Fortuente

Vendetta Online Extended Trial

January 4th, 2009

Hurry up and get over to MMORPG.com - they are offering a free extended trial for the space-based pvp MMO Vendetta Online. But you might be wondering what, exactly, is Vendetta Online. With an active player base numbering in the hundreds (at best), this wouldn’t be too surprising.

VO is a subscription-based ($9.99/month) space MMORPG which has been live for going on five years now. On the surface, it is modelled after the space trade/combat archetype of game which has been around since forever (well, 1984 seems like forever-ago). In this way it is very similar to other MMOs like Jumpgate and EVE Online.

One of the most amazing things about VO is that it was/is developed by only four people working in their spare time. While this shows in graphics which are substandard (but really not that bad) and a seeming complete lack of marketing, this also allows for a much more intimate dialogue between the developers and their players. In fact, players are able to directly influence content added to the game - by developing it themselves! That is something you can’t find with a mainstream MMO.

One of the other interesting aspects of VO is that it works natively on Windows, Mac OSX and Linux. Natively means it has three separate clients compiled for each operating system. Many games that are cross-platform simply have a Windows client that has added compatibility layers to run on a different OS - often degrading performance.

From what I understand Vendetta Online is much more similar to Jumpgate than EVE, as the piloting controls for your ship are twitch-based and rely as much (if not more) on player aiming and reflexes than on skills or equipment. But, like EVE, it has a starbase-based trading system and a physically vast area of space to fly around in. It is also a sandbox-style game with no leveling or even skills (like any RPG there are some “levels” to raise, however).

Instead of levels you get experience points (my term) to apply to licenses which unlock better ships and gear to outfit them with. There are also factions in VO, and so far it is my understanding higher standings will get you vendor discounts and access to more missions.

VO is a rather small game that lacks much of the complexity that EVE offers. I do not see this as a deficit, however. The community as a whole in VO is fairly mature (for an MMO) and tight-knit. There is still a level of complexity that will appeal to people who enjoy space-based sandboxes, but will does not present the amazingly steep learning curve (seen described as a “learning cliff”) of EVE.

I don’t really want to just compare VO to EVE, but as EVE is the 800-lbs gorilla of this niche, I suppose it is somewhat inevitable. I just want to add one last comparison between the two: combat. And boy the differences are are profound.

As I mentioned, combat in VO is twitch-based. Combat in EVE is based on careful planning and executed by the ship being piloted. This makes VO much more like an ship-based FPS, which I understand is what Jumpgate is all about (I haven’t played that though so I can’t really say).

While I never disliked combat in EVE, I find myself rather enthusiastic about the combat in VO. Being able to maneouver your ship along six axes while accounting for inertia, targetting and battery-use in a vicious dogfight is super-duper fun. It requires as much quick-thinking and luck as it does fast reflexes.

In First for the New Year

January 1st, 2009

First in on the New Year thread! Oh, wait …

So I hope everyone has enjoyed their holiday celebrations, whether that be time spent with family or time spent completing Festivult quests (hopefully both!).

Personally, I have been continuing on my Team Fortress 2 compulsion, racking up more hours in that game then I have since the beginning of the year. Yet still I am only ranked in the 40’s on Newbs - lol, it’s no surprise as a lot of genuinely good players call Newbs their home and I still don’t play that much.

The only other game I have been playing with any frequency is … Vanguard! That’s right - I am about two weeks into the free gametime for veterans and simply loving the changes Sigil-SOE has made to the game, specifically the Isle Dawn.

Honestly, I think if there were some sort of contest for most improved noob starter area in an MMORPG, DDO would win hands-down with Module 8. However, Vanguard’s Isle of Dawn is a solid and well-designed starting area for such a massive and complex game. From the moment I stepped into the game, the experience flowed perfectly and before I knew it I was a level five adventurer and well on my way to the same rank in diplomacy.

Which I love. It seems like I heard a lot of people disparaging the diplomacy mini-game back when Vanguard first came out, and I can’t understand why. I mean, sure, some people won’t like it - that’s just life. But so far I have had a tremendous blast with it. And the fact that you can use your diplomatic skills to create zone-wide buffs for yourself and other players is the icing on the cake.

I am also quite fond at this point of Vanguard’s crafting system. Like diplomacy, it is a viable and fleshed-out alternative to adventuring (i.e. questing and killing). So far, I find it by far the most interesting and engaging crafting experience I have had in an MMORPG.

Of course, Vanguard being Vanguard there are still some … issues. So far I have tried out a Raki Ranger and a Thestran Bard. I almost fell through the world with the Ranger; when I was swimming up onto land in the noob swamp and swam through and under the island. But I didn’t fall through, thankfully I was righted and popped out on top. The most annoying bug I’ve noticed so far is that frequently I have melee weapons disappear out of both characters’ hands. I think they are still equipped, but who knows?

All in all though, like a lovable alcoholic or a dim-witted but kind-hearted supervisor, Vanguard has reached the point where its strengths shine through its deficiencies. I might even subscribe if I can find a good guild to play with.

One last thing: THERE IS A HUGE SALE AT STEAM. Steam is having a new-year sale until tomorrow (Jan. 2) with some pretty massive price-cuts on certain games. Some standouts I noticed (regular price in parenthesis):

Bioshock: $4.99 ($19.99)

Portal: $4.99 ($19.99)

Warhammer 40K Dawn of War Complete Pack: $29.99 ($59.98)

Stalker: Clear Sky: $17.49 ($34.99)  Note: contains TAGES DRM for limited activations

Mount and Blade: $14.99 ($29.99)

ID Software Super Pack: $34.99 ($69.99)

Silent Hill 4: $24.99 ($49.99)

Those are just a few of the titles that jumped out at me. There are more extremely good deals and numerous OK deals. So while the sale on top-tier titles that normally go for $50 like Left 4 Dead, Spore, Warhammer: Age of Reckoning and Fallout 3 are not extreme deals, you can still save yourself $12 or $13 by buying them through Steam today or tomorrow.

You probably aren’t wondering what my personal favorite deal is, but I’ll tell you anyway: Doom 2 for $.99 - I couldn’t not get this piece of PC gaming history for less than a buck.

EA Hell Freezes Over and Other Stuff

December 20th, 2008

Well, if you haven’t heard by now you better get your ass over to Steam and take a look: verily Hell hath frozen over and Valve has announced that several more top-tier Electronic Arts titles will be coming to Steam. Among these games are the MMORPG Warhammer: Age of Reckoning, the much-maligned Spore and the upcoming titles Red Alert 3 and Mirror’s Edge (to which I fist-stabbed the air and was like “YES!”). Some EA titles like Mass Effect and Crysis have already been available on Steam for some time now.

The real question which I think is on everyone’s mind right now is will the Steam version of Spore have the infamous SecuROM included in it? So far, there is no mention of it on the sales page, however that isn’t necessarily indicative of the reality.

Both the Crysis and Crysis Warhead Steam versions have SecuROM. Grand Theft Auto IV has it. There are probably more, but I can’t be assed right now to look them up. In the past Bioshock had it, but now doesn’t. I’m not sure if the Steam version of Mass Effect ever had it, but it doesn’t now at least. And the Steam version of Fallout 3 has never had it.

So I expect that the status of SecuR(ootkit)OM on Steam’s Spore will be confirmed in short order. Owing that my newish computer is already infected with the SecuROM virus (Neverwinter Nights 2 - thanks a whole lot Atari, you bastards) I am tempted to try it out and see if I can find it in the download. But probably not, I have a bunch to do and not all of it involves the following:

Vanguard is, right now as I type this, giving away a free month-and-a-half of playtime to former subscribers. That is right - from December 17 until January 31 the accounts of former subscribers have been re-activated. I was never really able to get into Vanguard, but I still have a soft spot in my heart for it owing to the sheer scope and ambition of the world. So a free month should be enough to install the 17-gigabyte behemoth on my hard drive.

Tabula Rasa has the rank stench of death hovering about it, but technically it is still alive and I have still have a couple free codes to give out. Why not join CJ McFee, Voyd and me and get yourself a free code so you too can emerge from Foreas with the aroma of a morgue clinging to you?

Can you believe I still have yet to get WotLK? I know, I thought WoW was all addictive and stuff. But here I am, barely able to fathom myself logging back into that crack-fest. But you know I will eventually. And now that Blizzard has introduced paid gender changes, I no longer have to live as a GIRL.

And finally for today, Steam’s weekend special: Stalker: Shadows of Chernobyl for $4.99. Yes, you read that right, it isn’t a typo - Stalker SoC for only $4.99. So if you don’t already have this classic you better fire up Steam and get it!