Singing, Snow, and.. Dog Pee. #TS3 #TheSims3

Screenshot-32Today another ‘stuff’ pack came out for The Sims 3, this time representing the 70-80-90’s.  I normally stay away from those mini expansions, they rarely offer me anything I actually want unless they are discounted heavily.

My sims family has been doing well. The twin girls are still away at school, the dogs are barking at everything under the sun (and moon) and peeing all over the floor. I’ve been trying to reinforce NOT doing that (you can scold them) but so far neither dog seems to want to give up the “piggy” trait.

It’s winter time now, which means a lot of snowball fights, snowmen, and playing in the snow. I haven’t ventured down to the festival yet, but I will. I also haven’t used the cheat to get more money for my family, although I’d really like to because their house is quite tiny.  As soon as I sent the girls away to school I converted their bedroom into an office. If they come home any time soon they’ll have to sleep on the couch, or in the shower or something.

I also noticed that if my sim uses the computer there’s an “online dating” section. I haven’t tried it yet, but you can add your profile, read other peoples profiles, and edit your profile. Each time I play the game I seem to stumble into something that I didn’t realize was there.

A bunch of my friends had started to play, and I was looking forward to reading a bunch of sims 3 stories, but so far there have been relatively few (yes, this is a nudge, get writing). My sim ended up casting a fire spell on a paparazzi who was hanging around outside the house, and they turned into a giant ball of flame and then a blackened ball of  ash. It was amusing to say the least. It’s always an exciting time in the household because the female character is a witch, and the male is a werewolf. The twin girls are also supernaturals. Each time a full moon comes around the male sim starts howling and turns into a bristling creature. The dogs of the house (Otis and Taylor) both freak out, probably wondering what that weird smell is.

Still, when I’m feeling anti social and don’t relish the idea of playing an MMO, The Sims 3 is my go-to game. It’s hilarious, comfortable, and barely takes any attention since I can just put everyone on high choice and let them do their thing.

What’s one of your favorite aspects of The Sims 3? Let me know in comments! As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.

Ding 95 (And Jenni’s Stained Pants) #EQ2

EQ2_000114I finally managed to reach level 95 on my main, Stargrace (defiler) last night. I was cruising along doing quests, and ended up completing the Chains of Eternity line with about 75% still needed. The rest of the level was spent in Palace of the Awakened, one of my favorite places.

I final quest was a bit of a let down. I did get an incredible cloak from completing the series, but I was expecting a bit more when I went to meet Drinal. I did have a lot of fun finding a suitable mate for Jenni’s bug, skitters, above shows the map with all of the potentials – however. The quest right before the cute mate one happened to be called “Jenni’s Stained Pants” – and that threw me for a loop. I couldn’t get over the fact that I was working on an EQ2 quest actually called that. Now, as you’re doing the quest you find out it’s because of Jenni’s bug, but to see that as an actual quest title was a bit disturbing. It could have been named anything else and not left such a sour taste in my mouth.

What’s next now that I’ve reached 95? I’d like to attempt a few dungeons, but I’ll have to do a bit of research and find out which ones are within my range. I’d also like to work an enchanter to 95, and perhaps a handful of other alts. My shadowknight may be useful. The enchanter is still only level 90 at the moment though, so there’s work to be done on that alt at least.

I really love the new guild depot boxes. I purchased the L&L one as well as the shiny one for my small guild (two people in it, we’re inching towards level 65) and gladly cleaned my bank and inventory out from all these items. It was also really nice to be able to click ‘deposit all’ and not have to sort through the bags myself.

Next I’ll have to place the 40 or so house items I got from working through the Chains of Eternity quest lines. I still wish I had of gotten a bit more gear as rewards instead.

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

Trying to Tell a Story Through Quests #EQ2 #EverQuest2

EQ2_000112I’m about 50% into level 94 now, and I’m having a bit of an issue trying to “get into” the quest chains I’m doing in Chains of Eternity. The zones look absolutely incredible, but almost every single quest is exactly like the quest before – what I mean is this.

Person A explains their situation and sends you out to collect 10 flower petals. You happily do so and cure them of whatever ailment they had. Then you speak to person B who needs 10 flower stems. So you head back out to those same flowers and help them out. Person B sends you to C who needs – you guessed it, flower leaves. You’re back out at the same flowers you’ve already been to twice before.

It feels like I’m doing almost the exact same quest for each person with just a slight difference in their story. Now, I’m determined to complete the Chains of Eternity story line at least once, but I’m having a really hard time ‘getting into it’.

When I completed the story line for EQ1 and their whole ether realm I felt quite pulled into the lore. It was exciting – and new. I just can’t say the same for EQ2. I feel that EQ2 has lost the art of story telling. Now, I don’t blame the developers for this either because lets face it, most of us are never going to read the stories we’re presented with. We’re just going to eagerly click through every conversation and ignore and tidbits of lore.

On the plus side I am having a fun time “running into” old dead EQ2 characters, like Jenni from Everling Castle and as I already mentioned, this is probably the ‘prettiest’ expansion I’ve ever seen them put out. Really, kudos to the art team on this expansion, it’s just amazing.

I just wish I felt more ‘compelled’ to help out Vie or whomever, as it is I get a sense of “oh great you want me to go right back to where I JUST was, and collect what now?” each time I finish a quest.

Anyone else get this feeling? Or is it just me?

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

Vanguard Brings Good News to Members and Free to Play #VGD

Vanguard released some really awesome news this week in regards to their free to play model as well as their membership plan.

“We have decided to expand and improve on the free- to-play offering for Vanguard. That means everyone can play any race, any class, to any level for free. You can also own a house, create guilds, and do a bunch of other things.”

So if you were hampered by the free to play model before (although Vanguard has quite an open one compared to most games) there’s a little more incentive to get in game – and if you happen to love it as much as I do, there are some extra perks for becoming a member.

“With that said, there will be increased XP and faction gains, discounts on broker fees, the ability to purchase additional housing plots, and other exciting benefits. You can see all the membership benefits here.”

As Scopique said on G+ “Exactly! Membership should be something that people are COMPELLED to do, not something they should be SHAMED into doing.”

I think he brings up a really good point. Games spend a lot time telling you about all the things you CAN’T do without a subscription. Vanguard has taken a different approach and tells you about the things you do get as a free to play member, and about the things you get as a member. They don’t mention what you ‘can’t’ do (and there’s very little to that list). I think this is fantastic, and I really hope it works to get Vanguard in front of a larger audience.

Mains? Alts? Which to Choose! #EQ2 #EverQuest2

EQ2_000109A long LONG time ago, I used to have one character, and only one. Alts, were something that just didn’t exist for me. We’re talking years ago, back in my EverQuest days. I played an enchanter, and I loved it.

Somewhere along the way, things changed. It was probably my second or third year into EverQuest 2. I started out with one main, a templar. By the time Echoes of Faydwer came around I was up to three max level characters – and I was even boxing them on raids. I quickly burnt out and got fed up with having so many characters, even though I absolutely loved playing each and every one of them, I started to feel as though I was floundering a bit.

See, when I play a character I like to be as ‘good’ as I can be. That means the best gear I can get, all of my master spells (in EQ2 specifically, although these rules pertain to any MMO I play) my crafting as high as it can go. I like to ‘complete’ all major quest chains. When you have a handful of characters at ‘end game’ it’s really difficult to do.

The years went on and the alt army grew. Now I have 10 characters who have at one time all been max level. They’re currently not, with Chains of Eternity the level rose from 92 to 95 so one of them is at 93 and the rest are still 92. They’re all 95 crafters, but that barely counts.

I’ve been attempting to “get back to my roots” so to speak. Continue to work on a ‘main’ character, and just one. In EQ2 this is the defiler. Last night she continued to work on the Chains of Eternity quest line, and while the quests are quite fun I am a bit disappointed in the lack of gear rewards. Most of the rewards I’ve earned so far are house items. House items are nice, but they’re not going to help me take down an encounter as I try to level.

I also spent some time last night looking over the guild hall amenity. My guild is currently level 64, something I’m pretty proud of for how tiny we are. In fact due to a glitch, I am the only member, heh. If Tipa, or any of the other older members are reading this, feel free to poke me for re-invites. Anyhow, we’re level 64 and I had purchased 15 amenity but we have space for a few more so last night I purchased the lore & Legend amenity since I’m constantly stuffing those in the guild bank, and I also purchased the shiny amenity. This lets you store shinies in chests in the hall for other guild mates to use. I normally end up selling my shinies, but this way I can collect them all in one spot and then do a massive selling twice a year or something if I want. In any case, it’s neat to be able to collect a large amount and keep them some place where all characters have access.

I’m about 30% into level 93 at the moment, and I find it is crawling by. I try not to look at the experience bar and just do my quest chains, but some times that’s hard to do. I’ll be happy when I have at least one character back at the cap of 95.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!