Sunday, September 25, 2011

Make Real Money Playing Diablo 3

Blizzard just announced that you can sell legally your items in Diablo 3 for real life money using PayPal. With other words Diablo 3 will have a new auction house feature that will let player buy and sell items for real money. PayPal will be used as payment-service partner for the Diablo III auction house, allowing players who trade with real-world currency the ability to cash out the spoils of their battle-torn adventures via a PayPal account.
This is great because you can sell items and withdraw your money for minutes instead of months as it now takes in Entropia Universe. And this is probably the worst feature of Entropia Universe - The Withdrawal Process.
Blizzard also revealed that the game will require a constant online connection to be played. Something like StarCraft 2. But this is probably to be expected so they can protect the game from hacking and selling items for millions of dollars.
From all beta movies I saw it seems Diablo 3 will feel as Diablo 2 with change in the skill system. Which may be bad thing, because you cannot customize your character as much as in Diablo 2. (Game is still in beta! Changes will be.) But don't make mistake! Diablo 3 WILL be the best game in its class for 2012 and the following 10 years.
Speaking of release date - Blizzard was aiming for the end of 2011, but now it is moved to early 2012. This is no surprise for anyone that knows something abouth Blizzard. The make games slow until every bid is perfectly polished. And even after that they continue to make it better.
If you can't wait and want to play Diablo 3 sooner, register for beta account on battle.net and hope Blizzard will send you beta key so you can play up to the first boss for free. To be eligible to participate in the Diablo III beta test, you need an active Battle.net account with any Blizzard game title attached to it.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Biggest Version Update in Entropia Universe

Re-implementation of Mentoring

New feature: Disciples will also receive a graduation gift. The disciple reward is intended to encourage disciples to stick with good mentors.
New feature: As you progress in your mentor skill you will move between different reward tiers with unique reward lists.
Re-design: You can now remove your mentor at any time.
New feature: you will be able to use skill chips when you are a disciple, the target level will simply move up.
Improvements to the mission system
New quest function: quests can consume items. This means for example that you could bring materials that you have collected, give them to an NPC and get something else back.
New quest giver indicators: you will now be able to see if a quest giver has a quest available or if you have finished a quest and can talk to him to finish it by looking at the icon above its head, like ! or ?.
Improvements to Creatures and Creatures AI
Creatures can alternate between different types of attacks each with its own set parameters and animations/sounds/particles.
Creatures have the ability to do AOE (Area Of Effect) attacks that strike all players within a specific radius.
Creatures can deal damage based on a percentage of the avatars current HP.
Planned for future releases:
Damage over time effects together with AOE application of the same.
Creatures using mindforce.
Creatures using projectiles that can be avoided.

Next Island - September 27
Redesigned location(s)
Sheperd's Beach:
This isn't a wholly new location as much adding new content to what is already there. You probably have this teleporter point already... under a different name....

Here’s a workstation where an eccentric First Wave explorer develops his scientific breakthroughs.

New missions
New missions introducing the storyline to be continued in the releases.
Mission: Inventing a color

This story involves Dr. Tom Shepherd, the xenobotanist from the Elysian Transmission, reveals more of the Elysian backstory and makes sneaky references characters to be introduced in upcoming releases.

New items and blueprints
Elysian Colorator
Concept Art

Arkadia - September 27

Textures

Calypso - October 18

New Server Areas
Calypso update will feature 3 new server areas to connect Eudoria and Amethera.
Some of the new Outposts: Fort Victoria, Jamesons Reach, Naval Station Triton, Odysseus Landing, Camp Poseidon
Partial list of creatures that will be spawning in a good amount on the new areas: Aetherex, Atrax, Rextelum, Mermoth, Daikiba, Gokibusagi, Sabakuma, Tripudion, Leviathan, Rippersnapper, Formacicida, Allophyl, Chirpy, Diripi, Pupugi, Traeskeron

New Creatures
Rextelum: The Rextelum will have different damage types linked to its different attack animations. For example if it punches you with a claw you might take a lot of impact damage but if it strikes with its stinger you take stab and acid damage.

Traeskeron: The Traeskeron was first discovered by Dr H.J. Zeidler during Governor Jamesons expedition to the unexplored region between Amethera and Eudoria. It was quickly classified as beloning to the same family as the Proteron. It is thought that a small population of Proterons became isolated from the rest when the old continent split in two. Over the next several million years they evolved into a creature much more suitable to the new environment. The lack of predators and the scarcity of nourishment lead the Traeskeron to become significantly smaller than its cousin although it is still capable of defending itself. The Traeskerons are known to live in large herds which are always lead by a matriarch.

An acid spitting 50 meter tall boss mob
Hussk will do this 95% of current hp damage attack to everyone within the attack radius and then its up to player to heal as fast as they can before his other attacks begin killing you off. Clarification: Percentage of current HP damage does not deal decay to armor.
He can only be spawned by players through a quest, this quest requires items for completion that has a low drop chance from several new wave spawn bosses.
He's spawned in a cave that he cant leave. And neither can anyone else for that matter since the only way to enter is to jump through a hole in the ceiling and land in a pool of water.
It's a PvP area, it will be in your interest to have a dedicated defense team at the dungeon entrance. Killing an enemy will really mean something here since both teleportations and flying vehicles are disabled in the region and its a darn long hike from the closest outpost.
Updated creature graphics
Mermoth
Formicacida
New missions
a lot of storyline missions
repeatable missions
missions using tokens as quest rewards and as a currency for other items

New items
an armor with respectable acid protection
"Mod Pixie Armor": The mod pixie armor set is actually part of the graduation package rewarded to disciples. Stats: Stab 6, Cut 8, Impact 11 and then 5 in cold, acid and electric. Double the TT value of regular pixie and double +200 in durability.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The Thing in Entropia Universe

New horror movie is coming out on 14 of October 2011. It's called "The Thing". On the site of the movie ( The Thing Website ) there is link to a game. Most likely this will be the new area on Planet Rocktropia in Entropia Unievrse. For people never played Entropia this will be like small free mini game and if they like it they will stay in the game. For old Entropia players it is like a new small area where you can go only from Rocktropia.
Here is a trailer of the new (2011) movie "The Thing":
And now more about the new Arctic Area:

There are some good points, but also some more bad points.

The Good:
-The setting is very fitting and enjoyable. It's a fresh feeling you get when first arriving and hearing the music. I would almost call it creepy.
-For the most part the missions are very well done, though very short and linear I found them much more enjoyable than any other missions currently in the game. Some could use slightly more detail, but I'm also very picky so maybe they are just fine.
-It would have to rank among the top experiences for a starter player, free weapons and ammo, clothing (though only usable a few times) and 2 vehicles which a player not looking to deposit immediately would have fun using.
-New weapons! Though the flamethrower is currently bugged and can't be used in the Arctic, visually it is very well designed and it's always great to see new things in Entropia. "The Thing Infection" melee weapon is also...interesting.

The Bad:
-After finishing the extremely short "Episode 1" your experience in the Arctic is basically over. You have 2 mob choices, THING's and Wolves. I flew the entire planet and it's possible I was delusional from the blinding white, but that's all I could find.
-Hunting "THING's" will only appeal to a small % of players in the game. You can only use weapons and FAP's looted from Rocktropia and the Arctic. Total cost in time and peds was around 2k cycled ped to get a few small medkits and weapons. The alternative is paying around 200%+ on auction.
-The loot is very unsatisfying from THING's. I'm guessing there are 4 items to be looted, only 2 of which I found one each of with over 1500 peds cycled. Medkit(L) with a max TT of 50pec, The Thing Infection which is standard melee weapon that does 15 max damage, barely good enough to kill even the smallest level THING's. I will assume they also loot the flamethrower and shotgun, but haven't seen them yet.
Other than that, you get High/Low Grade ammo for the most part which cannot be sold at auction. One explosive projectile at a time, eye oil, oil residue, and wool I believe. Of course the normal random ammo types are included as well.
Overall I found the first part enjoyable, but after the quests were over it was a monotonous grind hoping there was something of interest in this new creature. Besides not being quite as broken, it's almost exactly the same as Ancient Greece. If I had to rate this area on a % of completion, I'd give it a 20% at best. At least Greece had some interesting scenery. I've honestly seen better maps from a random generator.
It just blows my mind how anyone would release something like this in the current state. It certainly isn't a great business model for getting repeat guests on your planet. I know personally when the next update comes, I won't make haste to see what the new things are in the Arctic.
If you have not been there yet, I would still recommend going. The quests and items provided are definitely worth the trip.

The Missions:
There are 2 tracks... scientist and soldier... i don't know if there are significant differences... other than the fact that a Soldier gets a shotgun, and a scientist gets a pistol!
I think there are 22 missions in the chain.... one needs to do 20 missions first ... before he/she can activate the "Hunt the thing" and after that "the escape".
I think there is no good guidance on how to complete the missions ... one just has to try the npcs, and follow the track once activated. The most help one can get is by asking other fellow players...bearing in mind that one might get wrong guidance (of curse unintentional) !
Of the initial 20 missions, there are some that have to be done sequentially... and for some other missions no such requirements ...so try every npcs including vehicles..
I think other than some bugs most missions are very easy...( I got the "Lights Out" bugged.... had to abandon it, and then restarted to finish it)
The hardest of all these missions is the final one ..."Hunt the thing" and then "escape"
One need to kill only one "the thing" after falling through the hole! .......and it's not that hard to kill one! I had BAMF zk6. so it was easy for me.... I tagged one from safe distance... and then the escape got activated....
and this escape part is the most difficult.... coz there are a lot of mobs... and one really need to know how to escape...and I've seen many people got stuck there.

List of the missions alphabetically:
The main intention of the list is to quicly identify which one you are missing. The sequence here is similar to the list you;ve in your mission log!
1. no title (name)
2. Army weapon Crate (364 183)
3. Camp Campbell Location
4. DNA Verifications.
5. Driving towards the mountain
6. Find your destination
7. Gearing up for Adventure
8. Hunt the thing (entrance for the Hole 38337, 19281)
9.Lights out
10 Meeting Dr. Marconi
11. Pick Up supplies (to activate run west from this point 38296, 19354 and then follow the road to south)
12. Reconfigure Satellites
13 Searching Vehicles
14. Searching Vehicles (2nd)
15. The adventures Begins
16 The story Unfolds
17. The wager
18. Up the Mountain
19. weapon Cage
20. Weapon Training
21. Welcome to camp Campbell
22. Your weapon of choice

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Playing Borderlands and Dead Island

I was AFE (away from Entropia) for two weeks. I was busy playing Borderlands and Dead Island.
Both games has RPG elements. You get experience points and gain levels and skills. Buy and upgrade weapons. Perform quest or missions. Kill monsters and run for your life. Almost like real role-playing game, but with lot less thinking.
Borderlands is a science fiction based first-person shooter with RPG elements released in the end of 2009. You can choose from 4 different characters to play the game. Three males and one female. Everyone with different skills and abilities. You can use all kind of different weapons with different elemental attacks. Also there are vehicles in the game you can use and even don't pay for them.
As you can see from this video the graphics in the game are really stylish and little cartoonish which is cool if you ask me. Also the music and the gameplay are better than 99% of the games that were released last 2 years.
Dead Island is a first person horror action-adventure, role-playing, open world video game released September 2011. Here you can also choose from 4 different characters to play the game. Two males and two females. Everyone with different skills and abilities. You can use all kind of different weapons and you can upgrade them and even modify them with different blueprints so they get different elemental attacks as bonus. Here also you can use vehicles for free to drive around the Island and kill zombies.
This was the emotional trailer that made most players wait for this game impatiently.
But here is video from the actual gameplay so you can see what this game really looks like:
Those two games are one of the best for the last 2-3 years, but they are too easy for gamers that like to play Entropia Universe or other hardcore RPG. Even a blind-man will finish them someday just by clicking the left mouse button and walking around. If you want real challenge you have to go to the good old Project Entropia and to try make your living in the hard hitting reality of Calypso or any other life-sucking planet made by Neverdie or another tasteless punk full with inflated self-importance, egotism, vanity, conceit, simple selfishness and focusing his sexual interest exclusively on himself.