Except in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area! GAH!!! :-P Ah well… we’ve waited this long, we can wait another day right? HELL NO… I want my copy now dammit! LOL… heh :-) I feel for ya folks, I do… I went ahead and pre-ordered from Best Buy and paid extra for same day shipping so I would get it as soon as possible. I just don’t feel like fighting the hordes at the store for this game… I can wait an extra day. The booze helps, too.

OK, gonna recap a lil here. The Hardfought guild on the Guinevere server for DAoC is no more. After I retired, everyone else either 1) did the same, 2) decided to make Albion/Nimue their permanent home or 3) join the guild known as Obliteration. So ends another chapter of Hardfought… it was a good run while it lasted. Many thanks to all of the players on Midgard/Guinevere who grouped with us and gave us a helping hand when we needed it… and good luck to ya that decide to stick it out.

Now, on to Chapter Three for Hardfought – Neverwinter Nights. Plans have changed a lil bit, and new ideas have sprung forth. I wont be hosting one NWN server, but TWO :-) The first one will be the main server, which will be by invite/sign-up only and will reside on my dualie p3-800 machine. NOTICE – I don’t have a sign-up form for that server made YET… just email me or hang out in our IRC channel on gamesnet.net (#hardfought) if you’re interested. The second will be open to the public 24/7 as a PvP (player vs. player) arena, complete with a bar/tavern, food and ale to be purchased, a grumpy bartender, a slow but VERY large bouncer who will kick your arse if you get out of line, and a small patch of land outside the arena where things can also get a bit… interesting ;-) This arena will work as such – inside the tavern will be the arena, where players can come to battle each other 1vs1 – anything goes *inside* the arena. Built around the arena is a tavern/pub where players can come to watch others battle it out, and also to socialize with each other. You’ll be safe from monsters and other players in the tavern… but watch who you threaten, the bouncer has eyes and ears everywhere, and the bartender, while informative if you catch ’em at the right moment, is a grump. If I can pull it off, I’ll script in a betting/gambling system so everyone can wager on fights. Now, outside the tavern will be a small patch of land, where *team-based* PvP will be possible. Say your party or guild stops by and wants to rumble with another group. Try and start it in the pub, the bouncer will kick you out… no big fights inside please, take it outside ;-) I may occasionally throw in the random dragon or three to keep things interesting :-) This server will go live before the main one (it will take me longer to write a full campaign) and if any other server ops wanna portal to the arena, just lemme know, my contact info is up at the top right of the page here.

I’m kinda hoping we can generate a group of NWN ‘regulars’ like what we had before with CounterStrike… dunno, we’ll see I suppose. If you have any comments you wanna make, suggestions, stuff about how you wanan roll your first NWN character, whatever – head on over to our msg forum and have at it. Oh yeah, Maverick (Geat to all you DAoC’ers out there) started pimpin’ Hardfought on the Bioware forums, so welcome to all of the DFW Neverwinter Nights player and anyone else who happens to stumble along here ;-)

I’ll post in the next couple days, give ya first impressions of the game and also on setting up a dedicated server. Catch ya later gang.

K2