I worked a little on DA: A last night. I am not sure what to make of it so far.
1. They raised the level cap. This is good. There are more abilities and skills. Yay!
2. The return character from DA: O is Oghren. Meh. Well, I guess it was either going to be him or Morrigan (who I think at this point has taken off to Orlais anyway). Ah well.
3. The new characters do not quite seem to have amount of personality as the characters in DA: O.
4. The story seems kinda clunky and disjointed so far.
Well, I will give it a shot. I do not think it could actually be bad - it is BioWare after all. Maybe it just has such a hard act to follow.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
There is something off here
http://www.girlgamer.com/zine/article/683/
I do not know what to say, honestly. Though, Tycho at Penny Arcade summed it up well, I think:
"We spent a substantial amount of time discussing Game Crush this week, trying to discern exactly what was going on there, and I'm not certain we managed to pierce the shell.2010/3/31/ )
In spite of what a commenter said to me on Feministing, I do not think criticizing GameCrush is the same thing as slut-shaming. Isn't there something wrong with pushing this idea that female gamers should be judged based on their looks, their "sexiness" and their "flirtiness," as opposed to, say, substance? *sigh*
I do not know what to say, honestly. Though, Tycho at Penny Arcade summed it up well, I think:
"We spent a substantial amount of time discussing Game Crush this week, trying to discern exactly what was going on there, and I'm not certain we managed to pierce the shell.
Their site suggests that they are still down on account of ten thousand requests in five minutes, something which happens on a daily basis here at Penny Arcade, even though we don't rent women from our digital storefront. I want to think this is a thing that will wither and fall, dry and crisp, dying on the stalk. Am I wrong?"
In spite of what a commenter said to me on Feministing, I do not think criticizing GameCrush is the same thing as slut-shaming. Isn't there something wrong with pushing this idea that female gamers should be judged based on their looks, their "sexiness" and their "flirtiness," as opposed to, say, substance? *sigh*
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Random FF-XIII Thoughts
We have not had a new Final Fantasy game in over three years (Wow, has it been that long?). So, being a bit of a Final Fantasy Fangirl, I got the newest installment in the series yesterday. I played it for a few hours, and it is quite fun so far! I very much recommend it. Random thoughts:
1. You really do not control any party characters except for your leader. The rest get roles called paradigms, which affect what they do. They can be Commando, Ravager, Sentinel, Medic, and a few others I am leaving out. However, they can learn more than one role and switch them during battle (called a paradigm shift which does sound cool).
2. Half this game is apparently cut-scenes. So far, anyway. Seriously, in the few hours I played, I spent roughly half of it just watching scripted scenes. I recommend turning on all the captions, by the way, including the non-cut-scene ones. That is just me though, I like to keep track of who is talking.
3. Lightning ignores most everyone's questions and at attempts at conversations with her (and is apparently super-tough and super-strong), Snow is eternally optimistic, Hope mopes quite a bit, Sazh is awesome (I want a baby chocobo that lives in my hair!), and Vanille seems to be always happy and cheerful and perky. According to my sweetie, who watched me play for a while, I am Vanille. Too bad, I wanted to be Lightning! ^_^ Oh, there is also, interestingly enough, Serah. I wonder if I should spell my name like that.
4. Lightning is my new video game character crush. She is pretty awesome. She also uses a sword in a world where people have guns (a Final Fantasy protagonist tradition, of course).
5. The Sanctum (local oppressive government regime) is apparently new at oppressing its citizens, based on the first chapter, as they sent their most useless and incompetent soldiers to go carry it out. Well, I guess good help is hard to find sometimes. Speaking of which, this game at the outset seems to be the "rebels versus evil empire" plot so far.
6. The Crystarium system for stats and skills and spells is eerily similar to the sphere grid from FF-X. Experience points, having made a brief comeback in FF-XII sue for their lack of inclusion.
1. You really do not control any party characters except for your leader. The rest get roles called paradigms, which affect what they do. They can be Commando, Ravager, Sentinel, Medic, and a few others I am leaving out. However, they can learn more than one role and switch them during battle (called a paradigm shift which does sound cool).
2. Half this game is apparently cut-scenes. So far, anyway. Seriously, in the few hours I played, I spent roughly half of it just watching scripted scenes. I recommend turning on all the captions, by the way, including the non-cut-scene ones. That is just me though, I like to keep track of who is talking.
3. Lightning ignores most everyone's questions and at attempts at conversations with her (and is apparently super-tough and super-strong), Snow is eternally optimistic, Hope mopes quite a bit, Sazh is awesome (I want a baby chocobo that lives in my hair!), and Vanille seems to be always happy and cheerful and perky. According to my sweetie, who watched me play for a while, I am Vanille. Too bad, I wanted to be Lightning! ^_^ Oh, there is also, interestingly enough, Serah. I wonder if I should spell my name like that.
4. Lightning is my new video game character crush. She is pretty awesome. She also uses a sword in a world where people have guns (a Final Fantasy protagonist tradition, of course).
5. The Sanctum (local oppressive government regime) is apparently new at oppressing its citizens, based on the first chapter, as they sent their most useless and incompetent soldiers to go carry it out. Well, I guess good help is hard to find sometimes. Speaking of which, this game at the outset seems to be the "rebels versus evil empire" plot so far.
6. The Crystarium system for stats and skills and spells is eerily similar to the sphere grid from FF-X. Experience points, having made a brief comeback in FF-XII sue for their lack of inclusion.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Ubisoft's Goofy New Net-Connection DRM
Most people have probably heard about this, but still, ew:
( http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/02/18/0719256/Ubisofts-Constant-Net-Connection-DRM-Confirmed?art_pos=23 )
And from Penny Arcade:
( http://www.penny-arcade.com/2010/2/19/ )
What in the world made them think that was a good idea? My girlfriend pointed out something to me that I had not thought of - what if, in 10 years, somebody wants to their old copy of Assassin's Creed II on their computer? Will Ubisoft's DRM servers still be up?
And also: What happens when they do go down, as servers do now and then? What if, say, people at 4chan decide to DDOS them or something?
Stuff like this is going to annoy customers far, far more than it is going to stop piracy. I wonder if they just decide to patch this out in a few months due to complaints and/or bad press.
"A few weeks ago we discussed news of Ubisoft's DRM plans for future games, which reportedly went so far as to require a constant net connection, terminating your game if you get disconnected for any reason. Well, it's here; upon playing review copies of the PC version of Assassin's Creed 2 and Settlers VII, PCGamer found the DRM just as annoying as you might expect.
Quoting: "If you get disconnected while playing, you're booted out of the game. All your progress since the last checkpoint or savegame is lost, and your only options are to quit to Windows or wait until you're reconnected. The game first starts the Ubisoft Game Launcher, which checks for updates. If you try to launch the game when you're not online, you hit an error message right away. So I tried a different test: start the game while online, play a little, then unplug my net cable. This is the same as what happens if your net connection drops momentarily, your router is rebooted, or the game loses its connection to Ubisoft's 'Master servers.' The game stopped, and I was dumped back to a menu screen — all my progress since it last autosaved was lost."
And from Penny Arcade:
Alright. So, Ubisoft's new DRM. Supports unlimited installs and Cloud-based save data. Requires absolutely unbroken access to their master servers, or the product ceases to function. I can boil it right down for you:
Nobody wins.
Well, except pirates. Pirates always win, on a long enough timeline. Honestly, the timeline doesn't even need to be that long.
( http://www.penny-arcade.com/2010/2/19/ )
What in the world made them think that was a good idea? My girlfriend pointed out something to me that I had not thought of - what if, in 10 years, somebody wants to their old copy of Assassin's Creed II on their computer? Will Ubisoft's DRM servers still be up?
And also: What happens when they do go down, as servers do now and then? What if, say, people at 4chan decide to DDOS them or something?
Stuff like this is going to annoy customers far, far more than it is going to stop piracy. I wonder if they just decide to patch this out in a few months due to complaints and/or bad press.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Fun with Spam
Every now and then, I look at the spam folder in my email. Generally, gmail is very good at dealing with spam. The subjects are downright silly:
I guess USA and EU players are not welcome in any other casino except theirs? Although, a friend of mine suggested that this means maybe other casinos require you to be either a USA player or an EU player and that this place allows you to be both. I guess other casinos have the following sort of exchange:
Greeter: "Hi, welcome to the casino!"
Gambler: "Hello, I am both American and Czech!"
Greeter (narrows eyes): "What! You are not welcome here."
*LOVE LOVE PILL BLUE PILL*!Morpheus would be so disappointed! Also:
Only in our Casino are USA&EU Players welcome
I guess USA and EU players are not welcome in any other casino except theirs? Although, a friend of mine suggested that this means maybe other casinos require you to be either a USA player or an EU player and that this place allows you to be both. I guess other casinos have the following sort of exchange:
Greeter: "Hi, welcome to the casino!"
Gambler: "Hello, I am both American and Czech!"
Greeter (narrows eyes): "What! You are not welcome here."
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Mass Effect 2 & Dragon Age
I need to write more. So, let's do video games!
1. Mass Effect 2 - Overall, fantastic sequel to the first one. I will do my best not to spoil anything here. It has a much darker feel than the first one, which is saying something considering the dire circumstances surrounding Commander Shepard the first time through. I loved the story and am definitely working on doing it a second time through with my male Commander Shepard.
The over game play is much better - the awkward menus have been cleaned up, and it is much smoother overall, during fights and such. I did not have people getting stuck in odd places or awkward positions due to biotics moves (that was really annoying during the first one). Several of the characters from the first one are (assuming they lived), and you get to find out the overall consequences of Shepard's exploits.
Basically, if you liked the first one, you will definitely like the second!
2. Dragon Age - I decided to go back through Dragon Age and see how high level I can attain. I think the max is 25. I made a dwarf commoner rouge for this; it has to be a rogue, since I need someone who can get all the locks during the origin story, Ostegar, and the Kokari Wilds. So far, I have cured Arl Eamon and completed the Circle of Magi quest. And that got her to 17. I also made sure to get the archivist sash in order to help things. Well, it should be interesting.
I also got the Return to Ostagar DLC. It is an interesting expansion, though I had hoped for a little more. You get a few nice weapons. The King's armor set, while nice, is not quite as good as the Blood Dragon Armor or Wade's armor, in my opinion. For amusement, I have my rogue wearing it, since her strength is high enough. On the plus side, there is some funny conversation between Alistair and Wynne.
1. Mass Effect 2 - Overall, fantastic sequel to the first one. I will do my best not to spoil anything here. It has a much darker feel than the first one, which is saying something considering the dire circumstances surrounding Commander Shepard the first time through. I loved the story and am definitely working on doing it a second time through with my male Commander Shepard.
The over game play is much better - the awkward menus have been cleaned up, and it is much smoother overall, during fights and such. I did not have people getting stuck in odd places or awkward positions due to biotics moves (that was really annoying during the first one). Several of the characters from the first one are (assuming they lived), and you get to find out the overall consequences of Shepard's exploits.
Basically, if you liked the first one, you will definitely like the second!
2. Dragon Age - I decided to go back through Dragon Age and see how high level I can attain. I think the max is 25. I made a dwarf commoner rouge for this; it has to be a rogue, since I need someone who can get all the locks during the origin story, Ostegar, and the Kokari Wilds. So far, I have cured Arl Eamon and completed the Circle of Magi quest. And that got her to 17. I also made sure to get the archivist sash in order to help things. Well, it should be interesting.
I also got the Return to Ostagar DLC. It is an interesting expansion, though I had hoped for a little more. You get a few nice weapons. The King's armor set, while nice, is not quite as good as the Blood Dragon Armor or Wade's armor, in my opinion. For amusement, I have my rogue wearing it, since her strength is high enough. On the plus side, there is some funny conversation between Alistair and Wynne.
Monday, February 1, 2010
US Sells Defensive Arms to Taiwan
...and the PRC throws a fit (predictably enough):
1 - The USSR pretty much forced Cuba to accept the missiles being set up there. It did not sell them to Cuba, as the US did to Taiwan. Khrushchev told Casto it was part of socialist solidarity or something.
2 - The USSR set up offensive nuclear weaponry in Cuba. The US sold defensive weaponry to Taiwan. Big difference.
3 - China has missiles pointed at Taiwan. I would think they would be able to see why Taiwan would want anti-missile defense.
4 - Oh, also, the US has an official policy of providing defense to Taiwan.
Silly people. Can they really not see why Taiwan would want missile defense against the PRC?
China's state media has accused the United States of "arrogance" and "double standards" in pursuing arms sales to Taiwan. The state-run China Daily and the Global Times also warned that China's threats of retaliation were real. The Obama administration approved the $6.4bn arms sale to Taiwan last week.
1 - The USSR pretty much forced Cuba to accept the missiles being set up there. It did not sell them to Cuba, as the US did to Taiwan. Khrushchev told Casto it was part of socialist solidarity or something.
2 - The USSR set up offensive nuclear weaponry in Cuba. The US sold defensive weaponry to Taiwan. Big difference.
3 - China has missiles pointed at Taiwan. I would think they would be able to see why Taiwan would want anti-missile defense.
4 - Oh, also, the US has an official policy of providing defense to Taiwan.
Silly people. Can they really not see why Taiwan would want missile defense against the PRC?
Thursday, January 28, 2010
RIP, J.D. Salinger
J.D. Salinger died today at age 91.
I read Catcher in the Rye when I was 15. It was not really the best time in my life, and I felt that much of Holden Caulfeid's sentiments strongly resonated with me. Thank you, Mr. Salinger for that story and its insights. I guess it is appropriate to close with something from it:
I read Catcher in the Rye when I was 15. It was not really the best time in my life, and I felt that much of Holden Caulfeid's sentiments strongly resonated with me. Thank you, Mr. Salinger for that story and its insights. I guess it is appropriate to close with something from it:
"Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them — if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry."
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
I never know what to write on these things. So, here is an interesting and funny review of an article on AE.
Gosh, guys are absolutely silly sometimes. Does it not occur to them that are zillions of straight and bi women they could be dating rather than chasing after lesbians? Ai ya.
Gosh, guys are absolutely silly sometimes. Does it not occur to them that are zillions of straight and bi women they could be dating rather than chasing after lesbians? Ai ya.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Horrible Earthquake in Haiti - Taiwan Helps Out
As we all know by now, there was a 7.0-magnitude quake in Haiti. Thousands are feared dead (source: BBC)
In this, Taiwan has stepped up efforts to help out Haiti:
Taiwan sends rescuers to Haiti
Related Story: Taiwan ambassador to Haiti taken to hospital, embassy destroyed
Note, embassy, ambassador. Haiti is one of only 23 countries to have official diplomatic ties to Taiwan (the Republic of China). Regardless, we should help out our fellow human beings (diplomatic ties or not) in times like these.
In this, Taiwan has stepped up efforts to help out Haiti:
Taiwan sends rescuers to Haiti
Related Story: Taiwan ambassador to Haiti taken to hospital, embassy destroyed
Note, embassy, ambassador. Haiti is one of only 23 countries to have official diplomatic ties to Taiwan (the Republic of China). Regardless, we should help out our fellow human beings (diplomatic ties or not) in times like these.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Apparently, BioWare is hoping to have it out next Spring:
from Slashdot
Personally, I have not decided if I want to play it yet or not. While it does look and sound cool and BioWare definitely makes wonderful games, I am unsure about getting into an MMORPG. I tried that with WoW, and I got tired of it. I enjoy playing single player RPGs more and games that I can play with friends in real life, with us sitting on the couch, laughing, joking, and so on (and this is why it has of course been so important to corrupt get my girlfriend into playing games!). Still, we will see.
Oh, and BioWare, we also want Return to Ostegar for Dragon Age, still. Pretty please? :)
MTV's Multiplayer blog reports on comments from BioWare employee Sean Dahlberg, which indicate that they are aiming to release the game in spring 2011. He said, "While we have not announced a specific date, we can confirm that we are targeting a spring 2011 release for Star Wars: The Old Republic. We've got a lot of exciting updates and reveals planned throughout 2010, including the first-ever hands-on testing for the game. ... We can't wait to share more about the game with you as we progress through the year, so make sure you stay tuned to the official website for details." Recent posts to the game's developer blog provide details on the Imperial Agent and the Jedi Knight. They also released a video which gives insight into their design process for the Dark Side.
from Slashdot
Personally, I have not decided if I want to play it yet or not. While it does look and sound cool and BioWare definitely makes wonderful games, I am unsure about getting into an MMORPG. I tried that with WoW, and I got tired of it. I enjoy playing single player RPGs more and games that I can play with friends in real life, with us sitting on the couch, laughing, joking, and so on (and this is why it has of course been so important to corrupt get my girlfriend into playing games!). Still, we will see.
Oh, and BioWare, we also want Return to Ostegar for Dragon Age, still. Pretty please? :)
Monday, January 11, 2010
Dear John Doe & Dear Jane Doe
Dear John Doe,
Hi, you do not know me, but you drove around me this morning in order to pass both myself and the school bus with its stop sign out. I hope you do not have kids, and if you do, I hope people are more careful around them than you were around the children this morning. Is it really worth 5 minutes off of your commute? I realize that you may think you are very important, driving in your fancy Mercedes, but other people are important also, especially children trying to cross the street to get on the school bus.
~Sarah~
Dear Jane Doe,
Hi, you do not know me, but you pushed in front of me at Jose's today during the noon lunch hour. You were also very rude to the girl working behind the counter. Did it not occur to you that her first language might not be English and that she is doing her best? Please, learn some manners and practice some compassion. You looked very young, but that is not an excuse. You were also wearing a shirt that said "SL_T All I need is U." That makes me a bit sad, and I hope you do not feel that you have to project that image solely to please guys.
~Sarah~
Hi, you do not know me, but you drove around me this morning in order to pass both myself and the school bus with its stop sign out. I hope you do not have kids, and if you do, I hope people are more careful around them than you were around the children this morning. Is it really worth 5 minutes off of your commute? I realize that you may think you are very important, driving in your fancy Mercedes, but other people are important also, especially children trying to cross the street to get on the school bus.
~Sarah~
Dear Jane Doe,
Hi, you do not know me, but you pushed in front of me at Jose's today during the noon lunch hour. You were also very rude to the girl working behind the counter. Did it not occur to you that her first language might not be English and that she is doing her best? Please, learn some manners and practice some compassion. You looked very young, but that is not an excuse. You were also wearing a shirt that said "SL_T All I need is U." That makes me a bit sad, and I hope you do not feel that you have to project that image solely to please guys.
~Sarah~
Could a cat do this? I think not.
Okay, something substantial too. A dog that recognizes over 340 words:
from the BBC
It reminded me a little of the story of Clever Hans, but it is not quite the same. Murphy, my Australian terrier, does not know so many words. I think all he knows are treat, walk, Murphy, and the generic sound of food being prepared in the kitchen. I wonder what makes Betsy such an outlier. Probably some combination of breeding and intense training, I suppose.
Regardless, the “The Secret Life of the Dog,” linked to from the BBC site is definitely worth watching.
A seven-year-old dog in Austria called Betsy has amazed scientists by being able to recognise more than 340 words.
Most dogs can recognise about 15 commands.
Betsy's skills were recorded as part of the BBC's science programme Horizon.
It examined the increase in scientific investigations into canines, their unique relationships with people, and how they are helping to identify the causes of some human diseases.
from the BBC
It reminded me a little of the story of Clever Hans, but it is not quite the same. Murphy, my Australian terrier, does not know so many words. I think all he knows are treat, walk, Murphy, and the generic sound of food being prepared in the kitchen. I wonder what makes Betsy such an outlier. Probably some combination of breeding and intense training, I suppose.
Regardless, the “The Secret Life of the Dog,” linked to from the BBC site is definitely worth watching.
Hello World
I used to keep one of these years ago. Perhaps I'll actually be motivated to write in it! Granted, I do not have a plan for specific writing topics, but it is best to take things as they come along, right?
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