Jamion

Interstellar Travel

2011-01-27T18:41:00.002-05:00

As an update to what I was saying the other day. This is in the concept stages, but would have the capability to reach 12% light speed in 4, if implemented and it functions properly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfsKxnPK6ls&feature=player_embedded

http://www.icarusinterstellar.org/index.php
http://dvice.com/archives/2011/01/project-daedalu.php

Faster than Light

2011-01-25T13:00:00.003-05:00

At our current level of technology nothing that we know exists travels faster of than the speed of light. For those that don't know the speed of light is 299,792,458 meters per second in a vacuum or about 186,282.4 miles per second. Now we specify a vacuum because the speed of light is not constant it can be altered both my diffusion through material or gravity. Still no matter how you slice it, light is fast. At the moment a value of c, or the speed of light in a vacuum, acts as a cosmic speed limit sign.

Now going faster than the speed of light isn't the immediate next step to travel, its actually several steps down the list as far as speed. Right now we don't have the technology to come any where close to 1/10 the speed of light, which just obtaining that would make space travel viable in our solar system. But looking beyond Sol colonization, it would still take decades at 1/10 the speed of light to reach the nearest stars. So to get there we need to talk FTL, Faster-than-Light.

Now to jump from my topic a bit, let us talk about colonizing Sol. It's not that far off at this point it is more cost then anything else holding us off. Colonization in our own system can be done locally on Luna (aka the Moon) or in a bit further direct Mars and Ceres. Now there are a lot of arguments about colonizing the moon. Temperature being a big one as difference between sunlight and nighttime is a few hundred degrees. But we can counter that with a couple different things, colonizing near the poles and/or colonizing underground. Same is true for Mars. We can colonize at least in part underground. More people argue against Mars with time it takes to get there. Such arguments usually include exaggerated facts about solar radiation, food shortage, and mental instability. I would say give humans a bit of credit, we can counter radiation. Food, even if we can't preserve it, we can grow it. And humans have survived much longer journey's at sea. There are obstacles, but I believe even with the technology we have now, not to mention what we will have in 10 years, we can counter these issues. Ceres, however, is the most logical choice for colonization. It is much smaller then even our moon, but it is mostly water, frozen water. Also transport to Ceres would be easier to Mars because of Ceres' orbital path. Not to mention it would open up the ability to mine the asteroid belt for materials.

In any case, the main issue is speed. Speed will increase if we have a valid reason (say a colony) to increase the speed. But let's step back from the real and focus on the SciFi of this. There are many different methods in science fiction for traveling faster than light. I am going to talk about a few of the most popular ones.

Warp Drive
Warp technology is most famous because of Star Trek. Miguel Alcubierre was the one to actually come up with a valid of way of how it could work. The idea here is based Einstein's theories of space time. In that many people (misinterpret) believe that if one travels faster then the speed of light forward and then back they will actually travel back in time. This is not what Einstein meant, but Warp technology in theory would use some of the actual science behind that belief to make warp possible. See warp technology does not actually cause the vessel or ship to travel faster then the speed of light. Instead the ship creates a warp bubble, this bubble compresses space time in front of the ship and expands it behind it. Essentially is rides a wave of space time that is traveling faster than light. So while the vessel itself (and anything else inside the warp bubble) is traveling at normal speeds, the bubble pushes them forward at incredible velocities that would cause it to arrive somewhere faster than normal light would. Not a bad idea, but as Alcubierre himself calculated it would take an insane amount of energy and create such exotic amount of radiation that it would be more practical to try other methods of FTL travel first.

Hyperspace, subspace, slip-space, and all space in between
The next idea exists in a myriad of different specs. Star Wars and StarGate used hyper drives to move faster than light. Andromeda used slip-space. Still other series use subspace or some exotic other space. In all the cases the concept remains the same. Create some way of accessing another dimension or layer of space where the laws of physics don't as strongly apply. In examples of subspace, the spacial area is actually smaller than in normal space, so travel from point A to point B takes less time and energy. In Hyperspace the concept tends to lend itself to gravitational pockets casting shadows leading to hyper-spatial currents that allow a vessel to reach much higher speeds than in normal space. Still slip-space is a dimension of intertwining space time that relies on a biological lifeforms concepts of intuition to navigate. While different serials may present these slightly different, access another dimension, or even remove part of our own, could reduce travel time between stellar bodies over long distances. Some suggest it will take time to travel through these dimensions, while other series like BattleStar Galactica or Asimov's Empire series seem to suggest it would be near instantaneous. Like being drunk "What's so bad about that?" "Ask a glass of water." The issue here is that there is no proof that such dimension exist, or if they do that they act in such a way that would allow us to use them like this. It's strongly theorized that they do, but no one has ever been able to prove it. Furthermore accessing these dimension is another challenge in and of itself after discovering them. So these remain plausible until proven otherwise.

Wormholes
Wormholes are our best bet. Although they have never been discovered naturally, nor do we know if we can create them artificially... or show they would really act. Current science seems to lend itself to the fact that the universe has its own way of allowing for faster than light travel. By the creation of two interconnecting point through folded space. The paper analogy is often used, where the scietist says you are on this side of the paper and you need to get to the other side, what's the quickest way, he then folds the paper until the two sides are touching. Unfortunately if such things do occur they would create lots of exotic matter, and as such shows as StarGate and FarScape have pointed out, might not even be able to be used by biological life without destroying it. In FarScape entering a wormhole without calculating for phase variation meant that your body ripped out of phase into a bloody mess. To compensate a phase generator was installed on the ship. In StarGate they never discussed what would happen if you stepped into a raw wormhole, but to compensate you were de-molecularized and sent through. In StarGate this also meant that you could only travel in one direction through a wormhole (from start to finish) entering a wormhole backwards would lead to certain death. Other SciFi series and scientists have speculated on the probability that wormholes could also connect different time periods. Entering on one end could mean traveling back in time and creating a paradox, or worse traveling to the future ... in which case you could have taken just as much time traveling across space normally. Although many scientists think wormholes exist or can exist, none know how to make, find, or utilize one. So unless by some freak accident we do discover one, this isn't a valid form of FTL either.

What else is their?
Well there are no shortage of bad ideas, but think on this. Nothing that we know of has gone faster than light. So how do we know nothing can? Einstein stated that anytime you increase velocity (add velocity to an existing velocity) there is a small amount of diminishing returns. As speeds we can currently access this amount is negligible. However, as we approach the speed of light the amount that is diminished is increased until the addition is zero. This would be the maximum obtainable velocity, and it would be just under the speed of light (like 99,999999999999999999999999% the speed of light). But honestly we haven't even come close to that to know if he is right. Further more if light can be altered by gravity, it may also be able to be altered by other forces such as Electro-magnetic, Strong Nuclear, or Weak Nuclear forces. Maybe even some force we haven't discovered yet. Also we don't know that light is the actual boundary, some scientists believe light speed is just a symptom of spatial boundary. Once again we don't really know.

I would like to open the conspiracy nut bag. The Philadelphia Experiment has always been one of my favorites. The idea here was actually for a cloak. Create enough radiation around an object, in this case the USS Eldridge in Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, the radiation would bend light and render the ship invisible to any radars and to the naked eye. The supposed results of this experiment by the US government in 1943 were that the ship disappeared and was spotted off of several harbors around the world with in a few minutes. When it returned to shipyard crew men were fused into bulk heads and many of them had a strange type of radiation sickness.

How about this for an explanation, the ship created an FTL drive out of the cloak, it was bound to earth gravitation and EM fields, where it bounced around before returning to where it started. The fusing of crew members to bulkheads is similar to rapid acceleration. Now to be honest noone knows if this story is true. US government obviously denies it, but imagine if it were. FTL technology currently exists. Just isn't safe, however if we study it we could get there.

Where we stand.
Currently, there is not proof that FTL could exist. We are limited to that awesome speed of 299,792,458 meters per second. That is if we could reach it, even a tenth of the way would be huge. But in a single galaxy that spans 100,000 light years, and is 1,000 light years thick; a tenth would mean it would take us over a 1,000,000 years to travel from end to end. Not to mention accessing the rest of the universe would take even longer. This is unacceptable. We must colonize into space. It is the only way to preserve our species, our home planets, our need to understand the greater mystery of our universe. Although I don't believe in it, I regard this as our destiny; or as close to destiny as can possibly be defined. It must happen, or we will perish by our own hand. So why wait? Why not start now, the technology will follow. Delaying the inevitable is foolish and dangerous. If financial cost stand in our way, then let us overcome it. We must for our children.

4G, 3G and everything in between

2011-01-24T18:57:00.002-05:00

We have heard a lot about 4G... and 3G and fastest, widest, smelliest, coolest etc in the cell phone industry. What does it mean? 3G is simply Third Generation Digital Cell Phone Technology. The third evolution in cell phones. Introduced around 2002 and implemented most everywhere by 2004. Now we hear about 4G, that is Fourth Generation Cellular Technology. The next in a natural progression from 3G. So who has 4G? well according to the commercials... everyone! And suddenly too: Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T. So what's the difference? Well to start with lets bust open a little secret. None of them are 4G, at least not true 4G.

4G requirements as created by the International Telecommunication Union states that 4G communication must have at least 100 Mbits/s at its minimum and up to 1 Gbit/s! Well there is a lot more to it then that, but that is the main statement being made here. The rest of the requirements are easily obtainable if those requirements can be met. 3G technology is usually around 1 Mbit/s so we are looking at about 100x increase from 3G to 4G. That's a big increase. Also, not one easily obtainable. Verizon Wireless currently has the fast in the claimed 4G speed with about 5 - 12 Mbits/s which is about 10x faster then 3G, but not fast enough to be declared 4G. Speaking of which what is the difference between companies 3G capabilities?

Well not getting into the technical stuff of frequencies, signal degradation, and so on. There are two types of 3G service in mass use. CDMA and GSM. GSM is the global signal, it is a CHEAP signal. Both in price and in quality. Primarily used by lower developed countries GSM is the most widely used 3G coverage on the planet and requires the infamous SIM card. Usually GSM has decent (at best) calling coverage in most areas, but lacks the development of its counterpart. As such in higher technological countries like the US, China, Japan, etc CDMA is more widely used. GSM companies in the US are mainly T-Mobile and AT&T. Now, CDMA is a Qualcomm technology, licensed to the companies that use it. A better signal, but you will be paying for it. CDMA is not as wide of coverage, but as mentioned is more widely used in technologically advanced countries. CDMA in the US is used by Verizon, Sprint, and Alltel (Alltel one is complicated, but yes it is used by them...). A built in UTC chip is used in combination with a single ESN in CDMA to ID the phones, rather then a removable SIM card. These two technologies don't cross over onto each other, so if you have a CDMA device it can only be used on a CDMA network, and since CDMA networks are license specific UTS chips you usually can't exchange them between carriers either. GSM though since it uses a removable SIM and usually migrate back and forth across GSM networks by just swapping out the SIM for each network... fun right? Well if someone steals your SIM or duplicates it, they have all your info and access to your network and billing. So more fun, but less secure.

Now to 4G, or should I say the claimed "4G". There are three "4G" technologies. WiMax, LTE, and HSPA+. One of these is not like the other, one of these doesn't belong, but first. Why can they get away with calling it 4G? Well ITU was little late to the game. Companies like Sprint and Verizon hard already started licensing the info and various areas (and in some cases countries) as 4G. It wasn't till after this that ITU made up its mind about what 4G was... but to late. Its definition had already been decided upon by the cellular industry, so ITU would just have to suck it. Next time maybe they will come up with the definitions a little faster. So with WiMax and LTE registered as 4G technologies, but with them not being ITU 4G technologies this left the door in on some word play. Since they were, but weren't 4G companies like T-Mobile decided to start calling HSPA+ 4G. The door was open, so why not.

HSPA+ or Evolved High-Speed Packet Access can access insane speeds using already using already built technologies, but it is not sustainable nor is it able to be evolved beyond what it is. Another requirement of 4G is that is independent of 3G and able to be evolved as time goes on. Essentially 3G didn't start off as fast as it did, but over time it evolved to be that fast. 4G should do the same. HSPA+ is not even close, it is 3G technology only enhanced to its full potential. There are currently two companies claiming this as 4G. T-Mobile and AT&T. Here is the best part. They aren't going to keep it. HSPA+ is a stepping stone system for GSM companies to move into LTE. So neither of these networks are looking at long term support of their current "4G" system; and both are already looking at rolling out a closer to truth 4G system in the next few years. So why claim it as 4G now? Well that is mainly because Sprint and Verizon are ahead of the game, and they will have a 4G system rolled out before AT&T and T-Mobile are close to being ready. So this mainly to save face. If you want 4G technology, avoid HSPA+ at all costs.

WiMAX or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access is essentially glorified WiFi. I know it is a lot more complicated then that, but that is how it acts. It acts like WiFi using cellular technology. Not a bad concept, there are some complications. This technology is much like CDMA. It uses a similar chip set format (UTC) and connects in much the same manner. When looking at HSPA+, WiMAX has the potential to do 1 Gbit/s ... someday. It is independent, so unlike HSPA+ it can be claimed to be a 4G technology. While it may not be there yet, according to the ITU, it will be there. It will probably be there with in 5 years. So WiMAX is a nice stepping stone to getting on the 4G bandwagon. BUT, deployment is less then spectacular. Currently in the US, Sprint is the only 4G carrier. It also is looking like it will be the only WiMAX carrier in the US, and globally less then 15% of the world is expected to use WiMAX. So coverage will become as issue as Sprint has always had a hard time with coverage in the past on CDMA. And without anyone to share towers with it will be very expensive and difficult to have good coverage on WiMAX. Sprint has already looked at this is while not stating that they will, is already thinking about switching to an LTE deployment. This does not bode well for WiMAX.

Finally we have LTE, Long Term Evolution. Verizon Wireless (parented by Verizon and Vodafone) is the first national US carrier to push LTE deployment. Being a CDMA company it is a straight transition to LTE. LTE works much the same fashion as GSM, this will introduce Verizon people to SIM cards. That is about it though as far as similarities. LTE will have a lower frequency (that means further transmission range) and will not run copper wiring. No copper at all. Instead Verizon Wireless will be banking on its parent company Verizon who recently sold off its landlines to Frontier (Verizon also bought most of Alltel, but that isn't relevant to this). Instead Verizon is focusing on FiOS, or fiber optics. This what will be running to towers instead of copper wiring. This is hard deployment as it fiber optics tend to run in straight line and don't bend easily if at all. While flexible FiOS has been developed most of this will be run the old fashioned way, straight lines with buildings to reprocess info. This may sound hard to use, but it will mean a massively quicker connection from tower to internet then copper has. Combine that with LTE's speed and you have a nice combination. LTE is an independent of 3G service, so like WiMAX it can evolve and get faster. The initial LTE deployment won't be near the speeds required for a true 4G stamp of approval from the ITU. However, LTE-Advanced more then meets the requirements and, much like WiMAX, can probably be integrated about 5 years after initial LTE deployment. Not only that, about 80% of the world is looking to go LTE eventually with some European countries having it already rolled out. So while the official MAX speed may be about 20 Mbits/s from any carrier, LTE on Verizon has seen spikes of 54 Mbits/s. That is already half way to the ITU speed requirements.

Now why is this important? Not to get all political or economical on you, but jobs in the US are going bye bye. Now capitalism is a good thing, and right now American labor is at such an expensive point that it is cheaper to ship it around the world first. This has ALWAYS happened. The issue now is that the jobs that should be replacing it are such very different jobs from what we had before that people aren't acclimating to it well. These are tech jobs. Tech jobs will have a better quality of life associated to the people that do them and won't be as labor intensive as manufacturing and construction jobs. BUT, and this a big but. We need the infrastructure to to support these jobs and, more importantly, educate (or reeducate) people on how to do these jobs. That is going to go to the country with the highest data speed (not just on cell phones, but in general). Currently that is South Korea, the country that is ahead of us that they have TV channels dedicated to computer game play. S. Korea has an average internet speed of 20 Mbits/s. Faster then any other country. As such the FCC is implementing a plan to get the US on top.

In the US the FCC wants every household to have internet speed of 100 Mbits/s or faster by 2020. That means that 100 Mbits/s will be the low end net speeds in the US. With some areas like Chattanooga deploying FiOS that grants up to 1 Gbit/s already this isn't a hard goal for us to hit. We will have to revamp our current lined telecommunication (landlines/DSL). Like wise our cellular speeds will need to make this portable. Thus our cell phones will need to have net access equal to our tethered internet connections. And to get this all up and running we need to start getting this technology into people's hands NOW. It's for the country, for the future, not just because this stuff is awesome.

So, if you are a betting person here are the odds. HSPA+ bad investment, million to one shot of being a 4G winner. WiMax is a decent bet, but not a great one, 10:1 odds. LTE is gold, long term platform its the best. Verizon wants their LTE platform nation wide by the beginning of 2013. AT&T will be next to deploy LTE Starting in 2012 and ending sometime in late 2015. MetroPCS for being prepaid is also betting LTE and has already started its deployment as well. I also wouldn't be surprised to see it tagging onto Verizon's system to pull its sell ahead of all other prepaid only companies. We should be more then able to surpass that FCC goal in cellular tech by 2020.

Now one last note, 3G coverage isn't going away. It will work alongside 4G to support it, as 2G does now. So don't worry if you are a bit behind the bandwagon, but at the same time be prepared for what's next.

What I Would Like to See in STO

2011-01-22T17:53:00.003-05:00

Wow, where do I start. I can tell you now that this won't be the full extent my ideas, as stuff will continue to peck on me. We will call this Part 1.

First is the crew system. This is currently being developed for Season 4, and they are going to do it completely different then any of my ideas. But how about this...

We create a tree structure, this crew tree can only be changed at the cost of Merits (or Honor). It will be set to be rather immutable, but not completely like Captain's Skills. At the top of the tree is your First Officer. You must assign a first officer before you can assign anyone else, first officer must be of higher or equal rank to everyone else too. The First Officer will get six unique skill for them, these skill will be similar, but different then Captains Skills (referring to active ones here). Three will be for Space and three will be for Ground. These come from a special First Officer pool of skills and are not restricted based on career.

Once the first officer is set up that will open up six branches. These branches lead to department heads, or Chiefs. There will be two department heads for each Career and will break down like this. Chief of Science (Sci), Chief of Medicine (Sci), Chief of Engineering (Eng), Chief of Operations (Eng), Chief of Tactical (Tac), and Chief of Security (Tac). Some people will argue with that last one saying that Security is under Operations, to which I will argue they have restructured that in the 25th Century and suck it cause it works better this way. Once the department heads are in place you can assign skills to them as well. Chiefs will get one passive Space skill, and three active ground skills. These skills are restricted based on their department, so Medical have access to special medical only skills, Science has access to science only skills, etc.

These skill pools will reflect what they do. Medical skills will be more healing oriented and removing debuffs. Science skills will be debuff oriented and buff oriented. Engineering will be more buff (protection) oriented and device oriented (proxy weapons). Operations will be more effiency buff oriented (skill recharges) and debuff oriented (traps/CC). Tactical will be damage oriented and debuff oriented. Security will be more buff and CC oriented.

Once the department heads are in place that opens up additional branches. You can place as many bofs as you want into each department, they need to match the career requirements though. (same as their department heads) also they cannot be of higher rank then their department heads. Now each department will get up to three special (for their department) passive group ground buffs. Officers in that department can have anywhere from none to all three of these buffs for their department based on rank. For instance an En will have all three group ground buffs, a Lt will have two, a LC will have one, and a Cm will have none. While most people will use Cm bofs for away missions, this would encourage the use at least one none Cm bof to provide a unique group effect.

Along with this set up add the following. The anomalies that Captain's scan have them not only give crafting materials, but instead sometimes give an collectible item. These items could be added to various labs on your ship for study. A captain could then assign an officer that is not on the bridge and not on the away team to study these collectibles. Collect an entire series of them (a set) and study them and then turn them in at a starbase for a reward. The rewards can range from equipment, weapons, consumables, bofs, to rare missions starters. Some would be common, some would be rare. The reward would tie into the collection series. You could assign multiple series to a single bof, but that would slow down the study time of all the series. Also time to study would range based on rarity of collection being studied.

This way your crew is not siting in space twiddling their thumbs, but instead are working for you even while you are off playing and exploring. You could also have other officers not doing stuff to run training exercises while not at their post, these would provide small temporary buffs from spending time out of combat. These buffs would only last a little while when you first go into combat, but would make the crew seem like they are doing stuff aboard your ship.

Captain's Skills
Talking about passives. I like the way they are done, but I noticed that PVPers will focus all their SPs on either space or ground and then rock at it. While most people will tend to diversify to accommodate all play. This puts the PVE player at a disadvantage in PVP. I think this can be easily fixed and a bit more flavor to ground combat.

Separate Ground Skills and Space Skills into two categories. With their own pool of points for both. You can probably keep the point numbers the same as they are now, just create two of them. One for space skills and one for ground. This would give the following:

In Space you would have your Captain/Leadership skills, Energy Weapon skills, Kinetic Weapon skills, Engineering skills, Operation skills, etc.

In Ground create a Leadership section to effect how good of team leader you are on ground. Tier 1 can be the same as space, tier 2 can refer to general training and commands, tier 3, 4, and 5 refer to departmental specific skills.

You then also create a section for Energy Weapons (this refers mainly to your character as training for bofs is mainly done through leadership). Once again tier 1 is general training. tier 2 is pistols, rifles, or assualt, tiers 3, 4, 5 refer to energy types (like in space) some of this will effect bofs, but not much... mainly this refers to your characters training, and we assume bofs adapt to fit the captain's example.

Under that is a section for physical weapons. Tier 1 refers to Melee versus Mortars. Tier 2 would go into Grenades, Mines, Martial Arts, Martial Weapons. Tier 3, 4, 5 would would go into specific training for those weapon types (bat'leth, mek'leth, sword, pike, photon, plasma, etc)

From there we would have career specific paths, much as they are now only moved into this category. Separate from space skills. under these would have additional areas of study for your character ranging from basic medical training (like Thom Paris), to anthropology (Jean-luc Picard), to linguistics, to quantum mechanics, etc. These would provide small buffs and some additional ground skills, but would mainly represent the background of your character.

Like wise maxing some of the ground skills passives would give you an active skill. Like Phaser training you would give you a group buff "Set Phasers to Stun" that would cause all bofs next primary shot to act as a stun shot, regardless of their weapons specialty. Or under rifle training the ability to increase your next shots distance by double. These could also apply to stuff like anthropology providing a skill to do an area effect debuff (like a trap or a ward). The leadership one would allow for attack pattern commands with bofs (that could also serve as buff with other players) like telling your bofs to do a flanking attack instead of charging in with you. Or for them establish a perimeter around an area for good hold positions. Or to attack and retreat in order to lead the enemy into an area. Or even to lay down cover fire across an area. But mainly this is to equal out tactics on the ground versus space.

Travelling
I love the changes to Sector Space, but I would like to see them go further. First take away the boarder between most of the sector block. Nebula exploration areas you can just open up at large clouds, that you can enter like on the KDF side, or otherwise fly through. Also spread out the planets a bit more, I know a lot of people would hate this idea, but it is for scale reasons. Right not everything is scaled awkwardly and things look close even though they are supposed to be light years away. While in sector space make the minimal speed warp 1 (so no complete stops in sector space) (if you hit the bounder of the game world you drop to warp 1 and fly in small circles). You can drop out of warp, but that drops you into an empty star map area unless you are entering a system (if you approach a system you again slow to warp 1 and then begin to circle it until you enter or change course/or players can set it to auto drop out of warp). When you warp out you can either select a destination before warping out (which can be changed in flight) or you can just warp out and start heading somewhere at warp 1 until you change course and speed. With the boarders between sector blocks gone, allow people to fly until they hit either a faction boarder, or the game world edge. With the game world edge, make it far outside where current mission or located, even if there isn't content their it will make space fill vast. Also your bridge officers can let you know, hey we are approaching the boundary of where we are allowed to go for the Federation.

Right now exploration areas, like nebulas, are the only place to get random interactions or adventures. These should also be available, but in less a number in all sectors. So that way I can get a mandate to scan/explore anomalous reading in sector I have already been through. This will make each sector feel unique each time you travel through it. This would be great for distressed ships, or near conflict areas the secure system missions. Among many others. Also replace the DSEs as they are now with a more of a Final Fantasy type system, where as you are traveling you can get ambushed by various encounters. Either roaming enemy ships, curiosities, ship invasions (something invades your ship and you need to fight it on you ship) etc.

Not with these two paragraphs of changes plus the next one. It would open up the ability to do open PVP in the game world. As players could flag for PVP and then attack others flagged for PVP in sector space. When this occurs they would both drop out of warp into their own little instance to battle it out.

Create a separate hotbar system for traveling in sector space, different from normal space hotbars that are currently in game. The sector space bars would be switched to automatically in sector space and would have Transwarp Skills, Quantum Slip Stream skills, Maximum Warp skills (which would act like a lesser QSS), Scan Sector (which would result in various info: nearest systems, nearest encounters, nearest signal contact, anomalous reading, friendlies in the area, and enemies that are PVP capable in the area), an Attack Skill for PVP engagements, Diplomatic Immunity, and so on.

In friendly space areas (Vulcan, Earth, etc) make the areas larger. Like the entire system to explore. Also include various space stations and items for each system as well.

Expand the Federation areas to traverse around Sol, and further into the Alpha Quadrant (it is mapped, just not explorable atm).

Faction
I know this is stereotypical of most MMOs. But create a faction standing for each faction and subfactions. Like Federation and sub-factioned your standing with Starfleet, Sol, Vulcan, Andoria, etc. Klingon Empire sub factioned KDF, Orion Syndicate, etc. Romulan Star Empire sub factioned various Romulan groups. Cardassian Empire sub factioned Cardassia Prime, Obsidian Order, etc. Dominion sub factioned Jem'Hadar, Vorta, Founders, True Way. Also Deferi, Breen, Ferengi, etc as well. And for the Klingon Empire once you have reached diplomatic rank of Ambassador and have a Good or greater standing with the Klingon Empire you can play with any Klingon player who has the same for the Federation, including participation in Klingon cross-over missions (AKA this would allow Klingons who have reached this to do Fed missions and Feds to do KDF missions... not PVP though). This would also need some form of daily system to give factional missions (to either help or hurt your faction) ideally it should take several months to reach a Friendly status with a faction.

On a quick note... at the moment your space ship only exists in space while you are in command of it. If you beam to ESD or go to your bridge your ship stops existing in space. This is why atm you can only invite players to your bridge through the current system in place, and from on the other side of the galaxy. Why not, in certain situations, make it so the ship and player are separate. Example, if a player beams to ESD their ship instead of vanishing pull inside the space station (this would require a space station redesign with working doors) and when they beam out they exit (almost on autopilot) those doors and drift to a safe spot away from the space station. Areas like Vulcan would need to be redesigned to accommodate such ideas though. Deep Space 9 would be show the ship dock before vanishing (or maybe warping away) and undocking when the player leaves). Likewise, players (if they have set a course) should be able to visit their bridge while the ship is still traveling towards its destination. And when said destination is reached the player should be notified, and can jump back into space mode on a warp in. Ultimately this would need to be heavily worked on, but I think should be implemented for flavor.

Death and Death Penalty
Death system in STO currently makes no sense. Your ship explodes and you magically reappear with another one and the same crew... this has never felt right to me. Instead how about this. When your ship is taken down to 0% Structural Integrity (0 HP) you become Disabled. Disabled means your ship is set adrift (drifting away from the enemies area towards a respawn point), but not destroyed. You are presented with two options (not exclusive, as in if you take one you can resort to take the other). The first option being wait X amount of seconds and escape on emergency power. Essentially after a given time you respawn at a respawn point (much the same as it is now). Second option is to repair your ship, this would present you with a mini-game that would allow you to restore your ship and bring it online. This would cause you to respawn to wherever you have drifted to. You would come back with less then max health, but you would pop back to life near where you had been disabled. This option should take (if the player is good at the minigame) less time then it would for the player to wait out the clock escape and then return. This is what always happened in the shows, rarely did you see YOUR ship explode (not that that effect should be nixed, leave it in for storytelling). Furthermore at what percent of hull and shields and warp core power you are restored to should very based on how good you are at the game.

Now to ground death. This is done fairly well, player/NPCs become incapacitated. They can either wait for someone to rez them or re-spawn. My one complaint here is call it an emergency beam out (or site to site transfer) instead of respawn, and do a beam of the bodies to the respawn area.

Death penalty, currently you only get wounds or damage in Advanced or Elite mode. But why not add back in the original idea or crew death. When in a player is disabled in space in any mode of play they will loose a small (very small) percentage of their overall crew. This amount will be replaced with a photonic crew that are less effective to the ships overall performance. The percentage should be equal to the fact that a players can die dozens of times before any significant number of crew are lost. Also when they return to space dock (any of them) crew will start being replaced automatically, it just takes time for them to get replaced. This would force players who 'die' a lot to take a bit more downtime from their 'deaths' to recover and reflect. This would also mean player who regularly stop at starbases shouldn't worry regardless of how many deaths they have taken.

...

This is the end of part 1. These are just ideas I think should be looked at for STO. They would add to the feeling of the game and help make it into a better MMO. Other ideas are currently being worked on and look great. I love the game, and hope to see it continue.

2011-01-22T17:51:00.003-05:00

Random thought, Google should buy Gamer DNA. Use it as an easy access variation of Steam or xFire. Instead of selling stuff through it use it track game info. Make it a free, fun social network for gaming. Light weight, and encourage games (MMOs) to build plugins for it. Track feats, and what players are working on and doing in game. They can share this info with their friends really quickly or have discussions on the site. Then sell the data of what players think and what they are working on a consulting process back to the game companies.

Star Trek Online's Foundry System

2011-01-22T16:57:00.003-05:00

I play STO, I love STO. It has its flaws, but it reminds me of early EQ, not that I really ever palyed early EQ, but more that it seems like how early EQ would act based on what EQ is like now. Although new EQ servers are opening up showing off classic EQ. My point is that is a new system of MMO gaming and it feels new, unexplored, and adaptable to what players want. Essentially its like having a car that runs on urine rather then a car that runs on gasoline.

One thing that STO has lacked (and trust me there area few) is content. One can easily hit level cap with in 2 weeks, and anyone can hit it in a month. This creates issues, and these are issues that any MMO faces. How do you combat the fact that it will always take you (as the designer) longer to create content then it will for people to play through the content?

There are many issues to this. The easiest, but most costly is to hire more people. More people means more content being built, thus it will slow down how quickly players go through it. This is a stop gap as it only creates shorter period of play down time between each update. It doesn't fix the issue. A hardcore player will always rush through the content in the bare minimum amount of time. A second option, often used in conjunction with the first is to make an engine that is easier to build stuff in. While this is ideal this is incredibly rare, as the engine also needs to handle graphics updates, play style updates, nerfings, etc. Not impossible, but it still is a stop gap. STO has chosen to go with User Generated Content, UGC for short. They are calling this the Foundry system. Not bad, but it has to be limited. Although they are updating it in February to accommodate player demands. Essentially it works by allowing you to create single TV episodes of story. That's the best way to think of it, as once you do you find it easier to come up with and write ideas. If you think of it as your own dungeon creator you will be upset. So TV episodic content for STO it is. And the RP that it could crate is limitless. One major concern I have is filtering through everything and make sure it is all Trek and fits into what is trying to be built. I imagine Cryptic already their sights set on how to do this, and a review system has already been added.

I need ideas though. I have a few, but I need to brain storm about what I want in story for episodes. I may break out Google Wave and start a collaborative project on it. If Google Wave is still running, I hope it is.

...

It is, so I posted a wave to several fleet members with ideas and asked what they thought.

Maybe I should outline what I would like to see in Star Trek Online...

Dell Again

2011-01-22T16:30:00.002-05:00

If everything I went through in November wasn't bad enough. About a month after they fixed my computer I got a call from them telling me that I owed them and/or to send back my computer because they had sent me a replacement. I didn't know about the replacement and investigated. Found out that it was an AlienWare, not an XPS was sent AFTER they fixed my system, which made no sense, and finally they had sent it to another city. So this can end one of two ways. Either they realize their mistake and stop bugging me or the drag me to court for a computer I never wanted, never ordered, and never got. So this is bad, this cosmically bad on Dell's part. Fearing the worst I talk to the Attorney General. Fill out some paper work with them about the situation, just in case Dell decides they want to exact a pound of flesh. That way I have something to point to and say "I brought this issue up before." I also did so in case it turns about to be a trend. My guess is if Dell has done this to one person they have done it to at least a dozen. This way the AG can mount a case against Dell if needed. Unfortunately this has lead to Dell calling and emailing me to the point of harassment. Which is pissing me off and may be something I sue over if it continues. Honestly I don't want any dealing with Dell. They fucked up, they fucked up bad. My sisters husband has always bought Dell's in the past, but after what happened to me he switched to another company (not sure what company), and says he is happier with their service then Dell's. Another friend of mine in California has said the same.

I used to respect Dell, admire them. But they have become a slowly falling giant. I don't want to be crushed so I am leaving now. I have paid down a lot of debt recently, and I am looking to invest in a $5000 machine once the warranty on this Dell is up. Looking to by from Origins at this point. This is for a couple reasons. First is the origin of Origins, they started off as part of AlienWare, but when Dell bought the AlienWare name they either were fired or quite because they didn't like the way Dell was handling the product (the first sign). They also boost lifetime free calling support, custom built systems to an extreme, and their support is all built and based out of the US. No more calling to India trying to convince them that I need help in between each mumbled word, also hopefully no more lost warranty requests and constant call backs.

I am looking for my next system to be a liquid cooled system. I haven't had a liquid cooled system before, but the noise of fans is driving me nuts, as is some heat issues I have had on my other systems in the past. My XPS is fine on heat, but makes a ton of noise. So much it wakes me in the middle of the night. So liquid cooled it is. Next I am looking at a i7 970 processor, of course who knows what will be out in 6 months to a year. the i980 is a better processor, and an overclocked 980 runs 33% faster then a regular one, shows how much Intel is holding them back. Also makes me wonder about motives for that, is it so they can charge more for overclocked chipset or is there a legitimate concern that causes them to limit processor speed? Anyways, the 980 and OC 980 aren't worth my money at this point. Any hex core will be faster then my current set up. All with that for both speed and safety looking to have a Primary and a raided slave as SSDs rather then HDD. More expensive and less space but I want to have them for speed. I also plan on having another 1TB or higher HDD for storage, I have an external now that I use a lot via USB. Next thing is GPU, I want SLIed cards, looking at two as there is a diminishing returns after two and thus having four is pointless. Three would be nice but not really worth the money.. not yet. I am not an ATI fan for two reasons. First I have noticed ATI cards cut out some pressure effects created in games. While this is not big, it is annoying and things tend to look cooler with them. I like running on max graphics and seeing everything. Also the nVidia chip sets have built in physics processing which will be big in next gen games. I am still debating a blu-ray burner over just a player. Physical media is disappearing and I haven't used my blu-ray burner in my current system yet. I do want HDMI out and multiple monitors. I need the HDMI to run to my TV, and at least two monitors. The issue with the monitors is from my deck having more then one will make it hard to see the TV... oh well this may jut be a simple rearrangement issue. I have a Razer mouse that I love atm, so no need for hardware there. But my keyboard is a G15 and I am not happy with it, honestly I have never been happy with anything Logitech I have bought, outside of the occasional headset. And even then happy would be a stretch. Someone recommended the Merc Stealth and I may invest in one on a new system. What Ireally want is a keyboard with the Ctrl 1 to = keys and Alt 1 to = keys as an extra row of keys by them self above the the normal number keys but below the f keys. Although ultimately I would like to see the keyboard go bye bye and replace with a touchscreen UI that customizes keys to program you are in. Then the hotkeys would be equal to what I see on the screen in a game anyways, infinite customization, and each game could have its own motif.

I am wandering off topic.

Anyhow my next system needs to be great, and Dell is longer great. So I am looking for someone else. Any ideas internet?

ArenaNet is the pickle on the crap sandwich that is my month

2010-11-22T17:28:00.002-05:00

So I finally get my computer up and running after two weeks. I install Guild Wars, first program I always install on my computer; and I log in and remain in game to let it background install all the extra info. Well I try to log in Saturday and I get code error 45... and it tells me my account is blocked... so lets review my month so far.

Beginning of the month computer crashes, have to wrestle and yell at Dell for two weeks to come and fix it. Now that's it fixed ArenaNet blocks my Guild Wars account. So now I STILL CAN'T PLAY!

So I contact ArenaNet. And yes I am pissed!
Me:
So after two weeks of not having a computer I install Guild Wars on my new system and log in to get the message my account has been blocked.
Why?
And how are you going to correct this?

After getting several automated responses that get you no where fast I get this:
Hello (my name),

Thank you for contacting NCsoft Account Support.

Your account was blocked because someone other than you was accessing the account. The block is placed on the account the moment we notice the intrusion to help prevent any further damage to your account.

At this time we need to verify that this is indeed your account. Please provide as much of the following information as you can:

-- What first and last name did you use when you created the account?
-- What physical address did you use when you created the account?
-- What date of birth did you use when you created the account?
-- What are the 20/25-digit serial codes/access keys for all games you added to the account?
-- What is the Unique Account ID for all the game accounts you added to the account? (This was sent to you via e-mail on the date your game account was activated with a subject header of 'Game Account Activated'.)
-- Original billing information: If activated using a credit/debit card, please provide the last 4 digits of the credit card used. If activated using a game time card, please provide the 20-digit game time card code used to activate the account. If activated using PayPal®, please provide the Transaction ID or the Invoice ID associated with the original activation purchase.

We look forward to assisting you.

Thank you,
Max
NCsoft Account Support

To contact our Billing or Technical Support by phone, please call (512)225-6359.
Monday - Friday, 12 PM - 5 PM Central Time (North America)
Long distance charges may apply.

So I fill out their information, as they put it "as much as I could". After 5 years of playing GW and moving several times in that time frame I don't have all my little activation numbers laying around. As well you don't use a CC or PayPal to activate a GW account because it has no monthly fees. But I give them the rest of the info. And I receive this back.
Hello (my name),

Thank you for providing that information to us.

In reviewing the information you’ve provided, we see that some of what we’ve requested is missing from your response, or the information you’ve given us does not match what was registered to the account. This information is important and is used to assist us in locating the account as well as to verify you as the owner of the NCsoft and game account.

Please try to the best of your ability to locate as much of the information below and we will review your account issue.

-- What date of birth did you use when you created the account? (The date of birth you have provided does not match the registered date of birth for this account.)
-- What are the 20/25-digit serial codes/access keys for all games you added to the account?
-- What is the Unique Account ID for all the game accounts you added to the account? (This was sent to you via e-mail on the date your game account was activated with a subject header of 'Game Account Activated'.)
-- Original billing information: If activated using a credit/debit card, please provide the last 4 digits of the credit card used. If activated using a game time card, please provide the 20-digit game time card code used to activate the account. If activated using PayPal®, please provide the Transaction ID or the Invoice ID associated with the original activation purchase.

We look forward to assisting you.

Regards,
Roger
NCsoft Account Support

To contact our Billing or Technical Support by phone, please call (512)225-6359.
• Monday - Friday, 12 PM - 5 PM Central Time (North America)
• Long distance charges may apply.

... Seriously, Roger. You want to fuck with me? So now I am seriously pissed. This is the same fucking shit that I just went through with Dell. So I ranted and rambled for quite a bit in the following text I sent back to them. Here is the jist. (The following will be slightly/a lot less offensive then what I actually sent them).

ArenaNet here is the deal. I have been playing Guild Wars for five years (I included my activation date in this). I have been a loyal customer, I have even continued supporting the game through microtransactions, because I like the game and I want it to succeed. I have also invested in all the expansions, including the Bonus Mission Pack, on a preorder or as soon as released basis. I have brought over a dozen different players into the game who have all bought expansions and are investing financially in the game as well. It seems that on November 20th a bunch of people, both friends and guild members of mine, have had their accounts blocked. Is this a systems error that you will immediately correct? Or is this ArenaNets way of saying fuck you we don't want anymore of your money? All I want is my account unblocked so I can play, which according to your own information provided to players (that account security is our responsibility not ArenaNets) should never have been blocked in the first place.

In response to that information I got this:
Hello (my name),

Thank you for witting back to NCsoft Account Support.

I am escalating your ticket for further assistance, and someone will be in contact with you as soon as possible.

Regards,
Parsec
NCsoft Account Support

To contact our Billing or Technical Support by phone, please call (512)225-6359.
• Monday - Friday, 12 PM - 5 PM Central Time (North America)
• Long distance charges may apply.

After this I promptly called their number listed on the bottom of the email, only to discover that they don't handle account issues.

Look, all I want is to blow off steam after a long day at work. And kill monsters in a fantasy settings and maybe spend some time with friends. Instead I get your account department trying to rectally probe me. And I find it offensive. Unblock my account. Do it now! and I would suggest doing the same for all those others who irresponsibly blocked. Ok I have had a horrible month, and you guys are making it much worse. I will not (hell I cannot) invest in any other ArenaNet or NCSoft products until this is resolved.

Identify this Real Time Strategy

2010-11-20T13:22:00.002-05:00

I played this RTS about a decade ago, it was on my first computer which ran Windows 98. So this is an older game. I bought this comp right around the Y2K scare, and I don't remember if this was before or after the millennium. Someone loaned me a demo for this game. I don't remember the name, what I do remember is this.

It was based on early human civilization, prehistory if you will, it also had a focus on magical elements. You were the leader of a primitive tribal society, and a bit like Black and White you had magical powers, these were mostly nature based. You could summon ground out of the water, create tornadoes, storms, etc. You lead a tribe in warfare. Unit production was unique, it involved creating birthing tents and placing a male and female inside the tents, this would slowly produce more tribes men that you could then send into other tents to give them specialization like priests, warriors, etc. There did not seem to be any water combat, at least not as far as the demo let me see. From what I remember of UI, it reminds me of C&C to a certain extent with the vertical combat bar, but I think it was on the left side of the screen. I also remember you could set up watch fires, but had to place a unit to tend the fire. This unit would actually patrol, or dance (almost in native American fashion) around the fire while tending it. Resources... only two I remember were wood and food, but I may be mistaken about them. The civilization I remember reminded me of a very early version of the Incas, not in technology, but in art style (almost Easter Island like).

Anyways that's all I remember, except that the game demo disc was from a gaming catalog, maybe PC Gamer? but not sure on that either. Anyways, would be much appreciated if someone could ID the game. Have been searching the net for it, and no where I have looked has any info.

Thanks.

2010-11-18T15:14:00.002-05:00

So! Good news! Got my computer up and running Dell finally came and fixed it. Only took them 2 weeks. Two long hard freaking weeks. And a special thanks to a special douche named Steven who came and fixed it (4192348511). He wasn't that bad, just seemed kind of anal that someone actually made him do his job. BTW it was him that apparently made it two weeks. Dell said if it wasn't for him it would have been fixed in three days. Great job getting cheap labor from outsourcing Dell.

So I thought maybe I would take the time to upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate after this. While I have a fresh HDD. But guess what!? No stores actually carry a full version of Windows 7 Ultimate. The upgrade from Vista yes... not Windows 7. So I eventually moved against that idea, without a comp long enough. I will just go ahead and use XP. So I installed Guild Wars, which installed and was up and playable in under 10 mins. And I started DLing Star Trek Online, which was still DLing when I left for work two hours later.... Difference in scale? Also started the tedious process of Security and Service Pack updates. And got a new Firewall and Anti-virus up and running.

Hopefully will be back and playing on STO tonight. Then Starcraft 2. Looking back on the whole thing though. I should have realized something was wrong, my computer kept getting louder. I thought it was a fan though, but in retrospect it may have been the HDD failing. Hrm...

At least it wasn't the video card or the motherboard.

Anyways, back to the gaming grind stone tonight.

2010-11-16T17:11:00.002-05:00

Nope. Apparently Dell sent the tech the wrong parts again... Seriously. I will give them till Friday. Then I am going to spend the freaking money and get myself a new system.

2010-11-16T15:16:00.004-05:00

Well Dell finally called me and said they were coming to fix my computer... hrm I wonder if it will really happen.

Need to reinstall games, I should start with Guild Wars. Compared to most other games I have Guild Wars is relatively small and easy to install. After that I should install Star Trek Online, there have been a lot of updates while I have been without a computer and I really want to get through them all. After that Star Craft 2. Blizzard saves progress through Battle.net I believe so I should be able to get back in and pick up where I left off. However, Blizzards DL and Installer suck, so bit of a headache there. May not do that tonight, but wait till tomorrow to install it. At this point I have no real desire to install anything besides those three games. I have a digital copy of Civ5, and although I bought it through Direct2Drive the DL itself was applied through Steam. Steam is evil, very very evil, and hogs a bunch of system resources. So will not re-DL Civ5 at this point.

With APB relaunching I will prepare my computer for APB: Reloaded. I betaed APB. APB was a great game except for one massive critical flaw. Rage. The game was 95% PVP, while PVP is fine the games pace made it so you PVPed, then were thrown into more PVP, and even more PVP. It did it in such a way that it slowly hyped up your adrenaline until you literally felt enraged. I would have to walk away from the game at times just to get away from that focus. If a PVE element was added in combination to the PVP, and maybe more diverse areas of play. I think APB would be a great game. Amazing customization and player built content, the last 5% of the game play I consider to be sandbox creativity. I loved this about APB. I refused to play it after launch, but if it goes F2P as they planned I will reDL it and play.

Looking forward to TOR and GW2. Hope I can play them soon. This whole event as made me rethink buying a new computer. If they actually come and fix it. Next computer I get I am leaning towards an Origin PC system. Made and supported in the US according to their site. They are an off shoot of old Alienware employees that didn't like the Dell take over. I priced a good system for around $5000. Nice specs and processor. But I don't have 5k to blow on a computer. Plan B, start saving $100-200 a month. That way when I end up buying a new computer, hopefully in a year, I have a nice down payment on the system. The rest then should take me to long to pay off by that point. I could technically afford a computer right, but it would be tight.

Just got the call while I was typing this that repair guy is at my house working on my computer. So here is to hoping that I will have a working comp by the time I get home from work. In any case, my being pissed is starting to fade. Still mad as hell at Dell though. Damn that rhymed.

2010-11-15T17:15:00.005-05:00

Rawr? I haven't posted on my blog in over a year. Probably should do something about that... but my fear is that if I become extremely long winded and noone will really want to read it. Oh well at least it gets the idea out of my head. I should really start posting more... and then tweeting the post ^_^

Right now I am pissed though. I have a Dell computer... I know I know... but I have a long LONG warranty on it. The thing is the HDD went boom. And they said yes, we will be right out to replace it. Well its been a week and a half. And so far this has been the pattern of events.
-Wednesday night. Computer crashed, I searched for boot disc to try and boot it. That failed.
-Friday. Called Dell, spoke to India and an idiot who couldn't even figure out how to adjust his headset.
-Friday. Called Dell back and they told me that a technician would call me on Monday and schedule a repair time.
-Monday went by and nothing... called Dell again. Told me he would call me in the morning.
-Tuesday... NOTHING. Called Dell, they told me he would call first thing in the morning.
-Wednesday 8 am. Called Dell and Support company line. Told me tech would call me in an hour.
-9 am. Called back Support company. Told me they would escalate it (whatever that means) and the tech would call me right back.
-9:30 am. Called back, spoke to manager who would figure out what was going on. And HE would call me back.
-10:30 am got call back from manager, who told me he can't get a hold of the tech...
-11:13 am Tech finally called and told me he would be there about 4 or 5pm
-2:12 pm Tech calls back he can't come, something that DELL DID WRONG??!! He will let me know what is going on. This was still Wednesday.
-Thursday I call the tech. He says the problem has been sent back to Dell and they will contact me about what is going on.
-Friday evening... pissed. Get my manager at work to call, she gets a shouting match with Dell. Informs me that they had received a report from the tech that the problem had been fixed... What the FUCK?! But that they would call me on Monday to schedule an appointment time.
-Well its 5pm on Monday and nothing. I am pissed and wondering what to do.

Anyways at this point I have a few different options. Wait for Dell, who will probably never come. Replace the HDD myself, which will void the warranty I spent all that money on. Buy a new computer from someone else, continue to wait on Dell and if they don't show here in a few more weeks take legal action against them.

Here is the thing, I'm SCREWED no matter what way I do this I am FUCKED. I now HATE DELL, I will never buy a computer from them again. I will viciously oppose anyone that wants to. Anyone have any ideas? What I could do, what I should do. With the new computer, priced a new one with the specs I want, about $5000. I really don't want to spend 5k on a comp, but it is looking like that may be the only way I will have a working comp again. I would rather do that then fix it myself for two reasons:
1) It has been a long time since I have done anything like that on a computer and although a really simple task, I don't want to fuck it up and then have no warranty and be forced down another road as well.
2) If I fix it and they show up then they say I violated warranty and I am screwed on that, however if I don't fix it and they don't come then I can always take legal action in the future.

Got message from a guild member saying he missed seeing me online, I told him what happened. This is the most pissed I have been in a long while.

2009-10-24T10:40:00.000-04:00

Ok so I have played City of Heroes, Champions Online, and I am currently applied to beta STO. Cryptic studios has produced some interesting, and wildly different MMOs in their time. Their concepts are certainly based on a unique perspective, and sometimes they work really well, other times they flop horribly.

I recently did my every 3 month free trial of City of Heroes and checked out some of the new updates they have put in. CoH/V, or as I refer to it now CoX, was one of the first super hero MMOs and until recent times the largest. The base character creation mechanics follow a farely basic design. You choose from a tank, melee DPS, ranged DPS, support, or crowd control class. Then things take an interesting turn. You choose a super power origin for your character then choose from power sets pre-designated for that archtype. You then get to fully customize the look of your character: gender, body type, proportions, armor, weapons, etc. And now with the new update customize the look of your powers, aka colors and visual effects.

CoX doesn't use auto-attacks instead you push a skill your character uses it, they have cast times, cooldown times, energy costs, etc. Where CoX really shines IMO is with the customization of the powers. Instead of just lvling up a power you instead use power slots to add in modifiers for your lvl and various effects. This changes the way in which your powers work, an energy reduction modifier will reduce the energy cost of a skill, and stacking a buntch of those will massively cut down on energy costs. However, you could also do the same with damage boosts, and thus massively increase your damage... same with accuracy, healing, defense,etc. This allows each player to make those skills that are available to every player, unique to them. To players with punch may have punch speced completely differently. I have always wanted to see this system adapted to a more stereotypical MMO.

However, where CoX fails is its ability to keep players immersed in the world. Once you get past lvl 6 you realize real quick that the world that CoX exists in repeats. By lvl 10 you will ask your self how many times you have been through a warehouse that looks and is layed out exactly like the one you are in. Because of this I get easily bored with the game. Even with the architect system, which work wonders in the CoX world, allowing players to create their own content to play.

Cryptic no longer owns CoX, instead they sold it to NCSoft and began working for Atari on Marvel Universe Online. An agreement Marvel backed out of, and ended up causing Cryptic to develop Champions Online (CO).

I can say that after playing these super hero games I can see the value and complexity of adding flight to an MMO. As it tends to double the power of a ranged class, by allowing them to float above their foes and bomb them without the foe being able to fight back, or at least not being able to fight back at full strength.

CO was an attempt for Cryptic to move away from a mundane super hero MMO and allow them to tell dynamic stories inside a super hero MMO. And while it was much more developed and thought out then CoX it is still lacking in a lot of ways.

Character creation is a bit different, you choose two powers an energy builder and an attack power. Then customize your character. Simple, but loading into the tutorial for the first time you are limited. The game plays a bit more like an action game on a console then an MMO. Not that that is a bad thing it is just different. The big difference is how you pick powers while lvling up. See there are archtypes for powers, but you are in no way constrained to stay inside of a particular one. You can mix and match every single power from any set in the game. As well the tank, DPS, support roles are based on how position your build. In other words you can switch between a tank, DPS, and support role on your whim.

Now like CoX, CO gets repetitive at time, and you may loose interest. However, stories are presented in easier to consume fashion. My major problem with CO is lack of variety. Until you get to about 30 you are stuck picking between 3 zones, these zones have a wide ranged of lvls they support. So no matter how many times you play you end up doing the same quests over and over again on each character. You even begin to dread doing certain quests... either for difficulty or for their mundane factor. Everyone's favorite zone is Millennium City... which after play CoX is a lot smaller then expected in CO. It feels less like a city and more like the water front district for one. I understand the game is only a couple months old, but I was expecting it to be bigger right from the start... at least MC.

A breakthrough that CO presented was the Nemesis System. Allowing a player to pit their created hero against an NPC villain they created. After obtaining lvl 25 their is a lot of back and forth between your hero and their nemesis all over the world. And it does add diversity to the world. However, I still feel the world needs to be greatly expanded before I can call CO a success.

From that Cryptic is working on one of the most debated development of an MMO ever, next to SWG that is. That is Star Trek Online. Closed Beta for STO started up yesterday, I did not get in first round drafts :( but I am hopeful. I think Crpytic has a lot of back ground to choose from in building STO. They can certainly pull from their CO heritage, as well as take adaptations from EVE and even SWG. However, MMOs tend to focus on combat and less on diplomatic development, which Star Trek is famous for. Plus they have to contend with a well established lore that carries with it many rabid fans. I don't envy Cryptic, there is a lot of scrutiny coming. They do have to balance space combat and ground combat, as well Star Trek is known for its many unexplored worlds, and that is a key to making a Star Trek game is its exploration aspect. But how do we integrate that all into a game? Star Wars Galaxies tried, and really... majorly failed. Of course if one company can do it would be Cryptic.

Well I am rambling so time to move off of STO.

Crpytic itself has shown incredible foresight in their concepts, however a lack there of in their gaming engines and even the development of their games. One thing I have never seen from Cryptic is a stable MMO. They may have dynamic concepts, but that are not solid in their development. Which to balance issues and player advancement difficulties. I am looking forward to their future products, and I feel in time they will get better. But I still consider them a junior company in the MMO development biz.

Dreamseed - Chapter 1

2009-02-21T16:42:00.000-05:00

Time moves slowly in both directions. We age, we get older, move forward, comparing our motion of life to all other motions around, especially the hands of a clock. The past moves behind, distant things in the past become even more distant. The leaves change color, they fall away, and snow comes down hiding the past from our memory. At least for a little while. The window of the back seat of a 1986 Taurus feels the coldest on these days.

As Sam stared out the window at the subtle mush of white snow a despair fell over him. The realization that life had not turned out anywhere close to what he hoped. Had he over planned, constrained himself to much to a single set if ideals? No, he had switched majors halfway through college after an unpleasant winter as an exchange student to another college. Sam rolled his head to stare out the other side of the car. It was the same snowy mush, but it made him feel better to turn his head. Depression began to set in. Had he not been specific enough and his endeavors? No he has known where he wanted to end up since he was ten. An artist working for movie companies or games or some other part of that seemingly glamorous industry. 'Maybe I just was the wrong type of person to try to go into such a field. A screw up.' Finding no counter argument to that thought he settled on it as the answer. There was something wrong with him, he was imperfect, defective even. Sam sighed gently as he tried to listen back in to the rambling of his sister and his mother in the front seat. To late the conversation was not one that he could follow or at least not one he wanted to chime into. He rolled his head back out to the original window and let the last three years go over in his mind. The choices he had made, where had he gone wrong. Names, faces, people popped in and out some being labeled good, others bad, and a last batch he labeled neutral. But he ultimately decided he couldn't blame anyone else for his faults. He was defective.

The political scene wasn't helping either. The political landscape had changed after a ten year fallout from a previous leader that now shared the same ideology as the current head of state. This would mean a greater downfall in another ten years time, but people had blamed the last president for problems that had been started under his predecessor. The political upset had torn America, and had disturbed Sam. How an entire people could react so blindly to words. How a nation could be sweet talked to turning over control of their weapons, defense, and even the care of their life to a single political power. A brief paranoia set in as Sam wondered whether there was another hand hidden behind a velvet curtain, attempting to control the people the way Cesar did. Offer the people pennies in exchange for millions and they will give you their hearts and minds. Autonomy had become a joke, so had individual liberties.

The only thing that had remotely given Sam peace in his time of pain were the dreams. A beautiful girl, oriental in ethnicity, shoulder length black hair, and most importantly to Sam was the personality. Smart, bold, humorous, a leader, a little naive at times; but to Sam perfect. It seemed like every time he had closed his eye at night for the past 3 years she had been there: to talk to him, to play with him, to show him things he could never imagine. Sam sighed from the back seat. But now even that was gone. Almost a month ago in one the dreams she had come to him on a beach.

"I have to go for a little while," she had said.

"Why?" he asked.

"It is hard to explain, but we will be together soon. I promise you. One thing to remember..." The noise of the ocean crashing on the beach drowned out the last part.

Sam stirred in the back set, restless from the car ride. The car rolled up a short drive into the driveway. The engine turned off and Sam's mother and sister got out of the car. Sam paused for a second before opening his door. He followed the chattering women through the back door of the house, but as they continued to walk and talk he retreated to his upstairs room. His solitude. One sure way to get over this feeling was to indulge himself in a fantasy world. A world created on the net, a world with out limits or boundaries. He sat, staring into his computer screen. The only thing that kept him from insanity.

*******

The night sky lit up a single instance. The clouds scattered and for a second space and earth were one. A bright energy, almost like that of a solar flare, wrapped into a wreath, and pushing itself forward like a squid. It descended down upon an empty grassy hill. It hovered there for a second before pushing forward once again. To it Earth was poisonous, toxic even. Not so much the physical aspects, but the aspects of thought. So many different thoughts began to suffocate the light. Like a thousand different ropes trying to pull it in all direction the thoughts were. None of them organized, none of the united. It shivered for a second as it tried to regain it's composure. It then retreated deeply into a chrysalis state. Seeking the thoughts of the worlds for one, one thought that it desired more then any other. One thought that it had followed from the depths. His thought.

*******

Mist sat at the bar watching the natives. She had been served a beer but did not partake of it. instead she grasped it her right hand examining the neck of the bottle. Leather vests, flannel shirts, jeans, and an impaired sense of country music surrounded her. She glanced upward at a clock in the shape of a motorcycle and not finding what she desired examined the clock once more while looking through her green bottle. The natives sense of time was limited to that of comparing motion to other motion. No true sense of the fundamentals of what time could be if used properly. She watched the billiard table again. Their sense of physics was primitive as well she noted, but more evolved then many other forms of life she had been around. She glanced at the clock again, this was more out a sense visual verification, as she knew the clock was one minute and fourteen seconds off respectively. She decided as the last few seconds of her countdown finished to sample the nectar that had been brought before her. She held the bottle to her mouth and drank. The liquid vaporized as soon as it hit her throat. She glanced at her hand as she noted how the alcohol had raised her temperature slightly. She placed the beer down on the counter and walked towards the women restroom.

The lighting was dingy, but better then the bar outside. She counted one stall, two stalls, three stalls; and with military like grace turned to face it she walked into the stall and let the door close behind her. She held up her right hand pushed into and through the wall, followed in turn by her whole body. She emerged into the facing stall in the men's restroom. She turned around facing the toilet and carefully lifted the lid on it. Inside the toilet, in a plastic bag, was a manila folder with writing and a logo scribbled on the outside of it. She opened the folder and flipped through some of the pages. Unimpressed she placed it back in the plastic bag and pushed her face through the stall divider wall to the fourth stall. Finding it empty she proceeded to walk though with her whole body and then continued through the outer wall to out behind the bar.

*******

Sam finished playing his game and prepared himself for bed. Still depressed at his realization earlier in the day, his self hate had diminished some. He pushed the covers off his bed, layed down, and pulled them back up around him. Tomorrow was another day. Sam closed his eyes and went to sleep.