Rise of the Godslayer

So we finally have a date (May 11th) on Rise of the Godslayer expansion for AoC.
I had allready pre-ordered the new expansion quite some time ago so i was kind of surprised to see this email message from Funcom:


Really think it is nice to get the option to upgrade my pre-order to the collectors edition, which wasn't available at the time i pre-ordered.
This isn't the first time i see this happen where i pre-order an expansion as soon as it's available only to see them come out with special/collectors editions later and i really hate having to go through the trouble of cancelling my order and then get the other one.

Needles to say i did take the offer since it was only a few euros extra and it also gave me 2 cool looking pets, and as you can read in the email they're also usefull pets as one bufs you and the other helps in fighting (can only have one out at the time though).
Can't wait to see what those tatoos look like :)
And the coolest part i get them for all my characters.

Reaching for the stars

I finally managed to reach lvl 60 on my main, Cynheiddon.
So obviously i immediatly went for Thrallmar to learn the "expert riding" skill.

And went for my first flight

And yes, as you can see i own the "greed steed", despite the uproar about it, i still figured that it was worth it as you get it for each and every character you have or create, instead of paying for a horse and only get it on one character like many other games do.
And lets face it this is the future of MMO's, more and more cash shop items. Now if they'd only lower or stop subscription costs..

Hitting that cancel button is hard

After almost an entire month without hardly playing any of my (subscription) MMO's, i am again starting to think i really need to cancel them, i mean it's a waste to be subscribed when you don't play..

So far in a month time i have played (according to Raptr):
79 hours of Mount & Blade: Warband
39 hours of Age of Conan
11 hours of Dragon Age: Origins
10 hours of Star Trek Online
4 hours of World of Warcraft
92 mins of Mass Effect 2

The only "real" subscription games in there for me are Age of Conan and World of Warcraft, for Star Trek Online i have a lifetime sub, and you could wonder if 4 hours of gameplay warrents a subscription to WoW.

I also have a SOE Station Access running, which of course gives me access to Everquest, Everquest 2, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Star Wars Galaxies, Vanguard and Free Realms, however i haven't touched any of those games and i am starting to wonder why i am keeping this sub. Of course considering what you get for your money Station Access is definatly worth the money but if you're not playing..
The only real reason i can come up with for myself is i wanne keep my sub to SWG going (the sub has been running since 2004), for some reason i just can't say goodbye to SWG eventhough i don't really play it, i might log in every now and then and walk around my house a bit and collect veteren rewards when i get them and do some decorating, but other than that i am not playing it anymore.
So i should maybe just cancel the Station Access and if i still want just pay for SWG only (i just can't say goodbye to SWG).

Then there are my 2 one year subs, Fallen Earth and Age of Conan, i am not really playing Fallen Earth much anymore, i do like the game and i have a sub since launch, but when you're not logging in..

As for Age of Conan, well i recently logged in and played it for a couple of days and i definatly enjoy the world of Conan and still think it's a great game, but until recently i didn't touch it much. This game is on my doubt list, i really do wanna play it more, whenever i do log in i am really enjoying myself and think this is a great game, but i usually find myself playing it a couple of days and then not log in for quite some time.

Of course the "problem" is that i allready payed for a full year subscription for those two games, so i can't really cancel them until the time runs out.

As for WoW, well that will expire in July, so i might not renew that sub, i still think it's a great and fun game to play, but it's probably the first to go, 4 hours in a month time is not a whole lot, besides what i actually enjoy the most about WoW is everything surrounding it, the whole armory thing and the way you can use feeds to show/share what you're doing with you char.
Then there were the times where i subscribed for a month, played a few hours and the next time i logged in i had to resub again..

Then of course i have the games i don't need to worry about as i have a lifetime for those, Star Trek Online and Lord of the Rings Online, i have played STO quite a bit and i do enjoy this game, but to me this really is an "on the side" game.
As for LOTRO, well i don't remember the last time i touched it..

I am really starting to feel i should cancel some subscriptions and that way "force" myself to play more on my lifetime sub games, but i have been feeling that for quite some time now (allready wrote a couple of blogposts about this) and that probably means i should act on it.
I always keep telling myself i am gonna log in and play those games, but in the end i just don't log in at all or i play for a few hours every couple of months.

Maybe having too much choice on what to play isn't good and i should just focus on a few games and actually play them.

Meet LT. Commander Cynfull

Meet LT.Commander Cynfull of the U.S.S. De Ruyter :)

This is my main character on Star Trek Online (and so far my only one), i just noticed these character pages on the STO website and i have to say awesome!!

I always like this kind of stuff, always cool to be able to see/share your character on a website.

Anyaways, here's the link to my character page (if you're interrested that is) :)

Guess i should work on a bio now..

It's all about the combat

My recent blogpost got me thinking and this part specificly.

True, the combat may be the big draw to M&B, because they absolutely did things "right", but the other features are a lot of fun as well.

Isn't this true about MMO's as well ?
I mean combat is usually what MMO's are about, it's all covered up with some quest text, but most of the time it comes down to killing a bunch of mobs.
Well, in Mount & Blade, most of the time you are fighting (killing mobs), true there is not much questing involved, but you are fighting for a goal. You are fighting for your kingdom or as a Vassal for a king, so there's your story.

In MMO's they'll tell you to go get ten ratskins to make some piece of armor, but it comes down to killing mobs. So what's the difference, apart from Mount & Blade being mostly singleplayer (Warband has multiplayer), i'd say not much it all comes down to fighting/killing mobs.
OIf course for an MMO the community behind is also important, but when the combat is boring, i doubt many people will keep playing despite a great community.

I find the combat in Mount & Blade to be so much fun, nothing beats the feeling of charging towards the enemy on your horse swinging that sword, trying to get that swing just right to hit the enemy, and as a result actually seing myself moving in my chair to try and compensate the swing if i feel i am not doing it right, not that it helps but that's just how much i get involved with the fighting.
So far i have to say i am still not bored with the fighting, it keeps being fun, every encounter is different, different in opponent size, different in kind of enemies (archers, infantry, cavalry), sieging castles and what i really enjoy is not hearing any of the BS standard questlines, you just fight for your cause, your kingdom or your king.

So there isn't much story in Mount & Blade, it would be nice to have a huge story behind it and a lot of lore but in the end it is all about the fighting/killing and if a game gets that "right" i think it's a winner.

Now if someone could "just make" Mount & Blade into an MMO, i am pretty sure it will be a winner.

So mount up and make us that MMO!!

(Allright i'll keep dreaming)

Mount & Blade: Warband

I haven't been writing much on here lately, but that is mostly due to playing Mount & Blade: Warband.
The original, Mount & Blade was allready addicting and a lot of fun but this one is even better, since it released i haven't played anything else, i wanted to but i just couldn't quit playing M&B Warband :)

Looking at graphics you wouldn't expect much but man is the combat in this game addicting, i just can't get enough of it.
True, the combat may be the big draw to M&B, because they absolutely did things "right", but the other features are a lot of fun as well.
Currently i have started my own kingdom and let me tell you it is tough, but lots of fun.

I claimed the original Mount & Blade my game of the year, and i am pretty close to calling Mount & Blade: Warband my game of the year for 2010!

In other words, i probably won't be playing any other games for a while :)