on Steam (JoBildo is my username).

EDIT: Crap... I forgot I have to pay for that shiny thing I just put on someone's finger. Borderlands will wait until next weekend I assume. Thank Jebus for Torchlight.

Scratching that itch...

2009-10-22T07:58:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since I had game-fever. Perhaps it's my Masters program wearing down, or just the change from summer to fall, but I'm really itching for something new to play. I hear Borderlands is one hell of a game, Torchlight has action RPG fans (like me) all abuzz for something new to play, and Pete won't stop making me drool over Dragon Age. But all of these games come out next week or even later. So what do I do until next Monday/Tuesday when I can get my hands on the first two?

I played a little Left 4 Dead last night. I usually don't play it online, as I prefer to do split-screen with my friends when they're over at my place. So I played single-player last night, and while it's fun... it's just not the same as when you have your best mates there screaming and laughing with you. The new (to me anyway) campaign is a lot of fun though. Makes me want the sequel more.

I also played a little FATE on my laptop. A fun Diablo-clone, but missing something I can't quite put my finger on... scratch that. I know what I'm missing, the Skill Trees. FATE has everything an action-RPG should have except that. So I'm leveling, getting new gear, but I don't really care about leveling because I don't get shiny new ways to make things go splat. This is a problem that Torchlight won't have, but hey... that game's still five days away.

The good news is I have homework and stuff to do for TTH this weekend, as well as plenty of other plans over the next few days. I should be killing things in Borderlands and Torchlight before I know it.

Very bored...

2009-10-21T13:51:00.000-05:00

And all I can think about right now is going home, killing zombies in L4d, placing a pre-order for Dragon Age on Steam, and wishing Torchlight was already out. I feel like a teenager at the moment, and it's just one of those "incapable of concentrating on work" kind of days.
No homework due tonight. No plans. Just a good solid few hours to sink into a game of my choice.

Global Agenda: Pricing Details Announced

2009-10-21T08:03:00.000-05:00

Global Agenda is a bit under the radar still, but everyone I know that has played the game at conventions has come away awestruck and itching to play more. It's a persistent online MMORPG in shooter form. The marketing department has been keen enough to advertise this as simply, "There are no elves." There's a wealth of PvE gameplay, and a purportedly very strong PvP system that involves players fighting for control over territory and resources.

Global Agenda is due for release in early 2010 and today Hi-Rez Studios announced the pricing model for the game. Showing their intelligence, players will not be forced to pay a subscription to enjoy the game. You can play as much as you want just by buying the box, but in order to participate in the PvP and have access to all the game's content, you'll want to pay the $12.99 for a monthly subscription:

Global Agenda (one time purchase - $49.99 MSRP) includes:

Creation of up to eight different agent characters
Character visual customization
Access to all combat weapons and devices
Cooperative Player vs. Environment missions against the Commonwealth NPC faction, AI-controlled enemies, and Boss Fights
Matchmade Player vs. Player missions with five different game types and over 20 unique maps
Character progression through 30 levels
Achievement and unlocks system for individual characters
Player Inventory for suits, flair, dyes, upgrades, and loot
Virtual Reality practice fighting area
Vendors and accumulation of in-game currency
Text chat with multiple channels
Built in voice chat during missions
Ability to join an established player-created agency
All play is on our single-shard, hosted server environment to ensure convenient and consistent gaming experience.
Ability to sign up for one free month of subscription at registration (credit card required, can be cancelled at any time)

Global Agenda: Conquest ($12.99 per month, $11.49/mo for 3 month, $9.99/mo for 6 month) includes:

Access to Alliance vs. Alliance (AvA) World Domination gameplay
A massive scale campaign between player created agencies and alliances over scarce territory and resources on a persistent world map.
Attack and Defend Territories in zones that match your agency's schedule
Agency and Alliance Management – Create and maintain persistent player groups and officer ranks
Creation and Upgrading of Facilities - Control production and output
Base Raids – involving up to 60 players per side; coordinated between 6 different strike teams within linked territory instances
Agency Achievement System, Leveling, and Recognition
Auction House with bidding and buyouts
Mail System
Upgrade Text and Voice chat to support multiple channels and strike teams
Player Crafting with blueprints
Additional character customization options including elite character suits, dye colors, and seasonal flair
Ongoing Co-Op content at max character level
Ongoing AvA content, multiplayer PvP content, and new social areas

The coolest thing about this setup is that even if you cancel your subscription, you'll still be able to play the game. Don't have much time to game? Cancel the sub, keep playing when you can in the free mode, and then resub when you want later. Sure you won't have access to the crafting and auction and mail, and you'll be missing out on the PvP, but at least you can still get your PvE fix with up to 8 characters. There are a handful of games I'd love to see some sort of model like this for. I don't have the money or the desire to play them a lot, but sometimes I wish I could without shelling out $15. Not only that, but Global Agenda is breaking from the norm with a $13 subscription model.

If this little gem plays as well as my TTH brethren are saying, they just earned my $50 and then some. Hopefully one of these days I'll get into the beta and give it a whirl, if not... at least I know my $50 won't be wasted should I decide the game's not quite worth subscribing too.

Champions Online: C-Store Restocked

2009-10-20T07:35:00.000-05:00

Looks like Cryptic's finally put some stuff that's worth buying in the C-Store (their version of microtransactions). A Ding World has a really good analysis of all the items. Personally, there are only a few things I can really see myself spending any money on. The Retcon (respec) seems a bit costly at around $12, and I don't think I need 4 more character slots. But the costumes? Yes please. The beastial cyborg parts, especially the wings, are exactly the kind of things I'd want to use bits and pieces of on a new character. The Halloween head set is also pretty bitchin' too. I'd love to make a sort of spook-like hero using the pumpkin or the scarecrow head.

I've not had much time since Saturday to play, but I'm still chugging along at level 18. I like playing Wolfenstein a lot, but I recently ran out of quests in Millennium City that aren't too high for me, and I've been relegated to Snake Gulch in the Desert. Most people like that place. I find it boring and out of character for a superhero MMOG. It's a little too hokey for my tastes. But the quests are plentiful and pretty fun. I'm even working on collecting parts for a robot cowboy pet to tote around with me.

I also downloaded and tried out the Dragon Age Character Creator last night... and I was surprised to see it ran really well on my laptop which only has an onboard nVidia chipset for the GPU. It's just the creator, I know, but I'm hoping that this means I'll be able to run the final game on my laptop too. I'd love to be able to take DA:O with me to work for lunch along with Torchlight.

Torchlight Pre-Order on Steam

2009-10-19T08:17:00.000-05:00

Thanks to a very helpful reader, I found out that one can pre-order Runic Games' Torchlight on Steam for $17.99. And thus, it was done. I've not played the little indie game myself, but going by my experiences with both FATE and Mythos, I'm expecting quite a bit of fun for my less-than-twenty-bucks. There's going to be an extensive modding toolset released with the game as well, which should help the game remain playable quite a bit until the MMO version comes out eighteen months or so down the road (according to the developers).

I'm a sucker for a good Roguelike, but they must have randomly generated dungeons. I loved Titan Quest, but grew bored on subsequent playthroughs because the game always had the same path through. Torchlight won't have the same issues, thank Jebas. And with three classes, and the ability to retire one character to give benefits to your next? I'm sure there'll be a reason to play through the game at least once with each class. I'll probably start off with the Destroyer, just because I'm a fan of melee classes, followed by the Alchemist after that.

The game shares some of FATE's features. Like a pet that accompanies you and can return to town for you, carry items, help in battle, etc. And of course the fact that the entire game revolves around a single town with one very deep and never-ending dungeon to traverse. You can really tell that the folks behind Diablo 1 and 2 and FATE are trying to recapture some of the former magic from those games. While it remains to be seen if Torchlight holds a candle to any of those titles, from the video and screens, I'm pretty optimistic.

I'll be installing this little diddy on my laptop for sure... you know, for downtime at work. Or just to play constantly as my work goes by the wayside. Either or.

Speaking of Torchlight...

2009-10-16T09:39:00.003-05:00

Reading the FAQ for the game, it's really pretty striking how similar it sounds to FATE. Which souldn't be shocking at all, considering the staff has one Travis Baldree on it... the man behind FATE, a pretty damn awesome and kid-friendly Diablo clone from a few years back.

If Torchlight winds up nothing more than a more mature FATE, I'll be pleased.

I want Torchlight, Borderlands, and Dragon Age...

2009-10-16T08:35:00.002-05:00

But there's a problem. They all come out around the same time, and more importantly, they all cost money I won't likely have. Oh, and they're not out for 2 and 3 more weeks still respectively. It's been a long time since I can remember really looking forward to a game's launch. I fell for Champions Online only after launch set in and I was able to stop playing just for guides and the like at TTH. I wanted it, but I wasn't screaming with the glee of a 12 year old child for it like I am these games.

Torchlight is from Runic Games, the studio that rose from the ashes of Mythos when Flagship went under. It's a fairly straightforward Roguelike, but if it's anything like Mythos it's likely going to be a ton of fun, and at $20 why wouldn't I give the small crew at Runic Games my money? It launches as a single-player game first, and later as an MMOG. I want to see them realize what was their dream with Mythos, so I'll be downloading it from Steam on day one.

Borderlands is another action-RPG of sorts, but with a heavy focus on FPS mechanics. Not like Fallout 3 or Hellgate, this game relies on player skills to hit the enemies, not dice rolls. Headshots and all the other staples of the genre are in, but so is a massive open world, 4-player action, tons of missions and side quests, and a buttload of randomized gear. It looks to me like the kind of game I wish Hellgate would have been. The fact that it looks like a cartoon version of Beyond Thunderdome or the Road Warrior only makes me squeal more.

Then of course there's going to be Bioware's Dragon Age. The spiritual successor to the now legendary Baldur's Gate series is all the info I need to know about this game. Though Pete's been trying to spoil it for me, I'm avoiding as much info as possible. Apparently it plays a lot like a medieval Mass Effect, and that's good enough for me. I miss the lovingly crafted CRPGs of old, and if this does anything to bring me back to that era I'll be happy.

So in any case... does anyone have about $140 I can borrow?

New TTH Articles and CO Stuff

2009-10-15T07:02:00.006-05:00

New article over at TTH today. Check it out, if you like to see me ramble. It's all about Min-Maxing vs. Conceptual Builds in Champions Online. Basically, it takes me about 750 words to say, "Whatever you want to do." My buddy Mattlow also wrote a nice article about What Was Missing At Launch in CO. Very valid points, all of them, and probably sums up my current issues with the game quite nicely.

One of the things Matt touches on is that there seems like a lack of missions at times in CO. In reality, there are probably just enough (which is not exactly thrilling) to get you through the leveling content. But it's easy to miss missions as you go about the game. Hell, 4 years later and I still can find new quests in WoW that I'd never done before. So LordDamax of the CO community went ahead and build the Crime Computer 2.0. It's not perfect, but really does help you uncover missions around your level you might be missing, so use it wisely!

Last night I got to test out my new power that I was given at level 17. I can't remember its exact name, and for some reason the CO site doesn't have the Might powers listed. But basically I'll call it "Big Ol' Power-Clap of Doom". I almost feel like I should make Wolfenstein's stature bigger because of this. Dude now does a sort of Incredible Hulk like move where he claps forcefully and sends a shockwave out around him. This AoE attack not only does a decent bit of damage, but stuns every target in the area. I follow this up with Iron Lariat (a big chain that I twirl around like a lasso above my head) and I can pretty much take out half or more of the health of all henchmen around me. Villains and Master Villains are another story, but for henchman this combo is re-donkulous. I imagine that the stuns could be very helpful in PvP too. I'll have to test it out. This one power certainly makes me feel a bit more heroic than before, that's for sure.

Weekend Update

2009-10-13T07:06:00.008-05:00

Well a lot happened this weekend in JoBildo-ville. For one, yours truly is now engaged. That's right, call me crazy (for I likely am), but back in the beginning of the summer I met the most amazing woman and against her better judgment she fell in love with this dork. December of next year, I'll be Mr. Murphy again... wait, I don't think I get how the last name thing works. In any case, she said yes when I proposed to her in a pumpkin patch over a warty pumpkin and now she's set to live with a nerd by her side the rest of her days. Brave girl. On a serious note, I never thought I could feel this way about anyone. Especially after what happened to me with the she-devil I was attached to before. But if I've learned anything in my short life, it's never to turn away a good thing out of fear. I'm one lucky bastard, and I can't wait to see what our future holds.

In gaming, I spent a lot of time with Champions Online this weekend. I'm desperately trying to get ahead in this game, as I'm eager to see what the Nemesis system holds, but it's a surprisingly slow crawl through the teens. Not a grind, but since it's the first time I've done these quests it feels like it's taking longer than it should... a clear indicator in my head that I've played too much WoW and expect to know the location and route to finishing every quests. Champions is the first MMOG I've played since my brief foray into Lich King at the beginning of the year.

I did do one fairly ridiculous and therefore awesome quest in the course of my leveling spurt. I don't have pics (I'm sorry, but I just got back into blogging and I'm still re-learning the tricks!), so feel free to stop reading if you need shinies to entertain your eyeballs.

Foxbat is a rather comedic villain in the Champions Online universe. Dude's main weapon is a gun that shoots ping-pong balls at high speeds. He's prone to bouts of inane rambling (like me!) and one of his official powers on the Champions Online website is listed simply as "Awesomeness". He's probably the coolest villain in the game, to be honest and I hope the quest I did surrounding him yesterday isn't the last time I see him. His awesomeness is that great. True story.

Foxbat apparently took over an entire news studio in Millennium city, presumably so that the arrogant and crazy bastard could put himself on TV. I had to fight off a bunch of his henchman outside, which were a mix of robots that did things like shout disco music at my face or mesmerize me with a video-camera that stroked my ego and made me pose heroically, and also some snotty teenagers with foam fingers and Foxbat t-shirts that called themselves Fanboys. Like I said... ridiculous.

Once inside the studio I was treated to a cutscene of Foxbat holding a Ron Burgundy-alike hostage. Ron's doppleganger even said something along the lines of "How dare you do this to me! I have many leatherbound books and my condo smells of rich mahogony!" I had to take out a bunch more henchmen on my way through the studio, while saving the rest of Ron's news-team in the process. Brick, Champ, Veronica, and Brian Fantana were all there with appropriate pseudonyms.

Once I made it to the soundstage, I beat the ever-loving crap out of Foxbat who got a few good shots in on me himself... I think he actually dropped a cartoon One-Ton weight on my head at one point and shot me with cream pies from his gun. But he fell in the end, and I saved the day. That quest was easily the most ridiculous thing I've done in an MMOG, and also probably one of the more memorable.

Champions Online is a pretty decent game, all things considered. The combat is a ton of fun. The PvP is a hectic blast, and the missions are really pretty entertaining, and run the gamut from the typical kill quests to the more unique scripted encounters like the one I've just described. I'm loving my first hero, and wish I could make another, but I've got a guide to write up for TTH that requires me to reach level 25 and begin the Nemesis stuff.

Currently, Wolfenstein is my main character. He's currently spec'd out with mostly Supernatural powers, and some Strength. Though I think I'll probably retcon to something else when the Celestial powerset drops in November. I love the way that Cryptic's set up the Celestial powers as having dual functions. Check out my latest article at TTH to see what I mean. I'll use some of the healing/support powers from that set, and probably something like Claws or another Martial Arts set for more direct damage dealing skills since I have most of my stats in Dexterity which is the key component of a lot of Martial Arts skills.

Anyway, that's it for now. Brutal Legend comes out today. If I had $60 I would pick it up tonight. The demo was just that hilarious/awesome/badass. If you're a fan of things Metal or of Tenacious D, or just of good games with a lot of character (Tim Schaefer's a creative genius) I would highly suggest picking it up.

Odd feeling...

2009-10-08T14:39:00.002-05:00

Maybe it was the bug in yesterday's patch that made there be 300+ players per instance layer, or maybe it was the dozen quests I successfully completed because mobs are less of a pain in the ass, or maybe it was changing my powers with a free retcon... but I really feel like playing Champions Online right now.

I liked smashing things with my fists instead of balls of shadow-fire. I want to go home, log in, and do more smashy-smashy.

PS - I promise in time that my posts will be less like long Facebook status updates.

WAR-torn between superheroes and slayers...

2009-10-08T07:10:00.005-05:00

So I played WAR for a bit last night, and I really did enjoy being back in the world. I missed the art style and the general atmosphere... but something struck me as off. After the past couple months of Champions Online, I really have trouble getting back into the old style of MMO combat and travel.

In Champions it's so easy to get around, right from level 5, that I don't know if I have it in me to raise a character to level 20 in WAR for a mount. And it's not like the zones are very huge in WAR, or that there's a lot of back and forth travelling. I mean, it's as easy to get around in WAR as it is in WoW. But nothing quite matches super-jumping over mountains or from group of mobs to group of mobs.

I ended up playing Champions for an hour or two last night even though I wanted my fantasy fix more, simply because Champions is more fast-paced, more visceral, and more exciting for PvE. I'm only in my teens still in the game though, and I'm anxious to see what the Nemesis system is all about, but I've got about 10 more levels to climb through. Luckily the quests and locations in CO are far more interesting than City of Heroes, and the pace of leveling far more swift.

My lady is gone from Sunday to Monday this weekend, and in that time I'm itching to do some major leveling of Wolfenstein... my bestial/superstrength white werewolf superhero. See? That's why I like Champions despite its faults. I can't say that sentence about any other game.

Call to WAR?

2009-10-07T12:52:00.002-05:00

I keep feeling an urge to log into Warhammer Online again for the first time in ages. The Slayer class, a personal favorite of the universe, came late in my love affair with the game and I never got a chance to play it as I ended up pulling out of MMO-gaming for a while. And now as the holiday months get nearer, I find myself longing for a fantasy game to log into.

I'm hoping to get an hour or two to try out the Slayer tonight, and with patch 1.3.2 on the way to change a lot of the elements of WAR, I'm curious to see if the game can recapture me the way it did around this time last year.

TTH: Reviewing Responsibly

2009-10-07T07:11:00.002-05:00

I just published a new editorial on Ten Ton Hammer called "Reviewing Responsibly". Basically, I question whether or not it's a good idea for critics to be publishing final verdicts on MMOGs so close to the day of launch. The practice is done solely for pageviews and advertising dollars, which could be just as easily grabbed with a "Launch Day Impressions" article, minus the final score.

The argument could be posited that if you're going to review a game, you should review it as it is sold to the public, but I can't help but make the case that an MMOG is not your ordinary piece of software entertainment and shouldn't be treated like just another offline game. MMOGs are living and changing worlds (for the most part) that undergo a lot of changes and fluctuations, and are far too large and meandering to spend five hours in and then just assign a score based on the tutorial levels.

The review system in general for videogames, this 7-10 score bullcrap we see dominating the magazines and internet media outlets, is garbage as it is. But it's even more nonsensical when applied to an MMOG. Impressions first, review later, and subsequent re-reviews down the line as the game changes. That's how reviews for online worlds should be handled in my book.

In fact, I think it might be time for me to revisit a few old haunts for my own re-reviewing. Too bad Auto Assault is still dead... I'm in the mood for four-wheeled carnage.

Boosted by Scary

2009-10-06T07:17:00.002-05:00

Scarybooster's mini-profile on yours truly has been posted over at his site. If you ever wanted to know the secret origins of my name, or why I'm back here writing sweet nothings into your eye-holes again, that's a good place to find out.

Thanks for the kind words, Scary, but I'm still not going to give you my lucky charms.

Back from the Gutter

2009-10-05T07:41:00.003-05:00

Hi. I'm back. Go tell your friends.

It's been a long time off for JoBildo, but as we near the most excellent of gaming seasons, I feel an urge to get back to blogging and sharing my disjointed thoughts with anyone who cares to read them. Maybe it's just that my life is settling back down, and that the broken pieces it was shattered into at the beginning of the year are glued back together, but whatever it is... I find myself missing the ritual of blogging and therefore I'm going to subject you all to the inner-trappings of my brain goo again.

I apologize in advance.

What have I been doing lately? Well, Scarybooster will let you know that soon enough, but most recently I've been playing a lot of Champions Online and Batman: Arkham Asylum, and I'm itching to try my hand in WAR again as 1.3.2 hits the live servers. And it's the time of year that tons of excellent games hit store shelves, so I'm sure I'll be doing a lot of dabbling in Dragon Age, Mass Effect 2, Brutal Legend, and all of that too. In just a few short weeks I'll be graduating with my Masters in IT too, which should net me a lot of spare time to dig back into my once and future hobby.

So re-add me to your blogrolls, put me back in your feedburner, and drink a beer in my honor if that's your sort of thing.

It's good to be home.

Superman: Red Son

2009-07-01T07:33:00.004-05:00

I'm not always playing a ton of games these days, but I am reading a lot of comics, and one I just picked up deserves a little write up and recommendation for your reading library. Superman: Red Son is penned by WANTED's very own Mark Millar and tells the story of an alternate universe where Superman's flying baby spaceship didn't land in the farm country of Smallville, but in the middle of the Ukraine under Stalin-controlled USSR.

Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and even Batman make some surprise appearances in this one. Jimmy Olsen is a CIA Agent, Lois is married to the world's smartest man (Luthor), and Eisenhower relies heavily on Lex's brain the whole series. I can't recommend it enough, basically. As a standalone novel, this is one I'd love to see made into a movie one day. I just doubt that will ever happen.

Red Faction: Guerrilla - Enjoying the Destruction

2009-06-30T13:47:00.003-05:00

So, I know I've been quiet these past few months. And now I'm here on Blogger again. But you all know why. Life's been a busy crazy ride for a while now, and it's only starting to calm down. I won't bore you with too many details, but I am indeed finding myself head over heels in love with a beautiful girl who drooled on me one random night in her sleep. I'm still working at the Department of Veterans Affairs. I'm 4 months out from finishing my Masters in Information Systems. I'm the Art Director for a soon-to-be launched geek interest site. I'm reading a crap-ton of comics from Ground Zero in Strongsville, Ohio. I'm still doing comics and other art for Ten Ton Hammer. And I'm still playing games whenever I actually can squeeze some time in with one.

That's probably why you're here at all reading my blog, so then you'd probably like to know what it is I've been playing. Ladies and Gentlemen... let me detail the beauty of Red Faction: Guerrilla. I'm not playing any MMOGs at the moment, as I await Champions Online. I've been dabbling in Left 4 Dead, Rock Band 2, and The Orange Box a bit. That is until I took a leap of faith based on a game-store clerk's opinion and purchased Red Faction.

How do I put this game's enjoyment into words? Let's put it this way: when I sleep I dream of either naked ladies or destroying buildings with my sledgehammer. Or Don Knots. But let's not get into that last one.

I was tempted to get Prototype instead just because the thought of ninja-kicking a helicopter seemed too enticing to pass up, but I am very pleased I went with what the store's peon suggested. RF:G is a third-person open-world shooter that has you playing the role of a mining colonist on Mars who gets caught up in a struggle for the control of the planet's terraformed landmass. You see, virtually everything on Mars is controlled by the giant conglomerate militaristic corporation called the Earth Defense Force. When you arrive on the surface, you just want to make a living and enjoy your life... but your brother's a member of Red Faction a Che Guevara-like movement to free the people of Mars from the EDF. When he's killed for apparently no reason at all, that's when you get pissed and take up his mantle as liberator.

The game then folds out with a series of missions and random occurrences and miscellaneous goals that basically have you destroying every building erected by EDF, and killing lots and lots of the little military bastards. As you break down the walls of their strongholds, the colonists begin to rally behind you, and soon you find yourself with an army of people helping you revolt against the EDF. There are guns, mines, hammers, arc welders, bazookas... it's everything a boy could want to destroy things with. You can drive trucks, pilot space-ships, and in general lay havok to everything you see with anything you see. I once took an entire building out just by hammering the crap out of its support beams. The satisfying rumble of the controller and the screen made me smile as I walked away from the debris.

It's just a very fun game, and comes highly recommended if you're looking for a strong action game to add to your Xbox (or PS3) library that's not GTA IV. It's out on the PC in August if you feel like waiting. Multiplayer's a blast both locally with an ingenius pass-the-controller type game mode, and online with a host of different game modes for competitive play.

4 Bildos out of 5. Ha!

Coming back to Blogger...

2009-06-19T15:08:00.002-05:00

Hey folks!

Not sure how many of you still check this site... ever. But I've closed down the hosted Wordpress blog, because I simply didn't see a reason to keep paying for something I used to seldomly. But I'm re-opening this place, and hopefully will have some news to churn out every now and again.

Life's still crazy-hectic, and I'm not even really playing all that much these days, but I am watching and wishing I had the time. And there's plenty of commentary in the ol' noggin left. So, if you catch wind of this blog post... thanks for not forgetting about my old blog.

New Site - Sooner Than Anticipated!

2008-06-16T21:54:00.003-05:00

That's right, folks. I've moved.

I built a blog in Wordpress from scratch tonight (and partly at work, ahem). And while it still needs some finishing touches it's fully functional and ready to go.

I'm going to move everything over there, so PLEASE update those blogrolls and come on over to my new digs! I went with a new name too, so I can stop switching between Bildo and JoBildo... just JoBildo from now on.

THE RAMBLINGS OF JOBILDO
It's odd leaving this one here, but hopefully the new scenery will be more of a boon than a burden.

Cheers!

In Need of Advice Again

2008-06-16T15:19:00.002-05:00

I just received an offer from Heritage Freelance a rather large and growing Web Solutions company based in Utah to work as a full-time freelance designer for them from the comfort of my home in Ohio.

The kicker? I work for the Government right now. It's steady income. I know how much I'll get paid every two weeks, and there's little to no chance of being canned unless I violate the privacy laws. But it's not what I love to do.

There are two (realistic) things in this world I can imagine myself being truly happy doing: Web Design and Community Management. The latter I'm slowly working towards. The former is right there, ready for the picking. I have my degree. I believe that I have talent. I just don't have the job.

This chance, is a great one. But it's also shaky. There's no set amount of work, though they say there's a steady inflow as they've needed to hire on 150 new contracted designers a week as of late. But my pay comes on a per job basis. So my paychecks will vary depending on how much work I do. And at any given time, the work could run dry right? I could suddenly find myself without pay if that happened.

So it's a great set up. Working at home, doing what I want, and when I want... but it's not guaranteed income like my current (but undesirable) position.

Help me fellow bloggers, especially those with experience in the workforce. What should I be asking this company, and what are your thoughts in general?

I Just Built a WordPress Theme From Scratch

2008-06-16T14:01:00.004-05:00

And I have WP Designer to thank.

My new blog will be coming just as soon as I get my wife's photography site and blog set up. Take care of the missus first.

If you've ever wanted to learn how to build a theme from scratch, head to that site. His words not only break everything down into easy to digest bits, but even a layman could do it. I had an advantage with my knowledge of XHTML and CSS design, but I am a near-noob in PHP so I came away with more knowledge on that subject than I had before.

Overall... guy rocks. Go to his site. He designed Rick's theme after all!

Age of Conan - 6/16/2008 Patch Notes

2008-06-16T10:23:00.004-05:00

Tons of fixes once again. Hopefully all good ones. Haven't been able to analyze them much yet. Undocumented notes to come as soon as I see them posted where I can read them. Will have to check out Khemi now too, as it seems numerous quests have been added there which is odd since I strongly believe the late 30s need no love for quests, but hey whatever. As long as the gap from 55+ is fixed soon too.

Player Characters

Archetypes
-New buff counters were added to a number of mage and soldier effects.
-All gathering feats should now have the correct proficiency suffix in their name (e.g. 'You need Woodcutting Novice to perform this action' messages).
-The Goad ability can be trained and used on a NPC that does not have aggro on you. You must be in combat to use this ability.
-The buffs from rogue general feats Concealment, Distraction and Mountaineer will now be removed from characters when they untrain feats.
-You can no longer enter spellweaving when climbing or swimming. If you are hiding or crouching and enter spellweaving, you will leave that state immediately.

Assassin
-Flesh Rot now applies a separate debuff for each player
-Lotus Weapons now applies a separate debuff for each player.

Bear Shaman
-Crush Armor I+II+III combos now have improved visuals and sound.

Conqueror
-You may now use Incite the Ranks if Fire Weave is running.

Dark Templar
-Soul Barrier's cast time has been reduced from 3 seconds to 1 second.
-Changed the Cooldown of Unhallowed Blight III to 20s.
-Changed the Unholy Debuff to be 5% on all combos and changed the duration of the debuff to last for 25s.
-Reduced the Mana cost of the following spells by 50%:
*Aura of Dread Fury (Ranks 1 - 4)
*Aura of Infusion (Ranks 1 - 5)
*Covenant of Pestilence (Ranks 1 - 4)
*Covenant of War (Ranks 1 - 3)
*Covenant of Death
*Covenant of Invulnerability (Ranks 1 - 3)
*Covenant of Vengeance
*Drain Life (Ranks 1 - 5)

Demonologist
-Waves of Flame now inflicts more damage each tick.
-The animation for the Demonologist-spell Unholy Hate has been slowed down a bit.
-Resolved an minor issue with Demonologist spellweaving not affecting stamina potion effects.

Herald of Xotli
-Resolved a issue with "Blood Pit" so it will always spawn if you successfully kill a minion with the "I Eat Your Heat" combo.

Necromancer
-Vile Insight now gives the intended Unholy Specialization as reflected in the description.
-Plagued Heart Curse will now correctly increase in damage with more feats trained.
-Parasitic Soul Swarm now inflicts more damage each tick.
-Pestilential Blast now has an additional skull visual.

Priest of Mitra
-Resolved a problem with the priest of mitra spellweaving ability.
-Repulse has had its base damage lowered slightly and contribution from bonus magic damage increased.
-Cleansing Fire now has a slightly lower manacost and now scales correctly across all levels.
-The damage bonus applied to Repulse, Cleansing Fire, and Lance of Mitra from Force of Will has been lowered to the correct amount.
-The damage bonus from Improved Repulse has been significantly increased

Ranger
The buffs from ranger stances Shattering Stance, Piercing Stance, Fire Stance and Sniper Stance will now be removed from characters when they untrain feats.

Tempest of Set
Brutal Lightning Strike should no correctly increase the critical strike chance of Lightning Strike.

Mounts
-You can no longer be knocked off the horse from the front.
-You can be knocked off from the side: more likely by monsters higher level then you and less likely by monsters lower then you. The chance almost drops to 0 if they are grey to you.
-Full chance to be knocked off from behind by monsters of higher or equal level than you. Monsters that are grey to you still cannot cause a dismount even from the back
-Fixed a problem where advanced mount abilities were being given out by the basic training. Mammoth and Rhino owners - Please use /claim again. This will train the attack abilities associated with these two mount types.

Khopshef Province
-Numerous quests has been added to the playfield.
-Freed Rogue Slave should now use his weapons correctly.
-Treasures are now located throughout the province.
-The Arax Queen should now stick to her spawn location.
-Tweaked some gameplay; added more camp NPCs and roaming animals.
-Fixed some areas which could be exploited.
-Boat Captain Amyr should now have the [Khemi] tag.
-The Traveling Merchant should now travel.
-The Followers of Derketo should now patrol.
-Ptah should no longer get killed by the Mantis.

Quests

-Dealing with Dila: Dila should now attack.
-Hunting the Spider: Quest can now be completed.
-The Lost Scouts: Waypoint to Diarmad was fixed.
-Oasis of Zaara: Waypoints for quest were fixed.
-Flowers of the Snow: The flowers way markers were adjusted.
-Paetus and the Nemedian Crown: Waypoint for Armsman's Tavern was fixed.
-Rahim & Lord Camillus: had it's journal text modified to point to the correct location.
-Death to the Undead: Indicators for minimap were displaying to small. This has been resolved.
-The Mark of Acheron: Players will now be able to experience the destiny event in the Field of Chiefs.
-The Mark of Acheron: The Mark of Acheron is permanently removed when performing the Medallion Ritual now.
-Soul Chamber: If you die in the soul chamber you now lose the tablet in your quest inventory.
-Added item rewards for the quests "The Honoured Dead I", "The Honoured Dead II", "The Honoured Dead III" and "The Honoured Dead IV".
-Destiny Quest: The quest rewards 'King Conan's Tribute' & 'King Conan's Esteem' can no longer be traded.
-The Lost Bottles: Wine bottles will now have a blue flame indicating you can interact with them.
-Tradeskill Quests: You can now delete all tradeskill quests but not tradeskill progression quests.
-Tradeskill Quests: Resolved various level requirement issues with the quests.
-Securing the Caravan Route": Added the correct waypoint for returning to Gua
-In the quest "A Curious Encounter" in Field of the Dead Quest, Radi will no longer give the player an amulet.
-"The Wolves at our Throats": Moved the waypoint for the location of the Wolverines, for the quest .
-Vistrix now drops his tooth for the quest "Master of the Silver Peacock." The player will need to DELETE their quest, and return to Kalanthes to get the quest again in order for the tooth to drop.

Items

-Hood of Jagged Barbs has been revamped.
-Added new purple rare drops to world loot.
-Conqueror Spear should now look the right size.
-Cimmerian Hide Light Wrist item should no longer clip with arms
-Khopshef Province: Treasures are now located throughout the province.
-Average, Fair, Fine and Superior Meat will no longer end up in the quest inventory.
-Crafting Item: Renamed item "Bloodsilver-studded Boots" to "Bloodsilver-mail Boots"
-Hek'lar's Accursed Dagger will now appear with the correct icon in the player's inventory.
-Fixed an issue with 'Darfari Armbands', they should be visible on female characters and have stats now.
-Reinforced Iron Warhammer no longer goes into the quest inventory.
-Prices of vendor bought food items have been adjusted.
-Vendor bought tradeskill components have updated visuals.
-The stack-size of building materials has been raised to 1000.

NPCs

*Ice Cave: Ice worms should now attack correctly.
*The Acheronian Warlord will drop bossloot armor again.
*The trader in Lacheish Plains has been removed as intended.
*Toirdealbach should now be a more fun and playable encounter.
*The Catacombes: Necromancer Undead Warlord should now attack correctly.
*Purple Lotus Swamp: Weaponsmith Ethi woke up with his height a bit smaller than what it was yesterday.
*Villa Lentulus: Gurges the Nimble should react normally to players.
*Yakhmar's Cave: Yakhmar should no longer get stuck if it cannot reach its target.
*Kyllikki's Crypt: Kyllikki should reset properly when nobody is in her hate list.
*Khopshef Province: Freed Rogue Slave should now use his weapons correctly.
*Border Ranges: Greven, Histacus, the Nemedian Adventurer & General Zarathus will all drop Nemedian community loot again.

Playfields
*Purple Lotus Swamp: Ladders should now work correctly.
*Tarantia Noble District: Armsman Tavern - Players should now be able to teleport into the arena by clicking on the door.

Tradeskills

-Obsidian has been renamed to Feldspar.
-Weaver quest line: Changed reference to Steelsilk to Gossamer Silk
-Orichalcum has been renamed to Duskmetal.
-Tigereye Gems will now end up in the resource inventory.
-Skinning Trainer will now tell you were to get skins.
-Resource nodes can now always be harvested while their health is at 10%.
-All crafted Cloth; armbands, wrists, boots and belts can now be worn.
-Increased dps on 'Swiftsilver Flat Bow'.
-Skymetal Battle Crossbow, Moonsteel Katar and Moonsteel Ratchet Crossbow have all received one free gemslot.
-The Weaponsmith Trainer now gives the cooldown warning for the tradeskill quest progression when the cooldown is in effect.
-The dialogues of the Resource Gatherer Trainers and Crafter Trainers now check if the player has the appropriate feats set on them, in addition to quests. If the player has the quest to gather resources or craft, but has lost the feat that enables him to do so, the feat is now retrained (to the correct tier).
-All crafted cloaks now support the equipping of gems.

GUI

-All Assassin abilities which stack multiple times now have a stack count in the buff GUI.
-All Bear Shaman, Priest of Mitra, and Tempest of Set abilities which stack multiple times now have a stack count in the buff GUI.
-The targeting arrow should now be positioned correctly when targeting a horse, a gorilla or a mutilator
-We have implemented a control to the options menu for how often background music plays. Tweak this if you wish to change how often you hear background music.

General

-You should no longer do the loot animation while swimming.
-Fixed a problem where certain high level monsters wouldn't spawn.
-Now all spells can be cast with dagger and staff without problems.
-When you train Basic or Advanced Riding, you will no longer be teleported
-Fixed an alignment issue with quest indicators over quest NPC's heads.
-Locking to raid instances have been fixed. All players participating in a raid will now be locked to the same instance
instead of entering a new one after death..
-Fixed problem that would cause the resource manager to download the same resource again and again.
-Bonus spell damage now increases both minimum and maximum damage, instead of just maximum (average damage will remain unchanged).
-Stat bonuses from items (strength, wisdom, dexterity and constitution) will now affect your character properly (Note that strength now directly affects your DPS, not your attack rating).

A Weekend of Conan, Fathers, Hulk, and Wordpress + (A Secret)

2008-06-16T07:10:00.003-05:00

Busy and fun weekend this week.

Played a bit of Conan and made my way nearly to 44 in the process. I've got more quests than I can handle and actually had to delete a few from my log because the area I am in (Noble District of Tarantia) is filled to the brim with quests. I'll have to visit the Fields of the Dead soon to re-obtain said deleted quests.

But the fun in Hyboria was dampened by a memory leak that's reared its ugly head on Vista 32 systems again. It starts off fine but becomes nigh-unplayable about an hour in. The mini-map and main map lose their textures becoing nothing but gray spots and that's when you know the game's about to crash.

Before I went to bed last night I used a CMD command to enable Vista to fully use all 3GB of RAM and if it works I'll post that command later. If you're the impatient sort, check the tech support forums for Conan, as it's posted there in a sticky about the memory leak issues.

Spent Saturday night at a cookout for my father-in-law, and chatted with my own padre for a bit on Sunday thus fulfilling my duties as a son on Father's Day. At my in-law's we watched 30 Days of Night which was... god awful really. I don't really feel like wasting my breath as to why it was, just don't see it if you haven't already. Trust me.

Thank Jeebus though that on Sunday my wife and I went to see the Hulk. We expected little from this one, due to the previous attempt at bringing Bruce Banner's alterego to the silver screen. Luckily, we were absolutely enthralled with what Edward Norton and Louis Leterrier put together. I won't spoil anything, but if you too are afraid after the Eric Bana Daddy-Issue edition of the Hulk, forget all about that movie and go see this one. If you were a fan of the Bill Bixby TV series, go see the Incredible Hulk. If you're a fan of the comics, go see the Hulk. If you're a fan of the Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story go see this movie. If you're a fan of action, go see this movie. If you just want to see a good movie... go see it.

Marvel, now with all its franchises in its own hands, is doing it. They really are. They're bringing the Marvel Universe together. The Avengers is coming in 2011, preceded by both a new Captain America movie and a Thor flick. And what's more is that they're pulling in extremely good talent (Norton in Hulk, Downey in Iron Man) and then bringing them all together too. It's like a wet dream for any fan of the comics. These heroes, these Greek Gods of the American Age are coming to life in a way I never thought would happen.

Now we just need someone to relaunch the X-Men series in 5 or so years and wipe that horrid taste of X3: The Last Stand out of our mouths.

Lastly, I spent a few hours last night building my own theme from scratch in WordPress. I'm doing a small job for client right now that involves WordPress, and it's inspired me to create my very own blog on that platform. In a few weeks or months (depending on the time it takes me to get it all done among my other responsibilities) I'll be migrating to WordPress. Ye've been warned, gar.

Oh yeah, the secret. Well, I can't say much. But I will say that what I saw this weekend has me very excited. I don't mean to be tease, but then - of course I do. When I can talk more, I will. Gamers who read this blog (and I know that's all of you) should be very excited for what's on the horizon.

Age of Conan - Coming this Fall... KINGSHIP

2008-06-13T12:17:00.003-05:00

Words cannot describe how awesome this first MAJOR content update sounds. I know a few folks (KEEN) who might be interested in reading this. This is one of many new things planned for AoC this year, and I'll be damned... it all sounds fantastic. You can read about the new PvP System, the Fugitive part of that, new dungeons, new chat system, Powerpoints (odd sort of achievement system), new lore quests with voice overs, well... a whole lot of NEW at this LINK.

Am I still excited for WAR this fall? Yes. Will it be hard to pull away from Conan on a daily basis if all this makes it in by then? You bet your ass. The TTH Guild and its alliance will own Hyboria one day this fall, mark my words. Anyway, read about the Kinship content update below:

---------------------------------------

Kingship revealed - Huge upgrade planned!

We will be doing a lot of improvements and additions to Age of Conan in the weeks to come, and we will be sure to tell you about it. But let’s also take this opportunity to gaze deeper into the glass ball, to see what awaits us in the future – later this year!

Okay, so we’re not ready to give you all the juice on it just yet – this is, after all, some months away from going in the game. But we want to lift the veil a little bit, as we feel that this is such a powerful community builder that it deservers some anticipation!

The tentative name for this update is Kingship, but that might change as we move close to patching it onto the servers. This is basically an update that will introduce some very groundbreaking new features into Age of Conan, such as guild alliances, legendary battlekeeps, and so-called Wonders of the World. And some other, secret stuff!

The Kingship upgrade will also be rooted in the Powerpoints system, and we will be introducing several new features and content. Here is some of what you can expect!

Guild alliances

We want to allow guilds to get together and form alliances, creating strong accumulations of power that can take on some of the biggest challenges on the server, and we will be employing various tools for them to create a strong common identity for the alliance.

Here is a list of some of those tools:

* Alliance flag – you will be able to acquire a flag that you can carry around on your back, and this flag can be customized for you alliance.
* Alliance cloak – you will also be able to acquire a cloak that you can customize for your alliance, showing everyone what gathering you hail from.
* Alliance chat – of course, just as with guilds you will be able to share a common chat channel with all members of all the guilds in the alliance.
* Alliance name – you will be able to select a name for the alliance, and that name will be shown after your guild name and your character name.

A guild alliance will be quite a political entity, and this among other things involves holding elections to choose alliance leaders and such. Rest assured, guild alliances will have plenty of tools at their disposal when they set out to conquer the known world!

Legendary battlekeeps

Already in the game your guild have the opportunity to build player cities and eventually also conquer battlekeeps. We will, of course, be improving these functionalities as well as we move ahead in the coming months. Kingship will also expand on this feature.

Situated next to the three big cities – Conarch, Khemi and Tarantia – will be something called legendary battlekeeps. Massive constructions that can be seen from inside the major cities themselves, and there will only be three of these in total in the online world – one for each capitol city. Conquering these battlekeeps will be the ultimate challenge!

Guilds will effectively have to team up with each other and become alliances if they want to have any chance of conquering a legendary battlekeep. These will be gigantic battles, and we are aiming for over 300 players to be involved in the battle simultaneously!

That also means we will be doing some technical improvements to the massive battle system to allow for this great number of players in one battle at the same time.

Wonders of the World

These battlekeeps will all have different benefits to provide the alliance that owns it, and they will all be visually very different from each other. You can customize and build upon your legendary battlekeep, just as you would with the “ordinary” battlekeeps.

Another feature we will be introducing with this upgrade is Wonders of the World. These are powerful constructions rooted deep in the identity of that nation (e.g. the “Golden Lion of Tarantia” for Aquilonia) and they look epic and magnificent. Each nation has two of these wonders, and they can be built in the legendary battlekeep for that nation.

Building these wonders is a huge effort for anyone in the alliance, and will involve a lot of team work. Once you have built the shell of the wonder in your legendary battlekeep, other guild alliances can steal it and bring it to their city – so you need to protect it!

The benefits of owning one, two or more of these wonders (can you steal all of them?) is beyond anything you can imagine, but those details are to be revealed at another time!

Age of Conan - To The Death Update and More

2008-06-13T08:44:00.005-05:00

I love when news is released on Fridays. Great way to herald in the weekend. Today, Funcom released a slew of new info about the coming changes to PvP and what it's meant to be, plus further content updates. Here's the press release, copied and pasted from VN Boards. It's got a ton of typos as I believe it was done by a retarded monkey, but it's legible. It also states that more info on these new features will be on the official site, in the newsletter, and on the forums. So keep your eyes peeled. My comments are in bolded italics.

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Funcom and Eidos announce massive evolution plans for Age of Conan

Massive PvP update in June – New areas and dungeons – Powerpoints and Guild Alliance warfare to come

Durham, USA – June 13, 2008 – After the incredible initial success for Age of Conan, a whole world of MMO players are eagerly anticipating the future plans for one of the most popular online games ever released. While Age of Conan has already evolved massively since launch, numerous expansive additions are yet to come. Funcom and Eidos are therefore proud to lift the veil on Age of Conan’s promising future, and today the two companies reveal selected features which are now in production.

"While we have enjoyed the initial success for Age of Conan, we know that a solid launch is but the start when it comes to the MMO genre,” said Gaute Godager, Game Director on Age of Conan. ”As we look ahead we are preparing a huge amount of new content, and what we are presenting today will evolve Age of Conan even further. It’s naturally an incredibly ambitious update plan for a live MMO game, but we are certain our players would want nothing less.”

Without further ado, here are some of the cool things to expect in the months to come:

PVP EVOLVED - TO THE DEATH

The great combat system in Age of Conan has taken MMO fighting to a new level of fun, and Player versus Player combat plays a major part in this. As a result, a massive new PvP update is planned for late June. Aptly called To the death, this update brings more consequence and rewards to PvP, and an important part of it is the Fugitive system. The more lower level players you kill, the easier it is for others to hunt you down. In addition, ten PvP levels with additional ranks will be introduced, as well as specific gear and weapons for PvP.

Excuse my language but... FUCK YES! That is exactly what I was hoping to see for Conan's PvP. Now the only thing I worry about is how hard said ranks will be to get. But something tells me it's not active because they're reworking it from the elitist boner-fest that it was in beta. Or so I hope.

The Fugitive System is one step above the Prison idea too. Imagine being some player who doesn’t know about it, you go about ganking lowbies thinking you're hotshit… and then said lowbie comes for revenge and impales you on his pole-arm. Ooops, guess he won't be acting like a moron anymore. Good show, Funcom.

GUILD ALLIANCE WARFARE

Pre-production has started on a MASSIVE free update which will come later this year. Currently titled "Kingship!”, large clusters of guilds will be able to form alliances, and rule and conquer on a massive scale. Everyone in a guild alliance will play a part in this system, and together they can even erect unique looking alliance Battlekeeps. The alliances can also fight over, and build, culture-specific "Wonders of the World”, with a direct link to higher powers! As part of the system Funcom will also facilitate larger amounts of players in massive battles.

Are you reading this TTH guild members? Because I'm thinking that when this puppy hits we'd better all be level 80 and ready to go to war. This sounds amazing in print, and I really can't wait to see what it's like in reality. Definitely going to have to get in touch with Funcom to get more out of them in the coming months. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if this was to directly compete with people thinking about leaving for WAR. They'll need to weather that storm somehow, and this will surely help. Man... very enticing.

POWERPOINTS

This fall, a unique reward and character evolution system called Powerpoints will be introduced. This rewards active in-game behavior, and allows for gathering points through numerous methods, including owning a Battlekeep, playing the end-game at level 80, winning PvP matches, or simply being an active guild member or subscribing to the game. There will be many ways to obtain Powerpoints, and numerous rewards, ranging from exclusive Powerfeats to weapons, armor and potions. Powerpoints may even allow you to level faster!

This sounds to me a lot like an Achievement Point system, and I'm sure that's what it is in part. Hey, what can I say? Whatever lets me keep evolving my characters at level 80. That's what all games need to be sure of... that capped players have plenty to do. I just wonder exactly what it will entail.

NEW AREAS AND DUNGEONS

You won’t need to wait for an expansion pack to explore exciting new areas. In the next period, Funcom will include several new areas, as well as evolving already existing areas. This includes a brand new dungeon in Aquilonia, reshaping three dungeons in Stygia, and an entire mountain range in Cimmeria!

Not sure what the "next period" means, but likely over the next few months. They've already started overhauling Pyramid of the Ancients in Stygia, so I guess that was the beginning. New content is ALWAYS a good thing. Especially if it helps avoid that level gap around 60. The more the merrier, I say. Mountain range in Cimmeria? Can you say Frost Giants?

IMPROVED PLAYER-MADE VILLAGES AND BATTLEKEEP SYSTEMS

While the guild alliance system brings a whole new level to the game, Funcom will continue to expand the existing player-made areas and the systems running them. A focus on evolving the massive elements of the game even further continues, ranging from placing NPC’s in the cities to more choices and benefits.

This stuff we already knew was coming. It's been in the works for a while, and hopefully isn't too far off. The cities as they stand now look cool... but do nothing. Looking forward to when they're actually beneficial to our guild.

SOCIAL UPDATES

An MMO is nothing without a good social scene. While Conan is all about crushing your enemies, social enhancements are also getting some love. A fun example is the combo-based dancing system which is now coming to the game, and it’s entirely motion captured by professional dance artists.

Um, okay? I know there are people out there that love the RP stuff, but really it doesn't benefit me at all. Glad to see more social aspects being added though. I'd prefer an overhaul of the UI to dancing though... heh.

MORE ADVENTURES

Age of Conan has received tremendous praise for immersion and the great voice-over quests. This is but the start of the adventure, and numerous new quests are coming into the game, spread across the entire world and across the level ranges. Soon 60 additional quests will also get full voice acting, further improving immersion.

This is great news. One of the best aspects of Tortage was the voice over quests. I know some disagree, but to me voice acting, even the bad kind, is far preferable to just reading text when it comes to immersion. I'm hoping this means that the Destiny Quests are getting more extensive.

No more comments from me, as the rest is not really gameplay related. Hot damn though, Funcom. Deliver on this stuff and you'll have happy customers.

Embracing community feedback since launch several enhancements and fixes have been implemented to Age of Conan, and Funcom has continuously staffed up the service departments to improve customer satisfaction. This has already resulted in a better game experience, but the work will continue. At the heart of all of this stands the Age of Conan community. A lot of the upcoming improvements to the game will be based directly on community feedback, and the wishes and concerns players have when it comes to the future of the game will always be taken into account.

By reading the community websites, official forums and the monthly Clan of Conan newsletter you can expect additional information about upcoming features and released updates, as well as an arena to give your feedback. A new Clan of Conan newsletter is also going live today, with more details on the upcoming features.

LotRO: Experiment Successful

2008-06-13T07:05:00.003-05:00

Let's see how long we can keep this weekly meeting going though. I want Hudson and his brother to catch up to me in Conan because I personally find it far more interesting, but hey... at least I'm not paying for LotRO. And to boot, Turbine's game is one extremely polished beast these days. Whether or not I'll run out of quests in the later levels is also not a worry because I'm not solo.

So I imagine this experiment could take us all the way to Warhammer Online in the fall when we'll be meeting up there for a bit more PvP centric gameplay. If not, I'll just force them both to stick to Conan by holding a gun to their heads (JOKE... and a bad one even).

We started the night a little late because Hudson was stuck on a train with some rowdy and drunk baseball nuts, but by 8:30 PM or so we were in Middle-earth and tearing up the newbie zone... I know, I know we're extremely mighty. You don't have to tell us.

The game's looking rather fantastic in DX10, and I really forgot just how good the music and sound effects in LotRO were. The arrows whizzing by reminded me very much of the movies and that's a good thing. Hud's brother is our resident Legolas, and well... he was pretty much killing everything before we had a chance.

A couple things I like about LotRO despite the rather boring classes? The quest log has been given a major overhaul since I last played and it's now so organized that it's almost like a metagame unto itself. There's icons abound, it tells you exactly who has what quests and if you share them, it lets you know if it's a solo quest, a group quest, or a small group quest. Plus you can read all of your past adventures. It's really what I wish to see in all MMOGs in terms of quest tracking. Good stuff.

One thing's certain though, if I were solo-ing LotRO right now... I'd be bored. It's amazing how in Turbine's game simply grouping makes a huge difference. Now this is true of ALL games in the genre, but in WoW or Conan I don't feel bored when I solo even if it's for hours at a time. In LotRO, it's different. There's something about the pacing of the game that makes it rather dull when you're alone. But party up and you've got a good time on your hands. I guess that suits this little experiment well though so I'm not complaining.

I'll end this recap with a couple of screens in glorious DX10 from our travels last night. Oh, and one last note... LotRO's in-game voice chat sucks. Thank god for Ventrilo.

JoBildo the Dwarven Rock-God!

Shh... I hear buffalo.

Age of Conan - Undocumented Patch Notes for 6/12/2008

2008-06-12T14:50:00.002-05:00

I promised them earlier, and this is what I could find for now. There could be more, but I can't access the official forums at work. This is from the VN Boards. Take some with a grain of salt, while others have been confirmed.

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General
* Outdoor bosses seem to have an upgraded loottable now.
* Drop rate of blue items seems improved
* Harvesting bug introduced in last patch appears to be fixed.

NPCS
* Grey Elite mobs have lost their innate miss chance and damage reduction on significantly higher level characters. (Will hurt high level players farming low level dungeons.) - JoBildo says, "This one was already confirmed by Famine to be a bug. A fix is on the way, likely in next Tuesday's patch. Be careful farming low level dungeons until then.

Player Character's
* crimson shield (mage feat) seems to be working and gives a +HP bonus now

Assassin:
* The cooldown on the Assassin ability "Snap Kick" has been reduced to 45 seconds.

Bear Shaman
* The stamina, mana and health regeneration on the ability "Untamed Regeneration" has been reduced by approximately 40%. Additional damaged recieved has been increased from 10% to 15%.

Herald of Xotli
* Undying Glory of Xotli now gives you shield of risen after the self-res

Confirmed Bugs Introduced
* Gems still do not appear on the Trader after being searched for.
* Stat display errors when equipping de-equipping the gemmed items unless you zone or completely log out and back in (your character as to leave the game world).
* Shields with slots (whether gemmed or not) do not count as shields for combos that require them.
* No type of silk will show on auction house.
* Many reports of major FPS drops in many areas. (will continue to monitor this one for more info)

Possible changes awaiting further verification:
* Many mobs potentially hiting harder than they used to.
* Firelance isn't always registering a hit, after the combo is activated.

LotRO Experiment Begins Tonight

2008-06-12T10:28:00.002-05:00

Tonight's the night. Hudson, his brother, and I are going to attempt to start our weekly LotRO group tonight. I'll be playing a Minstrel in our little trio of awesomeness, which should be interesting as I never did play one in LotRO except for a wee bit during the beta process.

The only thing I've got to take care of before logging into Middle-earth is a few pieces of content for Ten Ton Hammer. Then? It's off to create my little dwarf and hopefully have more fun than I remember having in LotRO. Hudson seems to really be enjoying himself, but I fear the whole time I'll just be wishing I was in Hyboria instead.

We'll see...

Age of Conan Patch Notes - 6/12/2008

2008-06-12T10:17:00.002-05:00

I don't have much to say about my adventures in Age of Conan today because I didn't get much time to play last night. I got to start in the Tarantian Noble District and check out how funky it is to ride atop a Mammoth, but that was about it. So in place of my usual AoC chat, here's today's patch notes! There are some Undocumented ones as well, and I'll post those later. Lots of good stuff in here, especially the fact that my mammoth will now actually serve a purpose as a traveling mount until I can afford my horse.

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Mounts

* The Killer Rhino and War Mammoth have received a minor increase to their trot and gallop speeds. The trot (default movement speed) should now be slightly faster than a jogging player, while the gallop should only be slightly slower than a sprinting player.
* The Standard Horse has received a moderate increase to it's canter and gallop speeds. The canter (default movement speed) should now be equal to a sprinting player, while the gallop should be slightly faster than twice the speed of a jogging player.
* The Armored Horse has received a moderate increase to its canter and gallop speeds. The canter (default movement speed) should now be a slightly faster than a sprinting player, while the gallop should be moderately faster than twice the speed of a jogging player.
* The Swift Horse has received a substantial increase to its canter and gallop speeds. The canter (default movement speed) should now be equal to twice the speed of a jogging player, while the gallop should be only slightly slower than three times the speed of a jogging player.

Player Character

* 18 new robe assets added to the game for the mage classes
* Players can no longer be knocked back while in spellweaving state
* A large number of abilities had a tendency to not trigger in some situations. This should be fixed now.
* The following emotes are now available to both male and female characters: scratchhead, scratcharm, apprehensive, danglefeet, squirm_on_ground, relaxed_lean (new)

Assassin

* Assassins in Unholy Stance will now generate a Soul Fragment from performing a Sneak Attack.

Barbarian

* If a Barbarian performs a unarmed attack after executing their No Escape ability they should no longer slide around without animating their legs.
* Unstoppable should stop functioning when the feat is untrained
* Finishing Blow damage boost after charge should always cancel (even when missing the target) - Finishing blow should scale like this : 1 point = 2x damage, 2 points = 3x damage, 3 points = 4x damage.
* Decapitation feat should scale better when more than one point is spent in the feat.

Conqueror

* There is now a 5 minute cooldown on the resurrection effect gained through your Furious Inspiration ability. This cooldown is on the character offered the resurrection, not the conqueror, so you can still resurrect multiple people in the team, just each of those people cannot be brought back to life by you more than once every 5 minutes.

Demonologist

* Fires of Gehenna (Rank 1) will now correctly inflict fire damage.
* Inferno of Amher (Rank 4) now has the correct casting time.
* Increased the movement speed of all your pets significantly.

Herald of Xotli

* The effect of Demonic Fortitude has been increased to convert 10/15% mana to 10/20% stamina.

Necromancer

* Significantly lowered the manacost of your nukes and dots.
* Increased the movement speed of all your pets significantly.
* Corruptors, Mutilators, Necrotic Bombs and Harvesters will now correctly trigger Bone Horde.
* Pets no longer have the base monster miss chance. They no longer have an innate chance to miss their attacks.
* Fixed Life Leech so that it will tick correctly on a monster that was not initially aggro to you.

Priest of Mitra
* Armor of Faith is no longer cancelled by Holy Light triggering.

Tempest of Set

* Tempest of Set spellweaving should now have all abilities enabled.

Mid Level (40) gameplay improvements

* Field of the Dead: 100 additional mobs have found their way into the the playfield. In addition respawn times have been adjusted on both normal mobs and bosses to improve the playing experience. Also, a number of quests in the playfield have been improved upon.
* Treasury of the Ancient Ones: This Dark dungeon in Khopshef plays like a new dungeon now! It has been revamped with a new event for both solo and group players. Special rewards await those who dare to take the challenge in Epic Mode. And you will no longer fall through the world when climbing up the statues.

Quests

* Quests in the 20 - 40 level range have been checked that all are categorized under the proper locations in the quest journal.
* Den of Wolves: The Plains Wolf population has increased.
* The Curse of the Werewolves: Quest NPCs population has increased. Corinocht Slayers also update the quest now.
* Wolf Hunt: The Yukagi Wolf population has increased.
* Hunting the Vanir: Increased the number of Vanir in the SE camp, also increased their respawn rate.
* Cure for Lycanthropy: Removed Skull of an Alpha Wolf pickup item, this skull can now only be gotten as a loot drop. Added mobs and reduced the respawn time of most mobs.
* Toirdealbach's Tomb: Fixed the respawn rate, fixed the lighting and Toirdealbach's behaviour has been adjusted.
* Water for the Soldiers in Thunder River: Updated the waypoint for Guard Captain Marcus.
* Wagon Wreck: Added a missing waypoint for the quest The Wagon Wreck.
* The Chieftain's Vengeance: Updated waypoints for the goals "Destroy Vanir Supply Crates" and "Kill Crazed Vanir" in the quest "The Chieftain's Vengeance".
* Finding Safe Passage: The player now has to kill 7 Lupine Hunters. The waypoint has also been tweaked.
* Cure for Lycanthropy: Added the missing waypoint to the "Collect Wolf Blood".
* Wagon Wreck: Removed the level requirement for the handing in of the quest Wagon Wreck. The player will now see the ? above the NPCs head.
* A Silver Bracelet: Fixed requirements on Bartholomo's dialogue, so he won't show destiny dialogue during daytime.
* Phoenix of the South: Made sure the destiny quests are resolved and spawned in the right order, to prevent full quest journals to break the destiny quest.
* The Awakening I: The quest reward has received a revamp based on feedback.
* The Awakening I: An intermittent stall when watching the cutscene "Nadini's Vision" in the Destiny Quest has been resolved.
* In Defense of Beauty: quest can be completed now.
* Get Mantis Scales: The description was improved to better indicate where to get the scales.
* Chaos in the Fortress: Burning the tents will now provide team credit.
* Emerald Eyes: Quest classification has been corrected.
* Family Matters: Quest description has been corrected.
* Khopshef Province Quest: Updated the waypoint to Rami's Position
* Kalutma: The dialogue has been tweaked to be more logical.
* Lions and Lambs: The quest cannot be 'stolen' by other players now.
* Lost Bottles: Wine bottles will correctly show as quest items in the world.
* Seven Years: The text has been updated to be more accurate.
* The Worshippers' Demise: Certain NPCs on white sands have been eating those worshippers with glee and will now have a much higher chance of dropping their gems.
* Ante Up: Giants Approaching has had it's quest marker adjusted so that it appears in the proper location.
* Path of the Raven: Rogan will now give the player 3 feathers for the quest.
* Conall's Valley - Destroying the Ymir Totem has been updated to reward group credit.

Items

* Champion of the Honorguard now correctly drops T1 shoulders for Priest of Mitra instead of T3 shoulder for Ranger.
* Herald of Xotli raid gear has been fixed and should now offer proper bonuses
* Widowdusk Fauld should appear correctly now in inventory and in game.
* Crafted crossbows should now appear correctly in the character's hand.
* Updated item names to Gold Carcanet and Filigree Gold Carcanet
* Fair Meat: will no longer end up in the quest inventory.
* Drinking cape should no longer clip with chest item
* Polearms are now all of the same length
* Katars are now held and animated correctly

NPC

* Field of the Dead: The dusk wolf pack has developed an aversion for bridges, and has changed hunting grounds.
* Waudreen has been resupplied with an ample amount of armor.
* The Champion of the Honorguard now uses its correct abilities again.
* Toirdealbach's reset behaviour has been fixed.
* Wulfere has lost his overly large belly, and gotten a head that is the same color as his body
* Sergeant Vargus and his troopers have gotten a visual overhaul
* Obenathis got a visual update
* Fixed so the Axeman play they're animation when they get back up.
* City of Tortage: The Town crier has realised he is not Cimmerian. He is Stygian. So he can, in fact, cry... and he now will.
* Conalls Valley: Hydallan has had a potential dialogue loop fixed.
* Conall's Valley: Kinkaid's dialogue has been tweaked.
* Pyramid of the Ancient: Pashi dialogue updated.
* Captain Mycus's dialogue has been updated to reflect his new career as a wagoner.
* Alyssa in the Thirsty Dog Inn has had a false level warning removed.
* Stygian Soldiers in Khopshef now correctly attack the wolves when they are out hunting.

Tradeskills

* Gemmed items should now work (giving bonuses) and viewing them should no longer crash the client.

Playfields

* You should no longer get stuck in Renton's House.
* There should no rain and lightning in Toirdelbach's Tomb now

General

* Combat-dodge animations updated for both Male and Female characters. Females now seem faster when dodging.
* Victim of "I eat your heart" will not fall into the attacker's mesh anymore.
* Picts will no longer raise their eyebrows at people after having been killed by a fatality
* Players should now use proper animations when interacting with items while swimming.
* Players should now have a correct landing animation when jumping.
* Character Creation: Avatars can no longer be rotated after selecting enter game.
* Doing a fatality will no longer cause your character to increase in size.
* Polearm fatalities now collide with the victim properly and show more blood
* More client and server crashes resolved.

Age of Conan - LordOrion Leaks Some New Armor Screens

2008-06-11T11:21:00.004-05:00

LordOrion over on the European Age of Conan forums recently divulged in THIS THREAD and THIS ONE a brand new screen of some of the game's forthcoming PvP armor. This one in particular is for the Ranger. And there's lots more to come it seems in terms of all types of armor and weapons for all classes.

Let's face it, the players and the devs both know that itemization is screwed up and that there's a serious need of more interesting stuff for our characters to wear. Now, for certain, it seems they're definitely working on it and we should see the fruits of Funcom's labor over the next few weeks.

Can't wait to see what my little snake-woshipper will be donning down the road. Apparently we'll hear more about their plans for PvP and other updates this Friday. Also worth mentioning is that the rumored PvP-Prison system WILL NOT be in the game because it just isn't ever a good idea to make even the annoying and hated players of your game suffer. If anything, just ban the bastards, right? There will be some other sort of consequence for griefing, ganking, and lowbie camping... but we'll just have to wait and see what they come up with.

LotRO - An Experiment In Middle-Earth

2008-06-11T10:01:00.002-05:00

Gasp! Bildo's talking about LotRO! He must assuredly be sick of Age of Conan and we should quickly harpoon him!

Just getting your thoughts out of the way before I go into this. Recently, Hudson's having a bit of a confusing time with MMOGs. He's in the Warhammer beta, apparently really loving it, but like any beta tester he of course wants to be experiencing games where his progress is a bit more permanent.

Over the course of the summer and up until Warhammer's release, he plans on revisiting some previous MMOGs to see how they're shaping up. LotRO is one of those he plans to check out again. Now, I'm not about to pay $15 for an experiment I'm not sure I'll even really enjoy, but over the next some odd Thursday nights I'll be using my father in law's lifetime account (hooray for free play!) to venture anew into Middle-earth as a Dwarven Minstrel on Meneldor with Hudson and his brother in our little static group to see just how much fun is still to be had in Turbine's game.

I doubt I'll see the end-game before I either quit on it again or Warhammer comes out and Conan plus WAR demand all of my attention, but at least with a static group won't have much trouble doing group quests and we'll for sure always have someone to party with.

Should prove to be a good time, regardless of how much progress we make. The only kink I see in the cogs is that I might very well feel like playing Age of Conan the entire time... if only Hudson would get his ass out of Tortage already!

Age of Conan - The Sanctum of the Burning Souls

2008-06-11T07:34:00.005-05:00

I logged into Conan last night around 8pm expecting to play for an hour or so before I logged out and got ready for bed... that one hour turned into roughly 3 as Brendon (my buddy) and I ended up joining 3 other guild members and another non-guilded player in the Sanctum of the Burning Souls - Age of Conan's first real group dungeon. It's not that the dungeon took 3 hours though. The actual running of the place only took about 60-70 minutes. It was the logging in, getting Brendon set up on Vent, running to the dungeon and getting started in general that took the other 2 hours. Thank Jeebus for fun chat on Vent or that first 120 minutes would have been really boring. But the dungeon itself?

Hot damn... the best time I've had in an MMOG since my first Van Cleef run back in 2004's WoW or at least since that last time I ran a dungeon in any MMOG. I honestly can't remember the last one I ran either... it has to have been almost a year ago now.

It's not that the dungeon was particularly well scripted either. It was essentially a basic mob clear then tank and spank on the bosses. But there's something special about being in a new game and seeing sights unseen for the first time. The loot was good there, is not especially helpful to a Tempest of Set (though I did get some nice upgraded boots which you might see on my character in a few of the screens below. Very "Cimmerian" looking.

The setting was appropriately atmospheric and wonderous. Lots of creepy crawlies, undead, and religious fanatics throughout. On top of it all, I had about 6 or 7 quests for this place and I managed to get them all done in one run. And even without turning them in (though a couple finished just by completing the objectives) I managed to go from the beginning of 39 all the way to level 40. That's right, JoBildo can now ride his Mammoth! Though when I tried to do so after leaving the dungeon I got stuck on the terrain and had to log out... Mr. Mammoth will be ridden tonight then.

Anyway, there's not a whole lot to really tell you about strategy in this place. Like I said it's pretty much an exercise in tanking and spanking the bosses, a good introduction to how healing full groups and tanking will work later. Really, what's oddest now about Conan to me seems to be the extreme emphasis on AOE not only in damaging spells, but also healing. So what happens in groups like ours last night is that we basically all huddle around the mobs, the DPS guys go nuts, the Tanks try to hold aggro, and the healers are behind them all casting their AOE heals and the occasional damage spell. Very different from the stand back and heal, or stand back and cast approach I'm used to.

Overall it was a really good time, and my wife particularly enjoyed the sound of one of our guild members' voice (he's Australian). Hoping this is the start of many successful dungeon runs in Age of Conan.

Now for the pics of our little adventure. Sorry if they're a bit dark... I didn't think they'd be so shadowy. But you can get the gist from them. Just click to see it bigger. Hope they're at least semi-visible...

The Validity of Online Tech Training

2008-06-10T13:03:00.002-05:00

Here's an odd post, and I'm looking at Tipa and Saylah with this one for sure.

I recently graduated with my degree in Web Design, but it's more of a graphical degree and there's a part of me that VERY much still wants the technical knowledge of things like PHP, MySQL, and the like. Problem is, I can't afford the time needed or the price of the official MySQL classes. Nor can I afford to take out more loans for a full college degree.

In my eyes, that leaves online courses that can range anywhere from fifty to two-hundred dollars in price for unlimited use. I am VERY comfortable in online learning and quite disciplined when it comes to such education. I've been doing online school for two years now.

My question is, would these types of training be worth the relatively small investment? Here's one of the site's I'm looking into: LINK. To all those developers and techies out there, does this sort of training seem viable to someone who needs more than a book to learn by?

Sid Meier and Company Revisiting Colonization

2008-06-10T12:15:00.001-05:00

Hell YES!

Colonization, as a child, was my first foray into the wonderfully addictive genre known as the 4X game that Sid Meier helped pioneer.

I for one am very enthused to see that the game's being updated. Which also reminds me that the console version of Civilization is out this week. Might have to spend 60 bucks and get lost in the "Just One More Turn" haze that I do so love.

Anyway, just wanted to share that bit of news with those of you who might care. Can't wait to take the Spaniards to the New World!

Age of Conan: Necromancers Getting Some Love Soon (tm)

2008-06-10T10:39:00.005-05:00

Massively is reporting that Jayde of Funcom has come out and stated some major overhaul changes for the way Age of Conan's Necromancer works... and in a good way no less! Power to the rulers of the undead!

Here's a snippet:

FunCom system designer Jayde has announced the next step in the retooling of some of Age of Conan's more gimped classes. After Demonologists got a survivability and damage boost, many players thought Assassins would be the next in line. They still might be - there's no clue to the content of this Thursday's patch - but it's the Necromancers whose future looks intriguing right now.

The focus is squarely on pets: the Necromancer looks set to become a true pet class, reminiscent of the Mastermind from City of Villains. 'The balance and progression of the class is being altered to introduce 2 pet points every 5 levels after level 5, resulting in all 8 base pet points being available at level 20 instead of at level 70.' Access to ad hoc bonus pet points is also being improved, with a rework to the Nightfall feat tree. For those unacquainted with the Necromancer, this means they will have a lot more undead at their command throughout their careers than they used to. Age of Conan deals with Necromancer pets on a point-based system, allowing players to choose whether they want a lot of weaker pets, a few strong ones, or a mix.

Continue reading AoC: Necromancers in line for radical changes

Age of Conan: The Pyramid of Ancients and Multi-Sided Boobs

2008-06-10T07:22:00.005-05:00

I spent a couple of hours playing Age of Conan last night. The patch seems to have really cleaned up the game even more. Hills and mountain sides are now much easier to traverse, and going down a steep incline doesn't result in my character getting stuck on some odd pathing blockage.

The experience points needed to level in the early to mid-game really has been decreased, but apparently the experience needed to level from about 75+ has been increased to balance this out. Not a bad idea to ease the pain of the mid-game, Funcom. Not bad at all. From what I've seen said on the forums, it's not 70-80 that need more quests, it's the late 30s and the late 50s. Now, I'm nearly 39 and I've still got a butt-load of quests, but then I also ended up doing two of the 20+ areas in Khopshef and the Wild Lands which is probably not the most ideal of leveling paths. One shouldn't have to do gray and green quests to level up. I'm not complaining, just saying that it goes against the grain of MMOG design and in an odd way.

Anyway, I finished up a few lower level quests that were still in my log which pushed me last bit of the way to 38. The new experience curve had cut the amount of experience I needed to level nearly in half, so that was a welcome change. Now 2 levels away from being able to ride my War Mammoth, I headed once again to Khopshef province where I had some upper 30s quests that were finally yellow in my quest log. The place I had to go into was called the Pyramid of Ancients, a level 38 or so solo-able dungeon of massive scale and winding paths that's altogether very easy to get lost in.

There were eunuchs galore around the place, trying to kill me with all of their testicle-less might. My goal was two-fold upon entering. To find a man's brother (presumed dead) and to seek the scourge of Khopshef Province and end his reign. I managed to find the man's brother (or the 4 pieces of him that were left), and I did end the life of the being that reigned darkness over Khopshef... but the quest for the latter didn't update at all so I'm afraid I'll have to try it again or just give up on it for the foreseeable future. Yep, another bugged quest.

However there were a few good things that came of this adventure. The first was a sheer shower of experience inside the place by killing mobs alone. I went from barely 1/15th of the way into 38 to nearly 39 in about 90 minutes of playing around in this Pyramid. I also managed to get a few good drops off of the mobs in this place, included a bitchin' looking new one-handed mace which I'll screen shot later. Lastly, the best thing of the night was undoubtedly the oddity that is Age of Conan's female anatomy. See below...

All in all it was a good night. I plan on trying that bugged quest one more time tonight, and finishing a few others I have in the area. And if there's time after I finish this week's "Lost In Hyboria" I might be able to get a Sanctum of the Burning Souls group going. The Sanctum is Age of Conan's first true full-group dungeon, and I'm itching to give it a go.

If not, I'll just keep chatting up Hudson and Saylah who have both joined the TTH guild recently. Yep, Hyboria so far is proving to be a very good investment.

Cheers!

Age of Conan - Undocumented Patch Notes for 6/9/2008

2008-06-09T11:36:00.004-05:00

Found these undocumented changes on the VN boards. Not sure why Funcom wouldn't include these in their official patch notes, except for the fact that maybe their note writer simply isn't on top of things. They're all great changes. Especially the experience change.

If that one's as true as it seems, they very likely just helped a lot of the problems with grinding at least for those who had yet to hit the leveling gaps. In the official notes, they also stated that Elite mobs and bosses are now properly giving more experience, so playing through those instances now have yet ANOTHER benefit. Take a look, the bold italics are my own emphasis.

General
* Horses move faster
* You no longer fall through the Guild City gates
* Party members now show on zone maps (this was in before this patch).
* Summon to Instance is now enabled. * Trade skill resource stacking has been improved
* Experience to level has been slightly reduced. * Some of the Hyborian Foliage has taken a vacation.
* 'Crouch' ability added, allowing you to slowly move through others. crouch is 200% slower then not-rogue hide and after using crouch you get -100% PvP defence rating.
* 'Ambience' sound slider in Audio Options removed.
* Some Bugged resources have been sorted
* Hair still sticks through your helmet but is now the right color rather then blonde.
* Guard AI greatly improved.
* dance ability now tells you of combos
* Regional chat is now in so you can chat with players multiple zones away.
* Attributes (Str, dex, wis, con, int) now have different describtions aparantly. No other changes regarding attributes at this time. Adding to STR still does not increase attack rating. Same for INT and Magic Attack.

Guardian
* Overreach reduced in power. Apprently reduced by 40-60% damage. Strikes that were hitting for 1200-1500 overreach III now hitting for 600-700

Herald of Xotli
* Fire Lance reduced in stamina cost, damage and is now a 2-step Combo. Reduction seems to be ~25-40%

Possible Bugs
-Necro spell Mark of the Devourer broken. Persists on target even after your death, causing you to res with aggro and be ganked by mobs at the spawn point.
-Reports of some resource nodes having problems similar to the previous Cotton bug. Unable to confirm yet.

Exp Change Confirmation
- Lower xp per lvl confirmed, ~72000 before patch, 60100 now.
at lvl 33.
- lvl 52 HoX, last patch the XP I needed for next level was around 320k, this patch it was 280k.

Letter from Dev Regarding Mount Issues in Age of Conan

2008-06-09T08:43:00.003-05:00

Just found this little letter from Sharum concerning mounts and the speed issue that seems to come with them... as in they don't have any speed boost at all. Now, another issue in my book is the cost. 3 gold for a horse by level 40 when I have 24silver at 37 seems like an insurmountable cost. I would say either lower the cost to 1 gold or raise the level needed to be able to ride, but those decisions aren't up to me. Anyway, here's the letter for those affected by the Mount bug.

---------------------------

Greetings fellow Hyborian Adventurers!

There has been a lot of activity lately, both on these boards and in-game, due to the way Mounts are currently performing in Age of Conan. While there has been little-to-none official feedback on the subject so far, I am happy to finally be a part of this community and able to shed some light on what I perceive as the most pressing concerns.

1) Mounting up doesn't increase my speed at all!

Without going into complex and, quite possibly, boring details it's worth mentioning that we've tracked down the bug that caused this, and that it has been fixed internally. Basically what happens is that, when you mount up, your new movement-speed isn't being read correctly; resulting in your speed being exactly the same regardless of whether or not you are mounted. Unfortunately I can't promise an exact date when the fix to this issue will be applied on the Live servers, but I can offer you a functional work-around; after having mounted up simply draw, or sheathe, your weapon. By doing this the game will once again attempt to read your movement-speed, and it will be applied correctly.

2) My Horse is too slow (even after the work-around)

If this is one of your concerns, you will be happy to know that I am personally feeding our stock of proud hyborian steeds some extra vitamins this week; which should result in an overall speed increase for all types of Horses. The increase won't, by any means, be massive; but it should go a long way towards making these mounts more useful and desired.

3) My Rhino/Mammoth is too slow

Yes, they are both very slow creatures in-game. I know that this has been, and most likely will continue to be, a topic that is being discussed to great length; but a decision was made shortly after new year that, for the sake of balancing things out, we needed them both to have the same movement-speed. The War Mammoth is still slightly harder to kill, and the Killer Rhino is still a bit easier to maneuver, but when it comes to moving forward they will both run at the same speed. With that being said, I am happy to say that they're also being fed vitamins, albeit a smaller dose than the horses, and will as a consequence move slightly faster.

4) My Rhino/Mammoth is useless outside of certain scenarios

If, by useless, you mean ineffective in PvE combat scenarios or as traveling mounts, then yes; you are indeed correct. These mounts were, from the start, designed to be a fearsome weapon in siege warfare and not something you would climb to the top of just to either ride from A to B or slaughter a group of unsuspecting picts. When it comes to their usability in siege warfare we would like to put off any further balancing until guilds around the world have started par-taking in this activity on a more or less regular basis. Tweaking something "just right" is never easy, and making something "overpowered" is equally bad to making something "nerfed".

5) I need to purchase Basic Riding in order to get my Mammoths/Rhinos special abilities

If you don't plan on purchasing Basic Riding for any other purposes, I would advise you to save your money. You were meant to get these skills automatically when claiming your pre-order mount, and just as intended this will be the case once the respective bug-fix goes Live. Consequently, players whom have purchased Basic Riding already will have to do another /claim after the patch introducing these changes in order to get the respective abilities back on their Ability page; and players who aren't meant to have access to these skills (i.e. players without pre-order mounts) will find them removed from their Ability page.

Allow me to end this, my very first post on the official forums, by saying that I am thrilled to see the amount of feedback coming in already, and that I try to read through as much of it every day as my free time allows. I might not always reply, even in the future, but I do my best to listen to what the players say and take it with me into our design meetings as suggestions for what to implement something new or how to implement something already existing. Naturally, I cannot accommodate every wish of every player, but I will at least endeavor to make the community feel that it is being listened to.

Thank you all for reading!
__________________
Svein Erik "Sharum" Jenset
Funcom Oslo AS

Age of Conan - Level 37 and Nearing the Infamous Wall

2008-06-09T07:47:00.002-05:00

I did some serious leveling in just a few hours this weekend in Age of Conan. Went from 33 to 37 in the course of about 5 hours. The leveling speed in Hyboria is an odd beast. It seems the developers want their players to plough through 1 to 40 within 36 hours or so, but yet they claim it should take players 250 hours to hit the cap. That would leave 214 hours for levels 41 through 80. Something tells me that either their math is off or that the mountain from 41 to 80 is going to be a steep one.

I should be 40 by the end of this week (yay, War Mammoth!) and from what I can gather this is where the leveling does indeed slow down though not from a sudden increase in experience needed so much as a sudden decrease in the amount of quests available. Around level 55 is where it seems most people have issues and end up resorting to purely grinding. I'm not sure how true this is even as I have quite a few guildies in their 60s who claim to have not run out of quests to do yet. But they may also be the kind of players who spend plenty of time just hunting while they quest. Meanwhile I can think of at least one player in my guild who got so sick of the grind around 60 that he just started a new character to wait out the fresh content.

So really, I guess what it's going to come down to is just how it goes for me. I do tend to spend time killing mobs when I find a good spot. Not really grinding so much as just clearing out an area before I move on. It's a habit I developed when I was playing WoW because of the mob density there. So for all I know that might end up helping me out. Or maybe if I'm lucky by the time I really hit that wall the new 55-60 zone will be in the game. 60 and up from what I can gather is much less of a trouble spot, though some folks are reporting issues leveling there too.

Ah the lovely first 3 months of a new MMOG. Everyone running around trying to figure out how to play the game and little or big holes in content get uncovered at a pace that shocks even the most seasoned developer.

I'll keep you posted on JoBildo's progress. With any luck, it'll be smooth sailing. Without any luck, Bildo (Herald of Xotli or maybe Dark Templar) will be born to take over for a while. Time will tell.

Why, Funcom, Why?!

2008-06-08T19:43:00.003-05:00

Why on earth do you make me wait 5 levels for a new spell when you apparently keep them horded for one mass handout? I mean, really... 6 new spells?

It's not that I'm not appreciative, but I could have used some of those during the previous 4 levels.

Age of Conan: Dinged 33 and the Importance of Destiny Quests

2008-06-06T09:51:00.010-05:00

I played some more Conan last night (of course) and after a bit of time questing in The Maze (a spider infested area of the Wild Lands), I suddenly remember that I still had my level 30 Destiny Quest to do back in Khemi.

Sadly, like a tool I forgot to take screen shots as I was at once wrestling both an oncoming bio-break and the dark mistress that is time herself. It was nearing my boiling point for sleep-deprivation but I needed to finish this quest, the same way one needs to finish a whole bowl of pasta from Macaroni Grill. It simply HAD to be done.

So anyway, the quest involved finding the second piece of the Phoenix Medallion (which I received from my time spent in Tortage with the Strom quest-line). Apparently it was being guarded in some sacred caves by Slaves of Acheron for Thoth-Amon (the game's prinicple baddy). First I had to find my way into these caves, which was no easy task as there didn't seem to be a way up top to the mountain the entrance rested on. I spent about 15 minutes running around before I asked my guild if they knew anything about it.

Luckily, it appears the Destiny Quest from level 30 on is the same for all classes (or maybe unluckily?) so my good pal Sardu pointed me to the area where a very indistinguishable climbing point rested waiting for me to vault it.

Now this is very important: PUT POINTS INTO YOUR CLIMBING SKILL. Luckily, I had been. But you absolutely need climbing of (I think) 150 to get up to this summit. So bear that in mind as you level. You may not climb often, but you need it here. You can always change it back after the quest, just remember that you need it for this particular and very important part of the game's main quest line.

Anyway, I won't spoil anything but the quest inside the caves is rather fun and a very cool atmosphere if not altogether very original. As an extra boon, my squishy Tempest of Set got a Rare shield off the final boss called the "Blood Guard" which was a huge improvement over my previous shield and looks positively wicked to boot.

One little MINOR SPOILER here. Once you defeat the boss and get the piece of the medallion you were there for, the only way out was down and into a pool of water and then swimming out. Very fun to take a 100 foot leap into a pool of water... if only they'd programmed the characters to do a swan dive.

When I turned the quest in, I got to recover a bit more of my lost memory and in doing so I was able to choose one of two permanent stat buffs. For the priest class this means either a boost to your mana regeneration rate or a boost to your pool of mana.

As a Thunder spec'd ToS I really didn't need the mana regen. I get enough of that from Storm Crown and my Idol of Set (seriously, I'm NEVER out of mana), so I went with the boost to my actual mana reserves. I didn't check the exact numbers but I'm fairly confident it was a few hundred at least. I wish I would have paid more attentiont know the exact amount it gave though.

Apparently this trend of additional stats when completing the Destiny Quests continues at level 50 and again at 60 and 80 (I believe) which is when the other main Destiny Quests are doable. And why wouldn't you do them? They're fully voiced, they usually involve some pretty wicked enemies, and they have a genrally good story to follow. My only gripe is that they don't happen often enough. I hope Funcom goes the way of LotRO here and adds more and more to the DQ line with each update.

Good stuff, indeed. I'm actually a little sad at the fact that I'm going to the movies tonight and not going home to play. Now I know I've got Conan-itis.

Cheers!

Level 32 and Thoughts on Grinding in Age of Conan

2008-06-05T07:26:00.004-05:00

I spent about an hour and a half in Hyboria last night and managed to "ding" 32 before my time was done. I was hoping for closer to 33, but I ran into a bit of a snag, one that was more self-induced than anything else.

I was trying to do a quest called "The Wounded Child" in the Wild Lands of Zelata, which involves finding and talking to a wounded blind child somewhere in the vicinity of a lot of level 32+ big ol' bears and quite a few leper bandits around the mid 30s. The problem is, she was no where to be found. After waiting for her to spawn for a while, I finally asked my guildmates and in the OOC channel if the quest was broken. And of course... it was.

I was ready to head back to more civilized areas of the game, somewhere safe to sell my items and check the Trader, when I realized just how close to 32 I was at the time. Then it dawned on me... if there really is a hefty gap in the leveling process in terms of quests it'd be a wise choice to see just how unbearable pure mob grinding is in Age of Conan.

The key to grinding in Hyboria is to make sure you're always taking on mobs your level or higher. Pretty much anything below your current level won't be worth the time. But I was around level 32+ bears and mid 30s bandits, I was golden. It turns out when you're taking on 2-3 mobs at a time that are above your level by 1-3 levels (thanks to my healing abilities), the XP comes in pretty quick order. In fact, counting the time it takes to travel for all the questing, I'd say my leveling speed was about on par with the amount of time it was taking me via mostly quests.

Yes indeed, it seems grinding is a pretty effective way to level with the Tempest of Set thanks to the ability to heal myself and take on multiple mobs adequately with my AOE spells. I imagine it would be a little rougher with a class that can't heal. But seeing as that's not me at the moment... I don't really care.

This little experiment basically said to me that I could handle "grinding" if I end up having to do so for a bit before the content Mr. Godager referenced in his recent letter gets put into the live client. I don't imagine I'll enjoy it as much as questing, but that's just my play preference. The key is that grinding in Conan is a viable way to level, unlike LotRO where experience gain was so slow when just killing mobs.

Do I want to have to grind? Not at all. But at least now I know I can tolerate it in Age of Conan. If I get to the point where I have to do it to level I still might find myself subscribing to a second game while I wait on the added quests Funcom's working on, something to scratch that need to quest in an MMOG... but at least I won't get sick to my stomach at the sudden wall I find myself facing when I run out of quests.

Yep, thanks to the brisque nature of combat in Hyboria grinding's not so bad. It's not great... but I'm fairly certain it won't send me screaming from the game if it comes down to it. Good to know, I guess. I just hope Funcom outpaces me and gets that filler content into the game sooner rather than later.

Age of Conan - Letter from Gaute Godager

2008-06-04T09:54:00.004-05:00

Yesterday the main honcho behind Funcom's Age of Conan, Gaute Godager, let loose a nice long letter to the community detailing what the team's plans are for the game in the next couple of months and throughout the summer. I'll paste the bulk of the letter here in bold with my own thoughts on his words in italics. Here we go...

Fellow Hyborians!

As you may have noticed we have had frequent patches the last two weeks. We hope this will soon start to quiet down, but as long as there are major issues – and there have been – we will dedicate the Conan team to fixing them and giving you these fixes as soon as possible! We have a plan on how to move this game forward because as you know, what you have today is but the platform – the dawn of this world. I hope you enjoy the game as is, but I can ensure you, this is but the beginning!

Our focus from now on can be summarized by these points:

We will add content, specifically in mid-late thirties and mid-late fifties and make the leveling speed smoother in those areas, reducing the need to grind.

We will have an overhaul of the PvP system – adding consequence and a host of small things.

We are fixing bugs you reported through all channels we can get information from.
We will add a new large outdoor region in the 55-60 range this summer!

This is only a small taster! More information about the exciting summer and fall Roadmap will come the end of the next week!

We are staffing up Customer Service, Quality Assurance and Community departments!

1. Filling “thin areas” in our content

We have seen that there are certain level ranges of these Hyborian Adventures that do not have the amount of quality we wish them to have. Most specifically these are the end of the Thirties and the end of the Fifties level ranges. We are addressing this in several ways.

Several mid-late thirties dungeons are getting a complete overhaul (Black Castle, Pyramid of the Ancients and Treasury of the Ancients). Several quests are being made fuller and more entertaining. If people wish to revisit these quests, we will add a system to let them try them out again. We are adding first a batch of quests in Eiglophian Mountains (lvls 55+). We are also adding in a bunch of quests that didn’t quite make it for launch in the 30+ areas. Around 60 quests through the game have been flagged as “Lore Quests”. They will now be patched out with full Voice-Over. (Roughly 1 quest per level after level 20)

Basically, this is exactly what I wanted to see on this roadmap more than anything else from a personal standpoint. As long-time readers of my blog might know, I tend to get frustrated and quit on games that don't have questing content from level 1 to the finish line. WoW spoiled me and there's no going back. Even with Conan's fantastic combat, I doubt I'd be very enthused to hit 50 and find myself with little to do outside of killing mobs to level. Sure questing pretty much is exactly that, but the idea of mini-objectives with large experience rewards and monetary ones as well helps mask what would otherwise be mindless repetitive grinding. Here's hoping this makes it into the game before I get stalled in the upper levels. If not, it's either going to be alt time or back to TR for a little while.

2. Overhauling the PvP System

People like our open PvP system. There are many plans on how to give this open free PvP even more meaning and Purpose. In the meantime we will be doing some smaller tweaks, and we plan to get these out sometimes in June. I will not go into 100% detail here, but that will come next week! What I can promise is:

An update on how sneaking and perception works in PvP (nothing major, but an adjustment).

A change in the amount of information you get when you hover over an other player.

An added system of consequence to “ganking”. (Killing much-much lower level players).

A system of adding consequence to losing a PvP match, and winning a PvP match + turning on PvP Leveling.

A change in how Crowd Control (Root, Knockback etc) works in PvP.

PvP gear.

This really doesn't affect me too much yet, as I'm not focused on the mini-games or siege warfare until much later in my character's life, but the simple fact is that the PvP system as it is now is without any real purpose or rewards for those who engage in it. Only those few guilds who have made it to owning their own Battlekeep might have anything to gain or lose by PvP, while the majority of folks really have no reason to engage other than the sport of it right now. Some sort of reward system is needed, and I'm glad to see it's on the drawing board of more important things. WoW didn't have a real PvP system until months after launch, but I'd rather see it sooner here in a game that's MEANT to have PvP as a main draw at the end-game.

3. New Massive Region

We will unveil this location later, but it will feature a host of quests, new monsters and places of dreams or horror. It will be styled towards the players in the late 50s and bridge the experience on the way to Atzels Approach. We have plans for releasing several of the areas that didn’t quite make it for the release.

Hell yes. Though the part about "areas that didn't quite make it for the release" bugs me, because I wonder just how much was cut out due to wanting to hit the May 20th mark. We know that WAR's not coming until the Fall or Winter, so why wouldn't their publishing give them a bit more time to flesh out the game? It would have only boosted the already killer sales the game's seeing (well over 500,000 sold so far but it's the retention that's key). I'm anxious to see this zone, and if all goes well it'll come at the perfect time for me.

4. Fixing bugs and increasing Customer Service

Funcom has always prided ourselves with having great customer satisfaction. The success so far for this title has left us with the need to increase the size of CS. This will go in parallel with the constant fixing of bugs and other issues that lead people to petition. Included in this is even better testing of the game by increasing the size of Quality Assurance and informing you better about changes by staffing up the Community Department. I know a blurb like this will haunt me always, but I will still venture one: We aren’t satisfied until all our customers are! You know we had a very, very difficult launch of Anarchy-Online! That was a very painful process for all of us working on it – 4 years. You might not understand how driven we are to make sure you enjoy this game, and all the support around it!

The CS part of this one doesn't really matter to me, as I think in nearly 10 years of online gaming I've only used customer service a handful of times. Mind you, I'm all for it but I'm not sure how much it will affect me personally. I've heard some shady reports about Funcom's timliness in terms of their CS staff, so here's hoping that it does indeed improve.

What matters more is the "fixing bugs" part of the equation. Despite the overall playability of the game, there are a TON of bugs. Nothing gamebreaking for me, but we gamers are spoiled at this point byt the relative smoothness of WoW (yes that game again), and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit disappointed by some of the wonkiness left in Hyboria. It's early though, and the fact that they've got this much laid out ahead of them does A LOT to instill faith.

I believe Funcom knows what it takes to make a game exciting and fresh for years. Loyal followers of Anarchy Online will tell you the same. The key for them will doing so in a timely and non-buggy manner. I worry that when WAR or Lich King hits, if AoC isn't in a much better state content wise than it is now, it will lose a lot of steam and never really regain it. They've done a great job of getting box sales, but they need to retain those customers by proving to them that they're 15 bucks is well spent on Hyborian Adventures.

I'm rooting for you Funcom. This is one fine game already, but it needs much more to keep our ADHD gamer brains glued to the screen for the long term. Don't let us down.

Leveling Like Mad - And Thanks To Settar

2008-06-03T07:55:00.003-05:00

I spent a couple hours Sunday when I got home and then a few yesterday on my last day off playing Age of Conan and managed to go from level 26 to 31 in that time. At first, I wasn't sure I'd make much progress as a lot of my quests involved running around the world and just visiting people for various little deeds. But eventually I wrapped up what quests I had at the time in Khopshef and made my way to the Wild Lands of Zelata outside of Old Tarantia... and it was quests galore all over again.

I filled my log to the point where I couldn't take any more quests between this new zone and some of the gathering quests I was still working on. That's the first time that's happened to me in AoC. Now, some of the quests are gray for me as I entered the area at level 29 but they don't give any less experience upon completion than they would when I was of appropriate level. The mobs I had to kill for them gave less, but not the quests them selves.

So anyone who finds themselves at level 30 wondering what's next, bear in mind that Funcom apparently wants you to do all 3 nations' level 20-30+ areas in order to hit the mid 40s. Bad design? Maybe. But I'm the kind of person who doesn't mind doing gray con quests so long as they give experience and monetary rewards.

The downside? Going through with an alt won't be as exciting as there won't be a new area to explore.

I've also been hearing plenty of reports that leveling slows down big time in the 50s and 60s, as quests start to thin out until level 70 or so. Sounds to me a like WoW's 45-50 gap, and LotRO's 35-45 gap. I'm hoping that with this advanced knowledge I can spend some extra time grinding on mobs for cash and extra experience to help avoid some of this. I'm hearing that it's damn near impossible to have the 3 gold needed for both mount training and the actual mount at level 40, so I'm goin to have to go farming anyway to get that ride, or at least the ability to ride my free Mammoth from pre-ordering.

That brings me to my last point of the day. BIG props to Settar for creating and maintaining a great blog on the Tempest of Set, and more importantly an excellent detailed leveling blog. Settar's Tempest of Set Blog is of immense use to me as a ToS myself, but moreso I'm digging his leveling journals as they help me see what's in store for me in the weeks to come.

Good stuff, Settar. Keep it coming.

Home Again

2008-06-02T10:42:00.003-05:00

I'm back from vacation... and as usual it seemed both at once too short and too long. By the 4th day I was missing my Stuff-Storage Unit and my two dogs. However, I was also deeply enjoying the oceanfront property we rented and the waves that I swam with daily.

It's an odd thing, vacation. You spend a whole year yearning for one, then (at least for me) when I finally get one and get out of town I find myself missing the normalcy of home before it's over.

What would solve this? Moving to the beach of course. Now there just remains the little problem of how I'll finance a million dollar home on said beach. I promise that once I figure that out, I'll let you all know.

Regular posting will resume tomorrow from work, most likely. I have an interview for a web designer position in the afternoon and I'll be playing catch up at the office most of the morning but you never know. Something might strike my fancy to post on.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go see if the patcher for Conan is up yet.

Age of Conan Leveling Flowchart

2008-05-28T14:26:00.003-05:00

I'm still at the beach, but it's raining pretty nastily right now with buttloads of jellyfish all over the beach so I'm taking a little time to chill with the laptop. One of our TTH Guild members posted a link to a VERY handy leveling chart for Age of Conan. Should really help anyone who's feeling stuck after hitting 30 as it points you in all the right directions.

Check it out...

AGE OF CONAN LEVELING FLOWCHART

JoBildo the Tempest of Set

2008-05-24T11:26:00.005-05:00

I'll be on vacation this coming week and I won't be back until June 1st. Now, I may still post as I'll have my laptop for TTH work and all that jazz, but just in case... here's JoBildo waving goodbye for now. /tear

And here he is looking like a Stygian Runway Model.

Cheers folks, and have a great week!

Age of Conan: Questing in Khopshef Province

2008-05-23T07:36:00.014-05:00

I decided not to go resource gathering last night as I only have a couple days before I'm on vacation and without a computer that will play Age of Conan. It seemed more appropriate to spend some time killing bandits and wildlife in Khopshef Province. *nods* I don't have any screens again today, as I keep forgetting to photo-document my travels, but I did go and grab this little image to show you what Khopshef looks like. Beautifully rendered, and very Egyptian Nile.

Here's a little Lore Lesson on the zone, thanks to AoC Wikia...

East of the coastal city of Khemi, Khopshef Province boasts no great cities—only fabled ruins recounted in ancient legends and caravan tales. Newcomers arriving in the province at the small village of Bubshur hear stories of a great and ancient pyramid that lies along a tributary of the Styx some distance to the south. Of late, an enigmatic oracle of the Shemite goddess Derketo has braved the haunted lands around the pyramidal tomb and laid claim to a temple structure adjoining the ancient pyramid, where his worshipful followers serve his every whim. What the arrival of this oracle portends and why he chose to settle so close to the mysterious crypt, no one knows. And local fishermen who risk the crocodile-infested waters of the river Styx speak of the bleak island west of Pashtun and the strange ruins located there, said to be a temple dedicated to gods that were old when Atlantis still rode above the waves.

Meanwhile, the people of Khopshef Province pray to their gods and try to go about their lives, mining salt from the flats around the village of Hep-Kab or welcoming the caravans traveling from Medjool Oasis to the south. They keep out of the punishing sunlight at midday and ward their houses against the evils of the night.

But all is not well among the people of the region. The island town of Pashtun, an independent village claimed by neither Stygia nor Shem, has become the hunting ground for a fearsome monster that stalks its citizens each night. Each morning the bloodless corpses of its victims can be found lying along the village’s dusty streets, or empty boats are found drifting in the river’s sluggish current. The village leaders have turned to the oracle, seeking an explanation for the deadly rampage, but he answers them only in riddles.

Now, each evening, as the red sun stains the western sky, the people of Khopshef Province glance furtively downriver and await a hero who will stand between them and the horrors that lurk in the darkness.

BANDITS, LIONS, AND DISAPPEARING CHILDREN

I spent a good chunk of time last night doing some pretty hairy deeds. I stumbled across a dying man who was poisoned by a jilted lover who also happened to be a cook for his clan of bandits. He asked me to not only track the cook down and kill her but to also bring him back one of her freshly cooked meals so that it could be his last. Apparently while she was a bit of a murderess, she was also a damn fine cook. I ran down river to the camp where the cook was holed up, slew her buddies and lopped her to bits with my polearm and more than a decent bit of electricity. In exchange he told me where he had hidden the treasure that he and the cook were going to share before it all went south.

As I strolled down the riverbank on my way to the next quest objective I came into some close contact with a particularly nasty crocodile. After fending the beast off, I did a little "JAWS" style investigative work to find the upper torso of a man's wife in the croc's belly. Yep, another quest. I stuck the torso somewhere on my person and kept on truckin'.

I also slew quite a few lions, lionesses, and cubs in order to protect the caravan route. I had to lug the heads of 4 of the males from the pack back to the town of Babshur for proof of my work. I'm not sure where I put them, as I don't think JoBildo's leather armor had pockets, but I assume it was the same place as the half-digested female torso.

In all, it was a successful night of deed-doing. Though I did run into one trouble spot. Escort quests are few and far between in Age of Conan, a fact I'm thankful for. I ran into a lost boy (not the Peter Pan variety) when I was out hunting lions, and he asked for my help getting home. No biggie, I figured, I was heading back to the town anyway and if all else fails at least I can use the kid as a bargaining tool if we get in a jam.

The problem is, when we got about 100 meters from the dork's home he went all David Copperfield on me and *POOFED* out of existence. I had no idea where he went to. He just disappeared. This same thing happened back in beta when I was escorting a maiden out of the Black Ones' place of worship on White Sands Isle. Apparently, it's still an issue. I won't be doing another escort quest any time soon. Especially if the next one I come across is as boring as this little kid's was. He wanted me to protect him from the lions, but there were no lions... not an enemy of any kind really for the entire slow saunter back to the kid's home. And then the little bastard had the audacity to bug out on me.

Ah well, I did gain two levels despite this set back. I can't wait to continue on tonight as I've moved on to another quest hub that involves a man named Captain Nut and another guy who calls himself the Cock Handler. Mature content indeed.

Cheers!

Gathering Resources in Age of Conan

2008-05-22T07:35:00.008-05:00

I intended to have some more screens for you today, but something happened last night that I didn't expect... I had fun spending 2 hours doing nothing but gathering crafting resources for the guild's eventual PvE City. Let me explain.

In Age of Conan, crafting doesn't begin until level 40. I'm not sure exactly what the design decision behind this was, but that's the way it is. Your guild can start building its PvE city (separate from the PvP Keeps in the Border Kingdoms) as soon as you have a level 40 and that level 40 character is given Guild Leadership for long enough to claim a plot of land for the City in one of 3 truly massive zones). Your guild also needs to be made up of at least 24 people.

That said you can start gathering materials as low as level 20 in order to help your guild build that city and make a place to call home. To do this, it's a bit different than any other MMOG I've played. You'll get a quest in your starting city to go to your nation's main crafting and PvE city zone. For Khemi, this is the Purple Lotus Swamp which can be reached by heading straight south through the first adventuring zone in Stygia called Khoshepf Province (or something like that).

Once there you'll have to make your way to the Swamp's main crafting village which is oddly massive in the case of Purple Lotus Swamp. I assume it was made gargantuan with the expectation that eventually lots of people will be there training their crafting but last night there were only ten of us hanging out getting all the quests you need to begin your vocation as a gatherer. Anyway, this big old crafting village is where that initial quest first sent you, and by finding the NPC for that quest you'll be given 10,000 XP just for talking to a guy. Not a bad deal really. But once you see how long the jog is to get here, you'll realize why the reward you so.

So anyway let's go over the cool and the uncool about gathering in Age of Conan.

THE COOL

This will likely be an uncool for some but there is no innate way to track gathering nodes. You must search the zone while keeping an eye out for indicators of something that can be harvested. Trees that can be harvested will have falling leaves from them and might stand out a bit more. Metal or rock deposits will be differently colored than the regular mountainsides and ground and often will be nestled next to a mountainside or rock outcropping. Leather is attained by killing beasts throughout the zone, with a somewhat small drop percentage.
While you can't use a tracking system on your radar like in WoW, you can however make map notes of where you found the node or herd of animals. The place where the resources are never changes so as you scout the massive gathering zones, it's perfectly viable to make tons of map notes for future reference, or sharing with your guild mates via screenshots.
Resources like trees, rock and metals have "health" on a percentage. Each time you gather from one it takes away roughly 10% of this health. When it's below 10% you won't be able to get anything from it, but when you stumble across one that's at 100%... you've got yourself 10 pieces of ore, or bundles of wood or whatever. This can also be an "uncool" in the fact that if it's a busy gathering day you might constantly be finding only recently tapped nodes.
While harvesting a tree, or a copper vein, or any type of resource node, there's a small chance that you'll be interrupted by a "Jealous Prospector" or some other type of NPC enemy. This little touch is very cool in the fact that it even brings combat to a usually non-combative feature. It keeps you on your toes, rather than auto-pilot as you zoom from node to node. It also ensures that you'll be getting some XP and loot while you spend precious hours harvesting resources your guild.
The whole zone is generally aggro free. Except for the rare occurrence of a mob popping when you near a node, or when you're harvesting, there's no real enemies. It's a zone entirely made for resource gathering and exploration and boy is there a ton of ground to cover. I spent 2 hours in Purple Lotus Swamp last night and only covered about 50% of the ground while I was gathering.
It's a massive place. I don't know about the Acquilonian gathering zone, or the Cimmerian one, but Purple Lotus Swamp is one huge zone to play in. And the fact that they don't just give you a gathering radar to go by a la WoW or LotRO really places an emphasis on exploration that I thought might be missing from Age of Conan due to its non-open world. Tobold has said that he doesn't get the feeling of a world from AoC, and I can only suspect that it means he's not spent some time in the gathering zones. They're epic, plain and simple.
Once you have the gathering skills, you'll also find nodes for the resources in the main adventuring zones of the world. But they're few and far between compared to the dedicated gathering zones.
Since the zone is so large... I really wish I had a horse, or even that lumbering mammoth. Speed would be of much use for this part of the game.
Lastly, you can take up all gathering professions. I can't recall them all at the moment, but there is no limit to which gathering profession you take on. You can be a miner and a skinner, a stone cutter, and a weaver (cotton and other fabrics). Why? Because your guild will need the goods and it's nice to be able to do it all instead of worrying how many more miners your guild will need. Everyone can pitch in this way.

THE UNCOOL

The initial quests to learn your gathering skills are long and often tedious. I spent 2 hours last night gathering, copper, silver, ash wood, etc. I only completed 2 of I think 6 different gathering quests. I couldn't even find leather on the beasts I killed, and I certainly didn't come across any Cotton plants.
There are tons of nodes spread out across a massive zone... but because of the fact that they're spread out so far it often feels like there are too few of them to be found. I would like to see the disbursement be a little more dense. Maybe twice what it is now.
The quests to gain the gathering skills require 20 of each resource. You spend hours doing these things and then you give the resources away to the quest NPC. LAME! After all that work for what I thought was going to go towards my guild's city, I ended up losing the resources. That sucked.
The documentation on how or where or what the nodes will look like is slim in game. I was lucky to have a guildie who already had done them, or else I would have been lost. So take heed. Ores and rocks are near mountains and other major rock formations, lumber is on trees that have leaves constantly dropping from them, and leather is on the animals in the area. Cotton? No idea. Hopefully will find some tonight. My guess is by water sources.
This is a guess, but I'm thinking that on PvP servers the gankage level will be astounding. Not necessarily an "uncool", but it could be if you're in the middle of mining some copper and you get jumped by 3-4 assassins and a necromancer. This is why I play on PvE servers.
Nitpicking now, but there's no way to tell at level 20 how much resources you'll need for your guild city from within the game. There may be some website which has this info already, but I'd like to know what I should be stocking up on as I go along.

And that's about it for now, folks. I can see this part of the game frustrating a great many people who are used to the more simplified and streamlined affair that is WoW's gathering, or even EQ2's these days. But to me, this is a very novel and surprisingly fun take on the key part of crafting that will really reward the explorers and the dedicated. I could have been 24 from level 20 earlier in the night had I spent my evening questing and killing, but something kept me in Purple Lotus Swamp. I'm sure there will be others who find it as engaging as I do, but I worry that most will find it a waste of time when they could be out grinding mobs for experience.

Me? It's satisfying that childhood urge of being an archaeologist. It feels good to be exploring an uncharted land. One day I'll have all the nodes marked and it will likely become a chore, but for now... for now it's a blast to run around looking for buried treasure.

Ten Ton Hammer's Age of Conan Feat Calculator!

2008-05-21T08:45:00.003-05:00

Well, Machail, Martuk and myself worked long hours compiling the text for these, and Bill Pirkle and his wife (one of our fantastic Tech guys at TTH) put the coding together in record time and we can finally unveil our very own Feat Calculators!

TTH's Age of Conan Feat Calculators

Now, they're not all in yet and this is the beta run of them. But many of the classes are completed and updates will be forthcoming as I'm sure there are some descriptions and stats that are a little bit off since the end of beta. But come on... who doesn't play a way to play with their character's build without having to pay a fortune in game?

Go there now!

Note To AoC Players - Stay out of Laceish Plains!

2008-05-21T08:41:00.002-05:00

I checked the patcher this morning, in a vain attempt to possibly log in before work (yes it is that good) and I was greeted with a warning that no one should enter the Laceish Plains zone until they fix an issue that's causing players to get stuck there.

Woops!

Looks like Funcom's stil got some kinks in the cogs. Just a word to the wise for anyone who was planning on visiting this place... I believe it's an area for the early resource gathering in the game, but I could be wrong. My realm of experience is almost entirely in the 1-20 game, so someone wiser can fill me in on that zone. I'm not even sure I'm spelling it correctly at the moment. Some help there would also be appreciated...

Cheers!

JoBildo's Out of Tortage!

2008-05-21T07:25:00.004-05:00

See? I'm not fibbing! These are shots from the docks in Khemi, the main Stygian city, and where you come to after you finish the Tortage Destiny Quests. They were taken on High settings with 2000m draw distance, 8x AA, No Bloom, High Shadows and Textures, and at 1280x1024 resolution (I think... might be off on that last one).

What's utterly fantastic about Conan to me is the feeling I got when completing the Destiny Quest, even though it was the 10th time I'd done so. Those first 20 levels, thanks to the storyline, really feel like a mini-adventure and the beginning of your greater purpose... to take down the evil sorcerer Thoth-Amon.

One thing I'll miss about Tortage though is all the excellent voice acting. Make no bones about it, when you leave Tortage the voice acting on every quest NPC comes to a stop. Again, most likely a result of the 1-20 experience originally being a single-player offline game, but it still is a culture shock.

It's okay really, as I'm used to reading plenty for quests, but it was nice to have the atmospheric accompaniment of the voice acting for those few levels.

Upon completion of "The End Battle" I also got a nice big polearm for my reward that pretty much whoops every other weapon available to me. But I also got Strom's (the big bad guy of Tortage) 1-handed sword to drop, so I have myself a decent DPS weapon and a nice 1-hander to use with a shield should I need the extra defense. God bless being a priest who can use a shield!

Man, I am stoked though friends. I'm finally really out of Tortage and now the next 60 levels will be entirely fresh to me. I can't wait to see what Funcom's got in store in terms of dugeons and city building, crafting and eventually sieges.

We got the TTH guild up and running yesterday and I'm currently the "Lord", but that might not be forever if Boomjack or Cody wrestle it away from me (gladly). So look for JoBildo or use the Social panel to look up the guild "Ten Ton Hammer" to find out who's on and we'll gladly send you an invite. We're in open enrollment for TTH members right now, so be sure to have a forum account with us as that's how we'll communicate outside the game.

Once the dust settles, we'll worry about more proper organization like officers and whatnot. We've already got a couple members nearly to level 40, so we'll be picking our plot of land for the Guild City this week most likely. Good times ahead!

Lastly, I hope to really get some adventuring done in Khemi tonight and in the surrounding areas, so look for some more substantial screens tomorrow and tales of my travels.

Khemi From On High...

2008-05-20T10:50:00.003-05:00

Seriously... this game is beautiful.

Thanks to Goonheim again for the pics.

Goonheim Begins City Construction in Age of Conan - Game First?

2008-05-20T08:14:00.005-05:00

The Hordes of Goonheim, a PvP Guild on the US FFA server Deathwhisper have begun construction on their Guild City... already. As far as I know, they just might be the first to do so.

With 3 days of early access being cut effectively in half (for working stiffs) by down-time, I find it absolutely astonishing that a guild could already be building their city. These are the guys who were building Feat Calculators in the beta however, so it's obvious that they're serious about their Conan. I just didn't expect to see this happening already and on a FFA PVP server no less.

Talk about team work. They must have been running hard and like a pack of wild dogs out the gate.

Grats to them. Maybe tonight I'll be able to get out of Tortage (barring any downtime) and start the TTH Guild, unless of course Boomjack or Cody beat me to it. Here's a couple pictures from the Goonheim event. As you can see the War Mammoths are appropriately "mammoth". Something tells me these guys will wind up dominating their server's Border Kingdom for a while.

Something I can't Wait to Try (AoC)...

2008-05-19T11:45:00.003-05:00

Expect a lot of Conan posts from here on out, sorry if that is a downer to anyone. Just a disclaimer.

Now, take a look at THIS.

That is why I pre-ordered and got the mammoth mount. I want to gore people with my tusks.

That is allo.

The Tempest of Set - One Bad Mamma Jamma

2008-05-19T10:18:00.003-05:00

So, after a lot of deliberation I finally decided to play a class in Age of Conan that I never touched during the beta - The Tempest of Set. Essentially, the ToS plays like a nuker with the ability to heal. I was skeptic at first, even toyed around with the Herald of Xotli some for a bit, but eventually I made my way back to the ToS and I don't think I'm going to stop again with him for quite some time.

The downside of the ToS at the start is that they're not particularly good at healing. Not at all. You get an early HoT that does something ridiculous like 2 HP every second for 17 seconds... but I have 200HP. So at the outset, I found myself relying more on my potions and resting between fights, and this is really the way it is for all healers in the beginning of Age of Conan. I remember exactly the same issues with the Bear Shaman. But then by about level 15 (roughly 6 hours into the game) suddenly it clicks in terms of healing. At 18 I have 3 HoTs and a Rez. I can pop those heals on my friend and I and watch as the health bars go up instead of down when fighting enemies.

Combine these healing abilities with my lightning AoE spells, my root, and my mez... and there's no touching me (even when solo-ing) unless I get swarmed. I've never played a healer that felt so strong and capable of playing alone so early on. It's a refreshing change of pace really. Something tells me Funcom wanted to make sure the healers in their game were actually fun to play, and because of the nature of the action-oriented combat and the pacing of the game in general... they certainly are.

There's just something very satisfying about seeing an enemy rife with elecricity as he convulses and turns blue then crumples to the grounds in a smoking heap. There's something more to it when you remember that you're not a mage, but a "priest" in a traditional sense. I can see myself providing a lot of support in PvP with my Crowd Control, and even holding my own with damage thanks to the power of the serpent god, Set.

Good stuff, Funcom. Good stuff, indeed.

The Signs of A Good Game

2008-05-19T07:22:00.003-05:00

I spent most of the evening Saturday in Hyboria, experiencing one of the smoothest launches of an MMOG I've yet experienced. I was shocked at just how well Age of Conan ran when the servers finally came up after a short delay Saturday afternoon. The delay, at least at first, reeked of of "here comes the crashes". I thought for sure that when the servers did come up, they'd be down within moments, but the opposite proved true.

The lag was minimal, the players plenty, and the client... smooth as could be running on absolute highest detail. 30 frames per second, no graphical bugs or niggles... just uninterrupted gameplay for the rest of the evening. Finally, with launch, people can now see the game I've been playing and loving for the past few months. I only hope their open beta fiasco didn't do them any harm. Though early reports are that Funcom had a very high pre-order rate for this little gem, and I hope so. They deserve success for creating such a fun take on the genre.

Anyway, the purpose of this post...

I woke up Sunday morning and immediately went to log in. Sundays are ritualistic for me. I wake up, I go downstairs, I eat some awesome breakfast and I chill out with my wife while we figure out what we're doing for the day. Not this Sunday.

This Sunday I went right into my office and pulled my PC out of sleep mode. I had a few quests that my eyes wouldn't stay open long enough for that needed to be handed in. Later that afternoon I had made plans to go with some friends to see Iron Man (a 2nd time, it was worth it), and during the movie my mind kept drifting to my Tempest of Set (more on this later) and just how much fun it was to electrocute picts and Redhand Guards until they turned blue and black from the power of his spells.

I got home eventually but my buddy Adam wanted to hang out and play some GTA IV since he was waiting on his girlfriend to pick him up from my house. There I was, playing easily the best game of the year (maybe of the past 10) and all I could think about was JoBildo, the Tempest of Set.

Yep, it's a good game. I want to go home now. I want to go back into Hyboria. But hey, at least now the game's live, and it's running on all cylinders. Well played, Funcom. You've won me over for good.

More on my adventures later. Lots of work to do today.

Cheers!

TTH - AoC Guild Rolling on Wiccana

2008-05-17T10:59:00.000-05:00

Just an FYI to those who care that myself and the rest of the TTH-AoC guild will be making our home in Age of Conan on the US PVE server Wiccana.

Look for Bildo or JoBildo there, and feel free to pester me whenever.

Servers go live in about an hour from this posting.

Have fun storming Hyboria!

Official Server List for AoC Launch

2008-05-15T11:55:00.002-05:00

Funcom's just released the names and types for the servers available at launch for Age of Conan.

I'm not sure where we TTH folk will be headed yet, but I'll keep you all posted. Here's the list of all servers for those who can't see Funcom's site from work... like me.

US Servers (Early Access 17th of May)

PvE Servers

Set
Dagoth
Zug
Omm
Derketo
Thog
Wiccana
Gwahlur (recommended Oceanic)
Anu

PvP Servers

Tyranny
Bane
Deathwisper
Bloodspire (recommended Oceanic)
Doomsayer

RP-PvP Server

Cimmeria

European English Servers (Early Access 17th of May)

PvE Servers

Crom
Dagon
Ymir
Bori
Astoreth

PvP Servers

Fury
Wildsoul

RP-PvP Server

Aquilonia

French Servers (Early Access 17th of May)
PvE Server

Ishtar

PvP Server

Ferox

RP-PvP Server

Stygia

German Servers (Early Access 17th of May)

PvE Servers

Mitra
Asura

PvP Server

Aries

RP-PvP Server

Asgard

Spanish Server (Early Access 17th of May)

Zingara (PvE)

Guess those Spanish are screwed if they wanted a PvP ruleset server. Heh...

Age of Conan - Other Class Choices

2008-05-15T07:12:00.003-05:00

This will be the first MMOG that my friend Brendon and I can play together from the start, so we're fairly certain we'll be spending a lot of time in a static duo group. Incidentally, if anyone was wondering, he can't smell a thing so that's why he can tolerate a vegetarian's company.

Moving on... it looks like he'll be using the Barbarian as his class in our group, and I'm probably oing to use the Bear Shaman in that case as it'll be nice to have a DPS powerhouse teamed with a healer (and a melee healer at that). Now these two characters we'll only really play when we're online at the same time and in the mood for teaming, so that still leaves me with the difficult decision of which class I want to play as my main honcho.

I'm still sort of leaning towards the Herald of Xotli for his absolute damage output and the coolness factor of a two-handed sword wielding fire and demonic mage. But that doesn't mean I have ruled out all of the other classes the game has to offer.

I spent a lot of time in the beta with the Dark Templar and Assassin, but the Barbarian is also a class I'm itching to play and I'm sort of leaning towards making one myself. But then I start thinking about the Demonologist, the Necromancer, the Tempest of Set, and even the Priest of Mitra... and of course that leads me to thinking abouut how tanks are always useful and I start thinking about the Conqueror and the Guardian.

Is it possible for a game to have 12 classes and each one of them are fun to play? I never used to think so, but with the way combat works and the way Spellweaving is touted as working I think Funcom's sort of struck gold when it comes to that area. None of the classes are boring or any less interactive than the next one. And that speaks volumes for the replayability to me, with the exception of only having one starting area in Tortage.

So then, dearest readers... if you had to pick for me knowing my previous playing habits across WoW, LotRO, TR, and now the AoC beta which class (aside from the Bear Shaman since he's decided upon) would you suggest?

A tank, a rogue, a caster, or yet another healer? I'd love to hear some ideas since my head can't seem to come to a conclusion and time's a-waisting.

Age of Conan Sieges: 48 x 48 Is Fine By Me

2008-05-14T08:28:00.003-05:00

As you can gleam from the image to the left, it appears that each side of a siege battle in Age of Conan will be able to bring 48 of their best players to the fight. For some reason or another the VN Boards are all a tizzy and so are the official forums.

To me, 48 people versus 48 people sounds like a pretty hectic and fun time. I imagine it's going to be a whole lot of fun when you toss in trebuchets, catapults, War Mammoths and Rhinos and the whole shebang... so what's the problem?

Apparently this little image, taken from the in-game beta manual, is not exactly what people wanted to see. Though Funcom never said how many people they were hoping to have in a siege battle, maybe they should have as it appears lots of players were hoping for 100s of players on each side taking part... which of course would be an astronomical feat.

I mean let's be serious. In WoW our biggest battles are 40 versus 40, and in WAR I believe WHOLE CITIES will be fought over with just about the same (though obviously this could change before launch). In a game like Age of Conan, with the visuals their Cheetah engine is sporting, it's amazing to me that they can even get 96 people together in a relatively small instanced area and not crash the server.

Not to mention the organizational logistics of a clan getting 48 people together, or 2 clans even. I suspect there will be a few clans that can on any given day, but for the most part I'm betting it will be a trial to gather that many players for a fight... which is where hired help from the general populace will come in.

Also keeping the numbers restricted ensures that siege battles will be relatively even instead of seeing the same 200 person clan overtaking the smaller 30 person clan each and every chance they get. With this set up, the 200 person clan is limited to 48 members at a time, and the 30 person clan must hire on some helping hands. Is it still lopsided in favor of the larger group? Probably, but at least the little guy stands a chance at holding his ground.

However, let's not forget that there are only going to be 8 keeps in the Border Kingdoms too. The rest of the fighting will be over smaller objectives like towers and other control points, and these will be up for grabs for any group of players from what I can gather. The Keeps are pretty much solely intended for the same set of Clans that would have been running Black Temple on day 1 in WoW. Whether that's a good design decision or not remains to be seen (I'm personally against excluding any of the player base), but the fact remains that the Keeps are intended for the most organized and active of clans and not just every group of 5 people who want to take part. For those smaller groups, there are other PvP objectives as well as the Mini-Games, and each have their own set of rewards for participation.

Call me weird, but I think 48 x 48 sounds damn good and whole lot of fun. I just hope I get to participate in a few of those battles during my time in Hyboria.

Bildo’s Age of Conan Beta Review - A LONG READ

2008-05-13T11:32:00.002-05:00

DISCLAIMER: As an employee of Ten Ton Hammer, this blog is not in contradiction to the Closed Beta NDA. That said, all of the words within are the opinion of William Murphy and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Ten Ton Hammer.

The Adventures of a Hyborian wannabe-hero from levels 1-20 are a tough time, especially when his world is still in its birthing stages. Regardless, I shall try to chronicle my experience here by recounting some of my best and worst moments in Funcom’s Age of Conan. This will cover everything from my first impressions of the game to my final thoughts as we head into pre-order launch on Saturday the 17th (Did I mention my download is going strong and should be done by tomorrow? Here’s to massive game clients!).

THE EARLY TRIALS – VISUALS AND THE NEED FOR UPGRADES

When I first got into the Age of Conan beta, it was via the technical tests which as far as I know are still covered by an NDA, so I won’t speak much about them here. But eventually I was let into the General Beta (now referred to as “Closed”), and it’s here where my real first taste of Hyboria was experienced.

Admittedly, the problems for me arose immediately as I found that my AGP Video Card, Pentium IV processor and 2GB of RAM really were the bare minimum requirements. Low settings and 15 frames per second were not my ideal playing circumstances. I knew then and there that an upgrade would be needed, and since it was going to be my job to work at Ten Ton Hammer on Age of Conan… I could justify it.

I upgraded from that old system to a brand spanking new rig with an Nvidia 9600GT, 3GB of RAM, and a Pentium Dual-Core 2.66Ghz processor and I’ve not looked back since. Indeed, I’d go as far as to say that if you’ve played Age of Conan on an older system and enjoyed it but feel worried about how it performs on your dated hardware that it’s certainly a viable option to upgrade. I know many can’t afford it, or even think they should have to, but this is the simple truth about Age of Conan: YOU NEED A DECENT COMPUTER TO PLAY IT THE WAY IT’S MEANT TO BE PLAYED.

I can honestly say that with the right hardware, this game is awe-inspiring and head and shoulders visually above what other games in the genre have done. On the most recent client, I can actually turn Anti-Aliasing up to 16xQ with Bloom and highest shadows and not suffer a frame rate drop. I’m consistently at 30-40 FPS with all settings on high… and I’m not running an SLI system either. It’s sad that Funcom’s carving a niche for themselves by requiring near Crysis like hardware to run an MMOG really well, but if you can run it… Age of Conan’s a glorious spectacle to behold.

THE COMBAT – MORE ENTERTAINING THAN THE OTHER GUYS

That header pretty much says it all about the combat in Age of Conan. This is of course a matter of opinion, but for me the action in Funcom’s latest product is the highlight of the game and its genre. Only Tabula Rasa’s hybrid-FPS combat comes anywhere near as exciting and visceral. Some may call it “twitch”, and others will call it “button-mashing”, but these are veiled terms for misunderstanding a complex system that differs from what the industry staple has thus far been.

I think the criticism of Conan’s combat being “button-mashing” or “twitchy”, apart from differing preferences in play style, is that with your early hours in the game you really aren’t presented with great instruction on how it works. Sure enough you get some tutorial text as you fight on the beach in the beginning tutorial, but words don’t really help when there are so many factors to consider. It’s probably too much to ask at this point, but what Funcom could really use with the combat is an instructional video or an actual fighting training mission where an NPC teaches you the basics (that could be skipped later on with alts). And while words don’t really do the system justice, I’ll try my best to explain its intricacies, which could probably be a blog post all on its own, but bear with me anyway.

There is no auto-attack in Age of Conan. Every strike is controlled by the player’s pressing of directional attack buttons, and of course spells and skills (referred to as combos). The directional attacks, to begin with, are Upper Left, Middle, and Upper Right which reside on the 1, 2, and 3 buttons by default. Pressing these will initiate strikes in either direction, and they can be chained together in numerous fashions to create multi-strike attacks. No waiting for cool-downs with these. They are the most basic of your attacks. Later in the game, you’ll gain access to two more directions (Lower Left and Lower Right) but they don’t come into play until level 40 if I recall correctly.

Then of course there are combos. These make up the majority of the non-caster classes’ special abilities and are often the types of attacks that apply de-buffs or bleeds, or some other special effect. They are also proportionately more powerful than regular directional attacks. They require a certain amount of Stamina to pull off (like mana, rage, or energy in that other game), and pulling them off is sort of like a game of Simon. You press the corresponding hotkey to start the combo, then proceed to follow on-screen cues that tell you which of the 3 directional strikes you must hit to complete the combo. Early on these are simple as can be with combos usually only requiring an additional one or two button presses to complete, but as you level the higher ranking combos require between three and four additional keystrokes and you find they can become an exercise in memorization and more so reflexes in the heat of battle.

I do have a few qualms with the combo system, despite it being far more interesting that what’s on offer in other games. Mainly, it feels like during a fight that I spend more time watching which key I need to hit next when I’d often rather watch the beautiful mo-capped animations. This isn’t the case all the time, but is especially true when I’m learning a new combo or if my memory fizzles in the middle of a fight and I need to pay attention to the on screen cues more than usual.

Now, combos aside there are also a few additional features that make Age of Conan’s combat the most fun since the Yo-Yo. Active shielding can be employed by pressing and holding the X button during combat. This actually makes your character lift his shield (if he or she has one) and deflect oncoming attacks at the cost of stamina. This is especially useful in hairy fights when you need to give your healer a little extra time to get a heal off on you. Hand in hand with this is the active dodging you can do to avoid your enemies’ cone-based attacks and spells. By simply double-pressing any directional movement key (WASD), your character will do an acrobatic jump in the corresponding direction, often putting you out of harm’s way for a moment and giving you an edge on your opponent. This can be especially useful in PvP as a way to truly test your enemy’s reflexes.

Lastly, as you’ve probably seen in some of the combat videos, enemy mobs have 3 little white arrows that often change places during a fight. These are the enemy’s defenses, or rather where the most of their defenses are focused at any given time. These change during a fight in reaction to your attacks. Hammer your enemy with a rough overhead combo and maybe he will stack his entire defenses onto the middle defense, leaving his left and right side severely open. It may seem like a little thing, but this touch adds a ton of strategy when you take into effect the fact that combos can be nearly nullified by these defensive placards. It doesn’t matter if you hit him with your hardest special ability… if those defenses cover that spot, it won’t do nearly as much damage as it could.

What’s a bit of a downer though is that while you have the same defenses on your character as the enemies do, you’ll hardly ever find a use for them. Not because they aren’t useful, but because there’s already so much other action going on in combat that you’ll simply forget about them and just leave them as they are at default. It can take too much time to shift them where you want and more often than not when you have shifted them, you’ll find you should shift them back as your enemy has caught on and is hammering another area. I can see how it MIGHT be useful in PvP, but honestly I expect this aspect to be overlooked almost entirely.

The only other worry I have about combat is the macro-ing of combos. Keep in mind that to successfully pull of a combo your enemy needs to be standing in a relatively close space in front of you, and that your character needs to be standing still as well since one wrong key press can break a combo, and too much movement will have the same effect. Given the hectic nature of PvP, I suspect that macros won’t be too much of a problem, as the longer combos will hardly be used, but the fact that they can be macro’d means a lot of people will be on “easy-mode” on both PvP and PvE. What I’d like to see done is a sort of randomization of the combo keystrokes. This would ensure no macro-ing was possible.

Enough about combat.

QUESTING AND LORE – THE REMNANTS OF A SINGLE-PLAYER GAME

What most players will notice when first logging into AoC is that the entire starting area and its quests (which take place in a solo-only instance at night) feel very much like a single-player game. And that’s entirely because it used to be one. Just a little while back the first 20 levels of Age of Conan were going to be an entirely offline single-player game that wouldn’t require a subscription and would take roughly 20 hours to play through. Somewhere along the line, they realized that this could cause some heavy confusion about the game’s true online nature, and the Tortage experience (levels 1-20) were converted into an online starting area with a heavily single-player story arc that is intended to introduce the game and its mechanics to the players.

The downside? It’s the only starting area in the game. I love it, even after at least 10 play-throughs, but the truth is that variety is the spice of life. I seriously hope that there is a bypass option given after you’ve leveled at least one character of an archetype out of Tortage. I wouldn’t mind having to complete the 1-20 experience once for the Soldier, Rogue, Mage, and Priest archetypes, but if I have to do it every time I start a new character, I might cry. As fun as it is, by character number 4 or 5 in the live version I’m pretty sure I’ll hate it. By then, I’ll just want to get to the “real game” and out of the newbie areas, you know?

Now another issue with the Tortage experience is just how instanced it is… another side-effect from the game’s earlier incarnations. There are lots of scripted scenes and lots of self-contained areas that luckily now load quickly but they’re still annoying. LotRO wasn’t even this bad with the loading screens. However, once outside of Tortage the loading is much more like Everquest 2 in that you only see a loading screen when travelling between zones, and not when entering every building or cave.

Luckily, with the early memory leaks ironed out and the loading issue cleared up, the questing in Tortage is really quite fun. Nothing revolutionary, but the voiceover work and the cinematic presentation of the Destiny Quests (a long quest chain that chronicles the main story of the game and is entirely solo-able), really make them interesting in my opinion. Coupled with the extremely fun combat, I’ve never once felt bored in my time with Conan’s beta.

While I’ve only dabbled outside of Tortage, I can say that the same questing structure holds true there. Lots of quests, lots of dialog (though less of it is voiceover work), and lots of killing. There’s nothing out of the ordinary and nothing above and beyond. If you hate questing, AoC won’t be your friend. But if you love whacking things with the purpose of looting corpses for a needy old woman’s soup, then you’re in luck. This is not an area where Funcom tried to reinvent the wheel, and nor did it need to in my book. I think it’ll be some time still before the quests in an MMOG match the immersion and interactivity of the quests in an offline environment, so for now these will do so long as they’re interesting to read.

THIS REALLY GOT BIG…

I think that just about covers the main points. I left sound out, but there’s not much to go over. The music is really well done and very epic sounding and the atmospheric effects rank up there with WoW and LotRO as top of the line. A surround sound system will go a long way with Conan.

As for the later stages of the game, I can’t really comment. I’ve only gotten as high as level 29, but from what I understand the game remains true to earlier standards throughout the level climb. The only big mystery is Siege Warfare and Mounted Combat which I’m hoping do not disappoint.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the read. I know by now you can tell I enjoy the game despite its faults. In fact, it’s probably the most enjoyable MMOG for me since WoW first cast its spell on me back in 2004 with its promising but derivative take on the genre. Not to say that Age of Conan doesn’t do its fair share of copying, as indeed it does. There are raids, there is loot, and there are even “Battlegrounds” in the form of Mini-Games. But what Funcom does seek to change is HOW the game’s played on an interactive level.

The biggest selling point of Age of Conan is its much more interactive and lively combat system. If you’re sick of the traditional approach and are looking for something different but still with a medieval air… then Age of Conan might be right up your alley. As I said in our Ten Ton Hammer Beta Preview, Funcom didn’t set out to reinvent the whole wheel… they just wanted to turn the Goodyear standard tire into a Kumho performance model.

And in my eyes, they succeeded and then some. See you in Hyboria.

Funcom's Biggest Problem With Age of Conan

2008-05-12T08:21:00.005-05:00

We've all heard it a thousand times over from trade shows, interviews, reviews, editorials, and the like: WoW is so successful in part because just about every modern computer can handle the code and run the client in a playable fashion.

We saw in 2004 two MMOGs come out, WoW and EQ2. Blizzard's soon-to-be behemoth could be run on just about anything while to play EQ2 the way it's meant to be played you needed a powerhouse of a machine. This, according to SOE, was because they wanted to skew with an eye on the future. Meanwhile Blizzard focused on a solid art-style that might look dated down the road but at least it would still be pretty in its own right.

WoW launched with hundreds of issues... but they were all mostly server-side and not problems with people's computers running the game. But EQ2 had memory leaks, crashes, texture cache problems and on top of it all you needed a pretty damn nice gaming computer to play it smoothly... does this ring a bell today? These are the issues that Age of Conan faces now just one week from launch, and you can probably count on them still being a problem on the 17th when pre-orders get in and on the 20th when the game goesf fully retail.

Now, I've made it clear by now that I'm totally digging Age of Conan. But I most certainly would not be were I still on my old AGP single-core system. The only reason I'm so in love with Hyboria today is because my computer plays it flawlessly. And I'm very likely in the minority here. Keen's PC, not exactly an old machine even though it's not cutting edge, it runs the thing like crap and he's made sure to say so on his blog.

It's a misstep by Funcom as the vast majority of gamers who are into MMOGs simply won't be able to enjoy the game. There are plenty who will be able to as the 8800GT and other 8000 series Nvidia cards are now out there in full force, but many systems are still running on ATI 1600 series cards and Nvidia 6 and 7000 series cards. And these are the systems that won't be able to play AoC for sh*t.

When the dust settles after the 20th, the only people playing and enjoying Conan are going to be the ones who can run it on their PC and that I'm afraid is a smaller number than I think Funcom would like. They should be happy WAR's not releasing this summer... not because it's a better game but because you can almost guarantee that its requirements will be more manageable based on the screens and video alone.

As a wise man once said... with great shaders and post effects comes great taxing of video cards.

AoC Closed Beta Patched = FAITH RESTORED

2008-05-08T20:08:00.002-05:00

I'll admit, despite my obvious love for the game, I was worried that the launch for Funcom's Age of Conan was not going to be a pretty thing based on the Open Beta client fiasco. But today (or yesterday and today really), they patched the client up to what has got to be the most smooth version I've seen since I began in February.

There are still some kinks, as in some people are finding checkerboard textures due to their video-cards while others aren't, and NPCs are stuck in some funny positions, but these are "KNOWN ISSUES (tm)" and Funcom says they're already fixed in an internal build.

What I was met with today upon logging in was drastically reduced loading times, no more popping-in textures, and in general about a 15FPS improvement over the previous version. Also what they've always referred to as client stalling (stuttering) is gone for me, the BLOOM effect doesn't cut my FPS at all, and even fatalities seem more in sync animation wise. It's just... more fine-tuned and much more the type of client one would expect to see this close to release.

I don't know about miracles and patches being mentioned together... but this thing comes close. Let's just hope they don't drop they ball they've picked up and this is the client players in the Open Beta see on the 10th.

The AT Wire Said It Best...

2008-05-07T10:44:00.002-05:00

Buttonmashing? MMO Gamers’ Infinite Laziness

Now, he certainly rags on Keen a bit here, perhaps underservedly so as Keen's not the only person I've seen dismayed by Conan's rather active combat controls, but I can't help agreeing with the entirety of his post.

It seems that more than ever we MMOG players want the revolutionary, yet whenever we're given it (TR, AoC, Auto Assault) we simply say it's not how we pictured the revolution and we go back to playing WoW or EQ2 or LotRO... games that play the same old tune we've been hearing for the past 10 years. I wonder if when Warhammer comes out and we're treated to a game that plays exactly like the previous DIKU MMOGs, if we'll all call it revolutionary because of the Tome of Knowledge... essentially a massive collection of in-game achievements all the while dismissing those games that offer us new and exciting ways to play (Spellborn).

Not trying to spark a debate here, though I know it will, but do we even know what we want, or are we just never happy with what we're given?

Funcom's J. "Funny O" Tharaldsen Clears Up Open Beta Issues

2008-05-07T08:43:00.004-05:00

I only call him "Funny O" because I don't want to even try and reproduce the O with a slash through it on my keyboard. I've never been knowledgeable about how to do this, so let's just call him Tharaldsen or J for short. I'm sure he won't mind.

Now, J's gone ahead and done an interview with MMORPG.com to clear up some of what's been going on in the open beta thus far, most specifically the performance issues a great many people have been experiencing.

MMORPG.com: We have heard that the Fileplanet Beta client is actually an old client and won't be the one used on release. Can you speak to that?

J. Tharaldsen: I have seen the same rumors that it's old, but it's not entirely true. We tried to include the best we had on a stable approach, but in our eagerness to please we wanted to get a few additional fixes out (hence we pushed the launch back a couple of hours). In order to reach the May 1st date some of those fixes led to unwanted side-effects which weren't discovered in time. For some, it got a bit rockier than we wanted. We are running an extensive survey now, and from the first few hundred replies (which should be statistically correct), it seems that most people are actually having tons of fun AND good performance. We are humble about it though, and admit that things could have gone smoother, but the experience some people have had now has helped us to improve for launch, which is what really matters...

Well there you have it I guess. So it's not necessarily an older client, just an oddly put together version that came with some serious side-effects. Still a "DOH!" moment for Funcom, but at least they're admitting it. Hopefully the patch to open up all content on the 10th for Open Beta will bring with it some necessary fixes to wash the bitter taste out of the mouths of some folks who are not exactly as impressed as I am.

Read the full interview HERE.

Alternate Characters for Age of Conan - The Bear Shaman

2008-05-07T07:24:00.004-05:00

So yesterday, I reported that I'm fairly certain I'll be playing the Herald of Xotli on the 17th when Age of Conan's doors open to the pre-ordering public. But I've spent significant time in the beta with 3 other classes... and I'm also pretty sure that I'll be adding one of each to my stable of characters on launch day, plus another I haven't even tried yet. Here's my brief thoughts on what will be one of my alts in Age of Conan.

The Bear Shaman

This was the first class I played during my stint in beta. Our goal at TTH was to have at least levels 1-20 for all 12 classes documented by the time the press embargo lifted. This was the first one I played back in February, so my apologies if some of this info is outdated, though I'm pretty sure it's not.

Anyway, the first thing that struck me about the Bear Shaman was, "Boy, is he weak or what?" and that was with nothing to go off of as I hadn't played other classes yet. But despite this early weaksauce experience, the further I played with the class the more I found I liked him. Like the Herald of Xotli, the Bear Shaman is a casting class that doesn't hang back and heal and buff... he's right up in the thick of things whacking mobs with a two-handed mace and debuffing them with auras all the while keeping his mates alive with HoTs and burst heals.

The only real issue I had with the Bear Shaman is actually a quirk of all healing classes in the early levels. That is to say that their heals and the necessity of having them in groups is not readily apparent in the early stages of the game. I mean, they're helpful as potion substitutes (you can get healing potions easily in AoC that do a decent job of keeping you alive while solo-ing if you're a non-healing class) but really there's no need to have one in your group EARLY ON. It's not until the mid-teens or even level 20 that you can start to see where the Bear Shaman and his other healing compatriots will come in handy.

As you go further down the feat trees (think WoW's talents), the abilities of each class become much more specialized and magnified, and this is especially true for the Bear Shaman. Throw in high survivability due to buffs, and you basically have a long-lasting priest that can even hold his own in combat. I didn't get to play him in PvP, but for PvE he's definitely the type of healer I can see myself playing. Not at all unlike a Paladin or Shaman from WoW with more healing oomph.

I'll be using this guy a lot, even for an alternate I think.

Age of Conan's Herald of Xotli - May Be the Class For Me

2008-05-06T13:25:00.008-05:00

Obviously, I've been playing a lot of GTAIV when I get some game time free over this past week. But that hasn't stopped me from hopping into Conan to do some more research on just what class it is I want to play first at release. No doubt I'll be playing more than one, as I've always been an alt-a-holic, but I need a "main".

After about 3 months in the beta, and extensive time spent with 4 of the 12 classes (Herald of Xotli, Bear Shaman, Assassin, and Dark Templar) I think I'm for sure going to go with the Herald of Xotli as my main. Let me explain why this is "news" in Bildo's world.

I never play mages. I usually hate their squishy nature and the glass-cannon effect that comes along with it.

But the HoX is far too cool of a class to pass up. Fire and brimstone and a bid of demonic possession are all the tools I need to convince me that it's the kind of experience that's right at home in Hyboria. The only downside is that it means I'll have to play a Stygian... bleh. I've always been partial to Cimmerians as they're the more Nordic flavored people. Stygians are the Egyptian-esque people in Howard's world. Not that this is a bad thing, in fact their armor, weapons, and scenery are among the prettiest in the game, but they're just not my bag aesthetically.

If I can, I'll be the palest Stygian out there, and the one with the reddest hair.

There's just something about the HoX's skillset... right from the beginning you're lighting people on fire, spewing flames from your mouth, and turning into a demonic essence of the god Xotli and causing fire damage to all around you (for a brief period of time). I've also seen some of the feats and skills later in the game (and since I work for TTH I can post about this I believe). There's a skill later on that actually spawns a volcano nearby the enemy and proceeds to burn them to death. There's a giant pillar of flame that if it kills an enemy leaves behind a burning corpse that does AoE damage to other enemies in the area.

I mean... it's just so cool, and to top it all off the HoX isn't really a sit-back-and-fire type of caster. He may wear lighter armor, but that doesn't stop him from getting up close and personal with a 2-handed sword and slicing and dicing his foes. Throw in the every 2 minutes demonic form (the casting time of which can be negated with feats later in the leveling process) and you've got one hell of a fun class to play in my book. It's what a WoW rogue would be like if you gave him the powers of the Human Torch and took away his sneakier abilities.

I can't wait.

On another note, it looks like Funcom will be changing the Open Beta client to an All-PvP-Fest on the 10th, and they'll be auto-leveling the level 13 players to 20 and putting them in their respective hubs to begin the mayhem. Here's the rundown:

Funcom has announced that on May 10th they will be transforming the entire Open Beta for Age of Conan into PvP MAYHEM, while at the same time giving testers access to all that Hyboria has to offer! They will take down their servers for a short period to change the rule-set to Free For All PvP. Here are further details:

All servers become PvP servers. You can kill each other - no level restrictions on killing or getting killed, but you cannot PvP in the major cities.

All level 13 characters becomes level 20. Their inventory is wiped, but they have -tons of money and really nice equipment suitable for level 20s. Shopping bonanza!

You have access to ALL zones and ALL levels after level 20!

You will be zoned to your Race's Hub. (Cimmerians:Conarch Village, Aquillonians:Old Tarantia and Stygians:Khemi!)

We will get back with detailed information on the exact time it starts on the official Open Beta forums at IGN, as well as on the Age of Conan forums and community site.

Sounds like a buttload of fun for the PvP folks, but not exactly my cup of tea, nor other fellow "carebears". I'll pass on that part of the OB. Hopefully the Closed Beta will remain as normal so I can still compile class info this weekend for the TTH Guides.

EDIT: I'd also assume that this patch to Open PvP and level 20s will be bringing the client up to a more stable version, but don't quote me on that. It's wishful thinking on my part.

EDIT2: They don't really have anything to hide, but methinks making the servers FFA PvP is a way to limit the leveling process for players so they don't get too high up and then not buy the game because they played to 80 in a week... though I suspect some still will.

Cheers!

Age of Conan's Early Start Level Cap - Nixed

2008-05-05T11:46:00.002-05:00

When Age of Conan's pre-order players begin on the 17th, it was originally intended to be level-capped for the 3 days at level 20, which is not a whole lot different than LotRO's level 15 cap for two weeks of a head start. But when Funcom announced this "feature" of the Early Start program, it was met with rounds upon rounds of heavy fire from power gamers and genuine whining people alike who thought they were somehow disserviced by this limit. Maybe they were?

In any case, these players can now rest easy in the fact that they won't have to step foot outside during those 3 days at all. Get the Doritos and Mountain Dew ready, guys.

LINK

Perhaps in the face of negativity, Funcom's willing to bend a little here. I'm sure I'll still be around level 10 by Tuesday though... damn busy weekends. Someone please tell my wife that we don't have to be doing something EVERY day. :)

Cheers!

AoC Closed Beta - Worlds Different Than Open Beta

2008-05-03T07:33:00.002-05:00

When I woke up yesterday morning and came to work, I started immediately looking for some blogs and impressions on Age of Conan's Open Beta. After all, I'm deeply invested in this game and I've been in the beta for months and haven't been able to say anything. I was looking forward to hearing about how surprised people were with Funcom's latest game.

And instead of them being surprised... I was. Reports across several forums and blogs of a fun game with some SERIOUS performance issues. I was stunned, really. That couldn't be right. As I'd been in the beta I'd watched an unfinished and buggy game become one of my favorite MMOGs to date - one that was ready to hit store shelves soon. I whole-heartedly expected to see thousands of other people similarly pleased with the client, its promising combat mechanics, and beautiful graphics even on lower-end computers. I expected people to be pissed that they were stuck at 13 and 13 only, but never did I expect all the shouts of crashing and leaking and BSODs.

Why?

Because these issues had been rectified in the weeks past, somewhat miraculously. Indeed in the Closed Beta there are still bugs. There are still some wrinkles to iron out. But by and large the game I'd been playing was very nearly ready to hit the hands of eager players looking for something new. The problems people were having with the Open Beta were issues that arose and were eradicated (for the most part) several weeks prior.

After talking back and forth with Keen (one of many affected by crashing, memory leaks, and poor FPS performance), we came to a realization. He got into Closed Beta and it just so happens that indeed Funcom IS using an older beta client on the Open Beta servers - one full of bugs that are outdated, crashes, and memory leaks that had been squashed.

I'm glad I'm not crazy, and that the game I play on the Closed Beta servers is as polished as it seems... but I can't help but wonder what caused Funcom to initiate its biggest pre-launch publicity event with code that was outdated and leaves a bad taste in the mouths of prospective customers.

I guess all I can do as a fan and one who's seen just how fun this game can be is hope Funcom patches the Open Beta client up to where the Closed Beta is. Because not only are the Open Beta testers getting a false image of what the game's like, but Funcom's potentially losing a lot of customers.

I'll cross my fingers and pray to Crom I guess.

An Opinion of Grand Theft Auto IV

2008-05-02T08:41:00.004-05:00

I'm now about 13 hours into my life as an illegal Serbian immigrant in Liberty City. I'm nowhere near done with the game, and I haven't yet done everything I can do from a gameplay standpoint, but I still feel compelled to come here and gush about this piece of software. I highly doubt that in the next 30-40 hours I'll be playing this thing and it will somehow become "worse". So here, in my sincere and heartfelt opinion, is why Grand Theft Auto IV is quickly becoming my favorite experience in the 19 years I've been playing videogames.

These NPCs aren't just NPCs. This city isn't just polygons and textures. Liberty City in GTA IV is a vibrant and burgeoning society of thousands of people. It's not the kind of reality that we once dreamed of with Lawnmower Man, of course not. Not even close. But it is as close as any game has come to offering a virtual world.

I can't play Crackdown anymore, despite the more exciting powers your given. I can't sit through the dialogue in Mass Effect and be convinced by it because it's not accompanied with the same type of veritas. I can't get into Oblivion because the world seems dull and lifeless compared to Liberty City. And don't get my started on the once great but now outdated Godfather.

GTA IV, while still rife with bugs and little things that need improvement (not to mention that the basic structure of what the game's about hasn't changed since GTA III)... GTA IV is the kind of game that comes along and turns the industry on its head because of the possibilities it offers as feasible. The RAGE engine in combination with NaturalMotion's Euphoria produce a world and people so eerily lifelike (and yet cartoonish at the same time if that makes sense) that I find myself feeling for pedestrians I knock off of their bikes.

I was running from the Cops the other day and I had to jack some poor guys' SUV for my use. 2 of the 3 people inside ran for the hills, but 1 of them was sincerely pissed that I had tried to steal his friend's ride. He proceeded to try and pull me back out of the vehicle, and when I drove off away from him he was hanging onto the door and cursing at me until a bump caused him to let go.

During this event a pedestrian (some old lady with a cane) saw what was happening and called 911. I was long gone by the time they arrived, but I heard the sirens of the approaching 5-0.

When I left my apartment last night to go cruising and complete some missions I heard a lot of shouting on the street... preaching really. I turned around to find an older black gentleman standing on the corner with his bible open, telling anyone who would listen about how we're all going to hell. I waited for him to finished before approaching. He looked me square in the face and told me I was going to hell. I jabbed him in his self-righteous face, causing the bible to be dropped and the man to stumble. I don't mean he fell with a canned animation, but rather thanks to Euphoria he actually fell in a completely unique and realistic manner, clutching his face. He slipped while getting up off the pavement and proceeded to run like mad away from me.

The radio ever so cleverly keeps up with the pacing of the story with news broadcasters highlighting my escapades (man killed in violent gunfight, the suspect is a white male) as I advance the main campaign. The parked cars on the streets are often times locked, forcing me to kick or elbow the window out, sometimes setting off an alarm and alerting the police or the pedestrians who in turn call the police. When I get onto a motorcycle, if there's one available, I put on a helmet... which can be knocked or broken off my skull on impact. I can go to clothing stores and get sunglasses, and these too can be broken in a heated fight with some rival gang.

To top it all, Rockstar has finally created a protaganist worthy of our sympathy and within 15 minutes of playing you can't help but want to hug Niki Bellic and tell the poor bastard everything will be okay... even though it likely won't.

I could go on and on, and you'll probably see a few more posts on the adventures I have in this game. But here's what I'm trying to say:

This isn't just a game. It's visitation to 200+ developers' brainchild. This is quite possible the Citizen Kane of the videogame industry. In the long run, it won't be remembered for drugs, or killings, sex, or languange. It will be remembered because it was another giant leap in bringing videogames closer to reality. It's not often that a game can make me actually care about the characters involved. And I imagine it will only be harder for future games as I doubt they'll be able to match up to this experience.

Warts and all... GTA IV is not to be missed by anyone who's interested in videogames as art.

Open Beta NDA Lifted for Age of Conan

2008-05-01T14:35:00.003-05:00

That is, if you're in the Open Beta you can post and speak freely about the game, post screens, video or whatever.

But if you're in the closed general beta and not in the press, you're still being held to the NDA. Unless of course you happen to be in the closed beta AND the open beta.

Apparently the two sets of servers are split up, so people in General are not automatically in Open beta. Hence the limit of 50,000 for the open beta. I guess it makes sense not to include the 10,000+ already invited into Closed/General beta.

Anyway, just wanted to post that to remind everyone that the lid's not fully off the cookie jar yet. Though I don't expect we'll be short on things to talk about from the Open Beta even with only 13 levels to play.

EDIT: Got an e-mail from Funcom and now it says to be perfectly clear that Closed Beta players can say whatever they want about the game up until level 13 (the cap in Open Beta). The rest of the game beyond that is still under NDA. Weird? Yes. But hey, at least it's a sign that we're almost there.

I can talk all I want though, heh. *Holds Up TTH Press-Pass*

But that comes later.

The US Reporters' Embargo for Age of Conan is Lifted

2008-05-01T10:18:00.002-05:00

Not the NDA that beta participants are held under, but it's close. Not at all unlike when the NDA was lifted on TR for reporters first and then a bit later for the general beta population, it seems all of us press-folk have been given leeway to print our material that we have ready.

Now, that doesn't mean I'll be posting a review here just yet. That'll come when the full NDA lifts with the rest of the blogging public. But I wanted to hop on here to link you to Ten Ton Hammer's Age of Conan Guide Portal.

Me, Machail, and Martuk have been working our arses off for the past few months to get this stuff ready and now we can finally begin to share the fruits of our labors. Straight from Machail's fingers, I'll let him do the talking...

That’s right folks, Funcom has lifted the NDA for US reporters (that means sites like this) and we are now free to talk about the game!

Let me tell you, it’s been one heck of a ride. Martuk, JoBildo and myself have been in game steadily working away for the past few months to get you all the information you crave; and BOY do we have the goods for you.

Over the next couple of weeks, starting today, you’ll be seeing quest guides, spell lists, and feats lists. We’ve got videos, screenshots, and more general guides. We’ve played through all the Destiny quests for the archetypes and will have those rolling out very soon for your reading pleasure. We’ve also got other big things planned, but I don’t want to spoil it ALL.

It’s been a lot of fun playing the game. We’ve played all the classes and are pretty confident you’re all going to love playing it as much as we have.

So, grab a chair and dig in. The hot infoz are coming at you.

Today, we’ll just point you over here where you can catch a glimpse of spell and combo lists. Some of these are complete lists as they stand today in beta. Others have the first 20 levels documented and will have the last 60 updated for you in short order.

Enjoy! And check back often – you never know when we’re going to post a new article.

Ten Ton Hammer's Age of Conan Class Guides Portal

Benjamin "Machail" de la Durantaye,
Age of Conan Site Lead,
Ten Ton Hammer

So what are you waiting for? Go study up on that Barbarian you've been wanting to play so badly!

I Have a Headache.

2008-04-30T07:47:00.003-05:00

(TO BE READ WITH A HEAVY EASTERN-EUROPEAN ACCENT)

It's really an interesting story.

You see my cousin and I had just moved into this tiny apartment in Bohan. Don't ask why... it's a long story involving the Russian mob and some not so good ideas on my part. Anyway, we get to this place and even though it's a feces-hole, he's as happy as a clam. An optimist, he says. I call it idiocy.

I leave the big moron to his glee and decide I'd better get to know my new surroundings. I've only been in Liberty City for a few weeks, and most of that time was spent in Dukes and Broker, you know? So anyway, I hop on this bike I... requisitioned for myself and start touring my new neighborhood. It's worse than Broker and Dukes by a landslide. Everything seems more rundown and tired. But I suppose it makes me a feel a little more at home too... not at all unlike Serbia.

So I start messing around with the bike, you know, going up stairs with it, tooling around in the grass at the local park... just screwing off, right? The local police apparently don't take kindly to this kind of mischief and next thing I know I find myself on the un-fun end of a high speed pursuit. But my bike can go where their cars can't.

I just have to learn to be more careful where I go.

I hopped the motorcycle up onto a sort of porch of this bank or something, trying to make a shortcut of it, and drive right off the top of the stairs that lead back down to the street so I can hang a right and hopefully lose the cops. But I often forget how tall I am, it seems.

There was an archway above the staircase and my bike was going a bit too fast. Needless to say I was clotheslined by the thing right off the back of my chopper. I lost a few teeth, my helmet cracked in half (thank God I was wearing one), and my bike now has a few love-bites in its fender. I'm alright, and I did get back on the bike and motor off, but man I have a headache now. And I'm pretty sure I left a spattering of my blood all over the archway.

But hey... what's life without a few bumps in bruises? I'm just not sure yet if I was better off in the merchant navy or if I made the right choice in coming here to live with Roman. This is the land of opportunity alright, but I've yet to make one right choice it seems.

Not helping my plight here...

2008-04-28T13:04:00.001-05:00

Why oh why did I visit Metacritc again? As if my desire to play this game wasn't already at a fever pitch, the little bastard comes strolling into the press with an aggregate score of 99 as of right now. Some quotes...

---------------------

100 - IGN
I could go on and on about why Grand Theft Auto IV is one of the best games we've ever seen and why even folks who are easily offended should play it, but that would be pointless. The only thing you need to know is that you have to play this game. Period.

100 - IGN UK
Expectations were so high for Grand Theft Auto IV that one of the biggest surprises is that it's managed to meet them. That it's also gone on to confound these is truly a marvel, and the game's Liberty City is nothing less than one of the greatest videogame worlds yet conceived.

100 - 1UP
None of these little flaws take away from Liberty City's breathtaking vistas, incredibly varied scenery, and lived-in look (the PS3 version has the slightest visual edge, plus motion-control support -- but then it's missing Achievements and the eventual downloadable episodes exclusive to the 360 game). The city just feels alive.

100 - EuroGamer
Almost everything you do in Liberty City would be good enough to drive its own game, and the best parts would be good enough to outrun the competition, but the reason it works so well is that Rockstar has made a game that requires no patience to play. This, as much as its usual coherency and the best script in the series, is what makes GTA IV the best openworld game yet, and why it will take something miraculous to rob it of game of the year status.

100 - GameSpy
The very nature of the American Dream is the central theme in Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto IV, a gaming masterpiece that is a picture-perfect snapshot of the underworld of today's big cities. This is not only the finest title of the generation thus far, it is one of the best games of all-time.

100 - Official Xbox Magazine UK
It's got a world you believe in, a cast you care about and a script stuffed with brilliant moments... Utterly stunning in every resepct. [May 2008, p.79]
100Team Xbox
It's amazing that a sequel that keeps the core gameplay concepts of its prior incarnations can do so much to change itself into something new. Cabs are awesome, as is the cellphones capabilities. But perhaps the biggest innovation is the notion that you can create a game that's as valid a piece of art as any book or movie. Is this our "Citizen Kane" moment?

100 - Game Informer
I now know how film critics felt after screening "The Godfather." It's been days since Grand Theft Auto IV's credits rolled, yet I can't seem to construct a coherent thought without my mind wandering off into a daydream about the game. I just want to drop everything in my life so I can play it again. Experience it again. Live it again...Grand Theft Auto IV doesn't just raise the bar for the storied franchise; it completely changes the landscape of gaming.

100 - GameDaily
Grand Theft Auto IV lives up to its grand expectations by weaving a Hollywood-ready "American Dream" plotline with a finely-tuned game experience -- taking the tried-and-true GTA formula and plugging it into a living, breathing version of Liberty City.

100 - GamePro
Considering the fact that it's been a target of political and media pundits who keep harping on the infamous "Hot Coffee" incident, it's understandable to think that Rockstar might tone down the adult themes in GTA IV. But thankfully, that didn't happen. This is a mature game, and a devilishly good one at that.

100 - VideoGamer
We all knew GTA 4 would be a great game and sell millions of copies, but I didn't expect it to shame pretty much every other game I've played this generation.

100 - Gamer.nl
GTA IV is the best action game ever. The game has beautiful details, nice situations, extrodinary gameplay, sharp humor and great graphics. There are certainly a few minor negatives about the game, but the positive points are just too much. We have one piece of advice: Buy!

100 - Thunderbolt
Smashing down the barriers between videogames and movies, GTA4 is what happens when flawless game design and ridiculously high production values collide.

98 - IGN AU
Without a doubt, rest assured this is the best game yet for this generation. The only reason we've resisted giving it full marks is that in the same way GTA III?s template was blown out so much further in "Vice City" and "San Andreas," we're confident the next GTA on this generation will up the ante considerably.

98 - Xbox World 360 Magazine UK
Rockstar have surpassed themselves, delivering unquestionably the definitive GTA and perhaps the greatest videogame of all time. [June 2008]

98 - GameTrailers
Grand Theft Auto IV is the sex, drugs, and rock and roll of video games. It's a little less brave and intimidating this time around, but it?s also the most refined and polished game in the franchise?s history. This kind of sheen is generally reserved for titles with a much smaller scope.

95 - Computer and Video Games
Coming back to our original conundrum, GTA IV has its flaws as a game, like the sometimes problematic auto-aim shooting or the massive difficulty jump when you get to the final ten missions. But as an all-round experience it's truly, hype aside, a standout experience of gaming in 2008.

-----------------------

Only a few more hours before I can find out if it's all true...

In 27 Hours...

2008-04-27T21:40:00.002-05:00

I should be playing GTA IV.

But for now? I must sleep and dream sweet dreams of NaturalMotion physics and stolen Motorcycles.

I'm sure I'll come up with something to chat about tomorrow. But I had to just toss this out there.

With IGN calling GTA IV the best game since Ocarina of Time (my all-time most thoroughly enjoyed piece of electronic entertainment, even more so than Debbie Does Dallas 3: The Return of Gonorrhea Gil)... my Hype-o-Meter just got a lot higher.

Cheers!

AoC and WAR: Can't We All Just Get Along?

2008-04-25T10:22:00.003-05:00

There was a time, not long ago now, when whenever a new MMOG came out fans of the genre would rally around each other and praise whatever said new game was simply because a new player in the field was to be welcomed and not shunned. There was no real division or segregation between fans of individual games, because the audience was smaller and we all had to stick together.

Now though... things are different.

In the fall of 2004 two games launched in the MMOG arena that deeply divided fans and critics alike: Everquest 2 and World of Warcraft. All the way up until the launch of both, I was torn between which to purchase. Ultimately I chose to go with WoW, as has been well catalogued here, but I've often dabbled in Everquest 2. I think it's clear to most that at launch WoW was the far more developed game but over time Everquest 2 has grown to a point where it easily rivals the depth and longevity of WoW.

But this is neither here nor there. What I'm getting at is that we're seeing the same treatment of two games this year as both Age of Conan and Warhammer Online are set to launch in 2008. Already, and for months into the past, these games' potential audiences have been rife with hatred towards each other.

Age of Conan will have better graphics. WAR will have better art style. Conan will have better combat. WAR will have better PvP. Conan will have a bigger penis. WAR will have a hit song. The list goes on and on, my friends.

I ask you... why can't fans of these games get along? I work for a site specifically catering to Age of Conan, and yet that doesn't stop me from being stoked about WAR's eventual release this fall. Even if the game ends up being very similar to what's on the market already, I'm excited to try out Mythic's take on the GW universe. I'm excited to partake in RvR, just as much as I'm excited to partake in Siege Warfare in Age of Conan.

Why, in all things (not just gaming) must people "pick a side" and go at the other with pointless and fruitless fury? Call me a pacifist, but I just don't see the point in drudging up hatred and vitriol over something so insignificant.

Anyway, that's my rant for the day.

Cheers.

A Weekend of Busy Business

2008-04-25T08:49:00.002-05:00

Age of Conan's open beta (or closed-open, depending on how you look at it) begins next week. Pre-order people can start inputting their war-mammoth enabling headstart keys at the end of next week. It's very likely that the full NDA drop will occur as well towards the weekend.

Yes, Hyborian Adventures are nearly upon us. But that's the last thing on my mind right now.

This weekend, I'm done with school. I'll finish up my second degree in 6 years, and I really hope I nenver have to return to real schooling... unless someone else besides myself wants to pay for it. I've also got the mammoth goal of finishing my "To-Be-Published" work for Ten Ton Hammer. I want to have this stuff done by Monday night because at Midnight on Monday I'll be standing in line at my local Gamestop in order to get my filthy mitts on a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV, and I don't plan on doing anything on the 29th except eat, poop, and play in Liberty City.

Yep, it's a busy weekend ahead. But it could be worth it. It should be worth it. There's no way GTAIV will suck... is there? Of course, there's always the off chance that I could get the game home only to get the RROD when I go to boot it up in my Xbox (knock on wood). I'm pretty sure I'd have a hissy-fit if that happens.

Anyway, there's really no point to this post. Just letting those who care (and those who don't) know that I'll be leaving my computer at work for my computer at home all weekend. Wish me luck, and a lack of hemmroids.

CD Projekt Handling Polish Translation Version of AoC

2008-04-24T12:19:00.002-05:00

This is awesome news.

You might not know the name CD Projekt, but you probably know their work from late 2007. These were the guys behind the mega-awesome PC-RPG "The Witcher" and it looks like they're going to be the ones knee-deep in severed heads far out in the land of Poles... no not the red light district or a YMCA concert, I'm talking Poland.

Very cool stuff, and good for you CD Projekt! Now make us a Witcher sequel would you?

Bottle-necks in Age of Conan

2008-04-24T09:04:00.002-05:00

I was reading an article over on Saylah's blog over at Mystic Worlds when it dawned on me (I know I'm slow)... with FFA PvP servers in Funcom's Age of Conan PvP will be enabled everywhere except inside of towns and city hubs. In cities and towns, it'll be a safe haven from the harsher wilds of Hyboria. Now this isn't exactly lore appropriate, but it does help PvP players have a safe place to go and enact trades, check their mail and go AFK.

My only concern with this is what can best be described as bottle-necks. Now assuming that Funcom doesn't already have a solution to this problem (the NDA is still up after all for General and Technical Beta tests), what I'm referring to are those choke points that will be created by the Safe-Zones and their exits into the greater FFA zones that will be the rest of Hyboria.

If left without some sort of solution, these areas could become havens for gankers and it will wind up being the kind of game where smacktards sit outside of a city jumping around like numbnuts and waiting for some poor schmuck to leave the safety of the city or town. Somehow though, I don't think Funcom would let this problem slip by.

This is just an educated guess, but I'm thinking that the "safe zones" that are Cities and Towns will be real "zones", as in you'll have to load in and out of them as you might do in EQ2. If this is the case, the developers can simply place a temporay invulnerability buff on players who have recently zoned, giving them time to get acclimated to their surroundings before they get raped by a bunch of rabid PvP fanatics out for a cheap thrill near the newbie towns.

Out of the two scenarios, I'm inclined to believe that the latter is the way things will work come launch. Even in an Open PvP environment, there must be some measure of policy in place in order to fit in the greater contexts of the game (like auctions, trading, crafting, etc). The former example of bottle-necks seems too conducive to rampant griefing and ultimately unhappy players, while the latter example of zoning and invulnerability buffs makes more sense for the greater purpose of a FFA PvP server. At least in my version of the rules it does.

My only worry is what if the invulnerability buff breaks and some lucky guy winds up running around Hyboria unable to die and reigning terror on anyone whose path he crosses? If that happens... I hope it's to me. Then again, I suppose Funcom can make this impossible by simply making the buff also remove the buffed player's ability to do damage for the duration as well.

Bah, this is all theory-crafting. We'll see how it works soon enough. Open beta and presumably an NDA lift is next week.

Lost In Hyboria - "Our Eyes Bleed"

2008-04-23T09:04:00.003-05:00

New strip up at TTH. Take a gander...

Lost In Hyboria - "Our Eyes Bleed"

Very appropriate, I think.

You see, over the past few weeks we ran a contest at TTH called "AoC-4-Life". There were over 600 entries of 250 word essays into this contest, and we CMs of the Age of Conan site had to read and judge them all. Not exactly an easy task.

But of course, in the face of losing, people don't care what we went through making our selections... they're just pissed that we didn't pick their entry. Accusations, vulgarity, and death-threats abound but what can we say? We expected as much.

I'm just glad the thing's over.

For the most part our community was very calm about losing, but there's always those few people who have a completely irrational sense of entitlement which turns to rage when confronted with an opposition. People are strange, when you're a stranger.

GTA Fever

2008-04-21T13:13:00.004-05:00

I'm sick. I can't think straight. My head's all swimming. My vision's blurring. Yep... I've got GTA Fever.

We're just 1 week away from the launch of what could be this year's BIGGEST game. Now, I've said it before but it bears repeating: I'm not the world's most bonafide GTA nut. My favorite is probably still GTA III for the way it broke new ground, and I really could never get into San Andreas. But probably more than any other game releasing this summer, even my beloved Conan, GTA IV excites me.

You want to know how much it does? I've got it marked on my calendar here at work that I'm taking a trip to Liberty City on the 29th. I pick up my copy at midnight at my local Gamestop, and I don't suspect I'll sleep that night. Hurray free hours of leave for donating blood at my place of work!

If anyone stopping by also plans on getting the game and wants to meet up for some online play via the Xbox 360, just look up JoBildo and send me a friend invite.

Cheers!

EDIT: Forgot to say how the interview went this weekend. I think I interviewed well, but my PPT file wouldn't open (what kind of design firm doesn't have compliant software from 2003 or latter?), and the people there... well, just left something to be desired by yours truly. With a government job that I already have, I can afford to be picky, and I just wasn't feeling the love at this place. It was far more bland than I'd expect a graphic design and website development studio to be. Not my bag.

A Web Application Project - Help Bildo

2008-04-21T10:01:00.002-05:00

I'm currently stewing a major project idea, but to even get it off the ground I'm in need of a web developer that has experience with E-commerce.

If anyone reading this site has experience in web application development and has the ability to prove such, please contact me. I don't need it right away, but I do need it on the cheap side. No "$1,000 is my final offer please". It's not THAT big of a project.

E-mail me: jobildo at tentonhammer dot com

Keen's AoC Impressions from the PvP Weekend

2008-04-21T08:08:00.003-05:00

Just thought I'd draw a little attention to a friend's excellent write up of his weekend spent playing Age of Conan. Keen covers it all and has tons of video to boot. Really good stuff, broheim.

Keen's AoC PvP Weekend Stuff

Now, keep in mind only people who were in the PvP Weekend can say anything right now. The NDA for that was lifted, but the rest of the General Beta testers and Tech Beta testers are still held to the NDA. No thoughts from that side of the testing yet, but likely soon as the Open Beta begins in a littler over a week.

AoC's PvP Weekend = No NDA

2008-04-20T15:46:00.002-05:00

And the forumites at TTH are letting out their thoughts on the game...

Age of Conan PvP Weekend Impressions

Not sure how many of you care, but I just thought I'd share with you this link so you can see what others think of the game. May 20th is only a a month away now... I can't wait!

AoC's NDA and My Own Site's Progress

2008-04-18T09:43:00.007-05:00

Well, in a massive letter to the community, J. Tharaldsen (only because I don't want to butcher his name do I call him J) spelled out tons of info regarding the upcoming open beta.

The most interesting one to me is that they might leave the NDA up after the open beta has begun, which I've got to say I find a little bit odd. Once those servers open to 50,000 people, there's going to be no stopping the swell of info and critiques that will cover the internet in a matter of hours, NDA or not. But perhaps they're keeping it in place for press reasons. J wasn't too specific about why, just that they plan to drop it well before launch on the 20 (or 17th for pre-order folks).

I know a lot of pessimists out there would cry foul at this little tidbit. Let me just remind those people that Anarchy Online NEVER dropped the NDA until launch. Some might say this was a good move, others a poor one, but I'm just bringing it up for a perspective on how Funcom operates. I'll be happy if it's dropped just 2 weeks before release. That's more than enough time for everyone to get their opinions on the game out there and heard.

Plus it gives me more time to ready content for Ten Ton Hammer.

Anyway, there's them apples.

I'd also like to take a second and ask you lot to check in on my WORK IN PROGRESS personal website. I've recently begun slapping together the code for the online portfolio of my design work, and I'd like to make sure it's working for you lot.

I've still got some issues to clear up in FF, as those of you using said program will notice. Possibly even Safari. But all seems well in IE5-7 at least to my eyes...

Anyway, if you could drop by there and take a look at the portfolio page (AGAIN IT'S A WORK IN PROGRESS, NOT FINAL), I'd be mighty obliged. Just click the link below to take a gander.

Bildo's WIP Web Portfolio

Additionally, if anyone browsing my site sees something they like and thinks "Hey I could use something like that!", I'm always accepting new clients.

Business Cards, Stationery, Logos, Wordmarks, Websites, Blogs, Flash movies, advertisements, fliers, pamphlets, CD covers, DVD inserts... basically whatever you need. Even personalized cartoons for whatever the occasion may be. I'm a fully-functional web and graphic designer with a penchant for anything creative. You name the project and I'll jump on it.

Just contact me at wmurphy at rebelutionstudios dot com.

I've been told that my mail server is bouncing some senders. If the above address doesn't work, try: bildotheirish at gmail dot com

That'll do it for my shameless self-promotion on a blog about my gaming habits. I think I've done enough for today.

Cheers!

EDIT: One last note about the site. The WEB section has a lot of links in it, but you'll notice only one displayed project currently. I had to sleep at some point last night, so I couldn't finish that section.

The project for FD Productions listed under the WEB section has a link to the client's site. The site you'll find at said link isn't my work. I'm actually uploading the site I built for him to that address later this evening. Said work can be found at this LINK though, if you want to take a look at that.

Age of Conan Open Beta May 1st

2008-04-17T13:28:00.002-05:00

Nothing more needs to be said, except that if you have a paid Fileplanet or IGN account, May 1st is the day heads will roll.

The NDA will probably drop that day as well... for what it's worth. I hope to have plenty to write about when this happens. You know, if I get into the open beta... ahem.

My First Design Job Interview...

2008-04-16T13:35:00.002-05:00

I walked into my office this morning and sat down, ready to start the slow process that is my current daily routine when my cell rang and showed a number that I didn't recognize. I let my voice mail pick up, and lo and behold it was the President of a small design form local to me that received my e-mail resume submission yesterday and wants to interview me this weekend.

Wish me luck... this plate just keeps getting filled up more and more. Here's hoping I don't make an ass of myself as I'm prone to do (I know, that's SO hard to believe).

Long But Short Weekend...

2008-04-14T07:36:00.003-05:00

Weekends lately are an odd beast. I've got so much going on between finishing up in my classes and web design work, not to mention TTH work... that they don't feel like weekends at all. Just days of the week where I don't have to commute.

That'll all change in two weeks though... no more school after the 27th. Two degrees, 18 years, and thousands of dollars later, I'm finally done with school unless some job in the future wants to send me off for more. But as for me breaking the bank for it? No more. Uh-uh. I'd like to retire before I'm 95.

I did get some Hellgate London in this weekend for the first time in a while. I'm still not fond of many classes except the pet ones, so I started Nightmare Mode with my Engineer that I first finished the game with months ago. Talk about a riot. I wish the normal mode of the game was as cool as Nightmare, because it would make going through the beginning levels much more fun. For the first 20 or so levels of Hellgate, even in Elite mode (unless you're playing Hardcore where death is permanent), you don't feel very afraid of anything. All enemies are relatively easy to beat, and there's no sense of impending doom. But as you near the end of the game, things get a lot more interesting.

That mentality carries over into Nightmare mode because of the bigger and badder mobs, and the fact that you're not starting from scratch. Taking my level 30 Engineer back to the beginning of the game on a higher difficulty feels 100 times different than starting a brand new character at level 1. It's very reminiscent of Diablo 2 and the hours upon hours I spent there, but somehow there's still something missing. I can't quite put my finger on it. Regardless, it's a great action game and one I'm still glad I picked up on launch.

That's my update for today unless some bombshell drops during the Monday boredom-fest. Just wanted to keep my loyal readers tuned into the fact that I'm nearing a looser schedule which should enable me to get back to my normal blogging pace.

Cheers!

Lost In Hyboria - "Three Strikes"

2008-04-09T08:30:00.002-05:00

Put a new comic up today over at Ten Ton Hammer. Check it out by clicking the link below...

Lost In Hyboria - "Three Strikes"

I'm really digging doing these every week, and we've got some big plans in the future for the strip, so I hope you lot are reading them and enjoying them as well. The response so far has been pretty positive, so we've got that on our side. Pretty soon we'll have a page on the site that has the collection of them linked for easy browsing.

It's gotten to the point where this is my favorite thing to do each week. Who knows, maybe with practice and patience I could make a living out of cartooning.

Cheers!

Super Busy, Still Nothing to Tell...

2008-04-07T14:24:00.002-05:00

I've been really busy lately with school and work and TTH stuff, and I'm also actively seeking out positions in what I hope will be my new field (web and graphic design and development) so I'm afraid I've got nothing to write at the moment. My head's all over the place, so I ask that what readers I have left stick with me a bit longer.

I've got 3 more weeks of class, and it's not long before Conan launches (and the NDA lifts and we'll all have plenty to chat about), but until then updates are going to be sporadic unless something really strikes a nerve.

Check back later for some new comics and whatnot.

Cheers!