Welcome back! This is my 96th attempt at this column.
Welcome back!
96 tries at this column. 96! Maybe by 100 I’ll have it right.
Whether you write it upside-down or rightside-up, it’s still 96. In binary, 96 is 1100000. The Romans called it XCVI.
I’m John Hoskin and I’ll be your MMOG guide today.
“Ninety percent of everything is crap.” – Theodore Sturgeon
Everyone can use a feel good moment to start the day. Let’s go with this…
Thanks for taking some time out of your day to read this column. I truly appreciate it. If you happen to use Twitter, you can follow me @BoomjackTTH. I rarely use Facebook, but I do occasionally post gaming related tidbits on Google+ where you can find me under my real moniker John Hoskin.
I had the crazy idea at one of our team meetings to offer at least $200 in game related items per year to anyone who had been supportive enough to become a yearly Premium Member at TenTonHammer.com. We have a lot of virtual items and swag given to us and it seemed like a good way to give something back to the people who supported our network.
So began “Win a Bunch of Crap” and the crap is flowing today. Read on to discover what we’re handing out today.
Paradox Interactive was kind enough to send us some goodies and you must be on their “nice” list. Check out the haul at our Win a Bunch of Crap page.
I’m not attending BlizzCon this year, but I did pick up the virtual ticket. It’s almost easier, OK it is easier to sit at home, watch the panels and report on them than it is to deal with the crowds at the show. As much as BlizzCon was my favourite trip each year I haven’t attended the last two editions of the StarCraft pumping, Diablo shucking event.
Are any of you making the trek this year? Are any of you going to watch on virtual ticket?
I asked for your thoughts on addons (since SWTOR) won’t have any and boy did I get a response.
“Just my personal preference: Addonless game is godly heaven for me! No "stronger" or newer addons bringing advantage on one or other side, no hackers sniffing around to find the way for exploit. I was playing a lot of mmos like ultima, daoc, wow (oc!), lotro, ddo, conan, rift.... I have to say, I enjoyed Lotro a long time without using of addons. They let few of them into game later, but just simple decent ones helping people who are not so... gifted. In wow - ok, I was using a lot of addons permanently looking for new ones allowing me to have upper hand on my enemies. Wasn‘t fair. I’m glad to don’t use em no more. My personal preference: no addons, no ftp model which helps rich guys sometimes a lot. I prefer stable model with fair chances for everyone = pay your fee and rest is directly in your hands and mind.” – Pavel
And another who doesn’t use addons.
“On the subject of today’s Reloading, and addons, I usually prefer not to use them at all. I don’t find I need ‘em and I am not the kind of person to stress over the numbers. I can pick what gear I want and if I can tell from how quickly I’m downing mobs of a certain level what I need to tweak. As far as I’m concerned, that’s what the combat log is for. To me getting and maintaining the updates on addons has always been nothing more than a pain in the rear, one that I desperately wish had never ever entered gaming at all. It comes at a cost of a lot of lazy gamers who can not think for themselves. They need addons to tell them who to group with, that only a certain item of gear can ever be used and that they are uber. I hate those gits. (Not that I think you’re one, but I’m sure you know the type!) I prefer to hang out with my pals who think, even if they do occasionally use an addon. At least they know better than to ask me to do so. Yes, I am a self admitted addon snob. And I always will be. But then I’m also not a hardcore raider type either. I think games are just that and should never be taken that seriously unless it’s literally your business and your financial picture will be ruined if your game doesn’t succeed. /shrugs I know this is an extremely unpopular p.o.v. in this day and age, however I am a Luddite in many respects. Maybe when I turn 80 I’ll start using the damned things! … the only addon I ever really liked was an equipment comparison one I used once upon a time. It was nice not to have to mouse over each piece of equipment multiple times to see the differences. “ – Christine
PlayerScore compares equipment for you and more. It even tells me when I forgot to enchant an item, which sadly, I do quite often.
With the column now being published on our website please comment there if you have any questions, suggestions, concerns or jokes. I will check the last week or so of comments regularly and reply as soon as I can. I am deluged with email, but one post on the website can get the word out to thousands of readers at once.
That’s it for today. Thanks again for reading and as always, may your dreams be big and your worries be small.
For a few weeks now we've been cleaning out our closets and giving away a bunch of crap we've collected at gaming conventions to our premium members. Why? Because we like them, and because this crap is actually cool.
Join Guardian scribe, Padraic, and his trusty, yet slow-witted lackey Bran, as they travel the length and breadth of Telara documenting the people, places, history, and folklore of the world. Before it’s all gone.
The expansion is set to launch this November, but aspiring testers can apply for a chance to help test out the latest content before it goes live next month.
A new dev blog from CCP Omen teases the new player-owned Customs Office, which will allow players to blast out Customs Offices and build one of their own and even regulate the tax rate.
Today marks the official launch of the game, but PC and European players will have to wait a while longer to get their hands on the squad-based co-op shooter.
