I'm wondering if I can join with some peeps from wow?

WW, I'm not 100% sure what you mean - is this a GT/OO WoW guild and now you're considering migrating to AoC?

In any case, check out the original post and head over to www.thewanderers.us to make sure you and your "peeps" feel like it's a good fit.  Just so you know, many of us are from the old Gone Gold forum days and so it's generally a friendly, more mature crowd of people, with a good mix of PvE and PvPers.

Crap!

Well great news on Reaper, thanks for that!!!

But bad news on Moonlight, I was really starting to enjoy it.  I'm really surprised they dumped it, ratings were actually pretty decent every time I checked.  Not sure what they were expecting for a Friday at 9pm show.  Like Reaper, it was just starting to hit its stride and explore more meaty storylines, plus I thought a lot of women (and me) were totally in love with the main star. 

Wow! After that new patch today that stuck me on open test it works fine. Course it was in a 115something x 800 window. Im now going to try fullscreen and enter tortage...probaly freeze up and explode

Sweet!  We'll keep our fingers crossed.  Any idea on what the patch changed that might have helped?  We had a couple people with older systems who also couldn't get the game to run, just curious...

So, could anyone give some impressions of the different classes they've played?

I didn't play much (and only up to lvl 20 max so very limited) but here are some basic impressions:

Conqueror - played this the least, but reminded me a bit of Barbarian from Diablo 2.  Melee based with warcries.  I thought it was going to be Paladin-like with auras but I think it's more like Barb.  Seemed to carve through stuff in melee very well.

Priest of Mitra - I played this the most.  Reminiscent of a Cleric in DAOC.  Buffs, nukes and heals, melee to finish stuff off.  Fairly traditional MMORPG-style of play.  Healing was unimpressive.

Demonologist - nuker with a main pet.  Reminded me a bit of a mage/summoner in Shadowbane, or maybe one of the pet classes in DAOC.  The pet was unimpressive, the nukes seemed better.  Also much more of a traditional MMORPG class.

Also should mention I apologize for any confusion with the Introductory/Recruitment posts and CoC on our forums.  As you can probably tell we've been around for so long and in so many incarnations that things have changed quite a bit over the years.  So please bear with us as we get that all revised and don't be intimidated by the voting rules or whatever is described.  If we know you from here or OO, that's good enough to get you in, but please do follow YK, gryn and opti's examples and make an intro post in the Recruitment forum.  This will really help us keep track of everything.

Regarding the game itself, I'll try to post major things (like what server we're on) here, but evenutally game announcements (meetings, activities, contests, or whatever) will all be made only on the main guild forum so as to not unduly spam this forum.  In other words, even if you just want to lurk, it's best to have an account on the guild forum.

In terms of in-game guild invites, I wasn't able to find a / command so if anyone knows please let me know.  Otherwise it appeared to me that I had to have the person selected in order to invite into the guild. 

Tried to register on the Wanderers site but it says my e-mail is already in use...I even entered my wife's e-mail to see if that could work, same thing.

Sooooo, I must have joined you guys waaaaay back in the Gone Gold days. As a matter of fact I know I played with the Wanderers in DAoC.

But for the life of me I can't remember my username or password from way back then.

On the Gone Gold forums I used "Gollum"....I know, I know, but it was before Lord of the Rings became so popular that names like Legolas and Gollum weren't so commonly known..anywho...

Is there some way of gaining access?

Hey Arc, I looked for both a "gollum" and a "arclight" but didn't find anything... any other user name you might have had?  Probably your best bet is to PM Gedd for help, and/or post in the "Help I lost access" thread in the Announcements and Questions section.  We'll get it taken care of soon enough :-)

Quick Update:

Apparently on our forums all you need is to be a "Recruit" and you will be able to see the AoC Forum.  When you first sign up you will be listed as a Visitor.  So if you follow what Gryndyl did, just make a post in the Recruitment forum and we'll take care of the rest.

Once you have access to the AoC forum, please throw a temporary post in the Roster forum.


Thanks and hope to see more of you soon!!

HOLY F-ING CRAP!!!!



(Spoilers from finale follow)



Yet AGAIN my girl Amanda wins the final 2 immunity challenges, is dissed at the finale and loses, even with only 1 competitor in the final 2.  I can't get over it.  I guess the message is backstabbing=good for the final?  Or Proudly Backstabbing is the way to go, maybe.  I think a lot of it is the editing as well.  Parv clearly wiled her way into the hearts of many, the girl knows how to flirt.  Conversely, I think Amanda is edited to seem more likable to to the audience, but likely in reality appears more vapid and weak.  She didn't say much at all at the end (edited?) but what she did say was fairly weak and insubstantial.... again! 

I guess in the end Parv was given the credit for being "mastermind" and got the key swing votes (Jason and Eliza) because of it.  I was still very surprised, I wish they would have discussed the voting by those 2 a bit more.  Eliza clearly was torn, but I think Amanda's constant crying and weepage just annoyed her more than being attacked by the Parv.

A great season with a kind of annoying ending.  While twists and change ups are good, the swapping between 2 or 3 in the final is kind of aggravating.  I really think Amanda deserved to win even more so this time around.  Her game play finding and playing the immunity idol was absolutely brilliant, she won tough challenges in the end and didn't backstab the majority of the jury.  78 out of 78 days played, the girl is still a winner in my book.  At least she gets Ozzy as a booby prize.

The interesting thing to contemplate is what if Amanda brought Cirie.  I thought it was a shoe-in for Cirie but was it?  I think the voting would have swung the same way, all except for Parvati herself, who might very well have voted for her better friend, Amanda.  Don't know how they'd settle a tie breaker.

And what if they had left it a Final 3?  Again my feeling is Erik, Ozzy and James stick with Amanda, the other 2 girls with Parv and maybe Jason and Eliza go with Cirie. 

Ah well.  Not sure if I'm coming back for the next season, will just have to see.

Hey Ritt... I just registered to the Wanderers forum (using the name "koanic").  Do I need to post in the recruitment area in order to join for AoC? 

That would definitely be preferable, will make it easier for us to track since as you probably noticed we have people in different games.

After careful consideration of the server polls, and virtually unanimous concurrence with the game officers, The Wanderers will play on a Standard server for AoC.

This decision will ensure we have the maximum number of players for the guild at the outset and give us a strong chance to pursue the endgame City Building and Battlekeep content.  I would like to see us work together as a guild and push toward being one of the elite guilds on our server.

As mentioned before, GG/GT/OOers are more than welcome to join us on our quest.  If you have not been to our guild forums before, please sign up at www.thewanderers.us and look for announcements, planning, discussion, etc in our dedicated AoC forum.  (I'm not sure if you get immediate access to the AoC forum, but I'll work with Gedd and make sure we get that all squared away.)

Thanks, and look forward to seeing you all in Hyboria!!!


UPDATE:  Anu did not make it to first release, see you in DERKETO

OK, just over a week until the game comes out and I'm still feeling pretty ambivalent about it.  Is there anything out there than can get me excited again?

Boobies!!!  Head chopping!!!  Boobies!!!!  Blood splatter all over your screen!!!  blood scattered over boobies!!  Mounted combat!!  Boobies on mounted combat!!!  Rhinos!!!  Mammoths!!!  Guild battles!!  Build your own city!!  Prostitutes in your own city!!!  More boobies!!!  Did I mention the boobies?

Im IN closed beta..its what wont run. Heck the game was final a week ago and is at the shippers now ready to go out I bet. It wont be any better than what Im not getting to play now.

Oh, closed beta... so I'm assuming you fed your info back to the developers, filed bug reports and such, but still no go?  If that's the case I totally understand.

Not trying to give you a hard time, but I often get the sense people treat being a beta tester like getting a free demo of the game, and then decide whether to buy/support the game based on that experience. 

- - -

P.S. Hoping the new patch helps OB testers!

Yeah I can't remember if they had a car (and the requisite car jinx) last season...

On Erik, after discussing with a friend at lunch, I'd say in his defense:

On paper, it would have been the smarter move for both Natalie AND Cirie to follow through with the original plan and eliminate Amanda so as to not face her in the Final 3.  I'm really not sure where Erik was going with Parvati, unless it was just that he was horny for Amanda.  Had they followed through, all 4 remaining players would have fairly equal amounts of back-stabbees on the jury and it would have been anyone's game.  Of course, Cirie may have felt with Amanda gone, she'd be the biggest jury threat and get knocked off.

Interesting permutations now depending on who wins immunity.

Parv wins: I'd assume she takes Cirie and Amanda, I don't think she can afford to backstab either of them and have any credibility left.  Amanda should win the million unless she is as inarticulate as she was last year.

Nat wins: I don't know what would happen, but this would be the most interesting.  Likely they'd get rid of Amanda, in which case Cirie would win.

Amanda wins: dump Nat and likely she should win

Cirie wins: another interesting permutation.  Could she get rid of Amanda?  If so, she likely wins. 

Ah ya know what just forget it. Im tired of it crashing and not running right. To me with all the problems it feels like its 40% done and needs 60% more to actually make it a working game. Maybe to others it feels better because it works better or something. Im skipping it and think Ill delete this beta. Its completely unplayable for me. Ill look forward to Stargate Worlds and both Warhammer MMOs to work better.

I honestly don't understand why many people continue to make decisions/judgments on a game based on a BETA version.  It's not a DEMO, it's a BETA.  It's supposed to have problems, that's why they are testing it.  Fill out the survey and hopefully it will help the developers fix issues prior to release, isn't that the point? 

Now I'm not naive enough to believe in the "golden build" theory that will fix everything.  If it's completely unplayable, it's very possible the released version may not help, but equally possible they can fix the issues based on your feedback. 

It's funny I thought Amanda played a much better strategic game last season and deserved the win more than this season but she somehow ended up 3rd last year when I figured it would have been a one vote difference between her and Todd for the win, she must have blown the final tribal council (I missed it) to go out that way.  This season she has played the nice girl since the merge and tried not to be such a behind the scenes leader like Cire is doing and it looks like she has the jury on her side, but I thought that she had them last season also.

Something I've been curious about this season with so many people leaving the game between tribal counsels. In past seasons if someone had to leave or quit they usually played for fun and there was no tribal counsel, this season they leave but they still played and went to counsel so were they actually out there a shorter amount of time than the regular 39 days or did they extend the amount of time between immunity challenges the last few weks and edit that out to make up for the fewer number of tribal counsels needed to get down to 3 people left?

Totally agree on Amanda from last season.  I thought she deserved to win when she won the final couple of challenges, not to mention organizing the removal of James (IIRC).  What happened was she totally sucked it up during the final tribal council.  She couldn't put together a good speech, was totally apologetic and defensive and lacked any sort of confidence.  In the mean time, Todd was confident, spoke well, took pride in his backstabs and weaknesses and his "game" - basically he played a mini-Richard Hatch.

I don't know how they managed the time this season, or the episodes (were there fewer?). 

Regarding Eric, I think he can still spin himself as being vexed by too many hot chicks on an island lol.  And like I said earlier, in his mind he had no game left for the final, so he needed a desperation move.  Of course it was still a stupid desperation move, but I think many contestants have said that after being on the island for extended periods of time, the brain starts to misfire.  One of the things I don't like is how many food rewards they get, I prefer to see them really trying to "survive" and face the consequences of losing their minds, etc.  Remember that first season where they weighed themselves toward the end and how much weight they'd lost, that was cool.   

Looks really good!

Seems like they are meshing a bunch of big, older storylines (Genosha, Days of Future Past) and making it a bit more current to the present comic book line (bringing in the White Queen, etc).

Yeah, this season could definitely use some kind of upset.

And don't forget, as the LA Times also pointed out today, Ryan never actually said Syesha was in the bottom 2 the past couple of weeks.  He just brought her along each time.  Technically we don't know what any of the placements were.  He's been very coy about what he says, and generally just implies someone was #1, someone else was bottom 2, etc the past couple of weeks.  What he did say was that 3 of the 4 had all been #1 at some point and that the top 3 were within 2 million as previously discussed.  Actual placements could have been any where, and with such a small statistic difference between the 3 (only 4%), you never know...

Sweeeeeeeet!!!!  Best episode ever, well maybe best after the original series' finale.  Go go "Jedi mind trick!!!"

Almost unbelievable they were able to manipulate him, but it certianly made for classic TV viewing.  This whole season almost seems like it was scripted for maximum fun.  Just a coincidence? 

Now in Eric's defense, his thinking was probably at least not too far off.  Looking at the jury, he may have had like 1 jury vote (Jason - or did he betray him too, I forgot?) no matter who he was in the finals with.  If the plan really worked, and actually it could have, he may have garnered another vote or 2 (from Natalie at least).  So coupled with the "sexy and sweet" girls (I love the way he phrased that lol) confusing him, plus his youth (I guess he's only 18?), I guess it's understandable.  At the very least he was in control of his own destiny/gamble, as opposed to being 100% blind-sided.

I would love to see Amanda win this season, but I think Cirie may have a better shot as she's always been more popular.


P.S.  Paulbot, don't forget the finale is this Sunday, not next week!!!

I used to love the cartoon as a kid but I can't remember why.  When I first heard about it, from the makers of the Matrix, I was pretty excited.  But... the previews just seemed neither here nor there to me, left me feeling a bit hollow. 

I did read an interview with Matthew Fox (who I love) this morning, which made me a little more interested.  So I'm pretty much on the fence, which probably bodes poorly for their box office since I would theoretically be a prime candidate to see this movie (regular moviegoer, watched the cartoon, likes the cast, loved the Matrix...)

Thank goodness Jason is finally gone!  Clearly it was too much for him and he wanted out, so good riddance.  I actually think he was more or less trying to get voted out the week he did "Memory" but who knows.Anyway, as discussed, I still think everyone is just fodder for the David vs. David matchup. 

So let's do some gamer-like analysis.  If we take Ryan's comments about the numbers on faith, approx. 51 million votes.  The Top 3 (David A, David C and Syesha) were each within a million from each other (unless I misunderstood), so it could have been something like:

Archie: 15
Cook: 14
Syesha: 13
Jason: 9

The big question is who will Jason (and presumably Syesha) voters go with?  Assuming some people will just not vote, there's still around 20 million votes up for grabs in the finale.  My guess is the young girl vote may be the deciding factor, and will slightly favor lil David. 

Now of course there's nothing saying that A and C are reversed from what I predicted above, Ryan never specifically said who was #1.  For all we know Syesha could have been #1 and they are deliberately manipulating the voter base.  That would be cool (though unlikely) if she somehow pulled an upset.

Sorry Milton, we tried to resurrect a weekly GW thing a month or so ago but it fell through when the forums went down and we couldn't get ahold of Toxo.  Now it looks like we are all headed into AoC for the next few months.

But man if they ever release GW2 I will be all over it like white on rice.

Last night's ep not quite as good as the past few, but still a nice twist on the conventional soul-of-the-week plotlines.  Nice to see advancement for Ben's storyline, as well as integrating Andi into the main plot.

Also nice to see Sam coming a bit into his own in terms of standing with the devil.  I liked the use of plot elements from previous shows (the get out of hell card) - I don't remember how that came about exactly but I do remember him getting it.  The more important part was watching the Sam/Devil interplay evolve.  The show could go so much further and really be a Buffy/Angel type of cult hit if allowed another couple of seasons. 

Best line of the night, Devil: "Come with me if you want to live" - Ray Wise deserves an Emmy for his work on this show, he is absolutely perfect.

Arclight, I'm the only gay guy who posts here (I think), unless you wanna count YK 

Definitely agree with Purge and PaulBot, David C may be better off not winning - he may have more freedom in making his first album that way.  I think the winner (or was it top 2?) is committed to being produced by the show?  But also agree he comes across kind of smug and aloof, I don't think it's on purpose.  At least he's a good sport on group nights.

Toe, I had the same problem with sound, I thought it was something wrong with my stereo settings so I kept re-checking.  Glad to hear it was a universal issue, maybe something to do with HD/5.1 sound?

also agree with Austin on Syesha, her comments seemed to contradict themselves but she was very emotional and probably blundered her prepared speech, so she gets a pass from me.  It was also my impression she started crying because she was touched by what Paula said, not because she was upset by what Randy said, not sure what to make of that.  Either way I think it worked to her advantage.

Jason - they should allow some sort of escape clause for people who want out.  Have Jeff Probst come in and say something mean, then escort them off the show.  I feel bad for the people like Carly and Brooke who were dying to stay on the show after watching him essentially try to get voted off.  Or maybe they should allow the judges to factor in to the decisions a la Dancing with the Stars.  I wouldn't be surprised if he stays around again this week.


P.S.  ... oh yeah, I realize David A is jailbait lol, at least until Dec 28 2008.   

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame night.

woooooweeee one of the most interesting nights I've seen on the show.

David C - 2 odd picks from him, not sure what to make of it.  All those hall of famers and he picks Duran Duran?  I don't know what to make of it.  Vocals sounded hoarse and off again.  It didn't go anywhere special.  Second song was decent, I wasn't personally familiar with it but he did a good job.  He should be fine again til the final, though if he slacks off too much you never know.

Syesha - she unfortunately just doesn't have the voice to pull off either number, but her performance capability has really moved higher in the past few weeks.   Sexy and sassy in a Beyonce-ish way singing Tina Turner, then gorgeous and diva-esque on the second number.  All the crying during judging couldn't hurt either.

Jason - a disaster and a half.  I felt like he did it on purpose and is essentially asking off the show.  He was quoted in Entertainment Weekly saying he was ready to go, and this may have been his ultimate attempt.  But it could backfire, and the horrible performances/feedback might spark a wave of sympathy that saves him and dooms Syesha.

David A - he's sooooooooooooooo dreamy   Picking it up with some sweet and tenderness, those pretty eyes shining into the camera.  Every little girl in America's heart (and mine) just melted.  I loved the little mini-nod to Sean Kingston (Beautiful Girls) during Stand By Me, making him semi-current for once.  Love Me Tender, OMG.  Yeah I'll love you tender.      Just kidding!  No issue this week, both his numbers were constantly busy the first 10 minutes.

Hopefully Jason finally goes.  He all but begged to be let off the hook and Syesha is dying to stay so give her a friggin break, America.  David C didn't seem as hungry this week, but he may be saving the best for last.

Anyone else see this? 

Epic ending to the Age of Conan Open Beta
Posted: - 06.05.2008

On the 10th of May Funcom is transforming the entire Open Beta into PvP MAYHEM, while at the same time giving testers access to all which Hyboria has to offer!

As we take down our servers for a short period we are at the same time changing the entire server rule-set to Free For All PvP carnage!

Here are the dirty details:

All servers become PvP servers. You can kill each other – no level restrictions on killing or getting killed, but you cannot PvP in the major cities.
All level 13 characters becomes level 20. Their inventory is wiped, but they have “tons” of money and really nice equipment suitable for level 20’s. Shopping bonanza!
You have access to ALL zones and ALL levels after level 20!
You will be zoned to your Race’s Hub. (Cimmerians – Conarch Village, Aquillonians – Old Tarantia and Stygians – Khemi!
We will get back with detailed information on the exact time it starts on the official Open Beta forums at IGN, as well as on the Age of Conan forums and community site.

One more little bump before release hits in... yow only 11 days!!!

Looks fairly clear where the majority is here - just interested if Open beta drew any other people or changed anyone's  minds at all...

I wish the Wanderers hadn't started on a different beta server

Sorry Hark that was just random.  All the other servers were full when I started...  not that it matters, I haven't seen a single person I know yet    at least someone just told me the command to add to the friends list...

- - -

Also agree totally on the comments by StriderGG.  As I mentioned in my post as well, the game definitely starts out with a "tighter" more involved storyline compared with other MMORPGs, which was something they had always been advertising.  I doubt this will continue post level 20 but it certainly gives a greater sense of attachment, accomplishment and/or familiarity with your toon at the outset. 

And in spite of the linear main story line and relatively small starter area, there are plenty of places to wander off and explore and get lost, etc.  Because of a bug, I got teleported to a remote part of the island, and ended up exploring a bunch of terrain I hadn't seen before.  Eventually I realized I could get back to the main portion but I had to swim out into the ocean to get back.

Is it truly a more linear beginning game than most other MMOs? Quantitatively, probably not, but combined with the complaints from the paragraph above, it certainly *feels* that way.

I'd say that yes, the game feels more "linear" than previous MMORPGs at the outset, but I actually count that as a strength in this case.  You follow a tighter knit, more involved and interesting story, and theoretically get a much better feel for your character up front than you do in other MMORPGs.  Plus there are still plenty of side quests and content if you choose that route, so it's not a pure linear feel.

Anyway here are my post-weekend comments (cross-posted from Wanderers forum):

First let's keep in mind for perspective, what we're playing is still a form of BETA test, not an actual demo. So again, impressions from such a small part of the game are going to be limited to the extremely small part of the game they let us see.

From the technical side, I had different issues of crashing, drops and laggy/jumpy performance. But I also had some periods of relatively pain-free gameplay, so I'm going to remain hopeful that the debug code is in full force and a lot of issues were due to testing an older client. Still, I can't help but wonder how much can really change/improve to fix things in only 2 weeks. On the plus side, the game does look great when it's running well, so hopefully I won't have to run at reduced resolution, which I also tried out and just isn't the same.

Gameplay wise, this game isn't much different at the outset from LOTRO, EQ2, WoW and DAOC. I'd say it's kind of a mish mash of the games in terms of how they start you out, instance-ing, classes and character levelling/progression. Basically pick and chose certain parts from each game.

Combat, as mentioned by the others, is a bit different from conventional melee but nothing too far off. Also of note, the 2 caster classes I played (priest and demonologist), really there was no difference from playing a caster in DAOC, LOTRO, etc. so anyone worried about it being a click/swing-fest need not be concerned. Caster play was pretty much conventional MMORPG, except you might have to swing a few extra times if you want to finish something off melee.

Honestly the only thing I think they've done that actually stood out for me so far, is doing a good job with the opening story line and pulling you into the game world. I found it more immersive than the introductions of any of the other MMORPGs, and I like the mix of side quests vs. main story quests. I'd say it's closest to LOTRO in spirit, which also ran you solo for a bit and then gradually fed you into the MMO part of the world. I like that there's a self-contained storyline that kind of defines your character at the outset, and hopefully it will have a satisfying conclusion. Cutscenes and vocals are done well, reminiscent of Guild Wars in that the mini cutscenes include your character. I also liked that the story lines vary a bit depending on your opening class and kind of tie into each other. I think there are 4 different trainers so each questline will be tailored to your specialty, though the main goals will clearly overlap. For instance the priest story line has a variant to cure a little boy, whereas in the mage storyline the boy is already there. Both cases the boy has a note that leads you to the next big part of the questline.

Given that we've established the core game is a prettier, grittier MOTS MMORPG, the big question is whether the "endgame" can live up to any form of potential. This is going to include crafting, mounted combat, city building and guildkeep wars, plus presumably some raid PvE content. I don't think they will be able to compete with WoW for raid content, so the big big question is all about the "massive PvP" and whether it will work at all. Also worth worrying about is the lvl 20-40 portion of the game. If it turns out too to be too grindy, the game may lose people before they even get to start getting into the later portion of the game. Hopefully it will flow as well as the earlier portion to ensure people at least are there long enough to try out crafting and get involved in the city building.

I'm so freakin sexy I want to touch myself:



Also look good from behind:



F-ed up graphics and floating buildings, w00t!!!

Verrrrry interesting episode.  Slowed down from the hectic pace of last week's but still very enjoyable for Jack and Kate fans.  Especially for fans of naked Jack, though I still prefer him hairy     Lots of sweet, romantic "payoff" moments for the soap fans both on the island and off, and then scenes of how that deteriorates to the bearded Jack at the end of last season.

I like the thought that Hurley's theory is correct, that the Oceanic 6 are actually the dead ones.  What a twist that would be at the end of the season to see the 6 die while the island folk survive.  But now that he's said it, I doubt that would work.

Jack/Kate's dialog near the end was the most interesting part, plot wise.  Sawyer chose to stay?  Kate is doing something for Sawyer?  Who is the "he" she refers to?  Shouldn't be Sawyer if he's not around, so who is it?  Does Jack know he is Aaron's uncle (implied by his comment you aren't even related)?  And why is he so weirded out by her having the baby if Claire was gone missing?

Also a nice side plot for Jin and the redhead, plus the setup for Sun to get off the island without him. 

I'm on Server 4 as Rittchard.  May try a few other classes if time permits.

(Cross post)

I have had crashes and restarts galore, usually during zoning. And usually I have to log back in twice to clear whatever went wrong. Performance is kind of choppy but I have most stuff on max. I'm generally getting good ping and FPS but sometimes it gets choppy, and the game has dropped me a few times. Crashes occur the most when I zone, I think it might be some type of memory leak.

However, I have to say once hitting the town, this is one of the best looking towns I've ever seen in a MMORPG in terms of detail and atmosphere. It is on par or better than single player fare like Oblivion, Gothic and Two Worlds. NPCs are still traditional lame fare, but the look and feel of the town is absolutely outstanding. I can't wait to see it in DX10.

Also of note, I thought it was going to be a gimmick, but the starter portion as single player story/adventure really works. I've just started but it really feels like an immersive single player RPG storyline with the option to jump into multiplayer to do side stuff, if you so choose. I guess this will end at level 20, but it's still extremely well done.

If they can shore up the technical issues and give us a decent endgame, could be a real winner.
 

It's going to be great fun watching those chicks turn on one another. 

Sweeeeeeeettttttt!!!  Amanda you go girl!!!

Nice job on the editing to keep us in suspense.  Sad to see yet another member go for medical reasons, unbelievable this season.  But the timing worked out well and allowed for the whole set up for this week.

Very tough to predict anything now.  Erik is the biggest challenge threat (and a legitimate final contender), Amanda seriously upped her stock as biggest jury threat (unlike last season) with good gameplay and having James move to the jury.  Cirie is gonna need to scheme big time to pull off an upset, and Parvati is in a bad position regardless of what she does, all she can hope for is 2nd or 3rd after screwing over too many people.

While I understand how you guys could not like David A, I think you are a bit harsh on him.  He just turned 17 and is clearly in a shy/awkward stage, yet is putting himself on display in front of millions of people every week.   There is a world of difference between being 16/17 vs. David C at 25 in terms of life experience and knowing who you are, feeling comfortable in your own skin, etc.  Yes, he had "experience" being on stage for Star Search, but again there's a world of difference being a child parading around at 12/13 vs. entering adolescence on a world stage.  Sometimes I find it painful watching him while he's standing around, he just seems so awkward, like he doesn't know what to do with his hands or what expression he should maintain on his face.

I'm not saying anyone should feel sorry for him (particularly since he'll be a millionaire before the year's over), but cut him some slack, he's just an awkward (and high probability gay) kid with a freaky, domineering show-dad.  Hopefully he doesn't go "bad" like so many other young show biz kids.

I loved the show, and really hope it makes it back next season.  I was hooked from the first moment Eli ran around in his boxers, but that's just me    For the rest of you, there's also the Species chick AND a real cute second love interest for him to drool over.  If ABC were smart, they'd move it into a decent time slot.  I think it would fit great after Grey's Anatomy or Private Practice.  Ratings jumped tremendously when they moved it in the post-Desperate Housewives slot.

The show really gets extremely good in the last 4 or 5 episodes, I mean it really really hits its stride emotionally and in terms of story arc.  I won't say more than that in case we don't want spoilers here.  Hard to describe the show exactly, but I'd say it's a cross between early (good) Ally McBeal (quirky lawyers + visions) and Journeyman (light sci-fi/fantasy).

Oh, and for all you Angel fans out there, I'm pretty sure the main office they are filming in is the Wolfram and Hart set.

Hey I actually got it right for once!!!  Of course since D and D are safe I had a 1 in 3 shot   

Man I was a big Brooke fan in the beginning but I couldn't stand her constant sobbing every week, give it a rest, girl!      My feeling is Simon's (intentional?) comment to Syesha gave her the edge over Brooke.

So who will crybaby's votes go to?  Traditionally you'd think they would go to the last remaining female, which should boost Syesha.  But Jason is kind of like a girl with his long hair, so maybe he'll suck them up.  Both Davids have cried already so the crying vote will cancel itself out.

I think Ryan said something about legends of rock and roll for next week's theme?  I wasn't sure what that meant.  Either way it's a free pass for David C.  David A may struggle with the theme, but he still has Syesha as a buffer.

Prediction: Jason finally goes home next week.

Major major changes coming for Mythos, all sounds very good!  Wonder if HGL could pull the same thing off 

http://www.mythos.com/underground/so-heres-what-were-doing

Last nights episode was really good.  I'm also glad Andi finally knows what's going on and thought it was handled well.

On the ratings brightside (if that's what it can be called), the numbers are up a little from last week and it did beat Beauty and the Geek.

LOL, sadly I think beating a show on the same network that is running against the American Idol juggernaut is not gonna help much.  I don't know why they decided to run BatG right now against AI instead of as a summer show like (I think) it used to be.  Speaking of which, the show has been pretty fun this season, not as good as the last one though.

I think the last I saw on the Fileplanet site was 9am PST (not EST).


Edit:  finally found where I saw it off the Fileplanet main website:

"FilePlanet Subscriber Beta: Yes, it's here at last. Subscribers can join the beta for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, the most anticipated MMORPG this year! Grab a beta key right now and download the game client to prepare for slaughter. Gameplay starts on Thursday, May 1st at 9:00 AM PST. "

Just picked up the first book in that series by Greg Keyes based on the recommendation in this thread.  Loved the first few pages so we'll see if it continues to keep me hooked.  Some random guy at the store started talking to me about the book when he saw me holding it, so I guess that was a good sign.  Or maybe not.   

Bah, you straight boys!  I'm gonna post hot shirtless pictures of Bret Harrison if you continue that   

Fun episode last night, I am sooooo happy they let Andi find out the truth.  I think they dragged that out a bit too long as well, was getting tired of the "let's keep this from Andi" routine.  Now they have the full potential of creating a "Scooby Gang" kind of atmsophere and let the stories and mythology be the emphasis (as opposed to hiding/secrets).  Also happy to see the Devil vs. Demons plotline continue.  Would be nice to see if one or more of the gang actually develops or demonstrates some skills that actually help Sam out.

Disappointing though: ratings are soooooo low.  I found it listed at 114 today with about 2.5million viewers.  Holy crap.  I don't understand how/why, but it is routinely out-watched by tons of other non-English shows on the ratings.  Is CW just not broadcast as widely?