Is Bioware Developing a KOTOR MMO?

A few months ago, I started to hear some rumours that Bioware was working on an MMO. Those rumours may be true after all. Computer and Video Games is reporting that Bioware has (or is) forming a team to develop a MMORPG based on the Knights of the Old Republic property. CVG is basing this report off an article in EGM, a print magazine. In essence, this report is still rumour… but good rumour.

A KOTOR MMO would be highly regarded if Bioware gets the ingredients right. Just like World of Warcraft and Lord of the Rings Online, there is a fairly huge fan base of the original Knights of the Old Republic games. Many of these fans would go out and subscribe this game.

Even if these rumours are true, we still have a few years to wait for this one. We probably shouldn’t expect to see it before 2010.

Popularity: 2%

Stropp - Fully Armed and Filthy

It has to be a record time.

Normally, when I order from Amazon, I expect it to take at least two weeks for delivery. Don’t get me wrong, that is a pretty good delivery time considering I live around 11000 kilometers (7000 miles) from the warehouse. A standard shipping delivery can take up to three weeks.

I got a phone call today. My Lord of the Rings preorder box was shipped on the 24th and delivered on the 27th. It looks like Amazon defaulted to the fastest shipping method (and charged accordingly) but I don’t mind because I am now a founding member of the game.

I chose the $199 lifetime membership simply because I know that even if I stop playing at some point, I’ll also return. In nearly every MMO that I have played and stopped, I’ve reactivated my account at least once. With the Founders program I don’t have to worry about it.

The only downside I’ve found so far is that I don’t seem to be able to access the EU servers. It looks like I’m restricted to the US servers only. It’s a bit of a bummer because I was hoping to catch up in game with some blogger friends, but they are in the EU. I’m not sure why there is this trend of restricting players in different parts of the world to separate server groups. One of the things I find appealing about the whole MMO phenomenon is the contact with people from everywhere in the world, not just one or two cultures.

In any case Stropp is now Fully Armed and Filthy, on the Brandywine server, spoiling to stain his axe with some Orc blood. He’s looking forward to seeing you in the game and sharing the kill.

There’s no tossing this Dwarf.

Just a quick update. When I went to log in today, Brandywine was full. Since I hadn’t got to far, I rerolled on Elendilmir. Even so, there was still a queue after I relogged after a break. It looks like LotRO is going to be very popular.

Popularity: 4%

Lord of the Rings Online - Preordered

I’ve done it. I preordered Lord of the Rings Online today from Amazon. So, in a few days it will be winging it’s way across the deep blue sea.

Everything I’ve been reading about LotRO indicates that this game is going to be a big seller. I’ve seen articles from news and blog sites that talk about the excitement that is running through the MMO community as LotRO nears its release on the 24th of April. I’ve even wondered if it will be a WoW killer.

I suspect not, because a lot of players will be reluctant to leave a game where they have built up their characters, and have formed relationships with other players. And, very importantly, I haven’t seen much of the sort of babble where disgruntled players are saying, "When xyz comes out…" or "I’m just waiting for abc…" Aside from the usual nerf and I’ve been nerfed comments on forums, everyone appears reasonably gruntled.

Still Lord of the Rings is a huge licence with a lot of popularity. I think that after over two years of WoW, some players will be interested in having a look at something a bit different. LotRO with its widespread appeal and a very clean beta with lots of positive reports, will pick up quite a few players from WoW. I also suspect that the next couple of years will be an interesting time for Blizzard as more and more MMOs will be released. Will World of Warcraft keep growing its subscriber base, or will people want to move on to other different games?

Time will tell.

Popularity: 5%

Win an iPod Shuffle at The Surly Blogger

Some of you might be interested in a competition that I am running over on my blog about becoming financially independent, The Surly Blogger. I appreciate your readership here at Stropp’s World, and I’d like to also give you a chance to win an iPod Shuffle. All you have to do is simply write a comment about what becoming financially independent means to you. The best comment received by the 30th of April will win the prize.

So if you would like a chance to win one of the snazzy little devices, head on over to The Surly Blogger have a look at the rules, and drop a comment about your dream of financial independence.

Popularity: 3%

Gardening, Blogging, and 300 with Machinegun Legs. Oh My!

Sorry I haven’t posted much lately. I’ve been quite busy with life, the new blog, and with the redesign of Stropp’s World.

Easter was somewhat busier than I expected as well. I was hoping to get heaps done since it was a four day long weekend. However, since it was such nice weather, I was finally able to get around to doing some work in my drought ravaged front garden. We’ve been on water restrictions here for months now, and a lot of the plants in the garden haven’t survived, especially since Summer was hotter than normal. Hopefully we will get a bit of rain this Winter, or the new plants won’t survive long either. Not to mention we might not have anything to drink next Summer.

I also got a chance to see 300 last night. Wow! What a visual feast. It was a very spectacular movie, but very brutal and violent. I loved the art direction, but would have liked a little more colour since it seemed rather subdued in that department. The acting was decent, and the story flowed fairly quickly with few dead pauses that can happen in this sort of comic book style movie. Unfortunately, I thought the music wasn’t as clear as it could be. There was a lot of hard and heavy music, and while I do like that style, it did seem to grunge together a bit too much.

I also saw some shorts for a movie called Grindhouse. It’s supposedly done in the style of the old schlock pulp movies and consists of two shorts by Tarantino and Rodriquez. I have to say I almost fell out of my seat with laughter when the promo showed a scene with a girl with an artificial leg. Why was this funny? The artificial leg was a machine gun, and fired when she did her combat moves. Hilarious.

As for progress on the new design. I have a good idea of what the site will look like now, and I’ve downloaded a bunch of new plugins for use with Wordpress. I’ll be building the theme up myself. I’m not planning on using an existing Wordpress theme. This is one of the reasons it’s taking a bit longer to do this. The first step, which I might do if I get time tonight, is to upgrade Wordpress to the latest version. So if you see the site down at all later, this is what is happening. 

Popularity: 3%

Age of Conan Beta Signups

This Spring Barbarians everywhere are invited to hack and slash their way through Funcoms upcoming MMORPG, Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures. In preparation for the bloodletting and carnage of two parallel beta programs, Funcom have announced the opening of beta signups.

The two beta tests that are being run are the General Beta which tests gameplay, and the Technical Beta which tests things like server load and capacity, and other technical things. The earlier you sign up, the more chance that you have to get in to at least one of the betas.

Remember that Age of Conan is a mature game. It does contain high level violence, and other adult content. If this sort of thing isn’t for you, don’t sign up. But if you’re into dismemberment, decapitation, and arse sculpting, then AoC just might be for you. I’ll be signing up once my PC is back from repairs.

Popularity: 5%