Oh, Now That Ain’t Right… SOE Nyet! December 8, 2011
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, EverQuest II.Tags: Age of Discovery
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And here I was worried about character slots and they switch up languages on me!
But is says "English" in the corner!
Truly an age of discovery this is turning out to be!
Dasvidaniya for now SOE!
(Okay, changing away from and then back to English fixed it, but another fly in the ointment. On the bright side, all 15 of my characters seem to be present and unlocked.)
TorilMUD Adds Nine New Zones December 7, 2011
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in Ancient Gaming, entertainment, MUDs, TorilMUD.Tags: Homeland MUD
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Just because an online game was already about six years old when EverQuest, which drew much of its inspiration from this game, hit the store shelves doesn’t mean that it is winding down. It may not be in danger of exceeding its maximum connection limit any more, but TorilMUD is still alive and evolving.
The new login art
A little over 18 years since I started playing, they are still adding new zones. From the TorilMUD dev blog:
Nine new zones from the former Homeland MUD have been converted and added to the mud. Look for them in the credits, and here’s a taste of what’s in store:
- King Horgar Steelshadow the Fourth has closed the city of Gracklstugh to outsiders, but has finally, after being pressured by merchant guilds for the better part of a year, agreed to allow passage around the city walls to the wild tunnels of the Underdark that lie due west of the city gates. With the trade routes open, the fiendish minotaurs that roam the Labyrinth once again have a steady supply of food.
- Denizens of the Underdark have reported many sightings of extra-planar beings, native to the Plane of Fire deep underground.
- Rumors spread throughout the Northdark about a temple dedicated to the Elder Eye, and the riches contained within, unfortunately for adventurers, those rumors usually finish with ‘… and they were never heard from again.’, but there is always an exception, isn’t there?
- Patrolmen from Phlan have reported increased activity ranging from ogres to dragons, all hailing from the mountains to the north.
- Strange travelers have been seen in the astral plane, whether they mean good or bad tidings for the casual travelers remains to be seen.
And while these are not new zones, made exclusively for TorilMUD, they do represent a further expansion of the already enormous world of the game.
My traditional method for finding new places, because the devs never tell you exactly where they are, is to wander around watching my map and looking for new room exits. Maybe some day, if I have time, I’ll add some of these new places to my already large map database.
EverQuest II Live and Extended, Merged and Down Together Now December 7, 2011
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, EverQuest II.Tags: EverQuest II Extended
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The great merger of the two halves of EverQuest II, the Live side and the Extended side, appears to be off for the moment.
The new patcher seemed to load up and download fine.
New Patcher Updating
The game launched with the great big Freeport Reborn splash screen.
I'll bet money the Qeynos update won't get a splash screen
And then, well… everything was locked.
Locked across the board...
And while it is too early to panic, you can color me concerned that the original versions of characters I copied over to Freeport appear to be missing from the list… and that despite all promises, and the fact that I deleted a few characters just to be sure, I am showing up with not enough character slots.
Oh, and the launcher keeps running even after the game comes us. Is it supposed to be like that?
Anyway, there was an update on Facebook… because the EQII site appears to be down with the game…
We have just evaluated the status of the current update and have come to the conclusion that we can either unlock servers and risk broken content, or ensure that we provide the best experience possible and delay the update to tomorrow morning.
We have to do it RIGHT. For all of you and for all of us.
So please, bear with us, relax overnight, and let us sortie into the new day together. Community will be in office at 7:00am PST and will immediately review status and give you all an update. We are aiming for morning and working as hard as we possibly can.
Yer faithful Dwarf,
Brasse
So better luck tomorrow night I hope. Have to remember to check the server status page first next time.
Addendum: The CTO at SOE, Rich Lawrence, has some details about what went awry.
Three Generations of the Caldari Navy Issue Raven December 6, 2011
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, EVE Online, polls.Tags: CNR, Crucible, Raven, Raven Navy Issue
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With the Crucible Expansion, nebulae were not the only things to get graphic updates. The trusty Raven, and its navy issue counterpart, both got cosmetic makeovers.
EVE Online history goes back to 2003.
This will be the third “look” for the Raven since I started playing the game.
Way back before the Trinity expansion, when premium graphics were introduced, the Caldari Raven Navy Issue looked like this.
Raven Navy Issue - Classic Graphics
Then with the Trinity expansion Premium graphics became an option, with classic graphics going away completely with the Apocrypha expansion. At that point the Caldari Raven Navy Issue looked like this.
Raven Navy Issue - Premium Graphics
Now with the Crucible expansion, there is again a new look for the Caldari Raven Navy Issue.
Raven Navy Issue - Crucible Graphics
I think all three of those pictures were taken in the same station, though probably on different computers with different graphic settings. But they are all the same ship, since I have had only one Raven Navy Issue.
Now the question is, which one looks best?
The original looks a bit awkward to me. But a lot of the classic graphics models… especially the early ones… have that awkward feel to them.
I like the middle version, though I am not sure how practical what looks to be a jungle camo pattern really is in space.
And then there is the new, Crucible version. The camo pattern is certainly more space themed, but it doesn’t seem to do the ship many favors when it comes to beauty.
Which do you like?
Quote of the Day – Fairness December 5, 2011
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Star Wars: The Old Republic, World of Warcraft.Tags: Scott Adams
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…fairness isn’t an objective feature of the universe. It’s a concept that was invented so children and idiots can participate in arguments…
Perhaps the extreme view, because who hasn’t made an appeal to fairness at some point. But it is tough to come up with an example of “fair” that isn’t tied to a specific point of view. Fair is always subjective.
So if, for example, you are facing people saying it isn’t fair to, say, compare SWTOR to WoW, it isn’t tough to figure out what is motivating them.
The Shadows of Luclin Complete on Fippy Darkpaw December 5, 2011
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in EverQuest.Tags: Fippy Darkpaw, Lost Dungeons of Norrath, Progression Server, The Legacy of Ykesha, The Planes of Power, The Shadows of Luclin
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The EverQuest expansion, The Shadows of Luclin, went live on the Fippy Darkpaw progression server back on November 21st.
Well, the last boss was cleared as of December 4th. While the official timeline remains broken, in that it no longer shows who completed quests or killed bosses, reports indicate that Twisted Legion, the dominant guild on the server, brought down Aten Ha Ra. This event starts the 60 day clock to the next expansion vote.
Luclin Bosses Down
The next vote should commence around the end of January, with the expansion opening, if the “yes” vote passes, by the second week of February at the latest.
The next expansion in line is actually a combo pack if reports are correct, and will include BOTH The Planes of Power and the Lost Dungeons of Norrath expansions.
This actually puts the releases out of order, as The Legacy of Ykesha originally came out between those two expansions. As I understand it, the raid focused Planes of Power and the group focused Lost Dungeons of Norrath were viewed as complimentary sets of content. So you Frogloks will have to wait until the unlock after that it seems.
This, of course, lead to more forum posts about voting “no” on expansions, which at least might distract from the ongoing complaints about the speed of AA experience. Planes of Power remains… controversial nine years later… but then so do most of the post-Velious expansions.
Vader’s Not So Silent Night December 4, 2011
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Humor.Tags: lego, LEGO Star Wars, Star Wars
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From the LEGO people.
I like the snatches of lyrics from the rebel carol.
LEGO has a Santa Yoda page up this year that includes two more videos and a contest where people can submit their own.
And they are also pushing a LEGO Star Wars film, The Padawan Menace, which Vader appears to be trying to watch in the video above. The movie is 22 minutes long, which seems a bit brief for a full price Blu-ray release. But what do I know.
PLEX – Available in Bulk Lots December 3, 2011
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, EVE Online.Tags: PLEX
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I got a pop-up from CCP that they were having a sale on PLEX, the 30 Day Pilot License Extensions that are essentially 30 day units of game time you can buy or sell with the in-game currency ISK.
PLEX - On Sale Now!
I was interested to see what constituted a “sale” price. PLEX is generally prices at a point that you would never buy it for yourself to keep your subscription… unless you were paying in ISK. So I went to the account management page where these things are bought and sold.
The PLEX Store
As I suspected, the PLEX prices were not all that special. $17.49 for 30 days of a game that is $14.99 a month when you pay directly. Not a deal, even if you can get it down to $16.50 a month by buying a batch of six.
PLEX Special Pricing
The surprising bit for me was the ability to buy PLEX in lots of 28 (or 30 with the special offer).
That must be the empire builder’s package. 30 PLEX can be turned into more than 12 billion ISK, with patience, which seems like a lot of in game currency for me.
But then a titan runs a lot more than that.
Still, you don’t put that option on the “Buy Now” list unless somebody is using it, so somebody out there is buying a lot of PLEX.
Victini Available for Download Again Through Dec. 31 December 3, 2011
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in DS, entertainment, Nintendo, Pokemon.Tags: Victini
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In celebration of the release of the Pokemon movie… erm… movies… you see there is Pokémon the Movie: Black—Victini and Reshiram and Pokémon the Movie: White—Victini and Zekrom… because that is the sort of forward thinking that got Nintendo where it is today… now where was I?
Oh, yes.
Because of… the movie thing… Nintendo is making Victini available for download via Nintendo WiFi again.
Victini - Fire and Psychic Pokemon
This Victini download is different from the previous one. This Victini is higher level, has a special ability, and is the star of the 14th Pokemon movie (and only the second or third not to go straight to video). This Victini also goes straight into your party. There is no need to get the Liberty pass and go catch him.
The instructions on how to download Victini are available at the Pokemon Black & White web site.
Remember that this is NOT an in-store event, but a download you can do from any WiFi internet access point.
Meanwhile, there is still no official work from Nintedo on the next Pokemon game.
Return to the Realm of the Fae December 2, 2011
Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Instance Group, Rift.Tags: Realm of the Fae
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The previous week’s run into the Realm of the Fae was clearly a warm-up, a test to see how we would operate as a group.
And, as with any good test run, deficiencies were found. They ranged from not having the right specs (nobody was a tank in the game’s opinion) to just getting adjusted to the game itself.
This past Saturday we went in with an updated and upgraded force. We forged our spirits in the traditions of our ancestors and ended up with:
- Jollyreaper level 16 mage
- Earlthecat level 16 warrior
- Hakawati level 17 rogue
- Hillmar level 18 cleric
- Gizalia level 19 mage
Ephemara the rogue was traded our for Gizalia the mage, while Earl and Hillmar both worked on refining their talent point allocation. While we were also a couple of levels up, most of us were still at the low end of the level requirement for the instance.
As we tried to enter the dungeon, we were tripped up once more.
More unspent points
Apparently even one unspent point is too many. And since this runs long again, more after the cut…
