rift

Unapologetic about this Rift screenshot

by

I’m trying not to go on and on about Rift; in fact I have decided to hardly mention it at all. It’s one thing if it’s a game few people play, but that’s not Rift’s problem. HOWEVER…. Just wanted to share this screenshot of my Bard/Ranger/Assassin taking down the boss of an earth rift in … Read more

Daily Blogroll 2/15 — Death of Sleep edition

by


Busybusybusy mandatory overtime, working at home each night, crunch time blahblahblah but you know what, I have a good job and I like what I do. It cuts into the game playing and into the game writing, though.
But I couldn’t pass up today’s excitement! EverQuest today opens its new progression server, Fippy Darkpaw, and Trion sends their MMO, Rift, into Open Beta! I haven’t been playing in any of the recent Rift betas and I have been studiously ignoring any news about the game to preserve at least a little of the sense of wonder of experiencing a new game fresh.
But, you know, well… I’ve been playing EQ2 lately, spending the Fortune League prizes, and the general chat was all about the Rift.
So, after the fold — news about these stories and many others.

Read more

Daily Blogroll 1/27 — Inevitable Backlash edition

by

Yeah, I’ve been MIA for a couple weeks now. Work time is creeping into home time. It’s so cold when I get home that I find myself cuddling up with blankets and a cat on the couch, watching Netflix (tonight: the Canadian comedy “Slings & Arrows“, season 1). I’m not wild about this “winter” thing … Read more

Daily Blogroll 1/14 — Old Character’s Home edition

by


Who owns your MMO character? The game companies say they do, but they didn’t put hundreds of hours into turning the character from an animated paper doll into a person with relationships, memories, friends, victories, stories and history. But it’s precisely because you HAVE taken the time and done all these things that the companies can keep running their game. But as long as game companies control access to your character, you’re paying them so that you can add value to their game.
There’s no technical reason why you can’t take your character out of the game and put it somewhere else — Second Life, for instance. There’s LEGAL reasons, based on the assumption that you don’t own your character, but technically it’s possible. Take a video while spinning the camera around your character and you could have enough info to make a 3D model and then do whatever you like with it.
This issue comes up again and again, I know. But, darnit, it may be their game but it’s MY character!
Anyway. News after the break.

Read more

Daily Blogroll 1/12 — Snow Job edition

by


A whole weekend lost in a Rift, but I think what I’ll remember most about this last weekend was this jerk in General chat — named, ironically, Karana — who was going on and on about how the quests and everything else about the game was a copy of WoW.
Well, heck, I didn’t know Thomas Edison was resurrected just to offer his genius insights. But some people just can’t see past their own experiences with WoW. Like, the people complaining that every one of the classes will have a 50/16/0 point spec, as if the class-defining abilities of each ‘soul’ only happen once 50 points are spent on it, similar to WoW’s talent trees. ACTUALLY, the class-defining skill is usually given for free, at zero points. Smart players will have a synergistic three soul mix. Anyway, already went on about that, and though I’m loving Rift and have applied to a guild, I’m really tired of reading about it.
Well, let’s see if there’s some stories from the weekend that aren’t about Rift, shall we?

Read more