Anarchy Online is going to be released on Wednesday, June 27th, at long last! And Im going to play! Here is a neat site I found that is helpful to all newbie players, Omni-Tek, Neutral, or Clan. Anarchy Online is a futuristic roleplaying game set on a planet called Rubi-Ka. On this planet, a large corporate company called Omni-Tek is strip-mining while also kind of…colonizing. They have their objectors, the rebellious Clans and they have their silent thumb-up-the-butt citizens, people who are Neutral. And these three factions create a very unique atmosphere on the planet of Rubi-Ka. Some of the planet is owned by OT, other parts are considered Neutral, and others belong to the Clans.

Each new player can choose to be one of four breeds in this world. There are the Solitus, the most human of the breeds…the Opifex, the specialized breed, and the Nanos, who are the most xenomorphic or planetarily adapted type of being one can be. Each of these three breeds offer the choice of male or female. But then we have the mighty and almost brutish seeming Atrox, who are…*gasp* Androgenous!(That means they have no gender, like your Barbie and your G.I.Joe?)

Besides having four breeds to choose from, a player also has SEVERAL classes that they can be – Agent, Doctor, Enforcer, Engineer, Bureaucrat, Adventurer, Meta-Physicist, Nano-Technician, Fixer, Trader, Soldier, or Martial Artist.

Doesnt that just blow you away!

Common word on the street insists this is “Everquest with guns”. Im thinking…no…

And heres why…

I actually bought the boxed CD of Anarchy Online yesterday at a computer gaming store I frequent. Some of the people who are involved in the beta phases of AO found that hard to believe.

The reason for their disbelief is simple – according to unnamed sources who are in the betas, Funcom is happily upping beta users credits and levels. 75 million credits – thats cash, on Rubi-Ka, and level 75, for anyone who created after a certain time in the last few days of beta. Why on earth would they do this?? Because its BETA! This is their method of testing the “high end game”. Eventually, given l33tness and uberdom, normal public players will reach these levels and attain this kind of wealth. Funcom needs to know if their engine can handle it.

So, here I am, with disk in hand. Can I do anything with it? NO! Why? Because the registration page for registering your CD keys is down!!!! It is supposed to be down until tomorrow. *sobs*

I began to browse, out of boredom. And I began to explore the various OT links presented. I have a good idea that I will be playing an employee of OT, namely an Opifex Bureaucrat, if Im able. So, with an idea of the character Im seeing in my head, I found this link – Scelestus Omni-Tek Association.

They sound like something I could see my future OT employee being involved with. Their site was not yet fully constructed, but I can tell it will be, eventually. I found their message board, and then, lo and behold, I found the gem I have been unconsciously craving…

S.O.T.A.s Newbie Fieldguide – by Ishmael “Nofoa” Farhnid

Uh huh, and its pretty darn good! There are of course the usual gamers typos. We like to get the information we have out as fast as possible, to the masses, and tend not to worry about lil thangs liik tippos…erm…*coughs*

Anyways, that aside…this is a good beginners guide to learning about the game. And in looking at it, and learning about AO from it….Im thinking…This is NOT “EQ with Guns”. Not at all…

Ill dive into the game tomorrow, if Im allowed to finally register this disk that is burning a hole through my desk as we speak. Ill live, love and laugh for a day, and then come tell you all about it.

The best thing Ive read in the guide that comes with the disk?(which is where I got most of my information from)

DEATH ISNT FATAL