WildStar

That Summer Burnout

stargrace June 20, 2015 1 Comment

It happens every year around this time. I can’t figure out what I want to play and so I spend the majority of my time bouncing in and out of various games, hoping one will catch my attention for longer than 20 minutes. Then I feel bad when it doesn’t. It could be the amazing weather, stresses from work, watching friends and family all do their thing while I’m across the country, or something else. I have no idea. I just know that normally when I have a bit of free time (and I’m at home) I think nothing of what game to play and I just do it. These days though I’ll log into 4-5 games only to wander around aimlessly and then decide they were not what I wanted to ‘do’ after all.

I managed to resist every sale on steam – even though there are quite a few DLC I’d love to own on my wishlist. I just didn’t think I was gaming enough to justify the cost at the moment. I’m tired of Early Access games. While I understand that crowdfunding and EA games are a fantastic way to get indie developers into game releases, I’ve just been burned and frustrated too many times. The latest is with Windborne, which sat on my wishlist for over a year before developers announced that they just don’t have the funds to continue.

I can understand that. I understand that we live in an age where there are lots of games out there, and to create something that’s going to be profitable is hard. It’s still frustrating as a player and as a potential investor in these games. I miss the day when I could purchase a completely finished game (or at least what I would consider ‘finished’). There are some great Early Access games out there, but the chances of me being interested in them when they finally release are pretty slim.

What have I been playing lately? Well. The list isn’t that long, but like I said I haven’t been doing a lot of gaming.

Wurm Online: In summer my Wurm interest flags a bit, but I’ve still got two active accounts and deeds, and I still check in daily to take care of crops and animals. I know my interest in this one will pick back up after summer, it always does.
FFXIV: I keep trying to be interested in this one, and it’s just not happening. I still have 44 days active on my account but something about the game is just not appealing to me lately.
WoW: I still have time left on my account, but honestly I just haven’t been playing. Garrison grind is a thing, and I just don’t like it. Not even pets are able to keep me entertained these days.
WildStar: I play daily, and I still enjoy it quite a bit but I limit my time so that I don’t get burned out. Since I work for NCSOFT on WildStar it’s also pretty much a given that I’m playing it daily.
EQ/EQ2: As much as I love the Ragefire server, it’s hard to get into if you’re not already in a community or with established friends. I was hoping it would be more like the communities of days gone by, but so far it hasn’t been and that bugs me to some degree. Instead I’ve been playing EQ2, my old haunting grounds. I’ve been clearing out older heritage quests and playing in my guild on my own, we’re level 78, and I’m having quite a bit of fun with that. My defiler is still only level 96, but I’m not really in a rush to reach level 100. I don’t even know what is available to do at level 100.
EVE Online: I don’t play nearly as much as I should / could / want to, but I do have an active subscription for a year, and in the meantime my skills are training up. I know this is a great game to pop into when I can here and there, so I haven’t been concerned about my lack of playtime.
GW2: Still working on my mesmer, on a new account. Right now she’s 49, which is great but I’d still ideally like to reach 80 before the expansion hits, and maybe get another character or two up there on the new account. We’ll see how that goes. It’s hard when I don’t really have any inclination to play.

Hopefully I climb out of this rut I’ve found myself in before too long. I imagine when fall rolls around I’ll be back to my ‘typical’ gaming self, whatever that is. In the meantime, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Gaming

Wurm Online, WildStar, and FFXIV

stargrace April 18, 2015 No Comments

Wow, I haven’t made a blog post since April 7th! I just haven’t had the time, as much as I wish I did. Most of my days are filled with work, and when I’m not working I’m sleeping or getting a few household chores done. I do still fit in some gaming here and there, mostly to regroup and relax after the things mentioned above. I decided to create a new alt in WildStar, to start. I love my Chua Spellslinger, but I decided I wanted to see how the other side lives (a common occurrence with MMOs, especially for myself) so I decided to create a human medic. I know, it’s not that exciting but the character is quite fun to play. I created a little back story, and so far she’s level 18. Still a long way to go. I picked the soldier path this time, my main character is an explorer. It’s a lot of smashing of things which is fine by me.

In Wurm Online, well. It’s exciting times there. I picked up a new priest (Vynora), a new deed (up North) and a set of drake. I set up a merchant at one of the markets up North that seems to get quite a bit of players passing through and made my first 5 silver in a very long time. Granted it was because I sold some rewards I had been given ages ago (a breastplate and some ore) but a sale is a sale, and it was nice. Of course I promptly went back to the market to restock and to do a bit of shopping. I walked away with a new leather at that looks like Indiana Jones wore it, a bassinet helm because my drake didn’t come with one, some Mol Rehan banners, and a Mol rehan guard tower that I’ll have to complete some time. I spent about 1.5 silver which I’m quite pleased with. Oh and I picked up 8 source crystals which will no doubt come in handy. I think people underestimate how awesome karma is (though I do wish I could port between alliance deeds with karma).

I’m also still playing FFXIV though my time in that game has been quite limited this week. I’ve been working up my crafting and harvesting skills because it’s just so relaxing. The guild I’m in (well, Free Company) is going strong, and it’s nice to see so many people around. I’m quite pleased at the come back that FFXIV has made, it’s a huge change from when I played before the re-release.

All in all being busy isn’t exactly bad. It just takes away some (all?) of my game time but I still manage to log in here and there. I hope everyone has a lovely weekend, and lets hope that I don’t go quite so long before my next update! As always, happy gaming no matter where you find yourself.

Gaming

Developer Appreciation Week – WildStar #WildStar

stargrace April 1, 2015 No Comments

You may not have heard of the Developer Appreciation Week that is going on right now, but here and there throughout the week you’ll see posts from bloggers talking about it.

Now, let me mention right here that I’m obviously biased but I’ve been a gamer for many many years now, and while working for them I have developed an enormous amount of respect for what they do and how they handle things.

Our developer team includes such well-known forum goers as Tranagram, Meerkat, Timetravel, Caydiem, Moja, and a whole lot of others that I can’t even name. All of these people work together to create an entire living world that we lucky players get to participate in.

It’s not easy. If anything I’ve learned over the years that this fine balancing act of giving players what they want, what is best for the game, what can be done with the time and funds available, and every other factor that comes into it is probably one of the most difficult things to do. They need to be able to look at an issue from many different sides and then choose the best course of action.

If anything working so closely with these different teams has given me a better understanding of what it is they have to handle on a daily basis and for that I give them my DAW for the week.

Don’t forget to show a little developer love on your own blog this week. Lets face it, sometimes we can be pretty demanding. We should be able to take a little time aside to remind everyone that even when we’re screaming about the latest issue we’re having with our favourite games, we do still appreciate everyone who works on making them the best games they can be.

Gaming

Content Locked Behind Levels?

stargrace December 10, 2014 4 Comments

In games (especially in MMOs with linear progression) I expect that certain content will be ‘locked’ behind levels. Things like raid content especially. Then there are games that seem to lock everything behind obtaining some magical number, and those games I’m not quite as fond of. I feel that locking content, behind levels in specific, deters a certain group of gamers who may otherwise enjoy that aspect of the game and continue to play because of it.

Lets take housing for example. In WildStar housing is locked behind obtaining level 14. Now, that’s not a huge amount of leveling in the grand scheme of things, but then there are fabkits and other useful housing items that are also level locked. Even some decor is locked behind a level. Motivating people to play your way is one method of doing things, sure, but for the truly casual gamer all this will do is deter them from sticking around.

In games like EQ2 housing (in specific) is not restricted by level. Casual and hardcore alike are free to decorate to their hearts content starting at level 1. Aspects of housing, are of course locked. For example if you want the best of the best, you’ll need to work towards it. Working towards it does not always include leveling or adventuring. It could include finding methods of earning in-game currency in order to afford the items you want, or hiring players who are level appropriate to obtain rare items for you. There are workarounds to getting what you want.

How do you feel about games locking content behind levels? Does it have to be this way? Does it not matter to you any more because it’s simply the way things have always been? When World of Warcraft released Warlords I was pretty excited about garrison, but then I saw how locked behind leveling they were. It’s great for your main and your first run through the content, but what about all those alts who wanted to have a garrison too.

Is there a point to playing games where everything is just handed to you and there is no progression locked behind levels? Even Sims 4 has gone the rout of locked content where you need to level up your skills before obtaining certain house items – though this can be bypassed with cheats at least.

Thoughts?

Gaming

What’s Your Favourite Type of Crafting?

stargrace December 9, 2014 6 Comments

I love crafting. It doesn’t matter what game I play, chances are I’m going to get involved. That doesn’t mean I like every type of crafting though. One of my least favourite crafting methods is the one you find in World of Warcraft, where you click one button to combine, and wait around until everything in your inventory is used up. It feels very hands free, and it’s meant to be that way. The ‘hard’ part involves collecting the resources, usually through combat (if you’re going to collect it yourself) and adventuring.

My absolutely favourite way to craft, was in Vanguard. Crafting was its own sphere, and did not rely on adventuring at all. You could do work orders where you were given the supplies you needed and only had to purchase the vendor sold components, and this was the ideal way to level, saving your hard earned harvests for actual useful items. It was difficult, complicated, and you would take pride in your creations. Through the use of powders and dusts you could customize every piece a bunch of different ways, and of course you could make pieces more rare than others. One of the best things about this system for me personally was that it wasn’t timed, like it is in EQ2. In EQ2 I feel like I have to constantly sit at the craft bench and not step away to answer the phone or go get the door, because my craft will fail. It’s a timed mechanic, and while I enjoy the process of crafting, I dislike being so tied to the desk as I craft. Sometimes I need to step away.

Crafting in WildStar is complex, but I feel it leans too much on the side of RNG rather than skill. I don’t like having to compete with RNG, because I typically (always) lose. ArcheAge crafting matches that of World of Warcraft, where it’s just a finger click to combine items in your inventory, so long as you have the materials available. There is a bit of RNG as you have a chance to “auto upgrade” an item as you craft it, but the system isn’t complex by any means.

So what are your favourite methods of crafting? Would you prefer to buy from crafters and not create your own items? Players who choose to harvest and sell those goods to crafters can make a nice amount of money in a balanced game, spending the money they earn from selling craft components back on crafters for their finished goods. Of course if you’re like me you have to DO ALL THE THINGS and so you’re both a crafter and an adventurer.

That Summer Burnout

Wurm Online, WildStar, and FFXIV

Developer Appreciation Week – WildStar #WildStar

Content Locked Behind Levels?

What’s Your Favourite Type of Crafting?

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