Yes, the post is concerning World Of Warcraft. Dun Morough is the starting place for gnomish characters and is also one of the most populated areas on any server. Mainly because the city of Ironforge is located near Dun Morough and that is where the Alliance auction house is located.
I use to play SWG too, quit for all the reasons you just stated. It's amazing how fast that game got boring. You mean you didn't like 30 Jedis in every good PvP battle out there and that everyone was one of two classes? hehe.
I think a commander is not only cool, but necessary. Everyone in the instance wouldn't listen to the commander, but most would. A voting system with a karma system would work well. If a guild overloaded the battleground and voted in their buddy, then that's great. Mainly because that means a good portion of the team is ready to listen to what that commander has to say. I know I wouldn't have a problem listening to a commander who was just voted in by a big guild. Maybe put a time restriction on the vote. Meaning, you can't vote unless you have been fighting for 15 minutes and the like.
In PlanetSide you had people with the ability to talk to everyone on their side. You would be surprised how many groups would listen to the head commanders. They simply ask everyone to attack a certain base, next thing you know you have tons of back-up helping you attack the base. That's not from coincidence:-)
I believe your experience with MMORPGs is very limited by the looks of your comment. Just about every MMORPG that comes out has stability issues within the first 3-6 months. They don't need more man power because that doesn't help the issue. Buying better hardware is not the solution either since they probably have the top of the line equipment already
Everybody has a budget, the trick is to use your resources efficiently. As the server loads go up, you have to manage a way to get your resources to work better together. That's why it takes so long sometimes. You can add and program in new hardware easy, but getting more out of what you already have takes some thinking and brain storming.
Ask anyone who has playing in the early stages of ANY MMORPG and they will tell you that downtime is guaranteed. I personally play on Kargath and have had zero problems with connectivity and I have played everyday since mid December. If your having connection problems, simply create another character in a different server and have fun with that until your first choice server comes back online. For some people, that's too much though. Don't forget, Blizzard has already reimbursed everyone so no one payed for time they could not play with.
I have a few suggestions for you that might help you enjoy the game more. First, try a different proffession. I started with mining/blacksmithing with my first toon and I agree, the proffession was not rewarding enough. So with my second toon, I tried herbalism and alchemy. Now this proffesion has been extremly rewarding. You really get to make useful potions that you can use or sell. My friends are doing leathercrafting, which they seem to be also thorougly enjoying right now.
The reptition you speak of about questing can be put against any MMORPG. All leveling has some sort of repitition. Keep in mind that WoW was made to be a PvP game, not a PvE. You are suppose to reach level 60 within a reasonable amount of time so you can start doing more PvP. Try a raid sometime, I think you will enjoy it.
I played FFXI from Oct of 2003 to Feb of 2004. While I enjoyed the game, it is not casual gamer friendly since getting anything done requires time slots of atleast an hour. I then played Star Wars Galaxies from July 2004 to Sept 2004. That game lacked content and bug fixes more than anything else. As soon as the Star Wars part wore off of me, the dullness of the game sunk in.
In comes World of Warcraft. Wow, what a relief. This game is ideal for people like me. You can actually play for 30 minutes and get a lot done. WoW also has in game documentation that gets rid of all the guessing. Another biggie for casual gamers, we don't have the time to try 100 things just to get item we want. In short, casual gamers now have an excellent choice for MMORPGs that fit to our gaming style. Before, I'm not sure there was, so either way, the casual gamer gains a new game type in 2004 (even though it existed for several years before). Besides, I don't think too many veteran MMORPGers will mind seeing SOE losing profits after the type of customer satisfaction they have gotten in the last year.
I'd also like to add that EA is not buying the majority of the stock, but merely would own the most stock. You cannot make company decisions with 20% of the companies stock. EA would require another 31% approval from the other stock holders to do any kind of real damage to Ubisoft.
In order for a hostile take-over to be possible, usually one entity requires atleast 50.01% of the companies stock. That is the only way they would have enough power to do whatever they want. With the most stock, however, EA would have the most power, but not THE power. Now stop panicking and over reacting...oh wait...I'm posting this on/., nevermind.
When in multiplayer mode, your computer system now has to handle everything it was handling in single player, plus network traffic. The network traffic includes your computer now using your network card to the fullest, plus the added CPU time of the source engine computing that information into all the pretty graphics.
You do not just have one object being thrown around, but 2-20 now. The physics calculations the source engine was doing before has now gone up over 1500%. This all adds up to more CPU and RAM usage on your computer.
In MP, turn down your "Texture Detail" and hop down the resolution one notch. See how it plays, then gradually increase the settings until you hit the FPS rate you don't want to deal with. Tweaking is important. You cannot expect to run the MP of this game at the same settings you did as the SP, especially if you had the SP maxed out, due to MP requiring more resources than SP. In other words, it's completely normal to get FPS drops between MP and SP. Just downgrade your graphics. Not what you wanted to hear, but it is the facts.
It is a tough situation when you are required to do work for someone you do not respect. I work in a large engineering company and I have to deal with managers who no nothing about engineering all the time. Something I have found that works well is getting to know your boss personally. Now some would vote against this, but I have had no problems now that I know more about my managers.
I have found that you can learn that the managers are actually smarter than you think. While it may not be technical smarts, they usually do have money smarts. People get the wrong impression that managers are there to make sure the technical work is getting done correctly. There actual job is to make sure it's getting done on a budget, therefore, technical expertise is not needed. Senior engineers/ITs are the ones responsible for correctness at my job.
Remember that next time your boss tells you something. Maybe try to talk to him about stuff that is not work related. This will open up your business relationship with him. The more your boss knows you, the more effectively he can manage you. If he knows the things you like/dislike, he'll be able to give you more of what you want. If your boss knows nothing about you, then how can he know how you prefer to do your job. No one can manage someone they don't know, just like a engineer can't design a system he knows nothing about. By getting to know your boss you are giving him the potential to be a better manager.
So what about that boss that just doesn't know how to handle people. Well, you have two choices, find a new job or try another approach to deal with the boss. It's very normal to quit a job because you can't deal with the management. If the company is big enough, just transfer. Do not be afraid of change. Some bosses, as soon as they know you are afraid to leave, will exploit you to the fullest. Being confident and flexible can be the key to getting the most out of your job.
One last thing. As an engineer, my job is to design/integrate systems and solve problems. After all, an engineering degree teaches you how to think, not how to do real world job stuff. Getting a project done at a certain time is part of a problem you must learn how to solve, therefore, you are actually doing part of your job by simply trying meet a schedule (that might be impossible to meet). Atleast you put your best effort to put out a quality product. If designing systems on a budget was easy, anyone could do it, but it's not, that's why they usually require degreed engineers to perform the tasks that we as techincal people do.
A pretty good idea to integrate into the Sims game. Defitnely add some cool content that would add atleast another 20 hours of game play. I enjoyed playing the Sims 2, but I did get bored of it since the game play was similiar to the original. Sims 2 had some nice new content that kept me entertained for quite awhile, but after I explored it all I couldn't play it anymore. I guess I got burnt out on the original Sims. I would say $19.99 is a good number for an extra 20 hours of game content, but no more than that. The overall Sims game play was outplayed in the original for me so all I have to look forward to is new game content for a reasonable price. I personally didn't think that the Sims 2 was worth the price tag when I bought it. It was just a graphics upgrade with new content...that and no pool table to put in my house:-)
The GT series is one of the best titles in gaming history. I can remember playing the first GT my freshman year in college. I was completely blown away by the games realism, control, and flexibility.
Multiplayer was and is a blast, but so many forget about the single player part of the game. The versatility of buying/building your own race cars was almost limitless, even in the first GT. The subsequent games were just as fun and diverse as the first. New cars and new tracks to master.
I personally appreciated the time and effort it took to really master tracks and racecars. The game gave you something to work forward to and perfect. I really enjoy racing sims and I do not believe there is another game out there that is at the same level as the GT series and this goes for consoles and PC games. Nothing like the college days of bad weather where you sat all night with your buddies, drinkng beer and racing cars.
I agree with all your ideas. I personally like stats because they are fun to look at. When I'm playing, I don't really care much for stats, but after I'm done playing, I love to look at the stats. It's interesting to me to see patterns of how I and my fellow online friends (other gamers) develop and fluctuate. If I had to choose, between stats or no stats, I would want the stats. Yes, it does tend to make some become stat-wh0res, but I can put up with that considering the enjoyment I get out of seeing my own personal stats.
I played FFXI for approximately 6 months and attained level 40 with my main job. I played WoW during the stress test and attained level 15. I am a casual gamer. I enjoyed FFXI, but I grew bored of leveling, thus grew bored of FFXI.
If you are a power gamer, you will probably want to stick with FFXI because the leveling and quest system in FFXI is based around playing the game 3-5 hours at a time. If you are tired of leveling or a casual gamer, then switch to WoW. WoW has an extremely elaborate quest system that drives you through the game. Unlike FFXI, you get some small story tidbits while you work on rank. In WoW, everything has a story, and like FFXI, the quests are driven to make you explore new areas.
Grouping. You know that in FFXI, you can't do anything without a full group. Not to mention a full group of good players. In WoW, that is not the case. You can choose to do solo missions are group missions since the quest are color coded according to their difficulty. I enjoyed doing the solo quests and the harder, group quests. With that said, you have more options with WoW, than you do with FFXI.
Leveling. After I reached level 10, the level came a lot slower, just like in FFXI. You can work on a sub skills, but you are pretty much stuck with the main job you pick in WoW. FFXI was cool because you could just switch jobs whenever you wanted, you cannot really do that with WoW...but, the jobs/skills in WoW are very customizable and are more detailed, so you have more to choose from. In FFXI, you received ability A at level 10. In WoW, you have to choose what skills you want to concentrate in. Example, mage would choose, fire, water, or earth. In FFXI, you just earned more money to get what you wanted.
I found FFXI to be too slow and time consuming to get anything done in the end, that's why I quit. I enjoyed WoW because of its casual atmosphere. That and not ever having to wait for a WHM to pop-up and join my group. I suggest you try the open BETA. I think you will find all you need to know and will be able to make a good decision based on it.
I don't think Doom III was much of a blockbuster. I'm sure they had some decent intial sales, but the game was a major disappointment. I don't forsee Doom III making too much more money.
Nice to see someone looking at the bright side of things for once. This is only the 2nd time I have been eligible to vote (age) for the president and both times I felt important and very powerful after I walked out of the voting booth. Not so much about the presidental election, but the more local ammendments, congressman, and senator elections. Only a small portion of this planet's population really gets the satisfaction of that feeling and it is a shame that so many Americans take it for granted.
Yes, there is a lot of BS and bureacuracy in American politics and government, but to me it is still so much better than what a communist or strict republic government has to offer.
It's been a long time since I have been to an arcade. Do they still have Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, or Pole Posistion at them? Maybe the original Star Wars game?
An early release is all about marketing and not so much about the state of the game. SOE made a choice to release their game earlier than expected in order to take sales away from Blizzard and into their pocket. SOE believes that EQ2 is in a good enough shape to have an early release.
To me the answer relies on the company's reputation. If I know a game is being released early, I will buy it on the earlier release date only if I have confidence in the software company. This all relies on previous experiences I have had with other game titles they have published. In the case of SOE, I would suggest staying away from EQ2 because of my experience with SWG. Another example is EA/DICE. They have released buggy games and up until recently, the early releases weren't a problem until Battlefield: Vietnam. After BFV, DICE's reputation dropped dramatically due to the intense game play inbalances in the game that had not been worked out. Next DICE game I buy now will not be until several months after the game release instead of the day of the release as I did with BF1942, Road To Rome, and Vietnam.
If a game, upon release, is fun to play with just a few issues, then the early release will be good for the company. If the game has just one major issue, word will get around, and the company's reputation will suffer and then consumers are much less likely to buy a game without hearing about it first (thus hurting sales). It's a big risk to have an early release, but if the company is good, it's a risk worth taking for them. It's all about management making a wise decision on how to market their product. We all know that game producers have made some pretty bad moves latetly, maybe EQ2 will be different.
I agree, why wouldn't a MMORPG producer not want to do this. Even if it means having a third party doing it for you, it still means extra cash flow. I think just about every MMO player likes to see their personal stats and be able to share those stats easily with others. I have always been a big fan of forum sigs that show player stats for online characters.
I don't know about an MMO, but after playing Doom 3, I couldn't understand why id went through all the trouble to come up with a great new engine, only to use it with a very mediocre story line. Maybe they should put some money into R&D and story line. I didn't see any reason to come out with another Doom game, the first two were plotless for the most part. Atleast the first Doom was the first of its kind. Doom 3 is just another high graphic FPS game. Graphics do not make a game fun.
I was very disappointed with Doom 3 and I'm glad I didn't buy it (borrowed it from a friend). He didn't like it much either, atleast he hasn't asked for the game back yet. Doom 3 just fits into that ever growing category of, great graphics, disappointing game play.
Think of Half-Life, it revolutionized graphics and had a great story along with great gameplay. Forget all the mods, HL itself was just plain awesome. We can all only hope that HL2 will have fun/new gameplay. I know I'm getting tired of all the sequels to old games instead of fresh and new games with new gameplay. Last thing I want is another Battlefield Vietnam.
1) Switch to 802.11a (in the 5.4Ghz range, so the cordless phones will not bother it)
I can confirm that this works. Back in 2002 I worked for the Tulane Computing Store as a student job and we recommended this to students and teachers who had the interference problems. It seemed to work since I don't remember anyone coming back to get their money back.
I understand if you do not agree with the Steam authentication, but why is it that people want everyone to do the same thing they are doing. It is like people want an excuse to not buy the game. Games are about entertainment and fun, so why are so many people complaining about HL2, a game that hasn't even come out yet. I think people are forgetting the whole point of buying a game. How can you judge a game's quality if you haven't played it yet.
I'm beginning to think people use the whole HL2 "drama" just to get attention on the internet. People want to actually think that others care if they are buying a game or not. I know I don't. If I hear my friends like a game, then I'll buy it, but am I gonna not buy a game because one person says they are cancelling their pre-order....I don't think so. The whole irony of all this is that in a few months, if HL2 turns out to be a great game, the very same cancelling people are going to be the first one to jump on the, "omg, this is the greatest game ever and I knew it all along" band wagon. As for me, I was ready to buy the game last year on release day, now, I'll probably wait a few days after release. Either way, I'll eventually buy the game I think because Valve produced an amazing product on the last go around.
I think you hit the nail on the head with your comment. It's so true that games nowadays focus more on graphics than actual game play. It's sad that I find the old Super Mario games, Starfox, and the original Bond more fun than games coming out now.
Think about how much you played Super Tecmo Bowl and Street Fighter in your life and try to find any game that's came out in the last three years that matches the amount of time you played those games. I know I cannot think of any....ok, maybe Battlefield 1942 if you include the mods.
I can confirm the same thing at Tulane University. Our entire campus is wireless, so there is not much need for lab computers since most people who can afford to go to Tulane can afford their very own labtop. That RPI seems a little out of date considering how many people have their own computers now.
I would put Tulane up against any school when it comes to internet access. Tulane received a large grant from one of the Yahoo founders (a Tulane alumni) about six years ago which was completely dedicated to updating the campuses computer technology. Not to mention, Tulane received another large grant about six months ago for the very same thing. That poll just looks like someone wants certain schools to look good, might as well call it a Princeton Review, the results are about that reliable.
I'm the main Battlefield editor over at AmpedNews so I keep up with gaming trends and personal since I cover the main online gaming leagues. One thing I have noticed about the female gamers is the attention they get from others playing in the online leagues. One in particular, who is on my Amped staff, is constantly getting attention from the male gamers.
It takes a certain type of girl to deal with the type of stuff that she handles all the time. She cannot get onto IRC without some male gamer wanting to bother her. I'm sure there are other gamers that I have played with regularly that are female, but choose not to say it. Mainly to avoid all the harrassement from the other online gamers. My point is, not only are girls different, but they have to be ready to put up with a community that is mostly made up of horny male teenagers.
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Yes, the post is concerning World Of Warcraft. Dun Morough is the starting place for gnomish characters and is also one of the most populated areas on any server. Mainly because the city of Ironforge is located near Dun Morough and that is where the Alliance auction house is located.
I use to play SWG too, quit for all the reasons you just stated. It's amazing how fast that game got boring. You mean you didn't like 30 Jedis in every good PvP battle out there and that everyone was one of two classes? hehe.
I think a commander is not only cool, but necessary. Everyone in the instance wouldn't listen to the commander, but most would. A voting system with a karma system would work well. If a guild overloaded the battleground and voted in their buddy, then that's great. Mainly because that means a good portion of the team is ready to listen to what that commander has to say. I know I wouldn't have a problem listening to a commander who was just voted in by a big guild. Maybe put a time restriction on the vote. Meaning, you can't vote unless you have been fighting for 15 minutes and the like.
:-)
In PlanetSide you had people with the ability to talk to everyone on their side. You would be surprised how many groups would listen to the head commanders. They simply ask everyone to attack a certain base, next thing you know you have tons of back-up helping you attack the base. That's not from coincidence
I believe your experience with MMORPGs is very limited by the looks of your comment. Just about every MMORPG that comes out has stability issues within the first 3-6 months. They don't need more man power because that doesn't help the issue. Buying better hardware is not the solution either since they probably have the top of the line equipment already
Everybody has a budget, the trick is to use your resources efficiently. As the server loads go up, you have to manage a way to get your resources to work better together. That's why it takes so long sometimes. You can add and program in new hardware easy, but getting more out of what you already have takes some thinking and brain storming.
Ask anyone who has playing in the early stages of ANY MMORPG and they will tell you that downtime is guaranteed. I personally play on Kargath and have had zero problems with connectivity and I have played everyday since mid December. If your having connection problems, simply create another character in a different server and have fun with that until your first choice server comes back online. For some people, that's too much though. Don't forget, Blizzard has already reimbursed everyone so no one payed for time they could not play with.
I have a few suggestions for you that might help you enjoy the game more. First, try a different proffession. I started with mining/blacksmithing with my first toon and I agree, the proffession was not rewarding enough. So with my second toon, I tried herbalism and alchemy. Now this proffesion has been extremly rewarding. You really get to make useful potions that you can use or sell. My friends are doing leathercrafting, which they seem to be also thorougly enjoying right now.
The reptition you speak of about questing can be put against any MMORPG. All leveling has some sort of repitition. Keep in mind that WoW was made to be a PvP game, not a PvE. You are suppose to reach level 60 within a reasonable amount of time so you can start doing more PvP. Try a raid sometime, I think you will enjoy it.
I played FFXI from Oct of 2003 to Feb of 2004. While I enjoyed the game, it is not casual gamer friendly since getting anything done requires time slots of atleast an hour. I then played Star Wars Galaxies from July 2004 to Sept 2004. That game lacked content and bug fixes more than anything else. As soon as the Star Wars part wore off of me, the dullness of the game sunk in.
In comes World of Warcraft. Wow, what a relief. This game is ideal for people like me. You can actually play for 30 minutes and get a lot done. WoW also has in game documentation that gets rid of all the guessing. Another biggie for casual gamers, we don't have the time to try 100 things just to get item we want. In short, casual gamers now have an excellent choice for MMORPGs that fit to our gaming style. Before, I'm not sure there was, so either way, the casual gamer gains a new game type in 2004 (even though it existed for several years before). Besides, I don't think too many veteran MMORPGers will mind seeing SOE losing profits after the type of customer satisfaction they have gotten in the last year.
I'd also like to add that EA is not buying the majority of the stock, but merely would own the most stock. You cannot make company decisions with 20% of the companies stock. EA would require another 31% approval from the other stock holders to do any kind of real damage to Ubisoft.
/., nevermind.
In order for a hostile take-over to be possible, usually one entity requires atleast 50.01% of the companies stock. That is the only way they would have enough power to do whatever they want. With the most stock, however, EA would have the most power, but not THE power. Now stop panicking and over reacting...oh wait...I'm posting this on
When in multiplayer mode, your computer system now has to handle everything it was handling in single player, plus network traffic. The network traffic includes your computer now using your network card to the fullest, plus the added CPU time of the source engine computing that information into all the pretty graphics.
You do not just have one object being thrown around, but 2-20 now. The physics calculations the source engine was doing before has now gone up over 1500%. This all adds up to more CPU and RAM usage on your computer.
In MP, turn down your "Texture Detail" and hop down the resolution one notch. See how it plays, then gradually increase the settings until you hit the FPS rate you don't want to deal with. Tweaking is important. You cannot expect to run the MP of this game at the same settings you did as the SP, especially if you had the SP maxed out, due to MP requiring more resources than SP. In other words, it's completely normal to get FPS drops between MP and SP. Just downgrade your graphics. Not what you wanted to hear, but it is the facts.
It is a tough situation when you are required to do work for someone you do not respect. I work in a large engineering company and I have to deal with managers who no nothing about engineering all the time. Something I have found that works well is getting to know your boss personally. Now some would vote against this, but I have had no problems now that I know more about my managers.
I have found that you can learn that the managers are actually smarter than you think. While it may not be technical smarts, they usually do have money smarts. People get the wrong impression that managers are there to make sure the technical work is getting done correctly. There actual job is to make sure it's getting done on a budget, therefore, technical expertise is not needed. Senior engineers/ITs are the ones responsible for correctness at my job.
Remember that next time your boss tells you something. Maybe try to talk to him about stuff that is not work related. This will open up your business relationship with him. The more your boss knows you, the more effectively he can manage you. If he knows the things you like/dislike, he'll be able to give you more of what you want. If your boss knows nothing about you, then how can he know how you prefer to do your job. No one can manage someone they don't know, just like a engineer can't design a system he knows nothing about. By getting to know your boss you are giving him the potential to be a better manager.
So what about that boss that just doesn't know how to handle people. Well, you have two choices, find a new job or try another approach to deal with the boss. It's very normal to quit a job because you can't deal with the management. If the company is big enough, just transfer. Do not be afraid of change. Some bosses, as soon as they know you are afraid to leave, will exploit you to the fullest. Being confident and flexible can be the key to getting the most out of your job.
One last thing. As an engineer, my job is to design/integrate systems and solve problems. After all, an engineering degree teaches you how to think, not how to do real world job stuff. Getting a project done at a certain time is part of a problem you must learn how to solve, therefore, you are actually doing part of your job by simply trying meet a schedule (that might be impossible to meet). Atleast you put your best effort to put out a quality product. If designing systems on a budget was easy, anyone could do it, but it's not, that's why they usually require degreed engineers to perform the tasks that we as techincal people do.
A pretty good idea to integrate into the Sims game. Defitnely add some cool content that would add atleast another 20 hours of game play. I enjoyed playing the Sims 2, but I did get bored of it since the game play was similiar to the original. Sims 2 had some nice new content that kept me entertained for quite awhile, but after I explored it all I couldn't play it anymore. I guess I got burnt out on the original Sims. I would say $19.99 is a good number for an extra 20 hours of game content, but no more than that. The overall Sims game play was outplayed in the original for me so all I have to look forward to is new game content for a reasonable price. I personally didn't think that the Sims 2 was worth the price tag when I bought it. It was just a graphics upgrade with new content...that and no pool table to put in my house :-)
What game have you, personally, spent the most hours played?
The GT series is one of the best titles in gaming history. I can remember playing the first GT my freshman year in college. I was completely blown away by the games realism, control, and flexibility.
Multiplayer was and is a blast, but so many forget about the single player part of the game. The versatility of buying/building your own race cars was almost limitless, even in the first GT. The subsequent games were just as fun and diverse as the first. New cars and new tracks to master.
I personally appreciated the time and effort it took to really master tracks and racecars. The game gave you something to work forward to and perfect. I really enjoy racing sims and I do not believe there is another game out there that is at the same level as the GT series and this goes for consoles and PC games. Nothing like the college days of bad weather where you sat all night with your buddies, drinkng beer and racing cars.
I agree with all your ideas. I personally like stats because they are fun to look at. When I'm playing, I don't really care much for stats, but after I'm done playing, I love to look at the stats. It's interesting to me to see patterns of how I and my fellow online friends (other gamers) develop and fluctuate. If I had to choose, between stats or no stats, I would want the stats. Yes, it does tend to make some become stat-wh0res, but I can put up with that considering the enjoyment I get out of seeing my own personal stats.
I played FFXI for approximately 6 months and attained level 40 with my main job. I played WoW during the stress test and attained level 15. I am a casual gamer. I enjoyed FFXI, but I grew bored of leveling, thus grew bored of FFXI.
If you are a power gamer, you will probably want to stick with FFXI because the leveling and quest system in FFXI is based around playing the game 3-5 hours at a time. If you are tired of leveling or a casual gamer, then switch to WoW. WoW has an extremely elaborate quest system that drives you through the game. Unlike FFXI, you get some small story tidbits while you work on rank. In WoW, everything has a story, and like FFXI, the quests are driven to make you explore new areas.
Grouping. You know that in FFXI, you can't do anything without a full group. Not to mention a full group of good players. In WoW, that is not the case. You can choose to do solo missions are group missions since the quest are color coded according to their difficulty. I enjoyed doing the solo quests and the harder, group quests. With that said, you have more options with WoW, than you do with FFXI.
Leveling. After I reached level 10, the level came a lot slower, just like in FFXI. You can work on a sub skills, but you are pretty much stuck with the main job you pick in WoW. FFXI was cool because you could just switch jobs whenever you wanted, you cannot really do that with WoW...but, the jobs/skills in WoW are very customizable and are more detailed, so you have more to choose from. In FFXI, you received ability A at level 10. In WoW, you have to choose what skills you want to concentrate in. Example, mage would choose, fire, water, or earth. In FFXI, you just earned more money to get what you wanted.
I found FFXI to be too slow and time consuming to get anything done in the end, that's why I quit. I enjoyed WoW because of its casual atmosphere. That and not ever having to wait for a WHM to pop-up and join my group. I suggest you try the open BETA. I think you will find all you need to know and will be able to make a good decision based on it.
"blockbuster hit DOOM III"
I don't think Doom III was much of a blockbuster. I'm sure they had some decent intial sales, but the game was a major disappointment. I don't forsee Doom III making too much more money.
Nice to see someone looking at the bright side of things for once. This is only the 2nd time I have been eligible to vote (age) for the president and both times I felt important and very powerful after I walked out of the voting booth. Not so much about the presidental election, but the more local ammendments, congressman, and senator elections. Only a small portion of this planet's population really gets the satisfaction of that feeling and it is a shame that so many Americans take it for granted.
Yes, there is a lot of BS and bureacuracy in American politics and government, but to me it is still so much better than what a communist or strict republic government has to offer.
It's been a long time since I have been to an arcade. Do they still have Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, or Pole Posistion at them? Maybe the original Star Wars game?
An early release is all about marketing and not so much about the state of the game. SOE made a choice to release their game earlier than expected in order to take sales away from Blizzard and into their pocket. SOE believes that EQ2 is in a good enough shape to have an early release.
To me the answer relies on the company's reputation. If I know a game is being released early, I will buy it on the earlier release date only if I have confidence in the software company. This all relies on previous experiences I have had with other game titles they have published. In the case of SOE, I would suggest staying away from EQ2 because of my experience with SWG. Another example is EA/DICE. They have released buggy games and up until recently, the early releases weren't a problem until Battlefield: Vietnam. After BFV, DICE's reputation dropped dramatically due to the intense game play inbalances in the game that had not been worked out. Next DICE game I buy now will not be until several months after the game release instead of the day of the release as I did with BF1942, Road To Rome, and Vietnam.
If a game, upon release, is fun to play with just a few issues, then the early release will be good for the company. If the game has just one major issue, word will get around, and the company's reputation will suffer and then consumers are much less likely to buy a game without hearing about it first (thus hurting sales). It's a big risk to have an early release, but if the company is good, it's a risk worth taking for them. It's all about management making a wise decision on how to market their product. We all know that game producers have made some pretty bad moves latetly, maybe EQ2 will be different.
I agree, why wouldn't a MMORPG producer not want to do this. Even if it means having a third party doing it for you, it still means extra cash flow. I think just about every MMO player likes to see their personal stats and be able to share those stats easily with others. I have always been a big fan of forum sigs that show player stats for online characters.
I don't know about an MMO, but after playing Doom 3, I couldn't understand why id went through all the trouble to come up with a great new engine, only to use it with a very mediocre story line. Maybe they should put some money into R&D and story line. I didn't see any reason to come out with another Doom game, the first two were plotless for the most part. Atleast the first Doom was the first of its kind. Doom 3 is just another high graphic FPS game. Graphics do not make a game fun.
I was very disappointed with Doom 3 and I'm glad I didn't buy it (borrowed it from a friend). He didn't like it much either, atleast he hasn't asked for the game back yet. Doom 3 just fits into that ever growing category of, great graphics, disappointing game play.
Think of Half-Life, it revolutionized graphics and had a great story along with great gameplay. Forget all the mods, HL itself was just plain awesome. We can all only hope that HL2 will have fun/new gameplay. I know I'm getting tired of all the sequels to old games instead of fresh and new games with new gameplay. Last thing I want is another Battlefield Vietnam.
1) Switch to 802.11a (in the 5.4Ghz range, so the cordless phones will not bother it)
I can confirm that this works. Back in 2002 I worked for the Tulane Computing Store as a student job and we recommended this to students and teachers who had the interference problems. It seemed to work since I don't remember anyone coming back to get their money back.
I understand if you do not agree with the Steam authentication, but why is it that people want everyone to do the same thing they are doing. It is like people want an excuse to not buy the game. Games are about entertainment and fun, so why are so many people complaining about HL2, a game that hasn't even come out yet. I think people are forgetting the whole point of buying a game. How can you judge a game's quality if you haven't played it yet.
I'm beginning to think people use the whole HL2 "drama" just to get attention on the internet. People want to actually think that others care if they are buying a game or not. I know I don't. If I hear my friends like a game, then I'll buy it, but am I gonna not buy a game because one person says they are cancelling their pre-order....I don't think so. The whole irony of all this is that in a few months, if HL2 turns out to be a great game, the very same cancelling people are going to be the first one to jump on the, "omg, this is the greatest game ever and I knew it all along" band wagon. As for me, I was ready to buy the game last year on release day, now, I'll probably wait a few days after release. Either way, I'll eventually buy the game I think because Valve produced an amazing product on the last go around.
I think you hit the nail on the head with your comment. It's so true that games nowadays focus more on graphics than actual game play. It's sad that I find the old Super Mario games, Starfox, and the original Bond more fun than games coming out now.
Think about how much you played Super Tecmo Bowl and Street Fighter in your life and try to find any game that's came out in the last three years that matches the amount of time you played those games. I know I cannot think of any....ok, maybe Battlefield 1942 if you include the mods.
I can confirm the same thing at Tulane University. Our entire campus is wireless, so there is not much need for lab computers since most people who can afford to go to Tulane can afford their very own labtop. That RPI seems a little out of date considering how many people have their own computers now.
I would put Tulane up against any school when it comes to internet access. Tulane received a large grant from one of the Yahoo founders (a Tulane alumni) about six years ago which was completely dedicated to updating the campuses computer technology. Not to mention, Tulane received another large grant about six months ago for the very same thing. That poll just looks like someone wants certain schools to look good, might as well call it a Princeton Review, the results are about that reliable.
I'm the main Battlefield editor over at AmpedNews so I keep up with gaming trends and personal since I cover the main online gaming leagues. One thing I have noticed about the female gamers is the attention they get from others playing in the online leagues. One in particular, who is on my Amped staff, is constantly getting attention from the male gamers.
It takes a certain type of girl to deal with the type of stuff that she handles all the time. She cannot get onto IRC without some male gamer wanting to bother her. I'm sure there are other gamers that I have played with regularly that are female, but choose not to say it. Mainly to avoid all the harrassement from the other online gamers. My point is, not only are girls different, but they have to be ready to put up with a community that is mostly made up of horny male teenagers.