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GDCO 2010: Rich Vogel and Calvin Crowner on 13 years of Ultima Online
At this year's GDC Online in Austin, Ultima Online was the first game inducted into the Game Developer's Choice Hall of Fame. Massively had a chance to look back at UO's thirteen years of history with its original senior producer, Richard Vogel, and its current one, Calvin Crowner. Follow along after the jump to read more on their impressions of those 13 years.
Mayhem is afoot: Win a copy of Going Rogue or a City of Heroes Mutant Booster pack!
Mayhem we say, Mayhem! The good Mother tricked us yesterday with an early launch of City of Heroes: Going Rogue and threw off our superpowered plans! But, while we scrambled to get you coverage with the strength of 10,000 men, the brave (or cruel) heroes (or villains) of Paragon City (or the Rogue Isles) entered the mirror universe of Praetoria to carve out their destinies (or plunder and loot maniacally). We hope you guys are enjoying the new areas, and the new morality options, entered into the game! But, alas, are you saddened that you can't join your superpowered friends in Praetoria? Are you one of the few who don't own a copy of City of Heroes? Well, how about we fix that for you with a superpowered contest, courtesy our friends at NCsoft? Want to win a full copy of City of Heroes: Going Rogue, or a copy of the Mutant Super Booster costume pack? Super jump after the break for all of the details!
Wrathgate TCG set overviews on official site
If you're curious about the Wrathgate expansion for the WoW Trading Card Game, you can get up to three overviews of it from the official site. These overviews, written by winners of the Wrathgate contest this April, give you a sense of the place this expansion to the TCG has both in terms of the card game and the larger WoW universe. William Brinkman covers both the Argent Crusade and Flying Mounts, while David Lyons discusses how the in-game Wrathgate experience is translated to the card game. If you're a player of the TCG or are just curious about how WoW makes the transition to a different format, go give them a read.
Cryptozoic breaks open Wrathgate expansion for WoW TCG May 25th
Cryptozoic, the new publisher for the World of Warcraft trading card game, dropped us a line to let us know that they're preparing the game's newest expansion pack, Wrathgate, for release on May 25. If you've been following the trials and travails of the WoW TCG in the past few months, you know that this is a big relief and a concrete sign that the game's in good hands. And there's loot, too! "The 11th set in the World of Warcraft TCG, Wrathgate features 220 new cards straight from Northrend and the new Argent Crusade faction. Yes, players can recruit figures from Warcraft lore like Highlord Tirion Fordring for the battle against the Scourge. Also, players can use new Wrathgate crafting materials to forge brand new gear for their TCG heroes. Each booster pack contains 19 game cards. As with previous sets, players have a chance to open one of three new Loot cards randomly inserted into Wrathgate booster packs. The codes on the Loot cards are redeemed for cosmetic upgrades to World of Warcraft® MMORPG characters. The loot cards in Wrathgate are Landro's Gift, Statue Generator, and Blazing Hippogryph. The latter is another TCG exclusive mount -- a flying hippogryph to set the skies on fire." To commemorate the occasion, Cryptozoic is running a special contest, the winner of which (and a friend) will attend the internal unveiling of the expansion, hang out with its creators and maybe even eat some food here and there. Check out the contest and official rules here.
MvixUSA Solido USB WiFi adapter finds signals a county away, makes you look super important
Or tremendously dorky, either one. MvixUSA's newest WiFi adapter / range extender is a dramatic departure from its oh-so-minuscule Nubbin, though we're told that the downright gaudy 5dbi antenna provides more wireless range than you ever thought possible. Put simply, this 802.11n adapter takes advantage of MIMO technology, promising throughput up to 300Mbps and forcing you to look as if you're pinging a satellite just south of Jupiter rather than reaching for that Starbucks router eight blocks over. The good news is that it's only $34.99, and amazingly, it might just be less heinous than the Wi-Fire. Shocking, we know.
Outlaws of EVE Online: Masu'di Part 2
How do you handle the inevitable conflicts with territorial alliances who likely have greater numbers and firepower?Most of the areas of space we need access to are claimed, with various levels of effectiveness, by large and powerful territorial alliances. We can not begin to match them with manpower, so we have to take a more cracks between the pavement route.In EVE a little good will can go a long way. So we will always try an open upfront approach first, and try and build a mutually beneficial relationship. Cheap boosters, resource and information sharing are all things we try and bring to the table.However, whether this is accepted or not, very much depends on the organisation involved, and their modus operandi. Some alliances in EVE develop because their leaders have good business sense, focus and strategy, they know what they want for the alliance, and know what they can offer in return. Other organisations build up from a pure quest for power. For these organisations trading and business can take away from this. They prefer to try and do everything in-house as this is perceived as a sign of strength. "We moved a number of agents into their alliance, who could help facilitate the acquisition of the resources we needed. They provided intel, allowing us to conduct our own covert resource gathering, while causing internal disruption where possible." In the latter scenario we have to take a more covert approach, for example one recent alliance, former resident of Fountain, was an alliance called Brutally Clever Empire. We had already moved into the booster production constellation earlier, taking advantage of the chaos there when Band of Brothers pulled out. Not being perceived as a threat by anyone else we were generally low down on the target list and left alone to get on with what we like doing best. When Brutally Clever Empire arrived and claimed the region as their own, they wanted exclusive control of all the region's resources, and allow their in-house booster producers to build up a monopoly on the Exile booster type. However, the stronger boosters need resources from other regions too. It's something which we could easily provide and they tried to negotiate with us over this, however they refused to let us continue our access to our former operational areas – something which we found unacceptable.Without going into too much detail, we moved a number of agents into their alliance, who could help facilitate the acquisition of the resources we needed. They provided intel, allowing us to conduct our own covert resource gathering, while causing internal disruption where possible. We also we hired some mercenaries for a couple of months to harass Brutally Clever Empire, but luckily for us they had made enemies of most of their neighbours. With few friends and allies, and being yet another alliance that puts the wagon before the horse, they quickly collapsed.
Outlaws of EVE Online: Masu'di
Whether prowling low security space hunting for targets or fighting in massive fleet engagements, EVE Online's elite pilots -- called capsuleers -- stride like gods across galactic battle zones, as seen from the perspective of normal ship captains and crews. In this setting of New Eden, a capsuleer's neural interface with the ship allows his thoughts to regulate the vessel's performance; the will to survive coupled with fast reflexes equates to greater fortitude and speed in combat. Against conventional fleets, even a single capsuleer reigns supreme... but when faced with others of his caliber, or many of them, a capsuleer seeks every possible edge he can get. Some of EVE's pilots channel their resources into acquiring the most advanced technology, hoping to gain an advantage over their rivals. But others choose to invest in themselves through performance-enhancing drugs. These 'boosters' are outlawed in all secure regions of space, due to their powerful effects on a capsuleer's mind, and thus a magnified lethality of his ship. The demand for boosters is great, but so too are the costs. Boosters are contraband and risky to move in large quantities. Coupled with the arcane processes involved in creating these drugs, those in the know have formed cartels, whose booster production and smuggling operations form the underpinnings of New Eden's black market. The most pivotal figure in New Eden's booster trade is Masu'di, who heads the Hedonistic Imperative drug cartel through the corporate front of Es and Whizz. Their operations are largely hidden, as they dance around the power blocs of the largest capsuleer alliances, subtly influencing or corrupting those who hinder the narcotics trade. Their network operates between the cracks of New Eden's laws and systems, ensuring a steady flow of boosters into any corner of the galaxy where a capsuleer needs a fix.Massively recently spoke with Masu'di about the life of a drug kingpin in New Eden, and the inner workings of the black market in EVE.%Gallery-32364%
A closer look at illegal drug manufacturing in EVE
The freedom to pursue a life of crime or establish criminal enterprises in EVE Online is one of the more interesting aspects of the game. One of those paths a player can take is being a drug dealer. Perhaps the closest approximation to this aspect of EVE Online is the classic game DopeWars, although EVE brings this type of gameplay to a far more interactive level, with a real social aspect to the dealing side. However, these drugs -- known as "boosters" for how they augment certain abilities -- aren't simply bought from NPCs and then resold at a markup. Like virtually all of the items in EVE, boosters are manufactured by players with an industrial bent. The boosters are then ultimately distributed by those who enjoy smuggling and dealing. Kirith Kodachi established much of the basic info about boosters in his recent article for EVE Tribune, "EVE's Little Pick-Me-Ups." Now he's written a follow-up article that explains a bit about how these illicit substances are manufactured. In Kodachi's "Boosters Part 2: The Secrets of the Drug Cartels" he walks the reader through the complex stages of booster production, from gas cloud harvesting and reactions to the use of drug labs. Check out Kodachi's article for a look at what's involved with establishing yourself in EVE's illegal drug trade.
TR's patch 1.6, why play when you can wait?
MMO players, of which I count myself a part, are an interesting folk. While we profess to play our games of choice out of the pursuit of fun, many of us scarcely hesitate to flagellate ourselves (figuratively, I hope) for some new piece of gear, or stay up far later than good sense would have dictated to finish a raid, or stop playing our game of choice altogether because some hot new patch is coming down the pipeline that will change the way we play.I can now count myself in that last category, as the word that patch 1.6 was going to render profound changes on Tabula Rasa's experience modifier system has caused me to seize up and stop playing the game altogether. Perhaps it's a bit misguided to just forfeit playing the game on account of a patch with no concrete deadline, but then, who wants to spend all that time fighting enemies and grinding mobs with a paltry x2.5 experience modifier when the patch is going to be bringing down x6 multipliers with 30-minute boosters that bump it up an additional 50%? Setting aside simple quest experience, you could be looking at a whopping three times the experience gain pre-patch! Who wants to grind now when that's coming down the pipes? Not me, that's for sure.
Details on the WoW Minis game
WoW Insider has obtained a copy of the "sell sheet" sent to distributors about the upcoming WoW minis game, and it contains information about pricing, pack size, and even some hints at a release date. var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/WoW_Insider_obtains_details_on_the_upcoming_WoW_Minis_game'; Basically, the minis will become available in three different ways: there will be the core booster sets, which will contain three minis of the same Horde or Alliance faction, plus three character cards and six ability cards, and will have a suggested retail price (SRP) of $14.99 per booster. Additionally, each booster will have a chance to include an ingame Loot Card, supposedly from the Trading Card Game (there is no word if there will be loot cards specifically for the minis game), and a 1/8 chance to have an "epic" character.More info on the starter sets, including the full text of the "sell sheet," after the break.
Xantech lets loose slew of HDMI products
Yeah, we saw plenty of HDMI sockets while cruising through Gefen's booth at CEDIA, but now Xantech is apparently looking to hop in the HDMI accessory biz head first. The company has recently announced that it will soon be delivering a full line of HDMI and HDMI-compatible products, which will include "cables, switchers, splitters, extenders and boosters." More specifically, customers can look forward to HDMI 4x4 ($2,500), 4x1 ($500) and 3x1 ($325) Switchers, HDMI 1x4 / 1x2 splitters, a $250 HDMI Signal Booster, a point-to-point HDMI / CAT 5 extender, and a bevy of cables to boot. Hit the read link for the full rundown.
PSP firmware 3.10 released, and decrypted
Sony's PSP firmware v3.10 was decrypted less than 24 hours after its release, claim reports out of the "homebrew" community. While the decrypted files are useless to the average PSP user, they represent the building blocks for requisite hacker celebs like Dark_AleX, Booster, and the Noobz team. New custom firmware? Another DevHook update? Sony lost this round, fast.For those good lil' updaters out there, firmware 3.10 brings support for new PlayStation Network games, MPEG-4 AVC format for the Location Free Player, and the 'Dynamic Normalizer' sound setting, along with a memory saving mode for the browser.
New DevHook emulates 3.01 firmware
Just in time for PSone downloads, it appears that Sony has been completely outwitted by the homebrew community yet again. Less than a week after its previous update, DevHook now emulates the 3.01 firmware for users with homebrew-capable 1.50 PSPs. Until the next major firmware upgrade, it appears as though Sony's anti-homebrew efforts have been completely defeated.
DevHook updates, offers 2.82 emulation on 1.50 PSPs
After an extended absence, it appears that the programmer Booster is back. There was a scare back in August, when Sony approached the coder with some legal action. Now, nearly three months after firmware 2.80 was decrypted, a new version of DevHook is available for the homebrewing crowd out there. The latest version allows you to run homebrew directly from emulated 2.82 firmware, so there's less need to messily switch between firmwares. The latest version also includes an enticing folder called "3.0," but that doesn't seem to be in effect... yet. With DevHook, you can run most modern legal games and whatever homebrew applications you already have. Once again, it seems like the emulated firmware is better than the real deal.
Grad student produces cellphone lab coat
We're certain there's a better way to increase your cellphone signal, and it's clearly not those mass-marketed antenna boosters from days past. But Purdue University grad student Yuehui Ouyang may be onto something. With the help of electrotextiles -- clothing with metal in or on it -- she has determined that using outerwear as a mega-antenna would yield fewer dropped calls and cause less frustration by eliminating the need to find just the right corner to stand in to get signal. Essentially, the antennas on your body would receive the signal and pass it a short distance to the mobile, creating a larger opportunity for remaining connected while chatting. Currently, her antenna-strapped lab coat acts as the prototype, but she's hoping to extend the technology to sweaters, jackets, and other forms of clothing sure to give fits to metal detectors. The first wave of recipients, should this ever go big-time, would likely be government and emergency personnel who could immediately benefit from "hands-free clothing." While the new threads sound practical, we should probably ensure these things aren't traceable before suiting a soldier up in electrotextiles for top secret reconnaissance. [Via Textually]
