Yeah, I am aware my titles are getting sillier. Today's set is another random group of games!
Hood - Outlaws & Legends
A four player cooperative medieval heist game where archer Robin, ninja Marianne, hammer warrior John, and mace wielding mystic Tooke (in any combination so you can have 4 Robins) are out to steal the treasure of the state and/or against another thieving team of their own doppelgangers (pvp). First you need to pick pocket the key from the sheriff, an unkillable knight tank who can one shot execute any of you, then use it to open the vault some where on the level, take the heavy treasure chest from within and walk it down to the docks to hoist it (in a long defense sequence) onto the ship - all while not alerting (yeah right) or fighting through the soldiers coming after you. I found this to be really cool, but at the same time not being able to start a solo mission, long downtime if you are killed and a low player count makes it a hard one to suggest.
Saturnalia
This Italian detective horror game has a really nice art style, intentionally cramped spaces, really bright matches, a party system and a somewhat scary though very noisy monster. What kills it for me are logic loops like this: to turn on lights in the mine I need to flip a switch at the dam but that's locked and the key is in the boarded up town hall which needs tools from the (still dark) mine to open. Huh? Why do horror games always turn into stupid fetch quests...
Geneforge I Mutagen
This RPG game lets you play as a "shaper" (or shaper adjacent), magicians who can make things come to life (commonly raptor type dinos), and plays a little like Ultima Online but switches to a turn based mode (without changing the view) if you get into battle. While it is dated, my main problem here is how tiny the graphics are - with no option to zoom. When your character is the size of your little fingernail on the screen, you can imagine how small the loot graphic is. Maybe one I'd put more effort in if there weren't more modern things for me to play.
GameDec
This point and click detective game has a decent interface, a unique skill system where you spend personality traits you gain from talking to buy said skills, and some nice art. In it you are a VR detective, going into games to find people who either have gone missing or are wanting to hide. Your available skills actually determine what you can solve though, and the initial quest hook is weak at best.
Tunche
A side scrolling beat em up like Golden Axe, only set in the Amazon with cute, hand drawn graphics. Definitely designed for cooperative play but ultimately its just a button masher with or without friends. Controller recommended.
The Silent Age
This point and click adventure has you working as a janitor at some fancy R&D company where you rather quickly get involved in time travel ridiculousness. While the puzzles are pretty straight forward and the game itself isn't very long, finding the items or the spots to click on can be the challenge - especially since most rooms exist in two states: the present and the future.
Showing posts with label Ultima Online. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ultima Online. Show all posts
Monday, 3 April 2023
Waiting for Duviri: The Ninth Nuggets
Thursday, 15 December 2022
Stable Diffusion: Portraits of Sylmeria
Today we have portraits of owl bear guardian and activist Lady Sylmeria. She was never happy with any quests that involved hurting her beloved owl bears!
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Wow, this was a fantastic result!
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Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Stable Diffusion: Portraits of Kantor
Today I'm back to AI generated imagery for my guild members and this is an attempt at my grandfather's character. These look younger than what I thought they'd be, but maybe that's how he pictured himself?
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You can see the unfinished diffusion as a spot on his cheek.
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That's closer I think!
Monday, 3 August 2020
Borderlands 2: Firehawk - Ashes and Dust
[Part of the Wasted Land story]
On a quest to save Princess Roland, we three heroes find ourselves in pyromaniac valley - home of all things spicy, hot and burninating to find "the Firehawk" who supposedly knows which closet Roland is being held in. She certainly fits the bill.
Thinking with our fun heads, we mutually save each other from a massive attack by a rival gang - the Bloodshots. She says that Roland is in their castle, no doubt experiencing whatever it is Princess Peach feels while a prisoner to Bowser. But before we go rescue him the Firehawk wants us to check up on her cultists... they are actually really fun guys who seem only focused on setting themselves on fire. This is great as we get to help them burn. Win/win! They do go a bit far when they kidnap a few villagers for roasting though so upon Firehawk's command we ice them for good.
Then its off to rescue Princess Roland at the BloodshotCastle Dam but they ain't stupid enough to open the gates for a random looking car so we have to drive all the way out to the Dust where we meet Ellie in her junkyard who offers to make us a "bandit technical" vehicle if we bring her the parts - which is really easy since we destroyed like ten of these cars before reaching her.
When asked why she's all the way out here and not in Sanctuary she says its to get away from her overbearing mom, Moxxi, and her creepy ex Scooter who also happens to be her step-brother. Yikes.
Insight: While in Gunzerking mode, Jim (Gunzerker) constantly regenerates health and ammo!
Blaugust Bonus: "What are some key sources of media (games/movies/etc) that have shaped your worldview?" -Mailvaltar
Ultima Online showed me early on both how evil some people can be as well as how awesome it is to work cooperatively. Hence I now always strongly prefer cooperative endeavors rather than competitive ones.
On a quest to save Princess Roland, we three heroes find ourselves in pyromaniac valley - home of all things spicy, hot and burninating to find "the Firehawk" who supposedly knows which closet Roland is being held in. She certainly fits the bill.
Thinking with our fun heads, we mutually save each other from a massive attack by a rival gang - the Bloodshots. She says that Roland is in their castle, no doubt experiencing whatever it is Princess Peach feels while a prisoner to Bowser. But before we go rescue him the Firehawk wants us to check up on her cultists... they are actually really fun guys who seem only focused on setting themselves on fire. This is great as we get to help them burn. Win/win! They do go a bit far when they kidnap a few villagers for roasting though so upon Firehawk's command we ice them for good.
One of the best missions ever!
Then its off to rescue Princess Roland at the Bloodshot
When asked why she's all the way out here and not in Sanctuary she says its to get away from her overbearing mom, Moxxi, and her creepy ex Scooter who also happens to be her step-brother. Yikes.
Insight: While in Gunzerking mode, Jim (Gunzerker) constantly regenerates health and ammo!
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Ultima Online showed me early on both how evil some people can be as well as how awesome it is to work cooperatively. Hence I now always strongly prefer cooperative endeavors rather than competitive ones.
Sunday, 26 July 2020
Worlds of Ultima
These did not age well.
Akalabeth: World of Doom
Richard Garriott's early attempt of an adventure game is basic to say the least. With a fixed number of items to collect and absolutely no direction to be found - you must guide your character to ... explore places and not starve or be killed by wandering creatures who all seem to enjoy teaming up against you. In one instance I had a rat, skeleton and thief fight me all at the same time. It was very strange. While the basic art in the dungeon is ok, there's really nothing worth exploring here and by today's standards I have to give this half a rapier out of 5. It's just not worth playing.
Insight: Buy food or die.
Martian Dreams and Savage Empire
In the first, you are one of a rescue team sent to retrieve the leaders of the Victorian era from the red planet while in the other you are a time displaced adventurer sent to rescue a bunch of random people. While one is set on the empty, yet somehow breathable surface of Mars and the other in a claustrophobic, dinosaur filled jungle they both suffer the same problems: a huge map purely for traversal, lack of guidance on where to go, and quite simply a poor and unfriendly user interface. I'm sure there is an interesting story hiding in these somewhere, but I simply ran out of patience to find it. Ultimately I give both 1 "find the answer in the manual" out of 5, and for all but the most die hard Ultima fans - these are just not worth playing.
Insight: If you got these from GOG then you have a "secret answers.txt" file in the game directory to help you get past the old school copyright check.
Akalabeth: World of Doom
Your deadliest foe is hunger!
Richard Garriott's early attempt of an adventure game is basic to say the least. With a fixed number of items to collect and absolutely no direction to be found - you must guide your character to ... explore places and not starve or be killed by wandering creatures who all seem to enjoy teaming up against you. In one instance I had a rat, skeleton and thief fight me all at the same time. It was very strange. While the basic art in the dungeon is ok, there's really nothing worth exploring here and by today's standards I have to give this half a rapier out of 5. It's just not worth playing.
Insight: Buy food or die.
Martian Dreams and Savage Empire
Apparently mars has oxygen and dinos aren't that big.
In the first, you are one of a rescue team sent to retrieve the leaders of the Victorian era from the red planet while in the other you are a time displaced adventurer sent to rescue a bunch of random people. While one is set on the empty, yet somehow breathable surface of Mars and the other in a claustrophobic, dinosaur filled jungle they both suffer the same problems: a huge map purely for traversal, lack of guidance on where to go, and quite simply a poor and unfriendly user interface. I'm sure there is an interesting story hiding in these somewhere, but I simply ran out of patience to find it. Ultimately I give both 1 "find the answer in the manual" out of 5, and for all but the most die hard Ultima fans - these are just not worth playing.
Insight: If you got these from GOG then you have a "secret answers.txt" file in the game directory to help you get past the old school copyright check.
Friday, 10 August 2018
Blaugust About Me: My Favourite Things
I'm continuing with a few more of Belghast's writing prompts today, namely - write about three favorite items from any video game ever, and about any goal I achieved in the past and what it was like to work towards it and eventually get it.
My first favorite item are consumables: Health Potions or Medkits (things that keep you alive) - specifically the type you can carry and use at will rather than the auto-use on pick up. I guess this habit goes back to my Ultima Online days where there was no delay or limit on potion use and has carried on since, despite the Potion Poison mechanic in Mabinogi (debuff from overuse) and cool downs in Neverwinter.
Second favourite item is the Berserk Sphere in Doom. I am a fan of unarmed combat, and while I was ok with the regular brass knuckles in this game getting the power up that let you smash demons into pieces with your fist was amazing, especially when coupled with an Invulnerability Sphere. :P
Last item for this list also contains a previously achieved goal. This is the decorative trophy pet: Mini-Liadri from Guildwars 2, which you can only get by succeeding in the fight against full-sized Liadri, the original final enemy of the Queen's Gauntlet. It took me many, many attempts over 6 days and learning from others both through exterior sources (like Jeromai's guide) and through watching other players attempt the fight.
Because it was so difficult for me, that victory tastes all the sweeter.
My first favorite item are consumables: Health Potions or Medkits (things that keep you alive) - specifically the type you can carry and use at will rather than the auto-use on pick up. I guess this habit goes back to my Ultima Online days where there was no delay or limit on potion use and has carried on since, despite the Potion Poison mechanic in Mabinogi (debuff from overuse) and cool downs in Neverwinter.
Second favourite item is the Berserk Sphere in Doom. I am a fan of unarmed combat, and while I was ok with the regular brass knuckles in this game getting the power up that let you smash demons into pieces with your fist was amazing, especially when coupled with an Invulnerability Sphere. :P
Last item for this list also contains a previously achieved goal. This is the decorative trophy pet: Mini-Liadri from Guildwars 2, which you can only get by succeeding in the fight against full-sized Liadri, the original final enemy of the Queen's Gauntlet. It took me many, many attempts over 6 days and learning from others both through exterior sources (like Jeromai's guide) and through watching other players attempt the fight.
Because it was so difficult for me, that victory tastes all the sweeter.
Thursday, 9 August 2018
Blaugust About Me: First Online
Today's writing prompts are courtesy of the Belghast himself. I'll just be cherry picking topics that go well together: mainly describing my first online gaming experience, how I got involved with my first guild, gaming friend transcendence and times when real life clashes with gaming life.
My first game experience was in June 2000 in a game called Ultima Online. Despite my first interaction with others being ganked by a wandering mob of PKs, my brothers and I were instantly hooked into this addictive sandbox and within a week saved up the gold to start up our own small guild ("Dragonarm") and this is the same guild I am still in today.
I was still in school at the time and boy did my grades suffer due to this new addiction. It would be years before I could get a handle on "real life is more important", and even today sometimes that struggle still occurs.
The guild has moved games a few times now, losing members in the process (around 142 losses to date according to the records) but there are always some who just stick with us no matter what. Canadian Wrothak is a great example, he was with us early on Ultima Online and now 18 years later is still with us on Neverwinter Online. His twin sister and ex-guildmember has also visited and stayed with us while visiting Australia.
It helps that my guild leader brother screens people that seek membership but loyalty like that is rare to find these days.
My first game experience was in June 2000 in a game called Ultima Online. Despite my first interaction with others being ganked by a wandering mob of PKs, my brothers and I were instantly hooked into this addictive sandbox and within a week saved up the gold to start up our own small guild ("Dragonarm") and this is the same guild I am still in today.
I was still in school at the time and boy did my grades suffer due to this new addiction. It would be years before I could get a handle on "real life is more important", and even today sometimes that struggle still occurs.
The guild has moved games a few times now, losing members in the process (around 142 losses to date according to the records) but there are always some who just stick with us no matter what. Canadian Wrothak is a great example, he was with us early on Ultima Online and now 18 years later is still with us on Neverwinter Online. His twin sister and ex-guildmember has also visited and stayed with us while visiting Australia.
It helps that my guild leader brother screens people that seek membership but loyalty like that is rare to find these days.
Wednesday, 2 May 2018
May 2018 Status
Another month down and this top list just keeps getting longer as I add more ideas and sundry items that I really should get around to... Also I've still mainly been focused on killing my backlog. Priorities right? :P
End the year with less weight (-1 kg from last month, running total: -1.2 kg)
Complete NWO: Lost City of Omu (0/2, 1-2 weeks to go)
+Learn 3 more songs (0/3)
Draw 12 drawings of anything (0/12)
+Make a parody comic (planning)
Make board game 19 prototype (procrastinating)
Complete web comic chapter 1 (procrastinating)
Make a simple computer game (procrastinating)
+Clean out computer games
+Clean out wardrobe
Backlog Update:
FROM GIFTS
Sims 3
Loki (Abandoned. Mindnumbing.)
Overlord 2
Commandos 2: Men of Courage (Abandoned. Not user friendly at all)
C&C Red Alert (DONE)
C&C Red Alert: Counterstrike (DONE)
C&C Red Alert: The Aftermath (DONE)
C&C Tiberian Sun (DONE)
C&C Tiberian Sun: Firestorm (More of the same)
C&C Red Alert 2 (DONE)
C&C Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge (DONE)
C&C Generals (DONE)
C&C Generals: Zero-Hour (DONE)
Supreme Commander (Abandoned. Too slow)
Dawn of War II (DONE)
Universe at War (Done / Had Enough)
Sins of a Solar Empire (DONE)
Diablo: Reaper of Souls (Doesn't Work)
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty (Infinite Patching)
+Eador: Masters of the Broken World
GOG FREEBIE PILEUP
OxenFree (DONE)
Grim Fandango Remastered (DONE)
Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire (No. Prefer to retry Free UO)
COMPY CAN'T RUN (but I want to play)
Batman: Arkham Knight
Dying Light
Alien Isolation
Shadow of Mordor
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
+Satellite Reign
I thought I'd just put in some mini reviews with each of those "abandoned" items, most of which I did try my best to play but ultimately just found it not to my liking. The only exception, and the one I'll start with is The Savage Empire.
Ultima in Africa is a bit strange, but I was willing to try it until I heard that Official UO has become free to play. If I'm going to play any Ultima, it's definitely going to be UO and there's no way The Savage Empire was going to stand up to that.
The ARPG diablo clone Loki is up next, and while the game is functional (though very texty) it just dove head first into the realm of mind numbingly boring. Regardless of what on the rails quest you were on, it boiled down to enter new area, kill the hundreds of things in the area (and that's already sneaking past half the map). Rinse and repeat. Just... no.
Eidos' Commandos 2 should have been perfect for me. A bunch of specialists sneaking around in Nazi Germany should be great right? Yes and no. In theory it's good, but lousy voice acting paired with the most unfriendly user interface I've ever come across sent me packing quickly.
Supreme Commander is another RTS game, this one taking place on maps so vast you often needed to zoom out to almost see the whole planet to manage your huge array of forces. With epic music, decent story (from what I played) and nice combat (if you zoomed back in to see it) you might wonder why I gave up on this one, and the answer is simple: build time.
Even compared to the slowest builds in Command and Conquer, this game moves at a glacial pace. Watching two glaciers crash into each other is grand, but waiting for to build your glacier (army) and then getting them to travel across the map was hours of boredom. Ultimately I decided that I simply have more rewarding things to do with my time. :P
End the year with less weight (-1 kg from last month, running total: -1.2 kg)
Complete NWO: Lost City of Omu (0/2, 1-2 weeks to go)
+Learn 3 more songs (0/3)
Draw 12 drawings of anything (0/12)
+Make a parody comic (planning)
Make board game 19 prototype (procrastinating)
Complete web comic chapter 1 (procrastinating)
Make a simple computer game (procrastinating)
+Clean out computer games
+Clean out wardrobe
Backlog Update:
FROM GIFTS
Sims 3
Overlord 2
+Eador: Masters of the Broken World
GOG FREEBIE PILEUP
COMPY CAN'T RUN (but I want to play)
Batman: Arkham Knight
Dying Light
Alien Isolation
Shadow of Mordor
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
+Satellite Reign
I thought I'd just put in some mini reviews with each of those "abandoned" items, most of which I did try my best to play but ultimately just found it not to my liking. The only exception, and the one I'll start with is The Savage Empire.
Ultima in Africa is a bit strange, but I was willing to try it until I heard that Official UO has become free to play. If I'm going to play any Ultima, it's definitely going to be UO and there's no way The Savage Empire was going to stand up to that.
The ARPG diablo clone Loki is up next, and while the game is functional (though very texty) it just dove head first into the realm of mind numbingly boring. Regardless of what on the rails quest you were on, it boiled down to enter new area, kill the hundreds of things in the area (and that's already sneaking past half the map). Rinse and repeat. Just... no.
Eidos' Commandos 2 should have been perfect for me. A bunch of specialists sneaking around in Nazi Germany should be great right? Yes and no. In theory it's good, but lousy voice acting paired with the most unfriendly user interface I've ever come across sent me packing quickly.
Supreme Commander is another RTS game, this one taking place on maps so vast you often needed to zoom out to almost see the whole planet to manage your huge array of forces. With epic music, decent story (from what I played) and nice combat (if you zoomed back in to see it) you might wonder why I gave up on this one, and the answer is simple: build time.
It's a case of hoping your dots overwhelm the enemy dots.
Even compared to the slowest builds in Command and Conquer, this game moves at a glacial pace. Watching two glaciers crash into each other is grand, but waiting for to build your glacier (army) and then getting them to travel across the map was hours of boredom. Ultimately I decided that I simply have more rewarding things to do with my time. :P
Thursday, 1 September 2016
MMO Design: How not to Sunset a Game
[Part of my MMO Design folder.]
Massively recently drew my attention to Psychochild's blog post of "How to Sunset a Game", wherein he talks about the Business vs Player issues about such an undertaking. My only real experience with a game closing down on me is Wizardry Online, which has led to my utter hate of all things SOE / Daybreak. Sure I've had Ultima Online shards shut down on me too, but all the free ones we played on were with the express knowledge of "this is just some guy/gal running the server, quite likely in their basement, and it can (and will) end at any moment."
But Wizardry Online was run by a "big" company so I was a bit surprised when news of its demise was announced. Obviously the market for it is dying since even the Japan released is being shuttered. How SOE went about this though is really turd level scum. They pulled all support / event runners from the game, while continuing to have a cash shop selling in game items. In fact I think all focus (of the last guy on the project) went to the store, trying to milk players for whatever money they could, knowing full well said items would be useless soon.
How I would have gone about it? Make all those cash shop items free. The zones that are level locked? Open them up to all players! If that's too hard to do coding wise per area, then put an NPC who just hands out XP. Players would have been encouraged to have one last hurrah. As a bonus, since they actually run -other- MMOs, maybe give each player who registered from "x" date a bonus "thank you" package they can redeem in one of their other titles. You know, to encourage your customers to stick around?
Instead they treated the player base like dying lepers, basically ignoring their last, simple, requests while simultaneously trying to milk the remaining whales like desperate leeches. If that sounded wrong, that's because it is. I'm never playing another SOE / Daybreak run MMO again because of that experience, and strongly advise everyone else to keep away from this terrible company too.
Massively recently drew my attention to Psychochild's blog post of "How to Sunset a Game", wherein he talks about the Business vs Player issues about such an undertaking. My only real experience with a game closing down on me is Wizardry Online, which has led to my utter hate of all things SOE / Daybreak. Sure I've had Ultima Online shards shut down on me too, but all the free ones we played on were with the express knowledge of "this is just some guy/gal running the server, quite likely in their basement, and it can (and will) end at any moment."
But Wizardry Online was run by a "big" company so I was a bit surprised when news of its demise was announced. Obviously the market for it is dying since even the Japan released is being shuttered. How SOE went about this though is really turd level scum. They pulled all support / event runners from the game, while continuing to have a cash shop selling in game items. In fact I think all focus (of the last guy on the project) went to the store, trying to milk players for whatever money they could, knowing full well said items would be useless soon.
How I would have gone about it? Make all those cash shop items free. The zones that are level locked? Open them up to all players! If that's too hard to do coding wise per area, then put an NPC who just hands out XP. Players would have been encouraged to have one last hurrah. As a bonus, since they actually run -other- MMOs, maybe give each player who registered from "x" date a bonus "thank you" package they can redeem in one of their other titles. You know, to encourage your customers to stick around?
Instead they treated the player base like dying lepers, basically ignoring their last, simple, requests while simultaneously trying to milk the remaining whales like desperate leeches. If that sounded wrong, that's because it is. I'm never playing another SOE / Daybreak run MMO again because of that experience, and strongly advise everyone else to keep away from this terrible company too.
Thursday, 16 June 2016
Today I Smiled: The New
Yesterday I talked about Neverwinter Online: Alliances. Truth be told I've been playing NWO less as of late due to some hectic weeks at work. On one particularly stressful day I broke my usual rule of "not buying any computer games for myself" and splurged because retail therapy is a thing. Yep I went into EB and spent $31 bucks for four bargain bin games: Assassin's Creed Rogue, Assassin's Creed Unity, Watch Dogs and Call of Juarez: the Cartel.
While that's not too bad if I say so myself, I also have been receiving a bunch of really, really old games from a neighbor who has outgrown them. More than half don't work but I don't mind. You know I'll be putting up reviews for the ones that do somewhere down the track. Also cool to learn that Ultima Online is still going strong elsewhere. ;)
All that ties in somewhat with Izlain's "How to be a cheap ass gamer" NBI post, which is a good read on it's own. Remember - there are tons of free to play games out there too!
"The New" is also a Week 1 event for the NBI 2016, for which you can join the Discord here. Given that it's already half way through June you can tell I'm quite out of sync with it this year. Still, my best "New" moment recently has come from the Skyrim Mod "The Forgotten City" which I just played through in my adventure journal. It is so well made I can't recommend it enough. Speaking of which, adventures in Skyrim will continue tomorrow!
Last but not least I thought I'd put up the links of the "new" folk from the NBI - give them a look see if you get the chance. Let me know if I missed any and I'll add you to the list!
A to Zeo
Cookie Cutter Monks
I'm Not Squishy
Just East of West
Pleasant Gamer (hey... I remember you from last year :P)
Shadowz Gaming Blog
Wild Core Chronicle
While that's not too bad if I say so myself, I also have been receiving a bunch of really, really old games from a neighbor who has outgrown them. More than half don't work but I don't mind. You know I'll be putting up reviews for the ones that do somewhere down the track. Also cool to learn that Ultima Online is still going strong elsewhere. ;)
All that ties in somewhat with Izlain's "How to be a cheap ass gamer" NBI post, which is a good read on it's own. Remember - there are tons of free to play games out there too!
"The New" is also a Week 1 event for the NBI 2016, for which you can join the Discord here. Given that it's already half way through June you can tell I'm quite out of sync with it this year. Still, my best "New" moment recently has come from the Skyrim Mod "The Forgotten City" which I just played through in my adventure journal. It is so well made I can't recommend it enough. Speaking of which, adventures in Skyrim will continue tomorrow!
That must be the best quest hook ever.
Last but not least I thought I'd put up the links of the "new" folk from the NBI - give them a look see if you get the chance. Let me know if I missed any and I'll add you to the list!
A to Zeo
Cookie Cutter Monks
I'm Not Squishy
Just East of West
Pleasant Gamer (hey... I remember you from last year :P)
Shadowz Gaming Blog
Wild Core Chronicle
Tuesday, 28 July 2015
Today I Smiled: The Revenge of Blaugust!
Heads up everyone! Bel is running his Blaugust event again and once more I am participating. Seems I've been posting daily for a fair bit anyway. Hopefully this will also refill some of the "bleed" (aka blogs that I've been culling due to inactivity) which is currently on 15 this month (34 total since the last NBI). Be advised - I plan to be hitting my Nameless "Creative Writing Experiment" pretty hard during Blaugust. I know it's probably not everyone's cup of tea so just giving you advance warning that there might be large slabs of it coming up. I'll still try break it up with movie reviews though. :P
In other news, lumber jacking and getting wood from trees is pretty common in MMOs right? Well I had my first taste of it recently and it is definitely different in real life! While it definitely takes time (doesn't help that I'm a novice) it's also much louder than say... the sound file in Ultima Online. Way bloody louder. Also, vertical cuts are much easier than horizontal cuts which is great for branches but since trees generally stand upright I'm not getting any joy there.
Also doing the "wedge" cut is pretty tough! Doesn't help that my accuracy with the axe is not the best so I was ending up with deep "U" shaped things. Cutting half way into the target with the wedge cut is not enough. At least not with the things I'm trying to cut. It almost needs to be broken right through before things start to give. Next time I think I'm going to try a saw!
In other news, lumber jacking and getting wood from trees is pretty common in MMOs right? Well I had my first taste of it recently and it is definitely different in real life! While it definitely takes time (doesn't help that I'm a novice) it's also much louder than say... the sound file in Ultima Online. Way bloody louder. Also, vertical cuts are much easier than horizontal cuts which is great for branches but since trees generally stand upright I'm not getting any joy there.
Also doing the "wedge" cut is pretty tough! Doesn't help that my accuracy with the axe is not the best so I was ending up with deep "U" shaped things. Cutting half way into the target with the wedge cut is not enough. At least not with the things I'm trying to cut. It almost needs to be broken right through before things start to give. Next time I think I'm going to try a saw!
Sunday, 26 July 2015
Today I Smiled: Second Lie of bs-ter
Looks like I've been Liebstered a second time, this time by WolfDragon who generally suggested having a search field somewhere on here... so I've plugged on in on the left, just underneath the Library section! Just like last time, I'm going to kill the chain here after answering WolfDragon's questions. I think I'll have a go at the 11 random facts too, though as I mentioned last time - there are already around 31 facts I put up in last years Blaugust (starting from this post and ending here).
Eleven Facts that you may already know about me:
WolfDragon's Pop Quiz:
If you could have any vehicle of any type from a game, which one would it be?
Giant Robot. One of the humanoid looking ones from either ZMR or Mech Warrior.
Does your current nickname (or character name) have a meaning? If so, what is it?
Yes - a very silly one! My Skyrim actually came from when I was learning to play basketball, during an age where I was so young that I could barely shoot from the freethrow line - it was far! I thought it would be so much easier if I could walk on the sky, upside down no less, because it would be easier, as the only upside down player, to shoot, not need to dribble (because I'm flying right? no traveling violation there) and be able to dunk (jumping is inverted) and touch the ring as my taller and at the time, way fitter brothers could. While the elder scrolls totally "stole" my name, at least theirs had a more awesome connotation to it. :P
Do you like to collect things in game? If so, what is your strangest collection?
Healing potions. Not really a very "out there" collection, but in games that have healing potions I normally use them pretty fast. It isn't uncommon for me to bring 500+ of the strongest type I can get my hands on.
Have you ever been drawn back into an MMO because of an email they sent you?
Nope. If said emails had instant rewards attached to them then they'd have a better chance. Hasn't happened yet though.
What game achievement are you most proud of? (It can be a “real” achievement or a goal that you made up for yourself.)
Playing piano and singing at my cousin's wedding - as the only musician. First time I ever did something like that, and it was awesome. :)
Have you ever lead a group of people in a game (such as a guild)? If not, do you think you could?
Yes, and still do as part of the triumvirate leadership for my guild. It's a lot easier with co-leaders I think.
How do you express your love for games? Writing? Art? Posting on the forums?
All the above PLUS also making content for games that allow me to, such as Neverwinter Online (Foundry) or when I was a GM in various Ultima Online shards.
Has gaming helped your life in any way? If so, how?
It certainly sped up my typing and reading.
Describe a moment where you very badly wanted to do something that went beyond the limits/physics of a game. Such as save a favorite character that was otherwise destined to die.
Any time you are -required- to have more than one person to do anything: from fight a boss to open a door, that is stupidity. True heroes get stuff done on their own!
Ever wanted a pet from a game? Which one?
In real? Well, there are many cool ones in my Mabinogi stable, but if they poop then I don't want any! Hrm, maybe the flamesteeds would be ok - they do seem mechanical anyway. Mechanical and ... on fire. :P
And most importantly: cake or pie?
Cake! Especially the chocolate variety. Pie is often filled with fruits. Bleh!
Eleven Facts that you may already know about me:
- I draw and have made cartoons in flash. Kinda bummed with the recent news for that product.
- The pic in my profile is what I actually looked like before.
- I compose music and mainly play piano.
- I love boardgames and want to make my own. So far, this has been unsuccessful.
- Always wanted to make a computer game that was good enough to sell (for the price of a hot chocolate). Will be trying that in the future.
- I wear glasses when on the computer as I am far sighted.
- When I was younger, a german shepherd managed to pounce and pin me to the floor - it then licked my face!
- I sometimes take cold showers just for the hell of it. This is most interesting during winter.
- I'm a chocaholic!
- I watch a lot of movies. (Duh)
- Since March, I've been on a not so strict "avoid carbs" diet. Lost 7 kgs so far.
WolfDragon's Pop Quiz:
If you could have any vehicle of any type from a game, which one would it be?
Giant Robot. One of the humanoid looking ones from either ZMR or Mech Warrior.
Does your current nickname (or character name) have a meaning? If so, what is it?
Yes - a very silly one! My Skyrim actually came from when I was learning to play basketball, during an age where I was so young that I could barely shoot from the freethrow line - it was far! I thought it would be so much easier if I could walk on the sky, upside down no less, because it would be easier, as the only upside down player, to shoot, not need to dribble (because I'm flying right? no traveling violation there) and be able to dunk (jumping is inverted) and touch the ring as my taller and at the time, way fitter brothers could. While the elder scrolls totally "stole" my name, at least theirs had a more awesome connotation to it. :P
Do you like to collect things in game? If so, what is your strangest collection?
Healing potions. Not really a very "out there" collection, but in games that have healing potions I normally use them pretty fast. It isn't uncommon for me to bring 500+ of the strongest type I can get my hands on.
Have you ever been drawn back into an MMO because of an email they sent you?
Nope. If said emails had instant rewards attached to them then they'd have a better chance. Hasn't happened yet though.
What game achievement are you most proud of? (It can be a “real” achievement or a goal that you made up for yourself.)
Playing piano and singing at my cousin's wedding - as the only musician. First time I ever did something like that, and it was awesome. :)
Have you ever lead a group of people in a game (such as a guild)? If not, do you think you could?
Yes, and still do as part of the triumvirate leadership for my guild. It's a lot easier with co-leaders I think.
How do you express your love for games? Writing? Art? Posting on the forums?
All the above PLUS also making content for games that allow me to, such as Neverwinter Online (Foundry) or when I was a GM in various Ultima Online shards.
Has gaming helped your life in any way? If so, how?
It certainly sped up my typing and reading.
Describe a moment where you very badly wanted to do something that went beyond the limits/physics of a game. Such as save a favorite character that was otherwise destined to die.
Any time you are -required- to have more than one person to do anything: from fight a boss to open a door, that is stupidity. True heroes get stuff done on their own!
Ever wanted a pet from a game? Which one?
In real? Well, there are many cool ones in my Mabinogi stable, but if they poop then I don't want any! Hrm, maybe the flamesteeds would be ok - they do seem mechanical anyway. Mechanical and ... on fire. :P
And most importantly: cake or pie?
Cake! Especially the chocolate variety. Pie is often filled with fruits. Bleh!
Sunday, 12 July 2015
Don't let the World get you Down
Not my intended entry for today but I decided to go with it thanks to Bel's "Be Stronger than Me" post on Aggronaut. Unlike him, I've been lucky on the "not having people in my immediate circles commit suicide" front. This doesn't mean I remain unaffected.
This is Laura, a pretty, 17 year old student with decent musical talent. In December 2012, she jumped in front of a train near where I lived.
I didn't know her. I didn't know her family or friends, but I saw them holding vigil on the railway bridge. I saw them leaving flowers day after day. I saw them cry. I saw their pain. It's not my business, but for some reason I kept thinking what could have been done to prevent it? What could -I- have done to prevent it? Probably nothing right? I'm a stranger.
On the last Ultima Online shard I played, I was equally dismayed when one day I learned that one of the players also killed himself. It was a small shard so while you may not have befriended everyone, you certainly knew who was who. Especially as a GM (Game Master) - like I was, invisibly watching the ones who would just play, even in the slowly emptying world as the population dwindled, raging against all the monster spawns alone as if they were actually seeking death. Perhaps I should have paid more attention?
It's unlikely we can do much for strangers but we can at least help, even just a little bit, the people we know.
How? Just talk to them! I'm not sure if the "Are you Ok?" thing is world wide but regardless, its just a phone call or text message for you. It's worth visiting their site too. Especially with social media these days it should be easy for you to find people that you care about and haven't been in contact with for a bit. It's also important to spread the word, which is kind of the point of this post. That way you might actually inspire someone else to do it and so on.
Australian readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467. If you are feeling keen on offing yourself, then you certainly have nothing to lose by calling those numbers first.
This is Laura, a pretty, 17 year old student with decent musical talent. In December 2012, she jumped in front of a train near where I lived.
I didn't know her. I didn't know her family or friends, but I saw them holding vigil on the railway bridge. I saw them leaving flowers day after day. I saw them cry. I saw their pain. It's not my business, but for some reason I kept thinking what could have been done to prevent it? What could -I- have done to prevent it? Probably nothing right? I'm a stranger.
On the last Ultima Online shard I played, I was equally dismayed when one day I learned that one of the players also killed himself. It was a small shard so while you may not have befriended everyone, you certainly knew who was who. Especially as a GM (Game Master) - like I was, invisibly watching the ones who would just play, even in the slowly emptying world as the population dwindled, raging against all the monster spawns alone as if they were actually seeking death. Perhaps I should have paid more attention?
It's unlikely we can do much for strangers but we can at least help, even just a little bit, the people we know.
How? Just talk to them! I'm not sure if the "Are you Ok?" thing is world wide but regardless, its just a phone call or text message for you. It's worth visiting their site too. Especially with social media these days it should be easy for you to find people that you care about and haven't been in contact with for a bit. It's also important to spread the word, which is kind of the point of this post. That way you might actually inspire someone else to do it and so on.
Australian readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467. If you are feeling keen on offing yourself, then you certainly have nothing to lose by calling those numbers first.
Saturday, 23 May 2015
NBI Talkback #4: Seven Gaming Sins
I suppose as the silly person who thought up this questionnaire I should be one of the first bloggers to answer it, though it looks like Knifesedge has already got the ball rolling! :)
Lust - Do you enjoy games more if they have scantily clad and "interestingly proportioned" avatars? Do you like playing as one of these avatars?
While I always prefer to play as my main male character (the same guy in every game), I certainly enjoy the worlds more when they give players the option to run around as under dressed hookers. Key word there is option. If the onus is on the player on how to dress then you can't really blame the designer. The reason I enjoy it is simple: it lets people be however they want to be. I quite dislike the notion that mandates that x type of people can only wear x type of gear. It's all about individuality.
Gluttony - Do you have a game backlog of unfinished games but still buy new games regardless?
Nope. Since I very rarely (closer to never) purchase digital games for myself my backlog is quite under control. I simply get gifted enough games and know that there's a large multitude of free to play titles out there that can keep me entertained for a long time. I do still buy games for other people, but their backlogs aren't my problem. :P
Greed - Do you enjoy hand outs in game? Have you ever opted to NOT do an action in game activity because the rewards to yourself were lacking?
Oooh I'm definitely one greedy player. I like getting hand outs sure, who doesn't but the question should be Do I give hand outs? Maybe to friends, or allies or people I decide are "good natured". I don't consider those handouts though - that's more just sharing resources. I absolutely hate in-game beggars.
Real life beggars I can support on occasion, but people asking for pixel gold or pixel gear are simply lazy. Have I ever opted to NOT do an in game activity that isn't rewarding to me? YES. Especially when I'm playing solo! Like most gamers, I look for the path of least resistance, that is the shortest path with the most profit. Why? Because time is valuable, and must be managed efficiently to achieve a balance of fun and progression.
In a party, I don't mind doing non-rewarding activities as usually the party makes the experience more fun. :)
Sloth - Do you ever leech or AFK in a party? Do you discourage others from attempting things that you feel are difficult? Have you ever seen someone that needed help, but decided not to?
I never leech or AFK in a party, unless it really is a "down time" moment where everyone is resting. Leechers kinda fall into the lazy pixel beggar category above for me, so I definitely don't want to be one of them. Do I discourage others from attempting things that might be difficult? Hmm. Not really. I'm usually always up for certain death missions "just for the lulz", though I do mention that fact ("we'll probably be caned :D") before undertaking it.
As for helping people that need help it really depends: as I mentioned above I always decide not to help pixel-beggars. People that are getting slammed by monsters though (who I see are actually losing) often prompt me to jump into the fray - even if it just means I get killed too. I'm supposed to be a hero damnit, so of course I should be heroic (though slightly insane)! :P
Wrath - Ever get angry at other players and yell (or TYPE IN CAPS) at them? Have you ever been so angry to stalk a person around in game and / or in the forums?
Yelling at things: YES! I try not to yell at people though. Not directly. I do quite like to talk & threaten & sing to monsters, NPCs, and myself. This is quite funny when I do it on voice chat as people think I'm crazy.
I've not gone player stalking for many years. Really, the only time I stalked someone out of anger was on a free shard of UO after some PKs ambushed our guild. I suspected that one of the PKs was actually using a game master account to spy on our movements and equipment to know when to hit us, so having a game master account myself I tailed the bastard and sure enough matched his IP to one of the newly recruited GMs.
I also caught him doing it again to another group and got screenshot evidence of the whole matter. Turns out the "mortal" guy also had a hacked ring which made it very hard for him to die. It felt good bringing all of this to the higher ups who then came with me to confront said "corrupt" GM face to face, stripped him of his powers, killed him in a public spot, and banned his account (it's why I quite like that ban hammer GW2 video). Alas the "mortal" only got his cheating ring taken away as punishment. I still took it as a win.
Ohhh yeah, then on another free shard there was another "bad" GM who liked killing players by popping tough monsters on top of their head. I didn't have a game master account there but I simply used all the tricks I had learned from before, figured out who his mortal was and then found proof of him being a scum (setting up his own tournament so that he would win and rewarding "himself" with a legendary weapon). I also found proof that on the previous shard he played on before he was kicked out for cheating. Bad example for one of the eight seats of virtue huh? Got him banned and then one of our guild mates took his place on the council.
Good times, good times. Haven't needed to go through those lengths to cane someone for a long time now though. Maybe I'm just mellowing out in my old age
Envy - Ever felt jealous of players who seem to be able to complete content you can't? Do you ever suspect they are hacked or are simply unfair?
Yes and Yes. I am both thrilled and envious when I see those videos of one dude soloing a five man dungeon, but because of all those bad experiences (see Wrath, above) I always, ALWAYS think they are cheating in some way. Maybe not even in an "illegal" way. Perhaps they just pay to win or use out of game voice chat or use more people to their own ends or use ANY form of mod outside of the BASE GAME (for me any who use those ARE cheating - even if its just UI organization, no question about it). Even if it just is a matter of skill I always think they are hacked first. It's just been ingrained in my nature.
Pride - Are you one of those people that demands to party with other "elite" players? Do you kick players out of your team who you feel are under performing?
Nope and Nope. Hell, "elite" players probably wouldn't want to party with me anyway. I'd be on the receiving end of those "kick" votes. As I mentioned before, yes, I like being efficient -when I'm playing solo-. When others are around that's just a bonus for me (as long as they ain't leechers). I don't really care how well or how poorly they do, as long as we are all having fun. I try to remind myself that regardless of the team, the only one I can truly rely on is me so if everyone else dies it's not really their fault. -I- should be better!
Now this changes somewhat if the team actually starts caring about winning. Then I start getting annoyed when they do badly, because they aren't having fun. Which means I am not having fun. What's the point in doing an activity that you do not find fun? Hope it's rewarding? Pixel-rewards kinda suck in the grand scheme of things. Just saying.
Other on-going NBI activities:
Please join the NBI 2015: Poetry Slam!
Murf's Screenshot Safari
Lust - Do you enjoy games more if they have scantily clad and "interestingly proportioned" avatars? Do you like playing as one of these avatars?
While I always prefer to play as my main male character (the same guy in every game), I certainly enjoy the worlds more when they give players the option to run around as under dressed hookers. Key word there is option. If the onus is on the player on how to dress then you can't really blame the designer. The reason I enjoy it is simple: it lets people be however they want to be. I quite dislike the notion that mandates that x type of people can only wear x type of gear. It's all about individuality.
Gluttony - Do you have a game backlog of unfinished games but still buy new games regardless?
Nope. Since I very rarely (closer to never) purchase digital games for myself my backlog is quite under control. I simply get gifted enough games and know that there's a large multitude of free to play titles out there that can keep me entertained for a long time. I do still buy games for other people, but their backlogs aren't my problem. :P
Greed - Do you enjoy hand outs in game? Have you ever opted to NOT do an action in game activity because the rewards to yourself were lacking?
Oooh I'm definitely one greedy player. I like getting hand outs sure, who doesn't but the question should be Do I give hand outs? Maybe to friends, or allies or people I decide are "good natured". I don't consider those handouts though - that's more just sharing resources. I absolutely hate in-game beggars.
Real life beggars I can support on occasion, but people asking for pixel gold or pixel gear are simply lazy. Have I ever opted to NOT do an in game activity that isn't rewarding to me? YES. Especially when I'm playing solo! Like most gamers, I look for the path of least resistance, that is the shortest path with the most profit. Why? Because time is valuable, and must be managed efficiently to achieve a balance of fun and progression.
In a party, I don't mind doing non-rewarding activities as usually the party makes the experience more fun. :)
Sloth - Do you ever leech or AFK in a party? Do you discourage others from attempting things that you feel are difficult? Have you ever seen someone that needed help, but decided not to?
I never leech or AFK in a party, unless it really is a "down time" moment where everyone is resting. Leechers kinda fall into the lazy pixel beggar category above for me, so I definitely don't want to be one of them. Do I discourage others from attempting things that might be difficult? Hmm. Not really. I'm usually always up for certain death missions "just for the lulz", though I do mention that fact ("we'll probably be caned :D") before undertaking it.
As for helping people that need help it really depends: as I mentioned above I always decide not to help pixel-beggars. People that are getting slammed by monsters though (who I see are actually losing) often prompt me to jump into the fray - even if it just means I get killed too. I'm supposed to be a hero damnit, so of course I should be heroic (though slightly insane)! :P
Wrath - Ever get angry at other players and yell (or TYPE IN CAPS) at them? Have you ever been so angry to stalk a person around in game and / or in the forums?
Yelling at things: YES! I try not to yell at people though. Not directly. I do quite like to talk & threaten & sing to monsters, NPCs, and myself. This is quite funny when I do it on voice chat as people think I'm crazy.
I've not gone player stalking for many years. Really, the only time I stalked someone out of anger was on a free shard of UO after some PKs ambushed our guild. I suspected that one of the PKs was actually using a game master account to spy on our movements and equipment to know when to hit us, so having a game master account myself I tailed the bastard and sure enough matched his IP to one of the newly recruited GMs.
I also caught him doing it again to another group and got screenshot evidence of the whole matter. Turns out the "mortal" guy also had a hacked ring which made it very hard for him to die. It felt good bringing all of this to the higher ups who then came with me to confront said "corrupt" GM face to face, stripped him of his powers, killed him in a public spot, and banned his account (it's why I quite like that ban hammer GW2 video). Alas the "mortal" only got his cheating ring taken away as punishment. I still took it as a win.
Ohhh yeah, then on another free shard there was another "bad" GM who liked killing players by popping tough monsters on top of their head. I didn't have a game master account there but I simply used all the tricks I had learned from before, figured out who his mortal was and then found proof of him being a scum (setting up his own tournament so that he would win and rewarding "himself" with a legendary weapon). I also found proof that on the previous shard he played on before he was kicked out for cheating. Bad example for one of the eight seats of virtue huh? Got him banned and then one of our guild mates took his place on the council.
Good times, good times. Haven't needed to go through those lengths to cane someone for a long time now though. Maybe I'm just mellowing out in my old age
Envy - Ever felt jealous of players who seem to be able to complete content you can't? Do you ever suspect they are hacked or are simply unfair?
Yes and Yes. I am both thrilled and envious when I see those videos of one dude soloing a five man dungeon, but because of all those bad experiences (see Wrath, above) I always, ALWAYS think they are cheating in some way. Maybe not even in an "illegal" way. Perhaps they just pay to win or use out of game voice chat or use more people to their own ends or use ANY form of mod outside of the BASE GAME (for me any who use those ARE cheating - even if its just UI organization, no question about it). Even if it just is a matter of skill I always think they are hacked first. It's just been ingrained in my nature.
Pride - Are you one of those people that demands to party with other "elite" players? Do you kick players out of your team who you feel are under performing?
Nope and Nope. Hell, "elite" players probably wouldn't want to party with me anyway. I'd be on the receiving end of those "kick" votes. As I mentioned before, yes, I like being efficient -when I'm playing solo-. When others are around that's just a bonus for me (as long as they ain't leechers). I don't really care how well or how poorly they do, as long as we are all having fun. I try to remind myself that regardless of the team, the only one I can truly rely on is me so if everyone else dies it's not really their fault. -I- should be better!
Now this changes somewhat if the team actually starts caring about winning. Then I start getting annoyed when they do badly, because they aren't having fun. Which means I am not having fun. What's the point in doing an activity that you do not find fun? Hope it's rewarding? Pixel-rewards kinda suck in the grand scheme of things. Just saying.
Other on-going NBI activities:
Please join the NBI 2015: Poetry Slam!
Murf's Screenshot Safari
Wednesday, 20 May 2015
NBI: Screenshot Safari! #NBI2015 #NBI2015Safari #Landscape
I'm putting this screeny in the #Landscape category because I have a feeling most of the others will be awesome, sweeping shots of the horizon so you can see the sky and perhaps get a sun flare effect like in J3w3l's shot.
Well, I thought I'd be different and show the a top-down view of the landscape when you are going 100KM/H off a tall cliff into a deep valley where your objective to "KILL EM ALL!" awaits while riding a rocket powered bike from the future that cannot, in any way, actually fly.
*Turns on blaring rock music*
The next two screenies are for Jeromai's Nostalgia Trip writing prompt of things in games that no longer exist...
First up we have this little garden and over sized statue in Neverwinter City. As of Elemental Evil, those are no longer there - replaced by the huge and more functional elemental tree of balance.
And here is a collage from an old Ultima Online shard that let each player hold a large contigent of NPC mercenaries and pets. When my guild took control of Trinsic, we decided to build an army of them (over 200) as city guards - and yes, most of them died in defense of the city.
I don't think any other shard lets you do that any more. Indeed, the second iteration of that very shard prevented it.
Well, I thought I'd be different and show the a top-down view of the landscape when you are going 100KM/H off a tall cliff into a deep valley where your objective to "KILL EM ALL!" awaits while riding a rocket powered bike from the future that cannot, in any way, actually fly.
*Turns on blaring rock music*
I tried to live up to the name of the game: Firefall!
The next two screenies are for Jeromai's Nostalgia Trip writing prompt of things in games that no longer exist...
First up we have this little garden and over sized statue in Neverwinter City. As of Elemental Evil, those are no longer there - replaced by the huge and more functional elemental tree of balance.
If you haven't tried get up on to rooftops, you should. It's fun!
And here is a collage from an old Ultima Online shard that let each player hold a large contigent of NPC mercenaries and pets. When my guild took control of Trinsic, we decided to build an army of them (over 200) as city guards - and yes, most of them died in defense of the city.
Dang, I miss my blue warhorse.
I don't think any other shard lets you do that any more. Indeed, the second iteration of that very shard prevented it.
Monday, 18 May 2015
NBI Talkback #3: What made you a Gamer?
I'm pretty sure I can attribute this to my brothers, who got me playing table top D&D (and memorizing the monster manual in case I run into any monsters in real) from a young age. They also encouraged me to watch them play through games like Shadowgate and Castle Wolfenstein. By the time I got a Nintendo family computer I think I already fit right into the "gamer" category. Battle City was one of my favorites, since it offered cooperative play.
Of course I also enjoyed making up games, just as most kids do I imagine. Games on paper, games in real life, games on the bus to school, during recess and lunch and definitely afterwards, etc. I imagine it helped that my best friend at the time was as crazy about games as I was. He was more successful with that background than I though.
Eventually I was introduced to Ultima Online and that started the whole MMO addiction for me. More recently I've rekindled my table top gaming love with board games, which isn't good because they can become way more expensive than the digital variety! Yeah, it's a strange sort of progression, but that's just how I am. Strange. :P
Of course I also enjoyed making up games, just as most kids do I imagine. Games on paper, games in real life, games on the bus to school, during recess and lunch and definitely afterwards, etc. I imagine it helped that my best friend at the time was as crazy about games as I was. He was more successful with that background than I though.
Eventually I was introduced to Ultima Online and that started the whole MMO addiction for me. More recently I've rekindled my table top gaming love with board games, which isn't good because they can become way more expensive than the digital variety! Yeah, it's a strange sort of progression, but that's just how I am. Strange. :P
Monday, 11 May 2015
NBI: Region-Locking Games
You might have heard than En Masse has blocked half the world from playing Tera. From this, Jeromai from Why I Game has setup a NBI writing prompt and I thought I'd participate - so you can totally blame him for this post! :P
My thoughts on Region-locking:
Speaking from a guild with members all across the globe, region locking sucks. It makes it so much harder to find MMOs that we can all play together on. While we play many games, we're still looking for that one that will cater to all of us as many free shards of Ultima Online did so many years ago.
Devil's Advocate section:
If a game is so poorly designed that it can't handle world wide participation then I suppose a Region Lock is necessary. Rubber banding and general lag is not a good feeling in any MMO, though my personal experience is that I more resistant / can put up with more of it than other players that like to vocalize on general chat.
I suppose in PvP games it would make things pretty frustrating too for the lagged out person, while those with good connections would just get bored from the easy kills / annoyed at you giving the enemy team free points.
Your in-game encounters with folks from different countries, good or bad (any cultural tendencies that you’ve noticed)?
What? Jeromai is asking me to be racist? Ok, if he insists! Haha just kidding, douche bags are spread among all types of folk across the world (especially in games that allow PvP). That said there are also really nice people that I've encountered over the years, some of whom joined my guild - the ones that share our view always trying to help people and abstaining from PvP.
We've had members from Australia, Canada, all over the USA, Thailand, Belgium, Holland, England, Ireland, Singapore, Finland, Brazil, Lithuania, Germany, Slovenia, Israel, Croatia, Portugal, Turkey, and Georgia (the country, not the state).
The most eye opening talk for me though was with our Israeli guild mate. We voiced our concern for one of our English guild members years back when there was a terrorist bomb attack near where he lived. While he was ok, the Israeli guy was just like, "It's like that everyday here."
We lost contact with him after he was conscripted into the army, which is obligatory when he turned a certain age, and have never heard from him since.
Other on-going NBI activities:
Contains Moderate Peril still looking for NBI guest posts!
Gaming Discussion
Talkback Topic #2: Early Access and Kickstarter
NBI 2015: Poetry Slam!
Murf's Screenshot Challenge
My thoughts on Region-locking:
Speaking from a guild with members all across the globe, region locking sucks. It makes it so much harder to find MMOs that we can all play together on. While we play many games, we're still looking for that one that will cater to all of us as many free shards of Ultima Online did so many years ago.
Devil's Advocate section:
If a game is so poorly designed that it can't handle world wide participation then I suppose a Region Lock is necessary. Rubber banding and general lag is not a good feeling in any MMO, though my personal experience is that I more resistant / can put up with more of it than other players that like to vocalize on general chat.
I suppose in PvP games it would make things pretty frustrating too for the lagged out person, while those with good connections would just get bored from the easy kills / annoyed at you giving the enemy team free points.
Your in-game encounters with folks from different countries, good or bad (any cultural tendencies that you’ve noticed)?
What? Jeromai is asking me to be racist? Ok, if he insists! Haha just kidding, douche bags are spread among all types of folk across the world (especially in games that allow PvP). That said there are also really nice people that I've encountered over the years, some of whom joined my guild - the ones that share our view always trying to help people and abstaining from PvP.
We've had members from Australia, Canada, all over the USA, Thailand, Belgium, Holland, England, Ireland, Singapore, Finland, Brazil, Lithuania, Germany, Slovenia, Israel, Croatia, Portugal, Turkey, and Georgia (the country, not the state).
The most eye opening talk for me though was with our Israeli guild mate. We voiced our concern for one of our English guild members years back when there was a terrorist bomb attack near where he lived. While he was ok, the Israeli guy was just like, "It's like that everyday here."
We lost contact with him after he was conscripted into the army, which is obligatory when he turned a certain age, and have never heard from him since.
Other on-going NBI activities:
Contains Moderate Peril still looking for NBI guest posts!
Gaming Discussion
Talkback Topic #2: Early Access and Kickstarter
NBI 2015: Poetry Slam!
Murf's Screenshot Challenge
Friday, 28 November 2014
MMOs: Cosmetic "Tax" Gold Sinks
[Added to my MMO Design Folder.]
Getting gold out of the game is always a challenge for MMOs, given the amount generated by often times simply killing critters. Or killing critters and then selling their junk to NPCs who never run out of gold to hand out (outside of some early shards of Ultima Online from personal experience). While I put aside the "gold denial" topic for another time, you are probably familiar with the usual gold sinks already present such as fast travel, goods only purchasable from NPCs (often consumables), and maybe even death tax (which seems to be phasing out).
Well, while playing Vindictus I struck upon a silly notion. Cosmetic gold sinks! "That's not new," I hear you say. Yes you can already buy haircuts or name changes or dye to color your clothes, but all of those are one off purchases, at least until you decide to change your look, name, or attire which isn't all that often in MMOs.
Gear that eventually goes *poof* or simply deteriorates to being worthless stat-wise has never been popular when I've brought it up here before but what about gear that frays, rusts, discolors, tears and chips? Even if it is the same powerful item it once was, would you still be ok wearing it if there were growing splotches of flashing pink and green? Or if all your armor slowly turned into a turd brown color with sploches of yellow, full of scratches, ding marks and holes?
Hair is a good one too. Just let it grow every x days spent in-game and the longer you don't tidy it up via NPC barber then the longer and more unkempt it goes. Male characters would have facial hair growing as well. I suppose you could opt to be bald at the start though. Leave it long enough and maybe flies even start buzzing around.
Would this simply lead to a world of bald and/or shaggily bearded hobos running around with rusty looking weapons or do you think people would pay to keep their character looking "good" (keeping in mind that regardless of looks, no stats/usability changes for players)? What do you think?
Getting gold out of the game is always a challenge for MMOs, given the amount generated by often times simply killing critters. Or killing critters and then selling their junk to NPCs who never run out of gold to hand out (outside of some early shards of Ultima Online from personal experience). While I put aside the "gold denial" topic for another time, you are probably familiar with the usual gold sinks already present such as fast travel, goods only purchasable from NPCs (often consumables), and maybe even death tax (which seems to be phasing out).
Well, while playing Vindictus I struck upon a silly notion. Cosmetic gold sinks! "That's not new," I hear you say. Yes you can already buy haircuts or name changes or dye to color your clothes, but all of those are one off purchases, at least until you decide to change your look, name, or attire which isn't all that often in MMOs.
Gear that eventually goes *poof* or simply deteriorates to being worthless stat-wise has never been popular when I've brought it up here before but what about gear that frays, rusts, discolors, tears and chips? Even if it is the same powerful item it once was, would you still be ok wearing it if there were growing splotches of flashing pink and green? Or if all your armor slowly turned into a turd brown color with sploches of yellow, full of scratches, ding marks and holes?
Hair is a good one too. Just let it grow every x days spent in-game and the longer you don't tidy it up via NPC barber then the longer and more unkempt it goes. Male characters would have facial hair growing as well. I suppose you could opt to be bald at the start though. Leave it long enough and maybe flies even start buzzing around.
Would this simply lead to a world of bald and/or shaggily bearded hobos running around with rusty looking weapons or do you think people would pay to keep their character looking "good" (keeping in mind that regardless of looks, no stats/usability changes for players)? What do you think?
Tuesday, 28 October 2014
Turn off the Engine
Just a small post in honor of my grandfather whose funeral was held yesterday. Having held a long, fruitful, and exciting life, Lolo (aka "the Avatar" and "Kantor" in Ultima Online) was a man of good character much loved by family and friends all over the globe.
A good portion of his 95 years was spent out at sea and when he would take people out on his (around 40 ft) sailboat that he built himself, one of his usual expressions would be to "turn off the engine" when the sails had caught the wind.
In his last days as he slipped in and out of the dreamland and in between making funny jokes and funnier faces to still make people laugh, he mentioned this again with a smile on his face. Eventually, his sails caught the wind and he was soon sailing off into the big blue sky.
A good portion of his 95 years was spent out at sea and when he would take people out on his (around 40 ft) sailboat that he built himself, one of his usual expressions would be to "turn off the engine" when the sails had caught the wind.
In his last days as he slipped in and out of the dreamland and in between making funny jokes and funnier faces to still make people laugh, he mentioned this again with a smile on his face. Eventually, his sails caught the wind and he was soon sailing off into the big blue sky.
Farewell Avatar. You will be missed.
Monday, 13 October 2014
Tropico 3: Swimming in Money
[This is part of my Tropico 3 Journal!]
Despite failing the last mission it seems my skills were seen valuable to the nearby island of Isla de Aro which had just celebrated its independence day from British rule, though the Brits still had a 50% tax on all exports. The island itself was awesome, with many resources to mine, oil to drill, good climates for crops, and having very road friendly terrain which I built up first to link everything together and build up the industry side of things. I'm not alone in thinking this as delegations from the US and USSR both visited and offered 10k to assist in development. Even the outbreak of llama flu doesn't hinder progress with the amount of cash coming in, and for the first time I am so far away from being in debt to the World Bank that it is refreshing!
Soon edicts for Food for the People, Social Security, a Literacy Program, Modern Militarization, and a Papal visit are issued. We even host a Trade Fair that helps with the export prices, though I do have to side with the US as they were willing to buy exactly what I was producing (oil, tobacco, and furniture). When profiteer Stavros Michaellis asks to own one of the rigs for 1K per year I decline and sure enough later find out he is involved with some sort of bribe scandal in which I blackmail a few parties and then get them killed. Cleanliness is next to godliness afterall.
I also learn that one of the bomb threats on my factories was actually spawned from a neighboring island so I did the only rational thing and declared open war. The US were quick to step in and block that from happening though, paying me 10K while they "changed" the government on the opposing faction. All too soon my term ends with what is so far my best run yet. With the people over 70% in the happiness meter and over 330k pesos in the treasury. All in all an awesome and easy pick me up after El Muerte.
Despite failing the last mission it seems my skills were seen valuable to the nearby island of Isla de Aro which had just celebrated its independence day from British rule, though the Brits still had a 50% tax on all exports. The island itself was awesome, with many resources to mine, oil to drill, good climates for crops, and having very road friendly terrain which I built up first to link everything together and build up the industry side of things. I'm not alone in thinking this as delegations from the US and USSR both visited and offered 10k to assist in development. Even the outbreak of llama flu doesn't hinder progress with the amount of cash coming in, and for the first time I am so far away from being in debt to the World Bank that it is refreshing!
Who knew this screeny would be so useful? :P
Soon edicts for Food for the People, Social Security, a Literacy Program, Modern Militarization, and a Papal visit are issued. We even host a Trade Fair that helps with the export prices, though I do have to side with the US as they were willing to buy exactly what I was producing (oil, tobacco, and furniture). When profiteer Stavros Michaellis asks to own one of the rigs for 1K per year I decline and sure enough later find out he is involved with some sort of bribe scandal in which I blackmail a few parties and then get them killed. Cleanliness is next to godliness afterall.
I also learn that one of the bomb threats on my factories was actually spawned from a neighboring island so I did the only rational thing and declared open war. The US were quick to step in and block that from happening though, paying me 10K while they "changed" the government on the opposing faction. All too soon my term ends with what is so far my best run yet. With the people over 70% in the happiness meter and over 330k pesos in the treasury. All in all an awesome and easy pick me up after El Muerte.
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