So don’t forget your entries for the Carnival of Gamers, April edition. Cosmik will be our Carnival host, held at his blog, n3rfed.
Head over to the Carnival HQ if you have any questions. Newcomers are welcome and encouraged!
In my hands
Impressions to follow…
Update: Okay, while my DS is recharging, I’ve got a moment to comment on Hunters. I naturally started with the single player game and so far I like it. I am thoroughly impressed with the looks and sounds of the game. It definitely feels like a Prime game, complete with the scanning. That they shrunk it down to the DS’s size is quite impressive. I think I’m about quarter of the way through the first mission. I’m after some hot bounty and I’ve already had to vaporize a rival Hunter. Sorry about that, Kanden.
After finding my way back to my ship to save, I decided to give WiFi a go. I simply went with the vanilla death match and looked for some local players. I met up with “Doc” and no one else, so we went mano a mano in a struggle to the death. Actually, really just my death. He smoked me 7-0. I was sorta glad my battery was dieing so I could quit for the time being. The game was fast but it felt like we were both getting used to the controls. Maybe me a little more than him, since he did thrash me, but it looked like he was sorta fumbling, too. Just fumbling less than me. The actual game wasn’t too positive but the experience of getting started and connecting to a game were the best I’ve had with the Nintendo WiFi Connection. I hope this is the way Nintendo continues to use its WiFi service – no friend codes needed. There is, of course, a friend code, but this time it’s not as necessary.
So far, so good. I’m still trying to figure out which control scheme I like. At first I hated using the touch screen for looking/aiming/turning but I quickly got used to it (I was even using the little nub strap you get with the DS). When I played the WiFi match I tried the dual-control, which uses the buttons (ABXY) instead of the touch screen and that surprisingly felt awkward. I figured that would be the control scheme I used, but right now I’m leaning toward the touch screen. A little more playing time is in order. Right after the batteries (and my ego) have recharged.
When I do get on, I think I’m going to try and finish the first single player mission. Or maybe I’ll get in a WiFi match or two. If you’ve got the game, hit me up in the comments with your friend code. Mine is listed below:
Friend Code:
1289
1659
2568
Some thoughts…
I know blogging has been light lately, but RL keeps getting in the way. I’d like to say gaming has kept me away but sadly that isn’t the case. Gaming has been limited to EVE lately, with an occasional Animal Crossing break.
Even with the lack of blogging, I wanted to post a few thoughts I’ve had recently:
- Even with two AAA titles out in the past couple of weeks (Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
and Oblivion
), I still find that I’m not really gravitating toward the Xbox 360. All the trimmings on the periphery (Xbox Live Arcade, Gamer Points) still intrigue me but the games don’t. I’ve never played any of the Elder Scrolls games (even though I own Morrowind) but I’ve been fascinated by the excited anticipation surrounding Oblivion. I’ll be watching Adam’s blog, since he’s in the same boat and will be playing an Elder Scrolls game for the first time. Even with all the excitement, I’m still content with the occasional Halo 2 match with friends and a little NCAA 2006. I’d also like to snag a copy of both Mercenaries and Forza since I never finished either of those. And I also have a stack of games that I’ve only played briefly that I’d like to get to. So yeah, I’m really not feeling the 360 right now.
So I’m not sure what will be the title that pushes me over the edge. Probably the next NCAA title. If not that, then certainly the next Halo.
- That being said, I am currently drooling over the DS Lite. I don’t know when it hits our shores, but man I want that! It just looks sexy (something the original does not). While I’d really like to get a black Lite, I think the dark blue (Navy enamel or something) will do. I’m also pumped about Metroid Prime Hunters. If I have a chance, I’ll be picking up a copy later this evening, but you never know how that works. I was a little worried about the control scheme, but after reading Tycho’s blurb about it you can color me excited.
- I’m really digging EVE-Online. So much so that I’m running a mission as I type. I never got around to Auto Assault and now I doubt I will. It’s not that I didn’t want to, but the gaming buffet is already overflowing. With Metroid and Tetris on the cusp, I just don’t need another time sink. It isn’t easy being a gamer.
- I have a bunch of posts that are in various states of completion that I’d like to get to at some point. I’ve got stuff on MMOs (Sports games in particular), video game music (and other music-related stuff) and whatever else fills the empty space in my head. I’ll get around to them eventually. Right now, someone is in dire need of Antibiotics and I’ve got to deliver.
EVE and me
[EVE-Online] My current gaming time has been monopolized by EVE-Online. EVE is going good. I lost my first two ships the other night (thank goodness for insurance!). I took on a mission that I wasn’t ready for and I paid the price. Literally. I had to rescue some kidnapped VIPs from a rogue group of NPCs. The mission involved multiple encounters. Each one increasing in difficulty, of course. I warped out and was able to take the first two groups of bad guys out, but the third group were waaaay too tough for me. I’d warp into their space and they were on me fast. Two blasts would totally drop my shields, another two completely destroyed my armor and two more smashed my hull to bits. Holy crap on a stick, it happened fast. So there I was, in empty space, sitting in my pod. I flew my pod back to base, bought another ship, and asked another player for some assistance. Someone flying a Gallente Vexor offered me a hand. I tried to hide from the bad guys while he took them out but still got blown up again. Even though I was trying to avoid the conflict I still got punked like a sissy. He wasted all the bad guys so I went and bought yet another ship. This time I was able to warp to the last guy who I had to attack twice to beat. He was pretty tough but I saved the VIPs and received a handsome reward.
The thing is, up to this point, I’ve been playing EVE casually. This doesn’t work. EVE-Online isn’t a casual game. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The simple fact is that EVE is a very deep game. So I’ve actually started getting into EVE seriously. I started reading the Player’s Guide (I should have done this a week ago!) and I’m getting involved with other players. Playing with other players works pretty well. EVE is really starting to suck me in.
Related Posts:
EVE Online Impressions
Learning the ropes, the hard way…
Daddy’s got a new ship
Turnip Market Crash!
Well for the past couple months, I’ve dutifully met up with Joan Sunday mornings and spent a fair amount of bells buying White Turnips at extortion-like prices. We’re talking almost 100 bells a turnip. That’s highway robbery. Then I check turnip prices daily with Tom Nook. He refuses to offer me more than 75 bells a turnip. That’s just not right. There needs to be a Wild World Securities and Exchange Commision investigation or something. Those two are ruining me. There’s no way I’m I’m paying that mortgage off now.
I tried my hand with a Red Turnip, which I sold to Nook for 16,000 bells. ONE fricken turnip! It must be some kind of controlled substance. No one pays that kind of money for a glorified root. I’d grow more to keep him hopped-up on a red turnip high but I keep forgetting to water them and they die on me.
Those poor things are delicate.
Update:This will take you to the old Friend Code post. Here is my AC:WW Town info. Add me and let me know you’re code, too!
Name: Tonester
Town: Pamplona
Friend Code: 2749-3859-8704
Daddy’s got a new ship
Well, I’m still learning things the hard way. I’m not exactly sure purchasing a new ship (A Minmatar Wreathe) was exactly the smartest thing to do. It was the old “spend money to make money” situation, but I spent money to get money that was initially mine. Either way, this new ship is a beast. It comfortably holds my old Probe in its cargo holds with room to spare. It looks like a locomotive. Unfortunately, it runs like one, too. This thing is SLOW. But, I’ve been interested in exploring some of the industrial and manufacturing aspects of EVE and this ship should suit my purposes for now.
I’m currently on my way to deliver the cargo for the mission that I unwittingly got myself involved with that started this whole mess. It’s been an enlightening experience.
Please, kids, learn from my mistakes.
Update: This is what I’ve been waiting to see:
Now I can breathe a sigh of relief and warp to my home base. 37 jumps away. Sheesh.
Related Posts
EVE Online Impressions
Learning the ropes, the hard way…
Carnival updates
I know we just had March’s Carnival, but the Carnival never rests. I’ve updated the Carnival HQ Page, listing the next few hosts of the Carnival. The Carnival’s next stop will be at n3rfed, hosted by the excellent Cosmik. Originally, unbeliever from MMODIG was going to co-host this Carnival, but other commitments have taken precedence so Cosmik will be hosting solo. Hopefully we’ll have MMODIG back in the queue of hosts soon.
I’m planning on hosting the May Carnival, since that will be the one-year mark for the Carnival. Should be a lot of fun.
Auto Assault
Has anyone played this yet? I received a Beta Code, but having just started up EVE, I don’t know if I have time to try another MMOG or not. I’ve been interested in Auto Assault for a while, so I may still give it a try, but I wanted to hear if any of you faithful readers have given it a try.
Since I have EVE on the Lappy, I could always put AA on the main PC. Whoa. Two MMOGs playing at once. That may go way beyond nerdcore. That’s uncharted territory.
(PS – That shirt? I want that!)
Learning the ropes, the hard way…
So things in EVE are starting to pick up. Problem is, I still don’t know what the heck I’m doing. There is an endless amount of information out there, I just haven’t taken the time to read any of it. I’m simply winging it right now. It has lead to some tough lessons. Two examples:
After having my fill of “Fed-Ex” courier missions, I decided to branch out and try my hand (and my ship) at a little space combat. One of my contacts had just what I was looking for — a Minmatar scout had his ship destroyed by some pirates in a region of dead space near the current base. This called for swift retribution, which I had been recruited for. The mission was simple: Destroy the leaders habitation and take out any pirates who got in the way. I was also told to leave the rest of their installation intact. No problem, nice and straightforward.
I head out to the area and locate the target. It was quite a distance a way, and there was a group of three pirates between us. I dispatched with them with impunity and headed to my target. Off to my right (or starboard, I’m not to sure about spacecraft jargon) was a group of more pirates, about ten of them. They were about a 100 klicks away, so I figured they’d ignore me. I locked on to my target and started blasting away. My little pea-shooter blasters were doing very little damage to the habitation. It was slow going and in the meantime, the pirates had taken an interest in me. Before I knew it, they had closed the gap and all had my targeted and were unloading their arsenal on me with abandon. I threw up shield booster and tried to warp out of there, but I didn’t have enough power to warp. They had taken my shields down completely, perforated my armor to nothing and were currently working on my structure when the warp drive kicked in and I flew outta there like some kind of bat. I made it back to the station with about 11 HP of structure left, nothing else. That was close. Phew. I would have been really screwed because I skimped on the insurance and would have been without a ship if they had taken me down. I repaired my ship, headed back and took out the pirates before I took out my target. It was a lesson learned.
I then decided to take it easy on the combat missions since my current Frigate isn’t really built for battle. Me contacts told me I could check any available missions from any station, so I decided to check those out. There are a ton of missions I could do. I picked one that seemed reasonably easy to do. The reward was 100k ISK for a simple pickup and drop off. No prob. It never is.
In EVE, whenever you take on a mission, they take “escrow” from you as a form of collateral that you’ll actually do the mission. For all the missions up until now, the amount of escrow was small, on the order of a few thousand ISK. Well, this mission’s escrow was 2 million ISK! I about crapped my pants when I looked at my bank account and I only had 80k in there. HUH?! This was not good. I needed to finish this mission ASAP and get my money back. So I look at the mission and set up my destination. It was 29 jumps away! I have my routing figure the safest path, so I turned off that and it would still be 21 jumps, going through some low security areas. So I switched it back and when on my way. It takes over a minute to do each jump, so it took my over half an hour, real time, to get to my destination.
I get there, locate my cargo and then my heart sinks again. My current ship has cargo space for 330 m
So I’m slowly figuring out the ropes. Slowly being the operative word. So while I’m mining tonight I’ll be reading up on anything I can find about EVE Online. I’ve got to be prepared for the wild world of EVE!
Related Posts
EVE Online Impressions
I am nerdcore
On the TV: Halo 2, playing some Action Sack on Live.
On the laptop: EVE-Online, making mining runs in between rounds of Halo 2.
On the brain: Blogging about how much of a geek I am.