Venerable MMO 'Lineage 2' now Free to Play

Launched back in 2003 (2004 in the US, the same day as City of Heroes), NCsoft’s Lineage 2 has always been seen as a hardcore MMO experience, not at all friendly to the casual gamer. Although it featured–for its time, at least–superlative visuals, the game was always beset by bots, gold farmers, gankers, and a host of other discouraging elements, not to mention the fact that, like many Asian MMOs, it was a grindfest without peer. However, since the price of admission was so high, the player base tended towards the mature, patient gamer.

On November 30, 2011, reworked as Lineage 2: Goddess of Destruction, the game was re-launched as a free-to-play title, with vanity items, weapon enhancements, potions, and buffs available via NCsoft’s “Truly Free (TM)” marketplace. Although it once boasted well over a million unique subscribers, there are now just five servers hosting Lineage 2 worldwide, including a new server created for first-time players. Since I spent quite a bit of time with the original game in its early days, I thought I’d drop in on the new, revamped Lineage 2, just to see how it’s holding up.

Upgrades and enhancements to the visuals over the years mean that generally, Lineage 2 still looks decent. Despite the dozens of fantasy-themed MMOs that have come and gone since 2003, the aesthetics of Lineage 2 have changed very little. Character customization is virtually non-existent (two or three faces and a handful of hairstyles added to the usual mixture of humans, elves, orcs, etc).  As so often the case in Asian MMOs or NCsoft games, female characters are all hugely breasted and garbed in either dominatrix lingerie or schoolgirl fetish outfits; the male characters are simultaneously over-muscled and androgynous, and of course characters run and move in a bizarre, bent over posture. I’ve never entirely understood the architectural melange of Asain MMOs that somehow draw inspiration from 18th century Europe.

Back in its early days, buying black market, farmed gold–and hence, better weapons and armor–was one of the ways that some players circumvented the grind. There was actually no way to avoid it, but at least if you had to kill 100 floating eyeball monsters (which is about where the game jumped the shark for me), you could do it more quickly. From what I can tell, the new and improved Lineage 2 is still a heavy grind-your-way-to-the-top type of game. I’ve no doubt that for high level players and guildies, the endgame is a blast, and at least now there’s no need to dip into the nefarious gold market. However, some of the items in the “Truly Free (TM)” shop are anything but: a “hardcore” gamer enhancement packs runs around $40.

Beyond the aesthetics and the grind, the UI and basic gameplay of Lineage 2 are standard MMO fare.  Compared to recent titles such as Rift or SWTOR (or, even NCsoft’s own Aion), the game feels austere and mechanical. While Lineage 2 still retains visual appeal, the lack of well-presented, meaningful story hook to set our tasks in motion and give them context is missing. With NCsoft’s Guild Wars 2 and Lineage Eternal on the horizon it will be interesting to see if, and how, the new titles build on the lessons of the past decade.

Wings Over Atreia: Free 2 pain

For the second time in less than a month, NCsoft has shown wanton disregard for my already-prepared comments for the week, derailing the scheduled Wings Over Atreia with some out-of-the-blue announcement. And not just any announcement, but one that can have a profound effect on Aion in the coming months. What is this announcement, you say? Shall I help you out from that rock you've been slumbering under? Why, last Wednesday's bold free-to-play announcement, of course!

Now, before hyperventilation sets in -- either from glee or disgust -- note that there are set parameters to this specific conversion, including first and foremost that it is for the European market only. And while details aren't exactly pouring forth, there are a few tidbits to pass along, just enough to whet the appetite of future F2P Daevas or enrage current ones.

Breathe into the paper bag and join me past the break for a look at the details that have been revealed and some thoughts on those that have not!

Given such a major announcement but few details, I am sure readers have some questions. Never fear, MJ is here! I shall guide you through what information is currently out there and offer some basic translation/personal commentary/wild speculation. Using my elite powers of information-gathering (no, I really don't have a captured developer locked down in my basement, but that's a good idea...), I bring you The Word.

So here's the scoop: Come February 2012, Aion will convert to a free-to-play subscription model in the European market. What does this mean for folks on that side of the pond? According to the PR machine, it means little will change except opening the market up to a wider audience. In fact, NCsoft expects that there will soon be plenty more Deavas flocking to Atreia for grouping and PvP goodness. Well, ignoring the likelihood of a launch-day fiasco, who can argue against more compatriots and more enemies filling out the server? Other than that, NCsoft's devs were quick to say that little would change for current players.

Surely there is more to it than that, you say. But of course, I reply! Though stop calling me Shirley. Of the details revealed, the outline of the payment models captured my interest most. There will be three distinct levels: Starters (the free group), Veteran, and Gold Pack. The free group is -- drum roll -- free! There will be no cost to sign up, install, or start playing. Starters will have access to every class, level, quest, region, and all equipment in the game. Sounds like a far cry from what many other free-to-play models offer, right? The Veteran group will be comprised of all those who have ever bought and subscribed to Aion in the past, whether the subscription is active or not. This group will enjoy privileges similar to the Gold Pack. The Gold Pack will be a temporary purchase that gives Daevas "full functionality" as well as bonuses like higher AP payouts and (see below) shorter instance cooldown timers.

Janet Jackson admits: My weight, I struggled with my entire life!

Losing Weight The figurehead agreed to the singer Janet Jackson said openly the problems with which he has struggled for years.

My weight, I struggled with my entire life and it has been for me a difficult thing, Jackson says.

Singer believes that the dream of weight loss is easy for people to identify with him, because he knows exactly what he is talking.

People are easy to identify with me, because I know what I'm saying. I understand completely what it is like to struggle with weight loss, wearing too much make you fat, pounds, or more than is healthy for longer, Jackson says.

Years after the Battle of the singer is now comfortable in her own. The latest diet to hoikistunut Jackson is also in the eyes. Although the dreams are still a few kilos of weight loss, he did not let the project lyhist?? themselves.

I do not want to tell you how many pounds I have dropped so far, or how many pounds I'm going to drop further. Now I have a good feeling. I want to maintain this state of mind. I still have sarkaa left, even though I do not want to lose weight no longer many pounds, Jackson says.

Over the years, Jackson learned to know his own stumbling block at times all too well. Difficult times is a good mirror, however, well-being, which the singer is now losing weight flagship program achieved.

When I'm under the weather or stressed, I tend to resort to eating. I have also had problems with my body. It is therefore particularly important that I'm comfortable now, Jackson says.aion

'Star Wars: The Old Republic' speaks for itself

It's something that players of modern single-player video games like "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" and "Batman: Arkham City" might take for granted, but an effect that die-hard fans of sprawling online role-playing games such as "World of Warcraft" and "Aion" will surely appreciate: The characters in "Star Wars: The Old Republic" can actually speak.

With more than 320 actors portraying more than 4,000 characters with 260,000 lines of dialogue, BioWare's "The Old Republic" is poised to feature more voice acting than any other massively multiplayer online game in the galaxy when it launches Tuesday, and that's not even counting the thousands of beeps and boops sputtered by droids predating R2-D2.

BioWare, the Electronic Arts Inc. developer behind the "Mass Effect" and "Dragon Age" single-player franchises, has become synonymous with conversational gameplay that allows players to chat with other characters in the hope of unlocking missions, learning more about the plot, demonstrating morality and even forming virtual bonds _ romantic or otherwise.

The developer is taking that virtual chatter online with "Old Republic," which is set thousands of years before Luke Skywalker battled Darth Vader in a galaxy far, far away. Unlike most other persistent multiplayer games, "Old Republic" is relying more on voices than written words to push its narrative forward with an unprecedented amount of spoken dialogue.

The highly anticipated "Old Republic" has already drawn comparisons to "World of Warcraft," the behemoth online fantasy game from Blizzard Entertainment that boasts more than 10 million subscribers but little voice work. ("Star Wars Galaxies," a "Star Wars" online game from Sony Online Entertainment, ended last week after eight years in operation.)

At the start of "Old Republic," players pledge allegiance to either the Republic or Empire and pick from eight character types: a bounty hunter like Boba Fett, a smuggler like Han Solo, a Jedi consular like Yoda, a Sith inquisitor like Darth Maul, a Jedi knight like Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Sith warrior like Darth Vader, an Imperial agent like Grand Moff Tarkin or a trooper.

The possibility of 16 different, highly customizable protagonists _ eight men, eight women _ hyper-speeding through a virtual universe populated with thousands of talkative characters, as well as millions of other players online, presented "The Old Republic" developers at BioWare in Austin, Texas, and LucasArts in San Francisco with several new challenges.

"When you're doing a game like `The Old Republic,' the acting is like cubism," said LucasArts voice director Will Beckman. "You have to see these characters from every angle and be able to pull it apart and put it back together. It's definitely a challenge for our voice actors. It's a unique type of acting that takes a tremendous amount of imagination."

Unlike an animated film, the nonlinear nature of "The Old Republic" requires the voice actors to record several different versions of dialogue, depending on whether players are moving along the light or dark sides of the Force, and because the game is ongoing, the developers are creating updates that will feature new content, including voiceovers.

"We tried to prepare the talent that this isn't a normal voiceover gig," said LucasArts voice producer Orion Kellogg. "Normally, actors come into the studio once or twice to record their audio. We've got 16 player characters alone doing tons of dialogue. They know they're coming back. I think they like it because they've been able to grow into their role."

"Party of Five" actress Lacey Chabert is among the hundreds of voices within "The Old Republic" universe. Chabert plays a spunky slicer named Mako, who serves as a companion to players who choose to become a bounty hunter. Chabert, who has voiced dozens of animated characters, said the most challenging part of this role was tackling the sci-fi vocabulary.

"The language within the `Star Wars' universe is filled with words that I did not know how to pronounce," said Chabert. "Luckily, the producers have an audio library of planet names and everything `Star Wars' and how it should actually be pronounced. I always had to listen to a reference, and I'd almost always get it wrong the first time."

Besides the English, German or French spoken in the game, "Old Republic" features 21 different alien languages. While the sounds of species like the furry Wookiees came directly from the LucasArts archives, Beckman said he crafted several new alien languages, finding inspiration from existing and dead real-world languages, as well as audio effects.

"It's a combination of having some idea of where you w-ant to go with it, creating a base language from existing or dead languages, then creating a personality or style for that language and executing it with sound design," said Beckman, who also speaks Huttese as blubbery gang leader Nem'ro the Hutt _ among other alien creatures _ in "The Old Republic."

The daunting amount of dialogue also technically tested "The Old Republic" developers. They built a new system for organizing the audio, which was recorded in 17 different studios spanning from Los Angeles to London, and created a method of compressing the audio so that it can be easily downloaded by players when they install and update the game.

Visually, when players are gabbing away, a glowing conversation cartoon bubble appears over their avatar's head. When they team up with fellow Republic or Empire devotees and engage in conversations, each player elects a response, but what's actually uttered is randomly selected, and players who win the chance to speak earn extra points.

"It is a big game, and it's going to feel like that when players are installing it," said BioWare audio producer Sandee Valle. "More importantly, it's going to feel like that when you get out there and start exploring the world. Hopefully, we're going to be adding to the game regularly with new content and voice work for many, many years to come."

Security Software review list

This Box stikyn the Security Programs list should be checked up to date. Is hard to come fundeerattua whether to make major changes. Hard to say, because listaushan a different potential to the "directory" is not in itself a recommendation.

Especially problematic areas include. malware, malware, denial and removal. At this point, have anti-virus programs have an increasingly larger role. As a result, the actual malware torjujien a less important role. Is it your opinion with other problematic groups?

Some of the changes I'm going to do the structuring of, for example, the entire list is started virus protection and firewalls anymore. Links checked and updated if necessary.

What about the individual programs. Is there feel bad, out of date? Or there are some important missing? Be involved in making the list again updated and useful for all of us! Put comments.

Look inside for three times the flavor

Just as there are two sides to every story, there are two sides to every food item: the inside and the outside. Particular attention, of course, gets paid to how food looks, but as we all know, it's how something tastes that brings us back for more. Building flavor can be accomplished in a variety of ways, but to achieve results quickly and easily, sometimes it's best to look beyond the surface.

The Home Tech Flavor Injector literally pumps up the level of flavor that can be incorporated into food items; it uses a pump mechanism to force liquid into food, whereas most other injectors opt for the hypodermic approach. In addition to the seemingly out-of-place pump-based contraption, the flavor injector hides a few additional advantages.

Featuring three injectors and a large reservoir, the kitchen gadget is designed to be used effectively and efficiently. The business ends of the injectors are specially designed with offset openings; when plunged into foodstuffs, the holes do not become clogged. Stainless steel filters separate each needle from the reservoir, so chunky sauces and marinades don't clog the opening from the other direction. Put all the highlights together and it becomes apparent that not only is it what's inside that really matters, but also how it got there.

Hypodermic needle found on elementary school bus

A hypodermic needle was found on a school bus by two Lincoln Elementary School students on Wednesday, just one week after a second-grader picked one up off the ground in Lynn.

In a letter sent out to parents, Principal Sandra Dunning explained that the students found the needle on the bus and gave it to her when they got off at school.

Lowell Police were notified and an investigation is underway.

Lowell Superintendent Chris Scott said the needle was clean.

Last week, a second-grader in Lynn picked up a hypodermic needle off the sidewalk and pricked himself and a friend with it, pretending to give a flu shot.