The Warp Bubble | The MMO Diary of a Virtual Spaceman

Arenanet accepting Guild Wars 2 Beta Sign Ups for the next 48 Hours

2012-02-22T18:14:00.004Z

Take a deep breath folks,

Arenanet are now allowing users to sign up for the Guild Wars 2 beta, you can sign up via there sign up page: https://beta.guildwars2.com/ .

You better hurry up though - sign ups are only valid for the next 48 Hours!

Has SWTOR marked the end of an era?

2012-02-21T18:10:00.003Z

Me and thousands of others were waiting in anticipation for Bioware's next TOR game, and possibly the spiritual successor to Star Wars Galaxies - this anticipation was incorrect. Analysts believe TOR currently has a subscriber base of around 1.5 million, this number is believed to be dropping rapidly - Bioware deem this is a great success. In all fairness, if Bioware keep 500k Subs during this next 5 months - they won't make a loss profit wise (they won't make gain a lot either).

Its decent numbers for a newly launched MMO, however its facing a steep decline in subs; unless EA use harry potter magic to save their game, I highly doubt they will ever come close to meeting any of the 'wow-killing' numbers that would mentioned pre-launch. Its a solid MMO experience, however a solid experience which would of worked if released 4-5 years ago - when MMO gamers were still interested in this model.

MMO companies such as Blizzard and Trion have put us on a treadmill, a treadmill with lots of shiny loot dangling in front of it. We've been grinding for so long; many of us can't even be bothered to enter another MMO following the same model which has been driving me and many others to the brink of insanity. The MMO community is at a point of rebellion - TOR has likely crushed any chance of a World of Warcraft clone becoming a major success.

This is far from a bad thing though, this rejection of Wow clones, has forced developers to reinvent the wheel. Games like Guild Wars 2, Archage, The Secret World, Pathfinder and Repopulation are all MMOs in development which aim to break away from the current horde of wow-clones. There will be trolls, Wow fanboys and hardcore raiders who won't like this change in direction - change is always scary, however the innovation we are seeing is healthy. Furthermore, will lead to perhaps another boom in the MMO genre!

Will Guild Wars 2 be the light at the end of the tunnel?

2012-02-19T10:14:00.004Z

Howdy fellow MMO gamers,

I have have been forced to take ride the 'hype train' today. Guild War 2 devs, AreaNet, have just released tons of information about WvWvW PVP. They've confirmed that GW2 will support at least 500 players fighting simultaneously on a single map, they have also promised us....

Dozens of Keeps & Castles which can be controlled by individual guilds
'Zerg' Tactics will not work - small Skirmishes will be just as table turning.
Three servers will fight in a two week long battle, each server having its own 'homeland' map
Bonuses for guilds and world's which control certain areas.
Everybody who enters WvWvW will be scaled to level 80. You can join in on day one!

I'm not entirely convinced yet, however there is reason to believe WvWvW will be included in the upcoming limited beta. Fingers crossed, beta footage will show off the epicness that is WvWvW. With features like this, no subscription fees and lack of a gear grind - Guild Wars 2 looks like a piece of fresh innovation which could potentially change the entire industry......................one can dream.

James Gibson: My Mission Statement

2012-02-18T15:49:00.002Z

Howdy folks of the internet,

This blog has mostly consisted of me sperging about myself, I'm sorry for this. I've spent most of my time building upon e-peen, something I should of stop fiddling with years ago - for this, I am sorry. In the upcoming months, I hope to contribute to the MMO community, instead of trolling it. I want to publish informative, useful and helpful articles for all to view.

I've been wrongfully profiting off my trolling (all of you folks were clicking on my lovely adverts), I used this money to buy stupid Eve accounts to troll the internet. Hopefully, I can make up for that by donating all my future profits to Charity. A specific Charity, The Red Squirrel Trust.

A Charity Dedicated to the Preservation of Red Squirrels living in and around the Isle of White

What James Promises:

To post informative articles on a regular basis
To donate all profits made to Charity - Red Squirrel Trust
To enhance the layout of the blog and reduce clutter
To increase the Blog's viewer base
To contribute to the development of released & upcoming MMOs
To slowly shift away from his Goon obsession
To begin expanding other areas of his internet brand - NetHub, Gibson Productions & MineForge
To post fair and constructive reviews which are useful for MMO studios
To shift the atmosphere of the blog to be out you not me
To stop being so creepy
To apologize to the Eve Online staff for breaking its EULA so many times
To create a WarpBubble forum site for members to discuss relevant topics
To be a bit more happier

Its a long list, yes. Am I being optimistic, most likely.

Sandbox MMOs - The future looks bleak

2012-02-17T17:30:00.001Z

Howdy folks of the internet,

My best gaming past-times have always been in Sandbox MMOs, from PKing in Ultima Online to waging inter-galactic warfare in Eve Online - no virtual experience contends with the Sandbox. Eve Online is currently the only AAA sandbox, all of the other sandbox MMOs are either Korean or being developed by low-budget indie teams.

Your probably thinking; well go play Eve Online then! Unfortunately, I'm banned from Eve - currently the only sandbox which has a bright future. Other options on the table include: Darkfall, Mortal Online and Xyson. They're all sandboxes, however they are MMOs being developed by indie studios. All of those titles have dangerously low populations; considering Sandboxes are built around player interaction, that can only be bad thing.

We also have a nifty game called ArcheAge and its being developed by Korean game studio, XL Games. XL is struggling to find a publisher in the West, it is also facing accusations of stealing artwork from the creators of Tera; another upcoming MMO. The chances of seeing ArcheAge available in the West are extremely low. I don't know about you, but I can't speak Korean.....

It seems that investors aren't willing to put money into innovation, only willing to invest in studios which follow a blueprint which has worked in the past. We can only hope that current Sandbox titles can prove that the genre is profitable - encouraging others to choose innovation over recreation.

EDIT:
There was an information mix up, sorry about that. TERA was the MMO being accused by Ncsoft for stealing artwork that was going to be used for Lineage 3. There was NO incident between TERA and Archeage.

Keep Dreaming!

James Gibson: "Betrayed Again"

2012-02-17T17:07:00.001Z

James Gibson: A 2012 Annoucement

2012-02-16T10:41:00.001Z

CCP - My Plea to you

2012-01-13T13:15:00.000Z

Dear the GM and Development staff of Eve Online,

Following my location-based ban from Eve Online, I have been distraught, uncomfortable and suffering from extreme anxiety issues. I understand I have violated your Eula on multiple occasions, for that I am deepy sorry, however what has been done, has been done. I've recently bought two Eve accounts (Each costing 30 Euros because I bought in a 3 month sub plan), and they were banned without notice. I am begging of you, you don't have to unban my other accounts. Just let me buy new ones - I will pay over 200 Euros if it means access to Eve Online again. If my parents would let me, I would pay you 250,000 Euros - they do not let me handle such large finacial accounts at my current age.

Please - if any Eve players are reading this - forward this message to all of the CCP devs, the Eve forums and anybody you can find!

Racism is bad.

2012-01-13T13:08:00.002Z

Howdy folks of the internet,

Team Alpha (The Public Relations Sector of the Warp Bubble) have been observing the SA thread 'James Gibson and the case of the goonfleet'. They reported to me yesterday that there have been accusations as to whether I am really 13 years of age. I can confirm: I was born in 1998 - I am 13. Anybody who thinks otherwise is narrow-minded and does not understand that a 13 year old can run these types of operations. Anyway, my age is the focus of this campaign. I'd like to believe I would of achieved just as much even if I was three times my current age.

I'm trying to arrange with my parents to get my birth certificate, so I can prove to all you 'non-believers' that I am actually 13.

Because your worth it.

This isn't a massive troll

2012-01-11T20:45:00.004Z

Howdy folks of the internet,

On the SA thread, I've been accused of being one giant troll. This entire campaign is not a troll - the campaign has one single goal: To join Goonwaffe by the year 2036. The goal is realistic, and totally achievable if me and tech team focus.

In other news: We'll be slowly turning the blog into a 'Video Blog', meaning more videos than posts.

Britannia Rule the World!

James Gibson: Bad Romance

2012-01-11T18:01:00.002Z

Personal Request from Mittens.

Learn from the best: James Gibson

2012-01-11T17:31:00.001Z

Howdy folks of the internet,

As you all know, I'm an internet marketing guru. I've brought this unknown blog into becoming one of the most visited Eve Online blogs to have ever existed. I'm a helpful man (boy), so I decided to write a book just for you folks who want to learn from the best.

I finish this book a few days ago, and decided to publish it on the amazon kindle (also available on the ipad, iphone, ipod and all android devices). This book is quality stuff, and will no doubt help you in your journey to becoming a successful Internet Marketer.
Purchase using the link below!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Internet-Marketing-For-Beginners-ebook/dp/B006VXOZA6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1326300811&sr=1-1

I'm going to bed now.

2012-01-10T20:51:00.002Z

I'm going to bed now.

Somethingawful.com | My Plea to You

2012-01-10T20:39:00.004Z

Howdy folks of the internet,

I have been subject a high-level of cyber bullying by people twice my age. Members of somethingawful.com, I wish to tell you that I am reading the thread about me, and am encouraging an SA mod to remove that thread. It really hurts my feelings.

Only jokin' my brofas

2012-01-10T20:35:00.000Z

Only jokin' my brofas

The blog will be closing

2012-01-10T19:59:00.002Z

Due to numerous legal accusations being put forward to us. We will be closing permanently.