tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35698814598106331022024-02-18T23:31:07.208-05:00The OakstoutOakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.comBlogger240125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-67386379202157282492020-08-05T15:56:00.001-04:002020-08-05T16:02:49.508-04:002020<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAUAgXxx6C9SzGHvO_W7YFmiuZCxqTS8-q4Q1NPpkOSO0SlCLWeJc-W3dvjk57oUmQgSKC7gMQjWOc_XsP23ynA8j9Pe0eDdyL1yjTVp5XXcYUhdgce37i9nA8b-lpHZzp5Qqj8CjfA432/s490/KCfaceA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAUAgXxx6C9SzGHvO_W7YFmiuZCxqTS8-q4Q1NPpkOSO0SlCLWeJc-W3dvjk57oUmQgSKC7gMQjWOc_XsP23ynA8j9Pe0eDdyL1yjTVp5XXcYUhdgce37i9nA8b-lpHZzp5Qqj8CjfA432/s0/KCfaceA.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Wow!<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Is this a stupid crazy year or what? I mean, it starts off with Trump, the virus, Trump, people dying, Trump then more virus, massive unemployment, Trump, inject your self with disinfectant and the political implementation of masks by Trump. Can't say I am a big fan of our President. But this isn't a blog about politics, the state of affairs or people dying from violence, racial distrust and well, deadly viruses. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">No, this often resurrected blog is suppose to be about games with a funny spin or wrong interpretation of the future of gaming. Like when I said "digital" was stupid a few years back. Oh lets not forget my distrust of micro transactions or that video games will go the way of the "8-Track Tape" because of digital downloads and purchases because without physical boxes that you can touch and hold in a brick and mortar store people won't be interested in them. Man, that was probably a stupid foretelling of the future we live in now, EVER!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But, I'm not here to remind you of my poor prognostication skills (means, seeing the future), I am here once again to thrill you with my love of video games and my captivating reviews of said video games. Course, I've actually only been playing a few games. I do have a Switch. I even picked up Animal Crossing and loved it, but after about three weeks, I got tired of it and slide the system back into its charging cradle, where it has sat for almost a month now. So, what have I been playing that requires me to fire up my blog so I can chat with my not so many readers about?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Not much.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've purchases Conan Exiles. A older game that many have either not picked up or haven't returned back to it after the initial purchase. I like it. The cost of entry is fairly cheap if you can get the base game on sale from Steam. I picked mine up for $20. Started playing on the official servers for a while. Enjoyed the killing and building aspect of the game. Lots to learn, very easy to get to level cap and there is no sub cost to play with others online. Course, if you don't pick up the DLC, which is often on a bundle sale on Steam, you don't get any cool looking armor or building materials. This can make the game boring after playing around in it for a month or so looking at all the other cool kids and their cool mansions. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The game offers several ways to play online, one way is to play on the official servers. This can be an okay move, but I don't super recommended that because of land grabbing. Doesn't matter if there is a low pop on the server or not, some players feel that a little isn't enough and will grab as much land as they can to expand their empire on the server. Sometimes, this is a good thing, because a lot of nice guilds will build path ways to reaching areas that are hard to get to because, well, they are Nice. But some players, just want to carve a large area out and fuck anyone else playing. Meaning, if you want a nice area to build and expand in, your not going to find it on the official servers. Course, you can always find a guild, and join up with them. They will provide you with lots of resources and on PVP servers you can go after other guilds, if that is your thang.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You can also play single player or solo. This creates a game that you can play around in, test out different building ideas and add a few mods to see what you like and don't like. You can also create a private server. I'm not sure how this is done, but from what I've heard it can be problematic at times, if you are nervous about letting people into your network traffic or so I have heard. I am not much of a techie so you'll have to research that yourself. But on a private server thats locked with a password, you can add any mods you want and change the level of gaining XP and adding all kinds of "Cheats" to the game. IF that again, is your thang.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Now, what is the game? You kill, gather materials, and build. Basically the same as survival Minecraft except Conan style. Lots of nudity, if you want, lots of blood, if you want, and lots of dying from heat and cold. The game can be brutal. Having to run back to get everything your carrying on you because you accidentally drank a warming beverage in the middle of the hot desert and you died from a heat stroke can be a real thing in this game. Also, if you forget to eat or drink and go afk. You will die. Its not a nice fun happy game like Minecraft. There are challenges, but they aren't enough to put me off playing. Sometimes the lag can be terrible and I've found that while playing on a friend's private server loading all the mods can take a little bit of time, which can be super annoying. I mean, waiting to get into WoW on release day annoying.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Its a fun game and well worth $20. That's basically the jest of this little blog. Oh and to make sure my blog was still active and I was able to get in and post. Man, I was worried about that. I checked a bunch of old blogs that I had listed on my site and most of them are either gone or taken over by escort services. No joke.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Well, I hope to do this again soon. I want to talk about Black Desert Online next. I'll try to get a few screenshots, which I am sure you'll just love, maybe not. I will also start posting some of my art on the blog. I don't really have a place to post it all in one place so I thought I would revise this blog and start listing some of it here. I keep pounding twitter and facebook with it, but I figure eventually I will find a good style that I can make money on so why not have a real website I can refer back to with all my designs. huh? huh? Not really, my stuff is ham fisted, but if you come back, you'll get to see it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Take care.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">OAKSTOUT</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">PS: This blog was not edited for content, spelling or sentence structure. I'm a crude rude socially unacceptable dwarf and I don't have time to proofread or look up things in English structure books. So if your prissy about my blog then, piss off.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-25672528349354935652018-06-09T19:17:00.000-04:002018-06-09T19:20:44.242-04:00What's New Pussycat?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWsOxtUTaMNyICu8uWXK_bLmggC62hcXnaLrvUf7bkiW-eAOP64diGtLfWEmCzXqrWuUs4CgEC2FGFIzrj75fZHyXsZYHGWdG8ZGvXYcT7td7ruyfxNpm9Gj1U71PjMf-FpFH72ARjwwJP/s1600/dbe8fa55c92ba891a4e6d4036f546f64.720x730x1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWsOxtUTaMNyICu8uWXK_bLmggC62hcXnaLrvUf7bkiW-eAOP64diGtLfWEmCzXqrWuUs4CgEC2FGFIzrj75fZHyXsZYHGWdG8ZGvXYcT7td7ruyfxNpm9Gj1U71PjMf-FpFH72ARjwwJP/s320/dbe8fa55c92ba891a4e6d4036f546f64.720x730x1.jpg" width="315" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Is blogging still in?<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I look around and notice that a lot of people are still going at it, but then some people, like myself, have let blogging go by the way side. I'm not sure if thats because we become more too involved in the life around us and less about the life of the internet or because blogging isn't all that important in the over all scheme of things.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I used blogging as a way to promote my interest in games, to get my ideas out so they wouldn't be stuck in my head all the time, bouncing off the large round hard surface that is my skull causing me pain. My ideas had to get out. Blogging, at the time, was the only way to get them out there... so the masses could hear them. Course, there was Facebook, but who wants their family and real life friends knowing what is going on in their mind? Certainly not me and to be honest, I'm sure my family is glad that I didn't share my gaming and other hobby's with them of Facebook.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
However, the internet changed. The creation of Twitter, G+, Instagram, Snap chat and similar software made expressing ones self much easier and less complicated than posting on a blog. It was even possible to stay anonymous while using these apps. A person didn't have to spew paragraph after paragraph to post on a blog which, in turn, would have to be written and rewritten. No, they could just express their ideas and perversions in 140 characters or just a simple picture of an alligator eating a kitten. Things became way less complicated and extremely easy or as we use to say in my college days, dumbed down for mass consumption.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, after using those short burst of idea apps a try, I discovered that you can't say what you want in 140 characters or a picture. Hell even Twitter knows that since they have since lengthened the number of characters one could use to 280 which is double their original credo. Course, that now makes Twitter less unique than it once was, but hey, no one really cares. All they care about is who tweeted what and what kind of backlash that will cause and who is going to get into trouble next. Sometimes, being able to say more for some people is a really bad idea. Just ask our President.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That brings me back to blogging. I find that I have some extra time on my hands these days and I figured that I would start writing again. To be honest, tweeting is fun and interesting, but by the time I say it, someone else already has and then its really old news. I tried using Discord as an outlet for chatting and exchanging ideas with people, but you have to be attentive or you'll miss any decent conversation and I'm too busy with life to be waiting for an interesting conversation that I care about to break out on a server. No offense. Blogging is the way to go.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Now, that I have decided to get back into blogging, I'm not just going to be talking about games. I don't play a lot of games and the ones I do play, honestly are kind of boring. I'm sure if I talked about the three or four games I am engaged with on a regular bases, people would become bored and start sniffing glue or huffing paint just to find it interesting. With that in mind, I'm just going to blog about things that, well, are on my mind. So that means anything and everything. This will be a free for all. One day I may chat about finding loot in season 14 of Diablo 3 or I might be talking about some photos I shot last week. There may be a few posts about different things I am into like fishing or the strange crazy people I met at work. It just depends. There might be some political discussions and there might be discussions about legalizing pot or legalizing prostitution, who knows. I might spend a day talking about this idiot commander we have or I might praise him for getting North Korea to disarm their nukes.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I will even open the floor up for ideas as well. That is if I have anyone reading my blog. It has been a while and to be honest, I'm not sure if anyone still reads anything longer than a few paragraphs. I noticed the websites like Polygon only do short bursts on games now, as if they are trying to compete with Twitter. So sad really. Its just nuts how society and technology have changed the way humans socially interact with each other now. We are a slave to our devices. If it doesn't stream a entertainment services as part of the introductory offer, we won't buy the phone. Honestly, I remember when we just wanted the thing to have a dial tone, now it has to stream Handmaidens Tale or Stranger Things. And no, there is no link to either of those shows on this blog nor any link to anything less listed here. I'm keeping this first blog link free. Not sure if I will always do that, but you'll have to cut and paste any thoughts here and look it up yourself. Be less lazy and work for information. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That about sums it up. In the next few posts I'll discuss what I've been doing over the last 6 months. Being unemployed is just one thing to come to mind and getting part time minimum wage job as another or I may just combine the two, who knows. Its all cra cra up in here.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-16226093940785068292018-02-05T15:14:00.002-05:002018-02-05T15:16:55.191-05:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN09pNN7e47ibz5nvu8bCAVezpn3DFpnFa3xSW3vR6IdL_g0vMzB20xC_OJEzYv79zog8ZbeQk791Y0UtEAV_sxkderIL0PC6o7XrDWNKIqR-ZrRbdVJc90BTblSlrwPMIGwFEAhSYrlXj/s1600/Drawings_2018-February-02_0085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1081" data-original-width="1600" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN09pNN7e47ibz5nvu8bCAVezpn3DFpnFa3xSW3vR6IdL_g0vMzB20xC_OJEzYv79zog8ZbeQk791Y0UtEAV_sxkderIL0PC6o7XrDWNKIqR-ZrRbdVJc90BTblSlrwPMIGwFEAhSYrlXj/s400/Drawings_2018-February-02_0085.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-28003031815392292262016-11-16T20:34:00.002-05:002016-11-16T20:34:37.429-05:00New BeginningsStay Tuned.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'll be working up some posts again soon.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
No, this isn't some hack. Honest, I will post something sooon.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
OAKSTOUT</div>
Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-73226017228320586412014-08-11T10:38:00.000-04:002014-08-11T10:38:08.410-04:00You Can Certainly Go Back<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTaqgxaeMoz189ReGTxzIYrunhq1tdcDu3wJC9LXJ68jf5waJOXK-lR3SkKDV9U8R_YUHfUC-qjtoqNjC7M8tEhCzJ1lwMvjHVLkF7IgLALmY6QVNcmkD-zEIDtnztZHtx_g2fconK1Jg/s1600/mists-of-pandaria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTaqgxaeMoz189ReGTxzIYrunhq1tdcDu3wJC9LXJ68jf5waJOXK-lR3SkKDV9U8R_YUHfUC-qjtoqNjC7M8tEhCzJ1lwMvjHVLkF7IgLALmY6QVNcmkD-zEIDtnztZHtx_g2fconK1Jg/s1600/mists-of-pandaria.jpg" height="220" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, started playing World of Warcraft again. Yes, I
know I said repeatedly that I was done and I was not planing to EVER, EVER go
back, but I spent so much time comparing the fun I had in WoW to the fun I was
not having in other MMO games recently, especially Wildstar, that I just
had to take a go back and see why I left in the first place.<br />
<br />
The game has certainly changed a good bit. I stopped playing a few months
after Cataclysm came out. That was due mostly to people that I played
with slowly losing interest in the game and moving on to
other Touristy attractions So I followed them from one game to
another, hoping to settle on something. I had found a nice home in Guild
Wars 2, which I loved, but after a short time, I grew tired and moved on to
other stuff. I've probably tried 5 or 6 different games since leaving WoW
and in all that time, I never thought about coming back. But with another
expansion on the horizon that will change the look of WoW models, I felt I need
to give the game another shot. I have discovered that I have not lost my
love of the game. I also managed to snag a few of my old friends, once
hardcore WoW players like myself to come back and experience the journey one
more time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With every return, you discover new things and remember the
not so good old things. So, lets talk about some of the good stuff I
discovered as I ventured back into WoW. To start with, I decided to try a
Panda Monk. I had tried the Beta and wasn't all that impressed so, I was
a bit surprised when I started one up and discovered how much I really enjoyed
the new area. It only took a few hours to level up to 10 and finish the
starter story for the Pandarian race and it was.. well.. a ton of fun.
I don't usually do "Story" in WoW, but this was a really great
way to introduce a new race with a new class. I decided to be a member of
the Alliance and even the quest to join up was lots of fun. I also discovered
that they've redone a lot of the quests in the other starter areas. Some
of them a lot of fun and some of them still the same as they were years ago,
which is great when one is wanting to be nostalgic about a game, like
I am. Another surprising and awesome thing I found out upon my return was that
mounts are now account bound instead of just per character. No need
to hunt down that elusive blue dragon drop with all your toons when you can
just do on one toon and share the prize among all. Also, they've
simplified the spec and talent process. Some of that is good, wanna be a
tank, well, we will provide all the tank skills you need as you level up, no
need cluttering up your bar with abilities you won't use. Another thing
they've added with the last expansion is Battle Pets and so far it has been the
best reason to get back in the game, but I don't want to get into that with
this small little post, that will be later.<br />
<br />
Now, that I've listed a few of the good things, let me list a few of the things
I don't miss about playing WoW.<br />
<br />
Dueling. Why does the interface not include a "Block Dueling
challenge" button? True, I can ignore them, but just because they
are persistent in wanting to test their PvP skills against me, doesn't
necessarily mean they are worth an all out ignore. I can
"Block" trades, incoming guild invites and other stuff, so why not
block Dueling. This is something that can be done with mods I'm sure, but
why hasn't it been included in the game? Also, when I set up preferences
like blocking trades, guild invites and the ability to auto loot, why isn't it
something that's account wide instead of per character? I mean, if you
want those checked on one toon, why wouldn't you want it checked on all toons?
Having to set up auto loot every time I create a new toon is annoying.
Also, people worrying about why your in a newbie zone doing quests.
I had one guy ask, "Are you a bit high for this zone?" to which
I said, "Why are you worried about what I am doing." Just to be
clear, one of the reasons I was in that zone, was one, to get Rep with
Stormwind and second, to work on my attacking with my monk. It would seem
that I'm so use to the button mashing of other games, that my WoW skills have
gone dormant and I was getting tired of the game saying, skill not ready yet,
so I was working on timing. Still, why did he need to worry about what I
was doing? It isn't like I was ruining his questing, by being there.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Course, those are just a few ranting issues. For the most
part I am relearning how to play WoW and very much enjoying it. I've
subbed up till Oct, but I'm probably going to continue will into the next
expansion whenever that decides to drop. I have a few friends who are
hanging in there with me and we are trying to keep our toons about the same
level so we can play as a small group. I would love for more to join, but
I understand that tourists have to be tourists and when a new shiny comes, they
will want to see what it holds for them. For me, I've been fighting the
urge to drop back into WoW because, my argument has been that, I've done that.
Been there, time to move on. But if your spending a lot of your
time playing other MMO games, thinking of how you can turn that into your new
WoW, then, like me, your doing it wrong. You should come back to the game
that you use as your measure for other games, because nothing is as good as the
original.. At least, thats what I am hoping.<o:p></o:p></div>
Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-27902594174212411542014-07-05T18:50:00.001-04:002014-07-05T19:02:00.355-04:00Dicks will never Die<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40gnK_Z9mevcY6NDmZISEVdNT_ZT1ZnOiHqvbQodJ_tt9aQY4hprmTqPCKeSqI1dTy5uEkMUO9vqwbOt2oPhstJ6ly7jxo0LlszTct079fwyV8Bc1Do5gMbP1OeCG5NisoEHzn7rc-R4B/s1600/hearthstoneHearthstone_Screenshot_7.5.2014.18.21.31.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40gnK_Z9mevcY6NDmZISEVdNT_ZT1ZnOiHqvbQodJ_tt9aQY4hprmTqPCKeSqI1dTy5uEkMUO9vqwbOt2oPhstJ6ly7jxo0LlszTct079fwyV8Bc1Do5gMbP1OeCG5NisoEHzn7rc-R4B/s1600/hearthstoneHearthstone_Screenshot_7.5.2014.18.21.31.png" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I have been playing Hearthstone since beta. Its a fantastic TCG. At first I was a bit of a noob when it came to the game, but I quickly figured out some strategies that helped me level up characters and get a few basic cards. As I stated in my last blog, I discovered the horrible truth that, to win big, you have to have good cards. So over the last couple of days I've been doing a few of the quests they provide you to get in game gold and I've also shelled out a few RL dollars to purchase a few packs. I could be satisfied with a basic deck, but when your getting spanked a good bit it can be frustrating since their matching system isn't all what its cracked up to be.<br />
<br />
That being said, I put together a very nice Mage deck that I felt pretty confident in. It was based off something I found on the interwebs, having to modify it to make up for a "Few" cards I didn't have yet, mostly the very rare or legendary cards. Still, what I had put together seemed like a nice combo. I won't go into specifics about the deck, but lets just say, after playing a few matches in casual mode, I decided to attempt ranked play. I felt that at the very least, it would match me with people who were at the same rank, which it did. I managed to play the first couple of matches and was surprised that I was actually winning. This experience was pretty new to me. They way it works is you start off at rank 25 with two unfilled stars. once you win a match, you fill a star, when you win two matches, you move onto the next lower rank. I managed to win three matches in a row, which placed me at rank 24, so I kept going. I was patient and too my time working all the options. I had played against a few of the decks that came up before, so I had a pretty good understand of what cards they player was depending on, so I was able to counter them or remove them from play quickly. I kept winning, which was a strange thing and once you get a very nice streak going, the game will reward you, so instead of getting one star for a win, you start getting two stars for win. Once I hit rank 20, I took a moment to decide if I would continue. I wasn't and still am not sure at which point you start loosing stars if and when you lose a match. I managed to get a few more wins to finish the night at rank 19, at which point you need three wins to advance to the next rank. I'm sure it gets even harder the further you go down, but now that I'm at rank 19 once the season is over, I should get a Naxxramas card back. Its actually pretty daunting since I'm seeing a bunch of cool people with different card backs which indicates some kind of skill.<br />
<br />
Now, what does all this have to do with the Hearthstone Community?<br />
<br />
Well, one of the reasons I love Hearthstone is the limited interaction with other players you have. You can do a few basic emotes while playing, but that is about it. They can't say anything to you via chat, unless you have them on your friends list. They can't talk to you via voice chat, so basically, you don't have to encounter the "Dicks" that this sort of game might attract. However, there is a big "BUT" coming. You see they can still be Pecker heads even if they can't text you or talk to you. They can do it through actual game play.<br />
<br />
Lets say for instance, your waiting on them to take their turn. Well, some of them will just wait till the last minute letting the timer run out before finishing their turn even its clear they have nothing they can do. They just want to drag it out. Another thing they will do is, lets say your pretty much on the ropes, one or two health left and all they have to do to win the match is attack you with any of their creatures, but they don't. They start casting all kinds of stuff out of their hand, boosting creatures attack, putting more creatures out. Its clearly them saying "Hey, not only did I kick your ass, but here's all the cools shit I didn't cast". What I do is when my opponent doesn't concede and its clear I am the victor, then I will do my best to finish him off quickly on my round, I don't drag out the abuse or try to cast more stuff. I just do the damage I need to finish that person off and conclude the match. There is no need to be a douche and make the player wait for the kill shot. What purpose does that server. Back a few weeks ago, I would just concede the match if I knew the end was inevitable, but now, thanks to one of my twitter buddies, I will wait and let them get the kill shot, because one, it shows that I'm a good sport about losing and two, it lets them savor the victory I am sure they deserved. But, if they start casting a bunch of crap out of their hand, then I just concede because now its clear that your trying to be an ass and there isn't any need for that.<br />
<br />
So, even without the ability to gloat or scream at you through chat, the dicks can still manage to ruin a fun game. Where there is a will there will always be a way.Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-24987786198679834822014-07-04T14:54:00.001-04:002014-07-04T14:54:48.735-04:00A DWARF SPEAKS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwmA6yXN6FLP9jm2brhaEhcjRmJ4kqGbLEArFqMzwNVqUmYmAR7RSb1POiFsMHMHz5Fnq6OhnBa12HLj7iizwqsRPqgHqxcDwIos2nobVhB746ORbihNI6rgjW3JBw0xdl2dqAVwzDpMJl/s1600/Happy-Independence-Day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwmA6yXN6FLP9jm2brhaEhcjRmJ4kqGbLEArFqMzwNVqUmYmAR7RSb1POiFsMHMHz5Fnq6OhnBa12HLj7iizwqsRPqgHqxcDwIos2nobVhB746ORbihNI6rgjW3JBw0xdl2dqAVwzDpMJl/s1600/Happy-Independence-Day.jpg" height="320" width="287" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
I have nothing really interesting thing to say this week, sadly. I had a few blog ideas, one involving how lame gaming sites are these days and how they are just link bait, but to be honest, everybody probably already knows that, Those that would care, don't visit those sites anymore and those that don't care probably subscribe to the e-mail news letter to several different sites and get twitter updates. <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I was going to talk about the controversy concerning Giant Bomb hiring two "White" males to be as writers for their site and podcasters; how a woman gamer caused an uproar about her disapproval that a "Woman" didn't get a chance at the job in a tweet and how that tweet pretty much caused her twitter account to explode into a bombardment of hate by tons of loyal Giant Bomb fans, forcing her to spend the day blocking and reporting people. Although it would have been an interesting discussion, I decided that the entire incident could be summed up with the statement that mistakes were made by all those involved, people really need to grow up, understand that venting their frustration in an environment where people can be anonymous is just asking for trouble and that thinking before giving your opinion can be a wise decision. Not that offering your opinion isn't your right, I'm just saying that a person has to understand who the audience is before opening his or her mouth. I would never walk into the middle of Blizcon and shout that WoW is lame. I am pretty sure that getting out of there would be hell especially if I expected not to be slayed by a cos-player wielding a plastic sword and shield. Fans are rabid. Fan is actually short for Fanatic. Still, people are entitled to their opinion. If I thought WoW was lame, then that is my opinion. I'm sure it wouldn't be a popular one at Blizcon just like the lady gamers opinion wasn't popular with the Giant Bomb fan bases, but they needed to show some civility and not be rabid.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /><div>
But I decided not to post anything about that incident.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I discovered that playing Hearthstone is fun, but the matching system under the casual game play setting is pretty much broken. The game doesn't check to see what your card count is or what kind of cards you have, it just matches you based on wins I suspect. The other day I ended up in several matches playing against people who had cards I had never seen. When that happens I lose 100% of the time. So, I decided to fix this problem, purchased 15 packs of cards and found a few that helped my decks. Today, I was able to go 5 for 5 in play, with 3 of those games being Ranked. So cards do make all the difference. Course, being able to get to the cards in your deck in a timely fashion so you can win is also a challenge, but you need to have the cards IN YOUR DECK to start with.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Let me see, what else. Played some Wildstar PVP last night with a few good guildies from Alliance of Awesome. Good times were had. It seemed we broke about even, winning 3 out of 5 or 6 matches. Towards the end we started losing more, but I decided that drinking beer and tequila was best done while not playing a competitive game. lol</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July and I'll blog at you next week.</div>
Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-75870441139216958982014-06-26T15:55:00.002-04:002014-06-26T20:53:01.172-04:00The Digital Age is Ruining EVERYTHING.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYHHn21_dnuovABFE0NaveVPSWq1DMg9V02_Ok4KyMopeV_HNmdsZ6kESsNkvEwzIheSw2A7xtlMHEq7Xy8MwPb6rwtmChyphenhyphenkZRdPEdYb8ZSKgYGX3GZpN3uHRw7J6fnsI206VkSIU6YGYk/s1600/NO+BN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYHHn21_dnuovABFE0NaveVPSWq1DMg9V02_Ok4KyMopeV_HNmdsZ6kESsNkvEwzIheSw2A7xtlMHEq7Xy8MwPb6rwtmChyphenhyphenkZRdPEdYb8ZSKgYGX3GZpN3uHRw7J6fnsI206VkSIU6YGYk/s1600/NO+BN.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Today, I decided to visit the local Barnes & Noble. Now, before anyone comments, I do own a digital reading device or Nook. A very nice Nook that is a few generations old, but it is in color and is rather nice. I used it extensively when I purchased it a few years ago and I still use it from time to time when I am out of town on a trip. However, like all avid readers will attest to, sometimes you just have to hold a book and turn each page. I know, it's nuts, but I really do enjoy reading from a book rather than a digital representation of a book.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJX4oB-M6aw9cVO4cFkS1rf2vxVLmI4Azbr2ArtN3bpp3r2Pv0WSI8jSbikoIVtlPLRaR_EO5-gClMNgsIkac7Y0RLlDtfKYGVFZl19rSU7aTcpi0RbbLnAXDLqfXl3BDqGAaekVxvTIC/s1600/91MfvGh+i2L._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJX4oB-M6aw9cVO4cFkS1rf2vxVLmI4Azbr2ArtN3bpp3r2Pv0WSI8jSbikoIVtlPLRaR_EO5-gClMNgsIkac7Y0RLlDtfKYGVFZl19rSU7aTcpi0RbbLnAXDLqfXl3BDqGAaekVxvTIC/s1600/91MfvGh+i2L._SL1500_.jpg" height="320" width="206" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Now that I've gotten that out of the way. So, I visited the local B&N looking for a few specific books. Nothing too crazy. One was "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Everything-Store-Bezos-Amazon-ebook/dp/B00BWQW73E" target="_blank">The Everything Store</a>" by Jeff Bezos, which is a book about Amazon. I was interested in it after listening to a story on <a href="http://www.radiolab.org/" target="_blank">Radio Lab</a> and thought it might be an interesting read. So, I checked in several areas of the store and couldn't find it. I tried biographies, computers and I even tried the section marked Essays, but no go. So, instead of asking a person, which in the past has been a mistake every single time I've done so at this local B&N, including the time I was looking to purchase my Nook (A story that also needs its own post), I decided to use my smart phone and see if the store had it listed as available via their website. The only store that had that book in stock was about 20 min down the road, so I figured, well, I will just look for the second book I was interested in. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Lq561bbgDcXuBCTezUjx9KUVp4yLqib6UWury7oV0e-4X0ubROiPUSuhVUVhlc5tG3ylFSvBGtVWmXbLWy1h2EW1TPhzxQuf6O6NC-LD-kvsjIvuJrSiqBbkX9MfpPWd_Sov0ZBMjqAv/s1600/031408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Lq561bbgDcXuBCTezUjx9KUVp4yLqib6UWury7oV0e-4X0ubROiPUSuhVUVhlc5tG3ylFSvBGtVWmXbLWy1h2EW1TPhzxQuf6O6NC-LD-kvsjIvuJrSiqBbkX9MfpPWd_Sov0ZBMjqAv/s1600/031408.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The second book on my list happened to be "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Measure-All-Things-Transformed/dp/0743216768" target="_blank">The Measure of All Things</a>" by Ken Alder. What can I say, I'm trying to broaden my mind a little. Reading comics, scifi and fantasy books are great, but I need to expand my horizons as people tend to say. So I thought, hey, this might be a pretty interesting book, why not see if they have it in stock? This time, I chose not to consult the smart phone. I decided that I would be an average customer and scan all the sections and try and ferret out this book. Alas, after spending a good 30 mins hunting, I came up with nothing. Sadly, I have this problem a lot at this particular B&N. My wife hates going there because she usually has a list of books she is looking for and every single time, they don't have it. If she asks an employee to help her, they always say, "it's currently not in" would you like us to order it for you and have it shipped to the store? We always decline because, if I'm going to go through the trouble of ordering a book online, then why not just do it from the comfort of my own home and have it shipped to my front door.<br />
<br />
Is it really their fault they don't have books in their store? That's the question I guess I have to truly ask. Due to the digital age, people just download or order books directly online, skipping the brick and mortar stores. If the stores don't get the right kind of traffic, then why clutter up the shelves with books that only a few people might be interested in rather than books that your database says people are more prone to walk in off the street and buy. Of course, that doesn't excuse why they have books on mythology in the essay section or why they have <b><i>more</i></b> books on horror romance and Manga than books on US and World history. Don't they know young people would be more inclined to buy online than older people? Still, is it the digital age that's killing the book store or is it just poor management and poor stocking? I would go in the store more if I felt they would have items in stock that would be of interest to me. Even when I go looking for a graphic novel, they don't seem to be consistent about what items they keep in stock. They have issues 1 - 4 and then it skips to 7, 9 and 10. Why not just get 1 - 7 at the very least, so the customer can get a more complete section of a series, rather than piece mealing it. I just don't understand how businesses can expect to keep customers when they don't even seem to be making an effort. It's like they are throwing in the towel and letting the digital age whip their ass.<br />
<br />
I honestly don't think Barnes & Noble will be around much longer once they <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2014/06/25/barnes-noble-spinning-off-nook-tablets-into-its-own-publicly-traded-company/" target="_blank">spin off their Nook division</a>. Once they do that, it's pretty much "game over". Waldens and Borders already bit the dust and I believe that if it wasn't for Christmas and Starbucks, B&N would have closed their doors long ago. I'm not saying that the digital age is evil, but it has ruined a lot of really good things. People don't talk anymore face to face, they just text. They don't have any real physical interaction, it's all virtual. You don't have playgrounds, you have virtual worlds where you do all your running and jumping. It's ruining EVERYTHING.Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-34921425193200969252014-06-21T11:14:00.001-04:002014-06-21T11:14:29.819-04:00WildStar <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPSgZXush_FjHLZDmjAKeCzZQI702U8vDIxK2rFr1kMIOfMeymYVTLibQtNkFwjQmVHZ1PrDoMexawa7hAeQJrfOGuWSqCM65qwmnIvVpwM6lVx1QmTzF38dB7g6GYCEQ5p9BbA3NWMQtC/s1600/Myaestra.140605.185717.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPSgZXush_FjHLZDmjAKeCzZQI702U8vDIxK2rFr1kMIOfMeymYVTLibQtNkFwjQmVHZ1PrDoMexawa7hAeQJrfOGuWSqCM65qwmnIvVpwM6lVx1QmTzF38dB7g6GYCEQ5p9BbA3NWMQtC/s1600/Myaestra.140605.185717.png" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Wow, its really hard to come back after a very very long break and start writing a blog. I envy those who do it every day. Me, I'm lucky if I can get something going once a week, but I'm going to try. First off, lets talk about what I've been playing.<br />
<br />
Well, I've decided to jump back into the subscription based MMO and play WildStar. After railing against that particular gaming model, I completely reversed my decision and signed up for 3 months of play. So far I'm enjoying it a lot. I think what makes it more fun this time around is the community I have attached myself to, <a href="http://www.anook.com/community/alliance-of-awesome" target="_blank">Alliance of Awesome</a>. Its suppose to be a collection of smaller guilds which have decided to form a larger, all encompassing guild that spans several different games. This way, more like minded people can play together in groups, since membership in some guilds can be sparse and if you have a larger pool of people to pull from then everyone gets to play. WildStar will be my first forte with this particular guild and so far I'm really enjoying it. But lets chat about the game.<br />
<br />
Let me see, what can I say about WildStar. It plays and looks, to me, a lot like World of Warcraft. I personally call it WoW in Space, but its really much much more than that. Its a very complex game where as, WoW is a more simple MMO. From crafting to ability selection to even types of gear, this game is pretty deep. The questing is pretty simple, get quest, collect, kill or find X and return for reward. There are also challenges which you unlock by finding and item or killing a specific mobs. These challenges are on timers so you have to hurry to complete them. However, if you fail a challenge, its in your quest log so at anytime you can reactivate it, just be in the right area to do it or you'll fail again.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh85PWEZYL1niJVD61iULdwUdp7z1riNjZW1TeEjpSZGRRW7xysoZV5NeaKiJSY0y0CwlrkLGFcJteqzWTlO-le3HEAZI3kRHS2HtrOeBBQf9LhPU0BzoG9XGNA3syWjcAVOtY5-TFbB9CF/s1600/MegaSeth.140617.230159.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh85PWEZYL1niJVD61iULdwUdp7z1riNjZW1TeEjpSZGRRW7xysoZV5NeaKiJSY0y0CwlrkLGFcJteqzWTlO-le3HEAZI3kRHS2HtrOeBBQf9LhPU0BzoG9XGNA3syWjcAVOtY5-TFbB9CF/s1600/MegaSeth.140617.230159.png" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I'm not going to go into class or race specifics. I'm playing mostly Dominion Faction, which is the Horde side of WoW in Space. I have a warrior, medic, spell slinger and engineer I'm currently working on. Each has its own pluses and minuses. I tend to die more on my warrior than any other class so far, but my warrior was my first character and as with all things, the more you play the more you learn about not dying, so I've been much more luckier with my other toons so far. The medic isn't the only healing class, which doesn't surprise me since my medic can dish out some serious damage. So far the only major DPS class I've experienced is the SpellSlinger and they are pretty dangerous and a lot of fun.<br />
<br />
The other interesting aspect of WildStar is the housing. At level 15 you get a quest that introduces you to your plot. Everyone gets a plot of land to erect a house, add some decorations, expand the plot if need be, and have a place to call home, which can give you special benefits like rested Xp and bonuses. As you quest and collect loot,furnishings for your home will become available as either rewards or drops. A lot of people will quest till 15 and then spend a week working on their house, I can see that. However, adding items to the house can get expensive so you'll have to go back out eventually and quest to make money. Its a vicious cycle that WildStar has somewhat perfected.<br />
<br />
One last thing, the game runs rather nicely. I purchased the game within the first week of release and I didn't have any major issues with the game. I had some non responsive mobs, but that happens in WoW even after 5 yrs of operation. The game didn't have any major lag, everything worked as expected and if I was to categorize the launch I would have to say pretty darn smooth. Which seems pretty rare considering all the preorders and how many people picked up the game in the first couple of days. I'm really happy so far with how this experience has turned out. The subscription doesn't bother me and if they keep promising to add new content, which they have already done, for free, then I'm ok with paying a few bucks a month to support the cause.<br />
<br />
I do want to thank everyone in my Twitter feed who, after chatting about the game for SEVERAL days, caused me to collapse under the peer pressure and purchase the game. They know who they are because I game with them just about every day now.<br />
<br />
Till next time.Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-4250863323411962232014-06-15T12:45:00.001-04:002014-06-15T12:45:37.744-04:00Dear BlogDear Blog,<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I want to apologize for my lack of attention over the last <strike>several months </strike> year. I did not mean to neglect you, although G+ is pretty, less format restrictive and just plan fun to be around, it doesn't mean I don't love you anymore or less. Yes, I know I have spent a LOT of time with her, but that doesn't mean that deep down I don't still consider you to be my first <strike>and only</strike> love. And to prove it, I'm going to try over the next <strike>year</strike> few <strike>months </strike>weeks and spend as much time as possible with you, hoping we can rekindle some of that <strike>lost</strike> long forgotten magic that we once had together.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
First off lets do a bit of catching up.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Over the last year I've been engaged in several conversations of high interest. I picked up Diablo 3 thinking it would be a fantastic sequel to Diablo 2, but it failed right out of the gate and I railed against it a lot of G+. Their Auction House idea was a disaster and people stopped playing it after reaching top level or in my case, after finishing the game on Easy mode. I swore that the game was horrible and that I would never return to it. However, in the past few months, I've purchased the expansion and level capped 4 different characters. Another interesting story is a conversation I had over on G+ concerned my stern position against getting involved in any games with a subscription based model since there are way too many great Free 2 Play games out there and spending any money monthly on a game is just a waste of good cash, which is why I'm currently subbing to <i>WildStar</i> and not spending as much time in <i>Guild Wars 2</i>. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It would seem that this past year consisted mainly of me reversing my position on a lot of things. I feel that if I had just stayed with my blog a lot of these reversals wouldn't have been possible. I'd not be playing <i>WildStar,</i> which is a fantastic game. I would never have picked up the <i>Diablo 3</i> expansion and reconnected with a good college and home town friend. I would still be a grumpy, grouchy dwarf.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Lets see, what else happened? Oh I did purchase a PS4 at the beginning of the year, after stating that I would probably wait well into the middle of 2014 before I even considered purchasing a new system. I again failed that saving throw. Lucky for me, there aren't any games on the PS4 right now, so I'm not spending a lot of money or time on it. Which leaves me free to play pinball on my Vita from time to time. I also purchased a 3DS XL, which I promptly bought <i>Animal Crossing New Leaf</i> and stopped playing after only getting a few weeks into it. I missed all the fall and winter scenes and I'm sure my town needs lot of weed pulling to get it in good scenic shape. But I was too busy playing <i>Guild Wars 2,</i> which recaptured my attention for several months and then quickly be replaced by <i>Diablo 3</i>, which is currently being replaced by <i>WildStar</i>. Oh I'm sure I'll get back to them... maybe.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I also finished my first <i>BioShock game, Infinity</i>. It was fantastic. A lot of people didn't like the ending, but I found it very entertaining. The combat towards the middle of the game seemed rushed or a bit too much at times, but I still enjoyed the over all enough to ignore those issues. I plan to do a replay of it at some point once I'm devoid of any games that have my attention. I also picked up a ton of games on Steam which are currently just taking up space on my hard drive, but when a sale is on, you just can't ignore it. Steam seems to know exactly when I have money and exactly what games they can put on sale to grab it. I'm sure I'll eventually get to those games, once the game companies stop releasing games for 2 years. I put my toes into several different games as well, <i>WarFrame, FireFall, Hearthstone, Kerbal Space Program, Sim City, South Park: Stick of Truth</i> and probably tons more. But as usual they grabbed my attention for a short amount of time and just as quickly they become icons cluttering up my screen as I shuffle them around to make room for the new ones that grab my attention.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Well that is about it. I just wanted you to know that I would be spending some time with you and wanted to explain that I'm wishy washy and I've mellowed a good bit over the last year. I'm older, but I'm not very wise, and I may say GET OFF MY LAWN from time to time, but I'm not as stringent about my views anymore. I'm open to new ideas and I think that is a good thing. I try to be less annoying when possible and I'll be hanging my hat here for a while at least.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thanks for understanding</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Oakstout</div>
Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-7097798179458210342014-06-11T16:22:00.001-04:002014-06-11T16:22:45.651-04:00Remembering River<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhERsbjm7qyWxXBOWB_uAnen3_giLldYsKsuGLv5OMpMM88LZsOU7pZ-qtyYigGGtEbCzmsvEPd-d_Xm2rFgPGwnOVSnHqnWNEwF0VBTEp0215YeMvBNe_WbnF5T11_GtkFo1uQtt9xiR48/s1600/Vampirella-BelleChere-e1382785899407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhERsbjm7qyWxXBOWB_uAnen3_giLldYsKsuGLv5OMpMM88LZsOU7pZ-qtyYigGGtEbCzmsvEPd-d_Xm2rFgPGwnOVSnHqnWNEwF0VBTEp0215YeMvBNe_WbnF5T11_GtkFo1uQtt9xiR48/s1600/Vampirella-BelleChere-e1382785899407.jpg" height="320" width="205" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Found out today that one of my favorite twitter people passed away yesterday. People often wonder if meeting people through gaming and the internet can be as "personal" as meeting them in real life? I have to say that the answer to that is a resounding, <b>YES</b>. I only knew River though gaming, twitter and his <a href="http://highlatencylife.com/" target="_blank">blog</a>, but yet I am sitting here after reading the news of his passing and feeling as if I just got ran over by a truck. I am very sad and depressed over this horrible news.<br />
<br />
I will always think fondly of our dirty, obscene rants on twitter and how he always had a way of making rather boring days at work pass quickly in short bursts of 140 characters or less. No one will every replace him in my heart. He was odd, funny, dirty minded, distasteful and well.. my internet friend and I will miss him deeply.<br />
<br />
Be safe and happy where every you are.<br />
<br />Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-8168955478288216392013-04-26T12:25:00.000-04:002013-04-26T12:48:11.392-04:00Buy New? Never<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDTAz9qi2oGFKlsAW3akVas-lyCjESnvxkHSo4YGkGB83pesyzDqVSn779YXY5rkp91JaUw6IOlaMbsl8Ubs2tCn-9Jd7PNgzh40_d9eUdnFWUhMKBPzhjGR6S4p8Sr8fW3YjacG5M0-K7/s1600/old-new-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDTAz9qi2oGFKlsAW3akVas-lyCjESnvxkHSo4YGkGB83pesyzDqVSn779YXY5rkp91JaUw6IOlaMbsl8Ubs2tCn-9Jd7PNgzh40_d9eUdnFWUhMKBPzhjGR6S4p8Sr8fW3YjacG5M0-K7/s320/old-new-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">My opinion or Rant as they say.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><br style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Xbox 720 and PS4 will not be the systems we want. They will have "Always" online code or they will be very expensive or they will have something else that completely annoys us, the gamers. The fact is regardless of any of that, they are coming and they will be here by the end of the year. I for one will not be buying one right away. I think my PS3 and Xbox 360 have good life still in them and that throwing them out just to buy a new and very overpriced piece of hardware is insane.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><br style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Yes, some people have to have the New Purple shiny and some of us have lives and families and other responsibilities that will require us to sit on the sidelines with expectations of a price drop within the coming year after release, which WILL HAPPEN. People that say it won't are either delusional or just don't know how the system works. The item comes out over priced, a small percentage of fan boys and rich people buy them and the rest sit on the shelf for 6 months to a year till Microsoft or Sony decide, We need to move these units, and then the price comes down. In the mean time, we'll still be playing our Xbox 360 and PS3's. Why? Because they can't stop making games for those systems right away. Its called cash flow, those companies need it and if new consoles don't sell, they have to make money some way. Eventually they will be phased out and when they do the New Gen consoles will be reasonable.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><br style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Other than what Apple does, I have never seen a new console or hand held system not sell for less than it did on release a year later. Nope, not seen it. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><br style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">So here is the deal. They are coming, we won't like all the new features, they will be super expensive and eventually everyone will have one or the other or both in some cases. Its going to happen, embrace the future, don't clinch.</span>Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-13326866401989921262012-07-15T13:00:00.002-04:002012-07-15T13:03:51.910-04:00The Secret World, not so secret.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNszmgcNPqXnb0s8vFmH2xcOxyuZ92yYAtFymHS8d_HZzM0GvxEMYrRFp5xO1FMIhE2VcZa-TYlgWoOGMlR5Pkz11W7zWiXdTN1z0RGPSre7aM588ZJ6z0jYtcU19WAiXnI_nG1woui67B/s1600/Oakstout_picture111.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNszmgcNPqXnb0s8vFmH2xcOxyuZ92yYAtFymHS8d_HZzM0GvxEMYrRFp5xO1FMIhE2VcZa-TYlgWoOGMlR5Pkz11W7zWiXdTN1z0RGPSre7aM588ZJ6z0jYtcU19WAiXnI_nG1woui67B/s400/Oakstout_picture111.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
I'm currently playing The Secret World and I wanted to put some of my opinions down about the game.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
These are my thoughts after the first few day of actually play:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I enjoy the game. It is graphically spectacular and the game play, for the most part, is pretty flawless. Not having to worry about levels as you would in any other MMO makes running around doing stuff a lot more fun. You get Ability Points via experience but I have also found that I get them randomly from completing quests or as the game calls them missions. It has a very different feel from your typical MMO. I tend to lose track of time as I venture around in Kingsmouth. Even repeating some of the quests is fun especially since I get to kill zombies and Cthulhu inspired creatures. The launch for the most part, compared to Funcom's AoC, has been pretty smooth. Lag has been spotty if at all for the first week, which is great in a newly launched online game, just ask Diablo 3 fans. I even ventured into the PvP area where I was quickly schooled on the need to stay together as a group or you'll get eaten alive by those that do. Still I had a lot of time there, which is very unusual for me in a newly launched game since PvP to me is secondary at best.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Now these are my thoughts a week after launch. </span></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I think that once the newness has worn off, people should always go back and give maybe a second opinion about a game. Sort of a behind the looking glass kind of look because to be honest, all games have issues. People might not put them at the forefront of any fan based blog so I wanted to at least give both sides of the coin. Why? Because I believe that people who love a game might over look the 10% of the bad parts of a game because they are in love with the other 90% of the game. I'm not going to do that due to my ability to be pessimistic from time to time. I don't want to sugar coat things for those who read my blog because someone might just go out and purchase this game based on someone's glowing report and their failure to point out some issues that can completely drive people bonkers. Yes, I am aware that games that newly launch have issues and that developers need time to fix issues, especially when they didn't anticipate the over enthusiastic reaction to their game, as is the case with The Secret World. I know this because just about everyone on my Twitter feed is playing the game now and that is based solely on word of mouth. However, I again, don't want to sugar coat if for people. I want them to know that the game has issues and I'm going to list a few of them that have completely driven me batty.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
1. The chat system is currently borked. Let me explain. If your in a guild or as they say, Cabal and you zone, die, teleport back to your spawn point or get kicked from the game your also kicked out of the cabal chat. You have to then go back, resubscribe to that channel, then tell the chat window that you now want to talk in the cabal channel. Lucky for me, they had the same issue with custom channels, however they have fixed, for the most part, that part of the issue.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
2. The game has fantastic sound cues. When you enter combat or an area with a specific monster your after the music will crescendo and you'll know that something is about to happen. This is great except a lot of the area in Savage Coast isn't working correctly so you get a lot of broken sound cues from the game. Also you'll hear music and then it will stop suddenly when you move to a new spot. This is annoying and takes you out of the atmosphere of the game, which to a lot of people is one of the selling points.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
3. The graphics look fantastic, except they seem to have issues with DX11 and the lighting of the game. Its not consistent. If there is all this great spooky shadowing going on, but it disappears when you look up from the ground. The zones all have a night fall but sometimes it doesn't work well because the lighting is just off. Now this is not bad in the first zone, but in the second, Savage Coast, it gets pretty bad. Its almost like they spend a huge amount of time getting Kingsmouth done right and then just put one coat of polish on Savage Coast. I also wanted to add that I originally had my system set on DX11 but found after the first couple of days I was getting a weird bug. Anytime I exited a solo instance or zoned, my game would experience very bad video lag. If I logged and came back it would go away. A friend suggested changing from DX11 to DX9 and I have not had that issue again. I don't think the game is optimized for video cards. Something I feel is a must for any game that relies on its visual presentation as a selling point.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
4. Speaking of Savage Coast and the lack of detail. Just about anywhere in Kingsmouth you can pick up a side mission. Your allowed 3 active side missions as you work on a main mission and a story mission. This keeps you active and keeps you from filling up your journal with a lot of missions you just won't ever get too like WoW or EQ2. But once I moved to Savage Coast and let me say, Savage Coast is huge. I'm not sure how much larger than Kingsmouth it really is, but its big. Anyway, I would have expected more side missions in Savage Coast considering how big it is, but was sorely disappointed that there just wasn't a lot of side missions to do. Yes, I can repeat the ones I already have but in Kingsmouth there are maybe 12 or more, in Savage Coast I've only seen maybe 4. It could be that I've not found them yet or they work off a trigger, i.e finish this main mission and it unlocks all these side missions, but why use that in Savage Coast when it wasn't used in Kingsmouth. I'm a little concerned about this moving forward. I did hear from a guild member that the update at the end of July should add more missions to Savage Coast. To me, it seems like a missed opportunity not having it in there at launch. I understand not having end game content, but people want cool missions as they move through the game that is really the only thing driving people since "Levels" don't exist.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That is basically it. Even though there are flaws in the game, I still am happy with my decision to purchase it. The game is a nice escape. The world is fun and interesting and it can scare the crap out of you if your wearing headphones. I did my first group instance last night and it was a blast. Lots of interesting strategies and some very unique bosses. It helped having someone with us who was a pro at tanking and healing. I still have lots of hope that Funcom will fix some of the issues I've listed, but they aren't game breakers for me. I listed them because I feel people should know what they are in for when purchasing a game, good or bad. Gamers shouldn't be blinded by their love of a game, they should tell the truth, beautiful or ugly so that other gamers can make an informed decision. Games aren't cheap and most gamers I know aren't rich. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Don't sugar coat it, fanboys, tell it how it really is.</div>Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-63513484991448564792012-07-08T17:51:00.000-04:002012-07-08T22:27:32.950-04:00The irony of blogging<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XiPyKCC5uYYf_dIKMp28O-k4Z0fuzaTCz5Gq5hQLJZZNHHcGpFEW9AbjxF8ze-aU2e2xfhpjXUhMWMBv-NcZMpA68hblhVqZa4N8lvqsxZQL-XFYo7D3-YotMUU8OVOi5UkpMZr4XsVJ/s400/Oakstout_picture076.png" width="400" /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Last blog post basically stated that I wasn't not going to be persuaded by others to get involved in playing The Secret World. During the beta weekend TSW did not excite me at all. I wasn't remotely interested in picking it up and nothing would change my mind. I just wasn't addicted to it, nuff said</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">This post is about me playing and subscribing to The Secret World.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">I was bamboozled I tell you. I was forced and nagged and cajoled into playing. I had a spell placed on me by those that I follow on Twitter and G+. They forced me to endure endless ravings about how the game was fun and different and wasn't like any other MMO they had seen or played in a long time. They posted pictures and video that I could not turn away from and in the end I had to succumb to the peer pressure.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">Yes, I am in fact human and I can be seduced to the dark side of gaming... and I am glad for it.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">The Secret World is in a word Fantastic. The setting is great. The way the game is played is different and unique.. well it is to me. I will bore you later with details but suffice it to say that I do not regret giving in, to lowering my resolve, to letting peer pressure drive my decision. Now let me try to convince you.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">The games graphics are fantastic. The setting or backdrop of the game is sort of a zombie apocalypse meets the love child of Stephen King and HP. Lovecraft. The sound is fantastic. As your slipping around town trying to either hunt or avoid the zombies, you can hear the gun fire off in the distance or the moaning of a creature so horrible you dare not turn around to see. I have to say that the launch went really well for an MMO. I haven't had any serious issues with broken missions or lag. Mobs respond they way they should and the spawn rate isn't crazy fast or super slow.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCABm9y0TYJs4Oe2QgXRiDWLjnFh5HrwzXfxVKQxfAZLTz9Wwl80tawNB0I687kPUtgpX4efHVpDCFmxyDTv7aMJPgTfZ1PEqBOdSB1L_8FdMxYvGHSG_syIPjgJrl1-XsiSY0NjSXiKAw/s1600/Oakstout_picture059.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCABm9y0TYJs4Oe2QgXRiDWLjnFh5HrwzXfxVKQxfAZLTz9Wwl80tawNB0I687kPUtgpX4efHVpDCFmxyDTv7aMJPgTfZ1PEqBOdSB1L_8FdMxYvGHSG_syIPjgJrl1-XsiSY0NjSXiKAw/s400/Oakstout_picture059.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">The game doesn't force you to group and if you help your the stranger in the street, who's dealing with a bunch of brain thirsty zombies, you get some credit for the assist, especially if its a zombie you need for a mission turn in. The missions are pretty varied and you have an indicator of what kind of mission your taking by the symbol. Some are walking around missions, where you have to go from place to place, some are simple ones like deliver mail to Mrs. Robinson and some are puzzle missions. You can have one main mission and 3 side missions no more. If you want to pick up another main mission in the middle of the one your working on, you'll have to drop it, but the mission in effect will be paused and you can pick it back up later from the mission giver, but this time any part of the mission you've already completed won't have to be repeated, if its paused. You can repeat most if not all of the missions as many times as you like, however they are on a timer, so you can't do them again right away. The missions don't feel tedious or silly like "go kill 10 rats in my basement". </span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">. They vary a lot in style and what you have to do to complete them. Your also expected to use the in game browser to help with clues on some of the harder puzzle missions. Its hard to explain but when I play, I feel more like I'm playing an RPG game than a straight up MMO. Your quest isn't to level up, but to unlock abilities which give your character options on how to play. Allowing you to switch up what weapons and abilities you use and give you a variety instead of saying this is "who" you are from the start. There are choices you have to make as you go along. I tried one type of weapon and decided that it wasn't for me, so I unlocked another style of play and worked on that for a while. Nothing is set in stone. What I get from the game is that the developers don't want you, the player, to ever regret a decision you've made in their game. The game just has a different feel a different concept than other MMOs. I don't know if its new and innovative but it is change.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;">If you want to stay in, as I call it, the stage 1 area, then you can do that till you've done all the missions or repeated all the missions a few times. I've actually ventured into the stage 2 area or Savage Coast, but I went back to Kingsmouth, that would be the stage 1 area, because I just like it and I'm not finished doing all the missions there yet. I've unlocked a ton of abilities but I don't feel like the monsters in that area are beneath my skill level yet. It's just a very open game. Give me a week or two more and I'll be recommending it but for now lets just say that I'm glad I gave in to the pe</span>er pressure.</span>Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-27933214503937107972012-07-02T16:54:00.002-04:002012-07-02T16:54:26.106-04:00Addiction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ai78818o_dACH1JxtK0U3tJdh__Tzo6Y1sUi476pyV64yiZx2VesWUFwZxWFsF9MQuZcVamPetMhiRoEsHpWJFSux7sYgWYCVAh4-gX9GQ4_-Q6onbJnepdWzgM34GVEp74rnfeHoIks/s1600/The-Secret-World1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ai78818o_dACH1JxtK0U3tJdh__Tzo6Y1sUi476pyV64yiZx2VesWUFwZxWFsF9MQuZcVamPetMhiRoEsHpWJFSux7sYgWYCVAh4-gX9GQ4_-Q6onbJnepdWzgM34GVEp74rnfeHoIks/s320/The-Secret-World1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I am currently not playing The Secret World. I must be one of a handful of the people on my Google + circle that isn't and I can't really tell you why. Maybe I'm just not ready to commit to another MMO after trying to make Tera work and finding that people soon jumped when Diablo 3 came out or whatever the next shiny of the month was. Hell, I was just as guilty as the rest. I switch games faster than.. well just insert something here and think of it as ironically funny, but I do game hop a lot. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So why no TSW as the young kids are calling it? I really can't tell you. I thought the beta was pretty good. No issues with the game, the setting or the puzzle questing. I did find one or two minor things annoying but nothing that would really stop me from picking it up. The only thing I can think of is that it didn't seem addictive. Let me see if I can explain.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
With Tera, my last attempt at a subscription MMO, I did not want to leave the game. The combat was fantastic, different and exciting. Learning how to target heal by reticle instead of clicking on a hotbar which was a lot of un. From the moment I stepped foot in the beta I was addicted. I spent as much possible time as I could in the testing the game and found myself at the end of the beta weekend hooked. I did not feel that way with TSW. Hell, I've not even felt that way with Guild Wars 2 but sad as it might be I'm still going through with my pre purchase because I have hope that eventually I will become addicted to it. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Odd how that sounds, but for me to really enjoy a game I need to be addicted to it or I won't really keep me coming back. I was addicted to Uncharted the second time I picked it up and that addiction compelled me to finish the game. If it hadn't been addictive I'm pretty sure I would have just set the controller down and moved on to something else. When I upgraded my PS3 recently, the first thing I downloaded was Infamous 2 thinking that could be a game that would keep me entertained, addicted but alas it did not and I've not touched my PS3 since.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I guess its all about the addiction factor. I was never addicted to WAR, LOTRO or SWTOR so I never got very far in then. I wasn't addicted to Rift during the beta so I didn't close the deal at launch. People say addiction is a bad thing but if you don't get addicted to a game then you have apathy and the game just sits while you look for that next addiction, the next shiny, trying game after game till you end up returning too.. yes.. WoW, which I confess I did over the weekend.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Addiction is what gamers need, its what they crave. We need to be addicted to a game or we won't ever finish it or stay with it. I guess Addiction is at the heart of every successful game.</div>
<br />Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-79883014238057022542012-06-22T11:11:00.002-04:002012-06-22T11:18:36.845-04:00Rabid Squirrel<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvXQpPv5c7BZK8VdFUXiIqDVssB3fsccn2URwY-PvwiknJuKLSqbB_KmdjwCb6cYIRF8UIJYAq6FLEX_zi4HzEtTmaNOWZdMlCIYIoZqzMkg9Q_-vwiX5aty6PIWzLzWOGXhKR3_tREf7d/s1600/rabid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvXQpPv5c7BZK8VdFUXiIqDVssB3fsccn2URwY-PvwiknJuKLSqbB_KmdjwCb6cYIRF8UIJYAq6FLEX_zi4HzEtTmaNOWZdMlCIYIoZqzMkg9Q_-vwiX5aty6PIWzLzWOGXhKR3_tREf7d/s400/rabid.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Original thought isn't why people come to my site. So in keeping with that philosophy I'm going to do a Friday Play List. I'll try and list what I've been playing so far this week with any updates to anything else game related that I feel the need to thrust upon you, the reader.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
<u><span style="color: orange;">STAR TREK Online</span></u></h2>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Spent a little time this week leveling up and getting through the Klingon episodes. For a Free 2 Play game it has a crap ton of free content. Sure if you want to get more space here and there or be able to use more than one character or ship, it will cost you a few dollars but for now its a lot of content for free. The best part is the episodes and Duty Officers, stuff they added after I stopped subbing a year or so back.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span><br />
Basically an episode is a group of missions that connect together, something like a season on the actual TV shows. The Klingon episodes were especially fun because I got to do some interaction with areas from actual episodes of the Original Star Trek. Got to take out the Doomsday Machine again, this time we didn't have to shove a star ship down its gullet. Also got a chance, twice to go back in time, once by sling shooting around a sun and the other by traveling through the Guardian. Course, if you've never seen the original show, you probably will have no idea what I'm talking about, but let me say, for those who are full of nostalgia it was fan-tastic.<br />
<br />
<h2>
<u><span style="color: orange;">Uncharted</span></u></h2>
<div>
After putting off playing with my PS3, I finally booted it back up and managed to finish the first Uncharted game. It was gorgeous, lots of fun and even though some of the action was hard, it didn't put me off by dying a lot. Not once did I find the need to throw the controller down and give up when enemies would just show up and start shooting and I'd die over and over. The platforming puzzles were pretty easy and eventually I'll want to go back so I can get all the hidden treasures, I currently have 20 of 60 so there is a lot left to explore. This is actually my third game that I have completed. The first game was story line of Beatles Rock Band. Yes, that game does have a story mode, such as it is and I finished it all the way to the credits. Next I finished Gears of War and now Uncharted. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Immediately after finished the first Uncharted I put Uncharted 2 in and managed to get all the way to chapter 2 before calling it. I don't want to overload on Uncharted. I will say that 2 is even better looking than the original but the controls seem a bit off to me. Might be a little too floaty as some would say. Either way, I'll eventually finish it so I can get to Uncharted 3 which I hear is still even better, visually and story wise.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
<u><span style="color: orange;">Deux Ex Human Revolution</span></u></h2>
<div>
Picked this up on Steam around the first of the year. It was on sale for a very low price which was strange since I didn't think the game had been out a year and it was already getting discounted. I figured it was because the game wasn't that good, but I liked the first one enough and the price was right, so I figured I would put caution to the wind.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm not that far into the game, but its a lot of fun. I very quickly decided based on the way the game story opens up that I wasn't going to spend a lot of time sneaking and knocking people out, I was going to be deadly force all the way. No kid gloves. I'm not talking about going in guns blazing the entire time, but when the opportunity presented itself, lethal vs non lethal, I was going to be a killer. So far thats been working out pretty good. I'm not that far into the game, maybe an hour or so, but I'm really looking forward to adding this to my finished game list. I never finished the first one. Part of that was because I wasted a lot of ammo and ended up in a bad spot that I just couldn't get out. I didn't have enough saved games to go back and start the mission over so I pretty much just gave up. This time around, I save my bullets and I save a lot.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The game looks great, plays really well with keyboard and mouse, something I've not done with a first person shooter in a very long time. If its on sale, I would recommend it for sure.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
<u><span style="color: orange;">Infamous 2</span></u></h2>
<div>
If you follow me on Twitter or Google+ no doubt you've heard about my successful attempt at updating my PS3 with a new internal hard drive. I won't really bore you with those details, but the main reason I decided to do it is because I became a PSN Plus member. When you sign up for a years membership, there are a few free full length games that are available for download. So I selected Infamous 2, quickly discovered I had no space on my hard drive and those began my adventure. Once the adventure was complete, I actually got a chance to try out Infamous 2. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I do own the first one on disc. I never finished it and I'm not even sure I got half way through it to be honest. Either way, I decided to try out the sequel. To start with it looks pretty great. The cut scenes are on par with Uncharted as far as graphically pleasing. Some of the use of story board images in cut scenes is pretty annoying but I can live with it. It has a pretty steep learning curve. Earlier I mentioned that I played Uncharted. It had bee some time since I had played it before I actually jumped into the game, however, with Uncharted I didn't have any difficulty picking up the game right where I left off. The control scheme worked, aiming was easy, there wasn't a large learning curve. However, when I played Infamous 2, it wasn't very intuitive. The game was more difficult than it really needed to be and it took me a while to get into the swing of things, at that was too long. I was getting very frustrated. The joy of most games is being able to jump right in and start playing without any real penalty for not knowing what to do, this game, not so much. There isn't much of a tutorial, you have to learn it as you go. The game also assumes you played the first one because it doesn't do a good job of explaining some of the powers you start off with like the first one did. It just throws you in and hopes you can swim.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Like I said, it was frustrating. Eventually after about 2 hours I managed to get the swing of things, but still if I can pick up Uncharted after a year and start playing it with no penalty and I pick this game up and its annoying for the first 2 hours then someone isn't designing a game right. Not sure I will actually finish this game, but I'm into it enough to play it a bit more and of course it was free so I can't really complain.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
<u><span style="color: orange;">Thoughts</span></u></h2>
<div>
I looked at Skylander in Target the other day. I was looking at the video of the little creatures and how they use their attacks and how the game works. I was just about hooked on picking it up when something inside me said wait. Instead I picked up a 50.00 PSN card so I could get PSN Plus, which ended up costing me another 60.00 for a hard drive and I promised not to talk about that. Well, I'm going to pick it up for my birthday in October. I have heard there will be Giants in the game by then and that might be up my alley. I am very much interested in trying that game out and possibly collecting the little creatures. Not sure how my wife will feel about such a hobby, but maybe I can get her involved.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm also considering picking up a Vita by the end of the year. I keep hearing good things about the system and since I've got a renewed interest in my PS3, being able to remote play might be a nice feature. Also, I'm a fan of Hot Shots and would be very much interested in getting in a tournament with some of my friends over on Google+ who I know have Vitas. Still the 3DS XL is due out by the end of the year and that does peak my interest a bit. I'm not a huge fan of the 3D part but you can also play Skylanders on it, so if I'm already investing in that game I might want to invest a little more, who knows.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I also picked up Diablo 3, but I'm not currently playing it. The game isn't doing it for me at the moment. It might be that when I do play Nightmare level I never get any decent drops for the character I'm playing and all my gear is so under powered for that setting that I'm having to go outside the game to the auction house to purchase items so I can keep playing the game and not die every 2 minutes. I would like it if the game actually dropped items, IN GAME, that I could use to upgrade what I'm wearing. Having to go outside the game for the items I need so I can play on the Nightmare difficulty takes me out of the experience. Sure I get Yellow drops but I don't get anything I can use. I end up having to either vendor, disenchant or sell on the auction house. I would rather the game provide me with upgrade able gear as I progress so as I move through the levels I am constantly getting new gear that will help me finish off the next boss or specialty creature. I'm just not seeing a lot of that. I also spend way to much time vendoring stuff. Why can't your companion head to town and sell gear and why is the game so freaking hard that you actually HAVE to have a companion to finish a good portion of it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Again, these are the reasons I've decided to put a hold on the game. I finished normal with two of my characters, my wizard and barbarian. I've completed the story line, another problem with the game by the way, but I won't spoil that little bit for those who are going to get the game but are waiting to mortgage their house. since it will never be on sale.. EVER. Sorry, a little Blizzard dig their.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That is about it. My, what a huge blog post. Who do I think I am <a href="http://pumpingirony.net/" target="_blank">Pumping Irony</a>?<br />
<br />
Till next time.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-64814447037239417022012-06-22T10:20:00.000-04:002012-06-22T10:20:15.442-04:00Ditto<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCgqINKBf9GqyQ-i95HbaSzGrLDZBZhaWxiukDGgZrROnBfkUgHYIPdaDy6bZx9fQE_WS-i21LFtlJ4z8dGXNufmPuqhNovGO6rW_Yhgri29hWdnvx93phUd3hEGW4Qr9uTv30OUeMXS1K/s1600/pearls_blogs.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCgqINKBf9GqyQ-i95HbaSzGrLDZBZhaWxiukDGgZrROnBfkUgHYIPdaDy6bZx9fQE_WS-i21LFtlJ4z8dGXNufmPuqhNovGO6rW_Yhgri29hWdnvx93phUd3hEGW4Qr9uTv30OUeMXS1K/s640/pearls_blogs.gif" width="620" /></a></div>
<br />Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-44950142460090612152012-06-19T20:59:00.003-04:002012-06-19T21:02:04.976-04:00Playstation Love<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhGDVNpU5Phz6cKkmkgI1E1ju_0mY_jUctjqEypn7U1i_TPTJ1V01ToE5-euHEcR_mUuPyjNpQskqmE8uFfWQHfaj76obrUw7n_WysOfQivNhO6GAAeNRqKXFmdYLP0XUTMqrP39REG0ay/s1600/1113059-untitled_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhGDVNpU5Phz6cKkmkgI1E1ju_0mY_jUctjqEypn7U1i_TPTJ1V01ToE5-euHEcR_mUuPyjNpQskqmE8uFfWQHfaj76obrUw7n_WysOfQivNhO6GAAeNRqKXFmdYLP0XUTMqrP39REG0ay/s320/1113059-untitled_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I decided that I haven't been spending enough energy and time with my PS3. I saved up a lot of money to own this system 2 years ago and for the last year I've been neglecting it, well, other than watching Blu-Rays, but that isn't or rather wasn't, at the time of purchase, the reason I brought it home.<br />
<br />
The beginning of my PS3 revival is pretty simple, I decided to start playing Uncharted 1. I had already played to chapter 6 a year ago, when I purchased it used and I wanted to finally finish it. So over the course of two days, I was able to accomplish that seemingly small task. The game was fantastic by the way. Loved every minute of it and after finishing it immediately started playing Uncharted 2, but that is for another blog post. So while playing Uncharted, I would post my love for the game on G+ and Twitter. Several people on those networks, who I trust when it comes to gaming suggestions, suggested that I pick up the Playstation Plus package. It features a lot of added value like automatic system upgrades, saving games to the SoE cloud system and most recently the ability to download a full game and play for free. I thought, what a cool idea. I can pay 50.00 for a year's service and every month I can choose to download a free game to play and since most games they release will be older games but still be in the 30 - 40 dollar range, I thought it would be a great deal and I could come out ahead in the end, plus you get all kinds of discounts on other items as well so its a win win for Team Oakstout. So today I finally broke down, logged into PSN and started working on becoming a new PSN Plus member. Course my connection to the store was pretty janky. Then thing started getting a little strange. The system had not problem taking my 50.00 for the Plus upgrade, but anytime I tried to search the store to see what items Plus members had access to, I would lose the server connection. <i> <span style="color: orange;">(I'm already feeling the Sony Love through my backside at this moment.) </span></i>This happened about 4 or 5 times, so I decided to give the server a little bit of time. Eventually, I decide to venture back into the store to see what FREE goodies I get for being a Plus Member.<br />
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
After turning my nose up at a few things, not a fan of Virtual fighter, already own Little Big Planet 2 and I already own Warhammer Space Marine on Xbox already. Finally I decided to go with Infamous 2. I start the download.. or at least I think I start the download but I will come to that. After spending a little more time in the store, trying to decide if I really need those 2 extra courses for Hotshots, I go out of the store to check my download progress and to my surprise I discover that it hasn't started and when I prompt it to start, it says, you don't have any room on your hard drive poor boy, you'll need to delete a few things. Since the PS3 is a bit more like a computer than the Xbox is, it makes finding out certain information harder, eventually I was able to check and see exactly how much space I had on my hard drive. To be honest, ts been a while and I wasn't really even sure how big the drive was to start with, its been a while. Come to find out I'm sporting around 75gig with only 10 left and the game I want is 15gig. YIKES! Good thing I didn't purchase the game. But now I'm thinking I just spent a lot of cash on a feature, monthly free games, that I can't really take advantage of because my HDD is way to small.<br />
<br />
So, I start deleting stuff and finally get about 21gig free, so the download starts, automatically I must add, sure it starts automatically but it couldn't bother to tell me it was hung up or that it hadn't started. I think sometimes the PS3 is way more complicated than it needs to be, but that is another post as well. Anyway, having it start automatically is nice, but when its done I'll still only have about 6gig left to do anything with and that won't really help me take advantage of the free game I get every month with Playstation Plus, especially if I want to keep said games on my system. I am notoriously lazy when it comes to finishing games, if you haven't heard. Still I want to take advantage of this free game crap and apparently I'm kind of stuck, well, not exactly.<br />
<br />
I start looking online to find out how I can change out my wimpy HDD and get a beefy mainly drive. This apparently is a huge feature that Sony has to allow users the ability to upgrading their systems hard drive. I look around and discover that in the long run its fairly simple. Unscrew this, unhook that, pop this out, pop that in and the next thing you know you have a new drive. Luckily for me the cost of a new drive isn'tt so bad, I can get a 320gig for around 60.00 at Best Buy. I could go bigger, but I figure that the 320 gig will let me put around 20 or so 15gig games on my system at one time and if that isn't enough space then I'll just have to get an external drive down the road. The main issue is restoring everything.<br />
<br />
A lot of sites say you only have to install the new drive and the system will format and put the system back on, all you have to do is run a utility backup before and a restore after. Others say you have to have a thumb drive with the new upgrade system software on it and do a bunch of button mashing on your controller, then restore from back up all your games and saves. Some sites and videos reference the Slim while others show the Fat PS3. Its all very confusing so I'm planning to plan for everything by backing it all up on a external and then having the system upgrade software ready if need be.<br />
<br />
Hopefully by next week, I'll have a nice big drive to download lots of free PSN Plus games.<br />
<br />
Course I could be wrong.Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-44776835145371545982012-06-14T17:27:00.001-04:002012-06-14T17:27:53.849-04:00Rift Hammers<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWfEoPo1SG-sJTWC-Q1FZCS_nP41iMiIwcNZ0vP71KMsAd4HDS9Dj5Wsj83b0Sf4i3YunBZQ5rDYQtmF8Av-8SPwkKXPFXo9O9R7dcnP1jXjLU33_DXab6Dg8SM1I0GQS1HR3NlZZwAXya/s1600/BagofHammers_web.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWfEoPo1SG-sJTWC-Q1FZCS_nP41iMiIwcNZ0vP71KMsAd4HDS9Dj5Wsj83b0Sf4i3YunBZQ5rDYQtmF8Av-8SPwkKXPFXo9O9R7dcnP1jXjLU33_DXab6Dg8SM1I0GQS1HR3NlZZwAXya/s320/BagofHammers_web.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Played some Rift the other
day. This is my first try at the game since I tried the game 3 months
after release with a weekend pass. I have to say that I do like the
environs and the feel of the game. The only thing that really bothered me
and to tell the truth its the same thing that bothered me when I went back to
try EQ2 a while back. Its the way the developers have dumbed down your
choices in the game.<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Let me explain. When I first played
EQ2, you started as a generic class.. priest, rogue, warrior, mage.. then your
progressed and got to choose another path to take and then further on another
path. I always thought that aspect of the game was really cool, but they
have dumbed that down. Basically you can pick what your ending class will
be from the start which takes a lot of the mystery out of what your end up
being when your all grown up.<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Rift has done the same thing. You get
to pick what 3 Souls you want to start off playing and the game hand holds your
decision making. I wanted to be a cleric so I chose a specific kind.
I got 3 souls from the start and after I acquire a point, the game
instructs me on how I need to place that point to be the cleric I originally
chose. I'm not hip to that idea. I don't like hand holding in games
and for me, the original experience of having to gather your souls through
questing was pretty nice. It added flavor to the game that now seems rush
rush. Put your point here and lets move on, no need to make a decision
till way later in the game.<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">I don't understand the mentality of
developers to release a game and then after a few months start, water it down
for those who are lazy. Do they think that by streamlining those options
your going to get an influx of new gamers? Come on, that's just insane.
If anything it will drive the returning customers nuts that you've dumbed
it all down.<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Well thats how I feel anywa</span>y.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-44076557547024320452012-06-13T15:08:00.000-04:002012-06-13T15:08:08.779-04:00Hypocrite! My Guild Wars 2 preview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzGS1pIfeNM_1CwF2U-6M2atM4zz_vygEFcZTcH_kmyWOTOsEDQ06zxdmoUQJVGvupBOuC9GAnugdlrPWHD_q-Y79sjhyFsjc_IkTUgAkeXYWIC48s4Oyk8SLuPTtYWFYPMdYahxMn4qsg/s1600/gw013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzGS1pIfeNM_1CwF2U-6M2atM4zz_vygEFcZTcH_kmyWOTOsEDQ06zxdmoUQJVGvupBOuC9GAnugdlrPWHD_q-Y79sjhyFsjc_IkTUgAkeXYWIC48s4Oyk8SLuPTtYWFYPMdYahxMn4qsg/s320/gw013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
First off, I am going against my own creed, my own rules, my own zen of blogging. I never ever review a game before its released. I also shout down those who do, because my argument has always been that the game is not done until its on the shelves then its fair game. If its being tested then there is still time to fix the flaws and to right the wrongs.<br />
<br />
I am about to break that rule.<br />
<br />
Why?<br />
<br />
Well to be honest, in order for me to participate in the Guild Wars 2 beta or BWE GW2 I had to actually PURCHASE THE GAME! Therefore, if they already have my hard earned cash, I should be able to talk about their game with honesty and justification. I say this because by bringing parts of the game to light which are as yet, unfinished or for the most part confusing, I am hoping that the product, which I already paid for, is complete and ready for my enjoyment.<br />
<br />
The first thing I have to say is ArenaNet, shame on you for making the decision to be in the beta a financial burden on your fans. If could go back, I would have chosen not to participate in the beta and thereby saving my hard earned cash for something that would be more productive like a couch dance at the Gold Club with Mindy. But I'm stuck like a lot of others. I'm not even sure I can get my money back if I really wanted to get it back, but putting that out there was just crazy and manipulative. I understand that players of the original Guild Wars are in a gaming desert, thirsting to be in the beta and to them, throwing out cash so they can taste the new flavor of their beloved much hyped much anticipated sequel is something they don't mind doing. I still think its taking advantage of your fan base like no other game before it, so shame on ArenaNet.<br />
<br />
Now let me talk about the game.<br />
<br />
There is no specific questing. There is your story line and then there are the quests that you pick up in the dynamic event areas or as I call them the public quest areas. Basically, you walk into an area and you get a message that says, please help Farmer Todd by killing all the monster worms in his corn field. So you go over, start killing monster worms and you get an update saying "Farmer Todd also needs help putting the fires out started by the monster worms". So you now have two ways of helping Farmer Todd and therefore achieving faction with him. After full faction is acquired, basically you can see a solid filled in heart on the map where Farmer Todd is standing, you can then purchase gear upgrades and other items from him with Karma which is earned during the dynamic event. Each mapped out zone has a few "Dynamic Events" and each is designed for a specific level. Once you get full faction with the "Quest giver" there really isn't any point in staying around unless your grinding cash, Karma or XP. Once done with an area, you will most likely move on to the next dynamic event, however the game is designed so that moving from one area to the next can cause you to be under leveled. I found that if I ran with a group, because all these areas are group driven, I could easy do dynamic events that on the surface were too high for me, but with all the players running around helping I was able to finish and get full faction. Eventually this made it hard for me to progress to new dynamic areas because there weren't enough players in an area to help advance and I ended up getting stuck and grinding already completed dynamic areas for XP. To me that seems like a scaling issue. As a solo player I should be able to complete a dynamic event by myself but in some cases I just can't due to the difficulty of the quest and the mobs themselves being too aggressive.<br />
<br />
I did have one character that didn't encounter the wall, but to do this I had to acquire XP by other methods besides just dynamic events like exploring, gathering crafting items, spending time actually crafting items in town, and spend some time working on my character's story line quests. I think the idea is to do all those so XP is a constant flow and your not suck in an area trying to grind out XP, but who will spend time doing all those things? Not being able to "Quest" is hindering the XP flow and that is an issue in my view. You can not rely on one aspect of the game to give you enough to advance so that your hitting each level appropriate dynamic area on cue. If you hit that bottleneck and your not spreading your XP gathering out over different areas you end up just grinding out XP on mobs or Dynamic Events that you have already done, which can sour anyone to any MMO game. They did mention that you can craft your way through all the levels, but that would require you to go out and gather materials or at the very least have enough cash to purchase them on the market. But there really isn't any risk if you level up that way. Making a magical boot isn't going to kill you.<br />
<br />
Course all that is fixable.<br />
<br />
Another thing is they need to do a better job of explaining different aspects of the game, once its released. I was unaware until the second Beta Weekend that the game incorporated a combo system. Basically you can augment an attack by combining it with the attack or spell from another class. So if the Elementalist puts up an ice shield around the monster and you shoot an arrow through it, then the arrow does ice damage. That is just an example, I'm not even sure you can create an ice barrier, however the basic principle still holds, classes can combine to augment certain attacks. I actually found this out by ACCIDENT, when I researching about "Condition Damage" another added feature that the game does a poor job of explaining. If an item has "condition damage" as an ability, if you hover over that, it should at least tell you what "condition damage" means and it does not. If I hover over intelligence in my character panel, it will tell me what intelligence does, not sure why it can't do the same for "condition damage". I would tell you what it means but I'm still a bit fuzzy on it myself and to be honest since I had to look it up then you should have to as well. Combos are just too cool not to put it right out in front as a selling point and yet, I knew nothing about it till late Sunday afternoon during the second Beta Weekend.<br />
<br />
My only other complaint is the importance of dodging. Well, its not my only complaint but it will be my last for this post. For the second Beta Weekend, I decided to try out the Warrior. One would hope that something as beefy and armored as a warrior would take a hit better than the squishy classes. Not true. Sadly I died a lot. I actually started surviving when I discovered the trick. The trick is to run away. At times the game play a lot like Diablo 3 on Nighmare level and that's really not cool when its like that at level 4. I personally think that levels 1 - 7 or 8 should be the easy levels. Meaning, that is when your learning how to play, enjoying the cool parts of your new class and just figuring out strategy. But with GW2 it ramps up pretty fast and if your not surrounded by groups of people when doing a dynamic event you end up dying and spend time waiting for someone kind player to revive you. The best way to avoid death is to dodge and run and to be honest that isn't very heroic for my character, especially a warrior. But this issue seems to only be with melee classes. Ranged classes don't have as much to fear and I've even herd said a few times that<br />
Rangers will probably be one of the more prevalent classes on the servers along with Elementalists since they have ranged attacks. This really puts a damper on playing a melee class in my book. Look, I'm not saying make all of it easy, but if I die a lot in the first 6 levels then either I'm retarded and considering I've played a lot of MMO games that's highly unlikely or your game is just too FUCKING HARD on melee. So fix it.<br />
<br />
Besides dying a lot with the warrior, eventually I found a rhythm that helped. I also got some advice about picking up the Healing Signet in the first couple of levels, which increased my survivability a lot. But that is just wrong. If I have to blow my first 3 points on a Healing Signet instead of choosing a different attack or buff then I'm not getting to play the game I want to play. I'm being backed into a corner and I'm playing the way the designers want me to play and that is not right.<br />
<br />
It sounds like I don't like the game, but I do. At first I did not. It seemed strange not to have traditional quest givers and having to constantly change weapons till you found a set of skills that complimented your play style and other unexplained reasons for not falling in love at first sight. But the more I played and the more I got use to the style of play, I learned that this could be the game for me. I can see myself playing this a lot with friends and even soloing a good bit. Its graphically beautiful, the attacks seem very fluid and the ability to switch weapons mid fight to give yourself another set of attacks is pretty nice. I still think they have a lot of work left to get the game just right for release but for now the game handles and looks fantastic.<br />
<br />
I wouldn't advise anyone to run out and buy a copy just to get in the beta. I for one might end up skipping a few once I get a nice feel for how the game works, just so I don't spoil myself before release. I will say that they need to get on with finishing the game. A lot of<a href="http://www.scaryworlds.com/?p=373" target="_blank"> people have already started wondering</a> what exactly did we pay for so far in advance and was it worth it to get in 10 or so beta weekends or will that experience sour us once the game is released.<br />
<br />
<br />
These are just my thoughts and they shouldn't sway anyone from purchasing the game once its truly released. I say all this so I can feel better about my decision to purchase the game. I want to make sure that I put my complaints on file so if the game doesn't improve I can point my figure and go, this is when you didn't listen to your fan base and that is why you failed.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-6366227237428780072012-06-02T20:32:00.001-04:002012-06-02T20:32:59.908-04:00IgnoranceIts ok to have an opinion and as long as we agree to respect each others there is no need for you to say my opinion is wrong!<br /><br />This goes for games, life, faith and choice of lifestyle as long as its all within the boundaries of the law. You can say your opinion is the right one as long as you don't shout at me saying mine is wrong<br /><br />Just an opinion!<br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-85935775344118596852012-05-29T23:57:00.001-04:002012-05-30T00:09:56.603-04:00Diablo III is great... BLIZZARD STILL SUCKS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJbK0EcKOB-3GDW52HdR6P-R7WY1SEl_lEunRa1Rl7ml4McV1LtnoemNQUPDKAfFFsCcZMrclLfgBCEpK3o27Z6jBeQr65O3eYUC1oqVqZP8JaQvtbUJFCUMzFHNuJfO9NX8Peqwib1Xa/s1600/johnny-cash-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJbK0EcKOB-3GDW52HdR6P-R7WY1SEl_lEunRa1Rl7ml4McV1LtnoemNQUPDKAfFFsCcZMrclLfgBCEpK3o27Z6jBeQr65O3eYUC1oqVqZP8JaQvtbUJFCUMzFHNuJfO9NX8Peqwib1Xa/s320/johnny-cash-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another epic Blizzard Failure. Apparently they patched today in order to fix a few things
and completely unhinged the system again.
Not sure what their over all plan was but it felt just like release
week more to the point if felt just like the actual day of release. Look, I'm all for putting out
patches, but can you guys test them before causing a major meltdown every time
you decided something is broken, which it isn't and add something to the game
which we don't necessarily need.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I'll say this again, if the game had an offline mod where
people could play solo I don't think I would complain at all. If I wanted to access the AH or play with
others I'd have to log in, but not allowing people to have any and I mean ANY
access to the game while a bunch of crack head techs try to figure out which
one of them left the jelly sandwich inside the log in server is just simply
poor planning and more importantly poor customer service. yea I understand issues upon release, I get
that, but the game was FINALLY running very smoothly, now is not fit to keep my
door open.. yea I said it.. DOOR STOP NOT APPLICABLE. Look this isn't old hat to you guys. I mean you released WoW for gawd sake and
StarCraft 2 to much success. I mean its
not like you guys were blindsided by people wanting to have a taste of the new
Blizzard designer drug. Hell, you should
have been entrenched warriors ready for the battle. Already hardened by WoW and SC2. This
shouldn't be an issue for a system like Battle.net which has been in place since the release of Diablo 2. There should have been veterans in there working to keep everything going, understanding how important it is to keep the log in servers running and people in the game enjoying their hard earn labored produced crack. Instead we get.. well.. we get more Error 37
and "Can not create game" because someone forgot where they put the log in server or if they even turned it back on after patching the game.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I mean come on man. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know its harder than Brain Science or Rocket Surgery, but don't they hire top notch people to make sure that shit is up and running and customers aren't on the forums or calling them every 10 seconds wanting to know when they can start enjoy the game they have been waiting what over 10 yrs for? Can't we as gamers catch a freakin break? I mean if they aren't getting us addicted to an MMO, which is always down once a week for maintenance, now they design another game to act like an MMO, but isn't, but it is because they do maintenance once a week and they can't seem to get that together long enough to even get the system back up and FUCKING running, like an MMO.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So look, Blizzard please fix your fucking shit. I don't want excuses, I want an off line mod
so I can play this $60.00 game that is slowly turning into a pile of what my
dog won't even crap out. And turning me into a raving lunatic, who is yelling, screaming and letting spittle run out his mouth because of the anger you have
induced in me by your FAILURE to insure that people will have proper access to
your game. I mean come on man, if you guys took as
much care getting your servers up and patched as you do crafting that EULA
which we have to accept every freaking time you make any kind of change. Btw, we just want to play, we don't really
care that no matter how much time we invest in the characters or all the time
we spend outfitting them or all the money we try to make that your still the sole
owner of each and every character, item and drop of gold on your server. JUST FIX THEM so we can enjoy more of your game crack.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wow.. that was a hell of a rant. Sorry.
I was hoping to get to play with a friend of mine this evening, who I've
not spoken with in almost over a year and not played a video game with in over
2 and Blizzard completely tanked the idea by causing the game to crash a LOT.</div>Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-12606336267497094702012-05-06T21:17:00.002-04:002012-05-07T08:07:17.010-04:00TERA ONLINE: First Impressions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTyG2XjSQjlLliNK9vSfneToumyafhbXLoxgY1qc9FDwjt1hWCDP3gkCU5XAtSyR9O53jbShGFRK4T_GGlXfJjd3pncV_n0ydIZxS5Yf5_KhsmFG2JWpdrVlrS7eEywH6vC8xrZ_qcynX/s1600/TERA_ScreenShot_20120504_220516.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTyG2XjSQjlLliNK9vSfneToumyafhbXLoxgY1qc9FDwjt1hWCDP3gkCU5XAtSyR9O53jbShGFRK4T_GGlXfJjd3pncV_n0ydIZxS5Yf5_KhsmFG2JWpdrVlrS7eEywH6vC8xrZ_qcynX/s320/TERA_ScreenShot_20120504_220516.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Tera Online is a Asian MMO that has been recently how do I say, Westernized. It was released in Korea on January 25th 2011, so its been around a while and recently got released in the US on May 1st. I actually first became aware of Tera sometime at the end of last year. A bunch of gamers that I follow on Twitter and G+ where chatting it up a bit, but since SWTOR was coming out the door and I had already committed myself to that little MMO, I didn't really pay much attention to the chit chat.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Fast forward a few weeks ago when Tera Online held their Open Beta. I had pretty much given up on SWTOR and had resigned myself to spending my time playing League of Legends and Minecraft with a few friends. I even reactivated my World of Warcraft account because that's what people do when they don't have any place to go, they go home. Well, I was seeing all the rumblings happening on Twitter and G+ and I figured I'd try and mooch a beta key. I actually got lucky when someone said that Gamespot was giving them out on their website. So I hoped over grabbed me a key and started the download. I have to say that I wasn't expecting anything exceptional. I really didn't know a lot about the game nor had I actually played any Asian MMOs though I know a lot of them are F2P in the US and a few are even browser based.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So here I was really shocked when I just couldn't get enough of the game once I logged in. It had the character models had the typical Asian Manga style as I expected but they been cleaned up for the western audience, basically covering up the breasts a bit more and putting underwear on the women models so players wouldn't be getting an eye full every time your character climbed a ladder. The other exciting part of the game was that the graphics were just awesome. It had been a while since I was really impressed with a games graphics and I have to say this game is probably in my top 5. It just looked great. I took a ton of screen-shots that I shared with people in my G+ circles the entire beta weekend. The other interesting thing, which I'm sure everyone knows about since I'm probably late coming forward with my Tera impressions is that you have to actually "Aim" at your target instead of just Tabbing to it like in most games. There is no auto attack. You basically aim a small reticle at the mob select your attack skill, some are actually bound to your left and right mouse buttons, and start doing some killing. The reticle also has a range finder on it so you always know how far you are from the mob, that way you don't over shoot your area effect spells. You can also dodge incoming attacks complete, combo attacks and have a great time wailing on monsters. The action is fast and furious and its the best time I've had in an MMO since my first days of WoW and to be honest, I didn't really read one quest. I was too busy grabbing them and going out to see what combos I could do that would cause the most damage to the mobs. I mean after a while, I didn't even care if I had a quest to kill stuff, I would just attack them because, it was fucking fun. Another great aspect of the game is that when you get a quest to say kill a specific mob, then a small exclamation point appears over that mobs head so you know instantly that these are the ones you need to kill.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I played every chance I got during the weekend and even found, after I tested the launcher, that the game was still live on Monday morning that I just had to jump in and try my third alt. Making alts in this game is just a ton of fun because each one has a different way of dealing with attacks and heals. It has the basic class types, Priests, Warriors, Sorcerers, Archer and then the off shoots of them, Berserker, Mystic, Lancer, and Slayer. There are also 7 races one of them is a<a href="http://tera.wikia.com/wiki/Popori" target="_blank"> furry animal</a> race while the others are a bit more typical, except the<a href="http://tera.wikia.com/wiki/Elin" target="_blank"> Elin</a>, who look like a young child with tail and ears, a basic manga staple if you ask me.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So after much deliberation and watching the chat in my G+ circles, I decided to pick the game up on launch day, cancel my SWTOR subscription and sign up for a 3 month trip into the world of Tera. So far I've enjoyed the crap out of the gamer. It will be a little grindy to some and the quest language isn't the best considering they translated it from Korean to English, still its not that important. The voice overs can get a little annoying especially when the guys in a specific area tend to repeat the same stuff back to you, but you can't really say that's a deal breaker.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The only disappoint me is the crafting. Its is a bit on the expensive side at first and since you don't start making decent money from quests until level 14 or 15 it might be around level 20 before you can start working on your crafting. I did decide to invest a little bit of my early cash on getting my alchemy up enough to make some decent health potions which have really helped since my warrior tends to soak up a lot of damage when I'm not dodging, something I'm not proficiency at yet Some classes do better with health and mana regen than others. Priests don't do a ton of damage, but they have lots of spells to heal and restore mana. Lancers are very good with dishing out the damage and mitigating it as well, but they are very slow with their attacks and having to block a lot doesn't make killing fast and efficient, like say the warrior or beserker. I did play the archer for a little during beta but I've been sticking with my warrior, sorcerer and my priest. Yes, I'm leveling up three alts at the same time. I'm doing this so I won't get bored like I did in SWTOR. Yes repeating the quests in the same areas can be boring, but its just grinding. And yes that's all this game really is because you don't play it for the story you play it for the cool combat. Everyone I have met says they hate grinding but with Tera grinding is more fun.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVPgnmTTfEZyVgN9iFkn0zJG6PgIREXFZ3lUBX9Se6v1PSRixUE_k3GFlMspwMQxKN3kBBJj1KxnbhQBTUEfCw1m1uoZUNLMB73-2Pk8B4yr2uj718p4iaeQ8urOWHQ02RFi0us6jil7j/s1600/TERA_ScreenShot_20120506_175627.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVPgnmTTfEZyVgN9iFkn0zJG6PgIREXFZ3lUBX9Se6v1PSRixUE_k3GFlMspwMQxKN3kBBJj1KxnbhQBTUEfCw1m1uoZUNLMB73-2Pk8B4yr2uj718p4iaeQ8urOWHQ02RFi0us6jil7j/s320/TERA_ScreenShot_20120506_175627.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
They make the MMO genre fun again because they don't put a lot of restrictions on you. Most items you get from loot aren't binding to your character. So you can take them off and sell them or give them to people. Your bank is shared by all your characters so you don't have to move around from character to character trying to find that one item you need, you just open the game and its there for all. At level 11 you automatically receive a quest to get your free mount. Its the same as everyone else but still, its a free mount. The game just makes things that seem tedious in other games, less so in theirs.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm having a blast. I'm sure there will be somethings about the game that players will hate, but if my friend over at <a href="http://pumpingirony.net/" target="_blank">Pumping Irony </a>can get into Tera considering his feelings about subscription MMOs, the the game must have some decent on some level, right?</div>Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-85818045888082347462012-04-25T11:37:00.000-04:002012-04-25T11:37:54.412-04:00Guild Wars 2: Disaster waiting to happen?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCf9hFgnk0go_gG3uxGvpkgGC1o-BAUVL9wreiLdmKAYoWD6lBSvrBEbYef1X2soI6zTDqXN2ROH64yzlGMs7v83RVK9NMVxQPSZLZW9_PiJq3r3fEqkFzwCY-h9_RuUnosnZLkvsoQSv8/s1600/10_full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCf9hFgnk0go_gG3uxGvpkgGC1o-BAUVL9wreiLdmKAYoWD6lBSvrBEbYef1X2soI6zTDqXN2ROH64yzlGMs7v83RVK9NMVxQPSZLZW9_PiJq3r3fEqkFzwCY-h9_RuUnosnZLkvsoQSv8/s400/10_full.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I finally broke down and pre ordered Guild Wars 2 on Monday morning. The announcements went out yesterday that people would be slowly receiving their beta invites and as luck would have it this morning I received mine. YEAH! Course this weekend I'll be mostly visiting relatives with very limited time to try out the beta, but still I will be able to dip my toes in the water of Guild Wars 2 goodness. At the very least I can see the starting areas and how my new gaming machine that I built in January of this year will handle the graphics. I haven't really been looking at a lot of GW2 media. I have checked out what others have said either in my feed or on Google+. Players are pretty passionate about the game. While playing the beta for Tera this past weekend a lot of the local area chat consisted of conversation, passionate ones, about how Tera would hold up once GW2 got released, because GW2 is awesome, its going to beat everything, it will be the best game out there. <br />
<br />
There were a lot of pretty strong opinions concerning a game that really has only been seen by a few players and those who have gotten to play the demo did so at a convention, which frankly is designed to run flawlessly and on the best gaming machines available. Course before the passionate descend on me let me also state that there are a lot of people who have been participating in the close beta who will have a valid opinion of the beta, not the actual released game, so that opinion is valid if only concerning parts of the game they have experienced that will continue to be part of the released game.<br />
<br />
How do we know as players that GW2 will be the next in gaming revolution? Will the mounds of press media that has been descending upon us for months and is now threatening to cover us in an avalanche of information before the game is actually released give us what we need to know whether the game will be worth of our hard earned money? I've seen videos, looked at blogs and still I'm not sure if GW2 will be the best MMO out there or just invalidated hype.<br />
<br />
I hate hype and I hate people in the betas professing how much a game like GW2 will change the face of gaming or that it will be the most god awful game since Vanguard. Either way, I am excited about my participation in this weekends beta so I can get my own opinion and therefore make sure I've made the right choice by pre ordering the game.<br />
<br />
Hope to see you there.Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569881459810633102.post-42872040973016283252012-04-24T16:50:00.001-04:002012-04-24T20:04:53.307-04:00Neglected<b><br /></b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGJYq_YTe5iyPhtkQQod-HiuWDhka75acVmVe8wldDIt-3nAAOlHcErimYMXPC1Fb16rb605a75h9pKdoJYjAFKa8QkhcOR1amGSaH6LIzDE_avSxmn17nG67ELOZR2qTPi4vnkiaFxX4/s1600/blog_neglect.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGJYq_YTe5iyPhtkQQod-HiuWDhka75acVmVe8wldDIt-3nAAOlHcErimYMXPC1Fb16rb605a75h9pKdoJYjAFKa8QkhcOR1amGSaH6LIzDE_avSxmn17nG67ELOZR2qTPi4vnkiaFxX4/s400/blog_neglect.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Oakstout</b>: <i> <span style="color: orange;">Hi Blog</span></i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<b>Blog</b>: <i><span style="color: yellow;">what, who, where???? Leave me alone </span></i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<b>Oakstout: </b><i><span style="color: orange;">Wake up, I have something I need to say.</span></i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<b>Blog: <span style="color: orange;"> </span></b><i><span style="color: yellow;">Go say it over on Google+, you don't care about me anymore</span><span style="color: orange;">.</span></i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<b>Oakstout: <span style="color: orange;"> </span></b><i><span style="color: orange;">I do care, that's why I'm here. I know I've been neglecting you and its time I stopped.</span></i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<b>Blog: <span style="color: yellow;"> </span></b><i><span style="color: yellow;">Likely story. Google+ probably changed a feature or the way it looks so now you don't like it as much. Don't pretend you care. I'm not interested.</span></i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<b>Oakstout: <span style="color: orange;"> </span></b><i><span style="color: orange;">You've always been on my mind even if I haven't been here to write posts and thrust my warped opinion out into the blogging world. Look I'm sorry. I know I've wronged you in the past but I'm here to make it up to you. I promise to at least post once a week or maybe more if your interested.</span></i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<b>Blog: </b><i><span style="color: yellow;">Well since I can't divorce you and I'm really a figment of your guilt and delusions. I guess it would be ok. However, I'm pretty sure you've lost tons of readers so if anyone was interested in what you were saying before I'm pretty sure they are off listening to someone else.</span></i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<b>Oakstout: </b><i><span style="color: orange;">Let's find out... together.</span></i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
Well, I'm back. Its been since last November since I posted anything and then it was just to say I wasn't dead or giving up on my blog and promising to post more often. Today is the start of more often I guess.<br />
<br />
Since last I posted I've been playing a ton of different games. Right after my last post, SWTOR came out and I was very excited about that, however...I'm not that interested in it anymore for some reason. The game seems more like a single player game than a multiplayer game, as stated by numerous reviews. The voice over dialog is fun at first but eventually it just starts to annoy and eventually grates on you. Can I just get to the meat of the quests? What do I need to kill, tell me that and let me be on my way please so I'm not standing here. Some planets are very small and intimate while others are so huge you keep asking yourself, why? I think I started to lose interest when my Inquisitor first reached Tatooine. The area is large, vast and brown. Lots of boring desert. It all looked the same. Players kept saying, you have to just push past it and get to the next planet. I was like, why do I need to push past? There are parts of WoW that I really didn't enjoy running through and the designers knew that would be an issue so they created more areas for people to level in. If your 30 and don't like this area, move to the other level 30 area. You can't do that in SWTOR.<br />
<br />
So, I decided I would do something different. I worked on leveling my Sith Marauder, but when I reached Tatooine it happened all over again, but this time I pushed past to Alderaan. I grew more interested but real life interfered and it was some time before I could get back into the game. By the time I did I discovered that again, I had lost interest. I tried PvP, I tried running instances, but nothing seemed to keep me entertained and eventually I even lost interest in logging in. I haven't cancelled my subscription yet, but it will probably happen soon. The game is fun, but it has no serious draw for me. The story lines are great, but that really isn't enough to keep me entertained. Sorry Bioware, it was fun, but just not addictive like WoW. Its almost like Blizzard puts something in the code that keeps you logging back in for the grind and lets not fool ourselves, everything about WoW is a grind, but its still a fun one.<br />
<br />
After that I decided to jump back on the console and try out a few games. Kingdom of Amalur kept my attention for a while as did Skyrim. I also broke down and picked up Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3. I kept Modern Warfare 3 after discovering that I really did not like Battlefield 3. No matter how I tried the game just had no appeal for me. I was getting sniped and killed instantly in that game. At least in MW3 I was able to survive longer that 3 seconds and get a few kills in to boot. I'm still not sure what it was about BF3 that disagreed with me. Maybe it was too real and people were too good at the game and me being a novice just didn't stand a chance. Who knows.<br />
<br />
I managed to also pick up SSX, Soul Calibur 4 and Mass Effect 3. Yes, I was on a buying spree since the first of the year. I even managed to pick up StarCraft 2 even though I had promised myself that I would wait till the price dropped down for outrageous to reasonable. I will admit its one of the best purchases of the year so far. I've gotten better at playing and managing my resources to the point where I'm not getting killed 5 minutes into most matches. Now its around 20 minutes. However, I do have a pretty good teacher and<a href="http://thegrouchygamer.squarespace.com/"> he's pretty patient</a> with my progress considering his online personal.<br />
<br />
Not much else to report. I have dabbled in a few betas. Most recently Diablo 3 and Tera Online, which I will go into more detail tomorrow.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Oakstout: </b><span style="color: orange;"><i>See that blog, I've already committed to a second post this week</i>.</span><br />
<br />
<b>Blog: <span style="color: yellow;"> </span></b><i><span style="color: yellow;">I will believe it when I see it.</span></i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
I will say that I did enjoy both games, but I'll have more of a review on them when I post next. I do have a large number of pictures to share from Tera as well.<br />
<br />
I will post this and probably spend a small portion of my time going back and re editing it as I find mistakes. Feel free to point them out since I'm not an English major nor an English minor. I actually barely have a generic understanding of the language. In person I just use hand gestures. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><br /></i>Oakstouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338018420187011141noreply@blogger.com5