The Dust Blog

Ok, so that's a picture of a Dust Bowl but you get the analogy right?

Well... it sure has been a long long long long time.

Since I've been participating on Google+ my activity here has pretty much stopped.

Why?

Because Google+ allows me to post quickly if somewhat grammatically error ridden and get feedback almost instantaneously. Course the same can be said of Twitter, except with Twitter, you have to make several posts just to get your point across due to the 140 character limitation and Google + has no such limitations.

Of course that is part of the reason I've not posted. The other part is that real life has gotten in the way of several well devised posts, if only on paper. So there is my attempt for you that don't follow me on Google+ to know what I've been doing in the gaming community.

Well, after coming back from a 3 week business trip, most of that I was sick, I picked up Battlefield 3 and Skyrim. Let me start by saying that I've been off all weekend and I have only devoted maybe 1 hour to Battlefield 3. The rest of my time I've spent in the wonderful world of Skyrim. The reason I've not put in a lot of time with BF3 is something I'll discuss in another blog. See, I'm making a commitment to come back and post again in a relatively short time.

Now a few words about Skyrim.

It's just awesome. Ok, I'll add a few more words to clarify the awesomeness of Skyrim.

The game is very very open world. There is a main story that drives your character through the game, but you can ignore it and do other quests or work on it a little at a time or jump right on it ignoring anything else till you get to the end. There are lots of little side quests that can help you level. You can also just explore the world clearing out bandit hideouts or killing mammoths and other woodland animals. Lets not forget the Dragons you'll encounter from time to time. Killing them will help you unlock certain "dragon born" spells or Shouts that will become very helpful the further you go along in the game. Everything is open.

Designing your character is also open. As you level you get points to add into the "Perk" system. The Perk system lets you craft your character. You can be a stealthy rogue or brandish two hand wielding warrior. It all depends on how you manage your perks. You can enchant items, craft dragon armor or just spend your days massing coin by lock picking and backstabbing your way through the world. And that's just the tip of the ice berg.

All this is packed into a graphically gorgeous engine. I thought Oblivion was great looking, but last year when I finally got around to trying to finish it, the graphics started to look a little dated, not Skyrim. Even on the 360 the game is fantastic looking, course the PC version is even better from what I'm seeing from screenshots on my Google + feed.

If your looking for a game to slake your thirst for RPG games or even if you want a substitute for that tired old MMO you've been paying monthly for I would give Skyrim a shot.

It gets a 10 in my book.

Do People Hate Games?

Recently I was playing a game of League of Legends. For the most part its a PvP game with some elements of an RTS game mixed in for fun. It is also free to download and play. There are different styles of play but for now, I'm only going to address the PvP aspect. So, where was I, oh yes, I was playing League of Legends with a friend. We didn't have enough to field a full team for our 5v5 so we did a pick up group. I have played in a few pick up PvP groups and for the most part people are really nice, helpful and not very critical of play style. I've even been in a few losing games and even then, no one throws blame around, which is nice.

Well, things didn't go that way in our little match. Again, new to the game, so I don't know all the special abilities of other characters, so if I misstep is purely by accident. Well apparently, I was doing something wrong and kept helping an opposing player get stronger. Not sure what, but instead of coming to my assistance, one of our members started to become angry and belligerent. Not sure why he felt to help all his pain and anguish on others, but he just wasn't being friendly to the rest of us. After a while it felt like I was back in WoW's Alterac Valley with people complaining about everyone else instead of trying to help fix the problem. My philosophy is "I already know its leaking, I want to know what you plan to do to help stop it".

We continued to play and eventually the complainer kept trying to surrender and we kept checking no. We asked him to assist us with a co op effort to push the opposing team back and when we ALL did that, we actually made head way. Eventually, after after a few tries and the complainer finally helping, we won the match. It was awesome, but even then he had to point a finger at someone, namely me, and complain about how we could have won quicker with out me hindering "his" progress.

That brings me to my topic.

Why do people hate games? I mean, a game is for fun and relaxation. I do it because I want to escape from my troubles at work or to just lose myself from the day to day troubles around me. I don't play a game to get agitated and angry at people. That defeats the purpose. Why do so many people, when they try to escape, end up getting angry and frustrated in a game? My understanding of a game is that its not to be taken serious, but so many people get so involved and so crazy when they play that it makes the game unfun for others. Why do people feel the need to make the life of others playing miserable if they themselves can enjoy it? Are mulitplayer games a good thing for society, when people not only bring their problems to the game world but bring their game world problems to say work or their home life? People have been so angry at players in a game that they have gone to their homes and attacked them or worse.

I just don't understand why people would take such an escapism and make it something that people will eventually dread doing. People will have to play real life to escape gaming. Then where would we be.

Not like the others

The main reason I left WoW was the grind. Cataclysm had arrived and I was excited about trying a new race, a new server and even a different faction. I wanted to explore the changes that the cataclysmic upheaval had wrought on Azeroth. I looked forward to visiting the newly designed old world dungeons, retuned newbie zoned and just try to relive the old days of WoW. When it was all new to me. A fresh perspective.

Well to be honest that concept lasted 2 months. By then I had reached the mid levels on several new toons, which are the 40ish levels and I started to get bored. The game in truth had not changed. Sure they add a little color here and there, moved a few things around and reinvented others but at it's heart WoW is as it always has been, just one long grind to end game and the all mighty grab for gear.

I had hoped that a fresh perspective would help me over look WoW's faults especially with the new changes but it Blizzard just used new smoke and mirrors on the same tired trick and in truth hadn't done anything special.

As I leveled it became clear that the game was still only concerned with two things, leveling and gear, how to get there the faster and easiest and where to find it and grind it. It just got old. I know some players like the grind for gains and I'm not ragging on them, well, not much. It just wasn't for me anymore. I had grown tired of competing for virtual gear on a virtual toon

But is that all MMO's have to offer? A place to waste time, grinding out levels by questing or PvP battles till the cap is reached and then play the meta game of gearing up for end game? Why is there nothing new and different? Why are levels needed or gear wanted? Bragging rights maybe, having a way to measure the worth of your time spent playing other than "I had a great time!" or was it just a goal I set and met for personal achievement.

Who really knows. Maybe people do it because 1) it's all there is or 2) it's all they know. The idea of a non leveling game where people have access to everything and can to do anything without having to measure their accomplishments by comparing themselves to other players would be fun. A game with no end game where the gain for items isn't driven by the need to be the best. No pressure to be like anyone else, to play the game on your terms in a very open sandbox world.

I wonder, will we'll ever see such a game? If we do, I'll be playing it.


(ps: see how I did an Eve post without doing an Eve post.)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod

Eve Online Again!

I know, I know I said this wouldn't be an EvE centric blog and yet here I am blogging about it AGAIN!

I just can't help myself. It's like sex with the ugly girl in class, you don't want to brag about it but you are the only one getting laid and it's fun (That line was for my friend, Scary Booster). So I'm not going to be ashamed, I'm really having a ton of fun playing EvE and if that's all I have to blog about then so be it, bitches!

Well after a week or two of skilling up and with a generous donation by friends to my "Let's help Oak get a Cruiser to fly" fund I am happy to report to duty for combat in my new Rupture. The first thing I did was fly her around a few systems and then park her so I could start my mining career. lol. Right now sadly, her guns are getting dusty from lack of use. Why you ask? Because I have decided to devote the next week or so to getting my mining business, "Bubba's Stripper Mining R' Us" up and running.

True, I'm not running a strip mining ship nor will I be in the near future. I have not joined a "new pilot friendly" mining Corp, which I hear do exist in EVE. No none of that. I went out and purchased a few Huge Secure Containers, fitted my mission rewarded Industry ship and gotten my Navitas ready for mining. I started by picking out a fairly nice section of 0.6 space, mainly so I could deploy my containers and anchor them safely. A nice asteroid belt with a wide variety of ores so I could find some thing profitable.

I maybe going to fast for those new to EVE talk.

Well let me back track a sec, for those not in the know, secure containers of any size require the anchor skill and have the ability to be password protected, which keeps theft down to a minimum, especially from hostile players wanting to grief people. These containers float near the asteroid I'm mining which allows me to mine and store large amounts of ore in a short time. Ore that I can come back later and pick up with my industrial ship, basically a large cargo ship.

Industrials are big, bulky and fly like buses loaded down with buses. However, they are necessary to move large quantity of ore to stations to sell.

The mining process once started is pretty easy. Course buying all the materials, moving my ships and gear around took a good 2 hours. Like skilling up, every thing takes time in EVE. Now that I am actually mining and moving ore, the ISK is starting to trickle in. After two trips I've been able to make around 1 mil in ISK, which for a beginner just learning isn't too bad, is it?

Sure it will take time. There are lots still to learn like tractor beams and large scale strip mining but for right now I'm just trying to get my feet wet and see if this is the side of the game I wish to devote my time too or should I be a Pirate. Arrggg who knows!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod

Strangers with Candy

First let me start by saying I have found a new addiction. No it's not the girl in the picture as much as I would like it to be. No I've fallen for EVE Online.

Here's how it happened.

Recently a bunch of twitter people I follow were chatting up EVE. A few had just started playing while others were jumping back in so I figured, why the hell not? Steam had a demo and Stargrace was nice enough to give me a buddy pass which turned my 15 free days into 21.

Now, let's go back 2 yrs.

At that time I was really growing bored with WoW. I decided to get EVE a try. I installed a 14 day demo and jumped in head first. The problem was the learning curve complicated by my busy work schedule. I only managed to play for a few hours and never returned before the timer ran out.

Well this time I decided to take the time, learn the game and see just how complex the world of Eve really is. I downloaded the demo on a Saturday afternoon and by sunday night I had purchased the game off Steam. Two weeks later I'm still having a lot of fun.

The game is not like any other MMO out on the market, which is perfect for me. It's very deep with layers under layers. It's not as hard as some would have you believe but it's not for the casually lazy players either. You have to pay attention, read everything and do the tutorials first. The main mistake a newbie would make is thinking its as easy as WoW and its just not. Evert day I find out something new and different about the game. I'm just glad a few of the gang from Multiplaying.net have been around to help guide me.
Even though I read everything and do tutorials it's always nice to get information from someone that's done it already. They have been a great help.

It's hard to encompass all the great things this game has in one little blog post and I'm not going to turn this into an EVE centric blog, there are just too many great ones out there. However, for now, EVE is my MMO of choice so I will be doing some reporting from there at least till I get bored or nerd rage hits me.

Besides it always nice to get a fresh look at an old game especially from a total newbie like me.

Dwarves in space.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod

Friday

I do have a few posts planned, one of which is one about League of Legends which I recently started playing.

But until then please enjoy this video on "How to win every game of League of Legends".

I found it....informative, I hope you do as well.

The Unbelievable!

Today I wanted to post about personal triumphs. Goals achieved and weights lifted. Here is my struggle with finishing video games. There are lots of stumbling blocks along the way, but since finishing Brink, I thought it might be possible to finish another video game. Here is such a story.

Gears of War was released in 2006 and the only real reason I know that is I actually finished the game and saw the ending credits. I've had this game for 2 years maybe. It was an impulse "used game" purchase that I ended up costing me $20.00. I had played it a few times solo and with my com padre , Scott over at Pumping Irony. Still I was unable to fully get into the game and ended up putting it away in my gaming drawer, where it sat among other unfinished games until 3 weeks ago.

It had been suggested by Mr. Pumping Irony, that dust off Gears of War, get a co op game going on Insanity and get a few achievements. So, I removed the game from its hiding spot and placed it on the table so that when I time came I could just pop it in. Well, a week went by, mostly due to me being out of town for my anniversary, so we didn't game. The next week I was in Nashville, again my fault, soaking up all that nice hot weather. I arrived back in town this past Saturday, exhausted and just wanting to laze around the house for a few days.

Well, as I was relaxing from my week out of town, I kept staring at the Gears box. Finally I decided to pop it in and give it a few minutes of my time. Well a few minutes ended up being almost of Sunday that rolled into a bit of Monday afternoon. When I had finished I was starting up mission 5. I had gotten a few achievements and decided to see how many more there were to be had. It turns out upon further investigation that I had a far bit left to go, most of them are for harder difficulty levels and multiplaying. The most interesting thing I did discover was that I was only one mission away from completing the game. I couldn't believe it. Just a few more hours of play and I would have beaten my second console game in a month. A goal I never thought possible with my constant inability to stay focused. Until Brink, I hadn't completed a single game on the console. Sure, I've played board games and quick arcade type games, but never a game with a full fledged story before, well, before Brink, sad to say that was my first finished game, but such is life. Its like a girl losing her virginity to the fat kid with glasses in the back row with the z sounding name. Oh wait, that boy was me. lol Anyway.

Well, yesterday I got home early and decided that this was it. I was going to put another notch in my bed post by finally bedding down Gears of War and getting that sweet satisfaction of finishing her off, I mean it. Sorry got carried away with my analogy. Well, it was pretty straight forward, get to the end of the train, kill the boss. To tell the truth, in missions 3 and 4 I hit a few tough spots that kept me hanging longer in a section that I really needed to be because 1)it takes me a while to figure out how to get through a section if it has some trick to it 2) I didn't consult with the Internet on how to get past a boss or a section, I just figured it out on my own. So I figured that getting to the end of mission 5 was going to be difficult, but in fact it was pretty easy. I did die a few times due to my stupidity, but for the most part it wasn't too frustrating. Well, until I got to Raam, the final boss.

Raam was not easy. I died a lot. I did finally figure out that a straight on approach did not work. Finally, because I was just inches from finishing the game I decided to work the magic of the Internet for a strat. Well, after reading a few, I discovered that I was fucked. Most if not all of the strategies said keep shooting him in the head with the sniper rifle, check, got that gun, but only after you get the birds off him, which is done with a Torque bow, crap, don't have one of those, don't know where to get one, and I don't want to reload the whole mission just to pick up one weapon for the end, which I'm sure I won't be able to hold on to any ammo for. I could use grenades to get the birds off, but that requires standing up to do and every time I tried that I died. I kept trying different approaches with no better results. I did start getting better at shooting him in the head without getting the sniper rifle jammed on reload.

Now it wasn't completely hopeless. He isn't protected by the birds the whole time, they do fly out and try to attack me, which gives me a good opportunity to shoot him. However, that window is small and if he starts moving forward, it makes it harder. Well, I'm sure this is getting drawn out, so I'll wrap it up. I just kept running up against that wall hoping for some kind of break and finally I got it. He got stuck on some of the obstacles and couldn't move forward, the birds didn't go back to protect him so I was able to get a few good shots off and as he finally started moving forward and I thought I was done for, I got off a shot and finished that fucker off

The game takes over and you get a nice video how you save the day, and make it to safety. The game ends and the credits start to roll. I have to say as frustrated as I was and how close I was to yanking that game out of the disc tray, it was very satisfying to sit there and watch the credits roll. I watched all of them, because I deserved it. lol

My assessment of the game, it was good and I can't start to unwrap Gears of War 2 which I've had since release but never opened. I do want to finish a few other games that I'm currently playing. Mass Effect 2 has been occupying my time recently and once I play a bit more I'll give a nice review. Also still have Crysis 2 and LA Noire to finish, which I do plan on doing soon. I am a bit worried about LA Noire. I keep listening to podcasts that say after a while the game keeps boring and there is a weird twist after the Vice desk that upsets a few players. Not sure how I like knowing that going forward but, since I'm taking big breaks in between I don't think it will bother me as much as those running straight through the game.

Also being a non reformed game enthusiast, I purchased World of Kefling and Trenched. Trench is a nice tower of defense game but with a very different spin to it that I find fun and refreshing if not hard and complicated. World of Kefling is an Xbox 360 avatar game that is very similar to an RTS game. I played the demo of it yesterday and just had to buy it. lol

That is about it for gaming. I know my posts haven't been as frequent as I know you the reader and I would like. Its very hard finding things to post about since I'm not really playing an MMO right now. I hope to remedy that soon once SWTOR comes out. In the mean time I do plan to give Eve a shot. I have a 21 day friend pass thanks to Stargrace. Once I have more bitterness in my life from an MMO game, I'll be able to do more posting I hope. Just stick with me, I'm not going anywhere and if you get bored waiting, go Here and Here for all your MMO rage and bitterness.