PAX 2011

[aflycon]

Well since I live close to Seattle I'll likely be going to PAX 2011 (how much are tickets? ), and I just found out Tobuscus is performing there.

Spoiler! :

Is anyone else going? If so, Escapecraft meetup?

[michaeld20]

Well since I live close to Seattle I'll likely be going to PAX 2011 (how much are tickets? ), and I just found out Tobuscus is performing there.

Spoiler! :

Is anyone else going? If so, Escapecraft meetup?

I was actually thinking bout that TBH, but due to not having enough to get plane tickets(WTF ECONOMY) I cant do so. This=Dissapointment

[derigin]

I'll also be going down to PAX. I'll be in the Seattle/Portland area from about the 20th to the 31st of this month.

[Iron_Fang]

get us info!!! also there is a uk replay expo i have heard about

[Lord_Mountbatten]

Why do I find the name Tobuscus so irritating?

[Someguy42]

Get me freebie codes on games, NAO!

[aflycon]

Huh, I guess tickets have been sold out for a while.. if I'm lucky I can get a Friday or Sunday pass according to a friend of mine.

[Wildwill002]

If you can go, take a massive banner with escapecraft.net on it and walk around with it all day.

[Iron_Fang]

you'll be very lucky

[Iron_Fang]

Also to people who are going, go to the minecraft area to try 1.8 and tell us the new content
Also I wish I could go it sounds epic and loads of free codes apparently I wonder if thq will be there.

[ojamamask]

Why do I find the name Tobuscus so irritating?

Me too, I feel like unsubscribing to him.

[derigin]

Ok, I am in Seattle now, prepared for PAX. Scheduling now!

[Iron_Fang]

Have fun!

[Skunk_Giant]

*Sigh*
Another event that Aussies can't get to/will have trouble getting to.
I mean, I know it makes sense financially and stuff to have them all in America, but... oh well.
Besides, that's what youtube's for.

[derigin]

Just saw Jeb and notch, the moment I entered the convention center.

[MrJKapowey]

Just saw Jeb and notch, the moment I entered the convention center.

Did you get either of their autographs?

[Iron_Fang]

Derigin, is there any dawn of war or space marine stuff, or even dark millennium =D ? also did you chat to them?

[Someguy42]

NOOOOOTCH! Any freebie cards yet that you can give to the escapian community? xD

[derigin]

I'll try. If I can get extra Minecraft swag, it would go as a prize for an event.

I'm currently outside the big Skyrim event... Crazy line.

edit: Just met Ben Heck.

[Iron_Fang]

sweet!

[Wildwill002]

Deri! Use talk about cake we got you on notch! It's Supereffective!

[Iron_Fang]

any warhammer 40k stuff there?
also does skyrim look good, (never played a elder scrolls =s )

Mod edit: Also there is a free skin for league of legends, I know friends who plays it, sounds cool

[derigin]

Skyrim was bloody amazing, full write-up is coming tonight. Lots of stuff for war hammer and LOL... I have swag I may give away for EC events. We shall see. I met Notch and talked to him for a good 5-10 minutes, picture taken with him also. Got some mine craft stuff, including a plush creeper. I am waiting in a line for a secret Square Enix project. I've got a lot to talk about when I get on a laptop tonight!

[Milo_Windby]

Skyrim was bloody amazing, full write-up is coming tonight. Lots of stuff for war hammer and LOL... I have swag I may give away for EC events. We shall see. I met Notch and talked to him for a good 5-10 minutes, picture taken with him also. Got some mine craft stuff, including a plush creeper. I am waiting in a line for a secret Square Enix project. I've got a lot to talk about when I get on a laptop tonight!

Did you ask about the cake Wokka sent? ._.

[Sti_Jo_Lew]

If not, go back and ask right now!

[Someguy42]

Skyrim was bloody amazing, full write-up is coming tonight. Lots of stuff for war hammer and LOL... I have swag I may give away for EC events. We shall see. I met Notch and talked to him for a good 5-10 minutes, picture taken with him also. Got some mine craft stuff, including a plush creeper. I am waiting in a line for a secret Square Enix project. I've got a lot to talk about when I get on a laptop tonight!

Skyrim rarararaomgomgomgomgcrazyrararalolololtrolololskyriiiiiiiiiiiim! I wish I was there next to you, I need moar previews and stuff about skyrim. Also as Iron said, any League of Legends cards, I heard theres a really nice skin this PAX. Me want!

[Iron_Fang]

Omg warhammer, *drools* 40k or fantasy, some guys in this community do the warhammer online MMO but it is 40k for me
Any reasonable job in Escapecraft I can help you with just pm me

[andy25100]

Derigin you lucky, lucky person. Say hi to LRR while your there.

[derigin]

OK, so some news. One thing to keep in mind. PAX itself tends to overlap many panels and events at the same time. As such, I was not able to go to all of them, especially when the lines to get into theatres and rooms often took an hour alone just to get in. I did try, and now I'm absolutely exhausted. There is still another day left.

Day One:

Day one went by really quickly, and involved so many lines. The convention center is large (6 floors), and full of many activities. I saw notch and jeb the first time I entered it; out of all the game developers there, they were the most public. Gabe Newell, among others, made stops passed lines, and would wave and say "Hi." For the most part, though, the developers were difficult to get contact with, or even to see.

The keynote was quite good, spoken by David Jaffe. He was describing his passion that is video gaming. Exhibitions were divided between two floors. I was able to get quite a bit of stuff from this day, and I tested out Minecraft 1.8 and Cobalt. Most info about both have already been released, though the update is planned for next week. It is quite extensive - even the lighting is different. I suspect it will be some time before Bukkit updates. It may also be necessary to create a whole new world for 1.8, as there is much that is planned to be added within chunks.

I received an "On Live" console, as they were giving them out for free. My friend waited in line for an hour for them. I checked out some panels, particularly on Guild Wars. I also went to Halo Fest, which gave out more swag and showed demos for the next Halo again. This day was spent largely talking to exhibitors and going to large panels. I stopped by the Mass Effect 3 booth, but it was "full." Sorry, couldn't make it on this day.

The highlight on this day was the "Assassin's Creed: Revelations" panel and demo. The fighting mechanisms have been improved; there are greater abilities. The story has become more personal on the main character. I have lots more to say about this, but I need to just sit back and collect my thoughts on it. The new AC is going to be very story driven. Tobuscus followed the presentation by doing literal lyrics for the trailers. Ezio's voice actor was also there.

The rest of the night was spent at dinners and concerts. Was so exhausted after this.

Day Two:

The first part of this day was spent primarily in exhibits and checking out and playing games. I had the chance to check out the new Star Wars:The Old Republic game (not terribly impressed), Borderlands 2, Mass Effect 3 (finally! which looks similar to the 2nd, but seemed better with fighting and handling), the latest Zelda (which is very similar to Twilight Princess), Firefall (huge booth, OK game), plenty of independent zombie games, among others. I had a good amount of time perusing the games, and can comment on any that I can recall. League of Legends looks interesting. Unfortunately the line up for this one was quite large this time around. Strangely enough, so was Eve Online's line-up.

Razer had a presentation for a very sleek and nice looking laptop that they've created, but is ridiculously priced at 2,800 dollars. I had the opportunity to "touch it", and to check that it's running Windows 7. It is genuine, and was not just a prop.

The highlight of the day was the Skyrim event. We didn't get the chance to play the game, but we did get to see a 45 minute demo. We weren't allowed to take pictures of the Skyrim presentation. But I can describe it to you. Initially, the first thing you notice is the world. There are biomes in the world, but the world itself is centered on a northern climate. There are boreal forests, large tracks of tundra, snowy mountains, and so on. Water looks more natural; there are waterfalls, leaves falling, a more natural landscape. It reminds me, in some ways, of the world of Fable, but much, much more realistic. You have first and third person mode; jumping, sprinting, fighting all seem more fluid and based on movements expected for physics. For fighting, you can dual wield weapons and/or magic, or both together. When you dual wield magic, you can use it at the same time to create a stronger spell. You can dual wield swords and axes. The magic itself can be learned through books, through absorbing dragon souls, or through other means. There's spells for lighting up caverns, for finding your way to your next objective, to creating fire balls, to slow down time, and to instill anger in others. There are many, many spells. Weapons each have their own perks that can be modified. These perks can be altered. Both weapons and spells appear in your inventory in 3D, and you can inspect every bit of them. There is even a spell you can use to "call" weapons from Oblivion.

In fighting, your character is more flexible. Your character will move more fluidly, and can jump on characters and animals, kick them, and use full body movement to adjust or to divert from an oncoming attack. One aspect I remember quite clearly is the realistic look of the fighting. At one point, the person playing was dual wielding swords. One sword was held under the chin of a character, as the other one stabbed right through him. Your character was coming in from behind. Your horse will rear up and attack those who hurt it with its hooves.

You fight dragons. Dragons are natural animals, who are independently generated. They are awesome looking and can be quite formidable. There was one point where the character jumped onto the back of the dragon and stabbed it in the head. I suspect, but I have no idea, that you may even be able to ride them. The gameplay certainly would allow for that. Dragons are a key component of the game. When you kill a dragon, you gain their soul that you can use for the acquisition of magic spells. There are also NPCs throughout the game. On the Tundra, there were domesticated Mammoths being walked through the Tundra by their Giant owners. They were neutral until provoked. The dragons came in, inadvertently, during an attack by the player against the Giants. One swooped down, picked up a Giant, and threw him to the ground. Another dragon ate a Giant.

The management screen was brilliant. Items and Magic, for example, now allow you to bookmark the ones you like for quick and easy access. During gameplay, you simply need to scroll or type a key to get the "bookmarked" item or magic to use. The skills menu was quite pretty and interesting. Your character looks to the constellations in the sky, and - all depending upon the skill - you cycle through constellations. Each star in the constellation is one step up the skill type for that particular "constellation" skill.

Everyone was highly impressed by Skyrim. It is coming out November 11th. I can answer questions, as best as I can.

Following Skyrim, I stopped by Mojang. I talked to Jeb and some of the other developers, as Notch was getting his photo taken with others. I asked Jeb about the work towards better CPU performance and multi-threading, and he is enthusiastic that it can be done in a timely manner. It is certainly a priority for Mojang. He seemed a bit jetlagged, I must admit. Notch was incredibly friendly to everyone. I spoke to him for about 10 minutes. We had photos taken. I greeted him, brought up how much I appreciate his work, and I also brought up Escapecraft. I suggested that he should stop by sometime, and that we'd love to host him. He stated that he might very well take up the offer. Either way, meeting notch was a pleasure. He seemed tired but very friendly. I walked into him again on the streets when he was with his wife, and shared "Hello agains."

Following Mojang, there was an event for a secret project of Square Enix. Produced and designed by the person behind Portal (Kim Swift et al), the project is called "Quantum Conundrum." QC is very similar to Portal, but instead of a portal gun, it's a dimension glove that changes the environment through 5 or so dimensions; normal, fluffy, slow-mo, reverse gravity and a mystery one. The environment is a bit more care free and cartoonish than Portal, based upon the Unreal 3 engine. It looks to be about the same completion time as Portal, but seems like it will be a very atmospherically fun puzzle game, as well. I was surprisingly impressed.

I have more to go, with at least one more day, and I will have more comprehensive news. I just woke up; it is a rainy morning here in Seattle. I am going to prepare to leave soon.

[Iron_Fang]

wow! also didn't you go to a warhammer thing?