Spore Creature Creator is here.

The Spore Creature Creator has been leaked to the Interwebs and I just happened to get a copy to check out. I don't think there is any real problem with that since it is a free thing EA is letting people experiment with until the game comes out in September. The idea is that over the next three months people will make thousands of creatures that will then populate the game's "Sporeopedia" and thus be available to the community at large on launch day. It's actually a very good idea and I am sure it was something Wil Wright thought of and not some marketing punk at EA. Anyway the editior is really easy to use. I am including some pictures of some creatures I made really quickly as a test.

The editor gives you complete control of your creation right down to its spine. You can quite literally create anything your fevored imagination can think of making. You start with a blob representing the body mass and you can stretch and shape that any way you want by elongating the spine or increasing and decreasing the mass along the spine using the middle mouse button. Once you have the body the way you want it to be you can go about adding limbs and appendages the same way. Each part can be modified to a high degree. The program is very good at fitting each part logically onto the creature. Once you have added the mouth, eyes, legs, hands, etc you can go into a paint section and give the creature a very detailed skin. I would not be surprised to see some people take hours to perfect a creature, but you really can make one very quickly.

Once it is made you can take your creature into a little holding pen and have it go through a series of emotes and gestures to see how it will animate. I haven't made anything that would break the laws of physics, but I am sure there are people out there who will try. You can even hatch "babies" to see what the creature will look like when they are young. If this demo is any indication of the end product, I think Wil Wright has another hit on his hands. There are still some doubts about what kind of shape the actual Spore game is going to take, but even in a sandbox "what-if" form it is going to be loads of fun. Here is a link if you want to download the demo and try it for yourself.

Future plans for Age of Conan. Sounds interesting.

PvP evolved – To the Death
The great combat system in Age of Conan has taken MMO fighting to a new level of fun, and Player versus Player combat plays a major part in this. As a result, a massive new PvP update is planned for late June. Aptly called To the death, this update brings more consequence and rewards to PvP, and an important part of it is the Fugitive system. The more lower level players you kill, the easier it is for others to hunt you down. In addition, ten PvP levels with additional ranks will be introduced, as well as specific gear and weapons for PvP.

Guild Alliance Warfare
Preproduction has started on a MASSIVE free update which will come later this year. Currently titled "Kingship!", large clusters of guilds will be able to form alliances, and rule and conquer on a massive scale. Everyone in a guild alliance will play a part in this system, and together they can even erect unique looking alliance Battlekeeps. The alliances can also fight over, and build, culture-specific "wonders of the world", with a direct link to higher powers! As part of the system Funcom will also facilitate larger amounts of players in massive battles.

Powerpoints
This fall, a unique reward and character evolution system called Powerpoints will be introduced. This rewards active in-game behavior, and allows for gathering points through numerous methods, including owning a Battlekeep, playing the end-game at level 80, winning PvP matches, or simply being an active guild member or subscribing to the game. There will be many ways to obtain Powerpoints, and numerous rewards, ranging from exclusive Powerfeats to weapons, armor and potions. Powerpoints may even allow you to level faster!

New areas and dungeons
You won't need to wait for an expansion pack to explore exciting new areas. In the next period, Funcom will include several new areas, as well as evolving already existing areas. This includes a brand new dungeon in Aquilonia, reshaping three dungeons in Stygia, and an entire mountain range in Cimmeria!

Improved player-made villages and Battlekeep systems
While the guild alliance system brings a whole new level to the game, Funcom will continue to expand the existing player-made areas and the systems running them. A focus on evolving the massive elements of the game even further continues, ranging from placing NPC's in the cities to more choices and benefits.

Social updates
An MMO is nothing without a good social scene. While Conan is all about crushing your enemies, social enhancements are also getting some love. A fun example is the combo-based dancing system which is now coming to the game, and it's entirely motion captured by professional dance artists.

More adventures
Age of Conan has received tremendous praise for immersion and the great voice-over quests. This is but the start of the adventure, and numerous new quests are coming into the game, spread across the entire world and across the level ranges. Soon 60 additional quests will also get full voice acting, further improving immersion.

NWN 2 Suddenly becomes relevant....

I was going to talk about Civilization Revolutions for the Xbox 360 today, but I was unable to do any multiplayer. The demo doesn't let you create a match with a friend. You have to search for a random game and I wasn't in the mood for that. I will have to put my thoughts about that game on the back burner until it comes out in a few weeks. I am still getting the game, so I will report on it after it is out.

A bit of surprise news comes in the form of a newly announced NWN 2 expansion called Storm of Zehir. I have heard good things about the Mask of the Betrayer expansion although there were still some issues that kept me from playing it. Along comes the following announcement from Atari and my interest has been rekindled:

Game Features:

• Travel the Sword Coast and Samarach using the open-ended exploration of the new Overland Map. Use skills like Spot and Survival while on the Overland Map to avoid ambushes and even find hidden locales and lost artifacts.

• Create your own full party of adventurers. Devastate your foes with a squad of fireball-flinging Sorcerers, form a solid wall of steel with a party of Fighters, or strike the perfect balance in your party by spreading out the classes you choose for your characters.

• Improved party gameplay including streamlined party conversations, a new Teamwork Benefit System, and powerful party feats.

• The world's economy reacts to your adventures and choices. And, through trading and quests, you can expand your merchant company into a massive trading empire.
  
  

That sounds a lot like an updated easily moddable version of Baldur's gate. It always annoyed me that your party was stuck in the set path that the module maker determined. This feels more like a D&D session to me and less like a linear video game representation. The inclusion of party feats sounds a little bit like 4th Edition, but we will have to wait and see when more details come out.

Battlefield: Bad Company. Booya!

From the IGN description:

Battlefield: Bad Company drops gamers behind enemy lines with a squad of renegade soldiers who risk it all on a personal quest for gold and revenge.

Featuring a cinematic single-player experience loaded with adventure and dark humor, the game delivers the series' trademark sandbox gameplay in a universe where nearly everything is destructible. Battlefield: Bad Company also features a full suite of the franchise's trademark multiplayer options with deep gameplay designed to take full advantage of the game's massively destructible environments.

I downloaded Battlefield:Bad Company the other day on the urging of my friend, Rikathos. I finally got around to playing it a bit last night. I have only played it for about two hours, but my initial impression was very postitive. I logged in last night fully prepared to get owned like I did in CoD 4 and my expectations were pretty much spot on. I got killed left and right for a little while, but then something happened. I got the feel for the game and the layout of the level. More importantly I got the feel for what the objective was and I soon began to do better. The game has nicely varied classes and I spent my time with Demolition, Assualt, and Support mostly. Oddly enough, I think I did the best with Support. The game is still frenetic, but to me it has a slower pace than CoD 4. The fact that you can use vehicles and a wide variety of fixed weapons was a big plus for me.

Once Rikathos left, I focused on trying out the vehicles and I have to say the tank was my favorite. It reminded me somewhat of the old days of playing M1 Abrams Battle Tank. I got the hang of the controls and what it could do. I then proceeded to wreck havoc on the enemy's base. For a while I was even leading in points score. That is new for me since I usually don't do so well with these games. The brief time I spent with the demo convinced me that I want to buy the full game when it comes out. I understand there is a good deal more to the game than what I have experienced so far which is a bonus. I'll report back with some specifics once I get more play time in, but the game holds a lot of promise. Check out more details here.

Kill screen coming up!

This is a little late and I said I was going to talk about something else today, but I can't help myself. I finally watched the movie: King of Kong. What a great movie! When I first heard about it, I thought that a documentary about someone beating the long held Donkey Kong high score would be a little boring, even for a gamer like myself who grew up in the Video Arcade era. I couldn't have been more wrong. I fired up the trusty ol' Netflix streaming and settled in to watch. What followed was a funny, touching, sad, and eminently enjoyable film.

I don't want to go into too much detail lest I spoil the movie for people who haven't seen it yet so I won't talk about specific things concerning the movie or the controversy (yeah seriously) surrounding it. I would like to discuss the feelings and memories the film evoked within me. Back in the day, during the video game craze (it really was a craze) I spent many hours in the local arcade. The games were not as involved or sophisticated as what we are used to these days, but what they lacked in sophistication they more than made up for in charm and difficulty. I say that in a good way. The games were more difficult. They were designed to eat your hard earned quarters. It was only the best of the best who could play extended periods of time on a specific game - especially Donkey Kong. High scores were a badge of honor and seeing your initials on the high score list at the arcade was a satisfying accomplishment.

There is something about playing a game knowing you only have a limited amount of lives that heightens the tension dramatically. Add on top of that the atmosphere of the arcade with people watching and a high score at stake and you have a recipe for fun. It speaks to those of us who are compulsive which I think, is common to gamers. I remember thinking I would spend just one more quarter and then it would be an hour later and I would be broke. We don't have an arcade locally that let's me relive these memories. However, the Funspot arcade where many of the scenes were filmed is within driving distance of where I live. Maybe I will just have to convince my fiance to take a trip down there. I'll tell her it's to vacation at the world famous Lake Winnipesaukee. After you watch the movie take a look at the Twin Galaxies website to see some of the "official" high scores for various games. It takes some serious skill to do stuff like that.

Hope remains...

Sorry for the lack of posts today, my fiance and I are in the process of buying a house so I haven't played much to talk about. Some good news though, it looks like the proposed buyout of Take Two by EA has been put off longer while the FTC investigates. Click here for details.

On Friday I will have some impressions of the Civilization Revolutions Demo if I am lucky and Monday I want to talk about the new Battlefield: Bad Company demo if I get a chance to try it.

New Fallout 3 Screens

The kind folks at Bethesda sent me some new Fallout 3 screens, I guess in order to stoke my already raging game boner. Seriously, this is like gaming Viagra for me with the side effect of an extremely prolonged erection. It looks like you can make called shots if the image to the left is any indication. I have to say that I think they definitely have nailed the feel of the game world. the graphics are highly reminiscent of the old Fallout games. I guess that is the relatively easy part though. Gameplay and content will be the real judge. It has been years since I played Fallout 2 and like anything else the memories are heightened by a great deal of nostalgia. This is going to be another one of those times where I have to make up my mind about whether I want the game on PC or 360. I won't buy both like I did with Oblivion you bastards! I know that the lead development platform is the 360, but the great memories all come from the PC and I think it will be much easier to control with a mouse. Mods will be readily available for the PC and if the past is any indication they will be some great work by inspired people. Here are a couple more shots to whet your appetite.




UPDATE: Here is a picture of what the collector's edition will contain:

MMO Musings

Saying that I have tried a lot of MMOs is like saying that the ex Governor of New York likes hookers -- in that it is true. At least one specific hooker anyway. I have been thinking about what drew me the most to the particular MMOs that I tried. Was it the universe the game was set in or the game mechanics that the MMO offered? Also, did I overlook some glaring faults in game mechanics because I was so enamored of the game universe?

My first MMO was Ultima Online. Back then there were grand ideas of what an MMO could be. There was talk of persistent worlds that the player would shape and create. There were grand discussions about good versus evil and PvP warfare. Ultimately (pun intended) I was drawn to that game because it was set in Britannia which was one of my favorite gaming settings up to that point. I had no expectations about game mechanics because the genre was just being invented. Fast forward a few years and the next MMO to catch my eye was Everquest. I had grown weary of the isometric graphics of UO and the game mechanics that allowed for PvP gankers and for other players to steal your hard earned items. Call me a care bear if you will, I don't much care. There was no lore associated with EQ that I could identify with. It was being invented out of whole cloth for the purposes of the game. I had no expectations of what the universe was going to be like. The game mechanics were much different than UO however, and I looked forward to the changes. I played both games for about three years each being pretty much equally addicted.

It was at that point that a new kid on the block called Dark Age of Camelot was being touted. The game had similar mechanics to EQ, but was set in Medieval England which is of particular interest to me. The game appeared to be the Holy Grail (pun intended again) of MMOs in my book. It had game mechanics that I had grown used to and was set in a game universe that was right up my alley. I played DAOC for four years or so mainly because I loved the universe so much and really only left it due to most of my friends moving on to other games (mostly World of Warcraft) and from being tired of the genre in general. Nothing changed about the game or the universe, but I had gotten about as much out of the game as I figured I could. I hesitantly moved to the WoW universe again more for the change of pace, and promised enhanced game mechanics. The WoW universe was something I could live with or without. I only lasted a couple of years in WoW, reaching the level cap and had some stints with City of Heroes. In the "tween" years I had flirtations with many and varied other MMOs.

What kept me coming back for more and trying all of the different MMOs was the initial promises that were made that the player was going to be living in an alternate world and effecting the shape of it. As it turns out that promise has never been kept. The genre has stilted and been distilled to an essence by Blizzard and now WoW is what most people think of when the MMO genre is mentioned. Looking back at my time in MMOs I realize that what most attracted me to the games was the game universe. The game mechanic never REALLY changes. Sure, publishers tout new and "unique" ideas, but it all boils down to the same thing in the end. It all became evident to me when I played Age of Conan. AoC was touted as being really different due to its unique combat system. The jury is out on that one, but from my limited experience it is like all of the other innovations promised in MMOs. It is a bit different at first, but in the end you are doing the same things you did in any other MMO. However, I am a huge fan of the Conan universe.

So to finish up what has turned out to be a long rambling post, I think what initially draws me the most to MMOs is the game universe they are set in and marginally the game mechanic. I have lasted the longest in MMOs where I was really into the game universe. I tried many others for the sake of a promised different gameplay mechanic. I suspect that is why my friend Rikathos played CoH for so long. The game was no different than any other MMO, but he is enamored with the superhero world. That isn't even a bad thing. There is nothing wrong with these games. I was gullible enough in the beginning to buy into the over selling of the genre and expected more than was realistic. These days I haunt MMOs whose worlds intrigue me and stay only as long as I am enjoying exploring them. I no longer try and level four or five characters to max level. It is all about experiencing the world to me. That is why I am continuing with LOTRO and why I will cave in and try AoC. In order to keep this from being like an abusive relationship, I meter my time and make sure that I don't burn myself out. If someone makes a Hockey MMO I may be doomed.

Gamefly I CAN quit you.

I canceled my Gamefly membership because of low availability and long turn around times so I had to send the one game I had left back to them. I sent it back on Tuesday and I got an email today saying they received it. That is a record for them. It is at least five days quicker than they ever acknowledged receiving anything else I ever sent them. I am so glad I dumped them.

Penny Arcade Adventures

Episode one of the Penny Arcade Adventures entitled: On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness has finally been released and I got a chance to play a bit of it. For those of you who don't know, Penny Arcade is a web comic that has new comics every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The comic is mostly about gaming with a few other things thrown in on occasion. It was created by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. Jerry does the writing and Mike does the art work. They are both very talented in what they do and have a razor sharp wit when discussing games and the gaming community. I guess one day they must have decided to put their money where their mouth's are, so-to-speak and make a game. I am sure the long title was Jerry's idea. I will refer to it as PAA:ORSPD from now on for brevity's sake.

The game itself is a mix of genres, but predominately an RPG/Adventure game. They say you should write about what you know. I guess the same holds true for making video games. Those two genres seem to be favorites of the two gentleman at Penny Arcade. PAA:ORSPD starts off in the town of New Arcadia in the 1920s. You are outside of your house when a giant Fruit Fucker comes by and demolishes it. The rest of the adventure is about you getting revenge and meeting up with Gabe and Tycho the alter egos of Mike and Jerry in Penny Arcade. If you are a fan of the comic and their humor you are in for a treat. The game has one of the funniest support characters I have ever seen. I won't spoil it for you.

I haven't finished PAA:ORSPD yet so I can't give a full review, but I will give you some of my impressions. First of all, the character creation is nice and you can make many different types of character looks. There are no stats to distribute or classes of any nature, but the look of your avatar can be wildly different from someone else's. Moving around the screen is done by pointing and clicking where you want to go and there is a nice map system to get around quickly. Combat is much like many console RPGs with the addition of some mini-games to use special moves. So far I have run into monsters like the aforementioned Fruit Fuckers, Mimes (they are really funny), and Hobos. The combat itself varies a bit depending upon which system you purchased the game on. The PC version is a bit more RTS-like and the Xbox 360 is akin to most console RPGs as you can imagine it would be.

PAA:ORSPD has a really great Penny Arcade vibe to it and is really funny. So far it's a nice break from the kinds of games I have been playing. I don't know how long it will take me to finish it (perhaps this one will be the first one I finish since I made The Pledge). I have heard it takes about six hours to complete. It's the first in an episodic series so if you like it, you can rest assured that there is more on the way. I initially purchased it for the PC, but having heard that the Xbox 360 version is more like a console RPG, I tried the demo out. I ended up buying it on the 360 too and I will play the series there. I wish I had known that there was a difference in play between the two. Oh well, I consider the twenty bucks spent a good way of supporting Mike and Jerry and a small amount of thanks for their great comic which I have read religiously (by lighting candles and everything) for a few years now. There are demos for both the PC version and for the Xbox 360. If you are a fan at all of the series, I suggest you check it out. A small bonus: the demo includes the support character I was talking about. Oh and one small tip... Don't forget the block button if you play it. You can save yourself a lot of frustration that way.