2014

Third Time is the Charm?

stargrace March 14, 2014 1 Comment

My second village in Banished did just as poorly as the first due to some poor decisions I made in getting started. So far, the third village is doing MUCH better. I’m on year 7, which is the furthest I have taken the game so far – and I know that isn’t very far, but I’m still pleased that the entire town hasn’t died yet.

My only annoyance is that the chickens, especially on high speed, are loud and get bothersome to listen to. I have 66 of them. Anything more gets turned into KFC for the villagers. The trader has stopped by twice, but never with any alcohol which is what I was looking to trade for. I have most of the basics in place, a mine, quarry, school, hospital, added some extra buildings so families could expand past the default homes, and have been working on restoring some of the forest area so that hunters and gatherers have more space to get their work done.

I haven’t personally encountered any natural disasters yet, but I know that’s just the way of the game and it will probably hit when I least suspect it. In the mean time I enjoy the fact that my town is fed, warm, and clothed. Now the key is to expand – but not too quickly, and not so slowly that everyone just dies out.

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

Gaming

Blizzard Gets Me

stargrace March 13, 2014 2 Comments

This week has been pretty exciting for a number of reasons, but also pretty expensive. Blizzard seems to know exactly what to put out as a pre-order and deluxe edition bonus, and lets face it, I’m a sucker for those items. That means that I picked up the new Diablo 3 deluxe edition for the treasure goblin pet and other goodies, along with the new World of Warcraft deluxe edition for the pet, and the mount, AND I played (and won) three games of Hearthstone in order to get the mount from that event, too.

These are not complaints by any means, I am excited about each of these pets, and I had fun doing the Hearthstone event. I’ve been having a good time playing Diablo 3, it’s perfect for those days I have limited time and just want to make something explode. My Witchdoctor is level 40, the highest I’ve ever gotten. Tying games together with rewards isn’t anything new, but the rewards from Blizzard’s events lately are ones that really appeal to me. Especially since my collection of WoW pets is still growing.

Have you picked up any of the deluxe editions of a game because of the rewards they gave you (Landmark also comes to mind) in other games? Let me know in comments!

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

Gaming

Beating Diablo III

stargrace March 9, 2014 3 Comments

Unlike a lot of my gamer friends, I’ve never really been interested in the Diablo universe before. Diablo III was my first experience at all with the game, and since the latest big changes, I’ve enjoyed it quite a bit.

Last night my witchdoctor reached level 37, and I defeated Diablo for the first time. Of course once that was done I ramped up the difficulty, and started playing through again. It’s one of those games I can play that doesn’t require me to exert a lot of effort, which I know sounds badly but I honestly mean it in the best way possible.

Since starting my new job with Carbine Studios I don’t have nearly as much free time as I used to have. In my old jobs, back when I did work that involved videogame news, it was a lot of frantic active traffic filled in with luls. There was a lot of time to game, and I could flip between games easily. Now I’m wondering if I don’t want some sort of schedule so I can still play the games I love and enjoy without feeling as though I have neglected some other game. Anyway, back on topic. Diablo III is one of those games I can play for an hour a day and feel as though I have accomplished something wonderful. That’s very important to me with my limited time.

I haven’t tried another class yet because I’m determined to get at least one character to 60. I did pre-order the expansion but I’ll also admit that the biggest reason was because it comes with a pet for World of Warcraft. If there’s one way to get me to buy expansions and digital collector’s editions, that would be the way. I now proudly own a goblin treasure hunter.

Leveling has been incredibly fast with the 50% bonus to experience turned on in preparation for the expansion, as well as bonuses based on how many are in your party, the difficulty of the game (which you set), and any buffs you may encounter along the way. I went from 32 to 37 in the hour I played yesterday. Now, you may think that is far too quick, but since they’re trying to get people in and playing before the expansion, I think it’s understandable. They want you to realistically gear up for the next part. A reason to buy that next expansion.

Are you playing Diablo III? Going to pick up the expansion? Let me know in comments! As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.

Gaming

Never Too Many Deeds

stargrace March 8, 2014 No Comments

You can never own too many deeds, or at least that is what my motto has been in Wurm Online. A few weeks ago I put in a bid for a deed that had a wonderful number of slate and marble ore located on deed. I was outbid, twice, and decided instead of getting into a bid-war with the player, I would just let them have it.

Turns out the person bidding against me didn’t actually want the deed at all, they were just bidding me up. So the person selling contacted me and asked me if I was still interested, which I was.

The deed is located on Release, which is just south of my current deed. I spent the first few days moving items and collecting bulk storage bins from all of the houses on-deed, and the next few days trying to secure the place. For some reason the previous owners decided to build on the perimeter of the place, which isn’t secure. Things decay there and I was not in the mood to have to repair such a large deed so frequently. The place is 65 x 41 which makes it my largest deed yet. The monthly cost is a bit over 6 silver, I am keeping a templar to handle the mines.

I created a wagon as well as a few large crates and over this weekend plan on loading up a corbita to take back to Pristine. In the meantime I created a free to play alt who can look after the basic maintenance (horses mostly) and handle the things that don’t require being premium. I’ve also been working up my Vynora and Fo priests. The Vynora is at almost 40 faith, I’m trying to get to 51 which I’m pretty excited about. Plus check out the view in the screenshot, it’s pretty awesome.

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

Gaming

A Lack of Posts

stargrace March 5, 2014 2 Comments

I’m still here!

I’m still gaming.. though I’ll be honest it’s not much right now.

I just started a new full time job on Monday, and I’m working out getting used to a new schedule which doesn’t leave me with a lot of free time. As soon as it settles, I’ll be back to posting.

Thank you for your understanding!

Third Time is the Charm?

Blizzard Gets Me

Beating Diablo III

Never Too Many Deeds

A Lack of Posts

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Leveling Up With Timewalking

The Construction of Quail Landing

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