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• 12Jun 08

  RO is addictive

  If you're wondering where I've been these past months, there is a simple explenation. I have returned to my favorite MMORPG, Ragnarok Online. Over the last four or so years I've played RO on and off, registering on various private servers and contributing to the development of new ones. If you've never heard of this game, let me give you a brief summary.
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  Ragnarok Online, often referred to as RO, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by GRAVITY Co., Ltd., and was first released in South Korea on 31 August 1998 for Microsoft Windows and has since been released in many other locales around the world. Much of the game's mythos is based on Norse mythology, but its styIe has been influenced by Asian cultures. The game has spawned an animated series, Ragnarok the Animation, and a sequel game, Ragnarok Online 2: The Gate of the World.

  
  
  The Ragnarok Online world is divided into a series of maps, each of which has its own terrain and native monsters, though many monsters are native to multiple regions. Transportation between maps requires loading the new map and monsters cannot travel from one map to another.
  
  There are three major nations in Ragnarok Online, the first of which and where all players start is Rune Midgard. The Schwaltzvalt Republic, an industrialized neighbor to the North, was added in Episode 10 and Arunafeltz, a religious nation modeled after a combination of Israel and Turkey is the subject of Episode 11. A series of other, minor nations also exist, generally modeled after an ancient society in the real world, examples such as Amatsu, which is modeled after ancient Japan, and Louyang, which is modeled after ancient China.
  
  Areas from Norse mythology are also included, such as Niflheim, the land of the dead, and Valhalla, where players can become Transcendent cIass. New map content is constantly being added to game in the form of Episode updates.
  
  Jobs are one of the most important aspects of Ragnarok Online, as the job a player chooses will have profound implications on his or her strengths and weaknesses, both in a party and outside of one. The job system includes a total of 39 different jobs, divided into 6 categories: Novices, Super Novices, First Job cIasses, Second Job cIasses, Transcendent cIasses and Extended cIasses.
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  Normally you'd have to pay to play RO, on the official international servers run by Gravity. However, you can also choose from hundreds of private servers run individually in order to have a free experience. This way you can custom pick the gameplay you are most comfortable with.
  
  Typically there three types of servers; low rate, mid rate and high rate. This corresponds to the experience rate of leveling and drop rates of items. All three have very different playing habbits but are enjoyable equally for different reasons. Anyway, while I don't encourage you to start playing an MMO - since it can be addictive, I invite others bored with their World of Warcraft or Lineage 2, to give this a go.
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  VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR RO GAMERS
  
  + kRO Sakray Client Download
  + Top 200 Private Servers
  + Game Info Database
  + New Player Guide

  • Posted Jun 12, 2008 5:42 pm PT
  • Category: Games
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• 2May 08

  R2-D2 Projector in Action Video

  
  
  (gizmondo.com) -- We knew that there was a motorized, fully-articulated R2-D2 projector with built-in DVD, iPod dock, all kinds of digital media inputs, and Millennium Falcon remote control, but we never - ever imagined it would be so amazingly drooltastic as this video shows.

  Time to put on your LEGO-made Han Solo jacket or Leia bikini, and buy this thing - because after watching it in action, I don't care about the lack of Full HD support: this thing is absolutely a must have, caress, fondle, and lick all over material. Reaching nerdgasm, however, still costs $2,995.

  [Star Wars Shop via Star Wars Blog]

  • Posted May 2, 2008 10:17 pm PT
  • Category: Technology
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• 25Apr 08

  5 Best PC Games Playable on Linux

  (VGPRO.com) -- This is a short list of 5 PC games that you can play on the upcoming Ubuntu release: Hardy Heron. Although these games may have some features disabled, they definitely are evidence of how far Linux gaming really has come. Some of the listed games run using Wine, whereas with others Wine is not needed. Links to some valuable Ubuntu gaming resources are given at the end. If you like it, Digg it.
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  1) World of Warcraft v2.4.X
  
  World of Warcraft requires Wine to run and has a PLATINUM rating. Voice Chat, Anti-Aliasing, Texture Filtering, Fullscreen switch, and gxrestart/reloadui all work perfectly. Some users report that a registry tweak is necessary , but with the latest Wine release (v0.9.60) its pretty much plug-n-play.

  2) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare v1.4
  
  Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare v1.4 requires Wine to run and has an overall silver rating at WineHQ. One user even rated it at Gold. Wine does require a patch for the game to run correctly. *EDIT* Some Wine veterans tell me that this can get slightly complicated. However, I decided to include this game because it is basically the bleeding edge of new games with high quality graphics. This game just shows how far Wine and Ubuntu have come! *EDIT* One minor flaw is that multiplayer support does not work on punkbuster enabled servers. Attempts to get punkbuster to work in Wine in the past have been all but hopeless.

  3) Unreal Tournament 2004
  
  Unreal Tournament 2004 works right out of the box. Wine is not needed. Installing is as simple as making sure your graphics drivers are up to date and typing: sudo sh /media/cdrom0/linux-installer.sh. With UT2004 comes a host of full modifications also available for play. One example is Alien Swarm. Alien Swarm is a total conversion mod for Unreal Tournament 2004 created by Black Cat Games and initially released on May 28, 2004. If you've played UT2004 in the past, but never played Alien Swarm, its definitely worth a try!

  4) Day of Defeat: Source
  
  Day of Defeat was originally a modification for Half-Life, but Valve released a new version based on the Source engine. This game requires Wine to play, but has a Platinum rating, so it involves little or no hassle. Another thing to note here is that Most of the other games based on the Source engine (Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike: Source) are also playable with Platinum ratings using Wine.

  5) Guild Wars All Versions
  
  The best thing about Guild Wars is that it is a high quality MMORPG that has no subscription costs! Guild Wars takes the best elements of today's massively multiplayer online games and combines them with a new mission-based design that eliminates some of the more tedious aspects of those games. This game requires Wine to play, but once again has a platinum rating, so no headaches involved!
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  VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR UBUNTU GAMERS
  
  + Wine Application Database
  + Ubuntu Gaming and Leisure Forums
  + Ubuntu 64-bit Gamers Installation Guide
  
  NOTES

  Hope this was useful for everyone, and please feel free to post links to things I missed!
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  *ADDITION* Eve Online
  One Digg user has noted that I have failed in an Epic fashion for forgetting Eve Online! I must admit that it was a big oversight. Eve Online is an MMORPG that can be played natively on Linux (no wine required).

  
  
  
  *ADDITION* Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
  A Digg user has noted that I have failed to include Enemy Territory: Quake Wars! ETQW is a first-person shooter video game that can run natively on Linux, and is the follow-up to Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory (no wine required on this one either).
  
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  • Posted Apr 25, 2008 11:13 am PT
  • Category: Games
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