What I find interesting is the metamorphosis that EQ has had in the eyes of gamers. Before the "second generation" titles were released, EQ was called every name in the book. Everyone was biding their time until MMORPG "X" (SWG, AC2, etc. etc.) was released and we would all be released from the drudgery of EQ.

Now that even the best of the second generation titles has failed to impress, EQ has had quite the makeover. It seems to be considered the best title out there, filled with hours of obsessive-compulsive gameplay.

Those pictures are pretty compelling. I dunno...

I'm greatly disturbed at this trend with MMORPGs to fix their games with expansions. It's one thing to do it with patches and code fixes to the original product, it's quite another to do it with a $29.95 expansion. Planetside just did this as well. This has got to be one of the new danger signs for the emminent demise of an on line game - expansion pack release before the game has even been live a year.

In truth I have to agree with this, I've been playing games for a long, long time. Back in the old Commadore days actually, and all I can say is when they came out with copy protection back then it was a living hell. Try playing Mission Impossible on your Vic20 and you lost your manual. One great thick coaster!

I had forgotten all about that! Wasn't there a code on every page of the manual and a prompt when you booted up the program would ask you for the code on page 5 or something of the manual?

I loved my C64!

I'm pretty sure that there's little worth watching

I disagree. TV offers up a lot of quality entertainment. HBO original programming is top notch. The Discovery/Science channel, The History Channel, PBS all continue to offer quality stuff and network TV can do a decent job as well. The West Wing, Scrubs, The Simpsons, Malcolm in the Middle all offer good writing and engaging storylines. There is quality material out there.

On the other hand I feel like the gaming industry is where TV was in the 60s and 70s. There are a few quality titles but most of what is available on store shelves are simpy reruns of successful titles now 4 and 5 years old. There is very little going on in terms of original gameplay.

Until the game industry can open up additional distribution channels I doubt it will change any time soon.

I'm a firm believer that the vast majority of television simply rots your brain

And so do most video games, a great deal of the web and quite a few books.

It's entertainment. That's the way it works. The most important thing to remember is - moderation in all things.

but I actually feel bad for her. She was only 19 when she made that video and obviously very naive about it.

Of course this all has nothing to do with the fact that the woman has a new TV show appearing on Fox and that this "scandal" will surely increase the ratings.

This comment was edited on Nov 18, 11:21.

The last time I really got camped, it was in a pick-up team on a clan's home server. These guys obviously played a lot together and just completely owned us. I think camping the spawn point was the only thing left for them to do since we couldn't get anywhere near the objectives.

Usually if a team cooperates, it's easy enough to break out of those senarios. Spawn camping is just another obstacle to over come. Besides, war is hell.

You know, the Onion story might be funny if it weren't so terrifyingly realistic.

Just out of curiousity, does this set some sort of record for fastest release of an expansion pack?

It's just wrong although I expect that rather than an attempt to make a fast buck, it's more of a desperate attempt to gain some market share by keeping the product name in front of the consumer. It seems obvious that the game has lost the hard core crowd already. A nice flashy box on the store shelf around the holiday season will keep a steady trickle of causal gamer coming in.

I'd like to know what they're break even point was on the original game. Is the expansion a gamble to hit the break even point or are they trying to wring every last dime out of the poor thing before it dies all together

"The next MMORPG on the horizon I'm even remotely interested in is Face of Mankind"

I got so sucked into the SWG hype - I refuse to do it to myself again. I keep circling around the Lineage II site tho...

4 million Koreans can't be wrong, can they?

"Kinda makes me wonder how many people play games, not for the fun of it, but just so that they can say they beat it or have a top level character or whatever. obsessive compulsive or whatever."

These games cater to mental illness. You have to be obsessive compulsive to be a success at them. We've all read the articles and heard the stories about people ruining their lives playing these things day after day. Sooner or later one of these companies will be sued in much the same manner as the cigarette manufacturers have been sued. They've clearly developed a product that promotes and encourages unhealthy behavior.

Now if you'll excuse me, my guild is launching a raid against Gigantess, Rat of the Squeek. With any luck I'll get my +30 boots of the insomniac today! Woot!

This comment was edited on Oct 24, 19:48.

Wow, I broke it. Sorry for the triple post. It won't let me delete the extras either - stupid glowing box.

This comment was edited on Oct 10, 10:26.

I've played every major MMORPG out there, as well as a few not so major and I have to say that AO is the most interesting of the bunch. I think that it has a lot to do with the fact that they've embraced the hardcore MMORPG player in a way that other titles don't. Many of the current titles attempt to take the genre mainstream, something that I think is nearly impossible. In addition to the social aspects, what makes MMORPGs compelling to me is the complexity of the game play. You've essentially got a walking spreadsheet and success comes from tweaking those numbers. That's never going to be a form of play that the average person enjoys. AO understands this and has instead focused their resources on the core of what makes these games fun - socialization and the number puzzle meta game. They haven't dumbed down the game in an attempt to reach mass acceptance. If anything the recent expansion pack makes it more difficult and complex.

I've played every major MMORPG out there, as well as a few not so major and I have to say that AO is the most interesting of the bunch. I think that it has a lot to do with the fact that they've embraced the hardcore MMORPG player in a way that other titles don't. Many of the current titles attempt to take the genre mainstream, something that I think is nearly impossible. In addition to the social aspects, what makes MMORPGs compelling to me is the complexity of the game play. You've essentially got a walking spreadsheet and success comes from tweaking those numbers. That's never going to be a form of play that the average person enjoys. AO understands this and has instead focused their resources on the core of what makes these games fun - socialization and the number puzzle meta game. They haven't dumbed down the game in an attempt to reach mass acceptance. If anything the recent expansion pack makes it more difficult and complex.

I've played every major MMORPG out there, as well as a few not so major and I have to say that AO is the most interesting of the bunch. I think that it has a lot to do with the fact that they've embraced the hardcore MMORPG player in a way that other titles don't. Many of the current titles attempt to take the genre mainstream, something that I think is nearly impossible. In addition to the social aspects, what makes MMORPGs compelling to me is the complexity of the game play. You've essentially got a walking spreadsheet and success comes from tweaking those numbers. That's never going to be a form of play that the average person enjoys. AO understands this and has instead focused their resources on the core of what makes these games fun - socialization and the number puzzle meta game. They haven't dumbed down the game in an attempt to reach mass acceptance. If anything the recent expansion pack makes it more difficult and complex.

Hate to nit pick but the names given to games these days get longer and longer. Medal of Honor, subtitle Allied Assault, subtitled Breakthrough. Star Wars, subtitle Galaxies, subtitled An Empire Divided. Shouldn't there be some sort of gramatical limit on subtitles? What's wrong with Medal of Honor: Breaktrough? Stupid observation I realize but I just find it more interesting the standard, "this expansion pack ro0lz" or "EA is suxX0r" thread. Sorry to interrupt. Please go about your questioning of one another's manhood.

Wish I could edit that message but it won't let me. I was trying to quote Thera...

The graphics are top notch and self shading effects are out of this world. But that seems to be the only difference between this version and the original. Even the

first mission was 90% identical to the original's first mission?!?

The movies are wonderful but they're the same as the first Homeworld.

I'd have to agree. I only played the original Homeworld but the demo seems like the same game with somewhat nicer graphics. Maybe they're saving the innovative stuff for the actual game. I think I'm going to wait for the reviews before I pick this one up.

http://www.legendmud.org/raph/

Heard this one before but Raph Koster had some interesting thoughts about a similar event ( real or otherwise) It's worth a read if you haven't seen it before.