The Warcraft world has graced the humble PC since it's early days. It paved the way for a type of gaming and redefined a genre. Its character was unparalleled and something that gave birth to a whole new world, time and place. Since the humble days of the original Warcraft, players have wanted to feel the rich world of Warcraft, wanted to live it, wanted to become a part of it...that day has finally arrived.

I doubt there is a person here who has not heard about World of Warcraft. The Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG), that let's you be someone in the rich world of Warcraft. The game where you can choose a character from one of the diverse races and perform quest, engage in bloodshed and act in an unruly manner, all in the company of other people.

WoW has been in development for a few years now, and the time has come for a large beta test to finally take place. Although we (Australia) could not take part in the test, it does lend itself to something very exciting. The fact that this game should be reaching our shores in a relatively short time. With the second phase of the Beta now underway (the ability to pick from the races of the Horde), it truly is an indication that things are running quite smoothly.

Some of you may not know, but I managed to get my grubby little hands on an Alpha release of the game. Sure I couldn't do much, there were no quests, no NPCs and practically nothing but me, but boy was it awesome just to take a stroll around the lands of Azeroth and Kalimdor, and truly see what they had to offer. The entire world in WoW is a sight to behold, and it just looks simply amazing. Can't comment much on the actual gameplay, but the world was amazing and with that alone, really grabbed a hold of me and brought me into the World that is Warcraft.

Here are some pics of my visits through the lands of Azeroth and Kalimdor.





<img src='http://members.optusnet.com.au/emmanaelm/Night Elf.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>







<img src='http://members.optusnet.com.au/emmanaelm/Troll 2.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>

<img src='http://members.optusnet.com.au/emmanaelm/Troll 3.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>

<img src='http://members.optusnet.com.au/emmanaelm/Troll 4.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>


Also, for those wanting to see the world in living colour, check out these movies:

WorldofWarcraftECTS2001 Cinematic Trailer

World of Warcraft 2003 Gameplay Preview

World of Warcraft Opening Cimeatic Movie Downloader

World of WarCraft E3 2003 Trailer

Do you know what the fees are for playing the game?

Generally, I'm not too interested in MMORPGs for all sorts of reasons, but WoW is one that I'm considering playing when it gets released. Those are some pretty nice screens.

Hmm, I assume it's going to be somewhere near $20 a month. I don't think Blizzard have announced their pricing plans as of yet.

I've never been interested i MMORPGs before, but this one certainly has me sitting up to take notice..as you can probably tell.

And those screenies were just from the Alpha release!

same as me really ive basically just played ultima online and thats it but ive been watching this for the last few years, i'd love to get it but the monthly fees could be a bit to much of an ask for me <_< . And incase your interested penny-arcade have based there lost few comics on this game and they've posted some pretty good impressions on it as well.

I'm interested in it but I'll barely find enough time to play it so paying for it would be a bit of a waste. It does however seem like the most intruiging out of all the MMORPG's coming out.

Apparently, the cost is going to be around $8 U.S a month, so it will be pretty cheap if that's true.

I will most likely be getting this game, provided I can secure myself a job in the time before its release. :P

Well after playing 'Everquest,' 'Dark Age of Camelot' and recently 'Final Fantasy XI' I feel I have a fair idea what the go is in the MMORPG world. After reading up on 'WoW' I'm quite impressed... Since I have canceled my subscription to 'FFXI' I will either get this of 'Everquest 2.' Although I'm starting to sway towards 'WoW.' :)

Lordage why did you can FFXI? didnt like it?, i dont haev the pleasure of owning the game, but i reckon it would be good

as for WoW i cant wait, im just so annoyed it has to come out during my final school year :cry:

MY interest in this game had dropped dramatically, probably due to having a flood of info when the beta started and nothing significant since. I'm still unsure about getting this because I'm not sure how commited I would be playing enough to warrant the costs :/

I guess I'll see what the pricing will be when it closer to release :)

Funnily enough I fell the same way.

Not to the extent of being completely disinterested, as any piece of WoW news gets me very excited, it's just the fact that there's been no new significant news since the release of the beta, and other games have overshadowed it with their new news.

I'm still definately looking forward to it....can't say i'll have much time though..

The Warcraft world is certainly very charismatic and I feel combined with the force of gameplay influence from various other MMORPG's and Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, this game will rock hard.

I'm being very careful not to get too excited; I've been victim of past addictions with Blizzard titles. :P

I haven't seen a lot of concrete information on this yet myself, does anyone know of a place I can find some out on the game and whatnot (especially now that E3 is finished)?

Okay, World of Warcraft it is. I have read a whole heap on Everquest 2 and to me, well to be blunt, it sounds like a load of horse crap. :( Final Fantasy XI killed me once I got to level 10 and was too strong to solo and too weak for anyone to want me in a party, so I have unsubscribed.
I was considering resubscribing to Dark Age of Camelot, but it is a tad dated... So it looks like World of Warcraft is my final sanction...

---

EDIT: Fixed the Italics tag for ya... :)

- Fusi

Don't worry Lordage, you can definately join me in causing havoc.

Just curious, what race/class do you plan on starting with?

Also, I wonder if Blizzard will implement a system similar to FFXI where you can bring mates into your world. I'd hate to join a different world to my mates or you guys.

Fusion - The best online resource for WoW has to be their own website, funnily enough. Go check out worldofwarcraft.com for all info on the WoW world. All you questions will be answered in the Game Info tab on the left hand side of the page.

I will probably go with a ranged guy, just for a change, I always go the melee type guy in rpg's. I'm not too sure whether to go human or night elf, but whatever I choose, it'd be from those two races :)

Well i've wanted to be a Night Elf Druid ever since I found out about the game, so you a Night Elf Archer, Me a Night Elf Druid.....forget about it! (meant in the Italian way)

I really cant wait for this, i have been waiting AGES for WoW to come out :)
But i heard its coming out late 2004, is that true? i thought it was coming out july or something :(

Yeh, I would give it to late 2004 at best. Besides you should know by now how long Blizzard take with their games :P

I thought I would post some screenshots up :)

screenshot 1
screenshot 2
screenshot 3
screenshot 4

I love the new Raptor and Ram mounts for the Trolls and Dwarves respectively.

Bah, if you want monster screenies, I can provide you with some...although I don't want to spoil anything. All I have to say is that there are some monsters which are absolutely HUGE!!!

Muchos gracious, Manny. That site is chockas with information! :D

I'm certainly loving the assortment of class/race combinations, though I'm a little curious if there are ever going to be any multi-classing options available. I'm afraid the individual selections may become stale after too long, though this may be countered by the sheer assortment of skills they're hinting at.

Wow. :lol:

I know this game will steal my life, so sadly I'm gonna have to give it a miss. *sighs* I'll never get to roam around in that awesome world... :(

Pretty sure they're not going to allow class changes, but the addition of the multitude of skills to learn should really make your character interesting and unique for a while.

FG: I know that...but i'm willing to make that sacrifice ;)

Ok people, here's the info we've all been waiting for:

European Beta signups are now OPEN!! Apparently this includes us codgers in the land down under too.

I've already signed up, why don't y'all do the same!

WOO! :woot:

*signs-up*

I have also signed up. If I manage to get in I think I'm going to be a Night Elf Druid...

That's always been my first choice too!!!

I'm a bit hesistant to join, those required details are a bit too "private" for my liking...

I don't really care about how personal the details are. I mean why would they bother doing anything to little old me here in Australia all the way from the US... It's not like I am of any value to them. :P

..just keep an eye out at night for any bright lights emanating from under your door.

BTW, i'm getting my hands on the Beta Phase 3.....i'll post some pics in a week or so. ;)

I should really stop doing this, but I can't help it. :P

What the developers for Americas Army do with your personal information:



:D


So when are the users for this closed beta being draw?

2 weeks?

3 weeks?

2 months?

A year?

No idea as of yet Estapol, but I know applications close in a week or so.

Anyway, as I said previously, i've managed to get my grubby mits on the newest Beta version of WoW, and with having my first crack at it tonight, thought i'd post something I like to call:

A Day in the Life of Manthalas, Druid Extraordinaire

Ok, so as you may have guessed it, i've jumped into the game as a Night Elf, and more specifically a Druid...it's the shapeshifting abilities that got me :D

Anyway, i've got some screenies which show my first instances playing the game, and let me tell you, it looks amazing.





















After winning my first battle, I joined a dance troup, and we hit the stages of London earning ourselves some big bucks!

Ok, had a good run as a Tauren Warrior this morn....and it has led me into quite a conundrum....that being "What the hell race am I going to pick when the full game comes out!!!".

Playing a couple of the races so far, i've seen that they all have a special character and quality to them, that you just want to be them all! Honestly, except for the gnomes (who have a different kind of charm), there are no races which I wouldn't want to be, they're all done fantastically well.

As a Tauren, I was exploring the savannah-esque countryside, while fighting all manner of creatures, quillboars, cougars, these emu things, thunder lizards (which are pretty darn big!) and a whole range of creatures unique to that part of the land. Interestingly enough, I came across another player, who was an undead :| The distance between the undead lands and the tauren lands is huge, no to mention on another land completely...so that was a nice suprise. I joined a group of shamans, and we paid a visit to Thunder Bluff, the Tauren capitol city, which was rather huge. The merchants in Thunder Bluff had some awesome weaponry and armour..way out of our reach, but it was fun seeing what was on offer.

....hmm who should i try next?

***EDIT***

Ok, another update for you folks.

I decided to give my Tauren another run before bed, but this time I wanted to see the land, so it was mainly an exploration run.

I travelled south from my home in the dry hills of Thunder Bluff, to a rather contrasting (and quite beautiful) jungle. I assume this is close to the area the Trolls reside in, as I know they live in the jungle, and are not far from their orcish cousins...the tiki torches spread about the place also mildly affirmed my idea. Thick expanse of trees and undergrowth made this place so atmospheric. I decided to take a holiday snapshot of a waterfall I came across while traversing through the jungle.



Wanting to get out of the unfamiliarity of the jungle, I decided to head west, to a couple of neighbouring Islands, to see what they had to offer. After an enduring trek across a multitude of regions, I finally reached an Island...and was shocked to see a part of Warcraft history right in front of me. It seems I had stumbled upon the abandoned cityof Solarsil, on the island of Feralis. It seems as though this city was one of the (if not the only) main bastions of the Night Elf civilisation, before their migration north, to the island of Teldrassil. Walking through this now desolate city, you could definately see the resemblance. The trees, the buildings, the entire surroundings were much like they are in Teldrassil...but with a sort of "deadness", a sort of emptiness that illustrated the current state of an abandoned world. I took the liberty of grabbing a screenshot, just to convey the difference between my previous shots of Teldrassil, to the desolate island of Feralis. Clearly, my Tauren doesn't know what's going on either. ;)



After an hour of exploring, I figured it was time to let it go for the night. But before I go, I'll provide a capture of the map, which will illustrate how huge the world is.



As you can see, the distance I travelled (indicated by the dotted line) took me at least an hour to traverse. Also keep in mind that I was walking over great mountains in that line, and the journey would've taken much longer if I wasn't able to....a bug in the beta which will obviously be fixed when the game gets released.

I have compiled some images, and a Music Video of the Fabiownage Dancing Troupe!

NOTE: Fabio = Manny. :thumbsup:


Video: (7.3mb DivX)

http://www.nintendation.com/test/Estapol/Fabiownage_01.zip



Screenshots:




Level 2 Estapol
VS
Level 4 Horse
Stupid Horse... <_<






Yes, a flying fish.
WTF. :huh:






"I am Fabio, the most beautiful man in the etc, etc..." :cheese:





Magical Levitating Manny! (as you can see, this beta is a little buggy. ;) )







Ditto.





Ditto.

Ahh crap, I forgot to show you my newest character Fabio......but then again maybe it had something to do with the fact that no one seems to be giving a shit about this game.

Anyway, isn't he a sexy mofo!?

You guys get affected by the server wipe? I now only have a level 3 Female human warlock. I cbf playing until they get some more content, like more spells and quests.

Bad news.

The morons who run the servers decided that everyone should now be a 10 level and have 30 gold.

I was a Level 3, and I wanted to EARN my levels and gold...it just defeats the purpose of playing the damned thing. :angry:

10 gold Estapol ;)

Yep, absolutely NO incentive now.....some geeks seem to be relishing in it though, not me, it feels like cheating.

You said 30 in MSN. <_<

So is it worth still getting or not?

Can't you level up after 10? :?

No no, I said 10.


Yes, you can level up after 10, but the first 10 levels are by far the most rewarding....and that's been taken away.