Thank you Jon Wood for the artical, but I feel it does not go far enough in an very important area.  What are the legal areas involved with all of this.

The mess of legal laws from state to state, federal laws and regulations in the US.   Then the laws of other countries like China, the EU, Germany, Japan, and South Korea.  Each has their own laws on what can and can not be done.

One area that I can think of rigth off the top of my head is Funcon's Age of Conan where the retail box had DX10 printed on the system panel, yet it was many months after the game went live that Funcon put it in the game.  Was this false advertising under the law?  Many other companies say things about what is in thier games durning the PR run up to retail release, then do not put them in because of time or reasons.  How do they stand on legal grounds.

Your part on Cryptic's Star Trek Online close beta access flap is one very sharp point to look at.  Right or wrong, here we have an person acting as an officer for Cryptic on the Champions Online fourm board stating that those that bought lifetime and 6 month subscriptiions to Champions Oline would be the first ones into the Star Trek Online closed beta.   Then it was not until three days later that someone from the Star Trek Online team said no what he said was not correct I think on twitter.  Not on the main web pages or forums.   As it stands right now has any laws been broken?  Who can tail?  Is the way they have been handling it honorable, that is another question.  North Carolina has a law on the books where a person who feels that it is a matter of honor can challange another to meet them face to face on the Field of Honor in real life.  Last I heard if a person kills another on the Field of Honor they will spend four years in prision but nothing else can be done to them.

There are many other strange laws that effect the players as well.  Californa has a law passed in the early 90's about sending spam by the internet.  This is why some games put in an timer before you can send another ingame message.

SoE was going to let rouges pick other players pockets for money till it was pointed out to them that the US had just passed a law about using the internet to steal money.  One point is that the wording of the law makes no differance between real money or ingame money.  Needless to say SoE very quickly dropped the idea.   This law may also be needed to be used on persons who hack into game accounts and steal money from your game account, or the Eve bank account of a couple of years ago.

For those of you that like to PVP gank pepole, mid 90's South Korea passed a law making it illegal to kill the avitar of anyone under 18.  How many games with pvp in them now have player from all over the world playing in them.

All of this mess can give you many articals and keep both you and MMORPGs legal department very bussy digging up out of the way laws to report on.

Come 1 Dec 2009,  Atari and Cryptic may have no other legal choice but to ship it out the door to you on 2 Feb 2010.  Because of the new FTC rules that go into effect on that date.

Have fun,  I have just upgraded from an 37 inch monitor to a 60 inch Mitsubishi DPL TV for 3d work on my computer and I love it.

Only thing I might suggest is to wait till next year when the new 3d ready TVs hit the market so you can both watch TV and game in 3d.

EB Games / Gamestop web sites has the Star Trek Online pre-order shipping date listed as 2/02/10 for the last couple of weeks.

Just found this Associated Press note at WRAL.com in thier news/technology section.   Check your local news service to see if they have posted the full message for you to read.

"The FTC said Monday its commissioners voted  4-0 to approve the final Web guildlines which had been expected.  Violating the rules, which take effect Dec. 1, could bring fines up to $11,000 per violation.  Bloggers or advertisers also could face injunctions and be ordered to reimburse consumers for financial losses stemming from inappropriate product reviews."

I for one am looking forward to this new rule, just wish the fines were much, much higher, say in the million dallor range.  This should help to tone down all the new game hype that we are seeing now days of new games being released with parts not being in game they they are saying on the web and game boxes. Plus the over inflated reviewes that we have seen in the past that does not match what we find when we lay down our money to buy the reviewed game and play it.

But have fun looking for it and forming your own ideas about it.

As of today's Sept 19 patch I would have to say NO to it being solo friendly.  3 of my mid level 15 toons are being killed by 2 hechmen fights in MC.  Where yesterday they could kill them.  Do not know about level 5 to 14 toons in desert or Canada zones yet  but will say the only way to fight NPCs in MC zone as of today is to full 5 man group up.

The forum over at Champions Oline web site where buring hot about it till they took the web serevers down.

My worst was also part of my duty at the time.  A person was talking about mission related info in game back during first Desert Storm.  Turned him over to OSI and he is now serving an 20 year term.

Something just as a point of intrest, in Marvel comics and Marvel based Champions Online if this sell makes it  through all the legel hoops. 

That is no navel!

Note from back cover of MGM dvd movie  "Beach Blanket Bingo"/"How to Stuff a Wild Bikini".

"Annette Funicello, under contract to Disney, was allowed to make the beach party mivies under one cndition..that she never show her navel."

Just think back and see how many times you have seen an product, movie or drawing that shows a navel in it.  I can not think of much except maybe a swim seen in the Highschool Musical movies.

If you do decide to play Champions Online.  The one main thing that I would sugest is to go into the games video screen and turn off the comic outline function that puts on outline around your and others toons.  I found that by doing this to greatly inprove the performance of the game.

Yes you can level by just grinding and not doing quests.   But it is not worth it as it will take a very long time to reach each level.  You will get only 5 to 40 exp points per mob killed.

Much, much better to do as others are saying to gind kills on way to quests and on way back from them.

Don't get me going on what I think about what SOE and LA did to SWG.   I loved the game at start till they did the CU then the NGE.   I am still mad enough that I do not let an Sony or LA product in the house.

I think on HM should go to a little known game named Masters of Orion 3 that tried to be a MOO but was so bad that the game maker Quicksilver stopped supporting it and took down thier web site within 30 days of release.   Way to go Quicksilver,  up to that time MoO 1 and 2 were great games  and many people bought 3 expecting IP named game to be enjoyable too.

The down load is free only if you are a paying member of Fileplanet.   Found that out when I tried to download Champions using the free Fileplanet membership.

I found using Hawaiian names and words to make names works well for me.  Nalowahine or royal girl in english is one that I have used for many years.

One possible way Blizzard could take the game, is gomes in space if they ever get the area 52 rocket launched.

Why other than to let Kirk see it, would you build a starship like the Enterprise on the surface of a planet instead of out in space?

Also where can I get a full size Kirk doll to putt under the bed!

The MMO I liked best was the old SSI game The Realm.  I really loved the people that played it and made it come alive. 

I also loved the graveyard for those that broke the rules and were banded from the game.  You could go there and look at thier names on the gravestones and laugh at them if you wanted to.

After watching the latest 3d movie in theaters, I was inpressed with the Reald 3d glasses that was used.

What I am wondering is how well a 3d system would work for on-line MMOs.

I can see some limited use of the glasses in non-3d games like WoW to darken the screen and bring out details of thier layer system they use to give depth to the screen.

Some of the problems I can think of that might prevent use of a 3d system in MMOs:

1. The cost of the licensing fees and followup fees for a game company to use such a system, and how well it would work with their game engine.

2. Use with standard TV and computer vidio/cpus or would we have to go out and build/buy all new systems.

3.  The amount of air way/internet bandwith that would be needed with some IPS now putting limits on the max amount of information you can use each month.

If anyone has more info/or ideas on 3d systems for that can be used for 3d MMOs using current TVs and computer systems I would like to hear about it.  Hoping that there might be a good on-line 3d MMO out there in five or six years.

Yes, you can still run most of the old dailies.  There are a couple of dailies that you can no longer do once you go to the northern lands like the nether resuidue daily in Shat.

The BC dailies that you still do after going to the northern lands still counts towards doing dailies achievement rewards.

Think you will also like doing the new northern land dailies for both the faction and money they give plus some of them are fun to do.

Have fun what ever you decide to do.

All depends on when the store opens to pick-up my pre-order.  If it is at midnight, will go down and pick it up then load it on my computer.  Otherwise will be at the door when the place opens at the nornal hours.

I think we will see some MOOs that are currently under developement or poorly performing games are canceled as the money well drys up and it becomes harder and harder for gaming companies to find the fundings to keep them going.  It may even mean a few small or badly run gaming companies will be forced to close down.