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Um.... Yep.
Friday, August 8, 2014
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Meanwhile, back on the planet's surface...
I'd been taking a break from gaming for several days, figuring that the time away from the computer would do me some good. No big surprise, really, since every time I go through my blogroll I'm reminded that I kind of need to come up with a new theme for the title graphic among other things.
But a week away is long enough, and I logged into SWTOR for the first time in a while.
I'd been trying to keep from leveling too far with some of my toons that are at the end of Chapter One so I could play with my kids, so I figured that I should either try something new or work on the Chiss Bounty Hunter I've got.* The Bounty Hunter isn't a bad option at all, and I do like where the story has been going in Chapter 2 (I'm up to Hoth now), but there was one glaring class omission from my list that I decided I should rectify:
The Imperial Agent.
My son had started an Agent but gave it up because the Empire asked him to do things he felt uncomfortable doing. I can respect that, but after having played a few Imperial toons --and one to max level-- I figured I could handle the Agent's story.
I spent more time than I usually do creating a character, mainly because I was trying to get a look that would allow the toon to seamlessly integrate into various Hutt and Republic areas. I also figured that an Empire that emphasized pureblood Sith and Human races over others would likely send a human to perform their espionage activities. Finally, I decided on a female toon, because I had 4 male and 3 female toons on this server, so things ought to balance out.
In the end, I realized afterward that I created a Black Widow lookalike**, but with a bit more 80s style hair.
The first several quests were designed to ingratiate me to the local Hutt in control of this portion of Hutta, but were nothing special. I could see certain conflicts lining up, and I had a basic feel of the progression this story would take. Still, I had this feeling in the back of my head that since this was Bioware, things were about to turn sour fairly soon.
And I was not disappointed.
I reached that part of the questline where a Sith intervention (naturally) led to... Complications. I was then asked to turn around and kill the person I'd spent some time aligning myself with.
While it was not unexpected --the one thing I've learned on the Imp side is that the Sith can wreck just about anything-- I still blurted out "You have got to be fucking kidding me."
I then realized what it was that caused my son to quit his Agent.
And, to be honest, I've not touched my own Agent since receiving that quest.
Maybe curiosity will eventually get the best of me and I'll go to complete the quest, but I simply can't go and kill somebody like that. It's not like anybody in the Hutt's palace is free from some sort of blood on their hands, but killing a person not because of something they did but because of something the Sith did to their family and you don't want them to find out, that's a different matter entirely.
I guess that means I'm too much of a good guy to play an Agent. So much for that edgy bad-boy image I've been cultivating.
I spent more time than I usually do creating a character, mainly because I was trying to get a look that would allow the toon to seamlessly integrate into various Hutt and Republic areas. I also figured that an Empire that emphasized pureblood Sith and Human races over others would likely send a human to perform their espionage activities. Finally, I decided on a female toon, because I had 4 male and 3 female toons on this server, so things ought to balance out.
In the end, I realized afterward that I created a Black Widow lookalike**, but with a bit more 80s style hair.
The first several quests were designed to ingratiate me to the local Hutt in control of this portion of Hutta, but were nothing special. I could see certain conflicts lining up, and I had a basic feel of the progression this story would take. Still, I had this feeling in the back of my head that since this was Bioware, things were about to turn sour fairly soon.
And I was not disappointed.
I reached that part of the questline where a Sith intervention (naturally) led to... Complications. I was then asked to turn around and kill the person I'd spent some time aligning myself with.
While it was not unexpected --the one thing I've learned on the Imp side is that the Sith can wreck just about anything-- I still blurted out "You have got to be fucking kidding me."
I then realized what it was that caused my son to quit his Agent.
And, to be honest, I've not touched my own Agent since receiving that quest.
Maybe curiosity will eventually get the best of me and I'll go to complete the quest, but I simply can't go and kill somebody like that. It's not like anybody in the Hutt's palace is free from some sort of blood on their hands, but killing a person not because of something they did but because of something the Sith did to their family and you don't want them to find out, that's a different matter entirely.
I guess that means I'm too much of a good guy to play an Agent. So much for that edgy bad-boy image I've been cultivating.
*Apparently he has a "melty look", according to Mako.
**Scarlett Johansson version.
**Scarlett Johansson version.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Not With a Bang, but a Whimper
That's how my WoW subscription ended.
With a 12 hour server downtime.
I thought it was going to end today, but apparently it ended yesterday. So much for those last few items I threw on the auction house.*
I also had hoped to drop in on Ancient, to get a snapshot of Cat and I hanging out in DB North in Alterac Valley, but that wasn't to be.**
The night before, I came across the same Night Elf warrior from Moonrunner in multiple AV runs, and since the two of us were on the backcap team, we got to chatting. I'm now kicking myself that I didn't mention that I knew some people from Moonrunner, in Business Time. Another moment of pure serendipity lost.
However, I did manage to cross a couple of items off of my list, things I wanted to solo before I no longer had the chance to. Like all of the Vanilla and BC raid instances. Or how far could I get in a Mists 5-man instance solo as a rogue? (Answer, not very.)
I don't miss the Trade Chat, however. In the couple of weeks since Durotan-US merged with Ysera-US, the Trade Chat has exploded with both factions being complete and total asses to each other. It hadn't reached Area-52 levels yet, but it was certainly trending in that direction.
If there was any indicator that the (don't call them) server merges were needed to keep major gathering places relevant, the merge between Durotan and Ysera were Exhibit A. I would have counted on two hands the number of people in Ysera at Shrine of Seven Stars on most days, and after the merger the place looks filled and active again.
Anyway, the stress and frustration is now behind me. New challenges are ahead.
*Which makes me wonder, if my account is suspended, do any auctions that are still open disappear too? And does the mail from any (un)successful auction disappear after 30 days as well?
**We could have hid throughout the entire battleground and nobody would have noticed, Ancient. The Alliance steamrolls that often enough that you could go AFK.
With a 12 hour server downtime.
I thought it was going to end today, but apparently it ended yesterday. So much for those last few items I threw on the auction house.*
I also had hoped to drop in on Ancient, to get a snapshot of Cat and I hanging out in DB North in Alterac Valley, but that wasn't to be.**
The night before, I came across the same Night Elf warrior from Moonrunner in multiple AV runs, and since the two of us were on the backcap team, we got to chatting. I'm now kicking myself that I didn't mention that I knew some people from Moonrunner, in Business Time. Another moment of pure serendipity lost.
However, I did manage to cross a couple of items off of my list, things I wanted to solo before I no longer had the chance to. Like all of the Vanilla and BC raid instances. Or how far could I get in a Mists 5-man instance solo as a rogue? (Answer, not very.)
I don't miss the Trade Chat, however. In the couple of weeks since Durotan-US merged with Ysera-US, the Trade Chat has exploded with both factions being complete and total asses to each other. It hadn't reached Area-52 levels yet, but it was certainly trending in that direction.
If there was any indicator that the (don't call them) server merges were needed to keep major gathering places relevant, the merge between Durotan and Ysera were Exhibit A. I would have counted on two hands the number of people in Ysera at Shrine of Seven Stars on most days, and after the merger the place looks filled and active again.
Anyway, the stress and frustration is now behind me. New challenges are ahead.
*Which makes me wonder, if my account is suspended, do any auctions that are still open disappear too? And does the mail from any (un)successful auction disappear after 30 days as well?
**We could have hid throughout the entire battleground and nobody would have noticed, Ancient. The Alliance steamrolls that often enough that you could go AFK.
Monday, July 21, 2014
You Could, You Know.... Ask...
The MMO music podcast Battle Bards had two listener request shows recently. When they put out a call for requests, I forwarded along my pick to Battle Bard Syl of MMO Gypsy:
The Theme for Rohan, composed by Chance Thomas*, and featuring Taylor Davis on violin, encapsulates what I like the most about the Riders of Rohan soundtrack for LOTRO. It's very straightforward, yet the playing is very emotional. The Celtic overtones, with the bodhran and tin whistle, add to the emotional impact of the music.
In addition to the pick, I'd also griped to Syl about my inability to find any MMO sheet music out there other than WoW's.** Syl took my commentary and added it to the feedback section of the second podcast. Battle Bard Syp, also of Bio Break, suggested a couple of things, but the one which was a classic 'Doh! moment was to simply contact the composer(s) and ask if sheet music was available.
Of course, I'd been operating under the assumption that the game companies owned the soundtrack (and the sheet music), but hey, it was worth a shot.
I contacted Chance Thomas, composer of LOTRO's more recent soundtracks, and asked him if sheet music was available for purchase for any of the pieces. He wrote back to let me know that while most of the music was owned by Warner Brothers, he was able to give me the solo violin part for Theme for Rohan.
The mini-Reds were excited.
My oldest informed me that a few notes in the piece go too low for her oboe to reach, but I don't think that'd deter her from making an attempt at it.
*Congrats to Chance for his invitation to conduct Theme for Rohan at the Utah Symphony!
**I've since discovered an arrangement of some Age of Conan pieces in a suite for wind ensemble, but the cost is over $395 EUR, which is a wee bit out of my price range.
EtA: Got my commentary order messed up.
The Theme for Rohan, composed by Chance Thomas*, and featuring Taylor Davis on violin, encapsulates what I like the most about the Riders of Rohan soundtrack for LOTRO. It's very straightforward, yet the playing is very emotional. The Celtic overtones, with the bodhran and tin whistle, add to the emotional impact of the music.
In addition to the pick, I'd also griped to Syl about my inability to find any MMO sheet music out there other than WoW's.** Syl took my commentary and added it to the feedback section of the second podcast. Battle Bard Syp, also of Bio Break, suggested a couple of things, but the one which was a classic 'Doh! moment was to simply contact the composer(s) and ask if sheet music was available.
Of course, I'd been operating under the assumption that the game companies owned the soundtrack (and the sheet music), but hey, it was worth a shot.
I contacted Chance Thomas, composer of LOTRO's more recent soundtracks, and asked him if sheet music was available for purchase for any of the pieces. He wrote back to let me know that while most of the music was owned by Warner Brothers, he was able to give me the solo violin part for Theme for Rohan.
The mini-Reds were excited.
My oldest informed me that a few notes in the piece go too low for her oboe to reach, but I don't think that'd deter her from making an attempt at it.
*Congrats to Chance for his invitation to conduct Theme for Rohan at the Utah Symphony!
**I've since discovered an arrangement of some Age of Conan pieces in a suite for wind ensemble, but the cost is over $395 EUR, which is a wee bit out of my price range.
EtA: Got my commentary order messed up.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Did I just see that? Yes, yes I really did.
Okay, in case you've not seen this before, this is the Ohio State University Marching Band playing a medley of classic video game tunes at the Nebraska / Ohio State football game on October 6, 2012. It was a bit of a FB sensation when it and other videos found their way to YouTube.*
Okay, that was cool. But I'll wager you weren't expecting this:
Yes, that is a high school marching band playing three World of Warcraft pieces for a band competition in 2012.
Yes, you can actually find WoW sheet music for a marching band.
***
Which brings me to a gripe of mine. Why is it so hard to find sheet music for MMO soundtracks not called World of Warcraft?
Sure, if you're good enough you could transcribe --my kids do that enough as it is-- but it would be nice if there were a way to get (non-WoW) MMO soundtrack sheet music. It was easy enough to find sheet music for WoW --we have it somewhere buried under other sheet music in the house right now-- but hours of searching for, say, LOTRO or SWTOR sheet music have yielded nothing.
Those two examples are hampered quite a bit by being part of popular movie franchises, but still I've not much luck at all with finding sheet music for any MMO outside of WoW.
Which is kind of sad, given that video game music has a built in audience, and would be ideal for encouraging kids to play an instrument. You can find plenty of Mario and Zelda and other console games' sheet music, but nothing for MMOs.
*I know there's several other videos out there of other college and high school marching bands with a video game medley, but my oldest was seriously impressed by the footwork involved in the OSU production. (Having a marching band flutist in your house helps with video selection.) And no, we do NOT cheer for OSU. I prefer the University of Dayton, thank you very much.
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