1/31/2011

Underwater Palace


A shot I took while visiting the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas.

1/30/2011

Self Sacrifice and other thoughts..

Lets talk about overpowered special spells.
Do players typically look for instant gratification, or are they willing to help the greater good at their own expense?


Think of these two Warhammer Online kind of spells that i've thought of:

Disciple of Khaine sacrifices himself which will res the whole party with full life, he has a debuff which prevents others from ressing him and lowers his stats by half for 5 minutes.

Archmage casts a spell that resses the whole party with full life with a debuff that causes him to lose all his AP and not regen any AP for 5 minutes (from any source), which persists through death.

Though great in effect, are normal people willing to go through such a disadvantage to help others? The Morale abilities in WAR can be set to be more beneficial to the group, but normally there isn't any ill effects to the player. Would many players be so selfless and utilize such a skill/ability?

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The torch and the environment.

I look forward to an mmo that has an outdoor environment with a very dark (see: low/reduced visibility) night when there isn't any stars/moon/artificial lights. A torch in this instance would be a character's way of being able to navigate when spells aren't available. Where environmental effects such as rain and sleet causes a slowdown in movement and causes debuffs to combat (though probably very small). Having the high ground will allow archers (in particular) get a bonus to the distance in which they can attack.

1/27/2011

Guild Wars 2 Class Announcement

I guess its time for my obligatory entry on the new Guild Wars 2 class: The Guardian.

I'll be the first to say the class armor detailing looks sick, EVEN for the Asura.. if my character actually ended up looking like that soon, even I would play that race.

Cool abilities like the wavey Zealot's Defence or funny ones like Wall of Deflection. Heavy armor wearing, damage dealing knight/tank-like class which has an aura like the Paladin from Diablo 2 with a small twist being they lose their passive buff when they give it to their party members. (atleast for a short while)

I find it odd that a Guardian would use a scepter as a weapon... kinda weak choice. Also; whats up with the torch being in the off-hand? Whats the benefit?

From the video of Faithful Strike when the party members are buffed with a blue shield, the avatar with the two-handed greatsword gets the buff too instead of just the people with the shield which seems cool.

The question I put out to Arenanet (in a bit of a fanboyish tone): why did it take so long to announce this class? There certainly wasn't very much information on this page. Maybe there is more to come in the following days that will appease our ceaseless hunger for more info.

1/24/2011

Timeliness

I'm not one much to announce news of information for certain mmos (or am I?); but I'm really looking forward to the release of Guild Wars 2, so without further stalling:

Possible Guardian class news for Guild Wars 2 from two friend's blogs:
Thrangis and Hunter

I've been looking forward to any 'real' information (lore isn't considered game info to me) on the game for months. MONTHS. Since when was the last time they released real game info? Too long ago. A bit unacceptable in my eyes, but they're the developer and they can do whatever they like (and they know i'm already hooked and frothing at the mouth). ;)

After reading the book Guild Wars: Edge of Destiny, and without any solid confirmations on what the other classes will be, the "Guardian" class looks to be my possible alt class, as I like to heal, be durable and still do some dps. I guess in some ways a Norn Guardian would work... but I feel a Hunter or Warrior would be a better fit for such a race.

1/23/2011

Magic system, Cosplay & Silky


Something i'd like to see implemented in Guild Wars 2 (my first choice in mmo's):
A magic system like Dragon Age: Origins.

What do i mean by that?
I despise buffs that require me to constantly recast it every couple seconds or even minutes.



Arenanet should implement it like DA:O, in that:
- you cast the spell, and it just lowers your total mana reserve and the spell persists until you choose not to keep it active

Much more convenient (less micromanagement of the individual) and you can concentrate on other aspects of the game (controlling the rest of your party).

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Some Fallout New Vegas
cosplay


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A photo from the Bahamas


This was a nightshot from the Atlantis resort where (without boasting) a normal point and shoot camera couldn't get, as it would be too dark. By increasing the length of time the shutter is open, it makes the shot look like was done during the day.

1/22/2011

Races, Armor

Question: Should future iterations of Mass Effect give the option of selecting a different race, or should Sheppard always be human?

I was thinking of how Dragon Age had different origins stories which made it unique and gave more replayability. I would think this to be a great way to have more attachment to my character but EA should keep in mind to make only the popular races available; I 'tried' playing as a dwarf in DA:O.. but I hate them. I know other people like them.. but I just couldn't bring myself to playing one and missed out on their origin story.

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My gf is currently playing and is addicted to Iris Online and she was telling me how her healer was using plate armor instead of the traditional cloth armor that would garner her better healing. With the plate armor, she was a little less effective in healing, but survived much longer due to having a higher armor class and in not dying as much, she was able to heal more overall and was more effective.

I would like to see this more in mmo's: No armor restrictions for any class, where it becomes viable for any class to use any armor at a particular time.

Similar to my entry on shields, giving each type of armor different passive characteristics, it'll change the way in which we approach gear.

Cloth
- lightweight; allowing traditional cloth users to move at normal speed; leather users have a small speed boost and defensive (dodge) buff, plate users increase that effect
- gives boosts to healing/spellcasting abilities
- setting traps, dexterity-related abilities are quickened

Leather
- slows down cloth users slightly causing spells to be cast slower or (gasp) cause spell failure, or even decrease spell effectiveness; more defence than cloth
- no effect to traditional leather users
- speed boosts for plate users, defensive (dodge) buff as well

Plate
- slows down cloth users dramatically but provides a great amount of defence, BUT not as much as traditional plate users who have had experience practicing in it for years
- increased armor at the cost of the loss of dexterity-based abilities(ie. stealth)/effectiveness for leather users
- no negative effect for plate users, higher defence than any other archetype

Combination of Leather/Plate
- the in between of the two
- can have different levels of this armor (30% leather, 70% plate, or 50/50 split) which can cause a wide variety of gear and effects

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Added a cool blog/site:
InformationIsBeautiful.net

1/20/2011

Never fight alone

Despite the stupid avatar names, I've notice something that I like in the new DC Universe game: when you free npcs (and you do that alot apparently) in the game, they now become available to assist your hero fight other enemy npcs. Not only that they are normally rather strong, persist (to some extent; instead of just disappearing), and npcs usually exist in other areas without needing to be saved.
This is a nice touch that they've implemented; no longer are you all alone in your fight. No longer do they just run away from the fight. And now they can put up a bit of a fight, or atleast provide some distraction from you.

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More stupid names though:
Gohard Gohan (seriously?)
N1njon
Chirstian123 (spelling.. and numbers in your name; classy)
HarryPoppins
xXMurderousXx (b/c obviously xMurderousx was already taken..)

jp (not important enough to have uppercase)
Bob Loblaw (defender of the grocery store)

Actually.. when i see a good name, ill let you know

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Some fun
cosplay of our favorite game: Borderlands

(actually, I can't bring myself to play the pc version anymore.. GASP)

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My week has been ok; I finished the campaign in Magic: The Gathering for pc yesterday. I feel like there is nothing to play these days though.. I guess i'm looking forward to RIFT, though its really just a placeholder for Guild Wars2; not to put it down, but I hope RIFT is really great.. but i'm not getting my hopes up .. I kinda imagine there would be more fanfare if it really was 'that' great.

Wishing I was back in the Bahamas..

1/18/2011

Stupid Names

I've been watching my brother play DC Universe on his ps3.. and i've noticed that super hero mmo's have even less creative names.

Here are some names i've seen today:
Super Supreme
Hank Hill
Awesome One
Spencer Pain
Angel of Power


/le sigh

Requirements, notebooks and boredom

I have a question in which i'm not sure if anyone has the answer to:
Will RIFT require constant connection to Steam, or if we get the physical cd copy, will it have it's own launcher?

I've always preferred to buy games at the local store/EB/BestBuy as I like to have something physical to hold onto and don't like spending massive time chunks downloading it from Steam. Saying that, I like how even if i relocate and even somehow lose my computer, as long as I have internet connection and can remember my passcode, I can redownload the whole game from Steam (and hopefully have a blazing fast connection :P).

I've also found that many games that i've purchased from Steam crashes more frequently than ones with actual cds (barring Fallout NV which is just a sad bag of crappy bugs).. but Steam does have their sales and the in-game items I can benefit from.

The answer to that question will determine whether I buy from the store or from Steam.

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Something that should be implemented in future and existing mmo's should be a guild notebook.

A simple window in the interface that lets guild members write things down. Though this creates a wide opening for abuse, inappropriate language and dialoge, it can also be useful:
- to list non-guilded friend's of the guild
- to list enemies/rude people to avoid with reasons why
- an in-game forum for various topics including in-guild auction, events, tips, etc

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I keep trying to get into Guild Wars... and i get bored after 10 minutes.
Maybe the game ramps up after the tutorial area.. but i can't get around:
- the lack of being able to jump; making you feel like you're on rails
- the old drab graphics (it can't help that)
- 'load-out' of skills just seems odd
- transition between zones requiring loading screens
- high amount of instancing

1/17/2011

Back from Paradise

Back from my friend's Bahamas wedding; it was fantastic; got a nice tan, relaxxxed, and only had the worry of when the next buffet was ready for us ;)

I'll try to post of touched up photos from the trip when I can as I have over 600+ to go through.

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Looking to get the physical cards of Magic: The Gathering.. any suggestions where I can get alot on the cheap? I want to get enough for 6-8 people to have their own personal deck and maybe extras so they can try alternate variations.

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I went to the Bahamas for my close friend's wedding and actually had the opportunity to fit in some pleasure reading; I had purchased the new Guild Wars: Edge of Destiny book and Magic: The Gathering: Agents of Artifice book. With a title like "edge of destiny" and cover art of Jace Beleren, how could I not buy them? I took the opportunity to read the Guild Wars book and was pleasantly entertained and my eagerness for Guild Wars 2 has been rekindled. I don't want to give away any plot, but ill just say this: its not the typical ending of books, but in this instance, it makes alot of sense.

This entry is more of confirming what I believe are to be the future announced classes of Guild Wars 2, if they intend on basing such classes from what is in the book. Currently announced are the following classes:

Warrior
- the typical tank and master-at-arms
- in the book, is the Charr warrior Rylock Brimstone who weilds a legendary flaming long sword
- generally in stronger (chainish/plate combo) armor
- used mostly his sword (b/c its so powerful) but also used his claws

Hunter
- ranged/melee character with pet
- in the book, is the Norn huntress Eir with faithful wolf Garm
- she had a buff of sorts that increased her accuracy, or damage
- at the beginning she seemed to use melee alot with dual wield hand axes (!!!!), but later on seems to favor her bow with explosive tips

Elementalist
- ranged magical dps
- in the book, is the dour Asura genius Zojja
- she starts off operating golems with her mind but later on uses magic and specializing (fire, water, etc) depending on the circumstance

Necromancer
- summoner and user of death magic
- no real character referenced in the book that is a necromancer, though Snaffs had the ability to control golems and sand with his mind and the dragon champions had control of undead creatures

At this point there were 3 other characters that would fit certain classes:

Caithe; a firstborn sylvari who used a stiletto and always knew the weak points of various creatures resulting in a quick death. She was also incredibly agile and rarely got hurt as she was able to avoid most attacks.
Expected Profession: Assassin - melee dps (possibly one that doesn't rely on poisons)

Logan; a human warrior who started as a scout/mercenary, evolving to stronger armor and weilding a warhammer and ended up in heavy plate armor with a sword Expected Profession: Warrior Priest - heavy armor hot healer, low-med damage

Queen Jennah; the human queen of Divinity's Reach
Expected Profession: (they outright say the profession name) Mesmer - mind controller

After reading this, I'm energized for another few months of teasers and information *cough-release-some-news-coughcough* of Guild Wars 2. For now I'll wait for Rift to satiate my mmo fever.

1/04/2011

Short Hiatus

I'll be away for a week or so for a friend's wedding; take care friends.

Recently: during the Christmas Steam sale, I purchased Magic: The Gathering, Borderlands and Disciples 3: Rennaisance

Borderlands
(thought i wasn't gonna blog about that anymore did you, DID YOU??)
Plays fantastic on the pc; I wish I had originally got it for the pc; I have 5 lvl 60+ characters on my 360 account, and I still will play (time permitting) with the pc version; its that good. Easier to aim and control; seems smoother.. feels natural.

Disciples 3
Its a more artistic version of Heroes of Might and Magic. And alot less intuitive; the tutorial sucks. Your army is your lifeblood; if you lose them, its nigh impossible to win. The reason for this is, just like your hero, your army gains experience too. Its a double edged sword; when you're army is high lvled, you're unstoppable, but at the beginning, even fighting 'trash' mobs is a huge challenge. You can res your fallen army at a cost, but if they fall, they don't get any experience if you win the battle.Very few single player non-campaign maps. The inability to pick your starting hero type. Battle is a bit over simplified. Resources collection is a bit convoluted as well.
Its nice; (the price was right at 5$) but only good in small spurts.

Magic: The Gathering
I gotta ask myself this question: why do I keep purchasing games for my pc that I already have for the 360? (Magic, Borderlands, Left 4 Dead 2)Because it plays better on the pc.
Except for the constant crashing... *cry* This game makes me want to buy the cards (second hand, b/c i'm not paying gobs of money to start fresh) and play with my friends, who I think will actually want to play (we play Munchkins).

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Question: What kind of OS do you have for your pc?
Reasoning: i've been encountering massive amounts of crashing with most of my pc games, including Magic: The Gathering and Fallout New Vegas, even Borderlands