November 2012

This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

Today Tiny Spec announced today that Glitch is going to be closing its doors forever on December 9th. You may not have seen a lot of my blog posts about Glitch, but I’ve played it for a while off and on. Spent money on the game because I wanted to support it. Apparently those few of us who did was just not enough.

The fact that this amazing game is closing down makes me mad. It makes me mad because so many people want games like this 100% free. They don’t want to spend $5 or $10 a month supporting the wonderful amazing people who work on games and not just this game, but lots of games out there. Then you see these wonderful indie games (and some bigger titles too) who just can’t support themselves any more, and they have to shut down.

I loved Glitch. I loved the game because it was a place where I didn’t have to swing a sword and lop off someones head in order to progress in it. I didn’t have to be mean to anyone, and it was a completely unique world that I could wander through and simply explore. I realize I’m a minority when it comes to enjoying these types of games, but I really wish that were not the case.

I dislike hearing about any game that has to shut down, and I hope everyone who is now looking for a new job finds one without too much trouble.

The Month of Gaming Stuff #EQ2 #EQ #VGD #TS3 #Riftgame

Not only is NaNoWriMo going on this month (which I have been failing at, horribly), I’ve opened registration for this years Gamers Secret Santa, Rift released Storm Legion, Sims 3 released Seasons, EQ2 released Chains of Eternity, EQ1 is releasing Rain of Fear, Vanguard is releasing City of Brass, Planetside 2 is releasing, and that doesn’t even begin to touch on the other console games that came out this month like Halo 4.

What a month to be a gamer, hmm?

Chains of Eternity Releasing Tomorrow #EQ2

Taken from the official EQ2 site here.

We’re just hours away from Chains of Eternity™!

All EverQuest II servers will come offline at 7:00 AM PST* on Tuesday, November 13, 2012 to prepare for this content update. We anticipate game servers will be back online before 12:00 Noon PST*.

Important: This is an estimate of our anticipated downtime; please keep an eye on the forums , Facebook , and Twitter for any changes and updates!

While the servers are offline tomorrow, make sure you keep an eye on Twitter , Facebookthe forums , and the website for special countdown activities and updates, including diary entries from our off-duty server hamsters!

If you haven’t bought your Chains of Eternity expansion, there’s still time to pre-order! Pre-orders end on November 12, 2012 at 11:59 PM PST*. Remember that those who pre-order will get the exclusive Cloak of Mourning as well as special savings on the Collector’s Edition. CLICK HERE to order now!

Sims 3 – Supernatural #Sims3 #TS3

This weekend I spent most of my game time playing The Sims 3 – and I didn’t really mean to but it was a lot of fun. When I was looking at expansions I noticed Supernatural but wasn’t really keen on picking it up, it didn’t seem to interest me. However while out at EBGames I thought what the heck, and came home and bought it on Origin. Most of my EA Games are on there simply because it’s nice to be able to download them again without worrying about the disks. Anyhow.

I installed Supernatural and right away decided I would start a new family. You have a choice of new races, you can create as a human, witch, zombie, werewolf, fairy, or ghost. I created a fairy, you get wings. You also have ‘mana’ to cast spells. You can learn new things like alchemy; if you’re a witch you get a wand and ride a broom (or a vacuum if you rather). Before I knew it three am had passed and I was still playing. The expansion is actually a LOT of fun, and I’m really glad I picked it up. There’s a new lunar cycle and when the moon is full magic is high. Werewolves transform from their human forms and zombies come and meander around your yard, eating your garden (which I was none to pleased about, took me forever to clean up their dead plants). There are new jobs and professions along with the expansion, my fairy decided to become a fortune teller, and she worked out of a gypsy wagon in the woods.

I’ve set up my Sims 3 profile page, I noticed you can send gifts to friends, so if you’re looking for someone to add to friends please feel free. You can find the profile here: Stargrace.

Seasons comes out soon. I think in a day or two. It astounds me just how many Sims 3 expansions there are this year. Not even three months since Supernatural released. It’s hard to keep up with them all and there are still a few I’m missing as well as stuff packs. I didn’t bother getting Showtime, or Sweet Treats, and Diesel Stuff. Fast Lane was another stuffs pack that hasn’t grabbed my attention, my sims rarely ever purchase vehicles. Seasons is going to add yet another dimension to the game with weather patterns and holidays. I haven’t decided if I am going to get it yet, mostly because there’s an EQ1 and EQ2 expansion releasing this month and Christmas just around the corner. In an ideal world I’d get it though. We’ll just have to see!

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.

4th Annual Gamers Secret Santa Registration Has Started!

In case you’re not familiar, This will be the FOURTH year I’ve ran a gamers secret santa. Last year was my 2011, then 2010 Gamers Secret Santa, and the year before I ran the 2009 Gamers Secret Santa – and it was a huge success. I had over 100 people participate, and geeky gifts were sent out all over the world. This year I’ve decided to attempt to run another one. I know it’s not as big as the Reddit one and I’m sure there are others going on, but I really take a lot of pride in running this little event. If you’d like to participate or are interested in what it’s all about please read further!

What it is: Those who want to participate, are more then welcome to. You can be a gamer, blogger, a member of the game industry, whatever. As long as games are some how a part of your life. I will take names / addresses, and assign everyone a ‘secret’ person to buy a small less then $20 gift for, as well as give them the address required. Send out your gift and wait for one to head your way, and that’s it. Ok, let me explain it a bit better.

What is “Secret Santa?” here’s the definition!

How:

1. Send your full name and mailing address to me at stargrace@mmoquests.com, make sure it comes from a valid email address. If you happen to run a fan site or a blog, please mention which blog you write for. It doesn’t matter who you are or how involved in the gaming community you are, anyone can participate.

2. On December 1st I will email you back with someone else’ address.

3. The price limit is $20, don’t spend any more then that. Be creative, make something, have it be unique to your culture or your life, if you need suggestions then please don’t hesitate to let me know. Try to keep in mind that we’re all gamers, no matter where we come from.

4. Keep your person a secret! Don’t tell anyone who else you have. If you DO happen to run a fan site or blog, then when you receive your gift write about it and let everyone know.

5. If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to let me know below in comments, or email me.

Details: I understand that you may not be comfortable with me or one other person having your mailing address, so if you’re not please don’t feel pressured to participate. The idea is to share with one another and realize what a fantastic community we have, not make you feel on edge that you’re going to potentially run into issues.

If you’d like to participate but simply can not afford to no matter what, send me an email and let me know, I will do my best to help you out. I want anyone who’s interested to be able to participate in this event. I think some times we forget that these people we all talk to online are not just random pixels, but are actual people on the other end of those computers.

Please keep in mind that only myself, and ONE other person will have your address. It won’t become a mailing list or anything like that. If you’re only comfortable with me having it and no one else then let me know, and I’ll have your gift sent to me and then I’ll send it out to you. Anything to make sure people are comfortable and still able to participate.

YOU HAVE UNTIL DECEMBER 1st TO EMAIL ME YOUR ADDRESS – please take your time to think about whether or not this is something you really want to do. If it is, get me your address by December 1st so that I can give people some time to get their shopping done. If it’s a little late (the gift, not the address) that’s alright.

If you don’t celebrate Christmas but still want to participate that’s alright too! This isn’t a religious thing, I just want to try it out and see how it works this year. There are some amazing gamers I have met from all over the world, and I think that we have a lot to share with one another.

I think that’s about it. If you can think of something I’ve missed then please let me know and I’ll do my best to answer it. If this is a completely horrible idea don’t feel shy to let me know. I just wanted to share some of the Christmas joy that’s going to be flying around before too long and figured this would be a fantastic idea for people to experience it with one another.

Nomadic Gamer