Wizard101

I got a spam comment today which mentioned, while complimenting me on explaining some vague idea to them, that they were unsure of this blog’s update schedule. Geez. When even SPAMMERS wonder why you don’t update every day, it’s getting out of hand ;) Fact is, most of the time I am doing boring stuff. CrazyKinux linked to a blog once that insisted nobody wants to read about someone running mission in EVE Online, so once I read that, I stopped posting about my adventures in EVE. I’m leveling up a character in Wizard 101 so I can do Grizzleheim with level-appropriate characters, but that takes time. I do fit in little bits about what I’m doing in EVE and Wizard101 now and then in these blogrolls… but they don’t seem worthy of entire posts! ...

Back in EverQuest, the raid leader had banned all mage pets because they tended to push bosses into walls. The mages were not amused. Aion: Next WoW killer? Caliga thinks Aion might take that coveted #2 spot of ranked subscription-based MMOs right behind World of Warcraft with a final tally of 800,000 players. He’s forgetting that WoW players always return to WoW. Always. My own prediction? 200,000 six months in because A) it’s a WoW-like, and B) it isn’t WoW. ...

I pretty much gave up on crafting when I received the first Dragonspyre crafting quest and realized how many hours of gathering I would have to do. More than I wanted, and if Malistaire had once needed some special high-level crafted item to fall in defeat, his re-nerfing meant he needed that no longer, so I let it lie for awhile. ...

When I die, I don’t want my last thought to be, “Why oh WHY didn’t I grind out another thousand AAs when I had the chance?” Etha, 67 Druid, 191d 3h played Tipa, 71 Rogue, 254d 12h played Brita, 75 Cleric, 181d 8h played Tipa, 68 Ranger, 9d 1h played Those aren’t even all my EverQuest characters. Six hundred and thirty five full days playing just across those characters. I could add my 65 mage or 58 shadow knight to that. At eight hours a day, that would be five and a quarter years. (Though, it’s easy to see how much quicker leveling in EQ has gotten. 1-68 in nine played days? Sweet! And that included raiding!). ...

Well, would YOU bet $200 on a game that nobody but press is allowed to talk about, a month before it’s released? When Lord of the Rings Online offered the same deal – A Benjamin and his identical twin for a lifetime subscription – you had a month to think it over. Not so with Champions Online – if you insist on playing before committing, the offer goes away. Probably the best thing about the offer – access to the Star Trek Online beta, and Mirror Universe outfits for same. So, if I want to play STO and get all the best goodies, I have to toss two c-notes Champions’ way? ...

Sorry for the entire and almost complete lack of posts this week… family stuff. Guess I should have called it the “WEEKLY Blogroll”…. What makes an MMORPG an RPG? Nowadays, EVERYTHING seems to be called an RPG. First person shooters like Call of Duty 4 are suddenly RPGs because they include levels (and, arguably, classes as well). So is that it? Is any game with leveling now automatically a Role Playing Game? Zubon of Kill Ten Rats wonders if that’s all there is. Psychochild responds by taking a look back at the origins of the term in pen-and-paper gaming. These days, I tend to regard games that don’t force you into certain paths as more of an RPG that on-rails MMOs like WoW. Zubon has a point when he says Second Life is more of an RPG than most games that claim the title. ...

[slide width=“640” height=“480”] Just got back from Virginia yesterday afternoon (you’ll be seeing some pictures from my trip on my ShutterCal widget to the right in the coming days) and am still catching up on all the blogospheric happenings of the past few days. Reason enough to show off some 3D images I’ve been making. A few weeks ago, I got wondering how I could turn game screenshots into three dimensional images. MMORPGs would be a lot more immersive if we could see the game world in the same number of dimensions as we see the real world. ...

Okay, THAT was a day of good discussion, so thanks, Wolfshead :) Why did I feel your “first impressions” article needed rebutting? Well, SOMEONE had to stand up (and thanks to Hudson, who did!). I couldn’t say that stuff about WoW and expect to come away without comment. In grand blogging tradition, Wolfshead now has a rebuttal to my rebuttal :) ...

Isaiah Spelldust of Defenders of the Spiral is having a comic contest! Well, I’m always up for a comic :) That’s my entry above. Good luck! Here’s Isaiah with the rules: Just to let you know about my first ever Comic Contest! -Anyone can enter! -The comic has to be Wizard 101 related -Entries can be submitted between July 22-August 13 -No run-offs of anyone elses comics! ...

The Gobblers have finished moving the old Bazaar into the basement and have set up the entirely NEW Bazaar for our buying pleasure! Here’s the info straight from Professor Greyrose: New Bazaar! Elik has updated his Bazaar in Olde Town. The new Bazaar allows players to sort items based on name, quantity, school, level and cost. When you first arrive at the Bazaar, everything will be sorted by name. As you can see from the following picture, there’s a yellow arrow under the word ‘Name’. Click the word Name to sort from A to Z or Z to A. ...