Quantum Game Leaping

I don’t ever remember stepping into a quantum accelerator, but I do remember sitting in front of a computer, writing this blog post, mostly because I’m doing it right now.

It seems that I’ve become the epitome of a quantum game leaper. Or hopper. Or Hip-hopper.

WHATEVER.

The point is this: I spent a month and a half in LOTRO and currently have a three month sub there. I switched to RIFT for five days, then moved to The Secret World for two weeks, then Star Trek Online for one week, and now I’m contemplating going to EVE Online to round out the pre-GW2 time.

At the same time, I want to maintain a sub to The Secret World, mostly because I want to see what Ragnar and Funcom do with their commitment to monthly updates. So… we’ll see what happens.

For now, I’ll keep leaping, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each leap will be the leap home.

Missing the Sunlight

My main character in LOTRO, Civrot the Warden, is probably a lot paler now than he used to be. Except for a short jaunt to the front door of the Mines of Moria, I’ve not actually stepped outside Moria in quite a while, and I find myself feeling rather dreary at the prospect of staying here for a long while.

Travel times are long, locations are sometimes confusing, and the enemy density is quite high, though I’ve heard that’s already been tweaked down a notch.

Sure, there’s a sense of wonder that comes over me when I imagine the place being constructed, but I miss the sunlight.

Here’s to hoping i reach the end of the Moria epic chain soon enough. /salute

Horses for the Horse-Lord!

So, since I started playing LOTRO again, I’ve noticed there are a few things about the game that bring out my obsessive-compulsive and otherwise aggressive nature. One of them is flower-picking. The other is horses. I prefer not buying them off the store, so earning them is a special treat, like a day gone extra awesome!

Now, ever since I got back into the game, I’ve had this fascination for acquiring cooler looking or faster mounts. My return coincided with the release of the Spring Festival, and since I hadn’t done it yet, it took only two hours to amass the needed Spring Leaves and Race Tokens for a Simbelmyne Horse.

As a result of a winning Twitter Entry, I also acquired a Perlino Horse, which is apparently the PAX 2012 Steed.

Finally, I also got a Jester’s Steed as a result of turning in enough flowers for the flower-picking quest for 30 boxes. Without knowing it, I’d actually gotten the steed skill but thought it’d be a item I’d need to click. Only when I checked the my Mount skills did I find the steed in my inventory.

In any event, I feel very lucky that I got all three horses in a week, and also managed to scrounge the money for the LOTRO MIthril Edition for 2000TP and another Steed.

All in all, my LOTRO days are pretty fun, barring the occasional death by horse travel bug.

Good Medical News, LOTRO Altoholism and Being a Dick for Flowers

First, my dad was discharged yesterday. Severely restricted diet, but otherwise, he’s out of danger for now. I’d like to thank everyone for being there for me when the chips were down, as it kept me going. 🙂

Second, I’m suffering from the same issue that kept me from progressing beyond level 38 back in the day. I keep getting invested in making alts because all the tradeskills are interesting. Previously on Landroval, I had a Level 22 Guardian Metalsmith and a 21 Hunter Cook. I’ve also got a 17 Runekeeper Scholar that I quite like, gameplay wise… even if leveling up scholar is a pain in the rear end.

I’ve decided to retire my loremaster Jeweller and transferred all the stuff I made on it previously onto a Champion, who will also be a Jeweller.

Lastly, I’m a dick for flowers. Basically, the new Spring Flower-picking activity is turning on my competitive streak, and I end up using my horse and the natural speedbuff my 43 Warden possesses to race other people who are closer to a patch of flowers, and then I pick it first. I have become obsessed with getting a 68% speed mount sooner rather than later, and that Jester’s Steed would be the fastest way to acquire one, if I get lucky. 40 flower boxes later… I am still not lucky, and I’m morally bankrupt as well.

A Short Birthday Post and a Somber Note

Two milestones within the past 24 hours.

First, after owning an almost three year old account, I finally have one LOTRO character that’s above Level 40. It’s a warden (my favorite LOTRO class), and he’s basically the third warden I’ve ever created and played as a main.

More importantly, it’s 12:21am of May 23 in the Philippines. I am now 29.

Lastly, whether you pray or not, I’d appreciate any healing vibes, well-wishes, or prayers you can send over to my dad. My sister and I took him to the hospital around two hours ago as he was feeling light-headed. I’m home now, but my mom’s staying with him till we figure out what’s happening. Long story short, emergency room visit + various medical tests = sleepless, restless me at home.

Anwyay, that’s all.

Giving New and Old Games Their Time in the Spotlight

Some time ago, I took Everquest out for a trial run, but I never really got into it because the controls felt alien to me… I mean, pressing H to hail an NPC? Typing words to talk to an imaginary being through the internet? Preposterous, right?

I’d been conditioned by the Eq2/WoW-era RPG to demand an experience that was similar to itself, to the point that I’d never really given the first Everquest a proper run-through because of its naturally different style of play.

I want to rectify that due to my current situation. Right now, there are a couple of AAA free-to-play MMORPGs I’ve not tried, and with my current need to conserve my money, it seemed like a good idea to go and revisit Everquest, especially since I actually have quite a bit of Station Cash on my account that’s doing nothing there.

At the same time, I’ve set EVE Online on an 11-day training regimen, even though I have only four days left on my sub. Whether it trains past day four is beyond me, but at least I’ll have a better inkling of what my plans are when I come back.

In addition, I want to try another genre I’ve yet to actually experience: the superhero game. I’ve downloaded DC Universe Online for a run, and I’m going to make an ice character for use.

My SC will go more to Everquest, probably, mostly because DCUO doesn’t seem to have housiing. Hopefully, I’ll enjoy Everquest and DCUO and, perhaps, even a bit of LOTRO, even without spending for anything with more money than I’ve already invested.

At the very least, some new and old games will get their time in the spotlight.

My thanks to Kaozz of ECTMMO for reminding me of the Everquest F2P transition that’s happening.

A Pre-Skyrim Plan of Action for Fun and Gainful Employment

Recently, I learned that I would need to find a new job in order to pay my bills and to fund the adventures I write about on this blog, as well as any site revamps I would have liked to have done.

I’m a bit miffed that, from a full-time job, my pay would be delegated to a per-article-when-needed status, but I can’t help that. The economy’s tough, and the project I was working on needed to get money to start properly. What I can change, however, is the feeling of helplessness I feel from being newly unemployed again (or perhaps underemployed).

I will be getting my final paycheck soon, and I want to make the most out of the time prior to Skyrim’s release by making sure I have enough money to purchase Skyrim without worries while engaging in games that interest me, writing about playing games, and finding a new job.

That said, I have readjusted my plan of action for the coming weeks.

I will temporarily halt my plans to have a custom website theme made for Games and Geekery.

I will take the yearlong cheaper hosting offer that was mentioned by @G33kg0dd3ss before

Prior to the release of 11/11/11, I will be job hunting, and I WILL find a job before Skyrim.

Instead of subscribing to EVE Online, I will resubscribe to World of Warcraft for one month. An explanation will follow below.

Upon finding a new job and receiving my first paycheck, I will subscribe to EVE Online and consider continuing a subscription to World of Warcraft. I may also play LOTRO during this time.

Now, I’m somewhat emotional at the moment, and the WoW thing is a spur-of-the-moment decision, but I decided to find something that allowed me to follow a storyline, however, themeparky, just so I could enjoy playing without stressing too much. EVE is a sandbox game where I have to make my own long-term decisions as to what to do or where to go, so there’s more pressure there to do well than in WoW. If I can find a casual guild on an Oceanic server, I’ll be set, and I won’t have to worry about enjoying myself for a month or so.

That said, I’m weighing my options regarding the job thing, but if you guys know of anyone looking for a video game news writer, I’m more than ready, willing, and able to apply.

Cheers!

Appreciating New Eden #EVEOnline #tweetfleet

Stream of consciousness post stemming from a few days of play. I wanted to write more, but I’ve been unable to do so due to my ISP keeping me from accessing Games and Geekery, and only Games and Geekery.

My plans for being in New Eden did not involve being shot down by NPCs because of sustained radioactive damage from a bloody rock that I couldn’t maneuver away from quickly enough. But it happened, and so I must accept it.

My plans for being in New Eden involved Planetary Interaction, PVE Mission Running, and an attempt at getting the necessary skills up to pilot a Dominix in the future with drone capabilities. Sadly, Trial players can’t actually train all the skills necessary for PI, and so I must accept it.

I want this game to succeed for the very reason that makes it niche: it is a world where the interactions make the game richer and more varied, where the systems are complex, and where the questions you ask yourself are as important as the choices you make.

What I’ve realized is that this is a game where the metagame is as important, if not doubly so, as the actual game. It’s also one of the most complicated, intricate webs of learning I’ve ever become entangled in.

Folks who want to do well must invest money into subscriptions over a long-term period, or at least enough to make enough in-game money to purchase PLEX to continue a subscription. To make the most out of your experience, the social aspect of the game involves not only finding a good corp, but finding a good corp that shares your timezone and general core values as a player or human being.

Skills get trained over the course of minutes, hours, and potentially, days. Knowing what you want to do is paramount, but when you start out, everything seems viable, and the way you train yourself in the beginning can only be good for the long-term survivability of your pilot as it takes minutes to begin.

Beyond a certain point, you have to start making big decisions. Do I take the cheap ship out and make less money from an activity, or risk losing a more expensive ship for a greater gain? Do I train the shorter timed skill first, or the more important skill?

Perhaps the one thing that made me appreciate the game, even in this short term I’ve been playing, is that there are fundamental hidden questions in everything you do in EVE Online.

“Do you give in to baser instincts in the name of new experiences and ‘fun’?”

“Do you treat EVE as a game, as a test, or as a business?”

“Do you sacrifice your core values for virtual goods and does it affect you on a personal level?”

I like asking myself these questions, and I like that it makes me think philosophically. I do believe I would like to devote more time to exploring this game on a subscription basis. My only concern is finding a AUS/NZ corporation to join that fits my schedule, and figuring out if I get to keep my free 21 days if I subscribe immediately,

In any event, I guess I’ll be looking at virtual stars in addition to LOTRO and Skyrim for the time being.

A Fresh Perspective

Yes, I'm milking a cow. It's a fresh perspective.

Just so everyone knows and can keep track, Civrot Stillwater, my Warden on the Landroval server, is actually my third Warden. I have two wardens on the Elendilmir server that I have left alone and have completely burned out on due to my experiences with the Esteldin/North Downs area.

Civrot, however, is taking a different course of action by moving through Evendim and skipping most of North Downs other than to complete book quests once hitting the right levels. I can get there immediately through some fast travel skills, and am generally inclined to believe that this may be the time when I can really get into the game and enjoy the character.

Strangely enough, I have not purchased a house, even though I love housing. I’m saving the money to purchase tradeskill goods for alternate characters that can help the main in various ways, such as through making food or jewelry or shields.

This fresh perspective gives me hope that I can actually stick with LOTRO for a while, even though I want to play EQ2’s expansion and Skyrim eventually. Since I can go without subbing for a while, I don’t see many issues there. All I need is to unlock everything I need to do, and I should be set, and that feels liberating to the extent that I want to go and play more.

Have any of you ever felt this way about a new perspective? Let me know, alright?