Spread Your Wings...

Or some other such tosh.

SOE have left Jar Jar Binks in charge of the seasonal events arrangements again and we have the Ewok Festival of Love, again.

For the third? year in a row the ewoks, little furry gits with rows of sharp teeth and a pretty negative attitude to outsiders, are in town doling out candy, hearts, wings and halos.

Ach, it's all a bit of fun you say but other than Ani's "Are you an angel" can you remember anything in any of the films that hinted at angels? Or ayjits running about in the background with haloes and big frakking wings?

As for the chocolate fountains.. come on, these are furry critters.. you're going to let them within a 100 yards of any sort of sticky food?

Jeff Freeman, 1969 - 2008

I was truly shocked to read today that Jeff Freeman, formerly of SOE and an amazingly nice, smart guy has died at the age of 39, apparently having taken his own life.

Sadly I never got to know young Mr Freeman as well as I'd liked to have and from now on there'll be no more educated discussion of game design, the industry or the many facets of being Jeff.

Wherever you are now, man,
travel well and rest easy.

I'm not here...

... as some of the more observant of you might have noticed I haven't posted "in some time" (yeah, forgot my login, lol, what a newb).

Anyway, I'm over here now http://almagill.livejournal.com where I'm still spouting the same crap, just more frequently.

Sorry Il Divo, I'm judging you by your friends.

I like Il Divo. Good music to plooter around in the car too.

So yesterday i was moved to buy a couple of their CDs. Abut what's this? I can't play them on my PC, my normal media player, as there's some sort of copy protection?

Or rather, "You have to update several files in order to play this disc" and then you're given the option of installing crap knows what on your machine or sit listening to it grinding and clunking away while you try in vain to cancel MPlayer, get back to the desk top, eject the disk...

A quick google reveals that the boys discs are produced/distributed by Syco Music and that the copy protection comes via BMG. On close inspection ther eis the TINIEST of labels with who knows what random logos and the url www.bmg-copycontrol.info. The site that leads to is, what's the word... shit? Oh it's nicely designed, flash animated sqooshy graphics and all manner of knob knockery, but it doens't tell you how you can use the damned disc or what this software it wants to install is.

So I can only assume it's faulty and will be chucking it back over the counter at Virgin for a refun tyvm. "Not suitable for the purpose for which it was purchased", that is, it won't play on my PC.

More info on BMG and co at The Register

Meanwhile, sorry boys, but I'm going to judge you by the company you keep. No more Il Divo in this house. So that's a clear case of copy protection affecting sales.

Jeff Freeman Blogs... I Reblog... You xBlog.

Jeff Freeman blogs... infrequently ;)

Aw Dundee, you don't post much mate, but you do post some good stuff y'know.

Nien Nunb Blogs!

Well, puppeteer Mike Quinn's got a hand in it...

read more over at starwars.com

IS SL growing as WoW begins to shrink?

A long and contentious article by Mark Wallace of 3D.com.


Now, before reading it remind yourself that, as the author admits, comparing SL to WoW is a bit like comparing apples to oranges. But the exact premise of his argument is that SL may be getting bigger while WoW starts to go into a lull.

This is sort of supported by the sort of models that the two games prefer to use when looking at themselves, SL sees itself as being closer in form to a communications type network, as more people join, more people join, whereas WoW is usually looked at onthe conventional 'rapid climb/ peak / drop/ plateau and decline' style of model that, well, most businesses use.

Worth a read, worth thinking over later, and worth bearing in mind when people start throwng subs numbers about as away of 'proving' that game A is better than game B.

Stop Press! Hims Play Hers In Online game shock horror probe!

Heavy, Heavy Sarcasm intended, btw

Just read this article http://tinyurl.com/hq55m by Sean Twist in the LFP which has left me going "Huh? WTF?" on so many levels it's amusing.

I'll start with the obvious. "Where's the rest of the article, guy"??? It's like you've had this one great thought for something to write in your column and then wandered off to go back ingame and shimmy some. (Having played an ent in SWG for 2+ yuears I just know that's not the case, lol).

So... this guy offered you his gun? Was this meant to be symbolic? Am I just too dumb to get the whole 'dude with gun and chick with norks' thing?

Damn, Sean, I really, really don't like ragging on somebody who is just doing their job but that article is possibly one of the lamest SWG pieces I've read since the one that came out just after launch where the writer was whining about 'all there is to do in Galaxies is sit in a field and make pots...'

GAH!! What's your point? Is it really just that you had no idea that people play other genders in RPG's? Do you think ALL the players in BF2 are ALL guys? And anywahy,what's the issue here? Transgender RP is even an issue? For chrissakes... there's people in that game are playing different species.

;)

(And oh you can bet your badgermuffing beard that I'm creating a new toon today... screeny to follow)