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Ten things to do in Star Wars Galaxies before it's gone
When SOE announced that Star Wars Galaxies would be sunsetted by the end of the year, many players despaired. They gave up. They saw their long years (eight years!) of play turn to dust. But others looked on the impending closure as incentive to do all those things they'd been putting off, all the activities they just hadn't gotten around to. There hadn't been time. The game is too big for anyone to do it all. And that's precisely why Star Wars Galaxies is a legend among sandbox fans despite the NGE disaster. It's a living museum of great MMO ideas from the past, of player-driven economies, of open-world housing, of high-end, game-supported roleplay, of roaming in a game that lets you dictate the terms of your play. It's a rare relic you should see in the flesh, today, right now, before it's gone. You can pick up a weapon and fight in any MMO (excepting A Tale in the Desert, that is), but there are so many things you can do in Star Wars Galaxies that you can't do anywhere else with the same level of immersion. And I'm going to tell you which 10 you should do first... before it's too late.
The Daily Grind: How important is your look?
Sometimes I'm not entirely sure I play City of Heroes. I definitely log in, and I definitely enter the game world. The thing is that I can enter the gameworld and then start staring at the tailor, and the next thing I know two hours have passed and I'm calling Ms. Lady over to see if the outfit looks better with one shade of cyan or another. I believe there are also elements of the game that involve superhuman antics, but at times it feels that my intersection with those elements is brief and often superfluous. Of course, I know I'm not the only one. There are people who will devote even more time than I will to getting a character's outfit just right, even in games that don't allow costume-customizing free-for-alls. And then there are players who couldn't care less that their RIFT characters appear to have been dressed by a blind MC Hammer as long as their stats are high. So where do you fall on the spectrum? How important is your look? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Tattered Notebook: Down but not out!
I was closely watching our Choose My Adventure poll last week and had a flashback to 1986, when I was torn between rooting for my two favorite teams, the Red Sox and the Mets. There I sat, staring at my Cabbage Patch Red Sox doll and my Cabbage Patch Mets doll, trying to decide which one I would embrace as I tuned in for the first pitch. Whom would I root for? Hurst or Darling? Dewey or Nails? Mookie or Billy Bucks? Carter or Geddy? Boggs or Ho-Jo? I chose the Red Sox, and I'm still trying to get over that memorable World Series. The CMA poll had me right back in that seat, as I found myself rooting for both frontrunners, RIFT and EverQuest II. For EQII fans, the vote tally ended up somewhere under Bill Buckner's cleat, and RIFT ended up winning. Take heart, EverQuest II fans: We have a great game, and like an aged wine, it's getting more buttery with a hint of raspberries and a taste of oak. So raise your glasses because it's time to toast the reasons EverQuest II is a great game!
The Anvil of Crom: Recessions, appearance tabs, and PvP for the returning player
Welcome to the Anvil of Crom, Conan fans. It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks, and all of the announcements, new content, business model changes, and general gameplay shenanigans are only going to generate more Age of Conan discussion as the summer wears on. This week I'd like to take a brief time out to highlight some worthwhile (and ongoing) community discussions. Every so often it's good to take a bit of a break from my rantings and ravings and hand the microphone to you guys, and what better way to do that than by examining a few of the more interesting forum discussions to be found on both the U.S. and EU boards. Without further ado, join me after the cut and add your two copper to the comment section.
The Tattered Notebook: If we all look cool, how do we know who's really cool?
Last week, we looked at the amazing job that EverQuest II does with providing ways to make your character look unique. EQII is one of the best when it comes to making your character look special, cool, and fitting of who you are. But there's another side of this coin, and as one forum poster has rightfully pointed out, the best-looking items aren't always the best items in the game. As Rayven2 noted recently on the official forums: A good example is the Elemental War Sword. Sure it drops from an easy-mode mob, but it's a 4x raid and takes time and effort to beat (at least the first time you do it). The sword should look somewhat cool, but the graphic is just the same reused sword graphic painted gold. The chillborne sword is the one that has the particle effects for 200SC. So you bust your hump beating a mob that took 24 people to take down only to get a reward that looks worse than an appearance weapon anyone can acquire for little or no effort. None of the scout weapons look anywhere as cool as the SC daggers out there. Senior Producer Dave "SmokeJumper" Georgeson replied, saying, "It's a fair point, although if we're not paying attention to that now, it's by oversight, not by intent. Everyone wants something cool looking (not just cool stats) when they overcome big challenges. That's natural." In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll take a closer look at "looking cool" and how the rise of cash shops has changed the way we view each other.
The Anvil of Crom: All I want for Christmas
Buuurrrp. Ah. Begging your pardon, but you know how it goes this time of year, leftovers and all that. Seeing as how this is a Thanksgiving holiday weekend here in the States -- and the annual Christmas shopping orgy has begun -- it seems an appropriate time to indulge in a bit of list-making with regard to Age of Conan. I don't normally do lists here at The Anvil of Crom, as many seem to be the game journalist's equivalent of the oh-crap-I've-got-a-deadline-but-no-topic safety net. Occasionally, though, they serve a real purpose. In my case that purpose is bitching politely talking about what I'd like to see Funcom add to its AoC recipe. So, in honor of the pilgrims and their pilfering of North America (or the cold turkey sandwich you're no doubt stealing from your fridge at this very moment), I present to you three things Age of Conan should pillage from other MMORPGs. Join me after the cut for the rundown.
Hyperspace Beacon: We hope this never makes it into SWTOR, but, knowing our luck, it probably will
The Hyperspace Beacon is a weekly guide and discussion by Larry Everett about the yet-to-be-released game Star Wars: The Old Republic. In a world where speculation runs rampant, it seems everyone has his own ideas of what is going to be in Star Wars: The Old Republic. From swoop races to appearance tabs, we have heard them all, but, to be quite frank, it is very unlikely that most of these speculated items will ever make it into the final release of this highly anticipated game. Also, some of the ideas are so far removed from anything that would make sense in the game, that I have a hard time wrapping my wee-little brain around them. I won't name any here because I still want people to read the column, but if your friend's head twitches when you tell him your wicked-cool idea, then it probably will not make it in the game. In this week's column, I want to go the other direction. Sometimes producers, writers, and game designers will pitch ideas that cause uncontrollable ticks for the listeners, but, for some unknown reason, the design launches anyway. Every once in a while, I would like to turn our attention to some of these kooky concepts in series I like to call: We hope this never makes it into SWTOR, but, knowing our luck, it probably will -- or WHTNMIISWTORBKOLIPW, for short. Click "Read more" to read about the first couple of things I am praying do not find their way into the game.
