Lord Ser Brightblade

New method my foot. It was the Force I tell you! Strong in the ways of the Force this one is.

That sounds like a great idea! Can someone knock my wife out so I can order a pizza when it comes on shes all for my health these days and pizza more than a couple times a month doesnt fit into her idea of healthy and low carb.

If you are on your PC during this time shame on you....unless you have TiVO running of course The only other reason not to be watching these two shows involves a significant other and cant be discussed in detail on these kid friendly boards!

Welcome! You do sound very busy....Tae Kwon Do eh? Make sure to remind me not to post anything harsh about ya *grins* Glad your tour of duty is coming to an end so you can get home to the good ol' USA!! Thank you for keeping our borders safe and safe journies while out at sea!

He probably did not.....After 3 Hours of your death I believe you are resssurected by the system itself.

Thought Bal had posted under the Atk System Forum that it didnt work so dont waste your gold Can't find where it was said but I swear I had seen it....

Anyone ever have all the items they have with them as far as armor weapons rings and bracelets insured but when they die and are ressurected they get nothing back? This happened to me last evening. I thought perhaps maybe it didnt take money out of my bank but it did so the system was "working" at least in as much as it took more gold from me. If this is common I certainly wont be keeping any gear that I can't make myself, there are better things to do with it......

He actually loves D&D but he had to quit..... Not for the reasons you think though. He really did enjoy playing his level 20 chaotic chaotic evil wizard. He quit because of the fact that the devils food was always served at D&D all nighters! What is this you might ask? Cheesy Poofs and Mountain Dew.....muhahahhaa

Ummm yeah and I care what the pope thinks because.......Oh yeah he thinks he owns the rights to everything Holy.

What does she know....shes a woman!!! Ducks out of the way as Scout (yeah thats my better half) tosses my computer at me!

Head to the site and get yours NOW! Mondain's Legacy beta codes

What else do you want to see reported on? Give me some feedback please and Ill aim to please

BEIJING, China (AP) -- The 12 teenagers and young adults, some in ripped jeans and baggy T-shirts, sit in a circle, chewing gum and fidgeting as they shyly introduce themselves. "I'm 12 years old," one boy announces with a smile. "I love playing computer games. That's it." "It's been good to sleep" says another, a 17-year-old with spiky hair, now that he's no longer on the computer all day. The youths are patients at China's first officially licensed clinic for Internet addiction, a downside of the online frenzy that has accompanied the nation's breathtaking economic boom. "All the children here have left school because they are playing games or in chat rooms everyday," says the clinic's director, Dr. Tao Ran. "They are suffering from depression, nervousness, fear and unwillingness to interact with others, panic and agitation. They also have sleep disorders, the shakes and numbness in their hands." According to government figures, China has the world's second-largest online population -- 94 million -- after the United States. While China promotes Internet use for business and education, government officials also say Internet cafes are eroding public morality. Authorities regularly shut down Internet cafes -- many illegally operated -- in crackdowns that also include huge fines for their operators. State media has also highlighted cases of obsessed Internet gamers, some of whom have flunked out of school, committed suicide or murder. Nonetheless, Internet cafes continue to thrive, with outlets found in even the smallest and poorest of villages. Most are usually packed late into the night. Dr. Kimberly Young, a Bradford, Pennsylvania, clinical psychologist whose 1998 book on Internet addiction has been translated into Chinese, says she's not surprised the Chinese would face problems with Internet overuse. "They are catching up with a lot of our technology, and certainly at that juncture, are now able to run into some of the same difficulties," Young said. While treatment programs were virtually nonexistent in the United States a decade ago, she said, dozens of clinics and countless individual therapists such as herself offer counseling and treatment in her country. Various fixations Programs are growing elsewhere, too. Just a few years ago, Young says, she attended a conference in Switzerland where she was the only American out of some 200 academics and clinicians who gathered to address Internet addiction. Tao's government-owned clinic, which began taking patients in March, occupies the top floor of a two-story building on a quiet, tree-lined street on the sprawling campus of the Beijing Military Region Central Hospital in the heart of the Chinese capital. A dozen nurses and 11 doctors care for the patients, mostly youths aged 14 to 24 who have lost sleep, weight and friends after countless hours in front of the computer, often playing video games with others online. Some come voluntarily, while others are checked in by their parents. Many say their online obsessions helped them escape day-to-day stress, especially pressure from parents to excel in school. Some can't stop playing games, while the older ones tend to be addicted to online chats with the opposite sex, Tao says. Others are fixated on designing violent games. Tao, a psychiatrist for 20 years who specializes in treating addiction, estimates that up to 2.5 million Chinese suffer from Internet addiction, though others are skeptical. "As the number of the Netizens grows, the number of the addicted people will grow as well, but we should not worry about the issue too much," says Kuang Wenbo, a professor of mass media at Beijing's Renmin University. "The young men at the age of growing up have their own problems. Even if there was no Internet they will get addicted to other things." A reporter was allowed to talk to patients at the clinic on condition they not be identified by name. "I wasn't normal," said a 20-year-old man from Beijing who used to spend at least 10 hours a day in front of the screen playing hack-and-slash games like Diablo. "In school I didn't pay attention when teachers were talking," he said. "All I could do was think about playing the next game. Playing made me happy, I forgot my problems." The 12-year-old, a new arrival, spent four days in an Internet cafe, barely eating or sleeping. A soft-spoken 21-year-old man from northeastern Heilongjiang province who had been in the clinic for 10 days said his addiction had helped him escape from family pressures about his studies. "I would stay up for 24 hours. I would eat only in front of the computer," he said. Step-by-step Tao's team has put together a standard diagnostic test to determine whether someone is addicted, then uses a combination of therapy sessions, medication, acupuncture and sports like swimming and basketball to ease patients back into normal lives. They usually stay 10 to 15 days, at $48 a day -- a high price in China, where the average city dweller's weekly income is just $20. The routine begins around 6 a.m. and includes sessions on a machine that stimulates nerve impulses with 30-volt charges to pressure points. Some patients receive a clear fluid through intravenous drips said to "adjust the unbalanced status of brain secretions," according to one nurse. Officials would not give any other details about the medication. Patients also nap, write diary entries or play cards. Their rooms are sunny, each decorated with artificial flowers, Winnie the Pooh comforters and a 17-inch television. Tao says the long-term effects of treatment are generally successful, but it's not easy to keep patients from again giving themselves over to Internet temptation. "It would be hard to give it up completely," said the 20-year-old from Beijing. "I'll take it step-by-step." Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Well Ive seen alot of things in Mondain's Legacy both good and bad. It's still the beta so a lot can change but here's a very brief list of what I see as the best and worst it has to offer. The order in which I list things does not denote my preference. Yes I know my spelling and grammer aren't the best but hey I want to get back to testing the game not spell checking and looking for missed punctuation!! The Good: The quest system - It is pretty huge. It encompasses a lot of things from those who wish to explore to those who wish to obtain new recipies or items. Gold Sinks - There seems to be a fair number of gold sinks implemented. These range from the low end of a few gold to the high end 250,000 to 1,000,000. Lets hope they add more. Even better yet lets hope they give us reason to actually want to sink our gold into the system. Races - This allows for some great roleplay potential. While I really dont see the point of many of the abilities you gain by choosing either race it is still early and I haven't played around with things much. I am curious why elven characters that are newly created start in a normal city of Britania though.... Crafting - Wow did this system get a big bump up in the cool factor. Lots of new things to be used in making items. New recipies for all crafters although some got less than others (alchemists only got 4 that I know of). Some of the elven house add ons look great! Dungeons - Some of them look fairly nice. There is a degree of dificulty here that much is certain.....but more about that in the bad section. Monsters - Some look pretty cool. Some interesting things to tame. Definitly some very powerful enemies out there for players to vanquish. Community Contributions - Finally a way for people such as tamers, craftsman etc. to earn credit for working thier skillsother than the *gets sick feeling in his stomach* BoD system. A way for guilds to work on fostering resource collecting for fun and profit! I havent played much with this but I have heard a bit about it from others. Eye Candy otherwise known as Pixel Crack - There certainly is some fun stuff to look at. You might notice many very saught after rares appearing again but under the guise of different names. Good job here of OSI keeping rares, well rare but allowing players to have some pretty things to display in thier houses. Many of the new craftables look great too, for instance the elven forge and arcane circles. The Bad: The quest system - Very one sided with lots for elves to do little for humans (we are talkin specific here). Many quests are repeatable but lack any variety. Get the same thing over and over. Farmers will rejoice. E-bay will flourish. So you want to discover that super duper new recipie well no problem just crank out bascinets and keep handing em in, eventually you'll get that great new blacksmithing recipie you wanted. The quest system really got a huge shot of coolness to it but do not release it this way. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. Mix things up for repeatable quests where the task which needs to be completed/items collected differs. A recipie for a uber item should not come from the same type of quest that can yield you a low end item recipie. Why not have different quest givers for recipies where checks are made that a certain "tier" has been reached (i.e. certain recipies have been learned already) before quests for the better recipies can even be given out. Why are there no quests for the right to enter a particular dungeon. Does it mean that everyone and Whistler's mother should automatically gain access to new dungeons just because they paid thier $29.95? Make people work a little for access, especially if what is inside is deemed worthy! Gold Sinks - I have seen a few and thats good. What I have seen, for the most part is a lot of one times, or those that will be used infrequently. Lets have more overall sinks and let's have many that players will absolutely want to sink gold into time and time again. Having to pay 10k to enter a dungeon is a good gold sink but come on can't you do better than that to get a sink that people must use time and time again? Races - There is a definite push here for elves and thier marketing potential in the real world. EA smells dollars here which means humans seem to fall by the wayside. A seperation of the races really needs to be made if one wants to go this route. Innate nightsight kinda cool, the rest I can do without I dont see anything here that makes me say definitly elven characteristic or yeah thats a human. I wont even talk about how there shoulda been dwarves with mining smithing and brewing abilities...YES brewing I want my ale ACHH! The new avatars are well interesting. Some of the features are pretty cool and some look like the developers ate the wrong thing for breakfast spewed it back up and said hey wow it kinda looks like an Elf lets use that as an avatar! Oh and if you are an elf there should be a gump to choose if you will speak/translate elven or common tongue. Maybe allow humans to get the same gump through extremely difficult quests. I mean why does everyone need to understand everyone. For role-play it would be nice not to actually have to learn to speak a real language in real life to actually use one in the game. Crafting - Lots of new recipies. Give us more though. Make them hard to get especially the really desirable ones. Right now all the recipies seem to come from a very small handful of quest givers. Why not have more quest givers that only interact if you have done numerous things already and offer higher end recipies. Do not show people all of what they can make in the crafting menu! The ability to see new items that can be made should be a reward only for those that have taken the time to work within the quest system. Why not create guild systems for crafters. So you want to be the uber tailor well pay your dues or you wont even be able to get those new recipies or get certain resources which are required for various cultural items (how bout a special coal to make an elven forge work or special tanins that must be applied to leather....yet another way to add a gold sink) Your status within the crafting guild could help dictate what recipies you are eligable for. Oh yea and guild systems and crafting would create yet another opportunity for community collaboration. Dungeons - They are definitly harder but more a result of packing 100,000 meanies into an area even a pixie could barely navigate. Tossing monsters on top of players is hardly a constructive way to make things more difficult. Making dungeons difficult to navigate while dead is never fun (not saying it shouldnt be hard but what a royal pain in the *** it was to exit the Prism of Light the first time I died....I mean you cant see half the places you need to step on to trigger your teleportation) I'm most upset that all dungeons are accessible by everyone right fromt he start. Some of these should have been worked into the quest system (The quest which begins with the fragmented map would have been a great one to use for entrance into the minotaur caves). People complain that things are too easy well make a dungeon that can't even be entered unless you are a very skilled or in some cases a very lucky player. A dungeon could be made harder by employing things like murder holes that need to be disabled or destroyed by character. Can't get into part of a city well you hadbetter assemble a battering ram to beat down the gates or get your alchemist to lay charges to blow the rubble away all the while monsters attack and try to thwart the construction of such things. Speaking of blown away allow some creatures to fire from murder holes or ramparts that can only be reached by other arrows or craftables specifically designed to counter these new threats (strategy should be desired not hack and slash). Oh and look at that chasm better grab a ballista and fire rope across to begin building a bridge...... Monsters - Move along. Not much to see here other than new graphics (Some of which, once again, look like the developer had a particularly bad breakfast), ludicrous ammounts of hitpoints and the potential to obliterate hoards of players at a time. I saw very little work with the monster AI. The same spells are going to be used against monsters and similar tactics employed, it's just going to take a little longer for some of the deziens of the dungeons to be dropped is all. Oh yea just in case I wasnt clear, packing monsters into cramped quarters does not make for new AI..... Community Contributions- Keep these coming! Let's have more variety. Keep the rewards fresh and change them from time to time removing some from the system completly so that people will want to come back and work within the system to attain things time and time again. Guilds should be added into this system to create an even greater community for crafters. Eye Candy: Some of it could use some touch ups. This is the least of my worries so I wont say much about it at all. Many are complaining that the use of graphics for rare items might hurt the rare item market though.

O.K. fisherman seem to have gotten a little something in the new expansion read on to see what!! Like I said earlier save your shinies cause these new additions are not cheap!! The tank alone will cost you over 250,000 of those little gold coins! Oh yeah have I mentioned how much I hate doing picture editing with paint?!?!? Sorry for any mispelling/punctuation/grammer it isnt easy to fix once you have merged a layer Edit --- Something else I just noted on playing with the tanks and fish is that you can not position fish/animals in the tank as you might like. Furthermore there are no aquatic plants or rocks/coral. Lastly it seems you can only view one fish in the tank at a time. It would sure be nice if you were allowed to position the fish/aquatic animals where you wanted in the tank and have plants/rocks as well as maybe a limit of 3 fish per "page". Surely at least the positioning and the number of fish allowed per page can't be too difficult as all the tank is is a container and we move stuff in our containers all the time (backpacks, pouches, chests, bank boxes and even pack horses!

O.K. first let me say I stink at photo editing (especially cause I dont have a nice editor like photoshop) but this picture should give you a basic idea of one of the new dungeon entrances called the Prism of Light located at the very northern tip of Nujel'm. Notice there is a place for a line to form where you hand in your tickets. Where do you get your ticket you ask? Well ask the shady looking guy named Lefty of course! For a nominal fee of 10,000 shiny pieces of gold he will sell you one good for about a day and blessed of course (and good thing too 'cause many will be making corpse recoveries). All in all the quest system is pretty neat. You better prepare to have lots of gold too as many quests require guild to be paid to start them! Do not quote me but I believe there is at least one that costs 1,000,000 as I saw a quest which will allow you to recover your entrance fee for a quest if you decide not to complete it (the refunded ammount was 1,000,000). Looks like OSI finally found some good gold sinks! Hopefully some of the higher end sinks will absolutely be so desirable that they will be repeated. Anyway enjoy the first picture and I'll try to get some more stuff posted as soon as my eyes return to normal!

I will post some pictures in the next day or so. Right now my eyes are killing me from playing!

Anaflas/Galanor is in beta. Oh yeah and it cant be Wolf.....No stink cloud following him and hes not using a cane to walk!

*chuckles*

There will be more just keep checking. I man I wish I could post some stuff but until its a public beta I believe pictures etc are all off limits.

I'm in. So is Lora. She placed a castle behind someone elses castle which happens to be named PGoH so curious as to what other PGoH is in Im in the 18x18 next to PGoH castle. Time to mark a couple runes and begin exploring. Remember this shard will get wiped alot I'm sure so dont get attached to anything And please if you are doing the beta try to break things or "exploit the system" so that you can report it all and the bugs can be worked out before the release!!! They are counting on us to help so lets help!

Click here to download the Mondain beta install. You will be required to have a FilePlanet login but since it's free that shouldn't be a problem for most people Click here to download the install file for Mondain's Legacy Click here to try your luck at aquiring a beta code so that you can ugrade your account to Mondain beta. Check often as I am sure many more codes will be released over the coming days. Oh and as was stated by Ultima reps do not pay for a code either with real money or in game gold or items; there will be plenty of opportunity for people to test out the new expansion. Click here to try and aquire a beta code

People are whacked. It is a book for goodness sake. Here I'll tell ya what happens. Harry drinks a gender changing potion vissits Oz and then goes to live in a forest with Robin Hood as Maid Marion.

I'll wait for the movie and take the kids. I love to read but I just don't get the Harry Potter craze at all.

It is my understanding that at least one of the warred guilds has been peaced. Could the list be updated to reflect this.