BDO: Desert Tourist

[Part of my Adventures in Black Desert Online]

For a big "empty" desert, the Black Desert actually has a lot of stuff in it. Tiny ruins with pilgrims (NPCs playing ATITD no doubt!), little oasis camps and of course the massive city of Valencia which is easily spotted from very far away.

In the tale of "Curiosity killed the Cat", don't be the cat.

I spend a few days there, lending a low-key helping hand for their eternal balloon festivals and carting various things around (like poop. I literally carted camel poop to the herbalist), but find no trace of Illezra so I continue East to the opposite end of the desert and find the small tropical beach town of Arehaza which is another cute retirement spot.

Clearly having hit a dead end in my search, I opt to retrace my steps and while doing so, rescue a merchant whose caravan was raided by basilisk men. Since the goods were meant for the Valencian Royal family I get to meet Prince Barhan Nesser, who is stationed at the Sand Grain Bazaar to report the theft. The Prince is thankful and subsequently requests my aid in getting his Katar soldiers to withdraw from the centauran conflict.

To do this I am sent as an envoy to the Bashim clan to get them to attack the centaurans instead. These satyrs are very violent, and after killing a small army of them just to talk to their chief, I am tasked with killing that number again to prove my strength before they finally agree to commit troops to the centauran war front... because killing people is the best way to make friends.
 
Insight: Each of your mounts can carry stuff too! Might be an idea to store carrots on horses and acacia leaves on camels as those are the "stam refill" items for those mounts.

October 2020 Review: Level 14

Been awhile since I talked about my guild / alliance in Neverwinter Online, and despite DL's best recruiting efforts the going is still pretty slow. Fortunately our guild (now  on level 14) has advanced to taking a sword position in the alliance, which means more discounts in building construction and if talks of us taking the helm spot hold through, the discounts would even be larger! We're lucky that our alliance is happy to keep shuffling around to give everyone a turn at stuff. :)

Our castle isn't quite as fancy as Strahd's though...

Meanwhile because Epic is such a shit launcher that only has free games going for it, I'm struggling to balance when to download the bigger games. A slow download speed plus losing any progress should your PC shut down midway really blows. This really makes me appreciate Steam even more. As such I'm going to stop putting a backlog list with these month end posts as it's really not important anyway as I'll eventually write about whatever game I finish (or am done with).

Just to push that point, it's almost like any game over 20GB is not worth it due to the amount in increased electricity I would pay to keep the computer on to download for such an extended period. Instead if I really like a game that big, I'll just ask someone to gift it to me on steam. Much simpler.

I'll finish off with some random tips like always also use a secondary search engine when looking for stuff on the internet as your primary is likely hiding and/or shuffling results (for example google + bing) and if you want to save stories from instagram you can use storysaver.net. Oh and for those who enjoyed Civilization VI, here's an epic cover of the theme song by Peter Hollens and the OSU Chamber Choir.

   End 2020 with less weight (dropping this for the more specific goal below)
   +Lose 1kg this month (last month result: success!)
   Web comic (even more world building... too much world building?)

BLOG STATS

One Year Ago

Wow, has it already been a year since Blizzard stepped in the China vs Hong Kong poop? Let's go check how things are going with that... ah, I see Hong Kong is still f*cked and Blizzard hasn't really taken any increased damage, just the usual self-inflicted version from their own releases. Status quo restored?

Five Years Ago

I was running about in A Tale in the Desert, tale six - an interesting MMORPG that features zero combat and a whole lot of player interaction. It seems this game is still going and is now in tale nine! Good on them!

Most Viewed Posts last Month

Waterdeep: The Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Eschalon: Gramuk!?
R3B1 - Theshold (Part II)

That's a nice grouping - a review of a board game with a popular name, a story post that uses name dropping, and a GTFO tutorial that includes a minor bug exploit. :P

TESO: Forlorn Crags

Adventures of Skyrim - spoilers ahead! You can follow the rest of the story here!

Having defeated Molag Bal, I venture next to the vast expanse known as Craglorn where a lot of my crafted goods have been being sent. A new threat has arrived in this zone: Aliens Celestials. Namely the Celestial Serpent, who managed to corrupt the Celestial Mage and Celestial Warrior. A band known as the Star Gazers, asks that I help them put these things back in the sky where they belong.

Easier said than done though as this zone is intended for group content, excluding me from at least 70% of the area. Still, I do manage to cleanse the Warrior's Apex stone, and assist a time traveling soldier to destroy an ancient emperor who uses terracotta warriors.

I also slam the local Iron Orcs, who have a penchant for feeding victims to their troll pets. After slaying their entire leadership structure I mess with the Scaled Court's research in making new beasties (Mantikora) and atronarchs (six armed air elemental)! Ultimately I also save the Celestial Thief from the Serpent's grasp, forcing the Serpent celestial to withdraw.

Ugly beasties.

Alas the actual final fight against it is blocked behind a "Trial" gate (requires team) so I doubt I'll ever get to see that. Worth noting the ATITD Pilgrimage idea is alive here - in the form of visiting six delves within two hours. Pretty cool, and still easier than the ATITD version! 

Having done most of the available content (I don't have the DLCs) I think it's time I take a well earned break, and thanks to one merc band in this region being called the Greycloaks, I have a good idea of where I'm headed back to.

Skyrim: Tomb Raider

Adventures in Skyrim - spoilers ahead! You can follow the rest of the story here!

Nice place!

After a decent jog through the desert, we reach the city of Ben Erai where Rayya is waiting for us! She explains that this particular community of Redguards have lived here in isolation for generations waiting for me to arrive, to "help" me with the final tests to reach the Champion of Cyrodiil's mausoleum - his real tomb, which was around here somewhere. At least now I can understand now where Rayya was sending all my decorating funds.

That moment when you think you are in A Tale in the Desert.

I did have to ask how she got here though, and in the back of the Fortress I am shown working teleporter to Falkreath, for those who know the Ancient vision spell. You mean I could have just jumped here directly? That... would have been more convenient you know. Anyway, their version of help simply involves telling me I need a key and an amulet of cheetah friendship from somewhere in the valley to proceed. Of course they have a lot of other tasks such as hunting fire charrus and punching desert wolves.

Wolf punching.

The majority of the Eastern part of the valley was filled with tombs though, and I mean the huge sprawling type such as the one pictured above. They were filled with shades, skeletons, mummies and most problematic - STONE CRUSHER traps. Not really a problem for me since my light step doesn't trigger pressure plates anymore.

Unfortunately Rayya doesn't have that perk. Squish.

Today I Smiled: Green Olympics!

I know I'm just over a week late but happy Green Olympics everyone! Sure there might be some holes that people are falling into, but it's nothing that can't be fixed with a little duct tape! They've got some skilled camera operators too, but that hasn't stopped some competitors from... not competing? You know those guys are good when they still didn't come last place. 

Too sporty for you? Maybe you can look forward to the bionic olympics instead! Or you know, just play computer games...

That moment when NWO turns into A Tale in the Desert.

I've not been on Neverwinter Online for awhile now though I suspect soon arriving "Storm King's Thunder" module will probably draw me back in a few days. In case you were wondering, no I've not been afflicted with pokemania, though I think it would be a good idea if some cops played a variation of it at awkward hours. Criminal Go: Gotta catch em all?

Instead I've been totally sucked into Dark Souls, which I am going to write about too because... that's what I do. :P It reminds me so much of Wizardry Online - just a way better version of it. Speaking of Wizardry Online, apparently Cthulhu is there now.

That's it for now, be safe/prepared if you are at or going to Rio. I'll leave you with this really cool Rubix Cube magic clip, and if you've already seen that - a family's reaction when a brown bear gets into their camp. Spoiler: Bear Hugs involved!

MMO Agendas: Pixel Wedding / Affair

[Part of my MMO Design Folder]

Based on the ATITD Test of the Coalition I thought it might be fun to see how the rest of you feel about the following agendas when it comes to MMOs. I not only invite but encourage you to post your own thoughts on your respective blogs or if it's more convenient, in the comment section below.

Today's Agenda: Pixel Wedding / Affair

You are playing an MMO that has weddings between two players as a feature. Perhaps you even get additional perks / stats / abilities / gear if you have a pixel wedding. The thing is, IRL you are not single and your other half doesn't play the game - would you still get married in game anyway?

The idea for this one came up while playing ATITD which specifically has the "Test of Marriage", which you can only pass by being wed to another player character. While most of the players there chose to simply marry their alts (ie. themselves), that was too weird for me so I opted not to pass that test at all as I was already spoken for IRL. :P

This is the last of my agenda list for now, so please make the most of it and share your thoughts on this matter.

MMO Agendas: The Rule of Law vs. Judicial Temperance

[Part of my MMO Design Folder]

Based on the ATITD Test of the Coalition I thought it might be fun to see how the rest of you feel about the following agendas when it comes to MMOs. I not only invite but encourage you to post your own thoughts on your respective blogs or if it's more convenient, in the comment section below.

Today's Agenda: The Rule of Law vs. Judicial Temperance

Are exploits a valid reward for their finder? When is it OK to bend or break the rules in an MMO?

LOL! For anyone who has been following this series then it will come as no surprise when I answer that second question with, NEVER. The law should always be followed to the letter, nothing less and nothing more. I wouldn't trust a game master / company who continually gives free passes to people clearly abusing a system that's meant to be enforced as it just would encourage criminals more. Broken windows theory and all that.

How tempered is your justice?

MMO Agendas: Rights of the Accused vs. Swift Justice

[Part of my MMO Design Folder]

Based on the ATITD Test of the Coalition I thought it might be fun to see how the rest of you feel about the following agendas when it comes to MMOs. I not only invite but encourage you to post your own thoughts on your respective blogs or if it's more convenient, in the comment section below.

Today's Agenda: Rights of the Accused vs. Swift Justice

A guild mate of the guild you lead is accused of stealing from the guild stash. While this person is a little shady in their interactions with you and your friends, a few of your other members are close to him/her. You are unable to prove that this person is taking the stuff, but every day more stuff goes missing. Do you continue investigating until you find proof or do you kick the person, as usually the simplest answer is the right one?

Should be no surprise that I'd be on the side of swift justice here. You could even be diplomatic and say it's temporary until the thief is caught. I wouldn't bother though as the simplest answer IS usually the right one. Furthermore I'd also kick all that person's friends from the guild just to be sure. Guilt by association is something I'm definitely in to.

Which path do you prefer? 

MMO Agendas: Investment vs. Immediate Need

[Part of my MMO Design Folder]

Based on the ATITD Test of the Coalition I thought it might be fun to see how the rest of you feel about the following agendas when it comes to MMOs. I not only invite but encourage you to post your own thoughts on your respective blogs or if it's more convenient, in the comment section below.

Today's Agenda: Investment vs. Immediate Need

Do you like to play the market in your MMO?

I don't because A) I am pretty bad with watching trends and predicting future price peaks and valleys and B) I have no patience. Guess this puts me right into the Immediate Need category which is pretty true. If I need something in game, I simply go get it if I can afford it (with the caveat that I can never spend real money). Otherwise I simply learn to make do without it.

Are you an investor or someone that prefers immediate gains?

MMO Agendas: Checks and Balances vs. Expediency

[Part of my MMO Design Folder]

Based on the ATITD Test of the Coalition I thought it might be fun to see how the rest of you feel about the following agendas when it comes to MMOs. I not only invite but encourage you to post your own thoughts on your respective blogs or if it's more convenient, in the comment section below.

Today's Agenda: Checks and Balances vs. Expediency

Do you prefer having new content released ASAP or only after a year of testing? If you think a year is too long to retain your interest with no new content, how long would you be willing to wait?

Having been (and still being) subjected to new content being released in a buggy state in the games I play, my head says I'd like more testing but in reality I'd probably get bored and move on if no new content appeared every three or so months. Guess I'm one of those people who force devs to release buggy patches!

Where do you sit on this topic?

MMO Agendas: Council of Elders vs. Trial by Jury

[Part of my MMO Design Folder]

Based on the ATITD Test of the Coalition I thought it might be fun to see how the rest of you feel about the following agendas when it comes to MMOs. I not only invite but encourage you to post your own thoughts on your respective blogs or if it's more convenient, in the comment section below.

Today's Agenda: Council of Elders vs. Trial by Jury

When someone commits a wrong doing should their fate be determined by the game masters / a select few elected for law enforcement or a group of their own peers, like in Archeage?

My problem with a jury is they can be swayed through emotion or lack of experience and are ultimately unreliable. Judge, jury and executioner should always fall into the realm of game masters, or "to the select few" such as in ATITD where players who are elected as demi pharaohs can perma ban people from the game.

What are your thoughts on this matter?

MMO Agendas: Accountability vs. Privacy

[Part of my MMO Design Folder]

Based on the ATITD Test of the Coalition I thought it might be fun to see how the rest of you feel about the following agendas when it comes to MMOs. I not only invite but encourage you to post your own thoughts on your respective blogs or if it's more convenient, in the comment section below.

Today's Agenda: Accountability vs. Privacy

Should those that cause problems in a game be held publicly accountable for their actions or should troublemakers be dealt with quietly behind the scenes?

I vote Accountability. If person x is found to be guilty of doing something wrong then all details, and I mean ALL (including all registration details), should be given out to the public masses. Yes I know the real world has privacy laws preventing this but still! Not only will this add another layer of fear in potential wrong doers but it also shows that a game company is being active in eliminating those who break the law.

Which side of the fence are you on?

MMO Agendas: Rehabilitation vs. Punishment

[Part of my MMO Design Folder]

Based on the ATITD Test of the Coalition I thought it might be fun to see how the rest of you feel about the following agendas when it comes to MMOs. I not only invite but encourage you to post your own thoughts on your respective blogs or if it's more convenient, in the comment section below.

Today's Agenda: Rehabilitation vs. Punishment

When someone gets caught breaking the laws in your game, how many chances do you think they should get before receiving a severe, game-ending punishment? Perma-bans are rather rare these days as companies only see dollar signs but pretend money wasn't an issue and you had it your way.

For me, that number is zero. Any crime, no matter how mundane or severe should be result in immediate perma-ban. Forever. And possibly black list that registration email / person from any other games from that publisher. While I might be swayed on some instances to give people a second chance, there is nothing that will ever grant anyone a third.

How strict or lenient would you be?

MMO Agendas: Freedom of Expression vs Public Decency

[Part of my MMO Design Folder]

Based on the ATITD Test of the Coalition I thought it might be fun to see how the rest of you feel about the following agendas when it comes to MMOs. I not only invite but encourage you to post your own thoughts on your respective blogs or if it's more convenient, in the comment section below.

Today's Agenda: Freedom of Expression vs Public Decency

Where do you draw the line when it comes to how people behave in MMOs? At what point should their actions become a punishable offense? When they start religious debates? Dressing their character improperly?   Blaming the healer for your pixel death?

It's on that last one I'm going to base my response as it basically boils down to harassment. Blaming anyone for anything is harassment, and harassment should be a punishable offense. Getting angry and frustrated at another human being because of any pixel event gets a big thumbs down for me so I guess that squarely puts me in the Public Decency box. :P

What do you think?

MMO Agendas: Achievement vs Equality

[Part of my MMO Design Folder]

Based on the ATITD Test of the Coalition I thought it might be fun to see how the rest of you feel about the following agendas when it comes to MMOs. I not only invite but encourage you to post your own thoughts on your respective blogs or if it's more convenient, in the comment section below.

Today's Agenda: Achievement vs Equality

Do you feel that developers should spend more time putting out of the way and/or difficult achievements and/or content such as end game raids to cater to that crowd or to focus on developing more generic content for everyone - equally?

My stance on this is pretty straight forward: new content should always be created for everyone, and not be behind any form of gear, pay, time, group size, or difficulty wall. It's a shame many MMOs only push out content for select groups. The end result of any "wall" as far as I'm concerned is elitism, and that's not a mindset I care much for at all.

What are your thoughts on this matter?

Music to Hunt By

I know almost everyone has their own custom playlists of tunes when they get tired of the in-game tracks, I was just curious as to what you listen to get your "hero mode" on? :) I suppose I should lead by example, here are mine (strangely all from Vindictus):

Havan
Crom
Sand Guardian
Regina
Ahglan
Glas

Yep, what might be amazing for me is probably just noise for the next guy so please share your top tunes to hunt by!

And just for laughs, here's an awesome English fan dub/cover opening for the new "One Punch Man" anime! For those who haven't seen the series, I suggest watching the first few episodes as it is quite entertaining.

Coming up next on the blog: I'm going to try out a week or two of MMO Agendas (much like the ATITD test) that I hope all of you participate in, followed by the continuation of the Darklands story and more of my Nameless Writing Experiment sometime in the future!

Sunset Six: Monumental Victory

[Part of my Sunset Six story.]

At the end of a tale the final tests in each discipline become available: the building of monuments for each of the seven schools. Not only do these constructs need an obscene amount of resources, but they also require their character slots to be filled, specific to their rank in the discipline. A monument needs exactly 1 Oracle, 2 Sages, 4 Masters, 8 Scribes, 16 Journeymen, 32 Prentices and 64 Students. All up that's 127 people!

It doesn't look like much when it starts.

The monuments also hold a second purpose: they contain a player made suggestion for a future test in the next telling! Obviously there are many ideas that get put forward and after the "oracle" type players have a chat with Pharaoh Pluribus they get an idea of which ones are actually feasible to implement and from there can only pick one to go forward.

Imagine my surprise when two of my ideas made it through then: The Test of the Sculptors (Art and Music) and the Hand of Ra (Architecture)! Gotta admit, I am overjoyed that my input will potentially shape the future of the game. Those are the best types of events a player can have in an MMO right?

The Monument of Art and Music!

As my self imposed "final" quest for the telling I decided to try visit all the sites, failing only to reach the Monument of Thought in time which was the hardest to build due to lack of students in that discipline. I suppose like me, everyone was content solving puzzles instead of building them!

From top left to bottom right: Leadership, Architecture, Worship, Harmony, Thought, Body

Did I mention there are strange gods? Well there are. Just uber rare to run into them.

And so, the sun finally sets and Tale 6 comes to a close - it's time to say goodbye to my Level 54 Scribe of Two. While this is the end of my story, it is just the beginning of another chapter for Egypt and who knows, maybe next time it's you who will have A Tale in the Desert.

Thanks for reading! =)

Sunset Six: Exclusion Zone

[Part of my Sunset Six story.]

We've finally come to the last two tests of Worship which I feel are the worst from an organizational stand point. In the Test of Festivals you must again sacrifice things to gods (seven this time) to make them happy, one at a time. To work out what things exactly you need a partner to perform a quick ritual at a properly prepared altar (eg. Isis requires seven glass torches to be lit nearby while Bastet needs 21 jugs of milk). Satisfying them is a percentage based on the number of players who successfully pleased the same god in the period of one in-game hour before and one in-game hour you did. If the number is less than three you gain NOTHING.

To this end there is a player made Festivals guild in game that holds scheduled festivals every weekend, one god a day sort of thing. Unfortunately due to my timezone and unwillingness to wake up at 4:55 AM to participate, I'm kinda excluded from this but it does look pretty cool.

A festival in full swing. I'm not there. :(

The final test I haven't yet talked about is the Path of the Pilgrim. In it, you must form a troop of seven and march across the land to visit the very far apart holy pilgrim shrines and give tithes to each to gain points. Good time to mention that every time I've been mentioning a number of players for the Worship tests, they are EXACT. You cannot have less or more. It's worse in this test because you need the SAME SEVEN each time you want to gain points. Changing members results in points going back to zero. Each week, the group with the most points passes. Once again, Jeromai from Why I Game has more experience running this test so I invite you to read his post.

Awesome. Now I just need six other people.

With that concludes all the tests I have access to at the moment, and  now it's time to celebrate with a glass of milk!

Clearly KebiRoz spiked it. >.<

Sunset Six: Be like Jesus

[Part of my Sunset Six story.]

Continuing with the tests of Worship, the Test of the Messenger, a new Worship test released at the same time as Throne of Pharaoh, is similar to the Test of Beacons. In it you must sacrifice ink and paper at an altar to receive -only- one of seven parts of a ritual. You must then work out with others the full requirements, incantations and sequence and then work as a pair to perform it at the ONE correct altar. The first seven pairs that do this advance, and everyone else is out of luck - needing to wait for the start of the next cycle. Advance five times to pass.

It's good to be the backup guy.

The Test of Leavened Bread requires you to be like Jesus. In it, you need a team of five players to see visions of what needs to be done (randomized), make beer, bake bread then share the bread with others. Specific others. Probably those not in your party. You have seven days to do that before the bread goes bad. You get points for the correct people eating the bread. Yep, give it to your enemies and it's still valid for them to just chuck it out.

Hah, I had all my required guys at the table!

Also requiring five people is the Test of the Humble Priests, in which you must form a devotional group to a particular god and sacrifice something to them in an orderly, structured manner. It's worth mentioning that all these rituals are very specific in what you are supposed to do, who is supposed to do them and what you must type. Making a mistake at any point results in a fail, wasting all those items you sacrificed. As an example in this one "Priest three must do five emotes in specific order (based on his vision)".

Please all five of your randomly chosen gods (out of twelve) to pass.

Sunset Six: Looking for Group

[Part of my Sunset Six story.]

The discipline of Worship holds for me, what are hands down the hardest set of tests. While comparatively they don't need as many of the exorbitant items for constructing things they are still usually required as offerings but the real challenge is that all tests needs a group of people. Let's start with the Test of Vigil.

A favored test of pyromaniacs.

In it, you build a large fire then listen to the flames for what it wants to consume. You then have a time limit to get all the said items (which can be anything in game) and burn it. The rarity and number of items increases the longer the Vigil goes on. Failure to burn the requirements on time ends the fire. You individually gain points equal to the number of sacrifices you made multiplied by the number of sacrifices made by -other people-, meaning if you attempt to do this alone you get ZERO points. Highest scores pass the test.

If that sounds tough, you should see the Test of Beacons. Doing some random mundane activity has a chance of attracting a holy altar to spawn nearby. Once it does you have three in game minutes to anchor it to this plane of existence through meditation... by three people. Once anchored the three anchorers have thirty minutes to work out the proper ritual as it only gives each of them a fragmented piece. If you manage to do all of that seven times (including anchoring) you pass.

Anchoring fail, as we needed one more person.