Thursday, December 26, 2013

Holiday Gaming





I've been doing a bit of gaming away from the computer for a change. I've always been more of a PC gamer but recently I've really wanted to try some of the games on the 3DS. I've honestly never really had my own hand held gaming device. My phone doesn't really count, while I do play a lot of games on it, they all seem the same in the end. Nothing with much depth or exactly what I want. I do play a lot of Heroes of Dragon Age regularly (it has gotten quite grindy), and some Tiny Death Star on occasion.  Originally I thought I'd pick it [3DS] up when my son wasn't playing, but every time I went to... it was on the charger, heh. Dire had wanted to surprise me with a 3DS for Christmas but we found a great sale on (XL pink and white!) one so I've already been playing it for a week now. It was actually cheaper than the smaller one, I was quite happy.

I've always wanted to play Animal Crossing and with New Leaf, it looked better than ever. Plus, my brothers and my son each have a 3DS and play ACNL together, while I watched them trade items and play mini games together, I wanted one more and more. ACNL was the biggest reason I wanted one, and I have to say I love it. It is a bit of a 'needy' game but it is a lot of fun, I absolutely love playing it. It is quite cute and a fun change from what I usually play. It is also nice to kick back on the couch and play something, or pick it up on a ride across town.

I really have been enjoying the 3DS more than I had initially thought I would. I see myself playing it for a very long time. I haven't played anything with a controller in so long, so my hands had to get used to that, haha! I got a few hand cramps last week, which was so embarrassing. Um, sorry I bombed at that game, guys... My hand is cramping!

From left to right: Necro, me and Nelf. Love how you can join other people to play together in ACNL! We are just so cute!

I also have Rune Factory 4, which looks soooo fun. I've only just started it. My son has been hogging it up until he got the new Zelda game and Pokemon, so I plan on getting some time put into it this weekend. I hear there is a lot to do and it really appealed to me being a sort of spin off of Harvest Moon. Another title I've always heard good things about, which I also got Harvest Moon: A New Beginning. Currently ACNL has taken up most of my play time on the 3DS but I am excited about the other games too. My son has quite a few games now as well, so we can swap around games. Plus, it gives me a nice break from MMO games, which is a big change for me.

Over the Christmas week I did get some MMO time in, though not as much. I have been doing a few daily (holiday) quests in Rift, gained some cute holiday pets. In EQ2 I did lots of holiday stuff, getting the quests I wanted the most out of the way. Lots of fantastic rewards, especially housing items. Lots of cosmetic goodness!




I even headed back to EverQuest, just to play with Dire. I hit level 100 with my monk, it is nice to be at the level cap again, it has been awhile. Thanks to a double XP weekend, our accounts being grandfathered RaF linked, and his crazy SK swarming, it flew by. I don't mind playing it to play a game with Dire, but I don't really do much solo. There are some new daily quests which grant 54 AA for killing five random mobs, really great way to rack up some points if you don't have a lot of time to play. But the whole thing feels so different these days, with mercs and now Dire boxes (my characters mostly, seems I have a 100 bard now- taken over by him, lol). It just doesn't feel the same as us going toe to toe to mobs together as a team. But it is nice to play something with him, even if it is not my first choice. I'm still puttering in City of Steam when time permits, slowly leveling. They added a cosmetic gear vendor, which was great to see. Now my bank is full, lol.




And... I popped into WoW for Christmas. I didn't want to miss another, as I did last year (first one I ever missed, heh). Then I actually missed it, the fluid gameplay, my characters, the cities. WoW has a lot of great memories attached to it, it was very nice to pop back in, so easy to fall back into Azeroth. On top of that, I forgot the new recruit a friend system had been implemented, so I had a gift waiting on me for Christmas. What a cool thing to log into for the holiday, I could pick any of the new pets or mounts. I was like... Are you serious?! So I grabbed the Nightwing mount (pictured above), which turns you into a flying cat, and it also allows a passenger to ride on this flying mount. I have needed a flying mount which I can fly someone on, so  I was very stoked!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I still have presents to open and quests to finish up... People to visit in little towns, crops to harvest, fishing to be done, and a mayor position to get back to, heh. Safe adventures!






Monday, December 16, 2013

Back Home To Norrath






In my last post I mentioned wanting to spend more time playing Vanguard. I decided to log in some and play my Necro, then I remembered she was still sitting at level 24 without her feign death spell. Which happens to be too hard for me to solo still. But-- My Disciple isn't, she can solo the stuff easily. I decided to clear out a path so that the necro could run down to the quest NPC, it shouldn't take all that long and I could finally have it finished up, as I can never seem to find a group for this. But Vanguard, being the finicky beast that it is, wasn't wanting to cooperate. The chunk kept going down and kicking me out, huge lag spikes, then a kick, repeatedly. Only to return to a full respawn of the dungeon. After over half an hour and three tries of clearing, I decided a return to Vanguard would have to wait.

I was in the mood to play a pet class. Then I thought of the new channeler class in EverQuest 2. It is a pet class but more so a healer with a pet who wields a bow. I've been wanting to try one out, just putting it off because I did not have the new expansion. You cannot boost the new channeler class to 85 with the new heroic unlock, but that is fine with me, just exploring and playing from level one means more things to do. So, for an early Christmas prezzy, that is what I wanted, the new xpac I still needed!



The new channeler class is quite fun. Very different and feels more unique than a lot of classes I've played over the years. There are interesting mechanics, such as using your pet to absorb damage and heal with. It will take some getting used to. The pet cannot be directly attacked, so it is not a tank pet. But I have a monk merc who tanks (xpac claim) who is quite amazing. You can also 'draw' essences out of mobs to fuse to your pet, such as a bat's head. It changes the look of the construct and adds a proc or bonus to stats. This reminds me of the grafts the necromancer in Vanguard gets, I loved that aspect of the game. A bit of flavor that made the class unique and fun.



Mostly I've been spending my time in the (gorgeously revamped) Frostfell wonderland, completing holiday quests and crafting goodies. There are a lot of nifty items this year! Lots of great and new quest rewards, fluff things like illusions for your pet, which really were awesome to get on my new pet class! EverQuest 2 is one of the best games to play through any holiday, it has such  a vast amount of things to do. It is nice being back with a new character, a new class, very fun for the holidays!

I'll still do some holiday stuff in Rift this year, but I think I rode the sled down the hill one too many times last year. I don't like just grinding out repetitive things for every event. I do like to quest too. And on a sad note, the sim where my land is, in SL, is shutting down. So I'll be wandering around looking for more land I suppose. Such a shame as I loved that set up I had... sigh.

Have a great week, peeps! Hope you're all enjoying the holiday events scattered over all out virtual worlds! Tune in next time :)


New sights for Frostfell, charming and impressive at the same time! 

We still have rainbow bridges to slide down :)

The construct pet.

My house and my RAF mount with a graphics glitch, heh. This house is soooo cozy!!

Frostfell wonderland.

Admiring the scenery with my new monk merc, he's aweeeesome.

King of the gobbys you say?





Monday, December 9, 2013

City of Steam: What Are Those People Doing?






Yesterday I was noticing on my screen many characters seemed to be doing a dance. I had noticed it before but yesterday I really noticed it. Yet it wasn't a dance. Throwing some punches, stretching, weird stuff. Do they all know about some dance that I don't? Are they all in some secret fight club (nobody ever lets me in on these things). Well, this turns out to be the training part of the game, basically you can afk and get some xp while you make lunch or do the laundry... Up to twelve hours. Ahh... I see they're training! And getting xp for it, pretty cool. You gain the option after you make a purchase/subscribe. You don't actually have to purchase a sub, because it popped up right away.

I decided to grab a sub, I'm really enjoying the game and a sub is pretty cheap. Granted, if you take a day off, you don't consume that day, I like that. Don't feel pressured to play, keep things light and fun. City of Steam definitely is fun. I also got my old robot back, the cool little loot guy I got last time I played (before the relaunch). I missed him, he's so cute! And you can get some nice stuff like xp boost (instant amount consumed), weapons, rings and so on, just for adding some monies to your account. Generous, instead of adding them in as a pack instead.


I've picked up some blue mercenaries, there are the standard colors for strength- White, green, blue and purple. I mainly use the Mechanist, who has some weird/cool (I can't decide which it is) helmet covering his face and he runs around doing AE damage from range, which is handy. I really like the mercenary feature, it was a complete surprise that it was added. I guess it is nice to have a companion to wander off into the world with, I love pets and mercenaries. And they don't grub up all my money and xp! Kind of like friends, but pretend, ha! Wait...


There is always a lot to do. Dungeons, events, PvP (which I've not messed with at all). Lots and lots of events, some grant amazing xp. My favorite is the egg bash. Basically a loot pinata, bash golden eggs for tons of money. I love the music added to the event too, Dire gets mad because I turn it way up. My pet (which picks up money) will be very handy in there, as I can't always grab it all before my time ends.

So far, sitting at 17, what I like about this game is that it keeps things fun and keeps a variety of things to do. It isn't super hard, great to relax to, but it isn't stupidly easy either. You do have to try. It isn't focusing on the same things I've been doing in every other game. Questing, well, yeah. But it feels light and like I'm going places.

Speaking of places. The last time I played, the game was pretty much all instanced, except for the wilderness (does that still exist?!). Now there is so much more that is open, it is cool to see people running around questing too. So, a nice change to making the world feel less a lonely place. Plus, we're not getting charged energy every time we want to run a quest, that was a very smart move in my opinion. And the dungeon/missions are not super long, which is good for me.



Just throwing out some thoughts on the game while they are fresh in my mind. It is pretty sweet, and it has some great music (listen to the track up top). Really, you can enjoy the game for free as well, I surely did. I didn't feel restricted either. However, I wanted to support the game as I really want to see it succeed. Give it a try, let me know what you think of it!



Tip- Not sure about screenshots with the game, it being browser based but I do know dropbox will save any you take. Make sure you're in full screen mode (unlike me) or you'll get all the tabs and the bar in it also. Next time I'll trim them up, feeling a bit lazy today. 




Sunday, December 8, 2013

December Wanderings






Lately I've been wandering back and forth to a few games. Rift, which is fun questing, though I don't play often enough to really get much done. I am still not 60, but it isn't a big deal really. I'm in no rush, I have zero intent to run dungeons and raids. I do hope there is still incentive for the game at 60, that worries me at times. But there is still a lot to do, mentoring down, rifts, invasions, instant adventures, yada, yada, yada. I'm not too worried. Plus, we have the occasional weekly event, which have not been that interactive but interesting nonetheless. We had fashion week, with dailys. Then mech week which was cool, just not too much to do because I couldn't get the (dungeon) lockboxes not being 60... Which you needed to do the dungeons. But I did get an awesome mech mount fromt he daily one! I was pretty stoked! I also got another neat pet.

I've really been wanting to get back into Vanguard SoH, in all it's buggy glory. It still holds a power over me even though I didn't start playing until 2009 or so. It is lovely, the world is huge, there is so much I have yet to see. It just feels so classic. Endgame is not what I'm looking forward to but merely the journey through the world. So, I hope to set aside some time to get back into it. I just can't settle on a class, there are so many fun classes. We'll see. I always want to but I always seem to drift away. Sigh...

I'm also piddling around in Second Life. I know only a small handful of gamers who actually play, but it is relaxing. I mostly build, putter around with my land, take pretty pictures and explore sims. I rarely talk to many new people, but I have made a few new ones here and there. It is quiet game (for me) but enjoyable. I guess what interests me is the ability to do whatever. I am not the most talented builder, but I do enjoy creating items. Currently I am working on some globes, sort of like snow globes but with stars and stuff.

And, I would not of had an idea about City of steam: Arcadia (re)releasing if it were not for Bhagpuss posting about his return. It sort of just slipped my mind. Which I've flung myself back into. I loved that game. It is even better than before. We have mercenaries. Bikes are still in the game, you don't have to save up a ton of money to get the starter, you simply keep upgrading it, which is awesome. Instant cool ride! I enjoy the combat still, quick and easy. The classes are fun. This time I think I will start with a new class. More of a tanky character. The characters are still a bit crude but charming. I went with a male this time, the females are so clunky looking in the armor (it doesn't cover/stretch over areas as well as male armor). Maybe the next one will be a female, they just don't have much of a coolness factor for me. It is good to be back! Oh, and if you want some cool, FREE, headgear, cosmetic items- Think classic items we used to get in the character creation- Zam still has a few codes. I about flipped when I got one. Then again I'm a steampunk junkie. I love goggles and top hats (in games, I'd look so dorky IRL with them on). They have a list on the website, Zam is at the bottom, hats are pictured. You also get a lot of helpful things in the pack. Yep, steampunk your head!

I did have an issue logging in today, while I shared this on Twitter, I figure I'll throw it in here too. Hope things smooth out soon and we can pop back in and play soon! They say they're working on it. The other interesting  bit on the forums is... Was Mechanist hacked? Check out this thread.

I've tried to get the guys to play one of these with me but they are pretty happy with EverQuest, so I don't pester them too much. They play together and sometimes with guild members, which is nice to see them enjoying time together. They do ask me to play EQ, but right now I just feel like I've played it so long, I just can't, for now at least. I remember how burnt out I got in 2005, I ran to WoW for a change of pace and scenery. By now I just want something.... Different. Different from what I've been playing the last decade I guess.

And on the mobile front, I'm addicted to the new Heroes of Dragon Age, available on Android and iPhone. It starts out pretty smooth, gets a bit tougher as you go, but it is good. I think the game still could use a bit of tweaking, if you don't have the right lineup it can be quite rough. That, or if you have just crap luck on getting decent epic and legendary characters, you'll have a tougher time. The game is automated but it is entertaining for a phone game, there is plenty to keep tabs on. You also don't have to worry about armor upgrades, instead you upgrade your heroes. I like it, I even PvP, which is attacking people that randomly come up. THIS needs a lot of work, I'm in my teens and I'm getting matches with players forty levels higher than myself. You can decline and move on, but there is a timer, and backing out and looking again for the right match to go up against, well, it can become annoying. You really have to gauge the teams, the line up, you can pretty much gauge how you'll fare in most cases. If players don't have the heroes with a row bonus, easy win. Things like that you start to notice. And, you lose ranking for losses, more than you make with one win. Which has me pulling my hair out sometimes. But all in all it is quite a good game.

That's it for today. Stay safe, stay warm, and may your adventures be full of fun and phat lootz!

My land, I ripped up everything and laid everything out again. It was basically an empty lot with sand. I just love it!

Using a greenhouse as a house, thought it gave it a very sweet feel. 

Ferrets running around, gotta have them, since we now have two IRL!

Piano in my skybox. 

Exploring. 

Friend of mine, awesome armor he's wearing. 

Getting ready for Christmas :) 





Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Settling In For The Holidays







Begins to dust off the keyboard... *Sneezes* Hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend, here in the US. Dire had a long, much needed, weekend. He caught up a lot in EverQuest, with my son, Nelf. I've sort of been in a weird place with MMORPGs, wondering when EQ Next/Landmark will release and Wildstar as well. I feel like I need something I haven't played for years and years. Just looking around for something to settle into for the holidays, to relax and have fun with. I'm still considering heading back to EQ2 as a main game, I can't decide which character to play, or should I try the new class?!

In EverQuest Nelf is sitting at 91 with his ranger, he's also leveled a cleric up into the 70's and is working on a mage. He's done a lot of work on his AA points, sitting around 2k. He's also gained quite a grasp on the game and has really gotten into it. Which is nice to see him enjoying it It is also nice to see Dire and him playing together. While I do play on occasion, I'm not playing regularly. I log in if they want to do something fun, playing whomever would fit in as needed. One good thing about having two accounts full of characters, lol.  



The other night we took a trip to Sleepers Tomb, which is old content. It was the big, bad boss of the Velious expansion. Only one guild was able to kill it per server, then it was gone. Which was kind of cool, as the dragon flew all over the zones killing everyone in the process of being awoken. I was logged out at the time on the Lanys server. Then again I'm not a huge fan of content that doesn't last. We traveled in and saw the place sleeper had been, so many years ago. It was a bit sad and cool at the time. As my son was only around four or five when this content was current. So he could only hope to see the sleeper in a video. Which he remembers from the old Conquest guild video floating around on the web.



I do get temped to play but I don't know, I just tend to get a little distracted and don't stick to it regularly. Mostly I log into Rift in small spurts and knock out quests. Recently they had fashion week, which was kind of neat, a daily added. This week Mech week ends, but I never got another box to open.... I'm not 60 to get them from instances and I didn't buy any from the shop. I have bad luck with lockboxes, I tend to shy away from them. The daily seemed to only award me with one. But I did manage to snag a really cool pet (pictured below). I had been thinking, just last week, how it would be so cool to get one as a pet! Perfect pet for me.



Other than that, I'm creating stuff in Second Life again. I made a few Adventure Time toys, which was a lot of fun to fiddle around with. There are lots of advent events going on, with a free gift each day, by some pretty amazing (and some of my favorite) creators. Lots of hunts too. I even took a haunted bus ride and went trick or treating with a friend for kicks, in November at that, lol. So there is always new stuff to do. I like that! I even made a little cake (free in the marketplace) for my RL birthday, yesterday. If you play you can pick one up here.

That's it for today. Safe adventures, all!


Free cake for all! Hope you like mesh!

BMO dolly I made!

LSP, because BMO needed a friend. 

Lemongrab. 



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