Be nice to the people you meet on the way up; you will meet the same people on the way back down.

Truer words were never spoken. In fact I could go on like this for some time, including the following:

A quote from a play called The Kings Ring that ends “even this shall pass away”.

From the movie Blade Runner, “The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long.”

And a senior drill sergeant of my onetime acquaintance, “What goes around comes around.”

What caught my eye was the headline from Edge over at Next-Gen by Tom Ivan: “Lawsuit: Activision Created Police State at Infinity Ward “.  By now just about everyone and their brother will have heard about the infamous lawsuit by not only Messers West and Zampella (formerly of Infinity Ward) but also a group of former Infinity Ward employees – even the snail mail magazine that arrives in our mail box will have picked it up by now (that makes it REALLY old news).  So on the face of it, it’s not really that profound hearing that same said group rattling their sabers talking about the “police state” created by Activision as well as withholding bonus payments in attempt to force the development of Modern Warfare 3.

O.K. so what else is new?

Blizzard recently backed down on their Real ID issue.

 Also not news to write home about; after all it’s not that big an issue (providing the proper exceptions were put in place).   Still I can’t help but consider that this is the same company that always said it’s done when it’s done –  the famed Blizzard attitude that prevails while developers in other parts of the industry are busy dancing to the music played by their respective publishers.  For some years what seemed like exponential growth in subscriber numbers where published like Burger King used to announce how many hamburgers they have served.  Blizzard has long seemed the unassailable zombie gorilla that no developer could topple (and any who tried paid for it dearly).   On the face of it, listening to your community is usually (but not always) a good policy. But I can’t help but wonder if this isn’t a case of a widening chink in the Blizzard armor.

Gordon over at We Fly Spitfires has an interesting post on a related issue entitled Will BioWare Be To Blizzard What Blizzard Was To SOE? . Here is an excerpt of the article that is a very interesting read:

Over the next few years SOE made a handful of bad decisions (most notably the NGE for SWG) and suddenly all faith in them was lost. Justly or not, SOE had turned from the Kings of the MMO genre to the butt of every harsh remark about screwing over the fan base and selling out their morals. $OE was their new name and woe was them. – Gordon, We Fly Spitfires

Obviously even Blizzard doesn’t think that their light will never dim or Lead Designer Tom Chilton would not have recently pointed out that there may come a time when World of Warcraft goes free to play. Likely as not this won’t be any time soon – especially not with the Cataclysm expansion on the near horizon. Then again few people expected the recent announcement that Lord of the Rings Online was going free to play either. Between the Activision lawsuits, 25 dollar sparkling ponies (few of which I see in game anymore), and Real ID perhaps the Blizzard Gorilla isn’t as tough as he used to be.

All things considered maybe it’s a good thing that Activision/Blizzard is back to being known as Blizzard.

See you online,

Julie Whitefeather

Say it isn’t so…

This just came across our news feed: Edward Norton will NOT be back as Bruce Banner/The Hulk in the upcoming Avengers movie.  As our regular readers and listeners know, we here at NPNM love our action movies.  When we heard that they were making The Hulk we never thought that anyone could ever fill the shoes of the late Bill Bixby – the man touched our soles with his heart felt, bittersweet performance.  But after we saw Mr. Norton as Bruce banner we were sucked in to everthing he brought to the role. Now we can’t imagine anyone else in the role.

But it seems we will have to.

News has just come to us that Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige made the following announcement:

“We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in the Avengers. Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. The Avengers demands players who thrive working as part of an ensemble, as evidenced by Robert, Chris H, Chris E, Sam, Scarlett, and all of our talented casts. We are looking to announce a name actor who fulfills these requirements, and is passionate about the iconic role in the coming weeks.” – Kevin Feige

Well friends all I can say, as a long time Marvel and especially Avengers fan color me hopping mad.  It’s one thing to decide you are not going to use Mr. Norton in the role but is it necessary to slam the man on the wayout? Now truth be told you never know what the Edward Norton is like to work with.  Some of the things Mel Gibson has done in the last few years has us both dropping our jaws to the floor and throwing his movies out in the garbage (with the sole exception of the Passion of the Christ of course).

Sad news indeed. Hopefully Mr. Feige will come to his senses.

[posted for Julie Whitefeather by The Webmaster]

“Will our mystery challenger enter and sign in please?”

Back when I was so young that my biggest decision was whether I should read my comic book or eat my Fudgicle there was a game show on called What’s My Line?  Each week those words would be heard as a panel of celebrities were blindfolded and tried to identify someone’s identity.

Now it’s not news that people on the internet love pseudonyms.  In fact, with the exception of our developer interviews, our guests use fake names so often we have begun to think we are interviewing fugitives from the law.  We had, of course, received multiple emails about something called “Realid” from Blizzard – but we receive so many fake missives pretending to be from Blizzard (Phishing expeditions) that we assume that they are all fake.  Not to mention that there wasn’t much reason for me to concern myself with it. I did, of course, scan the messages from Blizzard to determine if they are real or not, and found one tell me I could “friend” other players using my “Real ID” (real name).  I dismissed it nearly immediately. After all, the person I travel the virtual highways and byways of Azeroth with the most sits across the table for me at breakfast every day – and if there is a question about my co-host’s identify at this point I am in BIG trouble.

So it is that I hadn’t paid much attention to the matter when I scanned through all the spams our filter catches each day and found one on the same subject by an irate Blizzard Customer.   Then I scanned the morning headlines from local news and saw comments on the subject by Keen from Keen and  Graevs , The Ancient Gaming Noob , and Scott Jennings over at Broken Toys .  But the best quote by far was simply a one liner….

Blizzard are about to ban themselves from their own forums.” – Melmoth. Killed in a Smiling Accident

As we all know by now…

And when I say ALL I MEAN all – when even the Washington Post  carries the same news it is either a slow news day or a big issue (I will assume it’s a slow news day).  The thing about the Washington Post carrying news from our favorite industry is twofold. First, it tells of how fast news travels around the global village that constitutes the internet.  If you miss a day it’s old news. Second is reminiscent of something a co-worker told me once. She said that by the time the suburbanites start using a phrase or catch on to a particular trend she knows its passé – the same goes for the main stream media covering mmo news for the most part.  For those of you who, like me, either didn’t care or had the audacity (as the No Prisoners, No Mercy Team did) to take the long holiday weekend off here is the official blurb from the official source:

The official forums have always been a great place to discuss the latest info on our games, offer ideas and suggestions, and share experiences with other players—however, the forums have also earned a reputation as a place where flame wars, trolling, and other unpleasantness run wild. Removing the veil of anonymity typical to online dialogue will contribute to a more positive forum environment, promote constructive conversations, and connect the Blizzard community in ways they haven’t been connected before. With this change, you’ll see blue posters (i.e. Blizzard employees) posting by their real first and last names on our forums as well. – Via Ars Technica, Source Post  

The Washington Post article was quick to point out that the angry replies are now over 2,000 pages long (and probably growing exponentially).

Two problems leap immediately two mind, the first and most important being the real identity of children (and like it or not those nasty teenagers that hurl epithets at you over general chat ARE LEGALLY children).  If there has not been some provision made by Blizzard to exempt children, especially young children, the whole concept of using a real identity is a class action law suit waiting to leap out at Activision (the deepest pocket in this case) and yell GOTCHA!!!

The second problem, I have already experienced to some degree.  It was recently mentioned by Scott Jennings over at Broken Toys:

Especially if you’re female. Because in the New Facebook Order, levelling while female is the new driving while black*. Of course, if you don’t want people to treat you differently for being a woman, you could just not post in the forums – Scott Jennings, Broken Toys

On occasion I have experienced this myself. One instance pops into mind immediately – I was fishing Azeroth when this gnome walks up to me and drops a line in the water.  It doesn’t take long for the trash talk to start (this was back in the days when I was delusional enough to play a Night Elf).  The youth of the player behind the pixels, whether physical or mental or both, became immediately apparent. When I pointed out to the young man in question that I am, in fact, an overweight middle aged nun and no doubt old enough to be his mother there ensued a long, long pause…followed by short gnome feet running speedily away.

As to the rest, there is an old adage that says “boys will be boys” – followed quickly by what should be an addendum to the adage:

Asshats will be asshats.

Real name or no, Blizzard is right about one thing – the official forums of any game have so many flames that the Great Chicago Fire pales into insignificance.   Real name or no that will not stop until the asshats find out just how perceived is the perceived anonymity of the internet.  Real name in hand it is a relatively easy thing to find just about anyone. And when someone says on the forum “if you don’t like it come and get me” eventually some will. 

In the end analysis real id doesn’t affect anyone here on the NPNM team personally.  No one here even reads the forums let alone posts in them.  Still, it makes for some interesting reading.

See you online,

Millard Filmore

[Posted for Millard Filmore by The Webmaster who will never give out a real identiy]

*Side Note:  For those of you living under a rock and haven’t heard of the expression “driving while black” a local example is a man who was stopped by a police officer from the Chicago Suburbs when he saw a gentleman of African heritage driving a Cadillac through his town.  The officer from reasons which I can only presume was prompted by insanity, assumed the driver had stolen the car.  The officer soon discovered that yes, the physician driving the car not only owned it but probably even paid cash and probably paid more in taxes than the kind officer made in a year.

No doubt you have all heard of the Man with No Name – the movie featuring tough as nails actor Clint Eastwood. Now meet the nun with no ass. No, not me…I still have plenty of ass to go around…and around, and around, and around.  The nun with no ass is my co-host Fran who worked it off over the Fourth of July Weekend.

Yes, she still did the usual holiday routine: cooking enough food to feed the Eighth Army and scouring the house (and ensuring the occupants did the same) until they all met what we call “Fran specs” (a standard of clean that would make even an Army Drill Sergeant shudder).  But once the fireworks died down, including the neighbor who apparently raided same said Eighth Army armory for what must surely have been a Howitzer Cannon based on the strength of the explosions….

Once the uproar was settled down there was still work to be done.

Yes I refer to the fact that no sister has greater love than she, a dedicated hordie, work her buns to the bone leveling up a night elf druid 10 levels so she can team up with me -  Now THAT my friends is sisterly love.  This is a woman who tanks with a tough Tauren and loves every bit of it.  This is a woman whose level 80 healer lives the expression “once you roll troll you never re-roll.”   Yes, same woman who death knight kicks butt and takes names agreed to level up a front flipping, rail thin, valley girl night elf who is so saccharine sweet those who group with the character risk instant diabetic coma.  And the toughest part of it all is that it was one of my characters, left languishing on our family account after I saw the light and wisely decided to roll troll.

And what made all this possible?

A wonderful new game mechanic introduced by Blizzard I call the “O.K. play nice kiddies system.” That works like this….

The functionality of the Vote Kick feature in the Dungeon Finder will now behave differently according to a player’s history with the system. Players using the Dungeon Finder who rarely vote to kick players from a group, or rarely abandon groups before a dungeon is complete, will find that the Vote Kick option will have no cooldown. For players who frequently abandon groups or vote to kick other players, the Vote Kick option will be kept on a cooldown. This functionality will adjust itself as a player’s behavior while using the Dungeon Finder changes. – WoW Patch Notes, Patch 3.35

The ever so wonderful result is much like the opening moments of the commercial for Life Cereal with that urban legend Mikey.

Gnome Mage: You kick the tank.

Healer: No YOU kick the tank.

Gnome: I’m not going to kick the tank, get Mickey to do it, he doesn’t care if he gets kicked or not, he’s a hunter.

And so friends, let us pause for a moment and stand in a well deserved ovation to the developer that thought up this wonderful addition to World of Warcraft. Yes, let’s cheer as we utter those words that are so well deserved…

What took you so long?

See you online,

Julie Whitefeather

Side Notes

Do you play Star Craft?  I am not aware of anyone on the No Prisoners, No Mercy team who does play Star Craft. However we received an email (see below) today from someone who wants to give YOU (or at least one of you) a copy of Star Craft II.  So what say you? Is there an interest amongst you to win a free copy of Star Craft II from Henley Chiu at Sunbr.com? 

Let us know.

Hi there,

I’m the founder of Snubbr, a recommendation site. We’re interested in giving away a free copy of Starcraft 2 to 1 of your readers as part of a giveaway/contest when it comes out. Would you be interested?

We’ve done many giveaways in the past (just Google us up). We could setup the giveaway such that your readers have to leave a comment, and maybe answer a question such as “What are you looking forward to the most about Starcraft 2?”. We then will pick our favorite comment, and mail him/her the copy when it comes out. Let us know if you’d be interested. =)

Henley

Snubbr

 Mind you no one here knows anything about Henley Chiu, nor Snubbr.com.  Here is what we found out:

Linkedin profile

It’s like running with a pack of lemmings that never quite reaches the proverbial cliff…like the ever read/energizer bunny they just keep going, and going, and going…

So here we are again.  On the cusp of the great outpouring of hype, or hope, that is the release of every new game.  Yes of course eventually there will be Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic.  But now we are all anxiously awaiting the news of the big one…

World of Warcraft – Cataclysm

The release of the changes that Blizzard once said would never come.  Remember back when the powers that power the mighty Blizzard 800 ton unbeatable zombie gorilla said they would never redo classical “old world” Azeroth? Yet here we are – and I am as excited as the rest of you (well the rest of you who don’t loathe WoW with the burning passion of a thousand suns). 

Even back when I had just about had it with WoW, between the neck deep asshatery that has become the pick up groups who rate your armor like a credit agency scores your credit…

Even through the days of “getting keyed” for instances in Outland – back when Jeff Kaplan said sure you could skip Karahzan “but enjoy storming the castle”.  Yes those were the days, back when static groups had membership so closed it would have been easier to sneak into the gold vault at Fort Knox.  Those where the days back when even Jeff Kaplan admitted the keying process was tearing apart guilds wholesale (I was in a few guilds that it ripped to shreds).

Yes even then…

Even then there was still that siren call in the back of my mind.  Something that said, “yes other games are fun but what happens in this one really matters.”

Of course nothing could be further from the truth, and if you think those guild mates of yours (with rare exception and I know more than a few) are true blue friends ask them to help you move…as in back up the truck to your driveway and start hauling them cardboard boxes.

Yet just like everyone else I am back again, chomping at the bit like Secretariat about to run the third race of the Triple Crown.  I think the big difference this time is that Rob Pardo has been listening to our show and decided to take our suggestion. 

Yep. You read that right.

Back before anyone said, “hey wouldn’t it be great if…” Fran was listening to me clamor for a chance to play a goblin hunter named Inktomi. (Don’t even think about taking the name I already have a character with the same name).  Now is the chance, and soon is the time.

Exciting times ahead.

See you online.

Julie Whitefeather

I have been gearing up this week – more on that later.

But I am not the only one, gearing up. Washington has been gearing up, while Internet providers are attempting to tighten their fist around the lines that hold together the global village.

Tightening the fist

This morning’s news feed included an item from Politico.com that Congress is busy tightening their fist around the internet . Regular readers will know about what is now called the “Lieberman-Collins-Carper cyber security bill”.  The Senate Homeland Security committee is, apparently concerned over the mistaken impression it feels that the public has that the bill gives the President of the United States a kill switch.  Politico.com is reporting that “the three lawmakers will offer a manager’s substitute that would require the president to obtain Congress’s permission in order to declare a cyber security emergency and take control of crucial IT systems for more than 120 days.”  I am sure that we don’t need to belabor the point (but I guess we will) that this of course means that the bill would give the President of the United States permission to simply shut down the internet…

Oh pardon us, “take control of crucial IT systems” for FOUR MONTHS without anyone’s permission at all.

And who, I wonder, gets to decide exactly what constitutes a “crucial IT system” – and we are still wondering about what is no doubt the myriad “hold harmless” clauses in the bill.   It sounds like the bill gives Carte Blanche   to a handful of power hungry politicians..  

Opening Closed Doors

Remember those “public” hearings held early this month by the FCC to decide on what action should be taken to regulate internet providers intent on bring scaling rates to their customers (read charge what they please, and shut down who they will).  It seems that it only took an advertisement in the Washington Post by a group called Free Press to bring the meeting out in the open. Here is an excerpt from an article you can read here:

“FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s top deputies are meeting behind closed doors with industry lobbyists to cut a deal that would effectively hand over control of the Internet to Verizon, Comcast and AT&T,” the Free Press statement said. “President Obama, you promised to take a ‘back seat to no one’ in protecting Net Neutrality and free speech online. Don’t let our Internet go the way of Wall Street and the Gulf of Mexico.” – Game Politics.com

 What do you call a football stadium full of lawyers?

Sounds like the start of a joke doesn’t it?  The answer in this case would be attorneys for the defense.  An article that recently crossed our news desk () has us wondering if court would be held in a football stadium as the judge uttered what would be history making words:

“Will the defendants in rows A through F please rise?”

It seems that a group of Virginia lawyers calling themselves The US Copyright Group, has told a Federal Judge that “they ‘see no problem’ with suing 5,000 Bittorrent users as John Does.” Here is an excerpt from the article:

“The firm also said that it is doing all these John Does a ‘favor’ by giving them the ability to defend the case in one jurisdiction, combine or join other Doe Defendants’ filings and the ability to receive ‘uniform decisions by the Court.’ Lawyers doing people “favors” seems as alien as clowns doing roadwork.” – Game Poltics.com

Gearing up subscriber rates

Move over Blizzard…Gamasutra reports  that Wizard 101 has reached 10 million registered users in 20 months. The catch, is that this does not equate to 10 million paying customers.  There is no denying, however, that Wizard 101 is a tremendously popular game (one member on staff here played it for one day…but we will never tell who) – and as long as the bottom line stays in the black, the game is gold.

Getting My Ass in Gear

Welcome to the family…welcome words as long as it is not being said by someone with connections to a certain criminal organization which I am certain does not really exist.   But when those words are accompanied by a big hug, and spoken by someone who is not referring to a recent marriage, they are especially comforting – especially if you have ever reached the point in your life when you had no family (I have).  One of the best qualities, about what is sadly the most least appreciated aspect of life, is that family is what, and who, you make it.

So what you might ask, has any of this got to do with mules with gear shifts?

Quite simply this…recently the words above gave me pause to consider other definitions of “family” no matter how nebulous or even, perhaps, dubious.   A guild (at least those few rare shining examples) can be like a family – even if only in some tenuous way (and if you don’t think those particular ties that bind are tenuous, tell a guildie you live near him and ask him to help you move).  You might also extend this thinly stretched definition down to a roster of characters (especially in those of us who have very prominent cases of “alt-it is”).  

Think of it this way: the first character in your roster to the level cap is like the patriarch or matriarch of your virtual family, doling out the virtual dough as the character supports the alts coming up through the ranks.  But what happens when someone who normally abhorred the horde suddenly discovers the friendly faction  that has all the action?  When Blizzard creates faction transfers, those matriarchs that supported the alts suddenly “bleed away” leaving the lower ranking characters in the lurch.  Now this may not be a problem for many a month, if ever. But there is always the possibility (as I discovered) that one day you will be waxing poetic about the reminiscences of places like Ironforge and Stormwind – places which would now hand you your ass, but not until wearing it around as a hat for awhile.

Such are the circumstances in which I found myself upon my recent return to World of Warcraft (WoW).  Our regular listeners to the No Prisoners, No Mercy Podcast know that my cursor has hovered perilously over both the delete character and close account keys on many occasions.  However it was not badgering, beleaguering, or bemoaning  by my co-host that brought me back. Rather it was show 64, recently recorded with Saylah from Mystic Worlds about why people continue to hear the siren song of WoW and return again and again. And so I found my level 45 “super, mega, ultra lightening gnome” warrior suddenly cast into the cold harsh world of the Alliance side, forced to fend for herself.

Ah but it is the challenge of getting my gnomish butt in gear (and good gear at that) which serves as the impetus for many an enjoyable hour of gaming – that, and the fact that my co-host, who is my own dear sister, sister, mother superior, spends many an hour gaming with me.

In the end, family is who you make  it, especially if it is a level 38 night elf druid played by your own sister.

See you online,

Julie Whitefeather

(posted for Julie Whitefeather by The Webmaster)

UPDATE:

Here is the latest from Politico.com regarding the fiasco going on with what is now called the “Cybersecurity” Bill (I call it the “Big Brother” Bill):

MCCAIN’S MOVE ON CYBERSECURITY – The Lieberman-Collins-Carper cybersecurity bill may have cleared the HSGAC unanimously on Thursday, but that didn’t stop one of the committee’s members from signaling his concerns with the bill. John McCain said he ‘had to be convinced’ that cybersecurity reform requires an expansion of government.

The senator took aim at two items in particular: the bill’s creation of a White House-level cybersecurity position and its hiring and training provisions. McCain then filed amendments that would scrap the first position while requiring DHS to deliver a report on its hiring needs. Curiously, the senator did not officially pitch either amendment for a vote; an aide to McCain said Thursday he planned to ‘wait until the floor to try to amend the bill.’

Gnomercy:  Hi there.

Guild: (no response)

Gnomercy: So what? Is this a voluntary vow of silence from everyone?

Guild: (no response)

Gnomercy: I’m riding my mechanostrider and I’m naked.

Guild: o.0

Gnomercy: You know I have been dating King Bronzebeard.

Guild: (no response)

Gnomercy: But I think I may have to break it off. I think he’s been cheating on me with Thrall.

Guild: (no response)

Gnomercy: O.K. I will be back later, but try and keep it down in hear will you? The noise is deafening.

This last Saturday, Saylah from Mystic Worlds, my co-host Fran and I whiled away an hour or so discussing World of Warcraft  (WoW) and why people hearken to its siren call, returning time and again.  In the early days of Warhammer Online, then Mythic Entertainment chief Marc Jacobs got into a tiff online with Blizzard execs over virtual tourists from WoW playing Warhammer Online – in retrospective it looks like Blizzard was right. Still, even Rob Pardo once attributed the large player base of World of Warcraft to an ever revolving player base, rather than a static one.  Whether WoW has a static player base, or one that rotates so fast it could break the sound barrier, there is no denying that it has more staying power than Barry White .

So while Ravious from Kill Ten Rats has his day in front of the microphone (show 63 being edited now), E3 gets into swing (I wonder if EA will have any phony demonstrations this year) and the Lotro free 2 play model becomes old news (which means this is about the time the magazines pick it up) – I decided to “take a walk on the wild side.”

Mind you most of my life has been on the wild side to begin with. However, the particular side I am talking about is the Alliance side.  Yes, as most of our listeners and readers know, my mainstay of play in WoW has been horde for some time now.  This is, of course, why I have been want to quote the following phrases …

Once you roll horde you never get bored.

Once you roll troll you never re-roll.

Ah my friends, there was a time when the horde was merely a mystery.  There was a time when I was firmly entrenched in place with names like Stormwind, Ironforge, and the flames of Molten Core ensconced many a player as it was the highest instance in the land. Then came the fateful day when I rolled up a hunter and entered a battleground. And the rest, as they say, is history. I do, of course, have alts (including one named Vashj who is forever stuck on the Whisperwind server). There are even a scant few Alliance side alts that languish forgotten, never having seen the process of changing factions (and believe me I would rather pay the 25 dollars than go through the Everquest 2 betrayal process again for the umpteenth time).

So it is with some trepidation that I stepped outside the boundaries of the horde and stepped into the shoes of my gnome warrior Pharthing (below)

My first shock was that after over a year I was still in the same guild. The first play session (see above dialogue (or lack thereof) showed a possible reason why.  Since I found myself in Booty Bay anyway I decided to start my short time in short shoes wandering the woods of Feralis.  The saddest sight was a barren Barrens – totally devoid of any life that was a collection of artificially intelligent pixels.  No, the land that was once the home of the now infamous “Barrens Chat” is now so empty you could shoot a cannon down the middle and not hit anyone.

O.K. that I half expected – but as I wandered the wide world of the pre-Burning Crusade WoW that some call “Classic” or “Vanilla” WoW I found the only life where I expected to find it…outside of the banks in Ironforge and Stormwind. After all, “bank sitting” is a long time tradition that heralds all the way back to the days of Ultima Online when it was a market place because no one had yet thought to include an auction house in an online game.

And so my great Alliance side experiment ended with a whimper and not a bang.

Still, it gave me pause for thought of the fate of what was once a vibrant (albeit virtual) land full of pixilated players. This, of course, is fuelled by the fact that the NDA for a recent press event concerning the next WoW expansion (Cataclysm) was recently lifted and is covered here. The news has brought about a bit of ballyhooing by some of my favorite bloggers. (Well, perhaps more of a “downroar” than an uproar). The big news here are the words “Path of the Titans has been scrapped.” Instead the good folks at Blizzard (and here I exclude Messer Bobby Kotic – Yes I know he’s Activision but I had to fit that in somewhere) have chosen to “overhaul” the glyph system instead.  The welcome news (at least from my point of view) where those that followed on the heels of this news…

“Medium glyphs will be fun/cosmetic glyphs.” – Blizzard

If nothing changes with Cataclysm but what we see in the video above, and being able to play a goblin, I will be one happy camper.

You see, from my perspective, not everything has to be an uber sword of uberness in order to be desirable. It doesn’t always have to enable me to sink the Aircraft Carrier Nimitz in a single blow.  Sometimes it’s good to remember why we play games in the first place. Now I do understand that there are many players into the minutiae of pvp that play to dominate people that might otherwise hand them there ass if they were to meet the player in person.  But for me the goal has always been to have fun. Sometimes fun is just charging into someplace like Molten Core with forty drunken dwarves seeing how long they can all survive. Sometimes fun is just zipping around Northrend and Outlands on the back of a broomstick cackling gleefully while you threaten to “get” players and “there little dog Toto too”.

More importantly it goes to show that Paul Barnett was right (gasp!) when he was on our show and talked about revealing plans for future development too soon.  He told us that as a developer, if you tell players you are “working” on something they will tell themselves (and everyone else) “O.K. it will be released next Thursday.”  Grandmother put it another way…Never count your chickens before they’re hatched.

So if all  Blizzard does (and here I use the term “all” facetiously) is re-cast the old world in a new light, with new art, a new landscape and 2,000 more quests I will be overjoyed.  But that isn’t all…oh no.  As I have always maintained (and said so on previous shows before Cataclysm was even announced) if Blizzard brings goblins to the game I will come back to WoW. Now, of course, our claim is that Blizzard is creating goblins as a playable race because Rob Pardo listens to our show.

That’s our story and we are sticking to it.

See you online,

Julie Whitefeather

(posted by the Webmaster for Julie Whitefeather)

Fran: Yes, you left the iron on.

Julie: What?

Fran:  Your thousand mile stare – its either combat fatigue or something’s on your mind.

Julie: I think Rob Pardo is trying to steal my soul.

Fran: Pardon?

Julie: It’s the only explanation.

Fran: For what?

Julie: I’m going to start playing wow…

Fran: Again?

Julie: Again.

Fran: And this from the woman who would rather drill her own teeth than play WoW? The same woman who, instead of playing WoW, once said she would rather crawl to and from work over broken glass and hot coals, uphill both ways?

Julie: Both ways…yep

Fran: What about free to plays like Allods?

Julie: Cash shop too expensive.

Fran: Age of Conan?

Julie: Frame rate too low.

Fran: Everquest? Warhammer?

Julie: You could set off a Claymore mine in the middle of the guild and not hit anyone.

Fran: Aion still too grindy?

Julie: Like a mill stone the size of Texas…and yes I know about perceived leveling speed – that’s how I perceive it.

Fran: Lord of the Rings Online, Star Trek Online?  Hit the level cap?

Julie: Like a brick wall.

Fran: I don’t have to ask about Eve Online – your love/hate relationship swings back and forth like a metronome on speed.

Julie: Tyrannis – not until June 8^th.

Fran: Guild wars? Dungeon and Dragons Online? Global Agenda? Final Fantasy? Lineage? What about Fallen Earth?

Julie: Nope

Fran:  None of them? Didn’t you just get done telling me you would rather remove your own appendix with a rusty spoon than go back to WoW?

Julie: Yep.

Fran: Know what I think?

Julie: What?

Fran: Rob Pardo is in league with the devil.

Rob Pardo?

But why Rob Pardo, you might ask? Why not Bobby Kotick – someone whose public persona makes him a more likely candidate to actually be in league with the prince of darkness?

The reason “why Rob Pardo” is because he led the team that designed World of Warcraft (WoW). In 2006 Time Magazine named him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. At the 2007 Blizcon, Michael Michael Morhaime, co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, described him this way in the opening speech:

“Because of your support, World of Warcraft has quickly grown to be the most popular on line game in the world. Since we were last together in Blizzcon ’05 the global population of World of Warcraft has actually doubled. There are now more than 9 million residents of Azeroth – that is bigger than half of the countries in the world.” – Michael Morhaime

Obviously we here at No Prisoners, No Mercy (NPNM) are not really inferring an association between anyone at Blizzard and the infernal legions.  Still, despite the many  times I have held a cursor hovering over the delete character button I am still paying a parking fee of $15.00 per month for not playing WoW – and I am certainly not alone.

Why WoW?

What is the Siren’s call that pulls so many to WoW? I have heard many reasons why. When Paul Barnett was on the NPNM Show he claimed that WoW was simply a fluke – in the right place at the right time. Someone in the Virgin Worlds Collective, who shall remain nameless (simply because I can’t remember who it was), argued that Wow “isn’t a great mmo, it’s a great game” (I am still trying to figure out what that means). Brad McQuaid tried to crush WoW back in his Sigil Games days.  Mark Jacobs (former Mythic General Manager) argued about virtual tourists from WoW in the early days of War.  The general chat channels of just about any mmo I have every played has trolls lurking about alternately singing praises or their hatred for WoW like some lovelorn or jilted lover. And the term “WoW clone” has been uttered so often I believe a large portion of the gaming populous has it tattooed on their forehead in reverse so they have to read it each morning.

We can debate the question “Why” until the mountain really does come to Mohammed and we are likely to have as many answers as WoW has subscribers – and that is more than the population of half the world’s countries.

My reason?

WoW is McDonalds.

Think about it.

I have been to McDonalds all over the world and I always know what to expect.  The famous “Scottish” food may not be the best, and certainly not the healthiest, to ever cross a dinner table.  It may not be elegant, but it is palatable and always consistent.

And WoW is the same way.

We all expect an MMO to launch on a sea with at least a few ripples in it.  Yet how many times have we seen a game reach the one year mark and still have more bugs than an “Orkin Man” sees in a year? Whether it’s to try and lure back wayward customers, squeeze more money out of the game, or inadvertently throw good money after bad we even see developers/publishers release expansions when the basic game is still not stable.

Yet whether it’s an expansion for WoW or Star Craft II you won’t find a DRM (digital rights management) that looks like a policy that was issued by a prison system. It may look like it was drawn by Disney instead of DaVinci, but the game always runs as smooth as a puppies bare behind, even with a video card that is beneath the latest generation of Nvidia graphic cards.

So in the end, Rob Pardo certainly isn’t likely to be in league with the devil, but he just may be in league with McDonalds.

See you online,

Julie Whitefeather

Post by The Webmaster for Julie Whitefeather

By now I am sure those of you who are on this side of the equator have heard that Blizzard has banned 320,000 players for “abuse of unintended mechanics and/or use of third party programs.” If not you can read about it here.  As many developers and publishers are aware (and some painfully so) that is more banned accounts than some mmos have players. When Paul Barnett was on the No Prisoners, No Mercy show he called World of Warcraft (WoW) “an anomaly”.  As for me I tend to think of it more has the 1 ton zombie gorilla that nothing will kill. Who can explain it? One theory has it that both Bobby Kotick and Rob Pardo are in league with the devil.  A more plausible possibility was once suggested by Rob Pardo himself in an interview.  The explanation given by the man himself was that the enormous subscriber base was not static at all.  The same players that where playing the game at its start, he said were not the same playing now.

Still, no matter how you slice the Blizzards subscriber pie, as Humphrey Bogart might have put it, “The problems of two gamers don’t amount to a hill of beans in this world.” 

So whether the decision was a rage quit, well thought out, or matter of years long procrastination, Blizzard probably could care less I decide to tell them to “take a hike”.  And that leaves me wondering what the Blizzard gorilla would have done had they made the catastrophic billing error that Mythic did not that long ago. Would they apologize, as Mythic has done ?  Or would they have left it at “sorry for the inconvenience.”

Richard Garriott was correct when he described end game in World of Warcraft as a “system of inventory management.”  He was not, of course, correct when he called it “the harbinger of failure”.  However, greed only works to a point.  While there might have been a time when I cared about a better suit of armor and sitting in front of the bank astride my shiny new dragon those days are LONG GONE. And the advent of the recent popularity of “my starry little pony” only served to accentuate the point. Couple that with a side effect of a more casual player friendly WoW (or perhaps casual player TOO friendly WoW), of WoW Radio founder Total Biscuit often speaks, and you have a recipe for boredom.

On a side note, if you haven’t been out to see Total Biscuits’ new site, The Cynical Brit, you definitely should. You might agree with him, or disagree with him, but he is always entertaining. And I should point out that when even a casual player like me has “seen it all” that means the game just might be a bit too casual player friendly.

RMT : Have it all?

While I may have quit out of boredom,  the 320,000 players mentioned above our being banned  because they got caught…call it red handed, with their hands in the cookie jar, or with their pants down, depending on your metaphor or choice.  While first time offenders will eventually get time off for good behavior (after a 30 day cooling down period), the rest are not so lucky.

Of course, 320 thousand players did not get the ban hammer for buying nor selling gold. Still it is ironic that while RMT gets a player the boot in WoW, it is acceptable in Eve Online – to a point.  The good folks at CCP don’t mind if you buy and sell Isk (the virtual currency of Eve Online) as long as they are the brokers. 

The Way it works

The way it works is that you go out to the Eve Online web site, log on to your account, and click the button that says “buy plex”.  One “plex” is the equivalent of 30 days game time. When you log in to the game you will first reach the character selection screen.  Once the requisite hour waiting period has expired after the purchase is made, a small gift wrapped package icon will appear at the bottom of your screen.   If you click on the icon you will be able to select the character you want to receive the “plex”.  In game it appears like a small gold credit card in your inventory.  The plex cannot be moved from the location where it appears. This is to prevent it from being stolen by other players.  The plex can be sold at auction.  Currently one plex is going for about 300 million isk.

Have a ball?

There are positive points to this system.  The most obvious, of course, is that it allows CCP to control RMT in its game.  The second, and perhaps less obvious, is that it gives players a chance to participate in areas of Eve Online that would normally be closed to them. Let’s face it, not every player has the virtual income equivalent to the GNP of the United States. Buying two plex allowed me to train for the higher level skills that currently cost in the range of 45 million isk to 92 million isk. It will allow me to participate in higher levels of industry. And that is at once, both an aspect of the game that no other can match, and one which the next expansion, Taranis due out May 18 of this year, will emphasize. 

The only down side is that it tends to take some of the enjoyment out of part of the industrial side of the game of which I have written several times, and that is mining.  It was quite a moment in the development of my character when I could go out with my hulk, settle into my favorite asteroid belt, and pull 1 million isk plus worth of ore out in one load. Even though the entire sum is earmarked for training and an industrial ship, somehow it seems to take the solar wind out of the asteroid mining belt.

In the musical “Fiddler on the Roof” Tevye dismays not being a rich man and sings “because when you are rich they think you really know.”  I could begin in many ways, such as pointing out the difference between God’s Wisdom (by whatever name – pick one) and man’s wisdom.  Instead I will simply begin with my grandmother’s definition of a “big wheel”…

“A big wheel is something that goes around and around in circles, never gets anywhere, and little dogs pee on it.” – Dee Rankin

Now I have no idea if the author of the book described in the article World of Warcraft Perdicts the Future, by Samantha Murphy considers himself a “big wheel” or not.  I mention this only to point out that if any given individual can pull out what they themselves, or others consider some “badge of authority” there is a tendency to think to oneself “well then they must really know.” The reality of the situation is that the difference between a Plato and a New York City Cab driver is that Plato had a better publicist, and the cab driver had more time to think about the issues.

 That said, a friend in the video gaming industry sent this link to me recently.

Author Samantha Murphy summarizes the premise of the work being discussed by saying, “sociologist William Sims Bainbridge argues that the online game World of Warcraft portends the future of the real world.” Author Bainbridge eventually makes the point, “WoW might exemplify that kind of post-religious future.” Lest I be accused of pulling that last phrase out of context here is the entire paragraph from the article:

 Maybe we will move to a time when we no longer make a distinction between belief and the suspension of disbelief. The difference between faith and fantasy might not have been very distinct in ancient times, and it’s possible that we will move towards a time when instead of religion, people’s hopes can be expressed in something that’s acknowledged to be a fantasy but also, on some level, sort of real. WoW might exemplify that kind of post-religious future.

 Where the entire premise falls flat for me is in the very first paragraph of the article:

 And we actually have good reason to believe that people who play computer games are, on average, much less religious than the average person in society. I tend to think that fantasy literature in general inspires people to believe that the traditional religions are fantasies too.

The good professor apparently admits to playing World of Warcraft (WoW) for 2300 hours, but he doesn’t say over how long a period. However long it is, the gross generalizations made lead me to believe he really does need to get out more.  As much as people involved in gaming journalism like to think of the “typical” player as being a 12 year old, chained to a five year old computer, locked in his mother’s basement where his mother sends him a box of sunshine once a week, this is far from the truth.   There are many things that WoW has done to the video game industry. The one thing it has done for the video game industry is change the nature of the market altogether.  The personal experience I have found after years of first hand contact with everyone from players to producers is that the industry and their target markets consist of as cosmopolitan a cross section of people as the real world.

Where the entire premise falls flat on its face, rolls into the gutter, and slips into the sewer is with the following sentence:

“I think that fantasy literature in general inspires people to believe that the traditional religions are fantasies too.”- William Bainbridge

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.  I will be the first to admit to my being colored by my own position in life. However, I must say, that the 2 masters’ degrees and a 126 I.Q I possess doesn’t mean I have a firmer grip on reality than anyone else.  It might be easy to conceptualize all those around us in virtual worlds as hiding behind computer screens wearing tin foil hats to prevent aliens from stealing the brain waves, unable to somehow tell fantasy from reality. Quite frankly the thought that anyone might think of Rob Parodo, let alone Bobby Kotick as their creator gives me the screaming heebee jeebes.

I have spoken to many people in video games, such as the Australian grandmothers who played WoW simply to get their minds off the fact that a major section of their country was burning to the ground. I have spoken across a virtual front porch to a woman in Ultima Online who was, in reality, a battered spouse who had to take her children and flee for her life.  I have spoken with and prayed for soldiers on the front line in Afghanistan, including on young man who survived a hand grenade attack from five feet away.  This is the sort of contact I have had with real people in video games that leads me to believe that there just might be a possibility that the professor is looking at the world through rose colored glass peering down from an ivy covered tower…just maybe.

All this can in some way at least be plausible, until the article reaches the following interaction between journalist Samantha Murphy and the professor:

 In the book you say: “WoW may have the potential to become the first real afterlife.” How?

Every movement a player makes in WoW is recorded, even their interactions with others. The avatar captures their social self. To what extent the avatar is its controller is a philosophical question, but the avatar can outlive its creator and continue functioning in WoW as a non-player character (NPC). Research is under way that will make NPCs behave more like specific people.

Having read the last exchange I find myself forced to abandon “a possibility” and resort to “strong hunch” that the good professor has lost his mind…just maybe. I could, of course, be very wrong.

I have 4 toons actually, an 80 DK (death knight) Blood Elf, an 80 Troll priest, a 72 Blood Elf Warlock, and my latest toon, a 60 Tauren Warrior (tank spec). Well, the toon I’ve had the longest has to be my warlock, she is over 4 years old. WoW just recently had their 5^th anniversary, and she was created after WoW had been around for about 8-10 months….so she’s definitely my oldest toon. I remember when Sr. Julie and I first started the pod cast, and we were discussing Death Knights because they were just added to WoW, and we were talking about that quest you have to do as a Death Knight, where you have to kill a bunch of villagers. I was appalled! I was saying how “I could NEVER do THAT!” Julie just laughed at me and said “how can you justify being a nun playing a WARLOCK then?” and I replied that my warlock is like “Glenda the good witch!” much to the amusement of Sr. Julie and our listeners. I played my warlock and I enjoyed it to a certain extent. What I didn’t like was being so squishy that I got “one shotted” all the time in battlegrounds, and if a boss ever hit me it was over. Battlegrounds were actually such a sore point with me that a few times, I ranted pretty bad in battleground chat, and got myself kicked out of whatever guild I was in! I guess you can’t use the “f-word” in WoW without someone noticing (needless to say, no one knew who was actually saying those words, or they would be horrified)! It got to the point with me and guilds that every week I was in a different one. Plus it didn’t help that in every patch WoW was nerfing Warlocks into the ground. Then with that whole “keying” thing [EDITORS NOTE:  For those new to WoW she is talking about getting the keys to instances in outlands] and everyone pulling out their measuring sticks and shouting at me that I was supposed to be the top of the dps chart and wasn’t, well that didn’t help me want to play my warlock any either.

So, maybe 2 years ago, as a reaction to all the grief I was getting, I rolled up a Drenai Warrior. I liked seeing the new Drenai lands, but once I was out of the new lands into the “old” lands grinding away, it was hell. It got so bad that I abandoned my warrior completely when DK’s came out. Well, I got over the whole killing the pixels/villagers thing and rolled up a Death Knight. I rolled Blood Elf, in the new, “good” guild I was in, The Older Gamers, or TOG as known to many. I was REALLY happy with my DK! Finally, I had STAMINA, AND STRENGTH, AND PLATE ARMOR!!! Woo Hoo…I could even TANK instances and not get us killed!!! I was having fun, especially in Battlegrounds! But then Blizzard went and nerfed DK’s to the point where they make terrible tanks, and their dps is usually the lowest compared to mages and warlocks…so here I was again…stuck without a tanking toon. So, I went back to my “old” Drenai warrior. Almost as soon as they allowed faction changes, I went from Alliance to Horde. I do think that Horde is the side where it seems more reasonable people play. I have run into a few pugs that want to make kick them all in the butt, for the most part however, I really am happy I changed to Horde. Plus I changed from a Drenai to Tauren.

I had tried Tauren when WoW first came out, but didn’t like them so much. But with my Warrior, it’s different. Taurens LOOK like Warriors/tanks! They are big, they have that stomp ability that stuns the targets – it just works. I was also leveling up my priest, which I still play for raids, since priests are ALWAYS needed for raids. But aside from raiding with my priest, I’m playing/leveling my warrior. I never realized that the toon I really wanted to play the most was a tank. Now that I’m horde, in a good guild, and playing a tank, I’ve never had so much fun in WoW! I’m sure that other Warriors will tell me the drawbacks to being a tank, but so far, I can’t see any. Probably the ONLY thing that irritates me to no end is when I do PUGS and they pull out the measuring sticks. I’m always second to last on dps charts. But then last night I had a realization…tanks are supposed to TAKE damage, NOT GIVE damage. They need to hold aggro, which can be a challenge with some of the AoE happy mages/warlocks out there, but once I realized that, it didn’t bother me about them pulling out the measuring sticks. And what I have found is that when there are others who want to “off-tank” or more like “be the tank” but don’t have the stamina, gear, or talents for it, I just back off and let them tank…see how long they last…usually it’s not too long resulting in the complaint that I “didn’t hold aggro”! Well I’m not the one who charged in there wearing cloth armor, am I? The best part about being a tank, is that I just don’t have to put up with the BS that pugs give. Too much BS from someone in a pug and I’m outta there…faster than you can say “pug”!

You know, I have thought about it, and it seems to me that each of my 4 toons in WoW have some part of my own personality…I can be, and have been a healer in my life. I CERTAINLY have been a witch a time or two! I’ve got a side of me that I don’t like to show, which is the vindictive Death Knight side. But who knew, that I would most like, and most relate to being a Warrior/Tank! Years ago, I was going through probably the most difficult period in my life. I had been dumped by my fiancé who left me for a married woman he worked with, who’s own marriage was failing. I had dreams of being a wife and mother, and a graphic designer…it just all crumbled to the ground like old buildings in an earthquake. I remember very fondly, my mother who I had a strained relationship with before, came to my rescue. She couldn’t walk very well, she couldn’t breathe very well, and here she was at my Chicago apartment, struggling, puffing, up 3 floors of steep stairs in order to help me clean out my apartment and move back home with her. She helped me pack, she washed and cleaned, she held me while I cried, she was this tiny, frail, thin, sickly, monster-warrior soul of a woman who just would NOT let life’s troubles beat her down, nor her precious daughter! She put up with so much abuse from me in the past, yet here she was by my side, fighting off the depression that might have killed me if she had not been there. She showed me then, how much she loved me. But it wasn’t until I was her caregiver in the last 5 years of her life, that she showed me what a TRUE warrior is…she suffered ailments, and humiliations because of those ailments that would make most people crumble into a pile of insanity! Yet, she handled it all with such Grace as I have never seen. Yes, she had her bad days. She even yelled at me in a restaurant one day, something that made me burst into tears. But I realized that I was the ONLY safe target she had to unload on. All the suffering that life was throwing at her, she had no way to unload it, except onto me, the daughter she loved and fought with, and fought FOR …for so long. I forgave her; because she forgave me for all that I had done to her. That’s what a warrior is…someone who can take a beating and still smile – Someone who can take a beating and realize that we are all only human. Someone who knows that forgiveness is NOT just an option…it’s a shield, not just for the warrior, but for the person who’s hitting as well. So, of all my characters in WoW, I think I like being a Warrior/Tank the best, because I was shown by my mother, what it means to be a good warrior, to fight the good fight, and not let the sadness or suffering make you bitter and angry and mean.

To my mom, the best warrior I’ve ever known. Mom, I only hope that I can one day, be as good a warrior as you were! I love you.

Sr. Frances

Below are just a few things that I got sent via email, I thought they were really cute and might cheer someone up! Enjoy!

KIDS IN CHURCH
3-year-old Reese :
‘Our Father, Who does art in heaven,
Harold is His name.
Amen.’

A little boy was overheard praying: ‘Lord, if you can’t make me a better boy, don’t worry about it. I’m having a real good time like I am.’

After the christening of his baby brother in church,
Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was wrong.
Finally, the boy replied, ‘That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I wanted to stay with you guys.’

One particular four-year-old prayed, ‘And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.’

A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they
were on the way to church service, ‘And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?’ One bright little girl replied, ‘Because people are sleeping.’

A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson.. ‘If Jesus were sitting here, He would say,
‘Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.’
Kevin turned to his younger brother and said,
‘ Ryan , you be Jesus !’

A father was at the beach with his children
when the four-year-old son ran up to him,
grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore
where a seagull lay dead in the sand.
‘Daddy, what happened to him?’ the son asked.
‘He died and went to Heaven,’ the Dad replied.
The boy thought a moment and then said,
‘Did God throw him back down?’

A wife invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said, ‘Would you like to say the blessing?’ ‘I wouldn’t know what to say,’ the girl replied. ‘Just say what you hear Mommy say,’ the wife answered. The daughter bowed her head and said,
‘Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?’