If there ever was a time to laugh, it's now. Richard "Lord British" Garriott has decided that it's time to remind us about Tabula Rasa, you know, that MMO he made a while back. While most of us have moved on from our experiences with TR with the help of a good therapist and a heaping dose of Too Human, Garriot wants us to know that Stephen Colbert loves the game. Well, to be honest, it would be more accurate to say that Stephen Colbert is in the game, so naturally he likes it. I would love Warhammer Online too if they named a realm after me.
Yes, it's a publicity stunt, but a clever one. TR is sending DNA into space...for what reason I am not at all sure. Maybe you can explain it to me after you watch the episode.
Tabula Rasa
You've felt it on the horizon. The banners have flown for weeks now, the smell of gun powder and blood is on the air. WAR is coming.
Warhammer Online, EA Mythic's latest MMO masterpiece, is rolling out onto the battlefield Thursday September 18th, and with battle this epic you can choose to join up or prepare to be crushed under the boots of your enemies.
"This is truly a historic day for both EA and Mythic as we prepare to send more copies of WAR to retailers than any other newly launched MMORPG in North America and Europe. Over the course of our beta, over a million gamers throughout the world sent a clear signal to us - they want WAR, and we are more than happy to oblige them," said Mark Jacobs, co-founder and general manager of Mythic Entertainment. "In three days the real battle begins we have declared September 18th the 'Day of Reckoning,' and WAR will soon be upon us!"
No doubt there will feasting and revelry at the Electronic Arts offices in Redwood City, CA, and more than likely a WAR-themed burger on the menu at the commissary. To pick up your piece of the battle, take your $49.99 to a local game seller near you in anticipation of a worldwide launch of fantastic proportions.
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
So, there's been this information that we've kept under our hats here at omgRPG. I haven't even wanted to bring up the topic of speculation, but luckily Blizzard opened the can of worms before the topic even came up. So you heard it here first: Blizzard's next expansion for World of Warcraft, Wrath of the Lich King will be coming to a store near you on November 13th. It makes sense really, as the background downloader on my non-beta WoW client has already begun downloading the pre-expansion content patch. Man, I really do have to get rolling on that Bear Mount run.
The official press release is hot off the virtual presses, and we're pleased as punch to be wrong. Before we heard the hard date I was speculating that we would see the release of the expansion during BlizzCon weekend, so that people would be able to walk home with their copies. Now I have some new speculation to begin: What will be the WoW announcement that makes BlizzCon worth traveling to? Personally, I am betting on at least an announcement of the next expansion *cough* Maelstrom *cough*, and more than likely a playable little nugget of demo gold. I think it's high time I get to play a naga, don't you?
Not exactly what Disney had in mind
This morning Eurogamer's Jim Rossignol posted a fascinating article about the politics running EvE Online, and the whole article got me thinking about how MMOs are evolving. There are a lot of discussions about the future of MMOs in the Mandifesto household, largely because we are all gamers, and gamers that love us a dialog about online gaming. Personally I've been wondering about how MMos will change in the coming years, and I have an idea that the next leap in online gaming innovation will come with intelligent AI not only in the monsters you fight, but also in the NPCs you come in contact with.
Welcome to September, WoW players. Last week saw much movement in the Wrath beta, in that the latest patch added some super awesome elements. While I spent the weekend enjoying the Refer-a-friend leveling experience bonus, I spend my nights split between raiding and doing daily quests to raise mad cash. Why would I need so much gold? Three little words: Magnificent Flying Carpet. As I continue my quest for the epic flying training, enjoy these stories about our favorite MMO.
WoW news after the jump.
Recently Eurogamer interviewed John Blakely, VP of Development at Sony Online Entertainment, about DC Universe Online. DC universe, as the name suggests, is an MMO in the making, revolving around the DC comic book characters.
It is supposed to be an innovative and new approach to MMOs; Instead of competing with World of Warcraft, as most MMOs these days try to do, DCUO will bring a different kind of theme to the MMORPG scene.
Check out the informative interview at Eurogamer.net, and reserve your copy of DC Universe Online at your local Gamestop today.
Cheers,
CnC
DC Universe Online
It's cinematics like this that make me eager to see what Blizzard does with the WoW movie. Each one they release is tighter and more poignant than the last. I'm still tingling after watching it three times. Such a bittersweet beauty really makes me want to jump into the expansion. Is that Deathwing I spy soaring over the armies of the Scourge?
Another first kill, another report from the "endgame" raiding community in World of Warcraft. This one was special, though, because it was a looong time coming.
Azgalor is the 4th boss in the raid instance The Battle of Mount Hyjal, which is a time-travel thingy re-simulating the climactic battle from the old Warcraft III game. The first time we saw this boss, it was 2 months ago when we did a "get to know you" pull after our first kill of the 3rd boss in the instance (Kaz'rogal) on June 10th.
We didn't get back to start learning how to do the fight as a group for a couple of weeks, though. It's summertime and with vacations and such, we've been bringing a lot more new people in than usual and it's slowed the group's overall progression some.
The Wrath of the Lich King is introducing a boat load of new content to the World of Warcraft, and on that boat is a new profession: Inscription. We here at omgRPG have been spending our days putting this profession through its paces, all so we could bring you the skinny on what we've learned. First, there are currently 2 Inscription trainers, one at the Valliance Keep or Warsong Hold and one in Dalaran. Once you accept your Apprenticeship from the trainer, be sure to pick up a set of Scribe Tools. Next you'll want to pick up a truck load of Light Parchment, as this will serve as an equivalent to the Empty Vial you use to make low level potions with Alchemy.
Inscription is like Alchemy in another way: it requires herbs. In preparation for the beta I made sure to level up my herbalism to 375, and in doing so collected a supply of low level herbs. Most of your Inscription ingredients will come from Milling herbs, a process similar to Prospecting ore. This means you will need a crap ton of herbs in order to create the pomace you will use to make your inks. Milling does not currently increase your Inscription skill, but the skill level of the herb itself is tied to how high an Inscription skill is required to mill said plant. At the start of your Scribing you will begin by making scrolls, Stamina, Intellect, Spirit, etc. While not very useful if you're at level 70, these little scrolls may be good for low level characters, so I recommend passing them along to alts.
this travesty courtesy of MMO-Champion
It's been a busy week at Activizzard, and we here at omgRPG have been watching the news trickle in, waiting for the tide to recede so we could wade in a bit and splash around. But alas it just doesn't let up, and at this rate, we will continue to see a steady flow of Blizzard-centric information right on through to the end of the year.
* The first thing we heard this week was the news that BlizzCon tickets will be going on sale August 11th for the price of $100.00 US. The last two sessions of the convention had either an optional concert or one included in the ticket price, so expect more bang for your buck this year as well.
Read the rest of this week's WoW news after the jump.
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