Just a short update. Still playing Imperian. It's been a blast, it's one of the few online games which have seriously made me consider spending money on. I know, it's free to play, but it'll take a good long while to earn game credits normally (think months, years...). The learning curve is fairly steep and the regular players are quite strict about RPing, so it really feels like a game world, not just a chat lobby where morons hang out until they have enough to go on a clickfest.

What's coming out soon? Still no news of Space Force 2, or was there a May '07 date? Or am I thinking about Hellgate: London? I do remember seeing a date for one of the games on my watchlist. Got tired of Freelancer again, heh. I mean, without a story, it's a bit hard to keep going just exploring without purpose. The scripts are great although there doesn't seem to be provisions for a really evolving universe. I guess that should be an option - even though it ends up like several factions getting wiped out. I mean, that's the whole purpose of an evolving universe: things happen. If the player doesn't like it, he can try changing it, or he can just restart in a new universe. As it currently is, it's still fairly static, even though it's a damn sight more lively than, say, Darkstar One's dead arcade universe.

I heard that Brother Laz of the Diablo 2 modding community fame finally bowed out - he's lasted, what, 5 years? That's a hell of a long time to burn on a game. At least he'll still be popping into Phrozen Keep from time to time. Joel is supposed to be picking up where he left his mod, Median 2008, at. I haven't had a chance to try it out - last I remember there was this crisis about whether shared skills is a good thing or not. Think I might have another go at V&K's Middle Earth D2LoD mod, the Titan Quest expansion, Immortal Throne, is proving to be as unexciting and unfixed as the original game was.

They still haven't fixed crap like, holding down shift should mean don't move - period; or items dropping and then falling out of reach; extremely poor graphical performance, rubber banding and other speed issues; not to mention serious balance issues like how multiplay melee is useless when casters level monster camps before you can get past the frontline monsters, how the hp-balance issue still isn't addressed, etc.

Oh... there's a karaoke version of the God Hand credits song. Try it at a karaoke party sometime, it's really funny. Bonus points if everyone is smashed and at the silly giggling-at-everything stage.