Aion

Simply Not Enough Time

stargrace November 6, 2009 3Comments

Ellithia is sporting the Shard of Love headgear that dropped for us earlier this week – and that’s been the extent of my time in EQ2, which hasn’t happened in literally, months. I haven’t logged in. It’s not that I don’t have things to do in game, because I certainly do but I just don’t have enough time lately to do everything I want to do. Isn’t that always the case?

EQ2 is always my home base, and I’ll always return there. Especially after I glanced through this HUGE list of patch notes that are currently on test. Wow. Some pretty amazing stuff is finally getting fixed. This has been a very long time coming. Earlier this week I also transferred my 80 swashbuckler over to Antonia Bayle, so I can get back into boxing. I had closed my second account for a little while but decided that 12 alts was simply not enough, so I’ve got both accounts once more.

Vanguard is my home away from home. It’s the game I play for pleasure with a few friends when we all happen to have time, and I really love the game. The problem is it’s not one of those duck in real quick for a minute or two games, so it looks like it gets a lot of back burner time.

Aion is what I’m playing a lot of lately, mostly for work. I play during the day, when it’s quieter then normal and I can’t say I’m hating it. Leveling is slow, quests are grindy but it’s beautiful and still new, and I’ll be sticking with it.

Torchlight and Dragon Age are still on my play list as well, but I’ll probably be playing those more on the weekend when I’m not busy with other things. The weather is getting much colder and it’s almost time to hibernate for the winter. No doubt my adventures there will be fun as always.

NaNoWriMo is eating up a lot of time. I’m just over 12k words right now (although I completely slacked yesterday and didn’t do any writing – today I should be making up for it) and I’m excited about my story. It’s something that I’ve been meaning to write for a very long time, but simply never got around to. Now that the motivation is there I just need to stick with it for the month of November. I’ve also been very excited watching all my friends work on their stories, and the inspiration and motivation that bounces off of one another is fantastic.

There are five games that are on my “dang I wish I had more time” list currently. These are the Lord of the Rings Online, Fallen Earth, Wizard 101, EverQuest and Dungeons and Dragons Online. Thankfully DDO is free to play, so I don’t exactly feel like I’m missing out by NOT playing right now. The Lord of the Rings Online recently extended their special Mirkwood promotions until mid November, so I’ve been debating whether or not I want to get in on that and plurge on a life time just because. It’s one of those games I’ve really enjoyed playing but just can’t seem to find the time. Fallen Earth I managed to score a 15 day trial for, and never logged in – sighs. Wizard 101 is something I should be playing a lot more of next week, fingers crossed. EverQuest currently has their closed beta ongoing for Underfoot – and if I could convince a few of my friends to play with me, I’d probably be there a lot more. I really love EverQuest, always have, even 10 years later. It’s just not fun for me to play alone.

After the list of “I wish I had more time” games, there are a few games that I wish I could simply afford to take a peek into every so often, even if I don’t have the time. These include Warhammer (I loved the game, but lacked friends to play with), Free Realms, and Champions Online (which I played a few times but honestly never got into it, I was right about it simply not being the genre for me). Of course there’s those games I’ve tried but never stuck with (and I’ve tried them multiple times), EVE and World of Warcraft. I even bought the latest EVE game and never actually installed it (it went on sale for $5 if I recall) because I just don’t have the time right now to learn another game. I’ve played WoW off and on since release, and I just think it would have been neat to make it to the level cap at least once. My highest level is 50.

Don’t get me started on all the free to play games out there that tickle my fancy.

There really is just not enough time for everything.

Gaming

Yes, I’m playing Aion

stargrace November 5, 2009 2Comments

While most people have been spending their time in single player or co-op RPGs this month (how can you not, with big titles like Borderlands, Torchlight, and Dragon Age all releasing at once) I have managed to squeeze in time to play Aion on a fairly steady schedule. There’s one main reason for this considering it wasn’t that long ago that I said I wasn’t going to be giving the game a shot. Turns out I need to write about it for work, which is why I haven’t talked about it until now.

I’m leveling up a cleric as both Asmodian and Elyos, and yesterday I reached level 15 with both characters. The game is exactly what I thought it would be, offering nothing ‘new’ to the table but then again it doesn’t really have to. There’s a pretty heavy population on both servers that I find myself on especially later in the day. I spend most of my play time between 9am-4pm EST so servers are a little quieter, but there’s still a lot going on in channels and on the PvP front.

The quests so far have been your usual ‘go kill x number of y creatures’ and ‘go to x location and bring back y object’. I haven’t had to do any grinding at all to gain levels, I’ve had more then enough quests to get me through. I am enjoying the story lines, and adding campaign quests along with ‘regular’ quests give a nice feeling and flow to the over all picture.

There are some bugs, of course. There are quests that don’t work (I’ve stumbled into a few) drop rates at times are exceptionally low, and there are bots galore. While NCSoft has taken some great initiative in blocking spammers from channels (I typically only have to block one person a day if that per server) that doesn’t stop the masses from swarming on mobs. Thankfully, you can also switch ‘channels’ in game, which basically allows you to switch zones to a less populated instance of that zone. There are five ‘channels’ open at any one time (once you’re out of the starter area, there are 10 channels to those areas) so if you find yourself unable to kill the mobs you need for whatever reason you can switch to one of five channels. It will port you there (3 minutes between ports) and you’ll be in the exact same location. This is also ideal for farming named that may be up, although I haven’t encountered any quite yet.

I don’t dislike the game, but I also am not in love with it either. If it were not for the articles I need to complete for work I’m fairly confident in saying that I wouldn’t be playing the game, and I’d find my spare time eaten up by LotRO or some other MMO as my 3rd choice (VG and EQ2 being my first two choices). I do have a friend playing with me which makes a HUGE difference, there’s no way I’d want to play this game alone it would just be.. well, not fun. Thankfully I don’t write reviews, not that this would get a bad one but it’s just another game, imo.

Gaming

Why I’m Not Playing Aion

stargrace September 21, 2009 11Comments

Yesterday was amusing to say the least. I watched a number of very angry gamers vent their frustrations about the queue lines of Aion, on twitter, their blogs, forums. It was everywhere. I can’t really blame them. I know the excitement of having a new game release and the eager feeling you get when you JUST WANT TO LOG IN, and WHY CAN’T YOU JUST LOG IN! New games are fun. They’re exciting. They’re something new.

I played the Aion beta through all of its stages and I really enjoyed the game. I wrote about it a few times and talked about it with friends. I didn’t really have anything negative to say about it – but I’ve decided that I won’t be playing it.

Why not?

I have a few reasons for this. Number one would have to be that I’m not unhappy with any of my current MMO choices. I have fun in all of the games I play, I’m not unsatisfied, there’s no lure for me to go play something else because I’m perfectly content. I have a good selection to choose from and in the off chance that I DO want something else to play – I want something ELSE, and Aion doesn’t give you something else, it gives you what is already out there and wraps it in a different package. Between EVE (yes, I’ve started up a 21 day trial of that again in the hopes I will actually get some where this time), DDO, Wizard 101, EQ, EQ2, VG, Free Realms, the occasional WoW, Champions, WAR, and a few other games that I play for work my MMO plate is already bursting with games that I really enjoy.

The other reason I’m not playing Aion is the cost. While I’m certainly interested in the game I know it’s not something that would hold my attention long term and I don’t want to spend $60 cnd. to try a game for a month. Especially for a digital version of the game.

It feels a little odd to watch everyone get excited and read their blogs and not really be a part of that but I’m happy for the opportunity to watch everyone and see how they react. Are you playing Aion? Enjoying it? Think you’ll stick with it long term?

If you’re not playing Aion, what are your reasons? Please feel free to comment below!

In the mean time, I’ll just keep playing the games I own and watch from afar. Happy gaming no matter where it finds you!

Gaming

WTB Some Time

stargrace August 14, 2009 3Comments

I love my job, I really do. Being able to write about something I enjoy as well as something I’m passionate about is a great gift that I try to make sure I’m aware of constantly. On my web site, I write for me and I love talking about my adventures, thoughts, friends and anything else that happens to cross my mind. The only time any of this is difficult is when it all seems to happen at once. These days there are so many games out there, that I simply don’t have enough time to play everything I want. It’s a shame, because I’d really love to.

EQ2 is my ‘steady’ game even though I’m barely playing it these days (it’s due to being crunch week and no other reason) it’s the comfort game that I know inside and out, and I like that comfort factor. However. It’s not the only game I want to play and certainly not the only game I am playing.

I’ve been having an incredible urge to continue playing EQ, which I have waded in and out of for quite some time now. Problem is I don’t enjoy playing EQ alone (where as in EQ2 I have no problem wandering around on my own) and it’s difficult for me to make friends (especially when I waver to and from games). I have my 81 necromancer that I’m considering leveling a little, she’s fairly close to level 82. I’ve always wanted to hit “end game” in everquest, and with the expansion NOT raising the level cap in November, it may very well be a possibility.

Vanguard is another one of those “if I only had more time” games. I seem to be in a rut with my blood mage, and I’m slowly running out of areas where I can just dip in for an hour or two before calling it quits and feel as though I have gotten anything acomplished.

Last month I won a free copy of Age of Conan, I think I found the time to play once during the month that came with the game, and then it sat neglected. For some reason it just does not appeal to me as much as I wish it had. It may be because I’m not really a melee person, and it felt uncomfortable. Either way, it’s one of those “I wish I had more time” games – along with many others.

Lord of the rings online – I really enjoy this game, a lot. It’s familiar, it’s beautiful. I want to continue playing but for now my account lays dormant because once again the greedy time monster has taken all of my time away, and I just don’t have any to spare or to warent spending a monthly subscription for it.

So what AM I playing? Well, my current play list includes EverQuest II, Vanguard (barely), Free Realms (barely), World of Warcraft (please don’t shoot me, it’s easy to dive into for an hour and feel like I actually acomplished something), Wizard 101, Aion Beta, and some DDO. I want to be able to devote more time to EVE, but that learning curve is so far over my head I may as well actually be playing from another planet. I’ve been having fun in Aion, but again – not enough time to play everything I want to play, and to get work done as well as real life things (plus I can’t actually sit at my desk for too long before I start to get sore from health issues).

While I am excited that there are so many games out there (don’t even get me started on console games and finding time to play those too!) there are certainly moments where I wish the selection were smaller. Am I the only one?

Gaming

Random Game News

stargrace July 1, 2009 4Comments

Well, there’s lots of news going on out there – to start things off, the newest Wizard 101 world is going live today! What a great Canada Day gift to players. I’m excited about this world for a few reasons, number one you can level up through it just as you would level up a character, so for those who have completed it all – it’s time for alts, and time to run quests for house items. It will also impliment a crafting system, bazaar, and the new 18+ chat system, and a few other goodies. Speaking of goodies, be sure to check out Tipa’s site for some wallpaper goodies! I love how fast things come out of test for players.

Of course there is also the discussion about the Chronicles of Spellborn becomming free to play – I dipped into this game only VERY briefly, and didn’t enjoy it. I’m not sure why. I don’t even think I made it past the tutorial, but maybe I just know my comfort zones, and tend to stay within.

I am looking forward to the next Aion beta weekend, from July 2nd to the 4th. I have no idea if I’ll actually manage to drag myself to the PC to play, but we’ll see. It would be nice.

I spent some time on the new EQ server yesterday, Mayong. For those who have been living under a rock, this new server is a 50/51 server – you log in and create, and achieve level 50 instantly, as well as 51 aa to your name. You also start out with all of your spells (and I do mean all) as well as some gear and backpacks (there are more packpacks waiting for your in the bank if you’re looking for them). You don’t start with any money, so you’ll want to farm some especially if you plan on using a mercenary.

The server was absolutely packed last night, I had problems moving around. It was fantastic. There were four general channels, and people were advertising for groups and guilds all over the place. PoK was packed, it was easy to tell who had been a long time player and who had returned for the free 30 days and didn’t know about the guild lobby yet.

There were of course raids also going on, and I saw a few system messages about encounters that were being taken down. I didn’t stay for too long but I did create myself a beastlord, enchanter, cleric, and bard. Whether I will actually stick with one of those or head back to Drinal I am unsure.

In EQ2 (the brief time I played) I collected some more red shiny and decided to do a little crafting and put items for sale which was nice. Not going to be purchasing anything super expensive over the next little while, but hey it’s better then nothing.

I hope everyone has a fantastic day today, it’s the first of July and thus Canada Day! Get out there and enjoy it for me.

Simply Not Enough Time

Yes, I’m playing Aion

Why I’m Not Playing Aion

WTB Some Time

Random Game News

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