November 2015

A Different Type of Progression Server

stargrace November 30, 2015 0Comment

I love progression servers. What I don’t love is how they immediately become a place for bots and armies of bots. I don’t mind if people box one or two characters, but when you’re botting (ie: using 3rd party programs to play the characters for you and to synchronize casting / attacks) 10+ characters it becomes a bit crazy for other players, especially when you’re on a progression server trying to recapture the essence of how the game was 15 years ago. I know there’s a difference between boxing and botting, and it’s mostly botting that becomes a hindrance, but regardless, Daybreak has decided to try to thwart these issues by releasing a “true box progression server“. They’re not going to prevent you from boxing if you really want to do it, but you will have to use a different setup than normal. You’ll only be able to play on one EverQuest account from your computer.

Other changes will also be implemented on this server including raid instancing, and content that unlocks every 90 days rather than by a vote. Daybreak’s goal is to encourage people to make friends, form groups, and to join guilds – this was all key back when EverQuest was first starting out (back in the days before mercenary and bot armies).

Will I be playing? I’m not sure. I have wanted to game but haven’t been able to settle down lately, which is proving to be an annoyance. I have a lot of ‘stuff’ going on in real life which I’m sure is the reason that I haven’t been doing a lot of gaming and I haven’t managed to settle down with a single game for years now. I miss those days and have even thought about challenging myself to stick with just one MMO for X number of months (single player don’t count) but I doubt very much I could manage.

When does this new progression server release? The server should go live December 9th – and you do have to have an All Access Membership in order to play on Phinigel as it’s being called. I believe my all access goes until July, so who knows, maybe you’ll find me there after all.

Gaming

ArcheAge?

stargrace November 28, 2015 0Comment

[47/50] It has been ages since I played ArcheAge, but a friend has recently returned to the game and of course the best way to get me hyped up and playing, is to be one of those friends. Of course not owning property has always been one of the things stopping me from playing, and the ease at which you can lose said property. Plus, I’m not really that big on PVP.. why do I want to play again? Oh, right.

Friends.

[48/50]

[49/50]

[50/50] With that final screenshot, I complete my IntPiPoMo of 50 screenshots for the month of November! A very bright and colourful month here at MmoQuests. A big huge thank you to the organizers, and I’m looking forward to participating next year, too!

Gaming

Missions, Missions, and more Missions

stargrace November 27, 2015 0Comment

[44/50] EVE Online is probably one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever played. Pair that with the amazing soundtrack, and it’s no wonder I can relax so easily while playing. I’ve been working on fixing my Caldari State faction, which is really not an exciting task, but I need to get it done so that my R&D agents keep working with me.

[45/50] Working missions does send me out to some pretty beautiful locations.

[46/50] Now all I need to do is figure out what ship I want to work towards next. Maybe a drake? I prefer building the ships myself when that’s possible, but I haven’t really looked at what I want to fly since I obtained the Tengu. Or maybe instead of any of that I’ll start mining again, it has been ages since I’ve really done that, which tempts me to start up my second account. I do have a plex just sitting around collecting dust.

Gaming

The Tickle of WoW

stargrace November 26, 2015 0Comment

[41/50] It has been a while since I played WoW in any capacity. I let my account lapse a few months ago and moved on to other games. I really haven’t enjoyed the past few expansions, and actually spent most of my time going back and doing old raids more than anything else.

[42/50] The lure to play is still there. I really enjoyed pet battles and I really liked going back through older content. The problem was (and always has been for me) garrisons. Splitting the population into these instanced homes where no one ever talks to or sees another actual person in the game world. With the ability to access brokers, bankers, and crafting, there was no reason for me to step outside and mingle or interact with anyone else and I absolutely did not enjoy logging in simply to do my garrison quests out of obligation. I’ve never belonged to a very active guild, and it feels like it would be too late in the game to get involved these days. Plus I’m pretty particular when it comes to guilds, finding one that’s a good fit (both for me and them) is a long process.

[43/50] I’ve resisted the call so far, but we’ll see how long that lasts. Legion has some exciting things coming with it, and I was tempted to pre-order because the level 100 boost could come in handy (I already have a few level 100 characters, so I’ve seen the content) but if I’m not even playing there’s no reason to get it RIGHT NOW and I’m sure I’ll still want it when we’re closer to release.

Knitting Yarn

Lace and Shawls

stargrace November 26, 2015 0Comment

I like to challenge myself as I learn to knit, but there’s no road map to follow as far as “well, now that I know X skill, I should learn Y skill” – and it works, since there are hundreds if not thousands of different things to learn when it comes to knitting. I have started setting aside patterns with techniques I’d like to learn, but it’s a slow process to figure out the order of things so that I’m both challenging myself, but not taking on too much too soon (and thus getting discouraged). I thought socks were going to be the ‘end goal’ of my knitting, but it turns out that they were actually the catalyst that sent me out searching for new projects. Socks are pretty standard and once to learn one ‘style’ you’re pretty much set. The next thing I found myself fascinated with was lace, and shawls.

I found a very good beginner pattern that only involves a little bit of lace. Lace is basically any piece that involves increases (these create fancy open spaces) and decreases. The shawl posted above is found here on ravelry free of charge. It only has one lace row, and you work it from the top down. What I’ve done here is used two types of yarn, remember I’m still learning and still very much a beginner, so I’m just using basic acrylic for this shawl. The black is Phentex Worsted Solids, and the second yarn is Red Heart Boutique, Unforgettable, in Sunrise. It’s an amazing LOOKING yarn that shifts colours to look like a sunrise, but it’s an absolute pain in the arse to actually knit with. It’s slippery, splits, and just isn’t much fun especially for a beginner. That being said, take your time, and you’ll do just fine.

So the lace row and the stockinette rows are done with the sunrise yarn, and the back is just garter stitch. Simple, looks pretty, and teaches me the basics of shawls. I have every intention of moving on to Skywalker by Laura Nelkin before too long, this pattern is actually from a Craftsy class that I picked up. I have some beautiful bright yellow fingering weight yarn that I’d like to attempt that shawl with.

I love lace – but I’m not very good at reading charts. I’m hoping to get better but it goes very slowly and requires a lot of practice. I’m also thinking that it might be fun to get into beads. I saw a very lovely shawl with glow in the dark beads knit into the pattern and it looked amazing. I’ve never done any bead work before and I don’t have the slightest idea about what is involved, but it’s still something I have been thinking about, so I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before I dive in.

In the meanwhile, I have two projects on my needles right now. Last night I completed a 6 foot cable scarf that is to be a Christmas present, and I have the shawl along with a very plain blanket on the go. What will I work on next? Depends on my mood.

A Different Type of Progression Server

ArcheAge?

Missions, Missions, and more Missions

The Tickle of WoW

Lace and Shawls

You Missed

The Search For Hrada-Oki Bivouac

Personal EVE Economic Update (October)

Expensive Month (preparing for fun)

Locked Out (again)