Nieves
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| posted on 24/1/2003 at 20:48 |
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How Many Games Can One Play!?
As stated, I am in the Shadowbane Beta. I made it to level 3 last night in
an hour messing around with a guild mate.
Yesterday, I grabbed my old DAoC box, wiped the dust off of it, and fired
it up yesterday. I got to hang out with my good ol' pal, ol' buddy Watts
(THANKS DUDE!) and managed to make level 5 (almost 6 now) in 2 hours.
As you know, I am deeply involved in the NWN:UO project.
And, I still have my Ultima Online Accounts.
Oh, and you got Star Wars Galaxies and World of Warcraft coming aboard in a
couple of years.
So many games, so little time!
Then there are the single player games I never finished (but still want
too):
Baldur's Gate and it's expansion (yes, the original)
Dungeon Siege (I was in the final chapter when NWN hit; thanks Fry!)
Diablo II (thank you Mr. Bush!)
Icewind Dale (thank you taxes! I was in the final chapter when I got
distracted with my own UO guild)
Warcraft III (thank you sqirl)
Morrowind (never even started it! but thanks again Mr. Fry!)
Games I REALLY do want to finish but there is no time.
I guess prioritizing and completing those games would be good huh?
Do I really need to go in to the "Want to!" with Baldur's Gate II, it's
expansion and Icewind Dale II?
Then I have the 'work' to do with UOPG's content , my future work with NWNPG (CONTENT BABY!),
and my continual work on NWN:UO's areas and creature balancing.
Note: Lawyer and Fryguy are da shit. kthx.
Oh, did I mention I am also writing stories and managing RP PVP events in NWN:UO? AND
acting as a Dungeon Master (Game Master)?
Let me not start talking about real life bullshit.
My point? So many fucking games, so little time.
[What? You thought you were going to get away without an F word from
me?]
And, do I really want to play that many games?
I absolutely LOVE Neverwinter Nights. Other than Blizzard's Warcraft III,
I don't know a game that has graphics near as good as Neverwinter Nights (I
haven't looked at Asheron's Call's or Everquest's new renditions). There
are literally HUNDREDS of worlds, thousands of downloadable single player
games to enjoy for NWN. And, besides the cost of the software, there is
NO MONTHLY FEE! (I won't get into the idea of game worlds eventually
charging fees to cover bandwidth costs...)
Of all the games out there, THIS will be THE game players will play the
most. Why?
1) What monthly fee?
2) It's based on the oldest, commercial role playing game, Dungeons &
Dragons.
3) It's run by players for players.
4) Probably the most important, it's DESIGNED by players for players.
There will be worlds for EVERYONE to get into. 1 v 1 World builder to
player interaction ratio is at most, 64 to 1. Is there any game out there
that will EVER have a better interaction with their players? Well, in
theory anyway...
Right now, NWN:UO has a 30:4 ratio. Not bad I think...
And the combat system, when balanced by the world builders (and done right)
is VERY good.
Yesterday morning, I ran into a group of 4 that wanted to 'stop' my
Necromancer from achieving his goal of gathering certain 'artifacts'. 4
people found themselves dead. 3 times (my Necromancer died twice but
managed to get back to get revenge). I fought a mage, a stealthing rogue,
a cleric, and a fighter. Now, should I have lost under those odds? In UO,
probably. But in NWN, I had a chance with the proper defensive spells and
the proper offensive firepower to clear the street WITHOUT having to even
THINK about having to run 20 screens to avoid the gank. The only real
threat was a Cleric with a Harm + Searing Light combination.
For the record, if you get jumped in NWN, there is no screen warping as
there is in UO. Unless you lag (zoning is a big factor in this), the
attackers will be able to stay caught up with you...
Shadowbane: Gawd, I wish I didn't have to abide by the rules of that
Non-disclosure agreement. But breaking it will hurt a very large number of
beta-testers (my guild).
I can say this: it's has a shitload of potential. It's game play is smooth
enough. For example, it's 'combat engagement engine' is CHOICE! I mean,
NICE! Smooth. Awesome. I mean, it's so simple it's not even funny.
It's only two actions to go into combat. People may say: but in UO it's
just a double click. Well, trust me, it's nice. And better IMO.
Other than that...well, as I said, Shadowbane has GREAT potential. (Can I
say what I really want to say Zen!?)
Dark Age of Camelot: The graphics are NOT as pretty as Neverwinter Nights.
And the camera angle and movement of that camera, in a word, sucks.
I DO like the way the world feels. It feels HUGE. I mean, REALLY huge.
I played Betrayel at Krondor years ago and loved the feeling the game gave
me of actually feeling like you are in the world itself. DAoC does that.
And I am starting to get the hang of playing my sorcerer (no Watts, I am
not going to try a Warrior), and can finally kill a creature before it even
touches me.
Some issues I have with the game include:
1) As mentioned, the damned camera angle and moving it around.
2) What the fuck is up with riderless horses? I mean, what's the point in
having that process running constantly the way it does? If the rider jumps
off the horse, make the horse go "poof" and be done with it.
3) What the fuck is up with a keyboard movement interface that is based
off the ARROW KEYS! Ok, so they don't want you to use the mouse, fine, but
damn, make my movement keys on the LEFT hand side of the keyboard
PLEASE!
4) Macros please! Yes yes yes, you can apply things to 'quick slots' but
damn, it's NOT optimal IMO. UOAssist's macro system is the best I have
seen anywhere.
5) Target, THEN cast? Um. Right. Lame.
Other than that, the game is wellmade and it IS fun. I am sure as I get
deeper in it, I will enjoy it more.
So, what games will Nieves settle down and play exclusively?
Well, Neverwinter Nights WILL be played because of cost and fun factors.
Shadowbane will continue to get tested by me. Dark Age of Camelot will get
it's full 30 day work out.
Thing is, I got to set aside set times to actually play these games...1
hour for DAoC, an hour for SB, etc. Bleh, time limits suck.
In the future, I am looking forward to World of Warcraft. Even more than
Star Wars: Galaxies (sorry guys).
Quality is Blizzard soft's specialty. And I KNOW that game will be fun
(gawd I hope I am not wrong). Not too mention Blizzard already has online
gaming experience with Diablo.net (even if it's not exactly the same) so
they aren't going into this online venture completely blind. Proven track
records and reputations can't be ignored. I am going to see if Redrum will
get on his knees with a Blizzard rep to suck up some beta accounts for us.
With all the practice he gets, I am sure he will get us a set of
accounts.
Somewhere in all of that, I will finish the singleplayer games I never got
to finish...
As far as Nieves and Ultima Online? Let's just say I am fucking tired of
clueless and full of shit members of a certain community team. And from
this last week's post about Phag Ball and the rumblings I am hearing from
inside EA Austin/OSI, the -promises- of Age of Shadows just might (MIGHT)
fall short.
But don't fret, UOPG stays as does it's forum. And the information will
always be there for those Ultima Online players that are interested in our
brand of content.
Besides, where else can you go where a guy can say: "Fuck You OSI", and
then be right about the reasons for the statement?
*- I KNOW SimsO will kick most other online games ass as far as
subscriptions, but I don't put that ... 'game' in the category of other
online games. Sims Online is a game that tries to emule 'real life'. The
games I play are an escape from real life. And, frankly, real life is alot
more fun than any 'escape' I can think of.
Hasta.
[Edited on 24/1/2003 by Nieves : English!]
[Edited on 24/1/2003 by Nieves]
Most people aren't stupid. They are just uninformed idiots.
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dewinter
Semi-Nuub 
Registered: 20/6/2002 Member Is Offline Mood: what?
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| posted on 24/1/2003 at 21:44 |
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i still got my uo acount and play UO.. though not as much as i may like....
but ive gotten really involved with daoc..
friars own
really not interested in shadowbane though... i used to be excited..just no
more.
star wars looks good...but not being the biggest of star wars fans im not
exaclty counting the days till its release as some are..
[Edited on 24/1/2003 by dewinter]
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JC the Builder
Non-Nuub
Registered: 20/6/2002 Location: Atlantic Member Is Offline Mood: Enlightened
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| posted on 24/1/2003 at 22:18 |
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You could have probably played some games in the hour it took to write
that!
I feel the stress of too many good games coming too quick. I never even got
a chance to finish Legend of Zelda: Legends of majoras mask for N64 yet
(and I want to). Unlike you I also play console games and with a new x-box
in my entertainment center I just essentially double the amount I can
play.
My stratigy is (and used to work better years ago) when the internet is
down, play offline games. But now things are so stable and games are even
stabler(?) the internet is never done so I need to sit down just to play
the offline games.
Whats a person to do? Basicly your gonna have to cut down. I think 2 major
games, and one miner is the maximum of online a person can handle without
neglecting each one a lot. I mean besides just playing you have to keep up
with all the news and content updates and community stuff. This is why I
haven't picked up DaoC.
In the coming months I plan on trying both SWG and shadowbane. I am kinda
hoping one flops but so far they look too good.
If you don't put in your 2 cents how can you expect change?
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Legion55
Semi-Nuub
Registered: 23/10/2002 Member Is Offline
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| posted on 24/1/2003 at 22:18 |
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Lets see, right now playing UO.
Also doing NWN, with about 5 different Chars, have not finished it yet, but
will do that.
Also playing these as a single player
Jedi Knight 2
Battlefield 1942
Grand Theft Auto 3
Baldur's gate 1 and expansion
MOHAA and Spearhead
Playing these multi player
Battlefield 1942
Counter strike
Unreal tournament
Waiting to play
Baldur's Gate 2
Icewind Dale
Planetscape Torment
No one Lives Forever 2
Plus I think there is 4-5 more that I can't remember at this point 
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Noxville
Spammer Avatar Link Time-out
Registered: 20/6/2002 Location: Nowhere, UK Member Is Offline Mood: Psycho Killer
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| posted on 24/1/2003 at 22:28 |
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I've more or less quit UO already, come April when SWG is out it'll be full
time. Now, I'm not exactly knowledgeable on web servers and domain names,
but does having powergamers.net registers (that's what URL these forums
use) mean that you could make pages for powergaming with specific games
now, not just have the UOPG main page? Kinda like what stratics does, but
being an inherently better site...
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Gyb
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| posted on 24/1/2003 at 23:00 |
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The way I see it, I'll keep trying new games but ultimately I'll always
come back to UO. I "quit" UO for a couple years, spent about 8 months on EQ
and then over a year on AC, but in the end got lured back to UO. Other
games end up scoring big on the "hey, this is new and interesting" factor,
but that fades. There are so many things that just "work" for my particular
personality, the only thing that could pull me away would be a game with
all the same fundamentals as UO but prettier and with less bugs. Which
actually SWG could end up being, but you never know.
Really it could boil down to investment. I have too much invested in UO to
completely give it up. Even when I take breaks (I didn't play UO from
September through December for example) I realize I'll go back someday. Or
maybe I'm just lazy? I mean, I'm pretty much set in UO; they change just
enough every so often to keep me on my toes and give me new skills to work
and goals to accomplish, but ultimately I'm near the top of the curve.
Start over in a new game just so 5 years from now I can be exactly where I
already am in UO? Maybe, we'll see.
And where your friends are is a big pull too, but to be fair, I like UO
becuase sometimes I can play it as a single player game. Other MMORPGs are
IMPOSSIBLE to play by yourself, even for just an hour or two. Which is a
nice dynamic, sure, but sometimes I want to log in and do something
meaningful but not have to go through the hassle of finding a group or
guildmates or whatever.
Gyb - The Nobility - Great Lakes
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Siebharrin
Semi-Nuub
Registered: 10/9/2002 Member Is Offline Mood: feeling weird
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| posted on 25/1/2003 at 00:26 |
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Just one solution...
In order to play them all...
quit yer job. aight
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JC the Builder
Non-Nuub
Registered: 20/6/2002 Location: Atlantic Member Is Offline Mood: Enlightened
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| posted on 25/1/2003 at 06:36 |
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lol, speaking of new games Warcraft III expansion: Frozen Throne just came
out today. I haven't tried warcraft III yet, might try it now though.
If you don't put in your 2 cents how can you expect change?
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AshGL
Not a Nuub
Registered: 23/1/2003 Location: Phoenix AZ Member Is Offline
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| posted on 26/1/2003 at 12:21 |
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Along with UO, I've been in an FPS mood as of late. Unreal 2003 has become
my deathmatch game. I couldn't stand it at first (had played that leaked
beta). And tho I hate the WWE feel to it, it's fun as hell. And with all
the old quake kids now on CS, most of the players are alright to play
with.
Metal of Honor:Spearhead is my main FPS fun game now. It solved alot of
stuff from MoHAA. The players (unless your playing on a free for all) don't
insult or act like 8 year olds. And well, there's nothing like finding that
guy that's been sitting with is rifle and bashing his head in with your
gun. 
And thankfuly I got to the point of taking Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat
off my hard drive. DoD was great back in it's day, but now all the little
CS players have gotten a hold of it, and well I went to DoD to get away
from them. As for CS, heh I really don't feel like logging into a game with
a ton of 10 to 14 year olds (there's no way in hell someone over 18 would
act that way). And getting my head blown off, by PuFFdADDy, |3iNlAtEn and
iK1lln00bz and there clan of kids named after whatever rapper is heading to
prison right now.
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Watts
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| posted on 27/1/2003 at 04:17 |
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u r a fagort
u can totaly change ur keyboard config for cammy in the opshuns menu when
you log into the the character creation screen. haha fag.
edit - sorry, posting on a UO board does something to my keyboard or
something...
[Edited on 27/1/2003 by Watts]
This is my website. It is not good.
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Nieves
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| posted on 27/1/2003 at 15:49 |
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I am sorry Sir Wattos. But just because you have that fagort mindset, that
does not mean others do not.
And isn't it a wonderful thing you failed to mention the configurable
keyboard when I complained about it in game...?
Hasta.
Most people aren't stupid. They are just uninformed idiots.
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CH
Not a Nuub 
Registered: 21/6/2002 Location: Charleston, SC Member Is Offline Mood: BLING BLING!!
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| posted on 28/1/2003 at 19:39 |
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Let's see:
For PS2:
SOCOM
GTA: Vice City
Grand Tourismo 3
Dead to Rights
For PC:
Counterstrike
TFC
Unreal Tournament
UO
Hitman 2
Worms Armageddon
I need a life. 
We may live without poetry, music, and art;
We may live without conscience, and live without heart;
We may live without friends.; we may live without books;
But the civilized man cannot live without cooks.
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Uziel
Semi-Nuub
Registered: 29/1/2003 Member Is Offline
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| posted on 31/1/2003 at 02:21 |
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I am a Shadowbane Beta Tester too.
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greenring7
Semi-Nuub
Registered: 19/9/2002 Location: Pell City, AL Member Is Offline Mood: Happier than he
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| posted on 6/2/2003 at 23:53 |
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I'm just SOL.
Every beta I've applied for has had it's date pushed back and back and
back.
The only beta that I'm actually in right now is Windows .net standard
server.
As for games I'm in, Every few months or so, I'll use up one of my free
game time codes for UO, but I ran out
Civ 3 takes up waaaaay to many of my nights, and America's Army is starting
to take up my days. One of these days I'll finish up Baldur's Gate 2,
probably when I buy the xpac.
-Robert
:: how jedi are you? ::
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