chat-channel
Latest
Wizardry Online revealing class and chat info this evening
If you have more questions about Wizardry Online than have been answered to date, hopefully you'll start to fill in those gaps come this evening. The devs are preparing to release a post on the official Wizardry Online Wiki that will shed some light on the various classes as well as the in-game chat system. The classes set to be revealed are the melee Fighters, healer Priests, hard-hitting Thieves, and ranged Mages. The studio is giving each class a difficulty and survivability rating, as well as the alignment and requirements to roll one. It looks as though Wizardry Online will handle its game population through automatic world instances called channels. New channels will be created when the number of players demand it, and players can choose a specific channel, a type of channel, or the first available channel upon logging in. Keep an eye on the wiki for the dev blog to go live at 6:00 p.m. EST tonight. [Source: SOE press release]
CABAL readies Episode V expansion
CABAL Online is gearing up for its latest expansion, and the meaty Episode V: Mercenaries looks to add quite a bit of content to the free-to-play action MMORPG. Chief among the additions are a mailing system, a complete revamp of the dungeon and loot drop systems, and the titular NPC mercs. The new mercenary system gives players the ability to summon an NPC ally inside of the game's dungeons, while simultaneously providing new objectives thanks to a variety of different mercs available to find and recruit. Six different NPCs will be available initially, with new and stronger flavors set for future release. Episode V is also bringing dual pet functionality to CABAL, as well as a variety of features centered around the game's dungeons. Players may now pause dungeon encounters, talk to competing groups via a dungeon chat channel, and keep track of entry requirements on the new dungeon interface. The expansion is slated for December, and we'll keep you posted as a firm release date becomes available. In the meantime, check out the gallery of new screenshots below. %Gallery-108751%
The indomitable LFG chat channel
The first thing I thought when I saw the new LFG interface coming in patch 3.3 was what I said on last week's podcast: that's cool, but where's the LFG channel? If you remember way back during patch 2.0.1, when Blizzard originally released the LFG system, there was quite a clamor raised when they took away the LFG channel then, so much so that they eventually had to resurrect it. And so, when I saw in the latest patch notes that the LFG was set to return as a citywide channel, it didn't come as a surprise at all -- even in the new era of cross-realm LFG, there's still a place for just talking about which groups you can join. But citywide still isn't enough for a lot of players -- some are saying that they want the channel to be worldwide. Ghostcrawler himself shows up in that thread and says a worldwide LFG channel would be nuts. And he's right: way back in the day when it was worldwide, it was "mass chaos," like a Barrens from everywhere. So why are people so tied to it? Blizzard seems to be missing a major way people used the LFG channel.
MMO Family: 17 internet safety tactics for gaming families
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family. From tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate niches for every family member, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the family. "Be careful, there's nasty stuff out there on the internet." It's frustrating to hear this warning clarioned over and over again. We're gamers ourselves, after all. We know easily children can get in over their heads on the internet. "Be careful," intone the experts. "Watch carefully, and be very, very careful ..." But how? What must we be careful to do? To not do? What does "being careful" mean in actual practice? Specific online safety tactics – and putting them into practice without driving anyone crazy in the process – become an epic quest reward that always manages to stay two turn-ins out of reach. As we mentioned last week, your main objective as the parent of a young MMO player is to remain figuratively logged in to their activity. When children are online, parents cannot afford to be figuratively AFK. We're not suggesting you pull up a chair and some popcorn to faithfully oversee kids' every move online. No child needs direct supervision to kill 10 rats (or pick 20 flowers or befriend 30 fairies or frag 50 enemies ...). But young gamers do need your boundaries and your guidance (as well as your feedback, your enthusiasm and your support). Just how strong the boundaries should be will depend on the age of your child and the game that they're playing. Apply common sense, based on your own MMO experience, along with these 17 tactics for safe online gaming.
WoW Rookie: Filter out the #$%!
New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the resources they need to get acclimated. Send us a note to suggest a WoW Rookie topic.Hey, isn't that the same screenshot we used for WoW Rookie just two weeks ago? Indeed it is, faithful readers – because frankly, "Who wants my man meat?" is the perfect illustration for today's topic.The World of Warcraft is your refuge at the end of a long, hard day – and the last thing you want to see rolling across your screen is the kind of lowbrow posturing that's given Barrens chat its notorious reputation. Or perhaps you'd like to let the kids try their hands at WoW, but you don't want them soaking up the rough language that seems to turn up more and more frequently in busy city Trade and General channels.It's time to take charge of your game chat.
A guide to shutting out the world (of Warcraft)
WoW is a very social game, and you might think that there is no getting around it. Fortunately for those who relish their alone time, there are several ways to minimize contact with other players and have some quiet time. While some people will argue that you should stop playing social games like MMORPGs, there are plenty of solo activities, and if that is what you want to do, more power to you.Today, I will be answering some reader mail from Heidi who desperately wants some peace and quiet.
Living without General chat
I have a confession to make: all the whining, questions, and confusion that's been in General chat for the last few days? I haven't heard any of it. As soon as I logged in after the expansion, I typed "/leave general" and strangely enough, haven't looked back. I usually enjoy General -- it reminds me that I'm not playing a singleplayer game, and most of the comments there, while not really the smartest, are at least pretty entertaining. I figured if you're going to play a game with other people, you might as well give them the opportunity to talk with you.But Northrend has been different -- I didn't want the inane chatter, the constant stream of questions (sometimes answered, usually not), and the occasional desperate requests. I wanted to be in Northrend by myself, more or less, and explore the world as if I wasn't on the same server as thousands of people. And it's been worthwhile, for the most part -- while I've dived back in there once or twice just to check and see if certain quests are bugged for anyone else, I've mostly stayed out of there, and I think it's made the game better.Some of you will probably think I'm late to the game -- you may have removed the General channel on day one, and the Trade and World Defense channels along with it (I'm keeping the Trade channel, though -- when I am in cities, I kind of appreciate the bustling back and forth, and I've found a few deals in there). For the moment, though, I appreciate a quieter Northrend. No General for me, thanks.
New guide for EQII covers the creation of chat channels
There are times when group, guild or zone chat just don't cut it. Perhaps you want to set up a chat room for you and your family? Or maybe the dirty jokes that your friends throw back and forth would be better suited to a more private setting? EverQuest II's custom chat channels can offer you a safe haven to talk to your loved ones and/or perverted chums, as well as any other groups that you wish to communicate with, and the EQ2Players community site has a new guide that will tell you all you need to know to set up your own (and optionally exclusive, through password protection) chats.If you want to be really out there, you can combine the custom chat channels with the recent guide on cross-server chat, and have friends from all the different SOE games communicating with each other at once -- very fancy indeed.
