Great Expectations: The News So Far...

     If you haven't seen it yet, the monthly update posted by Game Director Lindelu on Anarchy Online's forums was a big one:
http://forums.anarchy-online.com/showthread.php?t=598287

     I'll be sad to see the Org cities disappear from the landscape, as they were some of the most familiar landmarks to make for if you were under attack and needed a quick escape. While they were fairly uniform in structure, they still had to be set up by the org owner. This lent to a feeling of player ownership and the idea that players could control, in a limited way, the landscape around them. That being said, I am interested to see what the devs come up with to replace them. The fact that they are willing to make such drastic changes to the game, changes that every player will notice no matter what their level is, points to the fact that the devs very much want to improve this game and keep it going for years to come.
     A change I'm really looking forward to is the possibility of a new GUI. I've always had some problem or other with the current GUI, mostly accidentally dragging a portion so that it detaches and won't click back into place. I usually eventually get it to work, but not after spending a bit of time trying to remember what to do. Friending people is another area that could use improvement. Pretty much now you type in the tag: /cc addbuddy PLAYERNAME. It works, but then I'm spoiled by the City of Heroes option of right clicking on someone, or their name, and sending a request to either their specific toon, or their global name.
     The new GMS will be quite helpful to use on my paid account, which I re-upped for about a month. I like the idea that they are at least letting fr00b account players look at the what's for sale in the shops.
     Also, am I the only one who doesn't think a server merge is the death of a game? The devs have assured the players that they are looking to keep the game going and in order to do so, it would be better to move everything onto a newer machine.
     This is especially true when/if the new graphics engine hits. Speaking of which, a new teaser trailer was released for the graphics update (WARNING! This trailer involves strobing lights which may cause seizures or blackouts. Proceed with caution):
http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/10/feature/6234/Anarchy-Online-Fia-Tjernberg-Interview-New-Engine-Video.html


     From what I could glean from the trailer, everything looks good. While I agree that the current graphics are very old looking, I still like the cyber punk feeling the overall art design presents. This is a game that thoroughly embraces ugliness as well as beauty, which I find refreshing.
     Lately, I've been playing some City of Heroes. I've mostly been working with Matt on getting the Midnighter missions out of the way for some of my characters. In fact, I've always wanted to post some of my character bios from that game. Hopefully something to make note of for the future.

Furnishing Your Home Through Questionable Means

The Hallway

 

     Beneath the Aegean trees near a Rhinoman village, there is a man waiting to be mugged. His wife in Stret West Bank stands outside their small dwelling, a knot tightening in her stomach. She's waiting to see where her husband has gone, and to see if some kind soul might assist her in locating him. As it is, your apartment here on Rubi-Ka is looking a bit bare, and you have some time on your hands to help a desperate woman sick with worry for her husband's well being.

      You approach the young alien looking woman. She has a rather blank, thoughtless look in her eyes. Could she be thinking of him lying dead in a ditch somewhere?

      “Have you seen my husband? His name is Pietro Molla, 

Gianna Molla, the origin of the quest.

Pietro Molla, a jerk.

I'm afraid he might have been abducted by aliens.” You stop for a second, taken aback.

      “No, I don't recall the name, so I don't think I've met him,” you reply hesitantly. She goes on to describe him, but it still doesn't ring a bell. You can see she's desperately worried, and apparently the investigators she sent earlier have dropped the case without telling her anything. It's almost as if no one cares about poor Pietro. She goes on about how bad the aliens are and how she's seen them with her own eyes.

      You try to sooth her, “I know they are bad, but I haven't heard of any abductions, though!” Her belief unwavering, she tells you she's convinced some soldiers from the government are covering up the abductions by hiding all evidence of them.

      “Who are they? You don't really think someone is trying to hide what happened to your husband?” you ask incredulously. She seems to think Omni-Tek is responsible for the cover-up and may be responsible for the disappearance of the investigators she's sent after her husband. You offer to look for her husband for her. She's hesitant to involve you, lest you disappear as well. You assert that you aren't afraid of “them.”

     “Well, I'm very greatful for your offer to help me. Please be careful!Oh, and if you find him, and bring me some evidence that he's still alive, please bring it to me, and I'll make sure you get a little something for your trouble.”

      After a long run, you find yourself approaching the husband, and skipping the pleasantries, you simply shout hey and ask him if he is Pietro Molla.

     “That's correct. What do you want?” he asks, eying you suspiciously. You tell him you've been looking all over for him. It was quite a jog to get here.

      “Oh yeah? This has, of course, nothing to do with my wife now, has it?”his suspicions seem to be growing. He tells you this is something she would try. Apparently she's living in the denial with the fact that their marriage is over. Nothing more left to do or say.

      “No, your wife didn't send me.” Smooth. All the suspicion in the world can't save him now. He chuckles nervously and, reaching into his pocket, pulls out a gold ring.

      “Oh, well, what do you want? If you're trying to mug me, I can ensure you I have no valuables. Maybe except this marriage ring. I don't need that anymore anyway.” and he hands you the ring. Smiling, you thank him for his generosity. He goes on about a great burden being lifted from his shoulders and how great it is to be free. You have your own suspicions about this man's true wealth, both concerning his character and his material possessions.

      However, you can't stop to think too long upon this. The long trek back to Gianna lies ahead.

You at least have the heart to tell the woman about her husband. Indeed, she's overwhelmed with happiness when you place the ring in her hand and tell her he is on his way back. She's going to make dinner for him, but before she goes she gives you her reward. In fact, she's so grateful, she gives you her husband's This Means couch.

This Means Corner Couch

It just barely fits through the Wampa doorway, as you drag it through the portal to join the rest in your apartment. You may sell one, or two and even get a good chunk of credits in return. You know you can get at least 75,000 for one of the bars. It's a good life, and you plan to enjoy it in a fully furnished home.

      Thus I learned how to farm up credits by selling furniture in the Sci-Fi MMO Anarchy Online. There is a tutorial for the Gianna Molla quest which you can find here: http://www.ao-universe.com/index.php?id=14&pid=25
It's quite a bit tedious, and best done between missions.  However, with the free jetpack from the 10 Year Anniversary event, it's a bit faster to get through. This is also a timed mission, but as you have over 8 hours to complete it, it can be finished with plenty of time to spare. If your looking to really shake things up in the apartment, you can apply the furniture to just about any surface including the ceiling. 

Planted ceiling with Lava Lamps

You can also buy furniture at Uncle Bazzit's in Meetmedere. Be careful not to over fill your apartment with stuff. 

The Living Room

One of many paintings bought in Borealis.

A dark corner of the Living Room.

Martial Artist's Meditation Room

Jilnas meditating while sitting in a couch.

The glowing sculpture in the Meditation Room.

The regular apartments on RK can hold up to 30 items, after which any new item placed will disappear. The Luxury Jobe apartments can hold 100. Apparently in the old days, The Luxury Jobe held 30 and the regular apartments on Jobe and Rubi-Ka could only hold 10 items. I know very few people care about the apartments in Anarchy Online, but I have found it quite a bit fun along with adding an extra dimension of immersion to the game. And who doesn't want a couple of bars to come home to?

Two Bars

Behind Two Bars

The Tale of Mad Matt and the Union

      Listen my child and you shall hear...of how “Mad” Matt made some IRK members lives a little more interesting. We all have met those players, the ones who don't seem to pay attention to the chat channels and rush into trouble without preparing for it. Some of us have even done it ourselves, before we knew better. I've been gaming online with Matt since early 2009. On Anarchy Online, we belong to The Independent Rubikans org, now being run by our friend “Namiru”. Nam encourages us to help out others in the game and strengthen overall relations with the rest of the community.

      This story came about as we were in the middle of leveling our paid account characters in the Temple of the Three Winds static dungeon. Nam was on his Temple services toon, “Keepdafaith”, when a team of people from the Union org came to us in need of help gaining the Stygian Desolator.

      A marvelous, blade this thing is! It is the size of most people's toons (about five or six feet in game space), with a bright orange-red, curved blade. The description for it reads thus:

“...the path back to Paradise is lined with the bones of my enemies. Their screams soothe me during the long nights, when I dream of what I have lost. I laugh when I recall their writhing anguish, their groveling to please me, the hope that their suffering will be put to an end. But I feed from their anguish and the begging look in their eyes as they grovel at my feet, hoping for a cessation...“

      It is dropped by Aztur the Immortal in a room deep within the Temple. However, first, we had to fight our way through the bosses who spawn before Azi: Uklesh the Frozen and Khalum. And before them, we had Gartua the Doorkeeper, the Guardian of Tomorrow, and other enemies agging us. Which was everything. In ToTW, even if it's grey and several levels below you, it will attack. A lot of people don't even bother killing on the way out, but rather train all the minor enemies (and some bosses) up to the exit.

Now this was the first time Matt and I had ever heard of the Styg (as it is affectionately called). I remember Nam telling us about it over the Skype call we were on. He made mention that we were to let a specific person from the Union loot Azi's corpse when we were done, but a certain person didn't seem to be paying any attention. Matt was on his Martial Artist and was busy killing his way through the corridors with the other team members.

      We broke into the room and killed everything, then turned our attention to Uklesh. After the first two bosses fell at the alter, we found ourselves face to face with the big bad, himself. This was actually the first time Matt and I had faced any of the final bosses for the Temple. Nam and the other IRK members had warned us of trying to take them on. We managed to make it through Azi, but it was a close call.

      Then Matt rushed forward. Then Matt opened the corpse. The Nam and I heard Matt say, “Ooooo! What's this? Well no one's going to be using it, so I guess I'll take it!” In the chat window, the team saw the phrase: “ looted Stygian Desolator.” The Styg is, of course, “No Drop” and ”Unique”, meaning that once you pick it up, it's yours. There's no trading it to other players and no selling it to a shop.

      Our escort proceeded to flip out in the chat, “A MA?! Are freaking kidding me?!” Matt and I were promptly kicked from the team, and Matt's toon went on to commit obligatory seppuku. It was one of those Oh-Shit-What-Have-We-Done moments. We'd seen their members running around, so they were a definitely an active org during a time when even the biggest orgs lay barren, gathering dust. The last thing we wanted to do was make 'em mad. Fortunately Nam was able to run the Union members through again, after waiting for the lowbie escort to run back from the Shadowlands. In fact, one of the guys apologized for the escort blowing his stack, and said the guy was a bit of a n00b. Eventually Nam was able to kill Azi again and the Styg was gotten by the appropriate player and all ended happily ever after

      Later we discussed the incident with our friend Bob, another IRK member. “What?! Oh man, we shared a chat bot with them!” he exclaimed in despair. However, IRK hasn't suffered from any severe fallout from the event. We still see members of the Union around along with quite a few orgs that are still hanging in there. Perhaps if the graphics update goes through, we'll see a resurgence, if brief, in the ones that have shut down in recent years. Matt and I are now playing on our fr00b Enforcers, which have far surpassed our paid mains in levels. Matt has also been doing a review show on Mad Matt Reviews bliptv and Mad Matt Reviews Youtube. I'm sure he'd appreciate polite constructive criticism. Don't forget to say hi to the IRK on Rubi-Ka!