THEY LAUGHED AT ME BEFORE, BUT SOON, OH YES, THEY WILL ALL UNDERSTAND! [Author: Lum the Mad]
The week began with a big sloppy wet kiss from the Gamespy Network (you know, the only one that isn’t in imminent danger of death) to Glitchless in the form of a puff piece “First Look“. Not only did Gamespy not wonder in their wide-eyed piece how Glitchless was going to carry off making the best goddamn MMOG ever invented ever, but they actually reported some of Dawn’s “innovations to the genre” such as permadeath in a no-limits PvP environment, players being forced to be carried to term in the uteruses of other players (and you know, this is really the only time I’ve ever used the word “uterus” in a story on LtM – ANOTHER DAWN FIRST), and – lest we forget – a “Quake 3-like engine”.
Gamespy’s readers (including our latest craven sellout Savant) struck back, noting calmly in email that Gamespy’s editors were on crack and that Dawn itself was “one of the biggest scams in the brief history of MMORPGs”. In response, Gamespy said “um, you know, if they can’t deliver on their promises, people will be disappointed.” Ya think?
It’s an open question how many of those people attended the latest DawnHOC, but by my count, it would be “all of them, squared.” That’s right, over 800 people attended the latest DawnHOC (about 600 more than attend the other HoCs dedicated to, you know, games that actually have a chance of existing). As Jeff Friedman, Dawn’s Lead Programmer, Lead Designer, Lead Artist, Lead Network Administrator, Lead Database Administrator, Lead Texture Designer, Head of Customer Service, and marketing consultant noted, “that wraps up the largest HoC ever in the history of gaming :)” That’s right – the largest chat Stratics has ever held – for DAWN. Hold me.
Unlike the previous HoC, this one was actually moderated. No more questions about anal sex, rape as a PvP tool and launching player fetuses from catapults. Which means instead we got to read questions like these:
Glamdring *Ramay* will there be marriages and a way to do name changes then?
GL-Jeff Everything in Dawn is governed by the players. If you want to have a marriage, then simply host a celebration on your own – there won’t be GM’s that officially sanction things such as this that should be completely player controlled.
GL-Jeff And as for name changes, remember there are no actual “names” in the game. Your name is what you tell people you go by, not some text graphic that floats around above your head the entire game.
Glamdring *Mangus* Will you be able to build underwater and Sky cities?
GL-Jeff Yes building underwater is a definite possibility. Floating cities – not in the beta atleast. Thats a low priority right now, we’re just trying to finish the basics. But its definitely a possibility if not in the release, then in an expansion if we have them.
Glamdring Cerapo* Question: If plants will have levels like animals, will the levels of plants determine how much food or the quality of food you can gather from them? Or, will it determine the amount/quality of wood that you can get from trees (making developed plant-communities more valuable resources than newly formed ones)?
GL-Jeff Plants will have levels, and the level will determine both the amount and quality of the resources you get from them.
Glamdring *Vanlist* What do you say to the pepole (some of whom are important pepole in the gaming world) that say dawn does’nt and could’nt exsist with current technology and the limited man power of the dawn team. can you say or do anything to put these pepole in there proverbial places? and why the lack of in game screen shots?
GL-Jeff We simply say wait until the game comes out. Obviously the majority of the people out there don’t know how we are doing the things we are doing with the Dawn engine otherwise they’d be doing it themselves.
Glamdring *Burimpu* Will Lum the Mad and all other “lummies” be premptively banned from Dawn?
GL-Jeff Nah, we won’t mind the poor bastards when they’re forced to shut up when the beta releases and blows them away.
You know you’ve arrived when you are your own HoC question, I’ve always said. At any rate, I suspect we will read much, much more about Dawn. Until my brain explodes through my ears in a vain, futile attempt to get me to stop posting Dawn stories.
Let me just use the word again: “uterus”. Yes, Dawn stories make me happy happy HAPPY!