So, if you have found the other places I blog at or have followed my twitter closely, you would have known that I’m kinda involved with XIV at the moment. The sad thing is, I can’t really talk much about it. Sorta frustrating since it is what my interests lie in when it comes to MMOs despite having reservations and some frustrations during the testing periods leading up to official launch. That said, expect doink! to be revived in the future. I honestly haven’t found anything to blog about because I haven’t really done much lately that I CAN blog about. So… yeah. Expect to see changes! Soon. I hope.

In case you were wondering, I had held off on an update for awhile because of a few reasons: been busy at work, been busy working on FFXIVBlog.com, and been busy actually… gaming! Yes, I have returned to the worlds of Azeroth and Vana’diel a little more frequently than before; mostly in wait of FFXIV but also to play with the people whom I love dearly. I had also recently upgraded my rig to try and better handle the games coming out that I am interested in playing. Of course, when that happened my old PC decided to be a drama queen and refuse to cooperate when trying to get my set of macros off of it. From refusing to update (disconnecting at strange intervals) to refusing to work nicely with FFXI. It has done a lot just to make sure I regret having switched PCs. I don’t! But I’m still wanting to give it a good hard swing with a bat.

More regular updates to come… after I find my copy of Photoshop and am able to edit screenshots again.

Wow. Just… wow. I managed to stay up long enough last night to watch just about the entire meat of the event, and I think I am rested enough to churn out my thoughts and feelings over the anticipated VanaFest of 2010.

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Before FFXI, I used to play this little Korean MMO known as Ragnarok Online. I played on iRO’s Loki server as an Katar Assassin and as a Full Support Priestess. It was a cute little game at the time, and I thoroughly enjoyed not only beta testing it but playing it at launch until almost a year or so later. By then I was getting disgruntled because I was irritated with grinding, the economy was crazy, and the GM and customer support kind of makes S-E seem pretty decent in retrospect.

Anyway, I ditched iRO after awhile when FFXI went retail since I was looking forward to FFXI since it came out in Japan and because it seemed much better than going through bullshit with iRO. Strangely enough, after getting burned out on FFXI and a little bit of the questing on WoW, I have returned to RO. Not necessarily iRO since my account has long been hacked and inaccessible since I no longer have access to the email it was registered to but to a private server where I can just do what I need to in order to get this urge to play out of my system.

I have been playing it for about a month now, and strangely enough I find myself really enjoying the out dated yet very cute game that I had ditched so long ago. Also, after playing a few other MMOs since I initially started iRO, I found myself appreciating some aspects of it and also appreciating what the other MMOs have done differently. One GREAT example? On FFXI, you don’t have to wait months to get the latest version. Sure there is that annoying time zone difference between Japan vs. North America and Europe, but imagine having to wait eons just for the same kind of content people in Korea and Japan were getting!

What do I like about RO? Just its strange simplicity and cuteness. Even after all these years, the game is still attractive as it was then with the addition of new equips to make one standout and look pretty. That and I still love the way certain mobs die (Porings! lol) and how people are able to tinker with the build they want and that works without having to follow a necessary cookie cutter mold. One example is with my brother and I playing the Assassin class on RO. We had very varied stats and used abilities differently, but we could still take down MVPs and such pretty well. I am also kind of liking the need for a partner of sorts for particular jobs in order for certain abilities to work. Like a Dancer needing a Bard in order to utilize some of her other abilities to help a party.

This works out for me, because I really like partnering up with my boyfriend and doing things together. Kind of like when we leveled RDM and WHM. Though… I guess he does most of the work and I just really sit there and looked pretty darn cute.

I know I haven’t written in awhile. I have been pretty busy as of late, and often I do not have time to do much but game a little, exercise, and then crash. Couple that with a few illnesses here and there, and not really having much to blog about… and you have a dead doink!

Things have been sort of weird for me. For a time I rejoined FFXI and then recently quit again when I realized I lack time and drive to get the money I need to do things. Lame, I know. I also have been kind of on and off with WoW, but that’s a given since my questing tendencies ebbs and flows. Its easy for me to get exhausted from questing after doing it hardcore for awhile, and trying to get to a certain point on my toons.

I don’t suppose it helps any that I am just eagerly waiting for FFXIV. As much as I wanted to get back into FFXI, there were some things about the game that reminded me of why putting the game on hold was necessary. I think with where I am in my point in life, it will be hard for me to devote what I can without getting very frustrated that I can’t get past certain hurdles.

Eh, so what am I doing now? Kind of an assortment of things. Besides work (the obvious) and exercise (need to lose gained flub), I have been on and off with my romance with WoW, Sims3, and have finally gotten back into playing Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days before Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and Ragnarok DS come out sometime next week. Also working on a new blog, that will be a collection of just random weird non-sense I decide to write about.

Yes, pretty boring. I worried for awhile if I was getting too old for gaming but I realize just time is a huge factor that has played into me not doing enough of it. Well, that and my resolution to also try and be a more intellectually competent person. But that is neither here nor now…

Wow, I had not realized how long it had been since I last wrote an entry! Even though I haven’t written in awhile, it doesn’t necessarily mean I have not been gaming. Granted its not always as much as I want, but I have been gaming whenever I can squeeze it into my schedule.

Strangely enough, even though almost half a year has gone by AND A Shantotto’s Ascension has been released for FFXI… I haven’t felt a strong urge to come back. I have contemplated it several times, but the strong urge to do so hasn’t really hit me yet. On the other hand, I have dropped Aion due to lack of time and frustration during the first month when RMT shouts and whispers were frequent (I am told this isn’t true anymore, but I am still reluctant) but have taken a stronger interest in WoW. Yes, WoW.

Even though it isn’t as sociable as FFXI was for me nor as eye catching and technical as Aion, I think just being able to do things for a short amount of time or just being able to insert myself wherever has really pulled me into it. Not to mention the lore which has gotten me interested in replaying the Warcraft series.

Because of this, I have started to think about FFXIV and how I hope it will fill in some gaps I experience in MMOs. FFXI has honestly fit the bill nicely with the way it handles socialization (forced groupings and flexibility with joining multiple LSes) and story telling. But WoW provides with more flexibility in how you can play, such as being able to log in and out without the guilt and burden of inconveniencing the 5 other people you are partying with. Battlegrounds is also great in that it pools together people from different servers/worlds to play with in Brenner like games of Capture the Flag or Tower. Which could seriously help when you really want to play those games S-E put in, but there aren’t enough people on your server who are interested in playing. Aion just… damn. It looks so damn pretty and will look even better with their upcoming expansion. Besides that, Aion also has a much more interesting fighting system than FFXI and WoW put together and will only get better with their new expansion.

Even still… 2010 looks like its going to be a very good year for MMOs! FFXIV and WoW’s Cataclysm is looking so :Q worthy right now. Then there is Star Wars: the Old Republic, which I know a few friends are dying in wait for it to come out. So I am really looking forward to 2010, but I am not quite sure my wallet is. ;o;

Ever since I had heard about this game sometime last year, I had been interested in trying it out since the concept at the time seemed really cool. Angels vs. Demons or rather Elyos vs. Asmodians, aerial combat, and drop dead gorgeous character customization was what had piqued my interest during a time when I wasn’t sure about how I felt about FFXI last year. Though the concepts and mechanics are the same as in many other MMOs (and many WoW lovers will spout off incessantly like mind numbing drones that not only it is a total and complete ripoff of WoW but that Aion sucks in comparison) with action bars, fetch and retrieve quests, missions, and the idiots flaming the chat logs, there are some parts of Aion that are rather charming.

I have played from closed beta, a little through open beta, and now retail release, and one of my favorite aspects of this game is the self skillchain like attacks one gets to pull off along with the coupling of aerial attack in permissible areas. It is also probably the only game that has remarkably hasn’t left me wanting to stab myself for going through the annoying grind of 1 – 10 no matter how many times I do it. Another neat feature of the game is that there is an express delivery function that allows for a deliveryman to come to YOU. That’s right! It comes to you even if you are right smack dab middle in enemy territory! All that is needed is to click on the mail icon on the UI and out pops a furry little man with your mail! No more having to go all the way to town just to find a mailbox and get the goodies you have been waiting on!

Of course, there are some downsides to the game…

1. No PvE only server. I know that PvP is part of the game mechanics, so I am not complaining much about it… But it does suck for me, considering I have never been too big on PvP.
2. The WoW whiners. Then again, they are everywhere and they give me a headache even when they are on WoW.
3. The gold or Kinah sellers. I am really surprised they are in full effect already, and I’ve already made a habit of just ignoring all whispers I get even if they are legit.
4. They changed several of the faces for the NA version to appeal to Western tastes. Personally, I found the faces from closed beta were much better and the females didn’t look they were on drugs…

Some small (or big) things that have made playing enjoyable…

1. A hot key for looting everything on the action bar.
2. Global chat; ok, this is a two way street as it can get REALLY annoying. But its actually kind of cool, too, and I don’t really mind it all that too much because it is really easy to just tune off the chatter and focus on other things instead.
3. Private Store. For FFXIers, think of it like having a Bazaar up. It is taken to the next level by allowing you to sit anywhere with a sign up letting people know what kind of wares you have.
4. Armor customization. It reminds me of when I could dye my armor in RO, but not only can you dye the armor you can also take the skin off of another armor and place it over a piece of equipment that may look ugly but have better stats. At least aesthetic appeal isn’t lost on Korean devs and probably should give a lesson to others who think wearing a metallic red thong and bra equates to mail like armor with lots of def.

Am I going to keep playing after my 30 days? Maybe, maybe not. Depends on if Derrick is still interested in playing or if I don’t get drawn into something else. The PvP aspect of the game has left me a little hesitant to continue, but it doesn’t mean I won’t at least try it out. As for others looking into trying the game, the game isn’t for everyone. Personally, I have found many WoW lovers have frothed at the mouth angrily and say they detest the game in chat and on forums, whereas several FFXIers say they are happy campers with the game, and those who play both will still complain WoW is better. I, uh, don’t really fit anywhere as the game is just a time waster (like WoW) until FFXIV comes out or until I decide to return to FFXI, but I neither hate nor truly love the game. I just have fun and that’s all that matters to me.

Even though I have been doing a lot of gaming here and there by playing Dissidia, theSims3, Aion, WoW, Rock Band, and Guitar Hero, I have also decided to refocus on my health and well being after finding myself gaining an alarming amount of weight back after my Gall Bladder surgery awhile ago. So, I decided to try EA Active (again) for the Wii and doing other exercises more seriously in attempt to get myself back in shape.

Now, before I was kind of hesitant about EA Active. Not because its a video game exercise, because I had actually done well before doing a lot of DDR until my DDR pad became busted and I got tired of all the songs. No, my worry was that it was like some of the other hyped up Wii games that really don’t amount to much after awhile. Wii Fit was hard enough to include as part of my workout routine because it wasn’t really set up to be like a set of workouts. EA Active on the other hand, is a completely and totally different story!

I had actually did a bit of it before Hiroshiko and my cousin had come to visit, and didn’t realize that there was a difference in the settings. I had picked out some regular “Easy” workout mode, and found myself unable to properly sit or walk for an entire week. In fact, in order to sit on the toilet I needed to perform some sort of acrobatic trick in order to sit down and then pull myself into an upright position like like a hobbled old lady. It had kicked my butt THAT much.

Then my friend told me about the 30 Day Challenge with Bob Greene. Boy did that make a butt load of a difference! I didn’t have as much trouble, but I really did work up a sweat! And after doing it for awhile I can finally work my way back up to a more intensive setting while also keeping track of what other exercises I have done and what I had done diet wise to help keep myself healthy. I had also decided to supplement my workouts on that game with doing more things such as walking, jogging, etc. I have already trimmed up a little, but more importantly I feel much better since I had reintroduced exercise back into my life. Now I just need to work out more so that I can one day squish Hiroshiko’s head in one go and make myself some delicious tasting brain juice~ <3

About six months ago, I had stopped playing WoW for three reasons:

– Money
– Was caught up in FFXI, again
– The boyfriend’s computer could no longer handle it (its a dinosaur)

Last night, I decided to reactivate my account after some deep thought and like the last time I returned from a long hiatus… things were upside down and so different that I had a hard time figuring out just where I should spend my Talent Points (FFXI: Merits).

Now, unlike FFXI, I can generally get back into the swing of things fairly easy. Even though BRD, for example, is a little different than when I first started playing it years ago, it is still fairly the same with heavy important on singing, pulling, and sleeping adds. I come into WoW and I find all my Talents are wiped, Shaman has some nifty skills and additions added to the system, and a few other changes that totally blew my mind away.

In fact, I am still trying to figure out just what kind of build I am going to try out next for my Hunter and Shaman.

I think this is what I both like and dislike about WoW. I like that you can pick up after a long time, not worrying if your characters are going to be purged from the system. I also like how easier it is to level solo. What sometimes frustrate me? How patches can totally change how the game is, and trying to get a bearing on all those buttons you had put and mastered on your screen before… only to start out kind of like a baby and try to figure out just what all of them do again because there are so many of them!

Starting out again in WoW, so far, has been a lot of fun. Mekare (my bestest friend in FFXI) has been helping me out clear instances and get loot, and I’ve been remembering why WoW was a great break away from FFXI. More importantly, I am looking forward to being able to play other games with the boyfriend soon. Azeroth is fun with Mekare and solo, but I sorely miss playing with my bald headed, tentacle chinned, and Hunter obsessed boyfriend.

Thanks to Corinth from Eorzeapedia, there is a new translated article from an issue of Famitsu that features an interview with FFXI’s and now FFXIV’s Global Producer – Sage Sundi. After reading the translated version of the interview with Sage Sundi, however, a sickening feeling of dread came over me.

I am mostly in annoyance over their reasoning over NOT having a global official community forum because of “language barriers”, but going as far as making a claim that they do not want to give up on cross-regional servers because doing so would be a step backwards.

Do not get me wrong here; I like global servers. I have met some decent EU players and I still fondly remember the kindness the JP showed me and my boyfriend when we first started playing FFXI. But I feel that if you are going to choose to do this as a company and create a diverse environment for different regional players, then you should have no reason against creating a single and/or official forum for people to be able to voice their opinions, concerns, or questions.

During a conversation with a fellow FFXIV blog member, the thought came that S-E just wants to control their customers. If this is the case, I think that S-E has failed to understand that their customers are not blithering idiots. People already see the double standards, how illogical S-E’s stance is on the matter and how unbalanced it is given that not even the JP has a proper outlet to express themselves to the dev team.

I think that if they were to create a community, they could easily create different forums on the community to pander to the different languages. Translators could provide communication between the community and dev team, or at least hire people who have more experience/understanding with the game to be a go between. What is more important is that there is a platform that truly allows the customer/player to be able to freely communicate their thoughts and ideas to the dev team, and for us to get simultaneous feedback that feels as though they are sincerely hearing our concerns and addressing them. The dependency on Premier Sites is only putting a barrier between player and company and does not help those who feel discourage to contribute in communities were reputation matters by how many posts you have made vs. the quality of the information and concerns you bring up.

It is clear, however, that both sides of the table are interested in opening up paths of discussion. The dev team has already expressed wanting to get as much feedback from the beta testers to know what works and what doesn’t before things are set into stone. This itself is monumental, but is frustrating in and of itself given that the only road block between both sides wanting to exchange dialogue is Sage Sundi and his team. However, given that the game is not even in its beta stages, there is hope (albeit a rather slim one) that maybe Sage Sundi will have a change of heart and create an official community since he had expressed wanting to search for new ways of communication previously unavailable in FFXI.