We are a week out from DDO:U being released. I am not overly excited per se, but the dagger the new style will bring with it to my favorite online MMO has been removed from my back.

Turbine announced a new server Cannith. I am not sure if it is just to give the new players some place to congregate together, or if it is truly needed due to the foreseen bevy of Free to play players that will bombard the servers on The 9th of September.

So far, the press articles directly linked to the launch have been few and far between lately. I suspect most, if not all, of the advertising has already come and gone, and with the launch having been put back by a month, we won’t see much more than a dribble.

Of course, this could also be due to the recent filing Turbine made in court. They are suing Atari.

I first read about it on my twitter while sitting in a traffic jam. I am lucky I leave enough space between cars, because I pumped my fist in a victory sign. Not sure what the people around me thought, but I felt overjoyed to see Turbine making some inroads to giving Atari the what for.

I’ve read through as much of the documentation as possible. It’s long, mostly in legalize, and terribly convoluted, but the end result is, Turbine wants $30 million.

I am hoping they get it.

Jerry has done an excellent post on the news over at DDOcast. If you are interested in reading the full documentation, follow to here.

In other news, I have been playing some Pen and Paper DnD. We’ve been playing a 3.5 game a few times a month. I am currently trying to keep a level 2 sorcerer alive. I almost killed her yesterday. Thankfully, a druid decided to give me a heal while I bled out on the forest floor.

I love my MMO’s. I love my console’s. But I really really love sitting down to a table with a group of geeks and rolling dice!

I am including a picture here of our board. I had brought the guys, all of whom are sailors, back some sailor ducks from Gencon. They decided one needed to be a Mini on the board and roleplayed it as a dire duck!

Lastly, The Guild guys and gals have made a music video. It’s hysterical. Enjoy!

GAME ON!!!

I have been in recovery mood all week from Gencon exhaustion.

I loved the conference and overall had a huge blast hanging out with all of the DDO players and making new friends.

I discovered I might actually like to play a game of the new 4.0 DnD. I know its blasphemy, but after sitting down for an hour to play a demo, I found it really fun.

Jerry already has covered a lot of Gencon on his blog and he has a bunch of great pics. I am just going to put up a couple of my own here.

This is a pic of out True Dungeon group. We mananged to survive the dungeon and it was full of giggles and riddles and overall fabulous adventuring.

One of the artists had painted this bike. The picture totally doesn’t do it justice, but it was Amazing looking!

On of the DDO players had these super fantastic t-shirts. I got a pic of this one. Had me laughing everytime I saw him in a new one.

Things I bought this year… New pink dice, T-shirts (I can never have enough gaming t-shirts), D20 necklace and earrings, Grid map for DnD mini play, LFG hardback comic( and I got it signed), Bundle of Trouble Volume 1 (Jolly signed it for the hubby), a new card game Gloom (I played this several times at the con and its fun)… I think thats all I bought. All I know is my backpack weighed a ton when I got on my return plane home.

Jerry recorded the DDOcast crew on video while we did a live show from Gencon. You can watch the video below and put faces with voices.

It was a fabulous con. I love to game. Board games, card games, video games, you name it I love to play em. I know some of the DDO players were disappointed Turbine didn’t have a booth, but to be honest, while I kinda missed them, there was too much to do to dwell on their absence.

I met great players, made new friends and can’t wait for next years Gencon!

Game on!!!

Its less than 48 hours before I leave for Gencon.

It’s official, my obsessively persistent panic has set in.

I don’t like to fly, I don’t like to travel and I find the entire experience leaves me in a cold sweat.

This year, like last, I am flying alone. My girlfriends have already girded their loins for my panicked phone calls and IM’s which range from “I am reading the TSA website. If I pour my leave-in conditioner in a 3 oz bottle and put it in the quart sized bag, that is ok right?” or my “Ok, so I can have a bic lighter, and a book of matches, but I can’t have my nail clippers, but I can have my nail scissors if they are less than 4inches of blade? Can I bring my leatherman or is that a no?”

I thank the gods for people who will put up with my crazed mind as I pack, repack, empty out one purse so I can make sure I got my lip gloss into the quart sized bag and not in my makeup bag. LOL

I know myself well enough to know I will be fine once I land, but until then, my breath will quicken, I’ll worry I forgot something and probably have a nightmare about being strip searched in the airport.

All the rules change every year it seems and rereading them every time make me feel like I have some control over an uncontrollable situation.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I feel like I walk in an airport and every civil right my husband fights for disappears in the fog of rules, searches and chaos.

I’m excited about my trip, but am smart enough to realize its going to be a long couple of days of keeping my own insecurities at bay.

I am sorry, there is nothing natural about strapping myself into an aluminum tin can and reaching for the clouds!

In gaming news, I have figured out how to play DDO one handed fairly well. Nothing spectacular, but its good exercise for the brain My apologies to anyone who has run with me lately and wondered if I was a moron. I’m not honest, just a wee tad gimped atm.

In other news, I have discovered I am actually quite good at taking care of things, I have a super heightened awareness for BS, and Navy life is never boring. You can’t please everyone all the time, and shouldn’t try. Everyone has bad days, people are as flawed as a jewel in the sun, and most women are a minefield of emotions. Acceptance is key and thinking someone should change who they are isn’t fair…to you, them or the universe.

Best advice a really good friend gave me was, when someone is looking for validation,lend them a mirror I turned it on myself this week and was quite pleased to find that for all the soul searching, wailing, gnashing of teeth and bathing in ashes, I like who I am.

I thought I was having a crappy summer. Maybe I’m not. Maybe I am just learning how to do things a different way.

GAME ON!!!

It’s a busy week here. Gen con fever has hit full force and I am getting everything together

I have a friend who is going for his first time. I am loving seeing all of his questions as he worries about what to bring with him, what not to bring and wondering what he’ll see

If anyone reading has never been I can only readvise as Tolero did in her 2007 DDOcast segment

Water
Backpack
Comfy Shoes
Your Badge!!!

I personally have my dice on me… and my friend says to remember your camera

I love going up there and hanging out with my friends. I am super excited this year, since we have a True Dungeon set up with the DDOcast crew!!! I am fairly sure I will be the first to die, but I figure its all fun. Still not sure what I am going to play, but since no one has spoken up about the cleric role, I might just have to take it!!!

I finally got some time in DDO last week. I was surprised to see not much had changed. With all the hub bub about Mod 9, or DDO EU and so forth, I had expected to see a few friends not in game anymore. We gamers seem to talk a lot of trash, but when it all comes down to it, we love the game and we stick around no matter what!

I asked around to see what people felt about the big delay until September. Most were not surprised and are just doing their thing. A Lot of the folks have not been over on the test server because they want to save this content as a surprise for when they play on live.

Overall I found the community in good spirits, hanging on until Turbine can get the kinks worked out for their relaunch.

We got word there will be DDO store cards given out at the Wizards of the Coast booth.

Dungeons & Dragons® has a lot to offer at Gen Con Indy 2009

Stop by the Wizards of the Coast Booth #1721 and demo the Character Builder on D&D® Insider™. Sign up for an account at the show and receive a D&D® Backpack and D&D Insider debut content. Does someone in your party need an introduction to D&D 4th Edition? Demos of 4E will be going on in the booth during the exhibit hall hours. In addition, Wizards of the Coast will be selling the 4th Edition Player’s Handbook for $5 with the purchase of any other D&D rulebook. Get your friends hooked on 4E!

Other D&D in booth promotions include: advanced sales of Adventurer’s Vault 2 and Dragon 2009 Annual. Sales of these two titles are limited to one per person. Only 100 copies will be sold each day, so make sure you get yours while supplies last.

Upper Deck presents the ultimate location for World of Warcraft, Dinosaur King, and Marvel at booth #1005!

Wizards of the Coast will also be celebrating the launch of Dungeons & Dragons Online®: Eberron Unlimited™ by giving away $5 DDO Store gift cards! DDO Unlimited is the premium free to play MMO where players can battle their way through the spectacular online world of Eberron and experience the exhilarating real-time combat and challenging game play powered by the legendary Dungeons & Dragons® ruleset. The $5 gift cards can be used to buy additional adventures or in-game items in the new in-game store. Authentic D&D® features include customizable characters; handcrafted dungeons filled with devious traps, classic monsters, a dungeon master, and an on-screen 20-sided die. DDO Unlimited introduces an innovative new pricing model that allows players to download and play for free, purchasing adventure packs, items, and account services a la carte from the new DDO Store, or to subscribe to get unlimited access to all of the game’s content. Play DDO Unlimited for free by visiting http://www.ddo.com. $5 DDO store gift cards are free with the purchase of any D&D product at the Wizards of the Coast booth.

The D&D Insider Compendium will be free from Thursday August 13, 2009 until Sunday August 16, 2009! That’s right, Wizards of the Coast is making the popular rules Compendium available for free to everyone world wide during Gen Con.

D&D will have plenty of authors and artists on site as well: William O’Connor, Dan Scott, Keith Baker, Wayne Reynolds, Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Ed Greenwood, and James Wyatt.

Keith Baker & Wayne Reynolds will be doing a special Eberron™ signing on Saturday from 6:00 – 7:00 pm in the Sagamore Ballroom. The first 50 people in line will receive a free copy of the new 4E Eberron Player’s Guide. Come get it signed by the cover artist and the creator of this fantastic world!

2009 marks the 25th Anniversary of Dragonlance™. Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman will be signing the latest release Dragons of the Hourglass Mage: The Lost Chronicles Vol. III on Thursday in Author’s Alley. Also, be sure to stop by the 25th Anniversary Party at the Hyatt Regency on Saturday night from 7:00 – 9:00 pm and help celebrate this classic D&D setting.

For a complete schedule for these and other signings, stop by the Wizards of the Coast booth or the Sagamore Ballroom.

I don’t think I need anything from the Wotc booth, but I was excited to see their support for DDO.

Anyways, I need to print off my Gencon stuff and do a few things around here. It’s projected to be nearing the 100 degree mark here today, and I am so glad I can stay inside and accomplish everything I need to.

GAME ON!

I have few relevant excuses for my long blogging absence.

I had a wee accident about a month ago. It involved a knife, an avocado and 2 surgeries. All I can say is, I lost, the avocado won, and I am still typing one handed. Boo hiss.

So what have I been up to?

Not a whole lot.

I haven’t gamed in so long I am not sure I remember how. No matter what I have tried one handed doesn’t cut it on the PS2, Xbox 360 nor any of my computer games. Suxors.

I took a trip to Washington DC. I loved all the history in one place. I hated the traffic. And the highlight of my trip was watching a Congressman from California hit a car while trying to parallel park in Georgetown

I took some nice pics while in DC. I love my camera and I am getting somewhat better at pictures.

Picture of the Lone Sailor at The Navy Memorial

Picture of the Marine Memorial

Overall, I am not enjoying my summer overly much. The puppy has been sick, Navy stuff is rarely fun, and I find the needs of many often seem to out way the needs of the few, for which I am often disgusted.

I am looking forward to this next week though. GENCON BABY! The hubby has to work again this year, but I have my plane ticket, badge, hotel and mad money!

So while I try and hurry time along, I hope someone out there is having some fun.

Game on!!!