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Massively is proud to host a brand new five-part developer journal from the Fallen Earth team which will explore various levels in Fallen Earth, their storylines and how they make the player experience richer. This second one takes us through Hoffa Bunker, and was written by Wes Platt, Content Team Lead for Fallen Earth.

In the rugged hills of Toro Bend, far north in the Plateau region of the Grand Canyon Province, slouches a fenced town called Trailer Park. It’s comprised of big-rig trailers and cargo containers left over from before the Fall. The inhabitants are mostly castoffs who can’t fit in anywhere else – and in a mad world after the apocalypse, that’s saying a lot.

Billy Bob Swayhill, a shopkeeper in town, talks a great deal. However, not much of it makes much sense. Beyond preaching the glory of soup, Swayhill mostly rants about the treasures waiting to be found in the Hoffa Bunker. He claims that’s the final resting place of the treasures owned by Jimmy Hoffa, an assassinated President of the United States, who managed to get his hands on Al Capone’s cash, the gold from Fort Knox, and Andy Warhol’s soup supply.
History gets lost in the translation of time for some people. The truth about the Hoffa Bunker is this: It’s the GlobalTech equivalent of a giant panic room, where corporate executives fled to survive the end of the world as they knew it. Now, the sprawling subterranean complex is full of throwbacks, underdwellers, and other hostile mutants.

Design began on the Hoffa Bunker in 2006, early in the content development process. The first vision that the content team presented to the artists was a large underground complex that included elaborate greenhouses and terraforming facilities. We also wanted a giant space elevator and bugs on the ceiling. Sometimes, artists and programmers must crush our dreams!

What the artists gave us: A sprawling underground complex that combines high-tech metal walls, whooshing automated doors, and glass window-walls with natural, rough, dark rock. It didn’t contain greenhouses or terraforming machines. No space elevator or bugs on the ceiling! But it did give us a rather massive multi-floored level that could, because of its GlobalTech origins, be reused throughout the Province.

The entrance to the bunker protrudes from the side of Hoffa Hill, north of Trailer Park. It’s a concrete turret with sliding doors that’s guarded by throwbacks. Open the door and you’ll find a corridor that leads into the security checkpoint chamber.

Down the stairs, you’re into the bunker proper. It’s a good idea to bring friends, because the throwbacks and underdwellers tend to cluster, which can make for some very difficult solo battles. Work your way down the corridor, which eventually opens onto a massive chamber, designed to be the first impressive sight inside the bunker.

A throwback warlord and his minions loom near an elevator platform, with a nearby door granting access to some GlobalTech medical facilities, meeting room, and primary command center.

Survive the warlord fight, then take the elevator down. This leads to the next cool sight: A catwalk stretching across a rocky chasm, guarded by throwbacks.

Past the throwbacks and up a series of stair platforms, you’ll get access to a series of high-tech corridors, mechanical utility rooms, a secondary control center, and even a commissary.

Unfortunately, the cafeteria workers aren’t offering anything good on the menu except you.

In the Plateau, the Hoffa Bunker is important to our overarching GlobalTech storyline because it’s here that the first sector’s adventure hits its peak. Players have to fight their way through the facility to help a clone named One. She’s been trying to upgrade LifeNet’s regen control servers so that the artificial intelligence can’t be overwhelmed by a different AI, the crazed program known as TETRAX.

We liked the design so much that it shows up again a cou

Ford Motor (F)
Reiterates 3 STARS (hold)
Analyst: Efraim Levy, CFA
We are encouraged by the preliminary acceptance by 38,000 union employees of Ford’s buyout offer. Greater-than-expected employee count reduction should facilitate a faster reduction of overhead costs, including facility closings, as the automaker shrinks production capacity to reflect expected lower sales volume. Like its larger crosstown competitor General Motors (GM), the company must be careful that the elimination of more than 40% of its hourly workforce does not create costly production difficulties during the transition. Ford’s recently announced financing plans should help cover buyout costs.
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)

Maintains 4 STARS (buy)

Analyst: Tuna Amobi, CPA and CFA

Comcast names Michael Angelakis, currently a managing director at private equity firm Providence Equity Partners, as CFO. The hire is billed first to replace retiring co-CFO Lawrence Smith effective 3/28/07, then to become sole CFO upon planned retirement of John Alchin at 2007 end. While unfamiliar with Angelakis’s background, we think Comcast’s move signals strategic shift from acquisitions (post Adelphia) to new a skill set encompassing expertise with building portfolio of new media investments. We are not surprised by the move to consolidate CFO functions to one executive.

Walt Disney Co. (DIS)

Maintains 5 STARS (strong buy)

Analyst: Tuna Amobi, CPA and CFA

Walt Disney hikes its annual payout by 15% to $0.31 a share, payable 1/12/07 to record 12/15/06. We think Disney alluded to the possible dividend hike at its early Nov. call. We see sustainable 0.9% yield on a strong balance sheet and free cash flow, despite higher fiscal year 2007 (Sep.) capex target and continued aggressive share buybacks to offset dilution from recent Pixar acquisition. We also see support for shares on the likely imminent spin or split of Citadel (CDL) in its ABC radio sale, expected to close in spring 2007, pending approvals. Our target price rises by $2 to $40.

Stats Chippac (STTS)

Ups to 4 STARS (buy) from 3 STARS (hold)

Analyst: David Kaplan

We see a broad commitment among test and package service providers to control capital spending, which we think will benefit cash flows and utilization rates and reduce price competition. We believe Stats Chippac has greater potential for margin expansion than peers, and we view its capital structure as more optimal than peers with a debt-to-capital ratio of 40%. Following rising peer valuations and emerging Merger & Acquisition activity in the test and packaging service space, we apply a price/sales ratio of 1.5 times our 2007 sales estimate, near historical averages, raising our target price to $12 from $9.

3Com (COMS)
Maintains 3 STARS (hold)
Analyst: Ari Bensinger
3Com agrees to buy Huawei Technologies’ 49% stake in the Huawei-3Com joint venture for $882 million. The agreement, which represents an implied equity value of $1.8 billion, would give 3Com full ownership of the venture. Given the continued struggles of 3Com’s legacy networking segment, we believe the venture, which sells into the attractive Chinese market, has become crucial to the company’s growth profile. With $916 million in cash and our forecast of near-term operating losses, we think 3Com will need to issue debt or equity to fund the deal. On a revised sum-of-parts analysis, our target price for 3Com stock drops by 50 cents to $4.00.
The9 Ltd. (NCTY)
Reiterates 4 STARS (buy) on American Depositary Shares
Analyst: Scott Kessler
After additional review and evaluation of The9’s third quarter results, we are taking a slightly more conservative stance on the company and its shares. We are trimming our per-share ADS estimates for 2006 to $1.48 from $1.52, and for 2007 to $1.98 from $2.15, reflecting our modestly less optimistic revenue outlook, which is based in part on uncertainties related to both the life-cycle of World of Warcraft and upcoming new offerings. Based on revised peer p-e and p-e-to-growth analyses, we are lowering our target price to $34 from $36, but we continue to see The9 as attractively valued.
Article Source: www.businessweek.com.

The MTV Multiplayer blog has posted an early preview of the upcoming World of Warcraft comic, as well as an interview with writer and acclaimed industry figure Walt Simonson.
Writing the comic turned out be hard work, according to Simonson, whose research included reading all the novels and manga comics, spending time on websites such as WoWWiki and being in touch with Blizzard directly. Family and friends who are World of Warcraft players have also helped. “I have a friend nearby who is a Warcraft player,” Simonson said. “He has played the game almost from the conception, and he seems pretty cool with what we’re doing so far.”

The story follows an amnesiac human enslaved by an orc Shaman, who struggles to recall his past while interacting with both the human and orc factions in the world. As well as telling his own unique story, the comic will also reveal some secrets from the game. “If you’re a longtime player, I think the comic is a revelation about some of the mysteries,” he said. “There are mysteries from the past that have never been totally addressed within the game, or at least we’re able to address them in the comic in a way that the game hasn’t been able to.”

The full interview, as well as scans of the first five pages of the first issue, is available here. The World of Warcraft comic book, published by Wildstorm, will be on the shelves in November.

Article Source: www.escapistmagazine.com.

Japanese and Oriental style furniture have been people choice as the number one furniture style with each characteristics attached. In general, Japanese furniture trademark designs features simple, clean, often boxy lines. Oriental furniture has its own style with the bold painted designs which often feature reds, gold and black. Oriental furniture, typically made of rosewood, is heavily lacquered to cover skillfully painted scenes.

Recently, European and North American people have switched the perspective of furniture style from the Far East origin to South East furniture style. It happened as they were looking for fresh and kick off design and the craftsmanship. This somewhat called a new trend has been started from many years ago and ongoing process.

The South Asia furniture style is different from the Oriental or Japan style. Some say that Southeast Asian Furniture, for this case is Indonesia, is considered somewhat exotic. Some people have made a statement that Indonesian furniture style is the most influential for the world of industry. Indonesian wood furniture design is divided into traditional and modern one. Both are way different but each has individual uniqueness.

Traditional Indonesian furniture style features hand carved designs from bold, darkly stained woods. Bali, the most popular island in Indonesia, has been noticeable worldwide as the most skilled wood furniture artisan. Commonly made of teak and mahogany, the piece of furniture is guarantee for last for centuries.

Apart from Bali, Indonesian furniture manufacturers also created contemporary furniture with the modern designs with the Asian flair. There is not any full ornament applied in furniture produced like Oriental furniture usually has. Despite of its modern design, it does still have the look of warm, comfortable, and express natural beauty towards Mother Nature. It surely the main unchangeable part of furniture creation from this South East Asian tropical archipelago country.

Article Source: www.sooperarticles.com.