Repeats

So, lately, my roommate and I started back in WoW, leveling together like we did when we started the game.  It's funny, what changes and what doesn't.

There's no going back to wide-eyed ignorance, once you've learned the world of MMOs.  Once you've got a handle on it, you can't ignore the obvious patterns and you certainly can't help but know what's coming.  It's not a bad thing.

Benders

So, in my brief stint as an unemployed bum with sudden access to Netflix, I finally took the advice of some dear friends...and watched all of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Turns out, it's pretty much an awesome trip, which lead to a surprise

I missed you.

Sorry for my absence.  As a means of healing the wound I know I've left in your hearts, I bring this:

There, now that we're all made up, I've got some writing to do.  Keep an eye out!

Unexpected Hiatus

I haven't forgotten you, blog...I've just been doing real life things and haven't written much.

This will be remedied soon.

Oh noes! Change! (Warning: nerdrage)

So, while killing time today, I came across a post on the test realm forums for WoW's next big patch.  In the new build, every class is getting some work, and some specific specializations are seeing huge changes...I'm staying away from those posts to avoid the weeping and gnashing of teeth from the parts of the community that don't follow development and therefore don't know that this stuff has been discussed for months already.

One of the more general changes being made is a mana cap across caster classes.  At the current level cap, you're looking at X amount, and it'll eventually cap at Y when the level cap rises in the next expansion.  Simple concept, right?

PSA

And now, a public service announcement.

Source

That is all.

Korolev

So, my mom and I watched SG-1 pretty much religiously while I was still at home.  It was a fun show, even if the first few seasons were kind of campy.  Thankfully, it got momentum and the longer story arcs made life more interesting in general...and they even let Teal'c be more than a robot/klingon!

We'll just skip over his gold makeup phase...

JPIV

So, I like catching rumors about Jurassic Park IV.  I'm not holding my breath for the movie, but it's fun to hear speculation and "developments" in its actual(potential) production.

Latest: they still want to do practical dinosaurs.  You know, because Spielberg did a good job with that in the first one.

The first movie, that thrived on its fantastic CG.  I don't know if that counts as irony, but I'm pretty hopeful that they do go ahead and work with Jim Henson people for the new one, if it's going to see the light of day.

Ah, high-quality puppetry...you are so unappreciated.

For measuring distances only

So, yesterday, I was fortunate to run a large chunk of Naxx in WoW.  It's outdated content, as far as numbers go.  Gear and player power have inflated a bit since it was revamped back in '08.  But, the fights still have the same mechanics and the dungeon crawl experience is still fun.

The thing that I didn't realize until I stepped inside was that I was running with a bunch of people that usually farm the current raid content, dabbling in the hard modes.  So, they had a substantial leg up on me as far as output goes.  The kicker is: I had no meter addons installed, no way of measuring everyone's damage/healing, etc.  So, while I couldn't quantify it exactly, they probably eclipsed me in terms of death-dealing.

Things died just the same.  Who did the most damage didn't matter, from where I was sitting...we all hit the bad things and said baddies died...so who cares?

Why should we give a crap about these little graphs o' damage/heals?

Mint Condition

So, this exists:

Is it wrong that the first thing that crossed my mind was "Holy crap, that's the rocket-firing Boba Fett!  How can he play with that?  Does he have any idea how much that's worth?!"

That aside, it's an amusing little video.  Would have been made just a little better if Ryan had also been involved.  Also, it would have been much, much dirtier.

TDKR: SPOILER-RIDDEN!

Here there be spoilers.

TDKR: Spoiler-free!

Went to the midnight premiere, worst thing that happened was some teenagers regurgitating reality tv dialogue...or maybe that's just how they talk nowadays?  Anyway, it was a damn good time.  More after the jump.

Ama-Con incoming

So, Amarillo is taking a(nother?) stab at the geeky convention world.  Ama-Con is this weekend and I was all set to go and show some support...Zul knows we need more geeky oases in this part of the world.

But then I saw the schedule...

2 quick things...

1.) Cheap giggles:

Unexpected side effect

Dear Geekdom-at-large...

Building a world

I spent some time playing my Scoundrel on The Old Republic over the weekend, working through the class story on Tatooine and beginning the world arc for Alderaan.

The great thing about the Smuggler class story is that it's fun.  There's humor, there's great wit...it's good.  On Tatooine, I was impressed with how they wove the player's story in with some NPC's story.  Skipping around spoilers, I can say that it was nice to see a bit of the rest of the world going through its motions and the player's story just happening to go along the same path for a little while.

Feeling like you're part of a larger reality helps immersion a lot.  You can do it with nameless NPCs just hanging around, not interacting with players directly, simply being living set pieces.  Swtor is one of the games that does this a lot.

One of my favorite examples is walking into just about any cantina on a contested world.  Immediately, you know what kind of life the locals live, without saying a word to any of them.  It's a small thing, but it's cool.

Star Trek Online has a number of NPCs in social areas that are aware of which players are nearby and what those players have accomplished, and make a point to say something about this information.  It's a nice consideration, and makes you feel recognized...as long as you don't hang around that same NPC so long that you see them do the same for a handful of other players.  Groupies.

                     

Cheap and Fast II

It's the little things.

Handicaps

In my D&D group, one of our DMs has a standing practice with character creation: you get to ask for something cool.  Some people go with a perk or a neat history, or even a feature that makes their character unique.

A couple of times, I've passed on the freebie.  And you know what?  Purposely limiting yourself can be a reward in itself.

More after the jump...

Must be willing to commit...

So, I enjoy endgame in MMOs.  It's usually pretty fun, and running group content that's entertaining is a good time.  If the group happens to be a bunch of people you enjoy spending in-game time with, that's a bonus.

Unfortunately, being successful at challenging endgame content takes time and effort.  Just like improving your skill with an instrument, there's an investment/reward element.  You seek outside help, you get critiques, you work for it.

More after the jump.

For King and Country

So, recently, I let John persuade me to pick up Star Trek Online again and level a Klingon Defense Force alt instead of a new Federation character.  I'd never tried the faction, due to a general lack of interest in the experience...but life is about trying things, so I'm giving it a shot.

The hardest part is not trying to kill all the other people I see in-game.

When you blow up Klingons for so long, you develop a natural inclination to keep doing so...it's familiar and satisfying.  I didn't know much about their society, or exactly why their AI behaved a certain way, I just knew what sound they made when they blew up.

So, this has been an interesting exercise, and it got me thinking about factions.

Perspective

So, with the announcement about the (possible) discovery of the Higgs Boson particle, I was reminded just how little physics means to the average person.

I wonder if the announcement had been phrased "science makes leap forward for answers about why you weigh so much and changes standard models," people might want to hear more.

With all the radiation people are absolutely bombarded with daily, and there's a lot of it, I'd think physics would be of more interest to the average consumer.  Your smart phones are absolutely fascinating on a lot of small-scale levels, but people generally are just content with them working.

But you can't really appreciate it until and unless you understand why it works, and how.  No one asks questions about that.  It might as well be magic to them.  Look, I fixed your phone, I must be a wizard.

Ask questions.  Learn.

Snacktime

I like limes.  I used to get a saucer, a knife, a couple of limes, and a salt shaker...then sit down in front of a movie and just go to town on 'em.

Snacks are awesome.

Motivation

So, for group content in MMOs, you have to have a clear goal.  The question always boils down to "why am I here?"

In Star Trek Online, I'm generally satisfied with a simple "to blow up the bad guys."  Not asking for much there.
With World of Warcraft, I'll settle for "it's pretty here, the fights are fun, and I can smash stuff."

With Star Wars: The Old Republic, though, you have to really motivate the experience.  When you spend so much effort on a game establishing it as a story-driven MMO, you need to have a legitimate reason for grouping up to tackle a task, and for making the call to action appealing to each player.

I spent some time yesterday in the group finder tool, just hammering out flashpoints and thinking about the content I was playing through.

Bats

What's better than steampunk?  Gotham, when set in the art deco style (hope that's the right terminology).  Batman, in the animated series a lot of us grew up with, really worked here.  The old-fashioned architecture and B-man's futuristic tech just fit, you know?

I can get behind the Christopher Nolan version, I like it.  Having a modern context and interpretation is cool. The over-the-top style that Tim Burton played with was entertaining, and thankfully free of the now-requisite Johnny Depp/Helena Bonham Carter casting...though, I'm certainly not complaining about the latter.

Ol' Bats is alright, though, whatever the version*.  He's not a Marvel character, but he can hang.  I'd pay real money to see him face off with Iron Man.

Score

This is my happy place music.

One of the things I like about being alive right now: people can upload (legally or otherwise) music to youtube and you can just go get it.  Click, typey type type, click, music.  There's a lifetime of content available at a moment's notice, and it's awesome.

Want to build a soundtrack for your day?  Knock yourself out.
Hour-long interview of Neil deGrasse Tyson by Stephen Colbert?  Done.
Tips for making better bacon?  Here ya go.

This is an exciting time, for absolutely silly reasons.

Space

Source.

Is it just me, or are images from lower orbits more impressive than those from longer distances?

Companions

So, at what point do your game avatars become characters?

Is it when the game's story evolves them to the level that they finally have enough depth?  Is there a certain hour-mark where they become worthy of things like names?

What makes a character, from a player's point of view?  I have friends that spend a lot of time on first-person shooters that have a favored weapon loadout and may spend time customizing their appearance, but I can't think of any time that they've referred to their avatars as anything as familiar as "my character."

When do they transition from coded construct to personality?

You're so vain...

I used to play City of Heroes.  The character creation setup gave players a HUGE amount of control over exactly how their avatars looked.  It was practically its own game...and then you could use the characters in the real content!

I liked that.  Being able to customize how you appear in-game is a wonderful option, even if it's just fluff.  It's easy to write it off as "my current gear looks stupid as hell, and I don't want to look at it anymore," but for a lot of us, it's something more...

Give it time.

The last few months, I've been talking with gamers across a decent spectrum of interests about why they did/didn't stick with a particular game, or what they think about what's coming down the line.  Basically, most of my sample doesn't like thinking about the bigger picture or how their attitudes might change closer to release.  Settle in, this one's a lengthy entry.

Blizzard Gamers - I was fortunate enough to land a ticket for Blizzcon 2011, and attended it with great enthusiasm.  It was awesome, and I'll hold it as one of my greater geek experiences for years to come.  This was the year that Diablo III was about to be released, and they announced the upcoming expansion for World of Warcraft, Mists of Pandaria. 

Adaptation

I get a grim amusement from people's change in attitude over time regarding things that used to make them absolutely livid.  Namely, gas prices.  It wasn't that long ago that there was a spike in the average gasoline prices and the per-gallon cost was starting to approach an insane $2.  People lost their collective minds.

I think I filled up at about $3.36 per gallon the other day, and I haven't heard anyone gripe about how high gas prices are in months.  Now, the possibility of prices dropping is a good thing, but I wonder if people will be grateful or go back to bemoaning how much it is compared to a few years ago.

I'm not overly optimistic about the grateful part.  But, hey, there's a bright side: we'll adapt, again.

Cheap and fast.

Naming blogs is hard.

So, I spent a good deal of time at my job today thinking about a possible name for the blog.  It got me thinking about my history as a geek/nerd.  As a brief aside, those labels are too vague and it's annoying.
Anyway, reviewing my history as a gamer reminded me just how different people are when it comes to naming things.  Some of my friends pull from favored characters in literature, or composers and works of art.  Others follow a theme (I happen to dabble in this), and then there are the M1LFp0UnD3r types.

That actually sounds like a good drink name.

Back in the days of original X-Box gaming, I had trouble coming up with names, because I didn't know what would fit for me.  My name is monosyllabic, so I've never had any nicknames stick, and I couldn't ever think of anything that was distinct about me, so I had no theme.

Then I played Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.  Possible spoiler after the jump.

The first time is always awkward...

(tap tap)
This thing on?  Mic check...

Getting the idea from a friend, I've decided to start up a new blog so I can post thoughts that I can't always share with friends (distance, convenience, and other issues) when they come to mind.

Please pardon the mess while I get settled in with this new beast.