So to continue the wonderful adventures in SW:TOR.

Today I did a dungeon...only they're not called dungeons, they're called Flashpoints, but otherwise, they're dungeons. Get a group of you together to clear an area that needs a party, and is instanced to yourselves.

You gain access to your first Flashpoint at the time you leave your starter world, heading out to your faction's capital, which will be round about level 10. At that point you can either take the fast shuttle straight there, or a group of you can take a passenger cruiser, where amusing highjinks are abound.

Firstly to note the Flashpoint is multi level and multi-area. Your route is pretty linear, although, in true BioWare style, there's a few either/or choices which mean the story can play out a little differently depending on what is chosen. Given that there's going to be a group of you, there's an interesting gimmick that governs which choices your group follow.
During a cutscene you get the usual Bioware conversation wheel. Everyone chooses which answer they want, and then the system does a random number roll. Person who gets the highest gets to say their line, and the group is governed by any effects of that person's choice. This also applies to options with Light or Dark responses.
It makes for a degree of variation, both in how the flashpoint plays out, but also who is doing the talking in the cutscenes, since every conversation choice is a new roll
Drawback is everyone has to be at the NPC to take part, and you have to wait for everyone to have made their choice

Some good things...If your party wipes you do get dropped at the dungeon entrance, but because of the segmented map, when you re-enter, you rejoin at the start of the area you were last in, rather than at the start of the dungeon. You can also get added into the party midquest, and you'll be in the same general area of the map as the party
Some bad things...Lifts between areas don't work whilst in combat, so if you're one side of the lift, and someone engages foes on the other side, you're stuck out of combat until they've cleared that mob. Also in the particular map there ae large holes you can fall down. You've seen them in the SW movies, all those walkways with vast drops and no railings. And if you fall down one, you're stuck, since you have no means yo climb out, and unless the fall kills you you can't respawn without leaving the party and getting re-added.
Happened to one of my team-mates, but the others were saying it's a common occurrence that they've seen happen most times they've been though this particular Flashpoint.


On the whole was quite fun for a couple of hours with complete strangers

Oh yes. Big thing for me
I dungeoned with complete strangers!!

Not only that, I'm the one who initiated the LFG, and was party leader

People who know me will know just how much of a big thing that is for me
Talking to strangers in a game without the safety net of someone I know. Freaky

It's still early days in my playing of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Last night I managed to get my Jedi Consular up to level 10, and off the starter planet.

Having played through a fair few of the starter areas during the beta weekends at the end of last year it's prety clear there's been very little changes between then and now. Mainly optimization stuff I think. Textures are still looking low res, mind, and I don't know if that's by design, or if I haven't found the right graphics setting


Playwise I'm enjoying it. It is most definitely a BioWare game, but it is also very much a BioWare/WoW hybrid. When you get outside of the story and into the every day combat there's little to distinguish the mechanics from so many other MMOs. Stand here, swing that, CC here, etc. Not inherently a bad thing, just not really anything new. Even the quests, when you boil down to it are all familiar old tropes. Carry this item to that NPC, kill-ten-fleshraiders, go speak to this NPC. The difference is the BioWare story telling, and this is SW:TOR's strong point. In replacing every wall-of-text you'd usually expect from a quest giver with an animated, fully voiced cut scene the quests stop being just kill-ten-rats. You know what you're doing because someone begged you to do it, rather than just handing you a paragraph and saying "read this".
I know I rarely read quest text beyond a cursory glance, and usually rely on the quest goals and map markers to let me know what I'm supposed to be doing. So usually in other MMOs I'd be playing to tick of quest goals rather than because J Random NPC really needs those animal body parts. In SW:TOR you are personally asked, and told why you should be doing something. You often have an opportunity to discuss the problem with your quest giver, or have a different NPC offer you an alternative option, usually for Light or Dark side points. A woman may need cat teeth for her son's medicine, but I know that because I found a holo-recording of a father's dying words regretting he couldn't help his family
The next nice change about questing - The NPC-less quest. If I'm in an area for another reason and I happen to kill one of the local fauna I might get a quest pop up pretty much saying "Whilst you're in the area, kill another 9 of them and you get XP and cash" Now I'm sure you could imagine thius could become a bit of a core, a grind. What I've found so far, though, is if I get one of these sets of kill-10-rats quests there are usually between 8 to 15 rats between me and the goal of the quest which broughtr me out here in the first place, with very little need to go hunting out foes. Respawns seem to be pretty timely also, so a crowded server won't,. I think, be a big issue

Finally on quests you have your Story quests. This is where the Bioware touch really shines through. Complex choice-driven dialogues, reminiscent of Mass effect and of Dragon Age. you get to shose how to respond, and your actions carry though to different instances. For example, as a Jedi padawan i was sent by my master to mnegotiate with refugees in a nearby village fore a mcguffin. Whilst there I could either be polite, or chose the darkside option to intimidate tyhe villagers. I did the latter, went off and continued the story, and though nothing of myt meanness. A few staged on through the quest chain and I'm back at my jedi master ready to cheer at my successes, only to get an earbashing for my actions with the villagers. "We do not do that sort of thing, Padawan"

So, yeah, I'm about a month behind, but today I picked up Star Wars:The Old Republic.

Now I've heard various different opinions on various different aspects of the game. For the most part, the majority of complaints seem to have someone else complaining the exact opposite. Personally I think in the majority of cases what we're seeing are people's preconceptions being shattered, but then that's just me

So I'm going to go into this with an open mind.
I've played some MMOs, I've played some BioWare titles. I've watched and read various Star Wars stuff. And I shall like to see whether combining an MMO with BioWare's storytelling is actually worth the bother.

I played a couple of the beta weekends. I got a couple of characters up to level 10 and off their respective starter planets. It's unlikely much will have changed, but we shall see

Since I never uninstalled the client from those betas, instalation was quite straightforward, as the client just updated itself
I already had an account on swtor.com, and could just add myregistration code directly into that account. To activate the live account you have to add a subscription method, or paid time form a paid time card. Subscription will get collected after the first month if you don't cancel beforehand. You can use debit/credit card or Paypal.

I seem to recall when I set up for the beta that an Origin account was created automatically when I made the account on the website (OMG ORIGIN NOOOOOOOOO!) but haven't seen any sign of EA's new lovechild other than that brief message

So now I'm through the install process and setup, which on the whole was pretty pain free. Few niggles about the amount of security questions you have to provide answers for, but that's a one time dealy (did that back at beta) but otherwise quite smooth

Now for some CG intro video (Mmmm Jennifer Hale) and on into the world



PS: You can choose from both Europe and US servers. See that Blizzard? Both! At the same time!

So a few weeks back, on a whim, and because it was in a sale (damn you HMV) I bought the Spaced Box Set. I don't think I've seen this since it first aired about 10 years ago.
I've finally got round to actually watching it today, and have been laughing like a loon

I'm gonna have to watch it all again, with the Homage-O-Meter on. Way too many pop references to pick up in one go


Thoroughly recommend the series for anyone who appreciates good British TV humour


(Both seasons are on 4oD, and for the US (apparently) on Hulu)

So a few of the ponies have taken to playing World of Warcraft. A few years back I tried one of the 10-day trials. I lasted 5 days, and barely made level 16. I wrote WoW off as a grindfest not worth the effort to get to the good stuff, and went and played other things

Now I've tried other MMOs other than my beloved GuildWars.
- Warhammer:Age of Reckoning was ok, but lacked that something. Too many little annoyances which in and off themselves were hardly anything, but they added up
- Tabula Rasa... I went in for the free play they did as they were winding down to shutting the servers off. Lasted 2 days with a feeling of "Yes? And?"
- Eve Online... 10 days for this one. After the straight forward tutorial missions, which consisted mostly of fed-ex quests, I headed out into the big wild world, and promptly got lost in the interface, community and economy. I get payed to work. I pay to have fun, not get a second job.
- Aion ... Very pretty. Lasted the full first month before they started asking for subscription...but seriously such a grindfest. Not enough quests to generate even half of the necessary XP, Hi, you're level 14, and have just run out of quests. the next area has quests intended for lvl 16. Have fun. And that was toned back for the western market
- DDO online ... 2 days. More than anything I was put off by the graphics and the controls. Felt clunky and dated

Then, since WoW had a big overhaul for Cataclysm, I decided, having been persuaded by other ponies playing, and the constant reminders of its existence by phishing emails, to try another 10-Day trial

I've been playing for 10 days. I outleveled the trial's lvl 20 cap on the second day; partially because they have made it easier to level, and partially because they've cleared out large quantities of the Kill-Ten-Rats quests that bogged the early game down. So i went out and bought the game

My human rogue is now level 47, and I'm tempted to roll a mage as well...although that may wait until after payday so I can pick up Burning Crusade, so I can have a space goat Draenei

I say this on a pretty regular basis, but i should post more

Christmas and new year have been very busy at work. The UK has had some of the longest severe cold weather it's experienced in some time.
I work in home insurance. Since November we have been dealing with claim after claim for water escaping from burst pipes, and damage to roofs and gutters from sliding snow and ice.
We were given some figures the other day
In November and December we registered over 4,000 more claims than the same time in 2009. In December alone we registered 1,600 more burst pipe claims than the previous year.
Work is busy. I'm coming home brain fried, and you can see why.


The Christmas period was a quiet do with the family. I got a few books, and DVDs. Mum got a Kindle. Now I haven't really contemplated an e-reader. I have the Kindle app on my phone, which was useful for one book which was delayed in getting shipped, but getting a dedicated device never really appealed. well that was until I played with my mum's Kindle. It's surprisingly comfortable to hold and to use, and the display is as clear as a printed book. I'm now trying to balance 'need' and 'want'.

Talking of 'need' and 'want' I should get down to getting a replacement car. The insurance confirmed the car was a write-off, but the settlement, even with the excess deducted, wasn't too far off what I paid originally, which is good. I'm also impressed at Direct Line's prompt service. Good going all round there
Now I did really like my Ford Focus, so I'll likely be looking at the same again. Might see if I can get the model with the front fog lights, just because, well gadgets.

So I was just thinking earlier today, it's been a while since I last posted, and so I should really post something, and I was contemplating various subjects, including having seen maddmouse on the weekend, and probably some waffle about computer games again.

Then someone stole our rubbish

Thursday night is bin night, and every fortnight it's time to put out the boxes for paper and plastics for recycling. About half an hour ago some youths; drunk, stoned, high or something; came down the street in their delirious state, leaving a trail of ripped bin bags and scattered rubbish in their wake. Our next door neighbour is on their way out, and gets verbally abused by this pair. The guys then pick up the plastic box holding our waste paper, and go running off down the street.

Now about 500 yards down from us there's quite a large reservoir, with access from our road, and it's down that path these youths dart. Dad and I grab shoes and follow gingerly. Now it's past sundown and the dusk is getting really dim, the reservoir has no lighting, and so we're very cautious as we pear down the path to the water, and spot these guys laughing and gesticulating around our recycling box.

The box is smoking quite heavily, and in the dim light the first flames can be seen rising above the edges.
We beat a hasty retreat and call the police

Ok, I have to share this, because it's cool and shiny and makes me want (more-so) a game that hasn't even reached beta testing yet

Arenanet are releasing news on their upcoming MMO GuildWars 2, and they've just released details the first confirmed player class, the elementalist

( Pretty videoCollapse )
More details and videos at http://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/professions/elementalist/

Also details of the skills system at http://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/combat/part-one/
and ArenaNet's manifesto for GW2 at http://www.arena.net/blog/guild-wars-2-design-manifesto#more-1891

So one of the magazines I buy had cheapo red/blue 3D glasses. Now i happened to note at some time in the past that NVidia ha a sterioscopic setting for some of their graphics cards, so I went a nosing. Whatcha know, but my card is one of them that can to it, so I've been spending the afternoon playing various games to see how they look.

How do they look? Well 3D for a start, but its a strange sepia tinted 3D accentuated with purples and lime greens.
Original Mass Effect looked good, but I forgot I could up the brightness, and so gameplay suffered.
Mass Effect 2 was a little more successful, although the sepia effect made computer consoles almost vanish.
Dragon Age: Origins looked excellent. (even a bit of tent time >_> <_<)
Mirror's Edge was by far the most successful. The predominently white world copes well through the red/blue specs, although= the purples and greens took getting used to.

Made me wanna get NVidia's 3D system, but then I'd need a compatible monitor in addition to the glasses and receiver. Since I'm not in a position i need to upgrade I think I'll wait.

Is funny what you get used to, mind. World looked very strange without the specs on, once I was done.



Edit
Glancing through Amazon at 3D kit, I saw for sale a pair of plastic framed red/blue specs (ok it's red/cyan), and near the bottom of the page one of the reviews read:
Tried to use these 3 d glasses and as they are not polarised they will not work in every cinema.Went to see Avatar at the Imax in London and they did not work. Absolute waste of money !! Don't purchase !!
One wonders why he thought the lenses were coloured

So what are you up to Valve.

First you update Portal to stick radios in every test chamber, and add an achievement linked to it, then a couple of days later you change part of the ending.
Is this a hint at Portal 2, or is it the long awaited Half Life 2:Episode 3 (Tranmere Rovers 1 /zp).
Perhaps its something else entirely...which reminds me, am looking forward to looking at Black Mesa, a fan made port of the original Half Life into Valve's Source engine. So they were expecting to have this out for 2009, but if the big name companies can't get stuff out when planned, I think a group of fans can have a bit of leeway

Talking of fan made mods of Valve games, there's also Portal:Prelude, which is a fan's attempt to explain what went wrong at Aperture Science. The puzzles are certainly more complex and less forgiving than the original, and it does have its glitches, but again, this is a fan made creation. I admit to resorting to NoClip cheats on a fair few occasions.

And talking of big name companies, Ubisoft released Silent Hunter 5 with its all new DRM, that means you have to stay continuously connected. Various reports say that it's already been cracked, although UbiSoft say that the cracked versions will be incomplete. Kinda suggests the DRM does more than just phone home. Time will tell. Still won't be buying another UbiSoft game again soon.

One of the first things I think I'm going to get when I finally move out (again) and have a little spare cash (ha), is buy a games console.