Jonathan Northwood
Portland, Oregon - http://doc-northwood.livejournal.com/
Hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Jonathan’s addiction to the social aspects of gaming began over thirty years ago, and shows no sign of lessening. He currently self-medicates through judicious use of missions and street sweeping in both the Rogue Isles and Paragon City. When not tied to the keyboard, he can be found writing short stories and novels, enjoying anime, brushing up on his cooking skills, or looking for the Next Big Game™.
by Jonathan Northwood 
Jun 26th 2008 (1 year ago)
NCsoft
Heaviest of
Exteel's early-era Mechanaughts, the Boomrocker is also one of the best support models available for pilots who can afford the armor and upkeep. Admittedly, it's slower and heavier than newer models, but it's also sturdier, and has a greater capacity for heat regulation. Additionally, the head is equipped with dual Mechanaught Processing Units (MPUs), so you can purchase and equip two skills at the same time.
Weighing in at 54K credits, the price tag is not minor, but it's also not prohibitive. And when you consider its classification as a Heavy, when the
Trooper is classified as a Medium, it's a fairly sweet deal for the dosh. Yes, it's a support unit, but when you consider how much damage it can deal in close-quarters fighting, support can also equate to kicking opposing Mechanaught butt.
Now, a word of warning: we've already mentioned that it's not the fastest bird off the blocks, and it doesn't have the highest mobility. If you do get into a fight where you wind up on the front lines instead of supporting your troops, conserve your energy and reroute it to weapons and shields: don't try to boost or jump unless you can't avoid it, because the Boomrocker is just an eensy bit of a pig when it comes to sucking down the juice. Still, between the armor and the weaponry you're packing, the tradeoff in protection and penetration should more than make up for the occasional sphincter-loosening worry when the your team observes the solid biowaste impacting the rotary impellers.
by Jonathan Northwood May 8th 2008 (1 year ago)
WoW
EVE
PotBS
AoC
Do you enjoy online gaming? Well, who doesn't, really? Do you like the idea of being surrounded by like-minded folks who're playing
World of Warcraft,
EVE Online,
Pirates of the Burning Sea, and
Age of Conan in as obsessive a fashion as you? Think you have the
Bawls to play for three days solid? Want to hook up with friends -- and trash-talk a few enemies along the way -- in order to share the MMO love? If so, get ready to visit Portland, Oregon, because
PDXMMO v. 1.0 is finally here. You'll need to create a
PDXLAN forum account in order to register for PDXMMO, but you'd better hurry: seating is limited to 80, and 20 seats are already claimed.
From 6 p.m. Friday, 18 July, through 3 p.m. Monday, 21 July, the
Portland Airport Holiday Inn Ballroom is being converted into an MMO-only space. For USD $60.00 -- or, if you prefer, just about the price of a tank of gas -- you'll get:
- Internet connectivity via Comcast Cable (... by way of PDXLAN staffer Notoes)
- 3 Days of Non-stop MMOs
- Admission to PDXLAN Schedued Contests
- Admission to the PDXLAN Raffle (2 Tickets)
- 1/3 of a 8 foot round table for you and your computer
- 600W for your tower and space for your 24" or less LCD / 21" or less CRT
- Admission to the World of Warcraft 1 person Free For All Tournament
So get your vacation requests in at work, stock up on the caffeine tabs and beef jerkey, and get ready to party. PDX is ready for you. Here's the question, though: are you ready for PDXMMO?
by Jonathan Northwood May 1st 2008 (1 year ago)
NCsoft
Here at Massively, we've always striven to provide you with as much information as we're able to gather about our favorite games. Well, we were lucky enough to catch up with Tim Tan -- North American Producer for NCsoft's Lineage II property -- and had the chance to discuss with him his views on Lineage II itself, the Hellbound expansion, and his feelings about the game's fourth anniversary. With him was Jessica "Alyra" Folsom, Community Manager for Lineage II, so we took the opportunity to pick her brain, as well.
For those unaware of the excitement, Hellbound went live on 23 April, the same day the Lineage II team launched Luna, their brand-new European server. Tie both of those events in with the fourth anniversary of their title, and you can see why Tim's so excited about the success of this labor of love. Okay, labor of love, and a lot of coding. Closing the last link in the chain of the First Throne saga, Hellbound brings into existence the horrors and triumphs foreshadowed in earlier installments.
by Jonathan Northwood Apr 30th 2008 (1 year ago)
CoH
CoV
Although we here at Massively have our own
podcast, and even though we've
showcased other podcasts in the past, we missed one important offering in our
MMOG podcast roundup last year. The
CoH Podcast -- ably presided over by Chooch and Viv -- is a wonderful roundup of
CoX news and events. A tasteful plate of information and opinion served up in under an hour, the
CoH Podcast informs and amuses, and it's available via
iTunes. Currently on Episode 21, they've been providing their own spin around the streets of the City since
October 2007.
Feel free to browse their
listener forums, look over their
screen captures, or simply
subscribe to one of the better podcasts streaming across the web. When you're done listening, they welcome feedback. And if you want to speak with them directly, feel free to give them a call ... their telephone number is on the main page of the site. Don't worry, though: I have it on the best authority that the number
doesn't spell bubkiss.
by Jonathan Northwood Apr 27th 2008 (1 year ago)
CoH
CoV
Robot arms, monster legs, helmets, wings, ears, antennae and whiskers, all swaddled in tuxedo jackets paired with boxing shorts, stiletto heels and barbed-wire wrapped waists. And that's all on one character. Ah, the joys and perils of the City of Heroes/City of Villains costume creator. As Alec Meer notes, "The character editor, especially in the expanded form it takes these days, offers a vast array of possibilities." The important thing to remember is to be ... judicious ... in your development. Feel free to create eye-searing combinations, but don't be afraid to be subtle, either. Just let your vision take flight, and don't focus on trying to re-create extant heroes.
by Jonathan Northwood Apr 19th 2008 (1 year ago)
In Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, Alice is told by Tweedledee that she only exists as part of the Red King's dreams. "And if he left off dreaming about you," Tweedledee ponders, "where do you suppose you'd be?" As Carroll illustrates, the concept of self-referential realities is not new. Whether discussing the potential pitfalls of a book-based time-travelling plotline that ties a protagonist into the role of being their own grandparent, or focusing attention on the weltanschauung that supports reincarnation and clan-line prophecies, humans seem to have a need to write themselves into the story wherever they can, compartmentalizing fact, fiction, and speculation.
by Jonathan Northwood Apr 17th 2008 (1 year ago)
CoH
CoV
We, the Chosen Ones within the ranks of Arachnos, have managed to
smuggle out a copy of a debriefing video Longbow is providing to "heroes". Realistically, it wasn't that difficult: the briefing was held by heroes, and they apparently didn't realize that an open meeting room in the Rikti War Zone -- an area where heroes and villains both share space,
hello? -- is likely not the best place to discuss "secret" information. I had the somewhat dubious pleasure of dropping into shadow to listen to Major Tasker advise the
cannon fodder horde of strong and valiant warriors that he was "here to brief you on the capabilities of your sworn enemies, the soldiers of Arachnos." As he notes, "we expect large numbers of new
Wolf Spiders and
Blood Widows in the coming weeks." Doesn't it make your skin tingle with antici ... pation?
I suppose to be fair to Longbow -- although who really
wants to be? -- the intel they were able to gather is reasonably solid. I've been able to verify the whispers I heard ... whispers that said Chosen Ones who reach a high enough Threat Level are able to induct
new members into the fold as either Wolf Spiders or Blood Widows. Luckily for us, Lord Recluse has been satisfied enough with the Chosen Ones that the Spider class is no longer limited to males, and the Widow class is now open to them. Fraternization's not a problem, from what I understand: just be aware that the rumors of Widows eating their mates isn't limited solely to the animal kingdom.
by Jonathan Northwood Apr 16th 2008 (1 year ago)
With all of the discussion about
in-game advertisements going on, I thought I'd bring your attention to something else
NCsoft is using to provide additional services in-game. Now whether you believe
Exteel is a MMO or not, it's the flagship for NCsoft's micro-transaction model using
NCcoin, and it's a great way to see if the model's going to work before potential roll-out to other titles. "But Jon," you might ask, "what is NCcoin?" Well, let me 'splain.
NCcoin is a dollar-per-penny in-game transaction process that allows you to purchase in-game equipment, upgrades and enhancements using real-world coinage. Unlike
gold farming schemes, however, this isn't a third party asking you to spend $59.99 for 60 million influence. NCcoin is currently available in 100, 500, 1000 and 2000 denominations, and for that you pay $1, $5, $10 or $20, respectively. According to NCsoft NA president
Chris Chung, "NCsoft's goal is to bring more and more people into the online gaming market, and part of achieving that goal is to continue to diversify how customers can pay and play."
by Jonathan Northwood Apr 13th 2008 (1 year ago)
The movers and shakers behind
Mythic's
Dark Age of Camelot enjoy answering questions posed by their customers, and usually address a handful during each Friday's Grab Bag session. One question a number of individuals has posed is how one goes about getting a second account. According to the Bearded Wonder, "Download the 14-day trial version. Sign up for an account via that method, using the trial disc cd-key and then you have the game up to the Catacombs client." He went on to say that, "If you want to enable additional expansions for the second account, you can do so, and we encourage it!"
Questions ranged far and wide, and discussed equippage rights, seige engines, enchantments, crafting, and more. For example, does Greater Onslaught Mythirian have to be equipped by the siege driver, or can it be equipped by a secondary rider and still provide the move increase of 6? The answer: it must be equipped by the driver, specifically. Speaking of specifics, some people have noted that Pendragon and Normal frequently download the same files, and they rapidly grew weary of the ongoing duplication. the Bearded Wonder again strode to the rescue with the suggestion of using separate game installations for Live and Test.
In addition to the questions -- all of which are available on last Friday's Grab Bag page -- there were a number of announcements, as well.
- On 25/26 April, the players of Gaheris (PvE) will host the first of three weekend events.
- DAoC version 1.94 is being worked on, and they hope to have it up on Pendragon soonish.
- On 10 May, a number of the DAoC team will be in Bethesda, Maryland, for a Camelot Road Trip, and they're requesting an RSVP if you're planning on attending.
- And, finally, they're giving qualified players the opportunity to apply for a PvE Ruleset, Thane, Wizard, or Bonedancer Team Lead position.
by Jonathan Northwood Apr 8th 2008 (1 year ago)
CoH
CoV
As promised, we have a full transcript from The Cape's podcast covering in-game advertising. Be warned: at 44 minutes of speech, the transcript is huge. To make it easier to digest, we've split the transcript into 7 discrete sections. So that it's easier to follow, the DJs have their speech in black text, while Matt "Positron" Miller shines with the heroic green glow of his alt's Radiation powers. Brian Clayton -- NCsoft NorCal's Studio Manager -- is a cool blue presence, and Lighthouse isn't only a Red Name, he's got red speech. So, without further ado, here you go: the full transcript of Friday's interview.
