MMOSite.com

Here is my new address. I'll still be posting my own ideas and other things on this blog but for the most part my game blogging and reviews are going up there.

Mr. Gone is moving!

I've accepted an offer from MMOSite.com to move my blog over to their site. As soon as everything has been flushed out I'll get back to posting. As soon as I'm sure about the details I'll post them here as a final post before I start up on the new site.

Not much to report on

No wow last night, celebrating my sibling's birthday. Other than that I am excited about the upcoming patch. I hope it's released today!

On that note I would like to discuss another game I invested in (that I wish I hadn't). Hellgate: London was fun for the first 20 levels but after that it began to putter out. It is, in all honesty another one of those massively single player games. If I could demand a refund I would. I even bought two copies, one of the a collector's edition with the founder's program. I spent about $260 on Hellgate: London and it positively sucks.

I think I have lost my interest in first person games, quake wars is fun, team fortress 2 is fun, world of warcraft is crack. I haven't picked up Bioshock, TF2, Quake Wars, Hellgate: London, or any of my other games in quite a long time. Am I loosing my gamer edge? Who knows.

Pimp My Wii

Okay, so I don't own a Wii yet. I am going to get one eventually because I love Nintendo's products. What I want to see though, is an attachment that allows you to play your original SNES carts on the Wii. Now before someone says "VIRTUAL CONSOLE IDIOT!", the games I want aren't on the virtual console.

I own:
Secret of Mana
Final Fantasy 1, 2, 3
Chrono Trigger
Earthbound
Secret of Evermore

ETC. All in cartridge form. My experiment with the RetroDuo was a crash-and-burn failure to the maximum. It pisses me off.

Publish My Game (Part 3)

Concept in Progress: Alien Presence

"They said it would never happen, they told us that we were alone in the vast expanse of the universe. Even after we hard advanced our technology for space travel ten fold and explored galaxies previously unreachable still they said we were the only form of sentient life."

"They were wrong, the attack was sudden and brutal. Within months we had lost our home planet. No one knew where they had come from or why they came. Most of all why they had attacked us even after gestures of friendship."

Through research we discrovered the place these strange alients came from. A galaxy almost beyond our reach, on a planet that we never knew existed. Earth, they called it."

"These 'humans' as they call themselves are more machine than living beings. Long ago they traded their souls for the power and longevity offered to them by their technological advances."

There you have it, the short intro-blurb to a game concept I wrote down almost ten years ago! It's held up well considering the notebook it was written in is considerable older than even my first entry.

Factions:
The Human Confederacy - Humans and Cyborgs
Zythian Resistance - Zyth (Bio-technology)
Landarian Alliance - Landar (Pure energy)
Raxian Prime - Zyth/Human Hybrids (Bio-tech hybrids)

Alliances: Human & Raxian / Zyth & Landar
-Humans used to be like the zyth but instead of embracing nature they chose the way of metal and machines. Most humans still have some flesh remaining though some, especially the warrior-tier, are primarily metal

-Zyth are a tree-like race of beings that base their technology off of nature and life, through the years they have developed living forms of transportation and limited weaponry. With the help of the Landars they developed space travel.

-Landar are composed of pure energy. They have exsisted for centures with the zyth aiding and supporting them in all things. It is said that they are former Zyth, but their true origins are unknown

-Raxian are members of the Zyth that have sided with the humans and undergone metalic grafts. Originally the Raxar were beings constructed by the Zyth and powered by the Landar. They now reproduce through their own means and have formed a resistance against the Zyth and Ladrian Alliance.

Workers:
Human - Assigned a number (I.E. 001, 002, 003, etc)
Zyth - Saplings
Landar - Zapper
Rax - Hybrid

Grunt Unit:
Human - Metal-head
Zyth - Treant
Landar - Will-o-the-wisp
Rax - Charger

Ranged Unit:
Human - Gunner
Zyth - Splinter
Landar - Bolter
Rax - Arclyte

Special Unit:
Human - Mech-Boy (Repair)
Zyth - Woodland Shaman (Priest/Mage Hybrid)
Landar - Stormlord (Mage)
Rax - Techlord (Tech/Mage Hybrid)

Flying Unit:
Human - Scorpion
Zyth - Roc
Landar - Ball Lightning
Rax - Tech Sparrow

Defense Unit: (Ground)
Human - Blade Turret
Zyth - Deep Root
Landar - Shocker
Rax - Mobile Shocker

Defense Unit: (Air)
Human - Flak Gun
Zyth - Splinter Cannon
Landar - Shocker
Rax - Mobile Shocker

Buildings:
Human - Confederate HQ (Base), Chow Hall (Food), Barracks (Training Area)
Zyth - Council Chambers (Base), Sacred Garden (Food), Green House (Training Area)
Landar - The Gathering (Base), Generator (Food), Lightning Coil (Training Area)
Rax - The Collective (Base), Regenerator (Food), Grafting Facility (Training Area)

Resources: Ore, Wood, Oil
Humans gather faster but destroy the nodes, Zyth can 'nurture' nodes to make them grow back, do not destroy but gather slower, Landar are like Zyth and Rax are like humans.

Resource Gathering:
Humans: Ore (High Manufacture), Wood (Low Manufacture), Oil (High Manufacture)
Zyth: Ore (Low Manufacture), Wood (Very High Manufacture), Oil (Low Manufacture)
Landar: Ore (Low Manufacture), Wood (None/Low), Oil (Very High Manufacture)
Rax: Medium Across the Board

Gameplay: Two Levels
Planet View (Surface RTS)
Space View (Ship-to-Ship RTS)

Race - Carrier/Fighter/Bomber/Special
Human - Dropship/Disruptor/Destroyer
DropShip: (Carrier, Huge, Slow, Small Laser Array/Variable Defense)
Load, Unload, Defensive Shell (Enhance Defense, Normal is Poor)
Disruptor: (Fighter, Medium, Standard, Medium Laser Array/Variable Defense)
Defensive Shell (Enhanced Defense, Normal is Poor)
Destroyer: (Command Vessel, Gargantuan, Slow, Large Laser Battery/Enhanced Defense)
Radar Array (Detection), Command Formation (+ to attack in a radius)

Zyth - Void Whale/Stinger/Orbital Spore
Void Whale: (Carrier, Large, Fast, No Attack/Enhanced Defense)
Load, Unload, Burst (Speed)
Stinger: (Fighter, Small, Very Fast, Organic Laser/Standard Defense)
Burst (Speed), Hybernate (Regenerate/Stealth)
Orbital Spore: (Bomber, Medium, Very Fast, Spores/Poor Defense)
Orbital Bombardment

Landar - Vortex Battery/Bolt Slinger/Warp Chaser

Rax - Cruiser/Hybrid Spacer/Shield Generator

View Notes
-Races get resources from planets they have conqured, to conquer a planet you must land troops there and establish a base of operations, if another race or races are present on the planet and you don ot have an alliance you must fight your way to dominance on the planet.
-Computer planet takeover? (determined by factors of chance, dependent on military presence.)
-Multiplayer: All races may ally, fixed teams
-Trigger-based maps?
-Ships are made by selecting the planets that you own and queueing manufacture.
-Group selection: One carrier-class ship must be present to take over a planet along with fighters for orbital defense
-Each mode takes over, pausing all other operations, if you win or loose in planet-side mode you return to the space mode.
-Space View: Possibility of evaluating a planet's resources?
-Space View: Creating supply chains from planet to planet? Each race has their own 'caravan'?
-Increased recouse production due to trading from planet-to-planet.
-Planets: Normal Inhabitable planets to take over for resources, non-inhabitable planets for additional resources?
-Space View: Space stations around the planets?
-Black Hole: Very high energy output? Requires Trade Route and Glactic Waystation (or Space Station)

More to Come (There's four more pages of the stuff!)

Publish my Game (Part 2)

Okay, I've been out of the game scene for a while so stop me if this has been done. I have an idea about a game played within the mind of a person in a mental institution. It would be a sandbox-style game with free form game play. Each level a different locale or with a different feel to it.

The first is the asylum itself, the second could be an 'infested' version of the asylum to represent how the patient views the asylum itself. Think slime and odd growths, unnatural colors. The deeper you progress the stranger things get. Each of these sandbox levels would open up a new ability that the 'mental patient' can use once you complete the level.

After the first sandbox level is completed the linear gameplay begins with the mental patient trying to escape the asylum (that is coincidentally) conducting illegal experiements on the inmates. The rest of the game would include sandbox levels for more powers and linear levels that progress the gameplay.

Possible Abilities:
Telekinesis (Object Manipulation)
Pyrokinesis (Fire Manipulation)
Clairvoyance/Clairaudience (Remote Viewing/Hearing)
Psychic Blast (Obviously a damaging attack, cone-shaped)
Mental Chains (Disabling attack)
Telekinetic Shell (Damage Absorbtion)
Telekinetic Flight (Obviously movement-based)

More to Come

Quake Wars

Okay, I broke down and bought Quake Wars. I started out playing Quake 1 via my LAN a long time ago. Ever since then I have been addicted to Quake. Quake 2 wasn't much for me but Quake 3 was. Doom 3 was a good single play but the multiplayer didn't draw me much. I know why now. MODS. Future vs. Fantasy was our favorite mod by far but we had several we'd bounce from. I don't know how many nights we spent kicking the shit out of each other in Future vs. Fantasy.

Anyway I fired it up for a few minutes and found that even with my machine I shouldn't play with high graphics on. There's a noticable delay to me, I am used to instant reaction, and in FPS games if you lag you're dead. It's that simple. I haven't had time to try it online but the 'tutorial' map was quite fun. This could be another Team Fortress 2 for me.

Honestly the graphics are nice, the sound is good, and the gameplay from what little I've seen seems to be fun. Another plus is the ability to create a 'LAN' account which doesn't require a key. That is good for those of us who gather a few friends together and kick the shit out of each other.

New additions to the collection.

So I finally finished my RPG collection last night with Chrono Trigger. That brings my list to Final Fantasy 1, 2, and 3, Secret of Mana, Secret of Evermore, Earthbound, Shadowrun, Chrono Trigger, and a few others that are noteworthy. Another addition which is currently still on the way is the Retro Duo. It apparently plays both SNES and NES games. Since I still own working copies of both the NES and SNES I figure that letting them sit unused should preserve them a bit further, plus it will be nice to consolidate. I'll let you know how well it works.

So another two items that came in last night were the collector's edition for Everquest 2: Kingdom of the Sky ($0.98 + Shipping), and Shadowrun ($4.99 + Shipping). Still sealed and unused. The bad thing is that I forgot Shadowrun requires Windows Vista, which I do not have. Now, I beta tested Windows Vista and I have to say that it is pretty but a little resource-hungry. If you turn off the extra functionality it looks vaguely familiar (*coughXPcough*). But what you have to remember are the things that go on in the background. Apparently they fixed a lot but who knows? I can't afford a real copy of Vista so I guess Shadowrun goes on my shelf until I can.

Game Review: Harvest Moon - Magical Melody

Platform: GameCube
Graphics: 5 of 10
The graphics are basically chibi anime. For those of you who don't know what that means just search for the word 'chibi' on google. They are well drawn for annoyingly friendly/happy sprites.

Sound: 2 of 10
Dear god make the music stop, oh my lord the same sounds over and over again. The sounds are good but they get very repetitive.

Gameplay: 5 of 10
There is a lot of Micro-managing to do in this game, so much that it takes away from gameplay. However, if you're not into the whole 'manage everything' mentality you can pull away from it and focus on individual goals. I, for instance, like to work on getting my tools upgraded and getting a wife. Time, also, goes by way too fast. Every few seconds ends up being 10 minutes, which limits what you can do every day.

Multiplayer: N/A
None

Overall: 4 of 10
While the game can be engrossing like others of the Sim-Life genre it somewhat takes away the fun of gaming by making the game feel like work at times.

Update or Non-Update?

Not much has gone on in regards to Neverwinter Nights 2. Yeah that's it.

Okay, let me expand that. I haven't had time to work on the module much because of real-life issues. Things are cascading downward and I am responsible for quite a broad scope of.. things.. at work and at home.

Official Announcement

Official Announcement

So I announced my module on the NWN2 forums. Unfortunately my wife got hurt yesterday so my building time is going to be cut a bit. I am currently looking for scripters or code snippets to assist with the development of the mod. I'd also take some textures if anyone has any Planescape-esque textures I could use while building my city.

NWN2 Building Journal #1: Being Creative

Module - The Necromancer's Tomb

Step 1: Make a Plan
I'm from the old school of Dungeons and Dragons, when elf and dwarf were the classes you chose not the races. I am dating myself here I know but the point is this; I have an archive of preserved maps hand-drawn on graph paper. So here I go, a 32x32 multi-level dungeon. For this stage I pulled out some of my most well-planned maps and quests and started puzzling them together to produce a mega-module suitable for Neverwinter Nights 2.

Step 2: Digitize
No problem, start drawing out the map. I used the crypt tileset for this one because it suits the story-line. This step is fun, I was able to lay out my rooms with no problems what-so-ever!

Step 3: Populating
Well here is the stand-still. I have to populate every room so it doesn't look like the same old drab tileset at every turn. I've got my initial hallway done and the following room together but I am running across my main problem: Detail. I can't just throw things together, it has to be perfect. If I make a row of coffins they have to line up on all sides (down to the .1 on the coordinates). So making one room of coffins and other items can take me forever depending on the detail required.

Step 4: Scripting
So I've already dealt with the scripting a bit, I have to say that even though I have worked with C and Visual Basic a little I am still a little confused at the scripting. I think I have conversations down but now comes the hard part, all those funky little effects I want? Well I have to figure out how to program them.

Additional Stuff: Lighting
Well my original concept for lighting isn't working well. I had orginally wanted a sort of will-o-wisp type creature to wander the hallways. I have to create a skin for that. I would like to call it a Living Spell (courtesy of Eberron) I think a living dancing lights spell would be fantastic.

Progress Report

Another eaten post. This blog site is starting to piss me off, I may indeed keep my website.

Neverwinter Nights 2 has a very robust toolset, I have to watch myself due to the fact that I seem to be engrossed. My module-turned-campaign has grown from a small dungeon to a multi-level 32x32 dungeon that will be attached to a city reminiscent of sigil from Planescape.

If you don't know what Planescape is go online and buy Planescape: Torment for $5 in a bargain bin. You won't regret it!

Next Project: Neverwinter Nights 2

So here it goes, the bug hit me. I'm creating a Neverwinter Nights 2 module. The module, I hope, will morph into a series of modules which I would more comfortably call a 'campaign' than anything. I plan on including personalities from my gaming past, present, and of all things future.

I've found a few good tutorials but do any of my readers (I'm not sure of the exact amount) have suggestions as to tutorials or good sites to visit?

Touting the Wii

Bloomberg Article

This rather interesting article puts into play the serious error that most game publishers have fallen prey to. Underestimation, while Nintendo has practiced less-than-friendly procedures regarding third party publishers in the past they seem to have learned from their past mistakes and become more publisher-friendly. The behind the scenes problems ranged from requiring developers to buy their cartridges exclusively and dismissing CD Media for the old cartridge-style games.

Nintendo, however, still lacks a few things that make other companies successful. The first is online gaming. Microsoft currently holds the market on this one with X-Box Live. Sony explored the area as well and they are currently working on a solution for the PS3. The Wii is plagued with issues regarding online content, if Nintendo could polish that up they would definitely be the top dog of the game market. The second problem is power, how long before the novelty of the Wii wears off? Who knows for sure. There is no doubt that the PS3 and the 360 are more powerful than the Wii but they are so expensive that in my opinion they are not worth the buy. I still have yet to play any of the three systems though I do want to buy a Wii. By the time I get to it the price will have dropped significantly. I still haven't purchased a DS ether.

Publishers are now starting to play catch up and I am thankful for that, Nintendo is the pioneer of the genre. They revived the game industry, I'd like to see them in charge for the simple reason that the games they produce are FUN, not just graphical masterpeices with crap gameplay.

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic

A first person shooter fantasy RPG? Wow that's a tall order, but I must say Dark Messiah of Might and Magic pulls it off without a hitch. While not as Gritty and Dark-natured as Doom 3 it does come close. What hits me is how seamless things are when you move from each 'class' to another so-to-speak. I'll explain that under the Gameplay section. Another good game, there have been several hits recently. That is quite a rarity.

Graphics: 8 of 10
For a FPS game Dark Messiah does very well at portraying graphics and phsyics for that matter. The textures on medium are very impressive, if I turn them up unfortunately my computer will explode. I hate to say it but I am too poor to upgrade! lol!

Sound: 9 of 10
The sound is only repetitive when you have a mob (mobile unit for you non-MUD going types) chasing after you or looking for you when they can't find you. The sounds are very organic and fluid, down to your kick hitting an enemy in the gut.

Gameplay: 10 of 10
Here's where I am impressed. Your options for character customization are UNLIMITED, you can be one class or all classes at once because of the open skill point system they use. Right now I am leaning toward a stealth/magic hybrid. The phsyics are definitely a plus seeing as it was built on the same engine as Half-Life 2, you'll recognize the menus if you've played it. Your fighting abilities depend on what you spend your skill points on. I have made it like a Thief: The Dark Project clone gameplay-wise. But you can go direct combat, magic, or stealth if you like to specialize. The story so far is intriguing, the person whom you think is on your side may not be, but they may be, then there's the ever-present 'voice in your head' that just keeps making witty but racy commentary. It's amusing to say the least. Combat is open-ended also, you can hit people with objects, kick them or push them off of platforms, push or kick them into obstacles or spikes or even just fight them outright or backstab them. If you're really into magic you can burn or freeze someone. I like the effect fire has on the textures, when you burn someone they become singed to match your hit.

Multiplayer: Untested

Replayability: 8 of 10
Whereas the story will always be the same, I am the kind of person that likes to go back and try the game out as something else, who knows I may have had more fun going 100% stealth or combat instead of making a hybrid. Definitely a wise choice for a pick-up game if you're into FPS, Fantasy, or Just kicking someone's ass.

Going back to my gaming roots.

So I reinstalled Warcraft 3, Diablo 2, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, Oblivion (Which is my favorite game of all time), and a few other games. It's kinda fun, you rarely think about pulling out those old games and playing a few minutes here and there but I must admit I'm quite taken with Oblivion yet again.

Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars

What's not to like about Command and Conquer 3, it keeps you busy! Definitely a good buy if you like strategy gaming. I have played through a large part of the GDI campaign and I feel like I am ready to review the game, so here goes!

Graphics: 9 of 10
Sound: 8 of 10
Gameplay: 10 of 10
Multiplayer: Unrated, Untested
Replayability: 8 of 10
Overall 9 of 10

Graphics - The graphics for command and conquer are good of the type of genre it's in. Here's why I think that you don't need the super-hot-major graphical quality in games like this. If the game looked like oblivion, for instance, that would mean that it would have top of the line graphics, sure, but look at how much you have going on the screen at once. You have several groups of units on both or all three sides depending on what part of the campaign you're on. That would cause MAJOR lag. On that same note I am a graphics whore and you just can't get that perfect look for me unless it is oblivion.

Sound - I love the sounds in C&C, but you know as well as I do there are only so many types of sound you can throw into an explosion. This may just be me but half an hour of explosions and rifle fire can really get on your nerves. However, the sound was done very well.

Gameplay - They have really done well in the past with Command and Conquer, I never expected the gameplay to suck. For those who don't do strategy very often it will be very challenging trying to balance units and keep several squads going at once, not to mention trying to balance the damage types available. However, they do a very good job at showing you what's good for what during the course of the campaign. I would suggest running through the campaigns before you do multiplayer because of the fact that it gives you tips, hints and strategy help as you progress. The gameplay is fast-paced and keeps you thinking. I will say though that the AI isn't 100% top notch but it does challenge you by attacking from multiple sides at once, etc. Damned good job!

Multiplayer - Haven't had a chance to do multiplayer yet, I may be able to this weekend, we'll see!

Replayability - Definitely a good game to keep around, you never know when you'll want to throw up a skirmish game and kick some computer, or human ass.

Overall - A good buy, if you haven't gotten it yet, get it. The only real problem I have encountered is the movies are out of sync sometimes. I don't care about the movies though, you can listen to the basic briefs after quitting out of the movies and you won't miss much. The acting is a little overdone though.

Command and Conquer 3

So I have Command and Conquer 3, good deal. I haven't had a chance to play much more than the tutorial so I can't really comment yet, look forward to more on this little jewel soon!

Reverting to Starcraft

So this weekend I ended up playing Starcraft: Broodwars and Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne with my old lan party buddies. To say the least we have not lost our skills and it seems that I have even improved on Warcraft 3 yet I haven't played a strategy game for more than 10 minutes excluding of course Supreme Commander.

Starcraft was quite the game in its day and to this day it remains one of the best games out there, and whats better is it can run on almost any system to date. We even got it running on a 486 machine on time (we were bored).

Starcraft Strategy: I played as Terran first because everyone knows the best way to defeat a computer is to control a bottleneck that they can't cross. Keep in mind that I am not the best Starcraft player out there, we usually play against the computer AI. Keep in mind it is always a good thing to keep a squad of units that can attack land and air in your base and always remember to surround your perimeter with air and/or land defense depending on the map.

Terran Strategy:
The optimum Terran strategy is to wall off the entrance to your base with Supply Depots and put bunkers behind that with a few SCV's dedicated to repairs. This prevents all but ranged and flying units from hurting you too much. You may also want to park a few seige tanks at the entrance to give you that extra range and power. It gives you a bit of control over what you do. However, make sure you build up to the point that you have shuttles so you can get yourself out. Remember to surround your base with turrets and have a squad of goliaths ready to take out any stragglers.
Things to watch out for:
Seige Tanks - These Little bastards can take down your depots quickly, make sure you have some wraiths or battlecruisers ready to counter any seige attacks. You can also alternate two marines and two ghosts in the bunkers to help with this.
Zerglings - Zerglings are so small they can squeeze between your supply depots and get to the squishy little SCV's. Make sure you have an empty bunker away from the action to stuff your repair SCV's into.
Flying Units - Anything above the ground can cross into your base unhindered unless you pepper your area with turrets and keep a ground/air combat squad to defend yourself.
Reavers - Big AoE booms are bad for your supply depots and SCV's so watch for these scarab-carrying bastards.

Protoss Strategy:
I usually go with the Zealot/Dragoon method when I go with protoss. Fully upgraded Zealots are a force to be reckoned with. Remember to do all armor/weapon/shield upgrades and the speed boost. Always keep some Zealots and Dragoons ready at your base for defense and augment them with a battery and a few cannons as well. After I send in the Zealots and Dragoons I usually have a squad of Reavers air lifted in via a shuttle. I drop them in the enemy's production area and quickly take out all of their harvesters. Remember that Reavers cannot attack air! And you have to build scarabs to make them work, so don't forget to queue scarabs.
Things to watch out for:
Flying Units - Zealots are defenseless unless you have a few dragoons in the squad to help them with flying contraptions. Your Zealots will be picked off easily without some sort of help in this area.

Zerg Strategy:
Okay, I don't play zerg often but here's what I do. I usually go straight for Guardians/Mutalisks and keep a squad of Hydralisks on hand for base defense. At my entrance I keep sunken/spore colonies along with a few Lurkers scattered behind the colonies to add some extra power to defense.
Things to watch out for:
Flying Units - Guardians CANNOT attack air, only ground so they are vulnerable to all of the air-only attackers (Devourers for Zerg, Valkeries for Terran, Corsairs for Protoss). Make sure to keep some defenders with them, usually a squad or three of Mutalisks will make short work of any offending air traffic. Beware of Battlecruisers though, those bastards can take a beating.

General Things
One general thing to watch out for are Templars. Those fuckers are way overpowered, Psychic Storm is a bitch, Feedback sucks and Mind Control is not fun. PS is an AoE attack that damages all units, even those that are buried. FB is like Mana Burn in wow, it does damage based on how much energy you have stored, this can screw your battlecrusers. MC, as described below, gives you control of the target unit.

Protoss Note: Dark Archons are your friend, you can mind control an enemy harvester and get a whole new, or even all three races. If you're playing with friends have them send a basic builder into your base so you can take it over.


Warcraft 3 requires a little more from a computer but it is no less fun. I remember the days of playing Warcraft 2 endlessly. I would recommend to anyone that they pick up these two titles produced by the publisher that made everyone's favorite MMORPG World of Warcraft.