All I can say is “HOLY CRAP HOW DID I MISS THIS?”

It very simple really. Up at Sanderson’s farm there is trouble with the chickens. Things have gotten a little out of hand. If you decide to jump in and help, you’ll be forced to become a chicken and run through out middle earth looking for help.

It’s seriously the most entertainment I have had in a game in a long long long time.

Now lest you think it’s all fun and games, let me caution you. Life as a level one chicken is no easy feat. Monsters around you want to gobble you up. And they can all see you.So run fast little chicken and don’t let the big bad wolf nip at your feathers.

I was in stitches running the beginning quests. The hubby and I were turned into chicken and immediately I started giggling. I just couldn’t help myself. I ran around digging for worms, avoiding wolves and bears and laughing at the hilarity that ensued as one of my guild mates was eaten on his way to a neighboring chicken coop.

My ultimate goal for chicken running is the following.

That’s right people, if you manage to live through all the runs you are given the Cloak of the Cluck.

My guild leader has one of these and I made him click it a bunch of times in the guild meeting the other night.  Nothing like seeing a stalwart dwarf clucking like a hen and doing a dance as feathers rein from above.

The hubby and I died a few times during our chicken runs, but overall, we had a fabulous time.

It culminated when Steiner Davion logged on.

As a chicken you are not able to communicate with anyone.  No tells, guild chat and such.  At first this mystified me, but after some thought it makes sense.  I mean who speaks chicken?

I saw the pop up that Steinr was on and went to my friends list to see where he was.  The hubby and I ran around for a while trying to find him.  Finally after nearly half an hour we spotted him fending off bears in Binbole Woods.  We both jumped up and down around him giving him a good flocking.  I am not sure how long it took him to figure out what was going on, but after a while he hit up my Xfire.   My sides were splitting from laughing so hard.

The guild is going to be doing a full chicken run this weekend.  I am very very excited and can’t wait to report to you that I have earned my cloak and can dance like a chicken!!!

Here’s a video of a guild in LOTRO doing one of these chicken runs. It’s hysterical.  Watch and prepare to laugh a lot.

Game on!!!

I’ve been hearing how much fun the DDOcast Build Guild has been having in DDO on Sunday’s. A few of the players bugged me here and there to participate. It’s been in the back of my mind, but I finally decided to take the plunge.

They are playing on the Orien server. I didn’t have an character’s over there. I had yet to touch it as a server.

With the guild being way ahead of me level-wise, I figured this was a great chance to check out Veteran Status. I also wanted a 32 point monk.

It took me a few tries in the character creation screen to get the 32 point build thing figured out. I knew this was going to mean a trip to the DDO Store. It’s been over a year and this is the first time I’m messing with it.

You would think logically if you didn’t have a 32 point build character and you wanted to make one, it would be on the skills page as an option. It’s not. I should have known better. Turbine doesn’t always do things “intuitive.” I mean I thought since I didn’t have the favor for a Drow and they have a big fat “Buy me now” button (which btw is hideous) on the Character race selection screen, I could infer the upgrade I needed would be available when I got to the skills screen.

After hunting around for 5 or 10 minutes, I gave up on it and just hit the “buy an additional character slot” button. I found this a little funny and chuckled, since as I was pressing the button, I had no character on the server at all and 10 empty slots.

I purchased the 32 point build across all server’s. It didn’t feel awful. Because I haven’t used the store at all it’s not like I was going to run out of Turbine points and spend real cash. I have a few saved up *winks*

I hadn’t read a thing about Veteran Status. I knew it existed, just wasn’t quite sure how it worked.

I made my first monk and went over to Korthos Island. I talked to Jeets, who is quite cheeky these days, and went through the tutorial. As an aside, there is a way to skip the tutorial right? I haven’t found it, but it’s been so long since I’ve rolled a character *shrugs*

I kept thinking there was going to be an option to skip to level 4. After killing all those worthless sahaugin, I ran out through snowy Korthos to find the First Mate. I knew I could skip Korthos and be dropped back in the harbor. I assumed this was also where the option for Veteran Status existed.

It’s not.

Frustrated, and having wasted 45 minutes figuring out how to build a 32 point monk, I logged out to check the compendium. Have I mentioned how useless I find this feature? If you really want information on the game, hit up the DDO wiki. It’s beautiful, simple and so much easier to navigate.

After googling, I found a really well written Developer Diary explaining the ins and outs of utilizing Veteran’s Status. Turns out you need to log into a Level 4 character who already exists in the harbor and *hear my screams*,if you want to have Veteran Status on a server where you do not have 1000 favor, you need to buy it from the store.

About this point it’s getting close to lunch. I am beginning to feel the low hum of headache behind my eyes. I want to play, or at least, I want to support my friends and check out their new venture. Probably.

I went for another cup of coffee and decided to go for broke. I’d already used the store. I might as well continue my fall into the abyss.

I logged onto my static group character on Ghallanda and hit buy.

Blowing out a breath, I re-logged into the game on Orien. I deleted my monk and remade her. 32 points, Veteran’s Status. After 2 hours, I’d accomplished my goal.

I entered the world, did my level up on the voyage and was plunked into the harbor with crap gear and dead broke. Welcome to the world of buy now.

I played about 4 or so hours today. Within the first hour I realized the biggest downfall to the “instant” button, you don’t have a blessed clue what your build can do.

My new monk had 2 toolbars worth of “skills.” I hadn’t the foggiest what to do with them for this build. I hadn’t a copper to my name to buy a repair pot, hat or even a hireling.

By the end of hour 4, my headache had grown to a monster. Learning to play a character, discovering the good and bad points of a build, and trying to accomplish experience doesn’t mesh well. My monk had died more than any other newbie I’ve ever built. Her “specials” seem dismal. She’s still using the starter handwraps she got in the harbor. Handwraps seem to be few and far between. Surprised me. Monks have been in the game 2 years now? What gives?

I won’t be using this option again. Not to make a build I am unsure of. I will say it explains a lot of the issues I saw in the pugs I participated in this afternoon. If you haven’t earned the xp, you don’t know what you can and can’t do. You die, make stupid agro assumptions, and are a drain on your party.

According to myddo, I have built 26 characters who still exist. 15 of them are approaching or are capped. It isn’t my level of experience in character building, knowledge of the game, nor my ability to manipulate and mash the multitude of buttons required to be actively involved in a quest.

It’s the instant button.

I feel dirty. I am going to go soak in a hot bath and consider my sins.

GAME ON!!!

“Utopia is not a place…but a people. It will exist the moment we are fit to occupy it.” Sofia Lamb

As sequels go, Bioshock 2 had a lot to live up to. The story and strange world created in the first game screamed out to be replayed, retooled and revisited.

One of the first things I will tell you is, save your game and save often. While the game has auto save points, I had to get up from a 2 hour session to take a business call. I didn’t get back to my computer for an hour. I hadn’t saved, and lost those 2 hours of game play as I respawned at the beginning of the level. So hit f12!

I played through Bioshock 1 in 10 hours. Bioshock 2 took me 18. Mind you a few of those hours can be attributed to the “save” issue, but I would say overall, this sequel had a little more meat to it.

I’m not going to put any outright spoiler’s in here. If you haven’t played either game, you might be clued into some things just from context, but I think you’ll be pretty safe.

Ten long years have passed since the death of Andrew Ryan in Bioshock 1. Rapture has seen better days.

You are Subject Delta and awaken in the ruin of Rapture with its leaks, splicers and Adam seeking little sisters with the voice of your bonded little sister in your head. Eleanor needs you and your only mission is to save her.

“Love is just a chemical. We give it meaning by choice.” Eleanor Lamb

I was super excited to be playing through this time a big daddy. The clunky loud suit, moans, and drill were among the things I couldn’t wait to play with.

Perhaps it’s just me, but by the end of the first level, I was over it. The drill options were limited, the suit wasn’t all that cool anymore and I wanted a little more flexibility.

I happily looted my first rivet gun, searched for some bullets and went to town shooting splicers.

Another thing to be sure to do, is search for Audio diaries. They are all over Rapture and in total I believe there are 120 or so. They reveal the lives of the people of Rapture, and will help you immensely in a feeling of immersion in the story. Don’t pass them up!

A huge plus to Bioshock 2, is the ablity to get out into the ocean. After all, you are a Big Daddy now with a fully equipped sea worthy diving suit. It was one of the feature’s I didn’t know I wanted until haflway through Bioshock 1. I loved it. Plus, if you look carefully, you can usually spot a little loot laying around. It’s also one of the only times in the game you are not looking over your shoulder. For now, while in the sea surrounding the crumbling city, you are safe. Enjoy the brief respite.

A word of caution, once you leave a level you cannot go back. If there is a nook or cranny you wanted to go look in, or maybe you picked up a plasmid that will help you get into an area you had no access to before, don’t forget to circle back before leaving.

All the good game features are back.

You’ll find your first plasmid pretty early and quickly fall back into the routine of upgrading them via a Gathering Garden when you can. I think everyone has their favorites. I seemed to immediately upgrade incinerate. I kinda enjoy watching splicer’s fry. Don’t forget though to use Electro Bolt when splicers are standing around in a pool of water. They’ll fall over dead fairly quickly.

Hack first, buy second. I didn’t enjoy this mini game much in Bioshock 1. Possibly because I am not very good at this kind of thing. It had an improvement in Bioshock 2, and I found hacking much less frustrating. Be sure to upgrade your hacks with gene tonics to get a slower hack needle, to get a little health and eve every time you hack or to simply make a hack shorter.

The EL Ammo Bandito, Circus of Values and Gene banks are back. You’ll also find the rare Power to the People machine where you can add upgrades to your favorite weapons. Be careful with these. They are few and far between, but a fully upgraded weapon has some cool powers. A weapon you’ll find eventually is the spear gun. A headshot with this puppy nails a splicer to the wall, dead. It’s gruesome and amazingly fun. Even if you have a favorite weapon, try out the one’s you find a long the way. New and interesting methods of killing adds to your enjoyment!

A fresh, and I think wonderful addition to the game, is the moral dilemma. Throughout the story you will run into characters you can either save or kill. Choose as you will, it does affect how the story plays for you and whose voices you are going to have filtering in your ear. As per the first game, you can choose to rescue or harvest the little sister’s you run across. Personally, I save them. I can’t help myself. They are little girls forced to play a part in an evil scheme. They deserve peace. Plus, I like their gifts

Research has also been given an upgrade. It’s more seamless. Instead of still shots, you take video. While this is a feature I tend to forget about in the midst of battle, it’s uses are endless and truly allow you to learn how to make tactical decision’s during gameplay.

“When Rapture speaks of you-it says only this: sleep now. Your day is done.” Sofia Lamb

I had seen enough of the trailer’s for the game to know about the Big Sister’s. Nothing, and I mean nothing prepared me for the fights with them. They make the Big Daddies look like wussy pansies and every time I met one of these screeching avenger’s I said a quick prayer. They can drain Adam from slicer’s to power their plasmid abilities, are armed to the teeth and wearing superior armor. When you hear one coming, it’ll make your heart beat a little faster. They are incredibly agile. Only advice I have is to fight in an open room with them. Try not to get cornered by one. They’ll take you down fast.

As I alluded to before, how you played the game is going to affect the ending. I’m not going to hint one way or another, but which ever road you’ve taken has a well thought out ending.

All too soon my love affair with Rapture ended. As usual I wanted more. And this time you can have it. Bioshock 2 offers a multi player option. You can play through the maps solo or with friends.

And in case that isn’t enough rapture for you, 2 k games has announced additional downloadable content coming soon to both the single player and multi player portions of the game.

The first one looks to be for the multi player maps.

Sinclair Solutions Test Pack, the first of several planned downloadable packages, contains a number of customization features that will allow players to further their character’s development in BioShock 2’s multiplayer modes and provide a deeper multiplayer experience. The pack includes:

• Rank Increase to level 50 with Rank Rewards
• New playable characters Louie McGraff and Oscar Calraca
• 20 new trials*
• A third weapon upgrade for each weapon
• five additional masks*

Bioshock 2 isn’t perfect. No game can be. It comes pretty close though. I will admit in the first hour or so of gameplay it all seemed almost too familiar. The lackluster feel of the drill disappointed, but wasn’t game ending. I had a few places in the single player where the screen would black out from a bug. It happened rarely, and didn’t affect my ability to take out the bad guys.

It’s truly a special thing when a developer can make a sequel that doesn’t feel like a replay of old story lines. While the initial story may not appear very deep, you are intrinsically tied to the well being of Eleanor. The character’s in this second telling are a little more interesting in my view, and there are some juicy surprises waiting through the crumbling ruins of Andrew Ryan’s Utopia. Your choices, and the future of Rapture are dependent on Subject Delta.

If you haven’t dived into this franchise, and you like RPG’s, you should take a look. Rapture is waiting.

“As I watch you now, I envy your ignorance. You still believe.” Sofia Lamb

Why is it we can cure most diseases, but the common cold remains so virulent? Bleh!!!

I finally dragged myself off the couch long enough today to actually game. My mailboxes in LOTRO needed emptying, I had a toon to level, and I wanted to craft some things to make some money on the auction house.

I looked up after a little while in game and realized 2 hours had passed. I had spent the entire 120 minutes crafting in the craft hall! I could blame it on the Nyquil, but probably its just the fact that I refuse to pass up any kind of mat I can pick up. Hence my need to upgrade my bank space whenever possible.

I made 34 on my rune-keeper, managed to kill the Troll-Keeper in the longest cave I have ever entered, and I now have a ton of auctions up for sale. If you are in LOTRO and have money to burn, please go shopping. I have picked out a deluxe house on a quiet street in the shire and mama needs bank

As an aside, I ran into a den of trolls tonight while adventuring in the North Downs. While I expect trolls to be revolting, I can say the team at Turbine has done an outstanding job making me want to hurl whenever I run across one of these stingy, kicking, club wielding jerks. They really need to put more clothes on. The belly flab and sweaty, hairy nipple action makes me green around the gills!

Tomorrow we will finally get Oath of the Rangers, Volume III, book 1.

The LOTRO Game Servers will be brought down on Monday, March 1,2010 from 6:00AM – 10:00AM Eastern (-5 GMT) to launch the latest free content update, Volume III: Allies of The King, Book 1: Oath of the Rangers. (Click here) for the release notes. Thanks for your patience, and we’ll see you back in the game soon!

I can’t wait to find some time tomorrow night to check out the new Duo option on skirmishes. I still can’t believe they didn’t have this option to begin with, but I am super excited to have a chance to really use the skirmishes on the pair of toon’s the hubby and I are leveling together.

In other news, I was checking out the schedule of events for Pax East. A couple of the guys from DDOcast are going to attend, and I figured I could ask them to check things out if there was anything super interesting to me. I found a session I am wishing I could be a fly on the wall for.

Girls and Games: The Growing Role of Women in the Game Industry
Manticore Theatre
Friday, 8:00pm
According to the ESA, more than 43% of video gamers are female, making women the single largest untapped market segment in the gaming industry. Look at the milestones crossed and the hurdles to come as developers and publishers reach out to this previously overlooked demographic. Are current strategies effective? What does this mean for the game industry as a whole?
Panelists Include: Brittany Vincent [Editor-in-Chief, Spawn Kill], Julie Furman [Founder, SFX360], Jeff Kalles [Penny Arcade], Alexis Hebert [Community Relations Manager, Terminal Reality]

Imagine my head spinning around like the exorcist. It’s one of my pet peeves in gaming. Yes, there are two genders. Yes, one is probably from Mars and maybe the other is from Venus. I don’t however understand how we can be an overlooked nor an under tapped demographic when we appear to the Entertainment Software Association to be half of the gaming population buying and beating the games put out by the gaming industry.

What are they going to talk about, putting more half-dressed men in games, how to advertise with more feminine colors and paint everything pink? Not that I want to besmirch the color pink, I mean its my personal fav, but I don’t want to watch an ad for Dragon Age with pink everywhere for goodness sakes. We already have Hello Kitty Online… how much further past the line of ridiculous do we need to go?

There are a ton of women game developers at the major houses, girl blogger, and girl podcasters. We field teams for competition and generally kick rear.

I am dying of curiosity to hear what people say in this session because if it’s more dribble about how to reach out to a population who is already playing by offering crap fluff games I’m gonna puke.

Ok, I am getting off my soapbox, so I can slip into another Nyquil haze.

Before I forget, DDOcast episode 157 is out. They covered the weeks news, have a few interviews and segments. Check it out.

Also, take a gander at this video. Someone over in the LOTRO community put together their take on the The Guild’s “Do you want to date my avatar!” It’s simply hysterical.

GAME ON!!!

I asked a friend of mine to work on a new logo for my site. He also figured out a way to make it a more pleasing pink color. I know some of you logged on and wondered why the code was a ll of a sudden completely wonky

I am decidedly untechy. While I love my gadgets, my understanding of their inner workings are superficial at best. It’s why I have brilliant friends

There are still a few more changes coming, I hope, if my friends don’t abandon me after I turned into a puddle of mush with today’s changes. I am thrilled to have the site FINALLY showing off it’s pink hotness. Looking forward to getting a few more of the kinks worked out in the coming weeks.

In other news, I caught an article on Massively yesterday about Star Trek Online. It featured the new Destiny class ship. The stats on it are fairly impressive.

Overview

With the resources needed to chart distant star systems, deep space science vessels such as the Destiny class will lead Starfleet into a new era of exploration.

Boasting all of the advanced technology with an advanced warp core and expanded engineering facilities, the Destiny is ideal for either long solo missions or fleet support.

Capabilities

Weaponry:

Fore weapon slots: 3
Aft weapon slots: 3

Bridge Officer Stations:

Tactical: Lieutenant (1)
Engineering: Ensign (1), Lieutenant (1)
Science: Lieutenant Commander (1), Commander (1)
Total Available Powers: 12

Modification Slots:

Tactical: 2
Engineering: 3
Science: 4

Device Slots: 3

Crew Size: 500

Impulse Speed: 15

Turning Rate: 6

Quote taken from Zam.com

At first glance I am super excited about it. I then watched the video which I am inserting below. Watch and then let me know what the thing looks like. I’ll give you a hint…I think of how to unwrinkle clothes when I look at this ship

I am off to finish a little crafting in LOTRO before I fall into bed. I won another lottery in LOTRO and discovered mail in my box when I logged in today. Now I feel like I need to make some money, and crafting seems to be the only way I make any these days.

More on my final thoughts of Bioshock 2 tomorrow.

(New Destiny Ship Video)

GAME ON!!!

While I lay wishing for death on my couch this weekend watching season’s of Numbers and Bones on DVD, the gaming world had a few interesting tidbits of news I thought I’d pass along.

Bioware emailed me about Dragonage Awakenings. I am inserting a video below on the new expansion for this fabulous RPG . It looks like its a fully fleshed out expansion. I have a few friends who are rabidly awaiting this release. Included in the e-mail was a link to Hot Topic who is offering a couple of different Dragonage T-shirts. I think I may have to have one of these

Star Trek Online has been busy pushing out patches as fast as they can to correct the various bug reports and issues the game has been experiencing in it’s first few weeks. I have to hand it to Cryptic, they have been awesome about talking to their community about the various problems the games has been experiencing and have put in patch after patch. I haven’t been playing it much. The game just hasn’t completely captured my attention, but its not a bad game.

There has been a lot of talk about the skill system in the game. Lead Designer Al Rivera talked about the ins and outs of the system in a fairly detailed article. Most important thing I took away from the piece was this quote. “Finally, a note about Respecs… Simply put, they are coming soon. We are currently working on this feature right now. The details are not final, however.” I am relieved to hear it. Most of us have made mistakes we would like to correct as we have learned the system. It’s nice to know we may be able to fix things in the future.

I got an e-mail from Cryptic over the weekend letting me know the buddy key’s are now live.

So if you have a friend who has been wanting to check out the game, pass them a buddy key and show them how to save the Universe from the evil Klingons

LOTRO sent me a newsletter detailing their new update, coming soon!

The thing I am the most excited about is that the hubby and I will be able to take advantage of the new DUO option on skirmishes. We haven’t really been doing them as we have a set of characters we play as a team and neither of us wants to play them solo and get to ahead of each other on xp.

In other LOTRO news, looks like they are looking for some new testers for their preview server.

The Isengard Private Preview Program Needs YOU!

* Do you gain a sense of pride when you file bugs, knowing that you’ve helped us improve the game by doing so?
* Do you have a few hours of free time a week that you would like devote to helping us test LOTRO?
* Do you enjoy seeing things in an unfinished state and watching them develop?
* Do you like the idea of having an influence on how those same things turn out in the end?
* Can you keep a secret? No matter how many bribes of you may get?

If you answered ‘YES’ to all the above questions, then Isengard may be the place for you!

The Isengard Private Preview Program is taking applications for new members. We would love to have you on board, getting your virtual hands dirty with our new and upcoming content, and telling us what you think!

Requirements:

1. Must be at least 18 years of age
2. Must have a current, valid Turbine* subscription to The Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood registered under your name
3. Must have a clean forum and game history
4. Must be able to interact with the community in a mature and constructive manner
5. Must be able to communicate well through forum posts and bug reports
6. You must accept the terms of the Private Preview Program Non-Disclosure Agreement, the full contents of which will be provided during the registration process should you be accepted to the program

If you think Isengard is right for you, we encourage you to apply! See the next post for the ‘How Tos’.
We look forward to hearing from you, and good luck!

The Isengard Private Preview Program Team

That’s the second announcement for a Turbine game I have seen in the last few weeks. DDO had a cattle call for their preview server last week. I am glad to see them opening up the flood gates. If you think you would want to participate, be sure to apply!

Speaking of DDO, Episode 156 of DDOcast went up last night. It covers the weeks news as well as a few segments.

I am a little late in mentioning it, but Fernando Paiz spoke to the DDO community on Thursday about the game’s 4th Anniversary. There was nothing earth shattering in his post. Mostly it was a regurgitation of the events already announced, but he did hint in the coming weeks we should be on the look out for a State of The Game Address from him.

In a major announcement Turbine has stated “As the final stage of our datacenter move, all Turbine games will be offline on Tuesday February 23, from 4:00AM - 4:00PM Eastern Time (-5 GMT).”

I am excited and hoping this will take care of some of the rubberbanding I have been seeing in both DDO and LOTRO! *fingers crossed*

I am off to play some Bioshock 2. I want to finish the game this week, and barring any more family emergencies, I may just get it done! Looking forward to some sore fingers from all the gaming I am hoping to get done this week!

GAME ON!!!

(link to dragonage awakenings video)

Our static group had to switch nights this week due to unforeseen circumstances, so it gave us a chance to check out the new 4th Anniversary game.

Celebrating 4 Years of DDO

We’re kicking off the festivities for DDO’s 4th Birthday, starting with a special scavenger hunt event! By finding hidden decorative eggs in the Marketplace, you can get a prize, and the more eggs you find, the better the prize! To learn more about the event, click here! Additionally, check out the following special activities related to the Scavenger Hunt for DDO’s 4th Birthday!

• All characters created prior to February 18th, 2010 will receive Tokens of the Traveler that can be used to participate in the Traveler’s Scavenger Hunt.
  • Free player characters will receive 5 tokens
  • Premium player characters will receive 10 tokens
  • VIP characters will receive 15 tokens
  • Additional tokens can be purchased in the DDO Store!
• All characters created prior to February 18th, 2010 - regardless of account type - will receive a Blessing of the Traveler. This special item can be redeemed after a successful run of the scavenger hunt for rare prizes! Speak with the NPC Taj in the Marketplace after completing your egg hunt to redeem your Blessing. If you miss the event or do not wish to play the scavenger hunt, Taj will also offer you a somewhat less exciting prize in exchange for your Blessing at any time.
  • Additional Blessings of the Traveler can be purchased in the DDO Store!

In honor of DDO’s 4th Birthday, redeeming a Blessing of the Traveler with Taj after an egg hunt gives a chance to receive Hearts of Wood!

I logged on and the gang told me how to get started.

I met them in the market place and looked in my inventory and saw two new items.

I found the NPC Taj and started on my search for Different colored Easter eggs in the Marketplace. Taj gives you special vision which makes the Eggs visible to you. I tried it a couple of times and went to get my prize. I got a shield and a Robe. Nothing earthshattering, but it was fun to have something new to try out.

It’s not the best Anniversary event we’ve ever had, but its not the worst. I don’t see me logging on just to play the game, but its a time sink to use in between quests and groups to make a little coin.

A player on the forums has put together a map of the best route as well as a youtube video. For those interested, the map is below and I here is  the link to the video.

In other news, Lessah and Samius have started a spin off podcast.

You can listen to the show HERE!

I’m super excited about the spin off. Can’t wait to see where they take this!

GAME ON!!!

I have been mulling over moving my blog for a coon’s age. I’ve hemmed and hawed, wondered at the trouble, cost, and time commitments, but the bug bit me a week ago. I couldn’t shake it.

Blogger has been a wonderful home. I will miss it. I just needed a place with a little more customization. A few more options, the right to own my own content, actual real media integration and the chance to play around with something new.

I’ve gotten used to most of the Wordpress Dashboard thanks to Myddo and Mylotro. I felt it was something I could get used to and maybe even come to enjoy.

Listen, it’s 5 AM… and I have been coding, importing, changing labels to category’s, moving permalinks, redirecting traffic and otherwise losing my mind over the weekend.

There is still a bunch of stuff I would like to see done on the site, but for now go take a look and see what you think.

It’s cleaner, has a double tabbed interface, the front page has mini posts, recent videos and a featured article spot.

I think it’s kinda nifty

*falls over from exhaustion*

GAME ON!!!

Finally the guy brought out this box and hefted it onto the counter. I figured there must have been a bunch of copies they were missing since the box was so big.

Uh uh. The entire box was one game. Mine.

I can pick stuff up, but this thing is heavy! I knew I had ordered a limited edition of the game, but thought nothing more of it than the copies of Dragon age and Star Trek Online I’ve picked up in the last few months.

Just look at this thing.

Yeah. It’s ginormous. That’s a regular sized box with the game in it on top of it. I couldn’t wait to get home and see what was inside!

This edition, which will be limited to a single production run, will contain the game along with three posters featuring fictional advertisements from Rapture, the orchestral score from the game on CD, the orchestral score from the original BioShock on a vinyl 180g LP, and a hardbound, 164-page art book. It will all be packaged in a 13″x13″ premium case with special art on both the slipcase and the box cover.

(above quote was pulled from Wikipedia)

The hubby and I were both in awe of the thing. It’s simply huge. Plus, we don’t have a record player. I don’t even think I know how to work one. While I find the Vinyl very cool, its kinda impractical until I can get someone to burn it to a CD for me. Still, it’s pure geek factor alone makes it super awesome.

I would love to tell you all about the game itself, but my new power supply was delivered about 5 pm. Then I had to go get the game once the hubby got home, and have him install the power supply and then the new hard drive and now I am formatting the bloody thing.

All I want to do is go visit Rapture and kill a few things!

*sigh*

Game On!!!

I am beginning to really enjoy the game. Parts of the story are beginning to make sense and feel fully formed. Combat on the ground is still not as slick as I would like, but its still fun. Space combat has gotten easier for me, although I still think I need to go back to the Starfleet Academy for some basic flying lessons!

I am working on the first level of crafting. It’s laborious and I am not sure how much fun it truly is, but at first glance it maybe worth it to be able to upgrade some items.

Tribbles. Ohhhhh they are simply wonderful. In beta I wasn’t really sure what they were for. I went looking for a forum post on it tonight when I heard some of the chat from my guildies. Seems you can upgrade your tribble?

I hadn’t found one yet. I kept killing Klingon’s on ground missions looking for one. Seems the Klingon’s love their tribbles and are hoarding them. The hubby finally got one and stuck it in his inventory to look at later. By the time we had gotten out of the mission, he had two tribbles!!!

Yup, they breed in your inventory. If you have food in your cargo hold, they nibble it up and reproduce That’s just fun.

I finally amassed a few credits this weekend and starting looking around to try and figure out how to upgrade my ship.

I found the pink paint!!!

I know I know… no self respecting Starfleet ship should be pink… but I couldn’t help myself

I also figured out how to rename my collector’s edition ship as well as the registry number.

I am going to have “r” to the end of every new ship I get since I can only have a ship’s name once LOL.

In other news, I took part in a group discussion of DDOcast this weekend. The episode had been out 24 hours when there was already a complaint about my “whining and complaining!” *shakes her head* I love DDO, I just sometimes don’t love all of it. I suppose I should be greatful to have a reaction at all, but it reminds me why I haven’t been doing regular segments for a while. *shrugs*

Tomorrow is LOTRO day for me. Our guild is having our monthly meeting in our kinhouse and I am going to spend all day crafting to make something for the exchnge we normally have. I’ve been slacking lately. Hope I have enough time to make things.

I am off to bed. Bioshock 2 party at my locacl gamestop tomorrow at midnight. The hubby has duty. I don’t think I going to wander around the city that late by myself, so he will just have to bring it home to me on Tuesday. Plus, I have a new power supply coming tomorrow or the next day. Additionally, I still haven’t finished Mass Effect 2.

So many great games, so little time.

GAME ON!!!