Teljair and I have decided to put our efforts into creating a new media site called, “Rift Junkies” which will be a site for Rift: Planes of Telara.

And so it begins…

Rift Junkies is a fan site dedicated to the MMORPG Rift: Planes of Telara, formally Heroes of Telara, by Trion. This site has been created with the intent to support the Rift community as a whole. In doing so we hope to provide up-to-date coverage about anything going on with the game; this will include News, Media, Community Updates, Opinionated Blogs, and other events such as contests and polls. Additionally we have created our own forum that we invite everyone to discuss anything about Rift. This may include theory crafting, strategies, debating news topics and, or lore.

Rift Junkies was created by two partners, Teljair and Draegan. Both have been successful at creating fansites in the past such as WAAAGHHammer.com and AOCmmo.com. The most successful of all has been the all purpose MMORPG Media site, Rerollz.com. With the building excitement for Rift: Planes of Telara, both Draegan and Teljair have decided to create something new.

WWW.RIFTJUNKIES.COM

Looks like Eurogamer got an exclusive regarding class development in SWTOR. Apparently each of the eight classes breaks down into two classes. Each class will then have three talent trees, two specifically for the advanced class and one that is shared by the basic class; kind of like Age of Conan. According to Eurogamer the Sith splits up into a crazy dps class and a tank class.

Other than that the advanced classes exist, there isn’t much else to talk about. It’s a typical MMOG staple so you can’t say that you’re surprised. I’m still waiting on information on how the game works. It still looks like a very large co-op multiplayer online game. I guess we’ll have to stay tuned.

The dreams dreamers and schemers dream…

Everyone who has set foot in a virtual world, at one point, has thought there has to be a way to make money off what I am doing. I remember my first shop in Ultima Online. I remember teaching languages in Everquest. I remember armor making in Dark Age of Camelot. I ground my way to 80 in Everquest 2 as a weaponsmith. There came a point that I wanted more… I wanted real cash for what I could do in the MMO realm. I am not a fan of gold farming or the RMT sector. Along came Second Life. A sandbox environment where if you could dream it you could do it. This article will focus in on one of the myriad of professions you can undertake in Second Life. The life of a Disc Jockey. We will examine some of the tools, the venues, and how to go about finding work.

Read on after the break to start your journey to greatness.

The Tools
Obviously you will need to have a second life account and the client software installed. I will assume you have and that you know your way around that world. If not this might not be the right time for you to chase down this dream.

If you are going to be a DJ you need a music library. RIAA disclaimer here. If you broadcast music without having the licence or release to do so you are in violation of copyright law. There are many an internet DJ that run afoul of this issue and its quite costly to get caught. We could spend a whole article on this issue alone so I will leave it at this.

Next you will need software to encode your music files. This can be done (free) with Winamp and the DSP plugin offered on thier website. You can also do this with other programs that are not as cost effective. SAM from special audio, Virtual Dj, and MixMeister are all retail offereings that can send your music to your listeners. One HUGE benefit for you the DJ is to have a working, quality microphone. Any person on the net can queue up mp3 files and hit play. If you can speak to your listeners and they hear your energy and spirit you will make the double the money you would without a microphone.

Once you have your music and your software to send the music you will need to purchase, or rent a server that the listener will receive your music stream from. These can be rented for approx $5.00 USD a month for 25 listeners. You can even spend in game money (Linden) to rent the server. There are many options for your choosing. It will depend on how many people you want to hear your music. A bit of information on this: In the beginning as a DJ you will not have massive amounts of listeners. Most won’t need a stream capable of carrying more than 25 people at a time. This can and does change due to the skill and ability of the DJ. Some venues in world will have thier own stream that you can use. If you plan your business right you won’t have to spend that money.

The Venues
Second Life being a sandbox means there is no end to the variety of places you can play your music. There are dance clubs, beach clubs, bars, adult venues, and more. There is plenty of work to be had in the sector but you have to be smart about getting it. Just like the real world you are not going to walk into a top rated sim (zone) and get a salary position your first day. You will have to find a small, usually just starting, venue to apply to and being to hone your trade.

Most venues will expect you to work for tips only. Another word of caution here. Some venues will take a cut of your tips usually an 80/20 split with 80 percent to you and 20 to the club. This means if you aren’t any good you won’t get any in game cash. It also means that as you get better your credibility goes up and so does the amount you earn. Venues that have been around and have a large clent base offer salary plus tips. My suggestion. Work for 100 percent tips only in the beginning. Once you have your chops, then apply for salary positions.

Getting the Job
So just how to do you maximize your chances of landing a position? Here are some general guidelines for the beginning DJ. Most if not all venues will have an application that will ask for general information just like a job in the real world. Use the same manners and formality you would for a real world job and that part will take care of itself. Lets focus on what you can do to set yourself above the cut.

First, you need to understand that being in a service oriented profession means you need to suit your playstyle to the venue you apply for. They won’t hire you in a trance club if you only have metal in your library. If you don’t have the music a venue wants either pass it by or get what they want. You will make much more Linden (SL Dollars) if you are flexible to the place you apply for.

The next major thing you can to to help your cause is to have the ability to talk to your listeners. Many places will require you to voice over your playlists. Listen to the radio and model your voice to what you hear and you will be WELL on your way to being successful. Just like anything else, it takes practice.

Don’t let your playlists get stale. Have enough music that you don’t play the same tracks set after set. Yes, people want to hear the popular songs but after a time they will fade… you need to keep fresh music in the mix at all times.

Listen to your listeners. Take requests. If they want to hear something do your best to play it for them if its within the genre of the club and doesn’t violate the club owner’s wishes about music style. Just like in other service industries, good service equals good tips.

Apply at several places at once. Its better to have offers to choose from than to be forced into working in a place you don’t enjoy.

This brings me to a point that I know will bring the flame cannons out. If you want to make any cash you have to treat this like a real honest job. People’s time is valuable if they schedule an event and you blow it off, that is the same as not showing up for work. Yes, I know its a game. The caveat is that you are in a sandbox world that mimics what you will see in the real world. Behind every avatar is a living breathing person and you have treat them as such.

There you have it. A beginners guide to starting in the music business in second life. The tools, the venues, and tips to land the job. Now depart and start your journey to greatness. Seriously, good luck and let me know how you are doing.

After GDC this year every major news outlet has put up their own summary of what they saw in their presentation. However, most of it’s old news but there are a few tidbits that I’ve gleaned from the articles that we really didn’t know before. What I’m really hoping we’ll get to see is the gameplay presentation that they showed behind closed doors to the media. They released a “March 25th Teaster Trailer”, so maybe we’ll see this presentation tomorrow.

So what did I learn from all these articles? Read after the break for a quick breakdown.

On items:

“It’s a very item-heavy game,” he says. “Our model there has been World of Warcraft and Diablo, there are literally millions of items in this game, and you can craft, and you can augment, and you can level up your weapons. There are a lot of ways to increase your character’s strength.”

Same Link, Open World and Instancing:

Not everything has to be novel, however, and in terms of its geographical structure The Secret World is going to be a pretty traditional MMO. It will have huge, contiguous, open-world zones for hundreds of players (only instanced in the case of server over-crowding), where day-to-day missions and even some boss fights will take place.

Skill Decks:

As far as gameplay goes, there are no classes or levels in The Secret World. Instead players will unlock abilities as they progress their character. Players may purchase skills with the experience points they gain, but the maximum they can use at a time is seven active and seven passive skills. They will be able to mix and match appropriate to their needs at the time, but this will need to be done from specific areas before they embark on their adventure.

Same Link, Appearance Slots:

There will be two item sets for each character—one paper doll for functionality, such as weapons, and one paper doll strictly for appearances. As players explore the world they will be able to customize their character in both power and style through the spoils of war.

Story Telling, Cinematics:

An important element of the gameplay is cinematics. Every single mission has a cinematic and all characters are voiced. They’re created to give more emotional attachment to the story, allowing you to feel like you’re actually a part of what’s going on. Now the question is, from what I saw, did it work?

Same Link, Holy Trinity, Combat Roles:

But these powers are only a piece of the entire combat pie. We were given a fairly long look at a sample boss fight in the game. The 4-man party on screen was comprised of a healer, an assault rifle character and two with fire magic as a focus: one shooting fireballs from his hands, the other with more of a flaming sword thing going on.

So TSW is gearing up to be a classless game that is based on skills (we already knew this) similar to Guild Wars’ system of selecting skill sets. It’s also going to have a shit-ton of loot which is great. I love the reference to Diablo. I think this system worked great in Borderlands as well.

The rest is a confirmation of typical-MMOness. Which is fine and I think we all expected it but now we get an inkling that it won’t have heavy-handed instancing.

March 25th Teaser Trailer

Today Cryptic has released their latest addition to Champions Online. It’s a free mini-expansion called Revelation.

• Brand new level 37-40 content: Experience the endgame in all new ways, as friends become enemies and the picturesque Vibora Bay falls sway to the half-angel, half-demon Therakiel.
• Six new meta-powers: Earn brand new, Tier 4 powers.
• Therakiel’s Temple: Group up with your friends to conquer the most challenging Champions Online Lair yet!
• Five new enemy groups: Meet and defeat five new enemies – Sovereign Sons, Trey Kings, New Shadows, Dogz and Nephilim!
• Over 30 new perks: Dozens of new ways to achieve in Champions Online.
• New Costume Parts: Entirely new costume sets available.

Read the official release details here.

Since I love Battlestar Galactic stuff I thought I’d share this with you guys.

LA Times Reports:

“Battlestar Galactica” is finding new life on the Web.

A year after the cult and critics’ favorite science-fiction show left the air, a multi-player online game is being developed that further explores the “Battlestar” universe, which is also continuing in Syfy’s “Caprica” television show. The game, which will be introduced at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this week, is set to be released worldwide in August or September.

Unlike World of Warcraft “that ship on discs and cost $50 to buy plus $15 per month, Battlestar Galactica is part of a new wave of games playable entirely in a Web browser for free.” The game will be published by Bigpoint of which SyFy is a co-owner of.

The game’s website can be found here.

You’ve probably heard this already. 38 Studios and EA have signed a deal for EA to publish it’s first game code named “Project Mercury”.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced an agreement with 38 Studios, LLC to publish the company’s first video game, an epic single-player role-playing game codenamed ‘Project Mercury’. 38 Studios is the creative enterprise of World Series MVP and avid gamer Curt Schilling. ‘Project Mercury’ is being developed at Big Huge Games, a wholly-owned subsidiary of 38 Studios, under the leadership of Ken Rolston, former lead designer of the critically acclaimed hits, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The game marks the first entry into the company’s vast universe created by New York Times best-selling fantasy author R. A. Salvatore, with artistic direction by Todd McFarlane, renowned artist and creator of Spawn.

Now if you want to take a look at past Big Huge Games project one might find their self taking a peak at Crucible, a game that was headed by Ken Rolston at Big Huge Games. Some videos of it have been leaked on the interwebs. You can find the leaked video over on Kotaku. For more background you can read about it here.

Also please note, this press release did not mention Project Copernicus, but will deal with the same IP and the world RA Salvatore and Todd McFarlane have helped create.

At this years Square Enix Vanafest, some new information was announced that has FFXI loyalists as well as XIV hopefuls excited. Square Enix revealed that invites for the closed beta test will begin going out as of March 1st, and that players should begin checking their emails to see if they made the cut. While no solid date has been released as to when the beta will actually begin, it has been released that the beta community site will go live on March 11th.

Anyone still wishing to apply for the beta can do so Here.

Also in the wake of the beta announcement, Square Enix has unveiled a massive list of changes to the world of Vana’diel. Over the next 9 months, 4 staggered updates called ‘Abyssea’ will bring to the world plenty of new content. Level cap increases from 75-99, new NMs and HNMs, as well as balance tweaks for many jobs. The level cap increase will come over updates 2, 3 and 4, as to not overwhelm players in the reputably grind ridden game.

Along with in game content additions, Square Enix will be performing server merges, effectively halfing their server list. This is done in most cases as an attempt at providing a larger server playerbase to help increase the sense of community, through resolving any possible population issues. Eight years into the games life, Square is clearly not ready to give up their flagship, even in favor of her next gen bigger brother.

While the changes to FFXI may not draw new players, or even many returning ones, I am sure of one thing. Millions of Final fantasy and MMORPG fans are checking their email accounts hourly, waiting for that beta.

More information available at Playonline’s official coverage of Vanafest: here.

On F13.net Curt Schilling recently posted in a forum thread that fans should stay tuned; that some information with substance should be released before the end of the month.

Look for something that actually matters, information wise, soon, REAL soon. Like before the end of the month soon.

Looks like they might announce something at this year’s GDC perhaps? Nothing substantial has been released about this game other than a few concept drawings.

[View with PicLens]

Not so much MMOG news but for you lore-heads out there you might be excited about this one.

We’re proud to announce Ghosts of Ascalon, the first original Guild Wars novel! Written by acclaimed fantasy authors Matt Forbeck and Jeff Grubb, Ghosts of Ascalon sets the stage for the release of the highly anticipated Guild Wars 2 MMO.

Find out more about the book here.