If any of you have been gaming online and playing MMO's for as long as I have you remember things, like MUD's, Asheron's Call (let's try not to remember AC2), a game called Horizon's, Ultima Online and many others. But one game that everyone SHOULD remember is of course, Everquest.
EverQuest is probably one of the LONGEST most DRAWN OUT games even to this day, and it still has quite the following. With over 17 expansions PLUS the base game - it is one of the largest MMO's to date. Though I have some startling news for all of you in the MMO World. This March, EverQuest will become free to play and allow players access to the base game plus all 17 of the expansions!
Though there are some draw backs to playing the game in it's "free form". For starters you will not be able to use a good couple of the chat commands and channel nor will you have complete access to the brokers in game. Your mail abilities are also diminished to only receive items but not send. There is of course a limit to how much plat your character can have also, what spells and tiers of them you can use, a limited level of Mercenary Ranks, the ability to join a guild only (not create), limited races (unless purchased), limited character classes (unless purchased), and limit character slot (guess what - you can purchase more of them!).
My opinion is of course - why play it for free when there are tons of limits on your account? Well for one, it may be a good way to have a "semi-unrestricted trial" of the game to actually see if you enjoy it and it is the game you thought it was or could have been. This in itself is a good thing for many gamers (like myself) who suffer from a condition known as MMORPG-ADD (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game Attention Deficit Disorder). If you suffer from this and are constantly in and out of every game around and on the market, but have never tried EQ, it may be a good way to get some time off from whatever other game you are playing and give this a whirl.
My only experience with this type of play came in the form of the "free to play" version of EverQuest 2 which had severely dumbed down graphics and models, limited character classes and progression, and limited races. The problem arose mainly when I went from a paid account, down to a "freebie" and certain characters of mine became unplayable and completely useless to have on my select screen (as I was not allowed to log into those specific races and classes).
I really am hoping SOE has made some changes with this system to give more players greater ease while they play - though the fact that anyone who does not have a full subscription to the game has limited Customer Service Support and just answers from the "knowledge base". Which for a base of knowledge in EQ2, was quite limited on certain answers and did not help very often.
So for everyone that wishes to play EverQuest, do it in March. Just be wary of some of the account limitations that abound unless you have a full paid subscription. I hope anyone who does decide to play enjoys the game (as EverQuest can be a very, VERY good game).
I'll leave a link down here for anyone who is interested in checking which account options have less limitations and abilities granted on them. For now - enjoy your day (or evening), continue rocking out your games, and take it easy! Hope to see you all soon in the online world!
Cheers All,
~SV
./save
./logoff
Online Source - http://www.everquest.com/free/
Showing posts with label SOE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SOE. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Emulators - Bringing Back the Past or Destroying our Future?
Now I know many of you who are reading this right now are like myself - you grew up with games on the intelivision, atari, 3DO, nintendo, and things of that nature. And much like myself, you would love and relish in the chance to relive some of those childhood memories by playing Tank Defender or Zelda once again. For most of us we cannot, and have to resort to the process of emulation and play them on our PC if we really want to.
But what if one of your all time favorite video games that is currently on the market is on a "private server" and you can play for free and get all of the awesome goodies without any of the "work" involved with getting them? Do you still play it, or do you step aside and play the real deal?
Many people in the MMO world have succumb to the the fact that they would rather play the free version of a game and do ZERO work for many of the items and goodies a game has to offer!
Let's take World of Warcraft for example. This game has had many different types of emulators in the past, and many of them have been shut down. Most of them due to "illegal funds transfers" to the hosting sites in the form of donations for "play to win items". In most cases Blizzard has come up on top in court and (as I stated above) many were forced to shut down and close their doors.
How about another example - The Star Wars Galaxies Emulator (aka SWG Emu). Yes, SWG is and was a fan favorite by many, but does it require an emulator to some very old and for that matter - out dated and dead code files that these tech heads have acquired illegally through the use of packet sniffers and many self made reverse engineering tools? I personally do not believe so. Aside from that the website has avoid prosecution from SOE / LA various times, and to top it of has had much of their donation money taken, stolen, or used by many of the people on board with the project for various "personal expenses".
With the launch date of SW:ToR on the horizon, and other games like Guild Wars 2 - will these games come under fire by the various "pirating" groups out there on the net? I hope not.
For many of us these games are a safe place to play and build friendships and acquire a strong sense of community within our chosen game. What many of these "emu" servers do is take from that community so that they can build their own due to someone else's achievements and glory.
Yes, my stance on the subject matter is somewhat 50/50 - but I do not wish for a game that I pay a set fee for every month to be turned away by thousands if not millions of players just because there is a cheaper (free) alternative on the internet. Most of the time this is how many of the great games of our time often get sour or bad reviews - due to players playing on free servers and not liking what that community has implemented and never actually playing the real game for what it is worth.
I generally see these "servers" (if you can call them that) as a problematic feature that is out there on the internet these days. If you want to "make money" (or donations as you emu people call them) - go and create your own video game, and not steal it from someone else and use the word "donation" to back up the fact that you are STEALING money from innocent people who are too dumb to see through your lies.
I know this is a sour topic on my blog - one of which I really should not be venting over. I just hope in the future that there will be a higher level of security features set in place for many of the great games of our time so many of the "criminals" out there cannot and do not take away from OUR gameplay as well as that of others.
I think I have spoken enough on this topic - so I shall see you all next time!
Cheers :)
./save
But what if one of your all time favorite video games that is currently on the market is on a "private server" and you can play for free and get all of the awesome goodies without any of the "work" involved with getting them? Do you still play it, or do you step aside and play the real deal?
Many people in the MMO world have succumb to the the fact that they would rather play the free version of a game and do ZERO work for many of the items and goodies a game has to offer!
Let's take World of Warcraft for example. This game has had many different types of emulators in the past, and many of them have been shut down. Most of them due to "illegal funds transfers" to the hosting sites in the form of donations for "play to win items". In most cases Blizzard has come up on top in court and (as I stated above) many were forced to shut down and close their doors.
How about another example - The Star Wars Galaxies Emulator (aka SWG Emu). Yes, SWG is and was a fan favorite by many, but does it require an emulator to some very old and for that matter - out dated and dead code files that these tech heads have acquired illegally through the use of packet sniffers and many self made reverse engineering tools? I personally do not believe so. Aside from that the website has avoid prosecution from SOE / LA various times, and to top it of has had much of their donation money taken, stolen, or used by many of the people on board with the project for various "personal expenses".
With the launch date of SW:ToR on the horizon, and other games like Guild Wars 2 - will these games come under fire by the various "pirating" groups out there on the net? I hope not.
For many of us these games are a safe place to play and build friendships and acquire a strong sense of community within our chosen game. What many of these "emu" servers do is take from that community so that they can build their own due to someone else's achievements and glory.
Yes, my stance on the subject matter is somewhat 50/50 - but I do not wish for a game that I pay a set fee for every month to be turned away by thousands if not millions of players just because there is a cheaper (free) alternative on the internet. Most of the time this is how many of the great games of our time often get sour or bad reviews - due to players playing on free servers and not liking what that community has implemented and never actually playing the real game for what it is worth.
I generally see these "servers" (if you can call them that) as a problematic feature that is out there on the internet these days. If you want to "make money" (or donations as you emu people call them) - go and create your own video game, and not steal it from someone else and use the word "donation" to back up the fact that you are STEALING money from innocent people who are too dumb to see through your lies.
I know this is a sour topic on my blog - one of which I really should not be venting over. I just hope in the future that there will be a higher level of security features set in place for many of the great games of our time so many of the "criminals" out there cannot and do not take away from OUR gameplay as well as that of others.
I think I have spoken enough on this topic - so I shall see you all next time!
Cheers :)
./save
Thursday, November 10, 2011
SW:ToR Beta Weekend #3 - Marketing Ploy or Bug Removal?
This week BioWare had announced that beta weekend #3 had come to the surprise of many of its fans. As this weekend is upon us I simply find myself asking one little question - "Why are we still testing a game that is nearly ready for launch?" I do understand the concept behind all the testing and such, but are these weekends being used as a way to "draw" the undecided into either A). Purchasing a Pre-Order, or B). Refining a game that is still incomplete.
In some aspect I believe it is a little of both. The part that frightens me a bit is that if in fact it has a little to do with the second option, what does this mean for launch day? Will the game in fact be complete and rid of the bugs that were found in previous builds that had been tested?
I have been around too many MMO's that have been launched and tested that have come out of the box feeling like they were missing pieces here and there, or just did not have the right pieces where they should be at all. I have no doubts that BioWare will have a completed game come December 20th - but I feel like I should be a little weary with the amount of "testing" this is still happening a month or so before the game arrives at my door step.
I am a very jaded Star War Galaxies player of old, and that game was so incomplete that at times it was totally unplayable. I do not wish the same for ToR or any other Star Wars branded game, as I have a huge undying love for anything in the Star Wars Universe. To think that there COULD be that chance that something will go awry would be devastating to me - and thousands of others who have been wronged by SOE and the SWG model of play.
No I am not saying ToR is anything like SWG (it certainly is not, from what I have seen), nor am I comparing BioWare to SOE's business model (money first - screw your loyal costumer base after). I just feel that there is something that is "unseen" (as with anything in the development process), that many of us wish to see and know.
I know many of the people playing SWG right now will not be satisfied until ToR completely sinks and fails, where as the old schoolers (like myself), are looking forward to this like a kid running downstairs on Christmas morning.
All I wish to convey in this piece is that sense of uncertainty that many of us feel in our gut when we take a log back on the past, and are trying to look ahead to the future of the gaming realm. Sure there have been things like World of Warcraft that have come out - but that slowly went downhill and then turned into an "NGE" of sorts that SWG had done previously!
I hope and pray that BioWare sticks to their guns and keeps the game the way that they have planned from the start and does not falter when the community demands there to be some sort of radical changes that could be utterly detrimental to the game (as development companies usually do). I want this game to be great! My friends want it to be great! For it to be anything else then that - would be heartbreaking.
I am looking forward to December 20th like many of you out there and hope to see you in game. Let us all make this game last and become one of the best out there to date! I know this was a bit off the cuff, but I feel it needed to be said.
Cheers All!
In some aspect I believe it is a little of both. The part that frightens me a bit is that if in fact it has a little to do with the second option, what does this mean for launch day? Will the game in fact be complete and rid of the bugs that were found in previous builds that had been tested?
I have been around too many MMO's that have been launched and tested that have come out of the box feeling like they were missing pieces here and there, or just did not have the right pieces where they should be at all. I have no doubts that BioWare will have a completed game come December 20th - but I feel like I should be a little weary with the amount of "testing" this is still happening a month or so before the game arrives at my door step.
I am a very jaded Star War Galaxies player of old, and that game was so incomplete that at times it was totally unplayable. I do not wish the same for ToR or any other Star Wars branded game, as I have a huge undying love for anything in the Star Wars Universe. To think that there COULD be that chance that something will go awry would be devastating to me - and thousands of others who have been wronged by SOE and the SWG model of play.
No I am not saying ToR is anything like SWG (it certainly is not, from what I have seen), nor am I comparing BioWare to SOE's business model (money first - screw your loyal costumer base after). I just feel that there is something that is "unseen" (as with anything in the development process), that many of us wish to see and know.
I know many of the people playing SWG right now will not be satisfied until ToR completely sinks and fails, where as the old schoolers (like myself), are looking forward to this like a kid running downstairs on Christmas morning.
All I wish to convey in this piece is that sense of uncertainty that many of us feel in our gut when we take a log back on the past, and are trying to look ahead to the future of the gaming realm. Sure there have been things like World of Warcraft that have come out - but that slowly went downhill and then turned into an "NGE" of sorts that SWG had done previously!
I hope and pray that BioWare sticks to their guns and keeps the game the way that they have planned from the start and does not falter when the community demands there to be some sort of radical changes that could be utterly detrimental to the game (as development companies usually do). I want this game to be great! My friends want it to be great! For it to be anything else then that - would be heartbreaking.
I am looking forward to December 20th like many of you out there and hope to see you in game. Let us all make this game last and become one of the best out there to date! I know this was a bit off the cuff, but I feel it needed to be said.
Cheers All!
Friday, October 21, 2011
SW:ToR - Hit and Miss with Pre-Order Items?
Over the years I have pre-ordered many games that have come onto the market and many of the items have ranged from the awesome to the very bleak and bland. This week though for ToR's Fan Friday they had released the specifics and details on what all of these items are and do in game, and I must say - I am not one bit impressed at all. Though if I would have paid $150 for the extravagant Collector's Edition I may have felt a slight bit better about what I was getting. So here is the break down.
First off, the Color Stone - everyone had speculated that it COULD or even WOULD change your lightsaber color to any color you had wished. On the contrary, it does not - it is simply a yellow crystal with a BLACK outer hue (Whoopdy Freaking Doo).
The STAP on the other hand from the the Digital Deluxe Edition (which I was possibly going to upgrade to), also seems like some what of a loser now as you can get your vehicle at level 25. The only major difference from the DDE vehicle and the Standard from what is posted on the ToR webpage is the "skin details", but the speeds and design are all the same. So really, what would be the point of me to upgrade to the DDE at this point in time if it is just a matter of a skin overly to make it look shiny and fancy?
Now the Major Gift - The Collector's Edition Store. This is a place where you can go (apparently only accessible to those with the CE) to buy special outfits and gear for your characters and companions that no one else in the game world will have access to. This will in my eyes lead to the ultimate case of elitism in ToR like so many other games right from day one! Which could lead to the untimely fall of The Old Republic if the "normie" player base does not have access to some form of a store of their own to get things for credits so the the people with the CE do not "segregate" them and start to troll them with their "e-peen gear".
I know many of you may believe this to be untrue for the most part, but this is what I see happening in a quick matter as the is how many in game communities react to such situations of "favoritism" to one group (such as those who have dished out the most cash, i.e. those with the Collector's Edition of the game). For BioWare to do this, it simply says they are in it for the cash and not around for the players who just want to chill and hang out (does anyone see a pairing here much like SOE/LA like before? (seeing as good old Julio Torres is on the Board for this game as well, it makes sense)).
At the end of the day - they just need to keep things equal for all players to keep them in the world of Star Wars and playing. If not it could easily lead to the games utter demise much like other games in the past that had a somewhat good launch day and then dwindled off just as fast (take a look at Tabula Rasa for an example). I personally believe keeping players happy and with all the same perks and benefits would be the best way to go - especially in the early stages of the game, after the fan base has been established, do as you will - but this early on, when the game isn't even released (like 9 weeks to go) it seems like it could hinder the game quite easily.
--------------------------------------
Source: Star Wars: The Old Republic - Official Site
http://www.swtor.com/news/news-article/20111021
First off, the Color Stone - everyone had speculated that it COULD or even WOULD change your lightsaber color to any color you had wished. On the contrary, it does not - it is simply a yellow crystal with a BLACK outer hue (Whoopdy Freaking Doo).
The STAP on the other hand from the the Digital Deluxe Edition (which I was possibly going to upgrade to), also seems like some what of a loser now as you can get your vehicle at level 25. The only major difference from the DDE vehicle and the Standard from what is posted on the ToR webpage is the "skin details", but the speeds and design are all the same. So really, what would be the point of me to upgrade to the DDE at this point in time if it is just a matter of a skin overly to make it look shiny and fancy?
Now the Major Gift - The Collector's Edition Store. This is a place where you can go (apparently only accessible to those with the CE) to buy special outfits and gear for your characters and companions that no one else in the game world will have access to. This will in my eyes lead to the ultimate case of elitism in ToR like so many other games right from day one! Which could lead to the untimely fall of The Old Republic if the "normie" player base does not have access to some form of a store of their own to get things for credits so the the people with the CE do not "segregate" them and start to troll them with their "e-peen gear".
I know many of you may believe this to be untrue for the most part, but this is what I see happening in a quick matter as the is how many in game communities react to such situations of "favoritism" to one group (such as those who have dished out the most cash, i.e. those with the Collector's Edition of the game). For BioWare to do this, it simply says they are in it for the cash and not around for the players who just want to chill and hang out (does anyone see a pairing here much like SOE/LA like before? (seeing as good old Julio Torres is on the Board for this game as well, it makes sense)).
At the end of the day - they just need to keep things equal for all players to keep them in the world of Star Wars and playing. If not it could easily lead to the games utter demise much like other games in the past that had a somewhat good launch day and then dwindled off just as fast (take a look at Tabula Rasa for an example). I personally believe keeping players happy and with all the same perks and benefits would be the best way to go - especially in the early stages of the game, after the fan base has been established, do as you will - but this early on, when the game isn't even released (like 9 weeks to go) it seems like it could hinder the game quite easily.
--------------------------------------
Source: Star Wars: The Old Republic - Official Site
http://www.swtor.com/news/news-article/20111021
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