Alright, my first “real” video is a very quick walk through of my EQ2 Norrathian Museum. I realize the voice doesn’t sync all the way through, since I recorded it live (and it’s not like that on the computer, just youtube) I’m not sure how to fix that. It’s also quiet, so jack up the volume, because I have no idea how to fix that yet. I’m learning!
The museum has been a LONG work in progress, so enjoy.
Yesterday was a frustrating day, as my twitter discussions showed. Since I installed windows 7 (fresh install from the RC) my ‘trial’ version of fraps (which isn’t really a trial, but doesn’t allow for lengthy videos and adds a watermark) refused to work. No matter what I did, it just simply would not work. There is a known obscure bug that involves the registry and there’s very few ways around this bug I learned. Basically the only way to get around it was to delete the registry files involved in the trial version, and then purchase the real version. I fiddled around with everything, and it took forever and I’m not a very tech savvy person so this was a real learning experience for me.
Eventually I decided it was going to come down to me either reinstalling windows 7 (and wiping those registry issues out with reformatting my drives) or finding an alternative to Fraps.
Turns out, there ARE alternatives to fraps out there, and one of them happens to work very well.
I decided to check out Game Cam which does everything Fraps does, with a few extra selections. Now my only issue is getting it hosted on Youtube without the quality being turned so far down, does anyone have an alternative to that? If so please comment below.
Alright, so details about Game Cam that I really enjoy:
So far I’m quite impressed. I made three quick videos last night and if it wasn’t for the fact that Youtube just wasn’t cooperating with me, I’d have them posted here. I’ll try to do another one today and get it working properly. I also found a great program that does video conversions (an encoder), called Super. It’s 100% free to use so if you do want to encode your avi to mp4 or some other format, you can (and it’s also very simple to use).
I realize that fraps is very popular out there (I was asking for suggestions for video game captures on twitter) but I think that people will be pleasantly surprised with Game Cam. If you don’t mind the watermark you can also use the non-retail version of it in order to get a feel for it, though some of the options (video quality, size, etc) will be grayed out unless you purchase the full version. So far I’m loving my decision to pick it up, and people should be expecting lots of game related videos to show up on the web site soon!
Calreth and I spent some time in the Shimmering Citadel hunting the elusive Guardian for our Ro achievement this weekend. Thankfully, it didn’t take that long before he made an appearance!
During the week I have very little choice in what games I play. I need to write about certain ones, or I need to prepare for an article, or I need to familiarize myself with it. Where I used to play video games for fun as a hobby, it turned into work, and thus I have been slightly less inclined to play on the weekends because of this. I am sure that would be true for anyone in my position. One thing I’ve done to ‘entice’ myself on weekends to still find the things I love in games is to make sure there are a few around that I play ‘only for me’ and not for work. Dragon Age, Sims 3, the Lord of the Rings Online, and a few other games I have fit into that category.
I spent pretty much all weekend playing Sims 3, and I had so much fun. The game is so involved compared to the older versions, and I giggled and laughed over their antics. I also went out to EBGames (after some groceries and other chores of course) and picked up the latest expansion, World Adventures. I installed it, and then barely touched it because I was still having so much fun completing the goals in the first game.
While I was at EBGames, I also found a collectors edition copy of the Lord of the Rings Online for $10! Wow, what a deal. This comes with the original game, the Mines of Moria expansion, a map, a small bag with ‘the one ring’ inside, a poster, a soundtrack CD, an art book, and a few other goodies. Even though I already have a LoTRO account, I’m tempted to start this second one up and close down my first one (my highest character is level 19, which I am fairly confident I could reach again). Maybe I can find a friend who would like the first account and they won’t have to purchase the game (or Mirkwood, as I’ve already bought that) and they can just take over the billing, who knows.
In any case, it was a great weekend, with lots of gaming but not the usual games I play. I did get some more EQ2 time in, and worked on a few achievements as well as finishing off the Chronomagic quest from Sunday which was Acadachism. I didn’t get the three final aa that I need, nor did I work on NaNoWriMo at all, which means today I’m well behind. Hoping to take care of that as soon as I post this entry.
Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!
I absolutely love the little statue replicas of the boss mobs that you can purchase once you’ve completed the daily chronomagic quest. I spent most of yesterday working on my Norrathian museum, I expanded the library so that the shelves are now floor to ceiling, and since SOE gave all homes an extra room in their last big update, I decided to take that and pannel it with wantia, and then add my replicas to that room.
My favorite (so far, since I don’t own them all) is the one pictured above. Well before any of the mobs had that graphic in later expansions, that is the boss from an instance within Fallen Gate. It’s by far the best ‘boss’ graphic I’ve ever seen, and I LOVE fighting this creature. I realize now it shares a graphic with a TSO boss, but the Fallen Gate version is a lot easier (grins).
The chronomagic quest from yesterday also sent Calreth and I off to the Shard of Fear in order to kill Kyr’Tok, who is pictured above on the right. I love how each one of the replicas are so exceptionally detailed, they really did turn out amazing. Maybe it’s silly that I spent an entire day decorating in game instead of raiding or grinding quests, but I still had a blast. The museum is almost at the point now where all I need to do is place artifacts as I obtain them, rather then having to design entire rooms. The basement still needs to be turned into living quarters for Ellithia, but it’s coming along.
As always if you’re interested in checking out the house (and maybe the very expansive player written library I own) please feel free to head to the North Freeport Mage Tower, bottom floor (LoN magical housing) and look for Ellithia on the door. If you’d like to donate to the museum, please just add me to friends and let me know!
As a side note – if anyone out there has a spare griffon tower house item (it came from the live event that took place to build the towers a few years ago) please let me know! I’d be willing to pay 500p+ for one if I could get one. I used to have one but it was sadly lost in transit as I moved servers. Some how I doubt anyone would really be willing to give theirs up, but it’s an important part of Norrathian history that I’d absolutely love to be able to reclaim.
Safe travels, no matter what game you find yourself in!
stargrace