In an effort to integrate gaming as a hobby with the rest of my musings, posts, and such, I'll be moving my gaming-related posts back to http://www.sentence-ov-desire.net/.  That means there likely will not be many posts made here anymore.  But you never know!

Seriously though, for now, check there instead of here for posts.

http://www.sentence-ov-desire.net/

This is a subject I've been thinking about a lot lately, and talking about a lot with my good friends Witchboon and Prevost.  The subject of choices in MMOs, and choices of MMOs.

Some people are "single classers": they know (or figure out very quickly) what "their class" is, they make a character of that class, and they play it, and only it... and love it.   Other people are not like that -- they like a little of everything, and since current generation MMOs don't allow custom created hybrids via a skill system, and are instead class-based, the only way to get that variety is to play a lot of different characters, which keeps these people behind their friend's and guild's levels.

Somewhat linked with this subject is that of choices of the MMOs themselves: which game(s) to play.  In the beginning, it was easy.  There was pretty much only UO, and anyone that played MMOs played UO, and we liked it.  Then EQ1 and AC1 came out, and a lot moved on to those games.  Then it was still more games, and there were more choices.  Groups of friends found it hard to keep themselves together in one game, due to differing interests.   Now we've got at least a dozen MMOs to choose from, all with different graphics and play styles, and it's really hard to get any group of people to agree on one to play together.

I have been bouncing between games for a couple of years now.  I have a pretty large and varied group of people that I play with, and not since EQ1 have they all played the same game at the same time.   Also, there isn't any one game that really gives me all I want or need.   I like pet classes: I had 3 GM Tamers in UO (not an easy thing to do!); I played a Necromancer, Magician, and Beastlord in EQ1 (all pet classes); I played a Meta-physicist and Engineer in AO; Creature Handler in SWG; Hunter and Warlock in WoW; Lore-master in LOTRO; Squig Herder in Warhammer... you get the picture.  

So by class type I should be playing WoW; it has the best implementation of what I call the "pet class playstyle" (other pet class freaks will understand what I mean) out there.   But the graphics, while entertaining and great for "what they are", are lacking.   And the world lore, while more interesting than most people realize, isn't overly "my thing".   LOTRO has some of the best graphics out there, and takes place in a world I've loved since I was 5 years old (and I'm 38 now, so, yeah).   But, the pet class playstyle isn't there...at all.   And I really don't like what the devs of the game have done with new classes recently.    I'm really starting to love the Warhammer world.  I've been aware of Warhammer as a tabletop game for a long time.  I've never played it, but I always thought the look was cool.  I've never read any of the novels (though I am working on "Mathias Thulmann: Witch Hunter" right now, and it's awesome), so my real introduction to the world has been through Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.  I really do love the game -- graphics are awesome, and they blended PvE and PvP (RvR) extremely well, better than any game yet.  Friends I never thought would ever take part in, let alone enjoy, PvP combat, are loving the game. 

So there's 3 current games I kind of feel compelled to, sometimes at the same time, sometimes at different times, play (and stay current with).  WoW for the pet playstyle and "fun", LOTRO for the world and awesome graphics, and WAR because lots of friends are playing and it's just straight up fun too. 

Luckily (haha), with the economy the way it is, MMO development is at a near-standstill.  They cost a fortune to develop and no one's taking much of a chance in these times.  So at least maybe there's a prayer of not adding yet more choices to the pile.

Now, if there was a game out there, that had the pet playstyle down pat, took place in an awesome and interesting world, and had a good mix of PvE and PvP playstyles ala Warhammer... we might have a winner.

I wonder how many others out there in the MMOsphere are in this "one game does not fit all" boat?

Well, it was time for my Jan/Feb yearly update.  My video hardware is still top/near-top end, so I didn't need to touch that.  This time it was a CPU (and required RAM) upgrade only.  I went with the Intel Core i7 940, on an MSI X58 Platinum SLI motherboard.  RAM is 12gb (!!! LOL !!!!) of DDR3-1600.

I have to say, wow, this is an insane machine.  Stock speed of the CPU is 2.93 GHZ, but I have it overclocked to 3652 MHZ ON STOCK VOLTAGES!!!  Pure love!

Well, I wanted to go 1920x1200, and my current video card (HD3870 X2) wouldn't really handle it with all eye candy turned on... So I got a new video card AND monitor.  The monitor is a Samsung 275T+.  Yeah, it's a bit pricier than most monitors, but seriously... you get what you pay for.  This monitor is truly insane.  Large, super high quality panel, it's just...amazing.

The new video card is an HD4870 X2.  I liked the 3870 X2 so much I just upgraded to the current gen, and wasn't disappointed.  It pumps out the graphics @ 19x12 and full eye candy flawlessly.

Warhammer Online is looking good.  Very good.  I am planning to play it with my guild, The Conclave that I founded back in '98.

The game has everything: awesome PvE, good PvP (RvR, more correctly), good class design, a few innovative new features (Public Quests being the main one), and it's just a LOT of fun.

I haven't dedicated to a game fully since EQ1.  Sure, I played LOTRO pretty hardcore for most of a year or more, and the game is good...very good.  But Warhammer...wow.  It's amazing.

I posted a quick and dirty (and highly unorganized) review of Tabula Rasa.  It's available in the Game Reviews section, or just click here.

Seriously!  Why is there no cyberpunk themed MMO?  I don't mean some 50 player, never heard of, free MMO.  I mean a major title, the size of EQ, LOTRO, or similar?  A major title.

I don't get it.  The cyberpunk genre seems like a "bullets and guns" go-together for an MMO.   You're playing in virtual space anyway, a major theme in a lot of cyberpunk fiction.  There's so many cool things that could be done.  World shifting.  Genre shifting.  Go from far-future sci-fi to the Old West to Fantasy and back to present-day.  Cause it's all virtual.  Just so much potential there.

I don't really know what else to say.  There are precious few major sci-fi MMOs and none of them cyberpunk themed at all.  I just can't figure it out.

I finally did a complete rebuild for the first time in years.  Normally, when I upgrade my machine, I keep a lot of the existing hardware.  Case, drives, etc.  Sometimes I just upgrade the video card.  Not this time.  Not a single component is re-used.

For the CPU, I wanted to go with Intel's 45nm chips, and since the machine is mostly used for gaming, the QX series is overpriced and unnecessary, so I went with an E8400.  It outperforms a lot of the Quads for gaming.   Cooling the CPU is a Zalman CNPS-9700LED.  I wanted an X38 motherboard, so I went with ASUS's P5E.   I mainly play MMOs which are RAM hogs, so I went with 8 (yes, 8) gigs of RAM. :D  Muahahha. 

I built the machine two days after ATI released the HD3870X2, and at the time (and still as of this writing), it was the fastest video card ever made.  And, at $450, a steal.  So that's what went in for a video card.  I love it so very much.

For storage, I have a pair of Western Digitial KS series 500 GB drives in RAID0 (Striping) setup, for 1TB online.  Samsung SH-S203B optical drive.  Antec Nine Hundred case. OCZ GameXstream 700w power supply. 

For the operating system, I had little choice.  Vista Ultimate x64 it is.  I kind of like Vista... sigh.

The machine is insane.  It's easily the most powerful machine I've ever owned, and the performance is just...sexy.  And the build cost... Right around $1,950!  INSANE!  Never before has it been possible to assemble so much power for under 2 thousand dollars! 

Yeah, it's been about 8 months since I've posted.  I do that.  Get real gung ho on posting every day (or nearly every day), then just... slack off.  Well, I'm back for now.

I've mainly been playing LOTRO.  It's a good game, and I've finally borg'ed a lot of my longtime gaming friends to it.

My Lore-master is 50, my Captain near 50 (44), and I have 2 accounts worth of other lower level alts I work on as I feel like it.  LOTRO is really an "enjoy the ride" type of game.  It's fun at level 1, and at 10, 20, and 50.  It's just fun all around.

The only thing I wish the game had was a true pet class.  Sure, Lore-masters have pets, and Captains have their heralds.  But compared to "real" pet classes, such as UO's tamers, EQ1's necromancers/magicians/beastlords, AO's meta-physicists/engineers, or WoW warlocks and hunters... LOTRO doesn't really have a pet class.

I realize a true pet class would take some work to fit in with the lore, and believe me, I massively respect lore-trueness -- it's one reason I love the game.  But I think it can be done, and I truly believe it's very worth it, as I'm NOT the only "Pet Class Nut" out there.

It's a small complaint though.  I've played every class in the game to at least level 30, and I do love them all.  That's why I can't really "focus" and get characters to 50 easily.  Lots of people have 3 or more 50s by now, while I've only got 1 and 1 near.  The alt-itis is so bad, like I said, I have 2 accounts.  But it doesn't matter!  It's still fun! :)

I'm probably the only, or close to the only, gamer, that will say this, but here goes:

I AM INCREDIBLY GLAD THAT FLYING LAB DECIDED TO HAVE SOE PUBLISH PIRATES OF THE BURNING SEA!!!

Ha!  There!  I said it!  

Why?  Look, I hate the SWG NGE as much as anyone.  THEY REMOVED MY CLASS ENITRELY, FOR "BOB"'s sake! So trust me, I hate the NGE!  But SOE had nothing to do with it.  It was a directive from high up in LucasArts, mouthpieced by Julio Torres of LA, and rumours are that it originated with GEORGE LUCAS himself.  SOE has no creative control over SWG.  LA holds all the cards.

Additionally, Station Pass is awesome!  You can play a LOT of really good games for $29.99/mo: Everquest I, Everquest II, Vanguard, SWG, MXO, and now... you'll be able to add Pirates of the Burning Sea to that!  If you like to change up your games a lot like I do, Station Pass is an INSANE DEAL!  

SOE also has the ability to achieve ultra-wide distribution, something few publishers can do.  Every store that carries computer games carries SOE's games.  So they will also carry POBS.  That means MORE PLAYERS, which means MORE SUCCESS for the game, which ultimately means a better game for us all! 

So, kudos and congrats to Flying Labs!