Fantastic! I get home from work and discover that Patch 1.3.5 has been deployed! Then I check the Herald and find out that Badlands is now down for maintenance until 9pm EST. *sniffle* Aww hell, this is still the best news to hit WAR in some time! New City Sieges are upon us!! Woohooo!!!
So why are you still here? Get out there and WAAAGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!! 
Unless you are on Badlands or Volkmar, then you can join me as I…
As most of you have probably noticed, the volume of posts has gone down here quite substantially when compared to the torrid pace I was keeping last month. This is mostly due to my RL workload increasing and I find myself with much less free time on my hands. I really should be in bed since I have to get up for work in six hours, but I am a night owl by nature so what the hell…this is what I do.
So I was traversing the interwebs this evening and I came across a post that I think you should all have a look at. In it, Josh Drescher of EA Mythic, discusses some comments made recently by film critic Roger Ebert on the subject of gaming and whether or not it constitutes art. You can find Josh’s post here. I also have to admit that I have always enjoyed Roger Ebert’s work. He used to be the only film critic I would read, not because I always agreed with his opinion, but because his reviews consistently possessed a certain level of detail and insight that I always appreciated.
I got to learn his preferences rather well, and could usually gauge how much I would enjoy a film based upon what he had to say about it. So I also found myself a bit stricken when I read Mr. Ebert’s comments that spoke of games with such little knowledge or understanding of what it means to create them. I was certainly disappointed to see Roger Ebert speaking as he usually does, but lacking the typical level of intelligence that he often brings to his pieces.
In a broader sense, I find myself more and more puzzled by the general public’s idea that gaming is a hobby that belongs to the days of our youth and nothing more. Yes, I fondly remember a time when I feverishly played Legend of Zelda on the NES until the images were burned into my mind. I can still hear my mother complaining that she was being haunted by the Zelda theme song in her sleep.
I also recall when the Super Nintendo finally came along and cemented my love for this hobby, as I found myself staring with wide-eyed fascination at a controller that had more than just two buttons. Wow! Gaming was in its infancy in those days and my gaming history goes back even further if you can believe it…to a time when I slipped the little floppy disk into the computer and played that side-scrolling karate game whose name I can never remember.
But now we come to the present day, and dear heavens, how the industry has changed. Games are produced with million-dollar budgets nowadays. They have teams of people working on them that include writers, artists, animators, sound designers, level designers, musicians, and sometimes they even star well-known actors to provide the voices just like an animated film from Pixar. I imagine that Mr. Ebert would consider Pixar’s work art, and yet I have played some Bioware games that featured stories just as compelling as any film. While I played these games I was not simply a spectator, for I chose how the story would end. People would live or die because of my choices.
It beats the crap out of just sitting and watching a movie I always say, and it invests me on an even deeper emotional level because of my participation. So how is this not art? I’m still trying to figure out how Mr. Ebert could come to that conclusion, but his lack of knowledge on this particular subject tells me all that I need to know. In a way he sort of represents the public on this issue, as so many people cannot get past the stereotype of games being for children…or the media-driven concept that a gamer is only a person with no social life and no money, who lives in a hole somewhere and never sees the light of day.
I keep waiting for a Hollywood horror film where legions of socially inept gamers take over the world and force people to sit in basements so they can waste their lives away. Until recently, I have permitted myself to get all riled up over these common misconceptions. But anymore I just smile and take it in stride. Anyone who knows the history of art knows that it has often been associated with revolution. The art of a society speaks nearly as much about its values as anything else.
Gaming is a young and still has a long way to go. It is an art form searching for a wider audience and seeking acceptance in a world that doesn’t fully understand it yet. But we should give the world time. These things happen slowly with careful, hesitant footsteps…unless we all end up making enough noise to cause a thunder of revolution, that is. Until such time, those of us who know better can remind ourselves that many pieces of art have lived through a period when they were thought to be nothing more than rubbish, a fool’s fancy.
The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life.
William Faulkner
Many years from now I will look back at some of the wonderful games I have played and find that they will move for me once again. These games will still breathe and inspire, they will excite and thrill, for they are art come from motion and motion is life.
I have had very little time to actually play MMOs lately. I keep trying to log into AOC and get through the 70s, but more and more I feel like I am hitting a…
Is it me or could AOC have used another 70-80 area? I am getting sick of Kheshatta and I have found Tarantia Commons to be a little on the dull side. I am sitting at level 77 and am honesty thinking about using the Offline Leveling to take me the rest of the way. I try to log in and burn through some quests, but I get bored way too quickly because I am so sick of those areas. I really want to check out the expansion because people seem like they are having fun with it. I am just wondering if AOC really needed another 20-40 zone when we could probably have used a little love for 70-80.
Don’t get me wrong, as I do like that Funcom threw something out there for people who are new, returning, or running alts. But when I look at the balance of content and see myself not having very much fun in the 70-80 range, I keep thinking that something should have been added for those levels. They could even have started the first RotGS area at 75 rather than making it all for 80s. *shrugs*
Anyways, my WAR icon is glaring at me something fierce for neglecting it recently. So it’s definitely time to go get my WAAGGHH on I think. I have a young White Lion to level up, after all! I will mention one thing I have noticed in my time back in AOC when comparing it to WAR. I have truly come to appreciate the way Warhammer Online allows you to level from both PvE and PvP. I enjoy PvPing in Conan, but that halts the leveling process for me because I only receive PvP experience for it. In Warhammer, I receive both regular experience and renown for taking part in PvP.
I do love that system, I must say.
In a recent interview with Massively, Warhammer Online Producer Carrie Gouskos was asked if a boxed expansion was still in the cards for Warhammer Online. Her response, “Absolutely not out of the question, that’s certainly something that I would like. Expansion is a funny word, and it sets expectations in a certain way, but we also don’t plan on only doing specific patches going forward. That’s probably the best answer I can give you.”
To that all I can say is this…
After seeing all of the positive energy that the Rise of the Godslayer launch has infused into Age of Conan, I am more certain than ever that a boxed expansion needs to be in WAR’s foreseeable future. To be fair, of course, I am on the record as being very pleased at the direction WAR is heading right now. The Dev team hit up cities and I’m thrilled to hear that Open RvR is next on the list.
Everything seems to be moving along just as I hoped it would be, and I know that an expansion is not something that anyone on the WAR team would want to tease without being 100 percent sure that it’s going to happen. But here’s to hoping that internal conversations are going on somewhere about what a WAR expansion would look like and what features would best enhance WAR in the long term…*cough* third faction.
Gamers are a fickle bunch, and I hope that no one on the WAR team underestimates just how many players get bored and will come back to check out an MMO because of an expansion. The publicity alone would be like a breath of fresh air for a game that rose quickly, fell hard, and is now slowly but surely battling its way back to respectability. There are things to take care of first, such as Open RvR once the new City Sieges go live. So we must not lose perspective here and get ahead of ourselves.
I just hope that somewhere…somehow…the conversations on structure and design have already begun. Such an event would be a shot of adrenaline unlike anything WAR has yet to experience. There are plenty of bitter gamers out there who cast off WAR and believe it to be dead. Nothing would shut them up better than the announcement of new content via expansion. The players want it, the Devs want it, and the game needs it.
For my part, the best I can do is to continue writing about Warhammer Online and show people that not only is it far from dead, but alive and kicking with some of the best PvP action this side of the multiverse.
On a non-gaming note…with the closing of the Pittsburgh Penguins season last night, the oldest sports building in the National Hockey League (Mellon Arena) will be torn down this summer to pave way for the new home of the Pens right across the street at the Consol Energy Center. Mellon Arena was constructed in 1961 and originally held the name of Civic Arena. It was also the first sports facility in the entire world to feature a retractable roof. The huge, silver dome gave rise to the name “The Igloo”…which seemed fitting considering it was home to a team called the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Mellon Arena has given me more incredible memories than I could count. I watched the franchise languish in mediocrity until a young Canadian by the name of Mario Lemieux was drafted in 1984, changing both the team and the city of Pittsburgh forever. He ushered in a new era and lead us to back-to-back Stanley Cups despite numerous health problems and even a bout with cancer.
Mario so adored the city of Pittsburgh that he made his home here, holding dual-citizenship in both the US and Canada. Upon Mario’s retirement, Jaromir Jagr carried the team for quite a few years and several trips to the playoffs. But upon his departure the Pittsburgh Penguins would enter their dark years, when they were no longer a good hockey team and on the verge of leaving the city forever.
But the loyal fanbase rallied to keep them here, and with the help of Lemieux (who became the owner of the team) the Penguins crafted a deal to stay in Pittsburgh with a new arena built right across the street from Mellon. And so it was that in 2005, with the drafting of another young Canadian named Sidney Crosby, the Penguins would soar back to the stars once again. Far from his native home in Nova Scotia, Crosby would actually move in with Mario Lemieux and his family just outside of Pittsburgh. Crosby and Co. brought home another Stanley Cup in 2009 and look to keep the Pens competitive for many years to come.
There is a wonderful history within the halls of Mellon Arena. She will be dearly missed by both myself and thousands of others here in Pittsburgh. No matter how lovely this new building turns out to be, there will never be any doubt that Old Lady Mellon was our Igloo…and our home.
It does have its own way of reminding you that you’re not always in control, doesn’t it?
I have been busy, busy, lately…so much so that I have barely had the time to sit down and play me some WAR or AOC. I was finally able to get my hands on Rise of the Godslayer after that little side adventure, so I jumped into game for about an hour yesterday. I roamed through some of the zones in Khitai and checked things out, got a feel for the place. The aesthetics of the new continent work very well in my opinion. There is a wonderful sense of scale that is buoyed by the draw distance of the graphics engine. Only Vanguard can match AOC on that level.
But I wasn’t really able to play much, though I did take advantage of the Offline Leveling and bumped my Barb up to 76. Only four more levels to the cap, and the last ones are usually the toughest. Fortunately, I snagged the Collector’s Edition upgrade and now I have that 12 hour double-xp potion. So I will be saving that for a day when I can really sit down and let loose. I need to start working on my Bear Shaman (50) as well. I haven’t played that class much since I used my free level 50 to get him.
I had completely forgotten about that little perk. Once you get a character to level 50 in AOC, you gain a one-time ability to create another character who begins at level 50 instead of level 1. You gotta love little gifts like that, and it certainly brought a smile to my face when I realized that I had not taken advantage of it yet.
As for WAR, I think I will be alternating my time between my SW and my WL for the foreseeable future. I regret not being able to take more advantage of that double xp Mythic had going, especially for my Shadow Warrior’s renown. But life just gets in the way of your fun sometimes. I’ve had plenty of class work to tend to and it has kept me occupied lately. I am enjoying the Scout spec I have settled on, though, and Scout is still the most viable SW spec in my opinion. The others have advantages as well, but they just aren’t tuned well enough yet in my eyes.
Moving on to my young White Lion, I want to see how he feels once I get pounce. So it looks as though I’ll be starting the leveling grind all over again. I do wish Mythic would get the pat pathing smoothed out, as it still seems to be an issue and has been since launch. Other WLs are telling me that they alter their specs for large battles not because of actual strategy, but because the WL pet pathing is so poor it detracts from their efficiency and so they switch their spec around so they can still be viable.
That screams…
…to me. But as with all things, I will level up and see how it plays out for myself. That’s all I have for now. Happy gaming!
The Funcom/Account post was updated below for any who are interested. But I would still like to take a quick moment and do something that is not often done when it comes to Customer Service issues. Customer Service is a nasty job, all the moreso when you’re dealing with nerd rage. CSRs rarely receive any thanks or compassion from those they try to help, and when they actually do receive thanks it means an awful lot.
CSRs can also work long hours and usually don’t get paid what they should for having to deal with all that anger. So I would just like to say thank you to the Funcom Rep who assisted me and righted the situation. I do not agree with their policy, but I still appreciate the help in setting things straight. With that being said, it’s time to enjoy the new expansion. So everyone get out there and play already!
I will update the Funcom-account issue once I hear back from them. In the meantime, for the last few days I’ve been thinking about taking my White Lion up through the ranks. I am still enjoying my SW and always will, even if I think the class needs some tweaking. But the White Lion was a class I played back in Beta and enjoyed immensely, despite the various pet issues. The pathing was always a little wonky and it still looks to be as far as I can tell. Nevertheless, I always enjoyed the idea of a warrior charging into battle…brandishing a giant pole-axe with an armored lion at his side.
So how are the White Lions fairing these days? I’m sure I will get many and varied answers to that question, but I like to ask it anyway. At the end of the day, it’s usually best to just play what you enjoy rather than worrying about how the class is doing from a balance standpoint. I found the mechanic to be fun even with the pet issues, so that is probably reason enough for me to dive right in and start leveling him.
So perhaps I should rephrase my question. What White Lion specs are people generally using these days? Which ones seem to be the most effective? Come on, White Lions, let me hear you!
(Update #2)
Final Word
I will say this one more time, as it seems my criticism has incited a few people to come here and hurl personal insults at me. I’m still trying to decide which comment was the most hilarious, but I haven’t come to a conclusion yet. Anyways, my intent here was certainly not to insult anyone, though plenty of insults have been thrown at me for writing about this. But my fire shield is solid so I can take it. This was not an error on Funcom’s part, but a policy they have regarding any kind of payment on an account.
If a payment fails for anything….server transfer…name change…whatever…their policy is to freeze the account even if the payment has nothing to do with your actual subscription. That was part of the email they sent me explaining what happened, as you can see below. I don’t really think this is good policy, but that is just my opinion and you can take it or leave it.
On the upside, Funcom did do right by me and unfroze the account. So for that I thank them and for all the hard work they have done making AOC a better game for all. I can disagree with one of their policies and still enjoy their work. It is possible to do that in case some people are unaware.
So I don’t have much more to say about this other than I disagree with the policy. I would have no problem if they froze an account for a subscription payment failure, as that would make perfect sense! But their policy is to do so for any kind of payment failure. That just doesn’t sit right with me and I think they should change it. But all is well and Funcom treated me right at the end of the day by unfreezing the account, so kudos to them.
So trolls and non-trolls alike, get out out there and enjoy your expansion already!
(Update #1)
I just received an email from Funcom stating the following…
Greetings, Thank you for contacting Funcom Customer Support. I have removed your failed payment for the expansion upgrade and your account has been unfrozen. I apologize for the inconvenience. Anytime there is a failed payment for gametime or any other service, the account is frozen until the outstanding payments have been paid. If you have any more questions or concerns, please reply to this e-mail without changing the Subject line. Have a wonderful day.
Why would they freeze an account in the first place if a payment fails for something non-subscription related? That just doesn’t make sense. However, they did right the situation and unfreeze my account so I sent a polite email to thank them for doing so. This has nothing to do with Age of Conan, the game, of course. There are many hard working people who have been doing a great job at improving AOC and making it a fun place to spend some time.
I am proud of those people and the work they have done. Their dedication has helped AOC to grow and become a stronger MMO. But I have received a healthy dose of flame and insults for talking about this, but that really comes as no surprise. I understand that some people simply feel that they must jealously defend “their game” and the company that makes it no matter the facts or situation.
But as you can see…this was not an error…and while I do appreciate that Funcom righted the situation, I still think that freezing an account for a payment failure on something non-subscription related is a poor practice to have. But to each his own, I guess.
(Original Post)
So apparently, if you don’t buy the latest Age of Conan expansion then Funcom just freezes your entire account.
I don’t really know what to say about these guys anymore. I continue to give them chance after chance and they just continue to fall all over themselves. So let me catch you guys up. Recently, I bought a 60 day subscription card at Gamestop for Age of Conan. I applied the card to my account on May 3, 2010. So on my account page, it says that the next payment is due on 07-03-2010. Ok, everyone with me so far?
Now, I actually use a prepaid Mastercard for all my gaming transactions. This came in very handy when I got overcharged during the Mythic fiasco because I didn’t get hit with overdraft fees. Age of Conan’s expansion, Rise of the Godslayer, is being released today. I pre-ordered it directly from Funcom using my Mastercard, but was informed the charges would not go through until about 5-7 days before the expansion would be launched.
Unfortunately, something came up in RL at the last minute and I had to withdraw those funds from my card. Real life is more important than gaming, after all. No problem, I thought, the charge won’t go through and I will just have to wait until I get paid before I can buy and play the expansion. Oh no, says Funcom, because when the charge for the expansion didn’t go through they decided to freeze my entire Age of Conan account. I can’t play anymore.
I got an email from them this morning.
Dear Age of Conan customer, We are sending you this mail to notify you that your account was frozen on May 11, 2010. Since your subscription was not canceled, the reason for this freeze may be due to a failed payment transaction. Please log in to https://register.ageofconan.com to either purchase additional game-time or check for the following: * Check your card has not expired, if so please enter a new payment method under the “Change My Payment Option” menu-choice. * If you have been sent a replacement card by your bank you may also need to re-enter your details. * If paying via PayByCash: Check menu option “View my Subscription”, “View Subscription Payment History” to ensure that no action is required. * Check that your Billing Address matches the address your credit card is registered at. * Check that the available balance on your credit card is sufficient. * If all of these have been checked please visit the Check menu option “View my Subscription”, “View Subscription Payment History” and try to resubmit your payment. If none of the above helps you solve this issue, please send an e* mail to account@ageofconan.com including your account name (but not your password). Best regards, Funcom
Since I was unable to purchase the expansion they have decided to not only deny me the expansion (which is expected and fine), but they also think that I no longer have the right to play Age of Conan even though I already paid them for 60 days of game time. I give to you, the hilarity of my account page. Notice that they froze me today, but you can clearly see that I have paid them to play until 07-03-2010. Look under Next Payment Date…it shows July 3, 2010.
Alas, Failcom has struck again. I paid them for 60 days of game time and they froze my account just because a charge for the expansion didn’t go through. So let me ask a question to Funcom since they feel that I no longer have the right to play their game. Do you plan on freezing the accounts of everyone else who fails to buy the expansion, or am I just a unique case?
These guys must really hate money or something.
If this is some sort of account error I will let you all know and recant, of course. But stuff like this just burns me after so many years. This is not the first issue I have had with Funcom either, so that also increases my anger. They have some talented people working there but they just can’t seem to get their act together in the PR/Customer Service department.
In a special edition of Monday’s WTF, I would like to take a moment and talk about the recent new regarding Games Workshop, owners of the Warhammer property. It appears that they are now suing Curse for operating a website called Warhammer Alliance. Most people in the WAR community know that Warhammer Alliance has been a fan site since 2005. I remember stopping by there in the months building up to launch and taking part in the fevered excitement. I honestly did a double-take when I heard that they were being sued by Games Workshop, and I refer you to this post from one of the Warhammer Alliance founders.
Heya Folks,
For those of you whom do not know me, my name is Shelby Cardozo and arguably I’m the founder of Warhammer Alliance. I figured I’d pop out of the shadows and clear up some misinformation about the site, it’s history, and my dealings with Games Workshop.
Lets rewind to 2004 and remember the old Warhammer Online that was canceled by Climax Entertainment. Well in late 2004, there was a Warhammer community that refused to die ( WarhammerOnlineForums.com). Unfortunately however, the site admin for the WOF was on hiatus and slowly the site was having problems and the community was on the rocks.
Enter 2005 and Mythic Entertainment. It was early 2005, soon after my Imperator fansite was sunk that I offered to help out the WOFs. Specifically, I’d relaunch the site as Warhammer Alliance. The site was relaunched around August 2005 and believe it or not, the site had ads on it back then. Specifically, I knew that the site was going to get big and I knew that in order to keep the servers running when the site got big, that ad revenue would be required. So, the site was launched (with ads) and we all looked forward to a new Warhammer Online.
Things went fantastic. The community, the developers, we were all so excited. The site was growing and the community was having a blast getting excited all over again. Fast forward to late 2005 and an interesting phone and email conversation I had with Sanya Weathers of Mythic Entertainment and Erik Mogensen, the Licensing Manager for Games Workshop.
The topic of discussion, we didn’t have a proper disclaimer at the bottom of the site. So, I worked with Sanya and Erik to ensure we met standards that all parties would be happy with. We settled on the same footer you see today. “This web site is completely unofficial and in no way endorsed by Games Workshop Limited or Mythic Entertainment.” And an added a link
to a longer disclaimer.
This footer and disclaimer was agreed to by Games Workshop, the Licensing Manager and Mythic Entertainment.
Things seemed to be going great. In fact Erik even registered here at the site and granted us a some interviews. Read that again. Games Workshop was helping promote the site by doing interviews with us back in 2006. Here is a link to Eriks first interview.
Now, fast forward to today.
Games Workshop is suing Warhammer Alliance. Now, I’m not a Rocket Surgeon, but this lawsuit smells like Greenskin dung to me. In the suit they allege that they just became aware of the site. But they were promoting it in 2006, 4 years ago?
You see folks, Warhammer Alliance, even today is a news site. The staff here do Warhammer news reporting, original news and commentary. In the same way that AppleInsider.com covers apple products, WarhammerAlliance.com covers Warhammer Online. This lawsuit is really just a gross perversion of trademark law and I hope that Curse puts up a fight.
But hey, that’s just me. You guys are free to form your own opinions.
The link to the Official Complaint can be found here.
So I guess I’ll start off by saying…
That is my initial reaction after reading through the complaint filed by Games Workshop. I simply cannot understand their thinking here. They are attacking their fans for what…being fans? They are claiming in that very complaint that ownership of the Warhammer name is not established. Umm…read much? I give you the disclaimer link found at the bottom of the Warhammer Alliance webpage.
Disclaimer of Copyrights
This web site is completely unofficial and in no way endorsed by Games Workshop Limited. Age of Reckoning, Chaos, the Chaos device, the Chaos logo, Citadel,Citadel Device, Darkblade, the Double-Headed/Imperial Eagle device,’Eavy Metal, Forge World, Games Workshop, Games Workshop logo, Golden Demon, Great Unclean One, GW, the Hammer of Sigmar logo, Horned Rat logo, Keeper of Secrets, Khemri, Khorne, the Khorne logo, Lord of Change, Nurgle, the Nurgle logo, Skaven, the Skaven symbol devices, Slaanesh, the Slaanesh logo, Tomb Kings, Trio of Warriors, Twin Tailed Comet Logo, Tzeentch, the Tzeentch logo, Warhammer, Warhammer Online, Warhammer World logo, White Dwarf, the White Dwarf logo, and all associated marks, names, races, race insignia, characters, vehicles, locations, units, illustrations and images from the Warhammer world are either (r), TM and/or (c) Copyright Games Workshop Ltd 2000-2006, variably registered in the UK and other countries around the world. Used without permission. No challenge to their status intended. All Rights Reserved to their respective owners.
Games Workshop is also claiming that they have little knowledge of Warhammer Alliance, but their very own Erik Mogensen held an interview with Warhammer Alliance back in 2006 as stated in the above post. So I just don’t understand what in the world is going on here. Is this a money grab? Did Games Workshop have a change in management who decided that on second thought, to heck with those wonderful fans at Warhammer Alliance! It’s really hard to say for sure.
Games Workshop is even claiming that they could not contact anyone who works at Curse. This is in spite of the numerous links all over the site? I just don’t get it. One thing is for sure, though, this definitely qualifies for a WTF moment.
nightwreath
