Jim Moreno tackles the difficult task of roleplaying a merchant in this edition of RoleCraft: "Even roleplayers are known to struggle with this cookie cutter gameplay, and with keeping their characters from looking and acting just like every other character in game. What to do? One sure way to avoid the pitfalls of routine is to realize that there are many other classes in game besides adventurer. It's time to become a professional roleplayer!"
The weekly Grab Bag has been posted and, as usual, contains questions/answers gleaned from the official forums and announcements from developers.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
We have some more Road Trip dates to announce for you. We'll be in San Diego, California on July 26th just in time for the Comic Convention going on there. We also have our Austin Road Trip stop on September 13th. Our Road Trip map is still in the process of being updated, but more details will be coming soon.
Speaking of Road Trips, the Bethesda, Maryland one is almost here. Word here in the office says that there will be Devs-a-plenty at this event, so if you have a chance to be there, don't miss out! It is on May 10th and we would love to see you there. Please RSVP!
The players of Gaheris had such fun during last weekend's Play on Gaheris event that they are going to do it all over again this weekend. If you are a veteran or new to the Coop server it's a great time to get some playtime in. The list of raid times can be found here.
Do you believe you are an expert in your class? Well we've got some openings in our Team Lead Program that we are looking to fill. If you think you have what it takes, apply today!
The weekend is here. Have a good one everyone, stay safe.
Check out the questions/answers at the link above.
The latest Friday Grab Bag is available. As always, the grab bag features questions taken from forum users and sends out several announcements of interest to players.
The Camelot Road Trip rolls into Bethesda, Maryland on May 10th and starts at 7:00pm EDT. Free food, tons of prizes and of course an opportunity to test your knowledge with the Devs! We would love to see you there so don't forget to RSVP!
For those of you wondering when the next Team Lead Reports will be available, we've changed things up a bit. Every month we will ask a new Focus Question to our TLs and then sit down with the Devs to discuss and respond to them. If you are interested in seeing the responses to the February Focus Question please head over here.
The folks from PvE Ruleset want to remind you that their Play on Gaheris Weekend is coming up on April 25-26th. If you haven't had a chance to try out what the PvE Ruleset has to offer or if you are interested in returning to participate in all the fun, don't forget to mark your calendars. More details will be posted on the Herald during next week.
We announced the Load It Up contest Winners on Monday. We've had a great time sorting through them all and I heard more then one Dev giggle from their offices. The winning entries are in game now, so next time you are zoning to a different area you could be seeing one of the player submitted hints/tips or myths.
Check out the questions and answers at the link above.
Game Politics is reporting that, in an unusual move, Take 2 Interactive, facing a hostile takeover by EA, will be webcasting their upcoming stockholder meeting on April 17th.
The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 17th at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time and will be held at the W Hotel Union Square in New York City.
The most interesting part of the meeting, of course, will be the EA matter. Will the game publishing giant gain its desired majority position in Take Two? If it does, will it install its own board of directors at next week's meeting?
Jack Thompson is also clamoring for attention as a T2 stockholder and is demanding speaking time at the meeting. It could be interesting...
The latest 'issue' of the Camelot Herald for April 4, 2008 is now available. Packed with tons of questions taken off the official forums, the Grab Bag also features several announcement of interest to the community.
Q. I would like to ask you, if the Realm Ability "Mastery of Focus" has any influence on crowd control (My Healer has 36 in pacification)?
A. The Balancinator remained focused for your question and replies: 'Mastery of Focus' increases the level of all spells cast by the listed amount for out-right resistance purposes. 'Mastery of Focus' will not allow a spell to exceed the level 50 limit. The level of the spell and the level of the target are the biggest factors in determining out-right resists.
To answer your question: Yes, you will gain benefits from this realm ability in your pacification line. You will notice less out-right resists to your crowd control spells as you increase the levels to 50.
Check out the rest at the link above.
The patch notes for Dark Age of Camelot have been posted and are live on the servers. It's a huge laundry list of improvements, additions and bug-fixes, so hold onto your hat and click permalink to read it all.
With Version 1.93, we bring to you a major overhaul of our New User experience. All newly created characters will start in one of three areas, Constantine's Sound, Lamfhota's Sound, or Grenlock's Sound, depending on their realm of origin. These areas, revamped from our original tutorial region, will provide quests, adventuring, equipment, experience, and RvR opportunities for all characters of levels 1 through 10. The progression through these areas is fun and relatively quick, providing a useful learning experience and plenty of rewards.
The goals of this endeavor are two-fold. The first is to bring new users who come to Dark Age of Camelot together in one consolidated place, provide them with basic instructions, the necessities for leveling, and level-appropriate gear rewards. The second goal is to reduce the size of our trial download. If you are experiencing Dark Age Camelot for the first time, we hope you enjoy your stay!
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is certainly a highly anticipated game. So highly anticipated, in fact, that EA Mythic's GM, Mark Jacobs, thinks a million people will sign up for the beta...handily. Here is his statement about this on the Warhammer Vault forum:
Folks,
Actually, I'd be surprised if we didn't hit 1M once we start taking beta apps for our Asian partners. Even without Asia, based on our current sign-up rate, we should blow through 750K and we have a decent shot at 1M. Since we have already far surpassed my initial goal, I'm quite happy with what we have. And since I'm sure somebody will ask this, my goal, post EA, was to have 500K signed up in NA and Europe.
Mark
Have a thought about this? Let us know on our forums.
Electronic Arts tried to sweeten the deal for Take 2 investors by amending the original offer. Here are a few of the particulars:
The amendments are in light of the actions publicly disclosed by Take-Two on March 26, 2008, including its adoption of a poison pill and change to the date of its 2008 annual meeting of stockholders to April 17.
The principal amendments to the offer include:
- EA has added a condition to its offer requiring either (1) that Take-Two's Board of Directors redeem the preferred stock purchase rights issued as a result of Take-Two's adoption on March 24, 2008 of the stockholder rights plan, or (2) that EA be satisfied that such rights have been invalidated or are otherwise inapplicable to its acquisition of Take-Two.
- EA has extended its tender offer for all of the common stock of Take-Two until 11:59 p.m., New York City time on Wednesday, April 18, 2008, unless further extended. The offer was previously set to expire at midnight, New York City time, on April 11, 2008.
"The actions of the Take-Two Board may increase the risk for their stockholders by delaying a potential transaction," said Owen Mahoney, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at EA. "We continue to believe that our $26.00 per share offer price is full and fair, and that a transaction between Take-Two and EA is the most compelling combination financially, strategically and operationally for all parties."
EA commenced on March 13, 2008 its all-cash tender offer to purchase Take-Two shares for $26.00 per share, which represents a 64% premium over Take-Two's closing stock price on February 15, the last trading day before EA sent its revised proposal to Take-Two.
As of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on Thursday, March 27, 2008, approximately 5,000 shares of Take-Two had been tendered in and not withdrawn from the tender offer.
Next week should bring another round of salvos from both parties as Take 2 tries to hold off EA's hostile take over.
In an announcement today, Take 2 officially dismissed Electronic Arts' hostile take over bid:
TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE BOARD REJECTS ELECTRONIC ARTS' OFFER AS INADEQUATE
Recommends Stockholders Not Tender Shares at $26 a Share
Company to Begin a Review of Strategic Alternatives After Release of Grand Theft Auto IV
Company's Presentation at Bank of America Conference on March 26th at 2:40 pm ET to be Webcast
New York, NY- March 26, 2008 -The Board of Directors of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO) today announced that it has thoroughly reviewed Electronic Arts Inc.'s (NASDAQ: ERTS; "EA") unsolicited conditional tender offer with the assistance of its financial and legal advisors and unanimously determined that the $26.00 per share cash offer is inadequate in multiple respects and contrary to the best interests of Take-Two's stockholders. Accordingly, the Board recommends that stockholders not tender any of their shares to EA. The basis for the Board's unanimous decision is set forth in Take-Two's Schedule 14D-9 filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Click below to read other announcements made simultaneously (LENGTHY).
This week, Vice President and General Manager of EA Mythic, Mark Jacobs, told us how he really felt about official MMO forums: they're a breeding ground for obnoxious trolls and toxic flame wars. Not surprisingly, Mythic is forgoing this option for their upcoming Warhammer: Age of Reckoning, but is this the right decision? For this week's discussion, we want to know:
Do official MMORPG forums help or hurt the communities they serve?
Having spent too many hours lurking on the WoW forums, I think I understand where Mythic is coming from. How about you?
