[SWTOR] The Saga Begins

Posted by Nicholas Deathguard on

Bioware is already hitting the ground running. The early access has started but they aren’t done with the game yet. They express their new goals for post launch in this post. For those who don’t care to click, here’s the quick and dirty of it:

  • New Content – We will be adding new content to the galaxy on an ongoing basis. These worlds will include Operations, Flashpoints and solo content.
  • Guild Functionality – Guilds are important to the long term health of any MMORPG. We have a huge list of guild centric features. This will be an ongoing effort that will probably never end. Guild banks are the first thing we’ll be delivering in our plans for increased guild functionality. Eventually we even want to deliver on the promise of the long hinted at “Guild Capital Ships”.
  • UI customization – You like choice. We hear you! SWTOR is all about choice. Being able to choose how you interact with an online game is something we feel is very important. We are going to be giving more control over the UI as an ongoing effort. This is a very big priority for us.
  • PvP – We have an entire team dedicated to adding content and features to player vs. player. We have some of the most experienced PvP developers in the world on this team. So far very few people have seen, or know much about the stunning Open World PVP on Ilum; when you get to the high levels prepare to be blown away! In addition to that high level PVP content, expect new Warzones and new PvP features on a regular basis.
  • Space Combat – We will continue to add missions to the space game. We also have a special project going on right now that will expand space gameplay in a significant way… for now the details will have to remain under wraps.
  • Legacy System – The ability to select a surname for your character is just the start of something much bigger. Soon, the Legacy experience and levels you earn will grant your characters access to powers, objects and other cool benefits.
  • And more – We have an entire team of developers working on future content. Right now we are focused on nothing else but Star Wars: The Old Republic, so expect new and cool things.

I am VERY excited to see what the good ol’ folks at Bioware cook up in the coming months, if not years!

[SWTOR] The Guild-ening: the Fortuna Consortium

Posted by Nicholas Deathguard on

I recently started a guild with some RL friends and guildmates over at the ISB Alliance. It is called the Fortuna Consortium. So far, however, we only have 3 of the necessary 4 pre-orders to be transferred into the game and of the 10 necessary to be considered for guild beta testing.

Interested in joining Fortuna Consortium? We are a relaxed, respectful and friendly guild. We also believe in maintaining integrity, helping/trading with other guild mates first and seeking excellence in all endeavors.

What’s with the name?

The Fortuna Consortium draws its name from some Roman ideals. Fortuna, the goddess of luck and fortune, typically blesses those who are humble and work hard to prepare for any situation, but are still willing to take a chance when the tough gets going and things don’t go according to plan. In other words, “Fortune favors the Bold.” As part of the Consortium, we need members who are willing to take chances in the name of the community and provide their services to those within it, whatever  your specialty may be. Maybe its trade, maybe it is your skills in combat, but whatever it is you choose to pursue, excel, exceed and expand our influence.

 

Who can join?

We are currently looking for any and all who are friendly enough, driven enough and mature enough (preferably 16-18 and over). We want people to join us, to grow as a family and as friends. We are more worried about the quality of people than the quantity. We want people who have a sense of humor and loyalty more than a sense of selfishness. We will be team players, and everyone matters from the day you join. We bad together so that everyone has fun, but we do want to win, so a competitive spirit is necessary.

 

Areas of Focus

We will maintain a focus in whatever areas  there is member support for. We will provide situations for all players to thrive, but while maintaining a solid foundation socially. We will definitely be looking into the open world pvp as well as the warzones. We are here to kill the republic and have fun in doing so. As far as PVE goes, we will participate in raids, flashpoints and questing (more so early on after launch). Given enough member support, hardcore groups can be established in both PVP and PVE. Even with these centers of focus, we will maintain a strong foundation of a friendly, helpful community.

 

Our Goal

We want to build a solid community. We want people to actually have fun in this game with friends. We want you to have all the activities and resources of a community together, along with the fun, and not make it feel like a job.

 

What server will you be playing on?

Currently, all we know is that it will be a US East PvP server.

 

Guild Features

-We have a website that will grow with the game and the guild. Links are at the top of the page.

-Mature yet fun atmosphere. Mature language is ok as long as it is not overboard.

-Ventrilo Chat

-Family of guilds from other games (ISB Alliance).

 

So please visit our website for more info, and to apply.

Fortune favors the bold, are you bold enough?

Shenanigans!

Posted by Nicholas Deathguard on

Warning: Some of the things you will hear in this post are indeed not news at all but rather a rant. Bear with me.

I just got an email from blizzard about my account. Apparently my World of Warcraft account has been accused of abusing the in-game economy among other things and has been closed. I haven’t played, paid into, or even accessed the account in over a year, maybe two.

I call shenanigans, you heard me, SHENANIGANS.

This is the THIRD time since ever starting WoW a few years ago (clearly I don’t play anymore, and for good reason) that my account was hacked. To say they have a security problem is an understatement. I remember the media hub bub of the hacking of Playstation Network in which personal information “may have” been obtained (allegedly) by the hacker group “Anonymous” and the probability of any credit card info being obtained was slim to nil. Yet there was a major outcry and overall shitfit over this. Yes, it caused gamers to miss out on about a month of game time, but no money was lost so far as I have heard.

I guarantee that the number of people who were legitimately effected by the PSN hack-age pales in the shadow of the number of poor souls who have had their WoW account hacked and abused. No, I haven’t looked up the numbers, so I technically have no “proof,” but do I really need to? Search your feelings, you know it to be true. Who knows what info they have gotten away with. Does Blizzard even know? In their “notice” email, they recognize this fact that if your account was found performing an illegal activity, that it might (and in my opinion,  probably has been) hacked and accessed by someone other than yourself.

In the end none of this is really news and none of it will really bring about any real change. The only thing I can affect is my own life.  I never plan to play WoW again, and I believe it only effects that account and not my Battle.net account, so the effect on other blizzard games (i.e. Starcraft, Diablo) is non-existent. With all of this in mind, I really don’t feel the need to contest it. Did I commit the crime? No. It just seems like an exercise in futility.

So, the most important question is, should I even care?

Battlefield 3 System Reqs

Posted by Nicholas Deathguard on

For those who are still wandering, here are the system requirements for Battlefield 3. I have to say, its not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Minimum requirements for Battlefield 3

  • OS: Windows Vista or Windows 7
  • Processor: Core 2 Duo @ 2.0GHz
  • RAM: 2GB
  • Graphic card: DirectX 10 or 11 compatible Nvidia or AMD ATI card.
  • Graphics card memory: 512 MB
  • Hard drive: 15 GB for disc version or 10 GB for digital version

Recommended system requirements for Battlefield 3

  • OS: Windows 7 64-bit
  • Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD CPU
  • RAM: 4GB
  • Graphics card: DirectX 11 Nvidia or AMD ATI card, GeForce GTX 460, Radeon Radeon HD 6850
  • Graphics card memory: 1 GB
  • Hard drive: 15 GB for disc version or 10 GB for digital version

Faltering in My Determination…But It’s Worth It

Posted by Nicholas Deathguard on

Okay, I know I said I wouldn’t comment on anything until the end of Charr Week, and I did mean that, but I do need to make this my official best quote from Charr week…and it’s Wednesday. In the Artistic Origin of the Charr article on the Anet Blog, the end that they leave us with was probably the best way to end any of the “concept art days” from the race weeks. Here’s the last snip-it from the article:

Concept Art Team Lead Kekai Kotaki was responsible for bringing the look of the charr 250 years into the future, to the time of Guild Wars 2. The warlike charr have changed a great deal since they first appeared in Guild Wars, so their updated design had to reflect their more industrial culture. I thought we’d let Kekai get in the final word on the charr.

Q: Kekai, how did you approach the charr design for Guild Wars 2?

Kekai: My approach was simple: make the charr badass. And then make them even more badass.