An addictive blended of action and strategy. Think a real-time video game version of Magic the card game. Rocks playing people head to head on Xbox Live or on the PC.
I have tried many other MMORPGs since playing EverQuest. (EVE Online, DAoC, FFXI, etc). I played each for at least a few weeks to a few months.
Except for EVE, it all comes to one thing: the games are all too similar. The core gameplay differences are too small and the time requirements are too great. I cannot justify spending another year leveling to reach the end game.
So I return to EQ because they keeping adding things to do at the high level end. The things that are added to EQ aren't all that different than the previous expansion(s) but at least I don't have to toil through the low level time sink again to get there.
Frankly, Verant/Sony isn't doing anything that much better than anyone else. They were just the first get get me to invest the time required.
In my opinion Doom pushed the bar higher than any video game ever in any era.
Here are seven reason why I believe this:
1.) Network play While id Software didn't invent it they certainly made put Deathmatch on the map.
2.) Sound and Lighting Both were used with tremendous skill to set a very suspenseful mood. You could hear the creatures but the question was, where were they?
3.) Visual Quality It was the state of the art in video game graphics when it was released. The 2D sprite art and 3D texture maps were the best seen in that era.
4.) Level design The level design was inspired. The player was challenged with puzzles, secrets and traps in nearly every map. When has pressing a single been a source simultaneous terror and excitement.
5.) Scary This game was scary as hell. There were times when I would have to quit playing late a night because I was actually freaked out.
6.) Mod community This game also set a standard for player created maps and content.
7.) FUN Whether it was blowing away 3 imps with one shotgun blast or getting a room of demons to destroy themselves, this game was packed with fun things to do and experience.
You have to look at the buyers of EQ accounts to get the reasons behind the price differences.
A buyer of a high level EQ account is most likely to be a person that wants a position of power and respect in the game. They want the to be the 'best'. Or near the top anyway.
So much so, that they are willing to pay hundreds of real US dollars for it. This type of player is most likely a male player in real life. Power and sense of being respected (looked up to) is more important to male online gamers. A high percentage of male players (over 80%) play male avatars online. So there is going to be a higher demand for high level male avatars for EQ.
In general, women play EQ for more of a sense of community and social interaction. These goals do not require a female player to purchase a high level EQ account. Also, there are only about 15-20% real life female players in EQ. So even if they were looking to buy an account there would be far fewer female buyers compared to male.
Another interesting demographic is that only 1-2% of female EQ players play as males.
Good source of info on this subject can be found here: http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/
No consideration is given to the cost of any of the OS's? What percent does one pay for the OS vs. the hardware now? That ratio goes up every year with Windows. What's it is now for Windows XP Professional box? 30%?
Flexibility for Linux (KDE/Gnome) a 7? What is more flexible than an open source operating system?
Could a U.S. National Do-Not-Spam E-mail Registry be on the way soon after this?
One would hope it would be since the Telemarketer lobby has to be much more powerful (read: rich and more organized) than the spam E-mail marketing lobby.
For the love of Pete let's hope so! Spam for me over the last 3 months has probably doubled in volume.
In my apartment, my roommates and I all share a single DSL line split by a Ethernet router. I know many others that do the same thing. Being able to easily divide a DSL internet connection is another big advantage over dialup. If hadn't convinced my roommates to switch DSL, AOL or MSN could have 3 more customers.
Multiply this by 250,000 households and you could have another cause of the decline of there subscriber dialup base.
Slashdot Mirror
http://www.mtg-bg.com/
An addictive blended of action and strategy. Think a real-time video game version of Magic the card game. Rocks playing people head to head on Xbox Live or on the PC.
I have tried many other MMORPGs since playing EverQuest. (EVE Online, DAoC, FFXI, etc). I played each for at least a few weeks to a few months.
Except for EVE, it all comes to one thing: the games are all too similar. The core gameplay differences are too small and the time requirements are too great. I cannot justify spending another year leveling to reach the end game.
So I return to EQ because they keeping adding things to do at the high level end. The things that are added to EQ aren't all that different than the previous expansion(s) but at least I don't have to toil through the low level time sink again to get there.
Frankly, Verant/Sony isn't doing anything that much better than anyone else. They were just the first get get me to invest the time required.
In my opinion Doom pushed the bar higher than any video game ever in any era.
Here are seven reason why I believe this:
1.) Network play
While id Software didn't invent it they certainly made put Deathmatch on the map.
2.) Sound and Lighting
Both were used with tremendous skill to set a very suspenseful mood. You could hear the creatures but the question was, where were they?
3.) Visual Quality
It was the state of the art in video game graphics when it was released. The 2D sprite art and 3D texture maps were the best seen in that era.
4.) Level design
The level design was inspired. The player was challenged with puzzles, secrets and traps in nearly every map. When has pressing a single been a source simultaneous terror and excitement.
5.) Scary
This game was scary as hell. There were times when I would have to quit playing late a night because I was actually freaked out.
6.) Mod community
This game also set a standard for player created maps and content.
7.) FUN
Whether it was blowing away 3 imps with one shotgun blast or getting a room of demons to destroy themselves, this game was packed with fun things to do and experience.
The saddest part is that it dropped no items nor did the EverQuest GMs give out anything for defeating the dragon (that I know of).
3+ hours for nothing but posterity.
You have to look at the buyers of EQ accounts to get the reasons behind the price differences.
A buyer of a high level EQ account is most likely to be a person that wants a position of power and respect in the game. They want the to be the 'best'. Or near the top anyway.
So much so, that they are willing to pay hundreds of real US dollars for it. This type of player is most likely a male player in real life. Power and sense of being respected (looked up to) is more important to male online gamers. A high percentage of male players (over 80%) play male avatars online. So there is going to be a higher demand for high level male avatars for EQ.
In general, women play EQ for more of a sense of community and social interaction. These goals do not require a female player to purchase a high level EQ account. Also, there are only about 15-20% real life female players in EQ. So even if they were looking to buy an account there would be far fewer female buyers compared to male.
Another interesting demographic is that only 1-2% of female EQ players play as males.
Good source of info on this subject can be found here: http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/
When is the first patch scheduled?
And OMG, don't get my started about the griefers. They are everywhere.
I'm sticking with EQ for now.
The Lord of the Rings movie lived up to the hype and then some. It does happen.
No consideration is given to the cost of any of the OS's? What percent does one pay for the OS vs. the hardware now? That ratio goes up every year with Windows. What's it is now for Windows XP Professional box? 30%?
Flexibility for Linux (KDE/Gnome) a 7? What is more flexible than an open source operating system?
Could a U.S. National Do-Not-Spam E-mail Registry be on the way soon after this?
One would hope it would be since the Telemarketer lobby has to be much more powerful (read: rich and more organized) than the spam E-mail marketing lobby.
For the love of Pete let's hope so! Spam for me over the last 3 months has probably doubled in volume.
In my apartment, my roommates and I all share a single DSL line split by a Ethernet router. I know many others that do the same thing. Being able to easily divide a DSL internet connection is another big advantage over dialup. If hadn't convinced my roommates to switch DSL, AOL or MSN could have 3 more customers.
Multiply this by 250,000 households and you could have another cause of the decline of there subscriber dialup base.
...mathematicians, physicists, software developers, computer programmers...
;)
There's a difference? Isn't this like saying "mathematicians, physicists, botanists and people who study plants"
It makes me think that people really don't know what computer programming is.
This guy gives new meaning the the phrase "Point, click and shoot."
No, goat sacrifices are for stable running of Windows. Calf sacrifices are for the compilation. It's in the bible.