August 2016

Tired of Servers

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Almost nothing irks me more than not being able to play with my friends in any particular game on any particular day because we’re all spread out across different servers. I know, servers used to be (and perhaps still are) the ‘norm’ in video games – but honestly, I feel that a better way should be found. Sure, WoW has come leaps and bounds in allowing people to group together by faction so long as they’re on your bnet, and by server cluster, but it’s not enough.

The whole reason this comes up is because I’ve recently started playing on another new server in WoW so I can play with friends (ie: in their guild). I don’t want to have to pay to move my 0lder characters so the only option I really have is to start fresh. I’m currently playing on three servers and I REALLY want to just be playing on one.

It’s not completely unheard of, I mean EVE Online does well with their shard universe and there are a handful of other games out there that will let you transfer (for no cost) between servers at your discretion but older games (EQ, EQ2, I’m looking at you two) require you to stay put unless there are server merges or free transfers.

Of course this is all easy for me to say. I know if it were as simple as developing a new idea to keep people happy then it would probably already be implemented. Plus there’s revenue generated when someone pays to transfer. Still, I can’t help but wish things were a little different, and that when my friends gathered in their respective games I could play with them too without having to start all over once again.

 

Beginning Blaugust 2016 & Sims Shenanigans

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It’s August, and with it typically comes Blaugust, which I’ve participated in here and there over the years, and since I know I never do as much blogging as I wish I did, I decided to participate once again. Will I manage to blog for all 31 days of August? Well, we’ll see. I’m headed towards the 3rd trimester of my pregnancy so a lot rides on how I feel on any given day. At least I managed a post on the first day, right?!

Last night I decided to play some Sims 4, my legacy family as it were. I’m on the third generation, nearing the fourth. The first generation, or my founders, have all passed on. Their graves sit beside the back of the house and their ghosts wander around interacting with random pieces of furniture. In my last round of game play I had decided to purchase a restaurant and in doing so I had to sell off a large portion of the “fluff” that my sims had acquired. I downgraded their bedrooms to just the basics, the kitchen had a fridge and stove that constantly broke, and I removed their bar, dance room, and pool. This allowed me to purchase the restaurant of their dreams – but alas, it just wasn’t for me. I was hoping it could mostly run itself and that’s not how it works. So this game session I decided to sell the place, and then I re-purchased all of the items that I sold off before. I rebuilt their pool, the dance room, the bar, I added fancy new amenities upstairs, their tubs and showers are of the best quality, and their kitchen has never been so clean. The house is nearing $200,000 in value, something I’m quite proud of because I remember when my sims lived on the lawn eating on the edge of the toilet and when they had only three walls.

Tristan is once again jobless thanks to his ‘noncommittal’ trait.  Emily still works as a famous artist, and that’s where most of their money comes from. She’s been decorating the house with her artwork which helps up the value, and the extra paintings get sold off to galleries and private collectors. Their son is going to school during the week and on weekends he works as a landscaper. It’s not much, but it will give him a good start once he’s finished school. The hardest part for any of them has been trying to make friends, so I have a lot of club meetings at the house. Gardening is almost always on the agenda, but I really wish club members wouldn’t harvest the plants because that’s how Tristan makes any income. I don’t mind the other garden tending options, but that one should be left off by default, you don’t see any money from it.

For some reason when I loaded the game my mailbox and garbage can were both missing, so I had to replace those. Their home is a fancy 5 bedroom 3 bathroom affair, and I hope to keep adding to it. Maybe I’ll do some fancy work on the grounds over time as it’s quite bare. The perks of owning such an enormous lot, they have room to grow. I can’t wait to see what happens with the family next!

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

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Nomadic Gamer