2015

Lets talk about Forge

stargrace February 16, 2015 5 Comments

I have never been a huge video game streamer, but I do enjoy streaming from time to time. Unlike a lot of people I watch, I don’t enjoy voicing when I stream (usually, there are of course exceptions). I like to watch other people play games that I’m not currently playing, and it’s just a neat thing to have in the background. Especially if they’re doing something that I don’t typically ‘do’ like raiding, or FPS games. With that being said, I find most streamers who voice, annoying. I’m not interested in their colourful language, low cut tops, or anything specific about a random streamer. I do of course enjoy the commentary from people that I know, but when it comes to strangers I’m pretty specific. I know, that’s pretty harsh judgement, but that’s what I look for when I’m watching someone else play a game. I realize that my opinions are not the most popular out there and that’s alright.

Anyway. The issue I have with most streaming methods is that they require so much ‘stuff’ to be running, typically resource hungry, and always frustrating to set up. There’s twitch, where you need a 3rd party program such as xsplit in order to stream, then there’s hitbox, there’s the steam streaming application which is pretty simple but people on steam have to request to view your stream and it’s not easily accessible to the public, and there’s a handful of other video game streaming options out there.

A bunch of friends of mine started talking about Forge some time ago but to be honest I was getting tired of the work involved with streaming and I sort of tuned them out. Finally on a whim I decided to take a closer look at it – and instantly fell in love. It’s exactly what I was looking for in a video game streaming program – as well as exactly what I wanted to use while watching videos.

The entire program is sleek, simple, and clean. There’s sound from your game but most microphones won’t work – and honestly that suits me just fine. It doesn’t require a lot of PC resources to run, there’s no distracting UI or chat interface, and even though it’s still in early access at the moment and is invite only, they have a great selection of games already available for broadcasting.

I love that I don’t have to do anything in order to broadcast except start Forge. It collects snapshots and allows you to post short (30 second) clips about your game play session, and it’s mostly to watch ‘live’. It tweets out when your broadcast starts a few minutes in so that if there are issues with you disconnecting you’re not spamming your twitter followers. Have I mentioned how much I love the UI? Let me say that a few more times. It’s probably the number one feature that I adore. After two days any videos you have are purged, leaving behind the 30 second clips, screenshots, and montages. You can find my profile here, if you’re looking to follow – if you’re looking for an invite, let me know and I can send you one (need to know your email address).

I know I’m a bit biased as one of my friends is working on their community team, but honestly after so much frustration with trying to get other streaming processes to work, this one is just a real pleasure. Highly recommended.

Gaming

Diablo 3: Season 2

I never really got into Diablo 3 when it first came out, even though I purchased the expansion, it was more out of habit than any other reason. I enjoy the game, but playing alone typically bores me and I gave up before too long.

Now that season 2 has begun I decided it would be the perfect time to start over, since your character is temporary. I created a crusader this time around, having never played one before. My main character before this season was a witch doctor, who I enjoyed playing but only got to level 43 or so.

At level 8 I got to explore whimsydale for the first time. You used to have to collect items to spawn a way into the zone, but now you can get a treasure goblin that opens a portal for you. I didn’t know about this until it happened, and I was surprised to get beaten to death by unicorns and teddy bears. It was fun, bright, and painful.

I managed to do a few campaigns with friends which made all the difference in the world, and after only a few hours of playing over this weekend I’m sitting at a comfortable level 43. I’m hoping to finally make it to level 70 for once, since I’ve never reached it before. It helps that this game is basically a loot pinata, there’s treasures falling from the sky no matter what you do. I tend to play on ‘Master’ mode, which means the game is a challenge, but not too challenging. I can’t access the higher difficulties since I’ve never had a character of the required level.

I see a lot of people are already 70 and working on gear sets. I don’t have a clue what this even entails, but I’m sure I’ll get there eventually. I typically stream my game on my forge account, which I’m also having a lot of fun with. I’ll go into more details about forge in tomorrow’s post. I hope everyone had a lovely weekend, and as always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Gaming

Trying to Focus

stargrace February 14, 2015 No Comments

I’m still having a lot of fun in World of Warcraft, but I’m finding it difficult to focus and decide what I want to work on. There’s still just so much to do. I enjoy working on achievements, but I also enjoy running dungeons and raiding. Then there’s my garrison, and working the menagerie and my fishing shack to level 3. Then there’s crafting, I still need 15 points in tailoring to reach 700. That’s just my main character, I still don’t even have any other characters at level 100 yet, and I have a lot of them (im)patiently waiting at level 90 for a bit of action.

What’s a girl to do?

I’ve been running the Valentines daily instance but so far the mount hasn’t dropped for me – or anyone else in my instance runs. I knew it was rare, but I don’t think I figured on just how rare it is. I did manage to pick up the new pet that’s available this year, along with the toy that goes in your toy box (am I the only one who giggles every time I say that?) but I don’t really have much more use for the tokens so the instance is all I tend to do.

I’ve also been trying to figure out which spec to focus on. I’m a disc / shadow priest, and I seem to spend equal times between both these days. It’s frustrating to gear up for each, especially when they each have their own enchant requirements. For now I’m thinking of swapping my PVP set of gear into my DPS set, so I can at least enchant it with DPS enchants, and keep my heal gear with heal enchants.

I’ve also been thinking of leveling a warrior up and trying tanking in an experiment. I’d like to do a weekly post where I talk about my encounters as a tank, and invite friends along for the crazy ride while I learn how to play. I could invite people from my friends list to run instances with me since it’s cross server, and hopefully it would go a bit better than a complete pug where people would grow frustrated with my antics. Why punish myself this way? Well, it’s just something I have always wanted to learn. Something I’ve talked about on this blog before in fact. We’ll see if it goes anywhere.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend, and happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Gaming

Heartbreak Games (Formerly SOE)

stargrace February 12, 2015 No Comments

I’ve been trying to figure out what I was going to write in this post for a few hours now, and nothing seems good enough. I can’t find the appropriate words to convey just exactly what I’m feeling. I’m hurt. Angry. Frustrated. Stunned. Of course this has to do with Daybreak Games letting go pretty much everyone I ever liked from the company formerly known as SOE. Currently known as Heartbreak Games to many of us.

I owe the people of SOE a lot. Back in February 2009 they flew me out to San Diego (my first time there) to interview their EverQuest, EverQuest II, and Vanguard teams for Beckett Massive Online Gamer. It was hectic and exciting. I was barely there for 24 hours. I had lunch with Christie (Kiara), Alan (Brenlo), and Aimee (Ashlanne). None of them are with the company any longer, and neither are the other people I met. Tiffany (Amnerys), Lydia (Zatozia), heck most of the teams I interviewed are no longer there either. It would have been easier for me to have asked who was staying, instead of who was leaving.

Out of all the messages I saw from those who were being let go, none were angry. None were spewing hatred at their fate. They were all thankful. They were sad, of course, but they assured everyone they would move on to better things. That they had gained so much from their jobs. They had bonded with friends that were more like family. As I read comments from people who had been there for 6, 12, 14 years and no longer had a job, it made me think about how much these people had affected lives outside of their own. Outside of their workplace. It made me think about all of the good they have done over the years. How thankless their job could be some days.

I hope they realize just a fraction of the good they did. I wish them nothing but the best in their future endeavors.

Gaming

A Return to EVE Online

stargrace February 11, 2015 1 Comment

For a month or two now I have been missing my days in EVE Online. You may remember back when I used to play I was heavily involved in PI (which was relatively new at the time), invention, and my mining operation. I had just learned the skills required to fly a Tengu, which is a Caldari strategic cruiser. Beautiful ship, I had had my eye on it for months. In order to fly one you need a lot of skills and of course just flying one isn’t going to be enough, you’re going to want to find a fit for it, too. For me that took a bit of time, I had absolutely no skills placed in missiles, and the Tengu has 4 launcher slots (called hardpoints on the UI) and one turret hardpoint. It would be pretty important to be able to fit it with something useful. In my case I decided to go with a PvE fit, for flying missions. While the ‘main’ part of EVE Online that people tend to hear about is PVP, I don’t usually spend a lot of time in that sector. That’s one of the reasons why I enjoy the game, it’s pretty open to what you decide you want to do.

Anyway. Before I left I had queued the skills I would need, and was just waiting on them to complete. Probably the reason I took my ‘break’ (I dislike waiting on skills). I’m pretty sure before the Tengu I was flying a Dominix, which is a great starter ship but I was using drones as my major offensive. Swapping from drones to missiles was an interesting change, but I’m slowly getting the hang of it.

Things have changed since last I played. Most notably, the UI. Invention (manufacturing, etc) is much easier to understand, and far more welcoming for newer players. The learning curve is still there, but not nearly as bad (IMO) as it used to be. When I returned to the game I tried to re-familiarize myself with everything without knowing what I was working on last time I was in game. It was a bit disorientating. With that being said, it was also much like riding a bike. Once you remember the basics you just get right back on. I decided to ease into things by doing a very easy L2 mission for Astral Mining Inc, security. I can’t do higher missions because I don’t have the faction required yet. The Tengu blew them away (they were simple kill missions, nothing fancy) and I felt a wee bit over powered. I then noticed that my faction for CreoDron was quite high, and noted that my Research & Development agents were all with CreoDron. You need faction to work with those ranks of agents as well, so I had probably been working on that at some point in time. You use R&D agents to earn RP, a currency that I spend to get datacores, which is used in crafting. There are lots of different types of datacores, used for everything in game from ships to ammo. I have enough faction with CreoDron to fly L3 missions (that’s level 3) which reward a great deal more than L2. Previously I would fly mining expeditions or delivery ones. Now that I’m flying a Tengu I decided I would try my hand at some security.

It took some time, but my first mission was an easy success. I had three points of enemies to destroy, and none of them got close enough to me to matter. I was able to heal myself just fine, salvaged and pillaged all the wrecks afterward for goodies that I can use in crafting, and had a lot of fun doing it. I know this is child’s play for many EVE Online players, but as a player just returning, and one who has never been in the thick of much combat before, I was pleased.

I believe probing has changed too, and there are now icons in the sky that I’m not familiar with, so I still have quite a bit of learning / refreshing to do. I miss my wurmhole expeditions, and I’m already contemplating re-activating my second account. For the time being I think I’m good with just the one, but it would certainly make mining operations smoother to have my miner / hauler duo going. I would typically run a hulk or ice miner on my 2nd account and run my Orca on the main account. In any case, it’s nice to be back, and I’ll be posting about my adventures (minus specific details of course, that’s just the way EVE is) here as always.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Lets talk about Forge

Diablo 3: Season 2

Trying to Focus

Heartbreak Games (Formerly SOE)

A Return to EVE Online

You Missed

Leveling Up With Timewalking

The Construction of Quail Landing

Making Gold – One Sale at a Time

Timewalking, Gets me Every Time