- After following the link from Jayedub to his article on Multiplaying, I looked around the site a little and found their Blogs & Sites list. So, fully aware of my vanity, I looked through the list to see if Bullet Points made the cut. And amazingly enough, it did, just not in the General Gaming section. I'm actually listed as one of three Champions Online bloggers. "Holy crud," says I. "If I'm a Champions blogger, I'm not doing a great job. I'd better play more so that I can blog about it."
- But first, let's take a look at the latest updates from Cryptic. Just today we got the latest Ask Cryptic Q&A post. Of the nine questions posed, six were in regard to character customization options. Considering what a draw that is, I'm not surprised to see that questions about costumes. Of the other questions, one asked about new power frameworks, one inquired about playing as a villain, and one looked into the possibility of new zone-wide events.
- The funny thing is, while the questions were pretty basic, a lot of the answers came down to "We're looking into it." For people who read the CO forums, none of this is going to be news. But then, I'm sure few people do, even if they aren't the cesspit the WoW forums are. Nonetheless, there's isn't a lot to get excited about.
- There is a line from the movie The Shawshank Redemption that I will always remember: "Get busy living or get busy dying." I thought about that line after reading the most recent Producer's Letter for Warhammer Online. It looks like a game that is just hanging on, doing what it can to delay plunging into the abyss. Sadly, that's is the same vibe I feel from Cryptic these days.
- Before you form any angry comments, that is only a feeling. They previously stated that their current plan is to alternate patch months and adventure pack months for the foreseeable future. So it's not like we don't have a general idea what is going on. And, from random forum comments, we know that the developers have been taking some well deserved vacations recently. And The Serpent Lantern just came out a couple weeks ago. Nonetheless, I hope Cryptic starts making some more future looking statements soon.
- Enough of that. It's too early to start the death watch for a game that doesn't have any symptoms yet.
- When I logged in recently, I had two goals in mind. I wanted to get back to Vibora Bay and I wanted to take on my nemesis again. These is a lot of Revelation content I haven't even tried yet. As well, I haven't seen a nemesis ambush in ages, so I wanted to start hunting for minions again. Serpent Lantern was a lot of fun, but I'd burn out if I kept running it over and over again.
- I had a journal full of missions, so I had lots to do. A lot of them involve taking on the various supernatural gangs in the city. Somewhere along the line, a bunch of mafia thugs jumped me. I'd actually forgotten that they were my nemesis' minion since it had been so long since I'd seen them. I was amused by how much they stood out from the werewolves and vampires. But mostly I was happy to know my nemesis was still working. Since they don't attack in instances and that's where a lot of endgame takes place, I was afraid I would never see one again.
- After completing the nemesis mission and a few in Vibora Bay, I got an invitation to try Therakiel's Temple. Since I've never seriously tried any of the endgame lairs, I jumped at the chance. I should have know better. Upon joining the group, one of the member protested that we needed a PRE/CON tank (Presence for aggro and Constitution for health) and a dedicated healer to beat the lair. The group pretty much fell apart while a tank and healer was searched for and I had to go to bed.
- It was a disappointment to say the least. It was pretty straightforward to rush through the midlevel lairs with any old group. Considering how open the mechanics are in Champions, especially in how survivable and self-sustaining heroes are, I would have hoped that Cryptic wouldn't fall back so heavily on the holy trinity. Of course, what should I expect when Star Trek Online uses the same paradigm for their ship combat. I shouldn't complain when 99% of the rest of the game is so fun. And with the scalability available in the adventure packs, the future seems fine as well.
© 2010 Marty Runyon. All rights reserved.
- 14937. That's the number of posts in the Real ID thread as I begin writing this blog post. Why, might you ask? Excuse me while I put on an episode of Glee. I need something to pick me up while I write this up.
- 15122. Anonymity is one of the great equalizers on the internet. Anonymity lets people say what they want to say without fear of reprisal. Anonymity lets people act on their best and worst impulses.
- 15308. Blizzard wants to strip that all away. Beginning with the StarCraft 2 launch, then continuing with the Cataclysm launch, Blizzard's forums are converting to display poster's real first and last names. As you can expect, not everyone is happy about it.
- 15424. And as expected, some people think that everyone else is overreacting. And the first group thinks they are being dismissed out of hand. And really, no one is actually talking to one another. Just like the WoW Forums really.
- 15584. Obligatory Penny Arcade Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory link.
- 15686. On one side, I agree with it. Anonymity destroys communities. But at the same time, the promise of the internet is that we can be whoever we dream to be. Scott Jennings says it best in the comments for this post on Terra Nova.
- 15699. His own post at Broken Toys isn't a slouch either.
- 15750. So yeah, there are a lot of tin foil hats going up all over the WoW community (such that it is). It was funny when people were freaking out about their characters being opened up to the world. Now that it's their name, things aren't so funny.
- 15826. And it's not funny. When Real ID was announced for the game, I knew I wasn't going to participate. I don't want to spread my name around to the friends of everyone I happen to friend. The internet already fosters crazy pseudo relationships and I don't want that spilling out into my real life. Now that the forums are going over, I won't ever find a reason to post there.
- 16082. Yes, my name appears at the bottom of each of these posts, but that is my choice. I want that copyright notice to appear in my RSS feed so that post thieves can't help but scoop it up as well. I'm not afraid to put it out there, but not everyone has the same thresholds of comfort I do.
- 16126. Blizzard has made a bad choice here. The forum will be a shadow of its former self, and I'm sure they will count that as a success. Maybe they'll even get people to post who were scared away before. But the community will fracture and it will drift to other forums.
- 16182. But it's never going to change. The sooner everyone comes to terms with that and prepares to act accordingly, the better.
- 16208.
- 16244.
- 16304.
- 16352. I could go on all night long.
- As the great Summer Steam Sale is now winding down, it is only appropriate to look back on this most recent apocalypse and reflect on the damage we have wrought upon ourselves. The bloody body count on my hands is:
- King's Bounty: The Legend - I've owned the sequel, Armored Princess for a while now and really like the game. Since the original was so cheap, I thought I should complete the collection.
- The Witcher: Enhanced Edition - As I mentioned on Gee Cee's blog, I've been looking at The Witcher for a long time. But I just could not justify the price before. This sale brought it down to the "No More Excuses" level.
- Introversion Complete Pack - Including Uplink, Darwinia, Multiwinia, and Defcon, the pack is every game they made to date. I've always wondered about them. At five dollars, I couldn't help myself. So far, the only one I've tried is Uplink, but its pseudo-simulation of hacking has already won me over.
- Monkey Island™ 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge - Okay, this one wasn't on sale, but I was going to buy it anyway. I figured I might as well add it along with one of my other purchases.
- X-Com Complete Pack - What with all of the talk about XCOM, I've been itching to get back to the original. I bought the full thing since the price was stupidly cheap.
- Borderlands DLC: The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx - I liked Borderlands enough that I was interested in the DLC packs, just not enough to pay full price for them. At 66% off, I figured the time was right. Now I just need to upgrade my desktop enough that it runs at a reasonable rate.
- Mount & Blade - I know that I've missed much cheaper sales in the past, but I could not excuse not owning this one any more. I enjoyed the beta versions that I played, but now I'm interested in seeing how the game finally turned out.
- Telltale Everything Pack - This was the biggie for me. Every dang game Telltale has ever produced. I waited until the last day just in case, I could not pass on the amazing price. I really enjoy the first season of Sam & Max, but never picked up any of the other series. Now I have got a ton of adventure gaming to catch up on.
- And that's it. We turn our backs on the devastation we've left behind and seek a better future. A future with a lot of game to play.
© 2010 Marty Runyon. All rights reserved.
- Since I do a lot of my writing from work, and work has been crazy lately, I haven't had the chance to do any long form blogging. So I'm going to take advantage of the bullet point format to clear my head a little. I'll try not to complain about the job much.
- I picked up a copy of Puzzle Quest 2 last weekend. That is just about the only gaming I've done all week. Thank goodness PQ2 is actually a good sequel. Otherwise I'd be doing zero gaming.
- I have been playing one other game: the "How Far Can Steam Reach Into My Wallet" game. I'm coming out well so far, but the Telltale Complete Pack is really tempting.
- Since RDR at up so much of my gaming time, I never really followed up on my Age of Conan excursion. The sub has already dinged its second month, so I hope to get back in there soon.
- Speaking of RDR, I still have to write that game up. But where do I start? Especially since so many of you have already done such a great job, what else is there to say?
- The great and powerful E3 came and went with about as much flash and as much substance as a certain green-clad magician. Out of everything I read and watched online, the only games I'm really excited about are Civilization V and Portal 2. Both PC games, too. Maybe my console gaming focus will be winding down soon.
- Still plugging away at the gamebook and the book-book. The gamebook I'm hacking at during my lunch break and work. The just-a-book I'm writing in the evenings. Actually, I should be doing that now, but instead I'm venting to all of you kind people. Just goes to show how much I care about you.
