Sunday, December 25, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Musing on the gaming front... after the meltdown at the Sony Station, we took a break from EQ2 to try Rift out. Results so far ... its a reasonably fun game, competent BUT:
1) You run out of things to do and hit rinse/repeat far too soon.
2) The guild tools are almost non-existent, no housing... equals difficult to create a sense of community.
3) And my usual complaint.... where's the 2-3 player instances? What is it with 10-20 player instances that the devs love so much? They're button mashing fests of boredom...
4) Questing is largely a solo operation.... which would be fine if some of the storylines weren't so shallow (e.g. spot the traitor 10 or 20 levels before the truth is revealed)
I'm getting pretty tired of swapping MMOs every time one of my sons get bored though.. one is already twitching. There's a closed beta of an asian f2p mmo starting up soon and I may just solo over to that (Tiara Concerto), otherwise I'll head back to EQ2 after they overhaul the major cities as they planned before the Sony disaster that left us adrift in MMO land.
1) You run out of things to do and hit rinse/repeat far too soon.
2) The guild tools are almost non-existent, no housing... equals difficult to create a sense of community.
3) And my usual complaint.... where's the 2-3 player instances? What is it with 10-20 player instances that the devs love so much? They're button mashing fests of boredom...
4) Questing is largely a solo operation.... which would be fine if some of the storylines weren't so shallow (e.g. spot the traitor 10 or 20 levels before the truth is revealed)
I'm getting pretty tired of swapping MMOs every time one of my sons get bored though.. one is already twitching. There's a closed beta of an asian f2p mmo starting up soon and I may just solo over to that (Tiara Concerto), otherwise I'll head back to EQ2 after they overhaul the major cities as they planned before the Sony disaster that left us adrift in MMO land.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Natsu Matsuri ....
She-who-is-small-tsundere and I attended the local version of a japanese summer festival this weekend. One of the local taiko groups leads the effort (Takohachi). The festival was decent, many more food booths than last year (though the taiyaki booth was missing) and entertainment (missing was our local japanese news guy as emcee and a renowned koto player). The missing-in-action I blame on it being the 4th-of-July weekend (whose idea was THAT?).
Otherwise, we're having our "new year cleaning purification" a few months late. I'd started on a whole house overhaul with my son in January but we got derailed by burn out a month later. We're trying to get to a decent point by mid-July when my younger son comes to visit for a few weeks. Much gaming and feasting anticipated.
Snagged manga Yotsuba& vol.10 (にほんご) at the local Kinokuniya.
Otherwise, we're having our "new year cleaning purification" a few months late. I'd started on a whole house overhaul with my son in January but we got derailed by burn out a month later. We're trying to get to a decent point by mid-July when my younger son comes to visit for a few weeks. Much gaming and feasting anticipated.
Snagged manga Yotsuba& vol.10 (にほんご) at the local Kinokuniya.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
One of these days I'll remember I have this blog...
Just a short note....
Anime land....
Finished up Otome Yokai Zakuro, one of the few series I enjoyed last fall/winter.
Otherwise, keeping up with Kimi ni Todoke (shoujo angst) and a couple of odd ones.
Working!! was just announced as a second season for the summer and there's an OVA due out of Seitokei Yakuindomo, so goodness there.
Gaming-wise...
Still mashing along in Everquest 2. It remains more compelling than many MMOs simply because there's so much to do and its frankly nostalgic. Some of my other games (Dragon Age, Recettear, etc) are just idling in limbo as a result.
Finally scored a couple of interviews in the last month... but both were "already had someone in mind and are just going through the motions". I've been on the hiring side long enough to know the clues. I'm really tired of not-working. Absolutely anything that requires a smidge of brain power would be good or something that benefits the community. I've been volunteering but even that has been sporadically available.
I'm trying not to turn this into any rant... but I'm increasingly pessimistic about the country I'm in and its probable future. Both sons are training in careers that provide options elsewhere on the planet so perhaps they'll make out.
Anime land....
Finished up Otome Yokai Zakuro, one of the few series I enjoyed last fall/winter.
Otherwise, keeping up with Kimi ni Todoke (shoujo angst) and a couple of odd ones.
Working!! was just announced as a second season for the summer and there's an OVA due out of Seitokei Yakuindomo, so goodness there.
Gaming-wise...
Still mashing along in Everquest 2. It remains more compelling than many MMOs simply because there's so much to do and its frankly nostalgic. Some of my other games (Dragon Age, Recettear, etc) are just idling in limbo as a result.
Finally scored a couple of interviews in the last month... but both were "already had someone in mind and are just going through the motions". I've been on the hiring side long enough to know the clues. I'm really tired of not-working. Absolutely anything that requires a smidge of brain power would be good or something that benefits the community. I've been volunteering but even that has been sporadically available.
I'm trying not to turn this into any rant... but I'm increasingly pessimistic about the country I'm in and its probable future. Both sons are training in careers that provide options elsewhere on the planet so perhaps they'll make out.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Busy summer... but I've managed to find time for the following anime:
Just finished up Working!! .... a funny sit-com about a bunch of people who work in a "Denny's"-like restaurant and their interactions. It is based on a 4-panel comic and was unexpectedly popular. Perhaps there will be a follow up season.
Currently watching Seitokai Yakuindomo, based on another 4-panel strip, it is set in a high school that was all girls *until* this year. There's a few guys attending and one has the misfortune to end up on the student council "to get a guy's viewpoint". The humor is sharp and outrageous as the women are pretty clueless about guys outside of what they've read and stereotyped.
Continuing with the K-On!! saga (a 2-cour sequel). The storytelling and characterization is much better than expected and, of course, I like the music the fictional band puts out.
There's a few other series I'm watching, but they're more "as I get to them" rather than "oh, its out, drop everything".
In gaming news.... my sons and I have gone through a few more MMOs (free-to-play ones). Allods is pretty damn good (Russian built) but we've somehow ended up back playing a classic: Everquest 2 (most of the flavor and richness of EQ but with graphics that don't stab your eyes). They had a 14 day trial and 3 or 4 days into it, I'm like "oh.... THIS is what initially attracted me to MMORPGs". The crack is pretty good and the *community* is far more mature than 90% of the dysfunctional dilweeds and idiots I encounter in most MMOs.
Work-wise.... some software contracts and random computer support but I'm definitely in the "dislocated worker who has dropped off the radar" like about half of my engineering and IT coworkers. It probably isn't a Good Idea to have this much brainpower left in limbo by the robber barons. #2 son's college financial aid package was better this year so perhaps I can start taking classes in "career #3" again.
Just finished up Working!! .... a funny sit-com about a bunch of people who work in a "Denny's"-like restaurant and their interactions. It is based on a 4-panel comic and was unexpectedly popular. Perhaps there will be a follow up season.
Currently watching Seitokai Yakuindomo, based on another 4-panel strip, it is set in a high school that was all girls *until* this year. There's a few guys attending and one has the misfortune to end up on the student council "to get a guy's viewpoint". The humor is sharp and outrageous as the women are pretty clueless about guys outside of what they've read and stereotyped.
Continuing with the K-On!! saga (a 2-cour sequel). The storytelling and characterization is much better than expected and, of course, I like the music the fictional band puts out.
There's a few other series I'm watching, but they're more "as I get to them" rather than "oh, its out, drop everything".
In gaming news.... my sons and I have gone through a few more MMOs (free-to-play ones). Allods is pretty damn good (Russian built) but we've somehow ended up back playing a classic: Everquest 2 (most of the flavor and richness of EQ but with graphics that don't stab your eyes). They had a 14 day trial and 3 or 4 days into it, I'm like "oh.... THIS is what initially attracted me to MMORPGs". The crack is pretty good and the *community* is far more mature than 90% of the dysfunctional dilweeds and idiots I encounter in most MMOs.
Work-wise.... some software contracts and random computer support but I'm definitely in the "dislocated worker who has dropped off the radar" like about half of my engineering and IT coworkers. It probably isn't a Good Idea to have this much brainpower left in limbo by the robber barons. #2 son's college financial aid package was better this year so perhaps I can start taking classes in "career #3" again.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Oh boy, yet another "new toy"
Decided I needed some place to store my musings that didn't require me to host a site or play system administrator. I have a lot of hobbies that twinkle in and out of active states. The few that seem to be consistent are my love of world cultures (particularly Japan), languages, computational sciences, and gaming.
I *could* stick all of this on Facebook... but Facebook annoys me with its primitive level of "friending" in which I either get someone's full blast fire hydrant or nothing at all. There's no differentiation between professional, family, acquaintance, or hobby connections.
So after I tinker with the Google toys here, we'll see how this goes. Why Tatsudoshi-vexx for the URL?
"たつどし" means "dragon" (or more to the point - "year of the dragon"). My online personality since 1987 (yes, 1987) has always been a somewhat curmudgeonly but relatively mellow dragon who's moniker was "Vexx" (short for Vexxallarius). The personality originated in a character I developed for the tabletop D&D games I hosted in the 1980s. Nothing to do with that silly console game developed in the late 90s. And now you know :P
Future posts will reference my wife whom I call Sundrop when online. Ninety-five pounds of cute raspy tsundere in a 4'11" frame of Japanese extraction. Also sometimes referred to as "she-who-is-cute-and-must-be-obeyed".
We have two sons I'll refer to as Son #1 (age 25) and Son #2 (age 19) with whom I do most of my gaming. Sundrop mostly sticks to tabletop gaming. Then there is the small collection of "lost children" teens and 20-somethings we seem to have "adopted" via our sons which keep life interesting :)
I *could* stick all of this on Facebook... but Facebook annoys me with its primitive level of "friending" in which I either get someone's full blast fire hydrant or nothing at all. There's no differentiation between professional, family, acquaintance, or hobby connections.
So after I tinker with the Google toys here, we'll see how this goes. Why Tatsudoshi-vexx for the URL?
"たつどし" means "dragon" (or more to the point - "year of the dragon"). My online personality since 1987 (yes, 1987) has always been a somewhat curmudgeonly but relatively mellow dragon who's moniker was "Vexx" (short for Vexxallarius). The personality originated in a character I developed for the tabletop D&D games I hosted in the 1980s. Nothing to do with that silly console game developed in the late 90s. And now you know :P
Future posts will reference my wife whom I call Sundrop when online. Ninety-five pounds of cute raspy tsundere in a 4'11" frame of Japanese extraction. Also sometimes referred to as "she-who-is-cute-and-must-be-obeyed".
We have two sons I'll refer to as Son #1 (age 25) and Son #2 (age 19) with whom I do most of my gaming. Sundrop mostly sticks to tabletop gaming. Then there is the small collection of "lost children" teens and 20-somethings we seem to have "adopted" via our sons which keep life interesting :)
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