Just with Dragon Age: Origins Site, Bioware has relaunched the Mass Effect 2 Site so that now it does not heavily rely on Flash content and it is pretty fast to load and darn sexy too Now I no longer have to worry about my PC crawling to a halt slowly but surely if I leave it open in another tab while I look at something else

Mass Effect 2 Store

Unfortunately all the store items for Mass Effect 2 just link to EA‘s main web page and many of the items listed have been out of stock for some time in Bioware’s Official Store, whether this means they are re-releasing old store items (unlikely for the lithographs) or releasing new merchandise I don’t know. EA though are still displaying proudly the bloody looking Dragon Age: Origins Theme on it’s site though, am pretty certain that come launch day this will be turned into a Mass Effect Theme

New Media Available on Mass Effect Site

There is also lots of new mulitmedia available to view and/or download at the Mass Effect Site, such as new screenshots, new wallpapers and new drop dead gorgeous videos featuring a Return of Tali, a video showcasing the new Terminus Armor, the new Adept Class which allows you to completely take out your foes without even lifting a weapon and a short video of the Blackstorm Heavy Weapon in action!

In Mass Effect there is a character called Nihlus Kryik, the makers of Mass Effect are Bioware. Obsidian Entertainment have had a very close relationship with Bioware since the Baldur’s Gate days as their original team members are refugees from Black Isle Studios which Interplay shut down.

Darth Nihilus is a figure from Knights of the Old Republic II, one of the first titles passed from Bioware to Obsidian Entertainment. In KotOR II, Darth Nihilus survives the activation of the Mass Shadow Generator, a weapon that can destroy planets.

Fable 2 has confused many a player on how the mutliplayer system works in game, there are in fact TWO modes to multiplayer in Fable 2. Here is a run down of all the basics you need to interacting and playing with others in Fable 2.

ORBS in Fable 2

ORBS, is the only way you can trade items in the game, such as for the much needed Dollcatcher Achievement. In your game options you can select which other player ORBS you can see while you are playing Fable 2, if you select everyone and are connected to Xbox LIVE with a Gold Account then you will see anyone who has selected everyone in their account too as you cross paths at the same places while playing Fable 2.

What you see when you see another ORB, is a glowing sphere with the avatar of the Xbox LIVE player in the centre and their Gamer Tag directly above it, as you move through the game you will see those moving through the game at the same time and at the same place in the game. An easy way to see what ORBS look like is to travel to the Clocktower in Bowerstone Market and change your game settings so you can see anyone online at the same place and time in Fable 2, wait a few minutes and a few at least should appear. You will see their ORB as they move about their game and as you move about your game, they will your ORB move about likewise.

Donating Items and Gold in Fable 2

To donate an item or gift to another players ORB, move towards them, then use the Left Trigger to focus on them, then pressing the A Button should allow you to interact with them, select Gift from the popup and then choose from your inventory what it is exactly you would like to give them. Be warned, every time you send an item your game will save itself after the transfer, this can making transferring many items to others a real chore but there is no way around this.

The Left Trigger Targeting Glitch

There is a glitch, wherein if you have not finished the game you may lose the ability to Target anyone such as villagers or other ORBS using the Left Trigger, to get functionality back again all you have to do is resume your next Plot Quest. I had this problem with a character whose next quest was to Compete in the Crucible, once I entered the Crucible Arena and began fighting I regained the ability to use my Left Trigger to target who or what I liked

Co-Op Multiplayer in Fable 2

The second way of joining another player while they actually play Fable 2 is Co-Op Mode, this enables 2 players with the same DLC’s (A player with the free versions of Knothole Island DLC and See The Future DLC can play with a person with the premium versions, but the first player cannot gain any achievements or go to places in the Premium DLC’s).

You can select in your Game Options, whether people can automatically join your game and if so who (by selecting which ORBS you can see and who can see your ORB). There are some Achievements in the game that can be done in the presence of a Hero who is able to complete an achievement that for whatever reason, you cannot. This can be pretty handy for Achievements like the Dollcatcher and Completionist or the Gargoyle Achievements.

The Problem with Co-Op Mode in Fable 2

The problem with Co-Op mode in Fable 2 is it is incredibly poorly implemented, the camera is fixed and you rely on it to be able to see anything or anywhere. It is difficult to get used to just going from point A to point B even short distances can be very tedious let alone co-operate together in something The Colosseum for example.

It can be done and I am assured that after a while you can kinda get used to it but for the most part, Co-Op Mode is just there to help other players get Achievements from others they may be having trouble with.

Gaining Achievements in Fable 2 Co-Op Mode

For the Gargoyle Achievement just invite or have your friend join your game with a character who has already destroyed all the Gargoyles and opened the Gargoyle Treasure then fast travel to the Gargoyle Treasure Trove, the achievement should pop instantly.

For the Completionist Achievement, you will need to join, or have a Hero who has every Expression, every ability, every spell at maximum level and every Dog Trick, remove say 1 level of Brutal Styles then rebuy it with your Co-Op partner, the achievement should pop instantly for them.

The Dollcatcher and the Hoarder Achievements, require a neat little trick, travel to Bowerstone Market with your Heroes, interact with the Gift Trader next to the Cow and Corset and opposite the Blacksmiths, then sell an Autograph Card, exit the Gift Trader Menu then interact once more and buy it back, The Hoarder and The Dollcatcher Achievements should pop for your Co-Op buddy if you have every Silver Key and at least 1 of each collectible Doll.

DLC Achievements and DLC Item Trading

You can only help someone with the DLC Achievements if you BOTH possess the premium versions of each DLC while in Co-Op mode. Likewise, in ORB mode you cannot trade or give away items only found in the 2 DLC’s, See The Future and Knothole Island.

Chatting with Other ORBS

If you have your ORBS setting set to friends or worse, everyone, any time you are near a players ORB who has their headset on and talking to or with someone, you will hear what they say, and they you. This can be pretty distracting sometimes, especially when you are trading for items in Bowerstone Market.

Welcome to the Dungeon Planet Indepth Fable 2 Guide! Please be warned that before reading any further there are Spoilers contained within this post.

The post contains much trivia about the Fable 2 game, a complete list of all the dyes and locations in Fable 2, a complete list of all the artefacts and their descriptions Belle asks you to collect for her as part of the Archaeologist Quest and a little from the original game as well as a tiny titbit of gossip / baseless rumour

Trvialities, Secrets and Miscellaneous

• The Hero of Oakvale (Fable 1) wielded the Sword of Aeons, with which in that game Theresa gave him the choice of casting it into the Abyss or striking her down with it.
• The Temple of Shadows used to be an Old Kingdom Cathedral where darkness has long since dwelt.
• Arthur Dandelion foresaw many things including the return of the last Archon and his City (which he foretold would shake and open the earth and arrive in a most bloody manner) and that perhaps a strange being would turn into a dragon long before that and lay waste to all that live.
• Leo Head first commissioned Fairfax Castle 140 years ago when he became rich after reinventing a Potion of Immortality, his next and last known invention was a Potion of Sex Change. When the authorities forced their way in to demand an unpaid annual tithe all they found was an unidentified old woman’s corpse.
• The Fairfax Family purchased the Fairfax Castle 90 years ago ;50 Years, 50 Silver Keys, 50 Gargoyles!
• There are in fact 51 Silver Keys in total in Fable 2, there is an extra Silver Key in Wraithmarsh
• Lucien’s grandmother supposedly died in childbirth with his father, though rumours persist that she went mad and was locked up to hide the families shame.
• Lucien saw the tragic death of his Sister Ellie and his wife, Helena and daughter, Amelia, were taken from him (died?) by illness.
• The sword used by the Commandant and the others that Lucien creates like him all wield The Maelstrom, you can earn this weapon by sacrificing 2,000 points to the Shadow Temple’s Wheel of Misfortune then executing your wife or husband between 12am and 1am.
• Their are rumours, that a mysterious warrior (triggered by the Limited Collector’s Edition which contained Hal’s Armour and Crystal Sword), is really Master Chief from Halo who crash landed on an uncharted world.
• There are other rumours to suggest that The Shadow Court is really the shadowy remains of the Court of Blades, of which the Jack of Blades was the last member.
• There were 3 dragons in the Court of Blades and 3 Shadow Judges in the Shadow Court, both are responsible for the destruction of Oakvale.
• The Shadow Statues and Shadow Judges Thrones all feature Blades prominently
• The King of Shadows as Theresa calls him when persuading Reaver to join your (her?) cause, actually looks like a shadow of Theresa! However, the game (if you have subtitles turned on) calls the speaking Shadow a Shadow Judge.
• The Shadow Cultists in the See The Future DLC wear Shadow Worshipper Robes.
• A Shadow Judge / Figure is shown clearly with flames lapping at his feet in the study of Fairfax Castle.
• The Dark Seal you hand to the Shadow Judges on behalf of Reaver has a Dragon on it
• The number three is featured many times in Fable 2, from buildings visible from The Last Beacon, 3 Teddy’s, 3 Shadow Judges, 3 marks on an Ancient Scroll, 3 Heroes, 3 tiers on Hero Hill and so on.
• You will find many spots with a robed woman kneeling or holding a wreathe or bowl on an altar in various places, they also have a bottle of wine and a silver cup in front of her and if you look carefully you can see a Teddy with a cup and the same type of bottle of wine underneath The Last Beacon.
• Don’t equip Identical Augments on the same weapon, they Don’t Stack
• You cannot win The Legendary Chopper Axe the first time you go through the Crucible, even though you may get 8 Perfect Rounds, worse still, if you have a Chopper in your inventory subsequent times, the game will refuse to respond to anything but the large X button on your 360 controller.
• The term, 42 probably comes from the best selling author, Douglas Adams books, which have been adapted into a TV series and Movie, Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy.
• The inhabitants from Knothole Island are originally from Knothole Glade.
• There is an illusionary wall in the Storm Shrine (Knothole Island DLC), where you meet the White Banshee to the right from where you enter.
• One of the shrines in Knothole Island has a similar door to the Chamber of Fate protecting it’s shrine, also opened with a Flit Switch.
• Once you have completed Knothole Island go back into the Storm Shrine and leave where you originally found the Ice Totem (this will of course mean fighting the Troll again!), on leaving the 2 chests you may have come across covered in ice will be de-iced.
• You cannot trade any item from the DLC’s to others, the Bowerstone Gift Stall Trick will not pop any DLC Achiements for others nor will trying to give any achievements to those without the premium version of each DLC.
• All the items, present and past (your child hero earns the 5 gold needed for the first Old Kingdom Artefact he/she uses with Rose) in Murgo’s Shop are 5 Gold Pieces, all of which is confirmed that Theresa is his source for said items.
• Just before you defeat Lucien, on the top of Hero Hill, Hammer asks him what he did with Theresa and he replies only with, “I merely listened”. Whether this was because he dreams of Theresa or Theresa had planned the whole thing with him so he could create the Tattered Spire and then double cross him by using your Hero to defeat him is unknown.

Last but not Least, Fable the 1996 Video Game

Makes you wonder about the similarities Check out the next two links as a starter for information on a game called Fable brought out in 1996 that bears many resemblances to Fable 1 and Fable 2

Fable the 1996 Adventure Game at GameFaq’s
Fable the 1996 Adventure Game at Wikipedia

Enjoy

Complete List of Fable 2 Dyes and Where to Get Them

All of the standard dyes can be purchased from the three dye sellers in Bowerstone Town Market, from the The Beautification Factory (don’t forget the closet in the alcove at the back on the ground floor, for a free dye every now and again), Pants and A Bit of Skirt.

The Apocalyptic Pink Dye can be found in the www.Fable2.com Mini Game, choose all three endings one after the other to earn bonus content for your game, (Xbox LIVE Gold Account needed). For the Apocalyptic Pink Dye you need to choose the 3rd crown. (once the dye is unlocked you will be able to find it almost everywhere that sells dyes, I say almost everywhere because I have yet to see dyes being sold in the Bowerstone Old Town Clothing Merchant).

In total there are 62 dyes in Fable 2, 33 dyes can be found in Bowerstone Market, 8 dyes found on the Clothing Traders in Fairfax Gardens, plus 10 dyes for the Knothole Island DLC, another 10 dyes for See The Future DLC and 1 earned unlocked from the online website www.Fable2.com.

For a list of all the See The Future DLC Dyes and their locations see This Thread at Project Ego (archive). I will add though, that if getting a 1985 score is too tedious after several play throughs, then after you have gained the first and second Teddy as described in the previous link (but do NOT step into the Golden Circle at any time), save and quit then reload your game, when it is loaded you will automatically be given the 3rd AAA Teddy and the Strawberry Blonde Dye.

Bowerstone Town Market Dyes – 33 Dyes

• Banana Pudding
• Barely Blue
• Carotene Orange
• Cloudless Sky
• Compost Brown
• Diver’s
• Fishtankarous
• Freshwater Springs
• Gables Green
• Gangreen
• Greypefruit
• Greypricot
• Impermissable Carmine
• Insatiable Butcher Pink
• Java
• Kangarouge
• Kilowhite
• Leathery Tan
• Mansfield Green
• Moonless Midnight
• Periwinkle
• Piratical Orange
• Pomegreynate
• Red Letter
• Shiner
• Soylent
• Sunshine Yellow
• Sweet Cream
• True Blue
• Valiant Avenger Pink
• Vermillipede
• Viole
• Yellowbelly

Fairfax Gardens Dyes – 8 Dyes

• Aquapus
• Burning Orange
• Envy Green
• Liquid Gold
• Peacock
• Regal Purple
• Scarlet Slime
• Swarthy Revenge Indigo

Knothole Island DLC Dyes – 10 Dyes

• Auburn Hair Dye
• Blonde Hair Dye
• Brown Hair Dye
• Ginger Hair Dye
• Knothole Blue Dye
• Knothole Dark Blue Dye
• Knothole Green Dye
• Knothole Dark Green Dye
• Knothole Red Dye
• Knothole Dark Red Dye

See The Future DLC Dyes – 10 Dyes

Snowglobe Dyes – 5 Dyes

• Well Red
• Performers Blue
• Cursed Grey
• Gory Glory Red
• Jaunty Jaundice

Cursed Skull Dyes – 4 Dyes

• Wisp White
• Balverine Brown
• Nightly Blue
• Ethical Green

The Colosseum Dyes – 1 Dye

• Strawberry Blonde Hair Dye

Misc Dyes – 1 Dye

• Apocalyptic Pink – www.Fable2.com mini game.

Belle’s Archaeologist Quests

The Archaeologist Quests are a good way to earn ever larger amounts of Renown for each artefact recovered and Gold if you choose to hand over the prize at the end which is the Archon’s Dream, (one of 3 Destiny Gems and the only Destiny Gem I have found in the game). Here are the rough locations to all the artefacts plus what is written or drawn on those artefacts. Once in the area listed below, your Dog will lead you to each item, no matter how far away in that area they may be.

Part One
Bowerstone Old Town – A strange Symbol Drawn in the centre of the Ancient Scroll.
Rookridge – Written on the Ancient Scroll are 3 names written in some indecipherable langauage.
Bowerstone Cemetary – A Giant Eye has been painted in the centre of this Ancient Scroll.

Part Two (After the Spire)
Temple of Light – There is a child like drawing depicting a man being zapped by lightning from a small cloud.
Gypsy Camp – The pages seem watermarked with the symbol of a large creature of some kind, a giant duck maybe.
Brightwood Tower – There’s a rather rude picture drawn in the centre.
Bandit Coast – It appears to be blank except for 3 dots in the top right corner.
Westcliffe Camp – Written on it is the recipe for a 3 bean casserole but the ingredients only call for the use 2 of types of beans.
Gemstone Grotto – On it is the picture of a mouse riding a lion using a whip to make it go faster.

Part Three (After Defeating Lucien)
Wraithmarsh – This is not a dream, written on the Old Parchment.
Bloodstone – This Old Parchment seems to contain the musical notation of a long forgotten ballad.
The Guild Cave – A complicated set of symbols adorn the margins
Reaver’s Rear Passage – This Old Parchment reads, “Now just think of the number 42″.

Game Trailers have new footage, interviews with Ray, Greg (Bioware founders) and Casey Hudson (Project Director and Executive Producer) and more teaser information on the new Mass Effect 2 due out late January 2010.

All your Squad Mates from Mass Effect 1 will be in Mass Effect 2

In the Game Trailers video, Casey Hudson confirms that all your previous Squad Mates from Mass Effect 1 will have a spot in Mass Effect 2! There was some renewed discussions around the net surrounding the fate of previous squad mates after IGN Video released the Omega Fight Video featuring what looked like Garrus Vakarian and what appears to be a New Squad Mate that can join your team, Morden.

Ray and Greg – No Comment on Mass Effect 2 for PS3

In a previous post here, Mass Effect 2 Mysteries and Clues I posted a link to an IGN Video that debunked the PS3 rumours for Mass Effect 2, however either Bioware have reconsidered their stance as part of EA or they are capitalising on rumour mill to spread the word of Mass Effect 2 even further on the net, they refused to comment on a possible PS3 port of Mass Effect 2.

Mysterious Halloween Wallpaper Explained

Posted here on Dungeon Planet at the launch of Dragon Age: Origins, there was a preview wallpaper of the Halloween Special Shepard Wallpaper.
 

 
Turns out the effects of Paragon and Renegade in Mass Effect 2 are not limited to just the Mass Effect story now, if you choose the Paragon path, your character will look healthier the more Paragon Points Shepard earns, likewise, the more Renegade Points you earn show up as scars and implants as you travel down a darker path. Whether this will mean actual combat bonuses hasn’t been said but it is definitely interesting

New Squad Mate Revealed – Morden

The Game Trailers video also reveals a new Squad Mate, Morden, a Salarian Scientist with a very much, “The end justify the means” approach to the universe. You also can spot him in the above Omega Fight Video

Vanguard Class Highlighted

The video also asks Casey Hudson about the new Mass Effect 2 Vanguard Class, seems the focus for the class is high risk high reward and comes with Two New and Unique Biotic Powers, Charge and Slow Time. The Charge Power enables you to jump right up close to an enemy, even allowing you to phase through solid objects while doing so, and can be use3d in conjunction with the Slow Time Power to enable you to move about the battlefield at breakneck speed, using a shotgun for even more up close devastating killing power.

The Elusive Man in Mass Effect 2

Also featured was the Elusive Man, head of Cerberus , he smokes, drinks and is a womaniser but incredibly charismatic and determined to protect mankind at all costs, though, judging from the first Mass Effect, he seems willing to abandon our own Humanity in order to protect it, should be interesting

I drafted this post a while ago as a Dungeons and Dragons Resource post and when today I was searching for the content I thought I had previously bookmarked, I came across the news story below where several people from around the world such as the Philippines, Poland and the USA have been taken to court by the Dungeons and Dragon Masters, Wizards of the Coast LLC, in Seattle USA for posting copyright infringing material on the Social Publishing Website, Scribd.

Dungeons & Dragons Files Suits For Illegal Posting Of Handbooks
Posted on: Friday, 19 June 2009, 06:55 CDT
Eight defendants are facing charges from the makers of the cult-classic role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons alleging they illegally posted the game’s newest handbook online.
(source)

 
As of the 16th October Google reported courtesy of Associated Press (source) that two of the defendants had settled out of court, one for $125,000 and one for $100,000, in ruling that began in April this 2009. So far, according to court filings, more than 2,600 have downloaded the Scribd posted Player’s Handbook 2 (the newest handbook for Dungeons & Dragons which was released March 2009) and over 4,200 viewed it on Scribd.com so far.

Dungeons and Dragons PDF Sales

It also seems that at some point Wizards pulled the sales of all their latest PDF items from places like RPGnow, there are several hundred threads on the Wizards D&D Community Forums regarding the issue although I couldn’t find an official press release from Wizards stating their position on the sales of PDf’s on their latest handbooks. I do know I’ve tried looking for Official 4th Edition PDF e-books and can not find anything legal online so far.

For those that are interested in the Wizards D&D 4th Edition Handbooks Amazon are selling them, but only the real books, no PDF’s at all.

Buy Wizards D&D 4th Edition Handbooks – Amazon USA | Amazon UK | Amazon CA

Official Free Dungeons and Dragons Downloads

Official Previous Edition PDF Downloads

It’s all go at Bioware and EA the last few days, not only has Dragon Age: Origins been released on Amazon USA on the 3rd November for the Xbox 360 / PC and the 2nd Nov for the PS3, Amazon UK will be launching Dragon Age and be busy posting those who pre-ordered the game on the 360 and PC when business starts this morning with a PS3 estimated release date of the 20th November.

Both the Official Dragon Age Site and EA’s Site Have undergone a facelift to commemorate the occasion with Bioware’s DA Site offering tons of juicy content.
 

Mass Effect 2 Collector’s Edition

Bioware have also announced on the Official Mass Effect Site options to pre-order the Mass Effect 2 Collector’s Edition which they describe as:

Each Collectors’ Edition includes, a 48 page hardcover art book, in game Collectors’ Edition weapon and armor, limited edition Mass Effect Redemption #1 comic book, and Bonus DVD with behind the scenes and making of videos all contained in an exclusive tin package. Available on both PC and X360!

I tried to pre-order my copy from Amazon USA as it does not appear to be available for pre-order in the UK at this time, however Amazon would not ship to the UK for either the PC or the Xbox 360 version.

Lastly, the Official Mass Effect website released a special Halloween Shepard Wallpaper which looks remarkably spooky and reminiscent of a scene in the Original Terminator Movie, click below for a preview of the New Mass Effect 2 Shepard Wallpaper.
 

About 5 hours ago Bioware’s Biofeed at Twitter posted that they now revealed more details on the hotly anticipated Mass Effect 2.

 
With the Mass Effect 2 Release Date set for the End of January 2010 many fans are eagerly clamouring for any and all details on the game and Bioware are eager to please and drum up interest by releasing information via various sources all over the internet. With the first game in the trilogy a massive hit the second looks set to do just as well if not better and with the third instalment, everyone knows, even now, that it will be a massive showdown between Shepard and possibly the Reapers, or maybe something perhaps far more dangerous?

Mass Effect 2 is set to be released on Windows and the Xbox 360 and as I reported earlier last month here on Dungeon Planet, Mass Effect 2 will Not be Released on the PS3 (source).

Mass Effect 2 – Bioware’s Official Youtube Video – Mass Effect 2 Enemies

Quote From biowaremasseffect at Youtube.

Learn more about the enemies Commander Shepard will face through Mass Effect 2 in this new video. View new creatures like the Collectors, praetorians, abominations and the ever-present geth. Also in this video, look AND listen to Legion, a geth who is stalking Commander Shepard.

Mass Effect 2 Enemies Video – Details

New Mass Effect 2 Official Video – Mass Effect 2 Enemies is featured at biowaremasseffect on Youtube.
The Collectors.

• The Collectors are an insect like species.
• The Collectors arrive at colonies in a massive ship and release thousands of flying bugs to paralyse all the humans, from there they can collect all the humans at their leisure.
• The Collectors put all the humans they collect into stasis pods.
• They are able to fly and are able to move rapidly around the battlefield.
• They have advanced weaponry.
• They appear to be getting their advanced technology from the Reapers
• They are all controlled by a single leader which can possess them at any time.
• When the Collector’s Leader possesses one of his minions he turns them from even a simple grunt to the most dangerous opponent on the battlefield.
• Abominations are like suicide troops for the Husks.
• Psions are 2-3 different Husks melded together and grafted onto a weapon.
• The Praetorian are 30 husks joined and crushed together in like a dangerous flying opponent with destructive close range attacks.

Mass Effect 2 Enemies Video – Notes

• The video says that the Collectors are experimenting with humans, but they only seem to have experimented on husks in the video.
• Also, the source of the first Official Teaser Trailer to be released by Bioware for Mass Effect 2, that I featured here turns out to be an Evolved Geth called Legion. Legion is a member of a branch of the Geth that evolved individual AI capabilities and although the video tells us that the Geth assume a much lesser role in Mass Effect 2, Legion seems to be a very prominent or at least, a seminal NPC that Shepard must face / fight / work with. (?)
• The Geth seem to have advanced significantly in the second instalment of the Mass Effect Trilogy.

Personal Thoughts
The Reapers are in this galaxy to prevent The Collectors from escaping out to other galaxies, so they purge all advanced sentient life every 50,000 years (which The Collectors may have had a hand in creating)
OR
The Collectors have their own agenda to stop the Reapers?

But then I did think the Shepard Armour wearing Geth in the original Teaser Trailer for Mass Effect 2 was Shepard’s consciousness placed into a Geth (now known as Legion) body by Cerberus.

New Mass Effect 2 Official Video – Mass Effect 2 Enemies is featured at biowaremasseffect onYoutube.

As I mentioned in my previous post, RSS Live Bookmarks for Firefox are a real Godsend. I spent a good several hours the other day looking for the Neverwinter Nights Collectors Edition That I Posted a While ago here at Dungeon Planet, I’d seen it at Amazon.com so figured there must be plenty, little did I know!

Amazon.com Does Not Deliver
I went back there several days ago to finally get my hands on this, what would become, my most treasured possession, unfortunately Amazon did not have it in stock But there were sellers selling through Amazon that did, yay I was saved! Ow they’re expensive I looked through the sellers feedback, looked at the comments and went with the highest number of positive feedbacks vs the total feedback score that I felt was most likely to deliver what I most wanted, all I needed to do was find out how much the shipping cost was and order it But no, after trying to figure out how much it would cost to ship internationally to the UK I came to realise that the sellers just weren’t going to ship it anywhere apart from the good old US of A. Plan C I thought! Find the sellers contact details and ask them if they could arrange arrange shipping to the UK for a little extra, at least I thought that sounded reasonable, unfortunately, I had just stumbled on another barrier, NO contact details anywhere for any of the sellers I looked at selling this item not even a website link. I went to google and googled their trader names, no luck at all After about 90 mins doing all this I had a brain wave!

Ebay, my New Re-Found Friend
I haven’t been to Ebay for years, but I still had an account there, someone somewhere hopefully had to be selling it, and wooo I found one! Overjoyed I checked out the listing, looked good, but the sales pitch was a little too eager to mention that it was a really good looking box, um, no thanks. I looked for different keywords and nothing, I went back to the previous listing I originally found and scanned it again several times, it didn’t look dodgy, I just didn’t have the money to waste on a good looking box.

I spent a good couple of hours on Ebay that night and then I stumbled on RSS Bookmarks for the famous auction site. You CAN Actually RSS to Ebay Auctions!. I though that was pretty darn cool even for a technophobe like me, so I figure since this is my first time actually using RSS Feeds for my own use I would experiment. I had NO idea what Firefox Live Bookmarks was but it was asking me to subscribe to them as the preferred option, had the word bookmark in it and yet was still an RSS Feed. I clicked subscribe and waited to see what happened, still waiting, waiting….. I’m either an octogenarian or I’ve been on the net too long and attention spa.. ohh shiny…

Where was I, (Ugh darn addicting web page!) so, I enter my key phrase “Neverwinter Nights Collectors Edition” and subscribe. I forget about it and a few days later I get bored of Stumbleupon and check all the new RSS Live Bookmarks I now have, and wowsers! There’s one on Ebay, *clicky*, but the seller says he doesn’t ship internationally, doh! Difference on Ebay is though, I can actually contact the seller I send him a nice email and he gives me the green light to Buy it Now. Ok, so I am not gonna be friends with the bank manager any time soon but that’s ok and with Xmas over in a couple months I will work on that ASAP

Well, it is a long shot but Could Bethesda Lose the Fallout License? According to Bethesda who point at a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Interplay is once again in debt to the tidy tune of $2.54 million USD, if true Interplay are going to need some serious funding to take on a giant like Bethesda (which has a parent company with a lot of money on tap), maybe that is why Amazon.co.uk is releasing, on behalf of Interplay a UK 4 in 1 Baldur’s Gate Compilation on DVD for the PC which would be Windows XP and Vista compatible. Along with other titles it is either resurrecting and advertising on it’s site now could it raise enough cash to successfully counter sue Bethesda? It’s incredibly hard to imagine but it remains a tiny possibility and here’s a brief history rundown of why!

UPDATE:
It seems that Interplay have not released anything recently for Windows XP or Vista but they HAVE for Amazxon.co.uk
Check out the Amazon UK’s Interplay Listing here

A brief History of Interplay and Bethesda

In August 2004 Interplay sold it’s Fallout IP (source) to Bethesda for $5.75 million USD, which would develop Fallout 3, it was not based on the original Fallout 3 by Interplay called “Fallout 3 – Van Buren” which had been in the process of actively being developed by Black Isle Studios until it was closed down by the then then cash strapped Interplay in 2003 as part of Interplay’s cost cutting measures.

The deal with Bethesda led Interplay to boast that it would be seeking to make a Fallout MMO and in 2006 they repeated the claim stating it planned to raise the estimated $75 million USD it would cost to launch by 2010. A contract for licensing the Fallout IP was signed by Interplay on the 4th of April allowing Interplay to develop an MMO for Fallout and work began in earnest on the MMO in November 2007 (source) with Interplay reporting on June 30th that they had reduced their debt from $59 million USD in December 2001 to just $3 million USD and were once again making a tidy profit.

In August of the same year Bethesda parent company ZeniMax Media Company set up a new subsidiary company called ZeniMax Online Studios with the aim of the new company being to develop MMO’s (source) and in October 2007 (source) Bethesda / ZeniMax secured a $300 million USD deal with Providence Equity Partners Inc. in return for shares in what the former described as allowing:

ZeniMax and Bethesda to think several steps ahead and grow.

 
September 2008 saw the reopening of Interplay’s website (source) and rehired Chris Taylor, (who was one of the developers of the original Fallout), to be lead system designer for the game.

On April 16th 2009 Gamespot reported that Bethesda was intending to terminate the Fallout MMORPG deal with Interplay and stated:

Despite the fact that no formal action is currently pending, Bethesda claims that Interplay is in breach of the trademark license agreement for failure to commence full-scale development of same by April 4, 2009 and to secure certain funding for the MMOG.

 
Then in September Bethesda turned up the heat on an already hurting Interplay and filed suit against them. Gamestop’s latest update on the subject (at time of posting) was this:

[UPDATE] Fallout 3 developer accuses original publisher of breach of contract, trademark infringement over stillborn MMORPG and selling Fallout games on Steam, GOG.com, and GameTap.
(source)

 
Bethesda has also accused Interplay of abusing the incredibly positive Fallout 3 hype and repackaging the older Fallout games without their permission, the download which you can find available here at GamesPlanet.com is priced at $19.99 for the trilogy or from Amazon.co.uk

Then, this month, Interplay (source) hit back with a counter suit claiming that Bethesda violated the acquisition agreement and being in breach of contract the Intellectual Property (IP) of Fallout should return immediately to Interplay

Bethesda should win their original suit (source) as Interplay announced a binding letter of intent with Masthead Studios, to develop the Fallout MMO only on the 4th April, exactly 2 years since it was legally required to secure funding for the project and begin full scale development. Interestingly enough, the Masthead Studios press release is dated the 2nd April 2009, the plot thickens!