Grim

So judging from comments made to me on Facebook and elsewhere, more than a few of you are playing SWTOR these days. As it happens, I’m running (ok, I’m just an officer not the guy in charge… they aren’t completely crazy) a raiding guild on the Shii-Cho server (Empire side, of course) and we’re looking for a few more players. We’re expanding our raid schedule to cover 7 days/week so you get to pick your own schedule. (With only 8 players required for a raid, there is no sense in making attendance mandatory. Raid when you want to raid.)

If you’re interested, check out Pravus Mortis (See, not only do we love our sponsors… we actually use their product! Thanks Guild Launch!)

On the D*C front, there’s not much going on right now. First staff meeting is next weekend, but our staff is full, and this will basically be a chance for me to confirm that my staff is, in fact, still alive.

Normally, I treat online video game reviews like something foul stuck to the bottom of my shoe after spending all day at an outdoor Ozzfest show in July… but Yahtzee is the patron saint of MMO snark, so let’s see what the man has to say about SWTOR, shall we?

Aww, he likes it! “Mr. I Hate Muh-mor-pig-uhs” actually likes this game.

So the good folks at SOE have decided to go F2P with the granddaddy of them all. (Yes, I know UO and Meridian 59 are older… Don’t care.)

As much as I have fond memories for EQ, I should remind you all to read the “fine print”. For example:

Freepers only get to play one of four races (Human, Erudite, Barbarian, Gnome)
…and one of four classes. (Warrior, Cleric, Wizard, Rogue)
Freepers can only create 2 characters on a given server.
Freepers are limited with respect to bags, spells, money, and the ability to use in-game mail.
Freepers don’t get access to in-game support. (Knowledge Base Only)

and the biggie…

Freepers are subjected to in-game pop-up advertising.

Now for 5 dollars, you can upgrade your account to “Silver” status. (Note: former subscribers are automatically upgraded to Silver) Which doesn’t do much for you aside from raising some of the limits mentioned above. Silver subscribers are still subjected to in-game pop-up ads.

If you want the “full” version of the game, it’s still $14.99/month. (Seriously? For a 13 year old game?) The good news is that you can pay the monthy fee (or the upgrade to “Silver”) using “Station Cash” that you may have accrued from playing other SOE games. Station Cash will also be used to purchase and unlock “freemium” content for regular and Silver subscribers.

In-game ads… No thanks. That one “feature” is pretty much a deal breaker for me with any game. (Are you listening, Blizzard?)

Just so you guys don’t think that we’re spending all of our time playing SWTOR… (We are… that’s why posting has been so slow lately)

Apparently, Blizzard has decided to call off ~~Christmas~~ Blizzcon this year. That’s a shame, since at least one other Dragon*Con director and I were planning on attending this year, sporting the very latest in Alliance t-shirt wear and seeing if any of the resident homophobes wanted to say something about it.

Oh, but wait! There’s more! It seems that Bobby Kotick has come up with another scheme to add money to Blizzard’s bottom line and at the same time contributing absolutely nothing to the state of the art of online games.

Are you ready for product placement in your MMO?

Just imagine World of Warcraft with in-game advertising to go along with your monthly subscription and item store purchases. Oh, wait, Mists of Pandaria is on the way, so you’ll get an interactive trailer for Kung Fu Panda 3 as well as a custom version of Pokemon.

(Ok, so I know that Blizz did Pandaren long before those movies came out, but since when did I let the truth stand in the way of some good snark?)

Meanwhile, the 30-day trial period for SWTOR has elapsed, and while I don’t have any firm numbers on the subject, the servers seem as populated as they have always been. Can’t say I’ve seen a great deal of cancellations, and I’m working on getting my second character to level 50. (Imperial Sniper) I still believe that the only thing that is going to kill off WoW is Blizzard’s own asshattery, but the gap between them and the rest of the pack is getting narrower by the day. 38 Studios is set to release Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning in the near future which promises to close that gap even further. (And did we mention that R.A. Salvatore, one of the minds behind that game, is coming to Dragon*Con this year? Did we mention that? )

We’re about 6 weeks away from our first volunteer staff meeting, which means things are going to get a lot busier on the D*C front really soon.

Out.

-Grim

So SWTOR is dropping their first major content patch one month after launch. (January 17) We’ll get a new Operation area (“Raid” for all you WoW folks) and a new Flashpoint (“Dungeon” for all you WoW folks).

…and a new trailer.

If you haven’t already, stop by the Shii-Cho server and say hello. (Sith side, of course…)

SWTOR: Looking for a Guild?

Star Wars: The Old Republic – Review

Everquest Goes Free-to-Play

No Blizzcon For You!

SWTOR – New Content Patch