Monthly Archives: December 2012

The Secret World: The End of Days

The End Of Days Is Coming!

By Jonathan Doyle (Ardua), OnRPG War Correspondent

 


 

The End of time as we know it approaches. There have been signs, there have been warnings. Some of you have scoffed at the idea, others of you believe. Soon we will all be believers, soon we will all know the truth of the Mayan Long Count and the end of days.

 

Mankind has been warned. On December 21st there will be a cataclysmic event that marks the end of time as we know it. It is time to prepare.

 

Leading up to this world-changing event is a brand new alternate reality game (ARG) set in and around The Secret World universe, which will allow you to better prepare for what is to come. If you have never participated in an ARG event before, this is your perfect chance.

 

And quite possibly our last.

 

This might be your one chance to save yourself from this inevitable cosmic event, and we encourage you to pre-register to take part in the ARG. Pre-registration is free and available on www.thesecretworld.com/arg/ . The ARG will start in a few days and having always followed them before and seen how strong the community is, you do not want to miss this opportunity.

 

According to Funcom you do not need to be an active The Secret World player to take part. Exclusive prizes will be offered to all those who participate and that you will be able to enjoy these before everything comes to one last, screeching halt on December 21st.

 

You do not have to play The Secret World to participate in the ARG, but if you do, you can look forward to some very special rewards:

An exclusive Monk outfit will be rewarded to any participant which can be worn in-game once the ARG has started

Experience potions that will allow you to progress faster in the game

Special items when Issue #6 launches, including an unique end of days survival outfit and other powerful items

Invitation to an online end of days celebration event with members of the TSW development team

 

 

So get your clue cracking hats on. Prepare for the end times. Dark Days are almost here, and may God have mercy on us all.

Shotgun News 12/3: Aion, EVE, and Eudemons

Shotgun News 12/3 Aion, EVE, and Eudemons

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

 

Aion Raises Level Cap in Update 4.0

Aion has announced that along with a new pvp zone, and new classes 4.0 will raise the level cap from 60 to 65. With the rise in the level cap will come a variety of new skills. This includes an all new type of skills, Charged Skills. These skills will get more powerful the longer you let them charge. But that comes with a disadvantage, the longer the skill charges the longer it takes to cast.

EVE Selected for Museum of Modern Art Collection

The Museum of Modern Art in New York has selected EVE to represent the MMO industry in a new permanent collection. Games selected come from across the years and across the genres but EVE is the only MMO so far to be selected. An installation of the games selected will be opened in March 2013.

Eudemons Introduces Necromancer Class

A Necromancer class will be coming to Eudemons with the latest expansion, “Cult of the Shadowed Sun”. Necromancers will be able to switch between Necro Status and Wizard status. Something completely new to Eudemons. The release of the expansion is scheduled for December 28. Watch the video below for a look at Necromancers.

 

MEAD: Rift Dimensions Wishlist

MEAD: Rift Storm Legion Dimensions Wishlist

By: Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

 

I’m going to admit it now, I haven’t been playing any of the content in Storm Legion. Every time I log in my urge is to go straight for my dimension and get to work. And so that’s what I’ve been doing. Except, today I went on a little tour. I wanted to see what other people had made. I was completely blown away! And it has me basically swearing I’m going to tear down all my hard work so far and start over. As I’ve been working and as I’ve been making my tours I’ve noticed a few things that really should be in dimensions make them even more amazing than they already are.

More Building Materials

This I say more for desert dwellers than anyone, we need clay. I love the things people have been creating, but at times it feels like the creations clash with the rest of the zone. Is that really a bad thing? No, I suppose not. But with so many premade structures in so many of the dimensions it seems like there really should be more building materals so you can continue your building without it looking like a redneck extension you did yourself last week with your Pa and Billy Bob down the street.

On the other hand though the materials we’re given are fantastic. Like so many others on Faeblight I’ve gone with The Stone Flask Tavern. I’ve put in a second floor, again like many people I’ve seen. I’ve had some trouble with fine controls when it comes to placing them or rotating so in some cases I get small gaps between boards. This, to me makes it feel more like it was something my character built with her husband themselves. And that’s how we’ve been roleplaying it too. We haven’t hired someone to do the work for us. We’ve built it ourselves, and we aren’t carpenters. We’re Ascended!

Mounts/Pets

My desire to have mounts and pets in dimensions comes purely from a roleplay point of view. We enter our dimension. We’re not just going to leave our mounts or pets back in proper Telara. So what I’m proposing is a small collection of the mounts and pets that you can buy to put in your dimensions and maybe give a small path they can walk around in without you being on it or near it. This to me would give my dimension something that it really lacks.

However, I can only imagine how time consuming and difficult such a task would be for Trion to undertake. Sure, the art is there but this is creating an all new system. So am I ever expecting to see it? No. This is just wishful thinking on my part.

Couches

The number one thing I see being made by players are couches. Personally I’m of two minds on this. On the one hand the couch seems like such a modern invention so its not something I’d really be sure fits. However, I have been told by my husband that there are couches already in the game. If this is true, well then sure, by all means couch us! On the other hand we need something like couches to accommodate the somewhat awkward sit poses. Chairs don’t really work for any woman as her legs end up floating. But, there are always benches.

At the same time though, I love seeing ingenuity. I’ve seen people crafting couches out of what other people use for fences. White sacks become cushions. This sort of thing brings me back to the days of base editing in City of Heroes. Though if anyone makes a giant robot in a dimension I will divorce my husband just so I can marry you then and there. <3

Color Customization

One way to get around having to make a new material type for every type of thing imaginable would be to allow some color customization to items. Of course then we would end up with things like hot pink trees or something like that. But sure, if that’s what people want who am I to deny them that.

But, I know this is far more of a stretch than getting new materials or other much easier to construct so I won’t be holding my breath. Maybe the ability to change the color of lighting instead?

Dimensional Sizing

Stairs. Oh the tricky little pains that they are. There are basically three options in dimensions. 1. Use the stone stairs they offer. 2. Use other materials to make ramps or 3. Make your own stairs. The third option, I’ve not seen done well yet. Ok, yes I saw one that looked fantastic using the tops of drawers as the stairs but it wasn’t a smooth walking experience. To me that kills that option there. Number 2, while what I’m doing now…it doesn’t feel permanent. While for some that works, it isn’t exactly what I’m looking for. So that leaves me the first option. There are some lovely stone stairs which would work perfectly if I could do one thing. Change the height of the stairs without changing the width. As it stands now if I made the stairs big enough to reach the second floor they’d stretch the length of the room.

Do I think this might be possible? Absolutely! It could have so many uses. But, it would have to be only usable on certain items. Imagine if you could make a torch that’s fat, it would look a bit silly. Or possibly epic.

Water

Maybe this is my inner Sims fan, but I would love to be able to create water. I saw what would have been an awesome hot tub. Except that it had no water! Or it could be used to expand existing water. Tons of possibilities there.

Huge task? You betcha! Might it be worth it anyway? I think so.

Cloth

Yes, there are some cloth options. Not many though. I’m talking about tapestries, curtains, things to make our homes a little more homey. Maybe this could go back to color customization as well. Give us more options for what we already have. Or yet again thinking back to City of Heroes allow us to be able to change out certain symbols to put on the various cloth items.

Is this something we might see? Most likely.

Don’t get me wrong, dimensions are beautiful and fantastic and consuming my life. To me these are all minor quality of life issues that would just take dimensions from fantastic to perfection. The pictures I’ve featured throughout today’s entry come from a couple of dimensions I came across during my exploration. I hope you enjoyed them and maybe even found them inspiring.

But I’m wondering, what sorts of things would you like to see in dimensions? If you could add any feature/item what would it be? Answer in the comments below!