Stargrace

EverQuest – Call of the Forsaken #EverQuest #EQ

Last night at SOE Live there were two pretty important events that were streamed for those not attending. One was the general welcome and address, which was alright. There were a lot of jokes and waiting for the crowd to respond. The quality of the stream was far superior to what it was last year, so if you’re looking to get some SOE Live updates yourself, don’t hesitate to head on over to their twitch channels where you can find recordings of the previous events.

While most people are probably waiting for some news about EQNext, I was most interested in hearing about the expansions coming out for EQ and EQ2. I was certainly not disappointed with the information revealed about EverQuest.

The 20th expansion is named Call of the Forsaken, and releases around the end of September if all goes to schedule. Folks can start signing up for the beta a bit later in August. The expansion has a few key features that I’m pretty excited about. First of all, you’ll be able to level your mercenary up. That wasn’t explained in great detail yet but it did seem pretty neat. You’ll also be able to participate in new LDoN (Lost Dungeon of Norrath for those unfamiliar with the acronym) type missions which I am VERY excited about. These missions are going to be tailored to the type of group that you zone in with. The keynote mentioned it will take numerous things about your group make up into account and then provide you with an adventure where everything is customized towards your group, from loot to mobs.

Players will also get to explore old zones that have been talked about in lore and have (in some capacity) been in game since the very beginning, but this will be the first time we’re able to explore them. Zones mentioned were Dead Hills and Neriak 4th gate. I am very excited about that.

The lore of the game ties to EQ2 – apparently everything is started by a dragon from EQ2 who travels back through the Ethernere and shatters the barriers between realities.

There were also lots of new announcements that were centered around the 15th anniversary of EverQuest – like new race / class combinations being revealed. Players will (according to the keynote) vote for these at a later date. Also the new heroic heritage zones being released, Nagafen’s Lair and Mistmoore Castle – I am VERY excited about Mistmoore Castle! More hero’s forge armor, too. In specific robes. New colours new reforged versions which we’ve been wanting for quite some time.

The forums have been a bit negative about the new expansion – not because they’re not excited, no, but a lot of vocal players are mentioning that T4 of the previous expansion JUST released, and it’s too soon for a new expansion to be coming out. Guilds don’t even have the latest raids on farm status yet, and they want some time with their shiny new gear before it’s all made obsolete. This is the sort of thing I love about EQ, players are being frank and upfront with their opinions and it’s NOT the typical opinion that you may expect.

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

My Book Release #kindle #Canadian #author

A bit of non gaming news – been some time since I’ve had any but it does happen from time to time. Yesterday I released my first book, ‘Quiet Introspection‘ on amazon for kindle. There’s a physical version of the book that should be available (also on amazon) later today / tomorrow. As for what the book is about:

A collection of poetry that spans from 1995 to 2000 – most of it angst ridden with the typical trials and tribulations of a teenager growing up. First love, first heartbreak, and trying to come to the eventual realization that life does go on and we are stronger for our experiences.

Of course I know that means it won’t be everyone’s ideal book, but it’s pretty important to me. It is the first book I’ve managed to get to this stage and also won’t be the last. I have another book in the works that should be out for sale later this year or early next year (we’ll have to see, writing can be a fickle creature some times) that is part of the fantasy genre, and I hope people will be excited to read it. I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember but this is the first time I’ve ever really felt like an author. Maybe that’s a bit silly, after all I’m pretty much a nobody who simply enjoys writing and is looking for some sort of audience to share her works with. I’m still pretty proud.

You can find the book listed on Goodreads as well. If poetry happens to be your thing, and you purchase a copy of the book I would love if you took the time to write a review at either place. If you’re an amazon prime member you can borrow the book from the lending library free of charge.

A huge thank you to everyone who has ever supported me in my desire to write over the years. I’m hoping that this is just the beginning.

EverQuest Next Reveal Comes Soon! #EQN #EverQuestNext

(image is from EverQuestNext.com)

We’re getting really close to the largest reveal of EverQuest Next since last SOE Live they told us they were scraping the entire project and starting over. Now, you may take a look at my blog here and wonder if I’m excited about this at all, I have barely posted anything about EQN but the truth of the matter is that over the years I’ve stopped getting all worked up and excited about video games pre-release. That doesn’t mean I’m not looking forward to them, but it does leave me a bit more subdued in my excitement.

I have a few concerns with the release of EQN that have nothing to do with EQN in specific. My concerns are the fact that this will be the THIRD generation of the EverQuest franchise, and I wonder how it will affect the first two. I currently play both EQ and EQ2 – will a player base still be left when EQN releases? Will those games continue on? Does SOE even NEED three EverQuest games?

Worries aside, I’m excited. EQN and Wildstar are my two “squee, can’t wait!” games. Since I’ve had absolutely no luck getting into Wildstar beta and I get a bit bored of the constant teases, I don’t have much to say on that front.

I hope EQN is successful. I don’t have a list of what I’d like to see or what I want from the game, I want them to show me what they’ve created and then I’ll decide if it’s something I can work with. No other game has ever pulled at me the way EverQuest 2 did for 7 years, and I’m wondering if it’s even possible for a game released today to do that. Only a few days left, then we’ll know.

Are you excited about EQN? What are you most looking forward to learning about the game? Let me know in comments!

The Return of King Xorbb #EverQuest

Last night I found an instance that I dislike more than the Veil of Alaris instance where you’re floating about on little disks. Yep, it would have to be ‘The Return of King Xorbb‘. This mission was annoying – and not only because it bugged when we got the named down to 10% and it reset. Our tank got launched into the ceiling and stuck, which caused all the mobs in our encounter to warp around the room and finally present us with a ‘such and such is too far out of the area – you fail!’ message. Great.

The fight is basic but there’s a lot going on. There’s King Xorbb who you fight. He has a reflective lens that you can remove. It’s a 70% chance to reflect. Painful. He has a stat reduction. He also charms after he emotes to a person. There are lasers that go off but you can avoid these by standing in a corner.

Every 4 minutes or so he’ll turn non aggro and four adds will spawn. One goblin can be mez’d, but it’s light blue so you may as well burn it. There’s fungus men that can be rooted, and the minotaurs are immune to root mez charm stun etc. Annoying. These mobs are not too bad and you should have enough time left over to catch your breath before Xorbb goes aggressive again.

On top of the four adds and King Xorbb, there are mini named that spawn based on Xorbb’s health. There are five of them. All sorts of craziness ensued. King Xorbb is no pushover when it comes to health points either. After the mission re-set the first time we attempted it again and it went much better. Still the tank died about 10 times and my enchanter 5. Our reward for our efforts was a warrior only axe that no one could use. Shoot. Of course we also got the achievement for getting it done, I’m pretty sure we went because Alix (a rogue friend) required this as her very last group mission to complete all of the RoF missions. I’m glad it’s finished but I sure won’t be going back anytime soon.

Prom Queens, Graduation, and Ghosts #TS3 #TheSims3

A LOT has happened since I last wrote about my legacy family in the Sims 3. To make it easier I’ll break it up by person, that way no one is left out.

Berett – is no more. The husband to my legacy founder ended up passing away peacefully in his bed one night. His gravestone sits in the backyard, and I planted a cherry tree in his memory. Since he died on the lot there’s nothing stopping his ghost from visiting, and he does, often. He sits at the kitchen table playing his laptop and eating leftover spaghetti. He wasn’t wealthy and honestly didn’t contribute much to the house with his $70 a day, so now that mourning is done he’s not missed that much.

Founder Sim – still alive, she’s reached the end of her elder stage so I’m expecting that she will probably pass on before too long. So far she has made it to rank 9 / 10 in the culinary career. She makes a LOT of money, and when Christmas comes around her bonus is gigantic. It’s a huge help to the house. Which as you can tell from some screen shots I’ve posted on G+ has grown by leaps and bounds. They have a basement, and an upstairs now. I was having a hard time keeping up with all of the work in the house so I’ve hired a maid to come in on a daily basis. It’s just too hard to control all three sims + pets and keep the house looking perfect. The maid actually does her job and I haven’t had to fire her like I have with previous games.

Jessica – Attended prom and was crowned prom queen. She came home with an actual little crown that sits on her desk in her bedroom now. I think these little mementos are amazing. I plan on creating a trophy type room where generations of heirlooms can sit. One of my own personal rules is that all 10 generations must grow up in the same house. At prom she met Yvette and fell in love. That proves to be slightly irksome because one of the rules says your next generation of legacy sims can’t be adopted as they would not truly carry the bloodline. So if Jessica plans on spending her life with Yvette she’ll have to find someone to help them get pregnant, or rely on Emily to carry on the family name. She graduated with honors, was voted most likely to take over the world, and was voted class valedictorian for the year. She won awards for these and came home to hang them on her bedroom wall, proud of her accomplishments. Once done with graduation she quickly picked up a job in the political field.

Emily – Not quite up to the goals of her twin sister, she slagged behind a little. She missed prom because she was working. She hasn’t fallen in love with anyone yet. Her life has been quiet by comparison. She graduated with honors and was voted “most artistic” of her school. She also got a job – as a singer. Right now she’s performing singing telegrams. Not the most glamorous of jobs but she has hopes for the future.

One of the twins is a kleptomaniac and I can’t remember which. I’m sure that will prove interesting as they grow up and mature from young adults to adults.

Oh, also. My dogs. I had a male and female, and then they had puppies. Two of them. So that left me with a pretty full house of three sims and four dogs to ‘control’ while I played. I ended up giving three of the dogs over to the adoption agency because of the smell. I still have Lucky roaming around though, who is also now an elder.

I’m eager to see what the 3rd generation is like, and how their lives will be different. Things have come a long way from the one room toilet house that they used to live in, working at the grocery store. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see!