Also, we are aware that some people are getting a virus warning on the main site. This is also being worked on. Send any email questions to my username (SWATJester) via gmail.com. Thanks.

The Pitt, Fallout 3’s second downloadable content pack, is vastly different from the first DLC, Operation Anchorage. The Pitt takes place is post-nuclear Pittsburgh, while not directly struck by a nuclear bomb, but the city has decayed over the years. The city has become a raider town that keeps slaves working in the steel mills. Your character is recruited by an escaped slave to help the slaves by finding a cure for a plague that has appeared in the Pitt. The Pitt has a very ire feel about it, I don’t know if it’s the lack of a radio station or the subject matter of the Pitt, but something seems off. Everyone you talk to is either super depressed, highly motivated, or just doesn’t care.  Bethesda has always said in interviews that the Pitt would be very morally ambiguous. This couldn’t be any more truthful, there is no karma reward for siding with ether side, slaves or slavers. You, the player, has to make a moral choice. It seems like a silly concept but the truth is you get the same material rewards regardless of what side you choice. As I write this I’m still trying to figure out if I did the right thing.

Story aside the Pitt adds a varying array of new raider armors, most of them are pretty basic, but look bad ass too. There’s also new weapons, including the Auto Axe, which is a wicked cutting saw that inflects a ton of damage. Another new weapon is the Infiltrator, which is the basic Assault Rife without a stock, plus a silencer and a scope. This combination makes for a very unique experience. There are also some new unique weapons, but you’ll need to find those yourself. Once you finish the main quest in the Pitt you can freely come and go as you please, which makes the content a bit more replayable, unlike Operation Anchorage.

Is it worth the $10? That’s the main thing to consider here, and the answer is a hard one. As of now, I would say no. Most Xbox 360 owners are experiencing vast issues with the content and while I was able to play it on my PC there still was a ton of issues that made me raise an eyebrow once or twice. Bethesda will release a fix for it, and when they do, the Pitt will be worth the $10 if not for the items but for the questions you’ll still ask yourself when your done playing the main quest of the Pitt.

I will update this review once the bugs have been sorted out. I’ll add pictures too.

REYKJAVIK, ICELAND and LYON, FRANCE – 24 February, 2009 – Atari and CCP, one of the world’s leading independent game developers, today confirmed details regarding the contents of the retail box version of EVE Online, coming to retailers in North America beginning March 10th, 2009 and in Europe and Asia Pacific regions beginning March 12th. The retail version of CCP’s award winning PC massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) will ship with a number of high value extras offering newcomers a rewarding first voyage into the incredible universe of EVE Online. The Peak Concurrent User (PCU) record for EVE Online ’s 260,000 subscriber single-shard game world has been broken three times in 2009, recently surpassing the 50k mark with 51,675 players online simultaneously, proving EVE’s long-lasting depth of gameplay and the importance of the players themselves in its success.

The EVE Online box will include all nine previously released expansions plus the forthcoming tenth expansion entitled EVE Online: Apocrypha which introduces numerous new features including unstable wormholes to explore and modular ships that pilots may tailor-build to suit their own specifications and needs. All subsequent expansions will be free of charge to all subscribers, continuing CCP’s commitment to offer free updates and expansions to its subscribers at regular intervals.

Breaking with tradition, the collection of extras will also include 60 days of free game time, a departure from the standard 30 days offered for most MMOGs, allowing players to sign up and get started without paying any subscription fees for the first 60 days of a new account. Alternatively, the included game time may be used to extend an existing subscription or be split into two 30-day codes known as “Pilot License Extensions” (PLEX) that can be sold to other players through the in-game market for in-game currency.

Players redeeming the code to activate a new account will also receive these special in-game items:

INSTANT WAR ACCESS: This certificate allows rapid access to organized combat (through increased standings), helping new players get into the action quickly.
EXCLUSIVE CAREER GUIDE: Accessed via the website to allow for dynamic updates, the guide includes insider tips and tricks.
VIP PASS: Use this card to invite a friend to try the game for 21 days. When that friend becomes an EVE Online subscriber, you will get an additional 30 days of free game time.
EXCLUSIVE IN-GAME SHIP: An exclusive new ship, the Interbus Shuttle, will allow players to fly in style with an increased capacity cargo hold to ferry those extra crucial items at high speeds.
Availability
The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) for EVE Online is $34.95/€39.99. Price in some regions may vary. Check with your favorite local or online retailer for availability and pricing.

About EVE Online
Set tens of thousands of years in the future, EVE Online is a breathtaking journey to the stars, to an immersive experience filled with adventure, riches, danger and glory. With nearly a quarter of a million subscribers worldwide inhabiting the same virtual universe, EVE features a vast player-run economy where your greatest asset is the starship, designed to accommodate your specific needs, skills and ambitions. EVE offers professions ranging from commodities trader to mercenary, industrial entrepreneur to pirate, mining engineer to battle fleet commander or any combination of these and much more. From brokering business deals to waging war, you will have access to a diverse array of sophisticated tools and interfaces to forge your own destiny in EVE. Learn more and sign up for a free trial at www.eveonline.com.

Definition of Subscribers
EVE Online subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active electronic time code (ETC) to play EVE Online, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions and expired ETCs.

About CCP 
CCP is widely recognized as an industry-leading pioneer of the single-server persistent universe architecture as the developer and publisher of EVE Online, the critically-acclaimed, science fiction-based massively multiplayer online game (MMOG). Utilizing a cross-discipline approach combining cutting-edge technology and artistic excellence, CCP is dedicated to providing vibrant, compelling products that transcend the boundaries of conventional MMOGs and facilitate social networking through virtual worlds. Privately held and founded in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1997, CCP’s international reach now spans the globe with offices in Atlanta and Shanghai as well as a base of operations in London. More information about CCP is available at the company’s website, www.ccpgames.com.

So watch out the next time you’re driving through Alabama, or you might wind up with this cruiser behind you!

The co-branded Visa debit card is the first of its kind in North America. The cards will feature art from Street Fighter IV, Resident Evil 5 and Bionic Commando.

The pre-paid cards will also let gamers earn points on Capcom-Unity.com, cash back from online or retail purchases and earn “accelerated rewards” through the online Capcom rewards mall…

Unity card holders will also be able to “jump the line” at Capcom events or gatherings, gain access to Beta tests and other things like “being written into a Capcom game or comic book or possibly even being an extra in a Capcom movie.

The cards actually look pretty damn cool. Except, it’s not so cool when you have a $5 monthly fee and a set-up charge.

After being delayed for a month new details have emerged about Bethesda’s second pack of downloadable content for Fallout 3. This pack takes the player to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is now called “The Pitt”. The Pitt is controlled by Raiders and according to this month’s UK OXM, the player will be able to talk with Raiders, as opposed to just shoot them. Just like Operation Anchorage, The Pitt will add new weapons, armor, quests, and achievement’s to Fallout 3, it will not be available for the Playstation3, only the Xbox 360 and PC. Unlike O:A, The Pitt will be set in current Wasteland time and will have more of a traditional Fallout style quest, with ambiguity and moral dilemmas. It’s expected to be released in early March and cost about the same as Operation Anchorage, around $10 (800MSFT Points)

Escape From City 17 Part 1

Ushra’Khan’s (UNITY) unconventional fleet configuration secures them a victory against Molotov Coalition (MLTOV).

Ushra’Khan: 1 Damnation | 5 Sacrilege | 1 Ishtar
Molotov Coalition: 1 Nightmare | 1 Bhaalgorn | 1 Damnation | 3 Rook | 3 Ishkur

The match opened with UNITY immediately attacking the recon ships fielded by their rivals, while MLTOV chose to start their attack against their opponent’s Ishtar. An early lead was granted to UNITY as they successfully destroyed two Rooks before MLTOV was able to respond with the elimination of the Ishtar.

MLTOV struggled for some time against a particularly studdorn Sacrilege, while they slowly lost each of their cruiser class ships. Eventually only their faction battleships remained, which despite persisting for a surprisingly long amount of time, eventually caved. The match ended with no further losses to the UNITY side.

After the match Seliah, team captain for UNITY, commented on the team’s performance: “Very well. I’m really satisfied of this setup. No one had brought Sacrileges before.” When asked if it was risky bringing an untested fleet setup to the match she said: “No, because it had been tested. Well, not in any official matches.”

Xonja 2zero, a team member for MLTOV, thought they had done well despite the loss: “I think for what we had and what they brought we did as best as we could. To be honest, I’m happy it’s over and we can go back to killing the unsuspecting eve populace.” 

Editors Note:  Elaborating a bit from our perspective.  The setup we went with was very, very powerful at a few things, and very weak against another thing.  Unfortunately, the setup our opponents brought today was just the thing that we had nothing to combat.  Ushra’Khan’s ships were passive armor tanked, meaning that the overwhelming capacitor warfare brought by the Bhaalgorn was nearly useless.  UK’s pilots have also got to be commended for skillfully avoiding the Bhaal’s other power, it’s increased stasis webifier range.

The Nightmare is a hard hitting laser based juggernaut.  Sadly, it was rendered nearly helpless by overwhelming tracking disruption, cutting it’s range from 50 kilometers to effectively 8.  With our electronic warfare taken out of the match nearly instantly, it was over before it even began.  Not helping matters, I (the Bhaalgorn pilot) managed to handicap himself even farther by mistakenly fitting an illegal module the night before, and said module was destroyed by the GM’s before the first shot was fired.  Although assured that mistake didn’t doom the entire operation right off the bat, I am still rendered nearly speechless from shame.

And so ends the 6th Alliance tournement, for us at least.  Ironically, and somewhat agonizingly, is the fact that we were elimated in almost the same exact fashion last year, in the same quarterfinals match bracket.  Only this time, our losses come to the total of nearly 4 billion ISK, which is sobering.  Ultimately though, it’s not important.  The tournements are merely bragging rights, and we have no need to inflate our already massive intersteller egos.  We will keep fighting, and keep training, and maybe next year the luck will swing in our favor.

In a shocking turn of events, it was revealed sometime yesterday that the giant powerbloc known as Band of Brothers or “BoB” was mysteriously rendered helpless during a single critical act. 

Details are still not clear, and rumors are flying every which way, but the most credible variant of the story is that in which a very high ranking member of the executor Corporation Evolution betrayed his (now) former alliance mates and pushed the “Disband” button.  The power to disband an entire alliance, an alliance that has been working steadily at its goals for 5 years now, is held by extremely few people.  In the total membership (somewhere around 3000), only a handful have access to such powerful options.  

Our own DruzidelCastro explains in detail what this entails;

 Player made alliances hold sovereignty over whatever space they have control towers in. If their claim on sovereignty isn’t contested for a certain amount of time, they get higher levels of control. The higher it is, the more/better stuff they’re allowed to put on their control towers. Jump bridges allow regular ships to travel from one system to another that also has a jump bridge linked to the first one. This allows you to skip making 10-20 jumps (what would take half an hour in a battleship suddenly takes thirty seconds). They’re also handy for logistics, bringing in fuel for the towers and everything becomes a lot less hefty. Capital ships cannot move between systems using the stargates that subcapitals use. They need to lock onto something called a Cynosural field. There are two kinds of mods you can toss onto a tower but only one is really game breaking in this case: The cynosural field jammer. If a system is “cynojammed”, you cannot create a cyno field for capitals to jump to. This means that any offensive mounted on the towers in that system has to be done with sub capitals. Combine that with a jump bridge and you’re dealing with a hefty motherfucking fortress (jump bridges allow friendly capital ships to bridge into the system). Without sovereignty, none of that works. Without an alliance, you have no sovereignty. Not only are all of the super capitals that BoB were building now paused (super caps take weeks to build), but they’re wide open for anyone to attack… This should make for some interesting times, that’s for damn sure.

The galaxy has been sharply divided in opinion, some condemning this act as the lowest form of treachery, whilst others hail it as a righteous act to bring down a evil giant.  It is not yet certain what will happen in the coming months, but I for one, cannot wait to watch it unfold.

We scored an exclusive interview with Apostol Apostolov, the Lead Game Designer for the upcoming sci-fi MMO Earthrise, which is getting ready to enter its first beta phase. We learned a little more about the economy, insurance and looting of items in PvP, how players will be able to control the market, and the unprecedented level of power that crafters will receive. So here’s the beef:

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SC: So, can you please summarize what Earthrise is all about in a few sentences for me?

AA: Earthrise is a post-apocalyptic, science-fiction MMORPG set in the future of mankind, where a world-shattering war has brought about the end of our civilization and widespread mutation among the flora and fauna. A project to preserve humanity has allowed our race to survive and flourish once again in the futuristic city of Sal Vitas. Reaching new technological heights and turning humanity immortal through access to cloning facilities, a power-hungry corporation-gone-government Continoma plays God by choosing who is reborn and who is forever lost.

After a failed coup de grace, a rogue organization called Noir is formed to lead the opposition in armed conflict to bring freedom to the Sal Vitas’ citizens. As players enter the game, they will find themselves not only caught in the tense political situation among the two factions, but also the rising entrepreneurship that allow players to shape the world through the most powerful weapon of all – market influence. Earthrise is a post-apocalyptic game of political intrigue, military action, economic rivalry and global guild-based warfare for the resources that the island holds – a skill-based, level-less game where players are free to shape their fate and every action has consequences.

SC: The features that caught my eye the most were the lack of a level cap and the skill-based advancement system. How did the idea for a skill-based advancement system come about?

AA: The concept of skill-based character development with no artificial limitations was one of the design foundations that Earthrise has been built upon from the very beginning. We wanted to craft a game where players did not feel constrained and were able to experiment and customize their character as they choose the exact style of play that suits them. As science-fiction games concentrate on realism rather than heroic tales of power, we knew Earthrise had to provide players with a system flexible enough to handle the variety that the game promises, and the skill-based system was the only type of mechanic that could deliver what it promised.

SC: Did you take any inspiration from games like EVE Online, Dragonrealms, or any other MMORPGs that also utilize skill-based advancement systems?

AA: Probably the strongest design inspiration when designing the skill-based advancement system has been drawn from the grand-daddy of MMO games – Ultima Online. We believe that game deserves a lot more praise and attention than it has received recently. At the same time, Earthrise is different as it allows players to learn all skills rather than juggle between them – availability of skills is tied to the equipment that players choose to wear. Also, we bring customization to a new level with Tactics – enhancements integrated deep into a special attack that allow players to fine-tune their properties to enhance their play style.

SC: And the lack of a level cap, that hasn’t been done too often before in MMORPGs. Obviously it creates unique balance issues between power-gamers and casual players. What made you decide to go without a level cap, and what kind of challenges has it created for the development team?

AA: While a level system and a level cap allows designers to create balanced and digestible system for many players to enjoy, we wanted to provide players with a system that valued customization and flexibility above the accumulation of raw power and gear. But as we added more and more interesting abilities and variety of skills, it became obvious that the biggest challenge will be balance! With hundreds of abilities spread over dozens of skills, we’re constantly finding new and inventive ways to create interesting character builds… some of them probably too “interesting”, so a lot of time and effort goes into tweaking the gameplay system to allow a fair and fun game for all players of all player styles and player skill levels.

SC: I understand there’s something of an offline component to Earthrise too. Is it going to provide real benefits to players? Other than cash, what kind of perks will there be?

AA: Players will not only receive a monetary income from their choice of an offline profession, but also have a chance to receive a small reward that ties in with the economy of the game world. We will have more information about this in the future.

SC: Speaking of monetary income, tell me a bit about the economy for Earthrise.

AA: The economy of Earthrise is completely player-run open market, with a heavy emphasis on the importance of inventive designers and dedicated manufacturers to populate the market with the most powerful and useful items. Unlike other games, Earthrise takes away most of the item customization from the end user and puts it in the hands of the crafter, who can use Technologies and Designs to create unique items for every possible situation. This gives crafters an unparallel influence in the game world and a viable profession that could bring immense riches to those who handle their craft right. It also brings interesting problems to the whole server population – if an item is not yet designed and manufactured, it would not exist. So there’re hundreds if not thousands of niches that crafters can fill in as they care for the needs of their customers.

SC: As I’m sure you’re aware, economies in MMORPGs can differ drastically. Compare, for instance, Warhammer’s relative lack of focus on in-game currency, compared to EVE, where in-game currency has a fairly significant role. Where will Earthrise fit on the scale?

AA: We are definitely siding with EVE on the importance of in-game economy. Like in real life, money in Earthrise will have an incredibly powerful role. While offline professions make it reasonably easy to acquire enough money to buy a standard suit of armor and a weapon of choice, when it comes to buying customized, uniquely designed gear that works best for your gameplay style and role in your guild, it quickly becomes an expensive investment. Add to this the fact that all items wear with time and that one crucial mistake not to insure your inventory could lead to a disastrous full loot in favor of your opponents, and item investment becomes a constant flow rather than a one-time investment until the next tier of power. This makes personal budget management an important part of your adventurous life, as you always have to plan a couple moves ahead.

SC: Will the game come from a first or third person perspective?

AA: The game will provide a third person perspective, allowing players to experience the presence of their character within the vibrant environment of the game world rather than experience in a limited fashion through their player’s viewpoint. The third person perspective camera also allows freedom of the camera that is not available to first person games.

SC: Will it be a twitchy shooter like Planetside? Or will dice-rolls play a larger role like in Tabula Rasa?

AA: Earthrise is first and foremost a role-playing game, but that doesn’t mean it has to play by the tradition of dice-heavy computations that could take all the life out of a dynamic combat. Combat system is very simple at its core, with streamlined, dynamic combat system that rewards player skill and puts heavy emphasis on skills and their use to achieve spectacular combinations and synergies either alone or in a team. The way Abilities will combine with Tactics, it will open ground for a staggering amount of different builds and combinations and we believe it will be the portion of the game players will want to explore first.

SC: Earthrise is currently taking signups for a closed beta. Any word on when that’s going to go live, and when you expect to be ready (approximately) for an open beta?

AA: It is too early to tell that. Right now we are focused on the closed beta process.

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Our thanks to Apostol Apostolov and Masthead Studios for giving us this interview. Keep an eye on Stratics Central for the latest information and news on Earthrise as it moves into the beta process.