Oliin

Wait ... how is anything from the Final Fantasy Tactics series a real time strategy game?

I'd guess they're talking about HTML5's canvas element which allows all sorts of things to be done completely within the constraints of HTML. Someone did the first level of Super Mario Brothers with it among other things.

... that was kind of my point.

Wait ... when did they change energy melee's secondary effect from stun to KB/KD?

.....

Oh come on now. We all know you can totally just whip out eight new and faster animations in what ... the next hour or so right?

I'd bet money that those will be the final animations barring some possible animation speed tweaks (though I find those to be somewhat unlikely). Just look at Dual Pistols for example. The animations we have for the set now are essentially the exact same ones shown at Hero Con just minus the doves.

I mean animations, especially nicely done and flashy animations aren't exactly something you just whip up for a demo and then toss aside.

Well at least if nobody gets to it before then we'll have the video sometime early next week on the GR website. So there's that ....

...

I hate waiting.

Still, it would be rather disappointing if GR was considered I18 and yet there was nearly zero free content released with it. Originally at least a chunk of whats currently slated to come in I17 would have been the concurrent issue with GR, but now that it's coming 'early' I'm really rather curious what the 'free' part of I18 might end up being.

I19 looks like it's continuing the whole idea of 'finishing' the content begun with the previous boxed content though, which I find interesting as a trend if nothing else. The only thing I can think of for I18 is a slew of new missions scattered around the regular game focused on the morality system. Can't actually switch unless you have the expansion, but you still get the chunk of related content that takes place in the 'main' reality of the game.

Or DAoC's realm ranks, master levels (perfectly fine idea, but raid gated PvE advancement was the wrong implementation for a RvR focused game) and champion levels.

Of course, it's also likely to be a 'safer' set to play overall, what with the (apparent) main secondary effect of knockdown/knockback in conjunction with longer range than most other melee sets. So that's a small something at least.

That's not necessarily true. Or at the very least it depends on how you look at it. Take Dark Age of Camelot for instance. It implemented several alternate advancement methods and I've never really considered any of them to be 'extra levels' even though the end result was that your character gained more powers and ability. Heck, even EQ's alt advancement system wasn't really 'extra levels'. Sure in both cases it takes XP and gameplay of some form or another to advance through them, but that's certainly not the same as extra levels, no more so than the bonuses we can currently get from IOs are.

I suppose from one viewpoint almost any alternate advancement method is equivalent to levels though. I mean it all breaks down to 'kill things until end goal is accomplished' in the end right? It's just that the alternate advancement methods out there generally involve more hoops one needs to jump through be it finding the right loot, getting enough of some currency to buy said loot, completing quests/raids to unlock abilities/items or competing in PvP to raise some sort of PvP 'levels' to unlock abilities/items. I obviously don't agree with that viewpoint, but I can see how some folks might.

I don't know. That was something like eight different animations I think. I kind of doubt they'd just whip up 'demo' animations but have a separate set for actual use.

So that looks more like weird martial arts ki-blast than telekinetic blast, and more knockdown than knockback. Not that I'm complaining really. Looks like fun.

You know, honestly I've always loved the shard. It was a really beautiful zone when it came out and it still holds up quite well. Of all the areas in the game I want to see get a revamp the shard is it (followed closely by Dark Astoria, though the design of that zone's fine it just needs content ). Sure I'd love to see it get a free revamp like Faultline did, but if I have to pay for it I certainly would.

Of course I'd be fairly miffed if it was turned into some weird Aion rip-off zone with high drop rates. So there's that too.

Vernor Vinge's novel Rainbow's End leaned rather heavily on the idea of 'augmented reality'. If nothing else the portrayal of games in the book was rather interesting.

Then there's also the bit that it's a Hugo award winning novel which is based off of a Hugo winning novella which I find fairly entertaining.

How in heaven's name did I manage to miss that? Bah.

Heck, I haven't seen anyone use it since they fixed the whole unrooting blasters when it was on thing.

Well, at the very least the red guy. I'm fairly sure most, if not all of that stuff's currently available in-game (assuming you've purchased the cyborg booster anyway).

Heck, it's been old since I made my first foray into MMOs back with EQ. BTW, Sadowbane is soooooo going to be the EQ killer.

To be perfectly honest, I was too.

Though, if the release date of April that I've seen bandied about in a couple I17 articles on MMO websites is correct I can see it. If they don't expect a lot of testing to be needed for I17 they could easily be shooting for an early April release of the issue which would still allow for a couple weeks of testing for Demon Summoning if they hold off on making it available until the end of the month.

Of course, that's just me and 100% pure Grade A speculation, but still. It's a thought at least.

Wait ... a tail that's an extension cord with a plug on the end? I hadn't thought of it before now but that right there would be a blast.