Mr Breki and Mr Petter were kind enough to invite me on as the special guest for the relaunch of their Claims of the Normal Podcast.
It was the first time I’d done anything quite like it, and there’s probably several minutes of me just going “Ummm”. I also say “Basically”, “actually”, and “pretty much” vastly too often. Valuable lessons were learned, and I had a whole lot of fun. My thanks to my fine hosts for making me feel so welcome and at ease.
We discussed Rift, EQ2, WoW’s Cataclysm expansion, DCUO, and a whole lot more. If you fancy checking the show out, you can find it here!
You can’t fail to have heard about the recent rain of dead and dying blackbirds in Arkansas over the new year. Up to 5000 American Blackbirds were found dead or dying in the streets and gardens of Bebe, Arkanas. Less well covered is that this seems to have coincided with a mass Drum fish-die-off in the same state.
Arkansas game officials hope testing scheduled to begin Monday will solve the mystery of why up to 5,000 blackbirds fell from the sky just before midnight New Year’s Eve.
The birds — most of which were dead — were found within a one-mile area of Beebe, about 40 miles northeast of Little Rock, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said. The blackbirds fell over about a one-mile area, the commission said in a statement.
As of Saturday, between 4,000 and 5,000 blackbirds had been found dead, said Keith Stephens with the commission.
It’ll be launching on the 1st of March, with a headstart for pre-orders beginning February 24th.
That’s all pretty standard, though a little sooner than many were expecting. The pricing is a little more peculiar though:
Founder’s Subscription: For a limited time, Trion Worlds is pleased to offer Founder’s Subscription pricing. If you choose a subscription plan by 3/15/2011, you’ll be able to pick one of the special pricing plans listed below. You’ll get to keep this special pricing as long as you retain an active subscription to RIFT.*
*Your payment method will be charged (on a recurring basis at your selected subscription rate) until you cancel your subscription. If you choose to cancel your Founder’s Pricing subscription and later re-subscribe to RIFT, the Founder’s Subscription plan will no longer be available.
Monthly
3-Month
6-Month
$14.95/month
$11.99/month
$9.99/month
$14.95
$35.97
$59.94
This is a little weird, as what we’re seeing is not the normal pricing rates. These are the special Founder rates that you’ll be able to get if you play from launch, up until the time you decide you want a break, whereupon you’ll end up on the, yet to be announced, normal subscription rate.
It’s an interesting way of locking people in to subscribing continuously, for fear of losing that special rate. Unsurprisingly, I don’t much like it, as while it is certainly “interesting”, it’s a bit heavy-handed for my liking, and feels a little like a punishment.
$14.95 a month seems to be the special Founder’s pricing. We’ve not seen the regular pricing yet, and so I am wondering if we are about to see a new price-point set for a subscription MMO.
One good sign is the lack of a lifetime subscription. Lifetimes have become a big red flag for me that says that a developer does not have faith in the longevity of its product, and wants to cash in as soon as possible. Not having one means that Trion believes in Rift.
Update: Starseeker’s comment below suggests that the Founder pricing only means the 3 and 6 month bundles. I’ll be looking about for some clarification on that.
Why had I not heard of The Sims Medieval before today? I’ve not really played a Sims game since the original incarnation (which I enjoyed immensely), but never got around to trying any of the later versions. I was distracted by MMOs and strategy games, I guess. The possibility of combining The Sims with a sort of kingdom-building strategy game is going to get me diving back in to the fold.
Introducing next-gen Sims tech and features
* A world of Sims filled with stories, adventures, romance, drama and comedy
* Enhanced environment and character graphics, lighting, and gameplay
Rich dramatic medieval setting
* Experience epic stories of the age, full of drama, fantasy, conflict, comedy, romance, and intrigue
New Features: Heroes, Quests, Kingdom-Building
* Create Heroes – Build up their skills and send them on epic quests
* Quests – Drive your kingdom’s story – Good or evil, cruel or kind, romantic or warlike
* Build a Kingdom – Start with an empty field and build up your kingdom, deciding its ultimate ambition and working to achieve its destiny
Other Features
* Achievement system – Be rewarded you for your skill in reaching your kingdom ambitions and completing your quests.
* Magic – Your wizard will learn a variety of powerful spells that will help him complete quests and carry out his duties to the kingdom.
* Crafting system – Your blacksmith will forge weapons of varying quality you’re your physician will create cures for a variety of ailments.
* Diplomatic system – Negotiate treaties, conduct trade or declare war on surrounding kingdoms.
* Fishing – Yes, there is fishing.
I am just a little bit psyched. Alright, it’s probably not going to have a truly deep strategic side to it, but maybe I don’t need every strategy game I play to brutally crush me beneath its heel. Sometimes I just want a game to be cheery fun, and this looks like it might fit the bill.
I’m going to have to see if I can squeeze enough out of my gaming budget to be able to pre-order. I wonder if it will be moddable.
Happy New Year from Greenwich Mean Time! London had a spectacular firework display on the Thames, with the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, and the London Eye in full view. For the first time, it was set to a musical accompaniment starring the best of British. Queen, T-Rex, the Beatles, and the Clash to name but a few!
In the interest of getting the most out of the taxes spent on it (well worth it, mind you), it seems appropriate to share it with the world!!! Happy New Year, and Mind The Gap!!!
I need to get my dancing feet on if we’re going to check out any new features, as this phase of the beta is due to end today.
5:00 pm GMT, 31st of December
That being the case, I’ve just been bashing my way through the Divine Landing quests, harvesting resources when I can. I expect if I keep on going I’ll either find a crafting trainer, or one or more dynamic rifts.
The server has just gone down again, before I could even take a nice screenshot!! Hopefully just for an update. I *think* beta phase 3 is going for a few more hours yet.
5:27 pm GMT, 31st of December
Back in, and here’s something new!
While the books I collected back in the tutorial seemed to be static, I’m now finding sparklies in the world which do seem to give random artifact collectables. In this screen, I have a choice of which of two different collections I want to add the Principia Conflagera to.
