Woody, Dr. Sexy and Kwip sit down (at a cookout) to discuss a specialized support class (such as a priest in WoW) versus a more versatile support class (such as a Druid in WoW). The choice of subject has absolutely NOTHING to do with the fact that Kwip started up in WoW again and is trying to decide which class to play...

Not really lucky per se, because the only thing we're bringing you is our MOG ramblings, but hey, that's good, right? For this show, we focus on Serenity Online and what our hopes for it are as our subject, but of course become distracted by Daylight Savings Time, XP Pro vs. Window Vista, Warhammer 40k Online, monster pvp in LotRO, and Woody's crazy songs...

Woody, Dr. Sexy and I finally get back to doing what we do best: avoiding talking about MOGs at all cost! Well, we SORT OF talk about MOGs. Woody gives us an update on his progress in Vanguard, I talk about the great deal of time I spent scaring away children so I could hog all the time at the Warhammer Online demo booth at the NYC Comic Con (yaay for being a bigger, scarier nerd!). Dr. Sexy and I talk about trying desperately to get to play some Pirates of the Burning Sea (which looked DAMN fine), but we were chased away by very... large... boned... creatures... Oh, and Dr. Sexy got excited about a Wacom tablet. Or something. I don't know, that guy gets excited by light fixtures, there's no keeping up with him.

I swear we started this episode to have a nice discussion about the games (and various factors) that are going to bring us back as paying subscribers. We just… got sidetracked by Vanguard.

Sidetracked. Like Christopher Columbus.

I don’t know why I bother getting excited about that game (or any other new game, for that matter). It’s not like I have a computer that can handle them. If you noticed on our fancy new calendar, the game I’m rocking the most lately is still Bf1942. I can run it on the laptop, Kwipette can rock it on her PC, and most of our friends can even handle it. I haven’t filled up the 12-person server yet, but with a few of us and bots, there hasn’t been any lag.

But back to our target here: Vanguard. Look, let’s just stop kidding ourselves: the game is damn sexy, with some great ideas. I’m curious to see how they do, as the market tends to be pretty brutal to games with brilliant ideas. Yeah, that’s right, I said it.

Woody, Dr. Sexy and Kwip (briefly!) tackle the subject of player-made content and whether it belongs in a MOG or is better left to games like NWN.

Woody, Dr. Sexy and Kwip discuss affordable gaming for the thrifty.There is no description for this file!

Woody, Dr. Sexy and Kwip answer your calls and talk about PvP in MMORPGs.

Woody, Dr. Sexy and Kwip tackle the ever-so-amusing subject of Role-Playing in Role-Playing games.

Woody, Dr Sexy and Kwip gather round to discuss that key element of a good MOG - finding a good group. And leading a good group. And Sigil breaking up with Microsoft to court SOE. Hilarity abounds! And some good advice about grouping, of course.

At long last, we return to talking about MOGs. Well, one MOG, DDO, that we actually play, and a lot of other bitching, speculation, and distracted blathering about upcoming MOGs. And a secret message for Sanya...

I'm so embarrassed. For those of you not in the know, Rick Dakan is an amazingly talented author, as well as being creator of City of Heroes. He wrote the incredibly delicious Geek Mafia (which you can even check out for FREE!)

I met Rick at the NYC Comic Con, where he immediately struck me as an absolutely cool, down-to-earth guy that I enjoyed talking to greatly. He even agreed, right on the spot, to come on a N3RDCast and subject himself to my pathetic attempts at interviewing.

To demonstrate just how pathetic I am, I managed to completely crash my recording rig just before Rick called in for the interview. Since it had taken us a month to work out a time, I knew there was not going to be another window any time soon if I didn't stick with this time. So I patched together some recording gear (and you'll be able to tell the emphasis is on 'patched' when you listen to this disaster). I tried to edit the file as best I could, amping his voice and toning down my incessant braying, but it still came out horribly rough.

I've got someone that has suggested some audio software that could help clean up the file, but I already feel bad having delayed this long. So I'm going to put this monstrosity up for now and hope I can get it fixed within the next couple of days.

I'm so ashamed. I'm going to go beat myself with a microphone stand now. If you're the patient type, you can attempt to bear through the recording as it is.

Woody joins me to discuss strategy, builds and templates in DDO (as well as an interesting rumor).