Friday, November 30, 2012
The Humble THQ Bundle
This is a surprise. The Humble Indie Bundle, but with big-budget, decidedly non-indie titles? Interesting, interesting.
I really don't know what to expect from these games. The trailers are worthless, since they're purely cinematic. I hate that.
See any gameplay there? I don't see any gameplay there. What's the gameplay like? I don't know, there's no gameplay in the trailer. Hey, game-trailer-making people: put gameplay in your trailers.
But I do know a couple things. First, $1 for all these games is value. Mmm, sweet, delicious value. Second, all these games are popular and/or well-reviewed. The lowest Metascore among them is, I believe, a 75. That's a pretty glowing recommendation. Third, while other indie bundles are fickle, the Humble Bundle has never let me down before. (Well, okay, maybe Catacomb Snatch, but I'm not counting that one.) They've earned a lot of goodwill in my book, and I am very comfortable putting down a dollar for anything they're offering.
So what exactly are these games, anyway? I feel like I've seen some of them on, like, Zero Punctuation or something. I know Darksiders is some kind of action game, like, I dunno, a God of War-type thing, maybe? 'Cept I never played God of War, so I'm just spitballing there. And Company of Heroes is labeled as a Real-Time Strategy, and Metro 2033 is a first-person shooter. There's also Saint's Row 3, which I didn't get because I didn't beat the average because $1 for 4 games is one thing and $4 for 1 game is another.
Hey, beats me. Value. Maybe I'll give these a spin sometime.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Oh, whoops. Is it already six hours since I downloaded my preorder copy of Cold Days the instant it was available? I didn't notice because I'm 77% through it.
I guess I should probably go to sleep. Or not. Damn. This is Harry Potter all over again, you know, except with instantaneous wireless delivery. The upside, of course, is that I don't have to go to the bookstore and buy a second copy to avoid waiting for the first one to come in the mail.
Well, anyway, can't write, busy reading.
I guess I should probably go to sleep. Or not. Damn. This is Harry Potter all over again, you know, except with instantaneous wireless delivery. The upside, of course, is that I don't have to go to the bookstore and buy a second copy to avoid waiting for the first one to come in the mail.
Well, anyway, can't write, busy reading.
Monday, November 26, 2012
I've had this laptop for several years now, and it's starting to show its age. Its performance has become consistently choppy and sluggish; its video card is inadequate for many of my video games, even at minimum settings; and its wireless internet functions appear to have ceased functioning altogether, tethering me helplessly to an ethernet cable.
It still works, in that it's not, like, totally busted. It's just weak and laggy. Suboptimal, I guess you might call it. The thing is, though, my computer is probably literally the single most important thing I own. It's vital academically, professionally, and recreationally, and it has a significant effect on my quality of life. You shouldn't have to cut corners on a cornerstone. And my birthday is coming up, so I convinced my parents to give me a $900 budget to upgrade my laptop.
I shopped around and did some research before settling on a Dell Inspiron 17R-SE model that's very much like the Dell machine I currently have, except with all of the hardware juiced up. Much faster processor, a real modern video card instead of an Intel Chipset junk, double the hard drive space, a backlit keyboard (with numpad), and a 17.3" 1080p HD matte screen (I've gone long enough with the cheap glossy screen and it's high time I got a real anti-glare matte finish). This particular one was a refurbished model and on sale for 20% off for Black Friday weekend with the appropriate coupon code, so after the discount, it was a good $200 cheaper than comparable laptops (like the HP dv6t or dv7t) with similar hardware--and very comfortably within my budget.
It comes preloaded with Windows 8. So I dunno how that'll work out. I hear Windows 8 is weird and different and aimed primarily at touchscreen devices rather than laptops and desktops. On the other hand, it's supposed to have some good performance upgrades from Windows 7 as well, so it can't all be bad. Like, the weird new interface they're adding is just, like, a replacement for the Start menu, or something? And the regular desktop is still there behind it? I guess? Uh...well, anyway, I hope it's good.
Also, new Dresden Files book is almost here!
It still works, in that it's not, like, totally busted. It's just weak and laggy. Suboptimal, I guess you might call it. The thing is, though, my computer is probably literally the single most important thing I own. It's vital academically, professionally, and recreationally, and it has a significant effect on my quality of life. You shouldn't have to cut corners on a cornerstone. And my birthday is coming up, so I convinced my parents to give me a $900 budget to upgrade my laptop.
I shopped around and did some research before settling on a Dell Inspiron 17R-SE model that's very much like the Dell machine I currently have, except with all of the hardware juiced up. Much faster processor, a real modern video card instead of an Intel Chipset junk, double the hard drive space, a backlit keyboard (with numpad), and a 17.3" 1080p HD matte screen (I've gone long enough with the cheap glossy screen and it's high time I got a real anti-glare matte finish). This particular one was a refurbished model and on sale for 20% off for Black Friday weekend with the appropriate coupon code, so after the discount, it was a good $200 cheaper than comparable laptops (like the HP dv6t or dv7t) with similar hardware--and very comfortably within my budget.
It comes preloaded with Windows 8. So I dunno how that'll work out. I hear Windows 8 is weird and different and aimed primarily at touchscreen devices rather than laptops and desktops. On the other hand, it's supposed to have some good performance upgrades from Windows 7 as well, so it can't all be bad. Like, the weird new interface they're adding is just, like, a replacement for the Start menu, or something? And the regular desktop is still there behind it? I guess? Uh...well, anyway, I hope it's good.
Also, new Dresden Files book is almost here!
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Friday, November 23, 2012
I need to write up an application for the creative writing class I want to take next quarter. That means a sample of my fiction writing. I'm not sure I have a good sample. I guess I could use my short story from English 5F last year, but I don't feel like it came out quite that way I wanted. I'm thinking I should write something new.
My inclination is to go with a first-person something or other. Like maybe a journal or a diary. So I need a character to write it, and I need something to happen for them to write about. I wonder what TV Tropes has to say about it?
Hmm. Interesting, interesting. Good options.
Well, I'll mull it over.
My inclination is to go with a first-person something or other. Like maybe a journal or a diary. So I need a character to write it, and I need something to happen for them to write about. I wonder what TV Tropes has to say about it?
Hmm. Interesting, interesting. Good options.
Well, I'll mull it over.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
I changed my mind. I still don't like roast turkey. I was thinking, "Well, it's basically just chicken," except when I tried it, I remembered I don't actually like roast chicken either.
Sigh. Maybe next year, I guess.
But hey, yams, right? Gotta love those yams. The pineapple is a nice touch. Oh, and good pumpkin pie this year.
Sigh. Maybe next year, I guess.
But hey, yams, right? Gotta love those yams. The pineapple is a nice touch. Oh, and good pumpkin pie this year.
It's Thanksgiving weekend. That means I'm home for the holidays! It's nice to spend time with the family. I walked in the door, climbed up the stairs, and was greeted with a hug, a glass of milk, and a tray of warm, fresh-baked brownies. <3
Oh, and a dog. But I dodged him.
Thanksgiving is all about the feast. You're supposed to stuff your face with huge portions of turkey, yam, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Unfortunately, I don't actually like all that stuff. Except for yams. Those are good. Oh, and pumpkin pie, I guess, although it's not as good as apple or blackberry or cherry or lemon meringue or key lime or strawberry rhubarb etc.
This year, I've decided to try to stop disliking it. I know the culture as a whole loves that Thanksgiving crap, so there must be something to it. If so many people like it, it can't be all that bad. And it's tradition. May as well get into the spirit of the thing.
Honestly? I find it hard to strongly dislike foods. If I try something and don't like it, but know that there are a lot of other people who love it, I can't fairly say it's terrible because it is clearly (and literally) a matter of taste. For a long time, I didn't like beef, so I didn't eat beef. Then a couple years ago, I decided to stop not-eating beef because protein is an important part of a balanced diet and it's good to eat a variety of different foods. So now I'm cool with beef. No big deal, really, just a matter of looking for what other people see in it. Mostly it tastes meaty, like meat. *shrug*
Turkey's not all that different. It's just chicken with fancier plumage. And mashed potatoes are just potatoes. If you put butter on them, they taste like butter. I don't really know about the cranberry sauce--I wouldn't normally put berries on my roast chicken--but it's traditional, I guess.
Apparently the dog sleeps on the couch now and he's trying to use me as a pillow, so I suppose I should get out of his way.
Oh, and a dog. But I dodged him.
Thanksgiving is all about the feast. You're supposed to stuff your face with huge portions of turkey, yam, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Unfortunately, I don't actually like all that stuff. Except for yams. Those are good. Oh, and pumpkin pie, I guess, although it's not as good as apple or blackberry or cherry or lemon meringue or key lime or strawberry rhubarb etc.
This year, I've decided to try to stop disliking it. I know the culture as a whole loves that Thanksgiving crap, so there must be something to it. If so many people like it, it can't be all that bad. And it's tradition. May as well get into the spirit of the thing.
Honestly? I find it hard to strongly dislike foods. If I try something and don't like it, but know that there are a lot of other people who love it, I can't fairly say it's terrible because it is clearly (and literally) a matter of taste. For a long time, I didn't like beef, so I didn't eat beef. Then a couple years ago, I decided to stop not-eating beef because protein is an important part of a balanced diet and it's good to eat a variety of different foods. So now I'm cool with beef. No big deal, really, just a matter of looking for what other people see in it. Mostly it tastes meaty, like meat. *shrug*
Turkey's not all that different. It's just chicken with fancier plumage. And mashed potatoes are just potatoes. If you put butter on them, they taste like butter. I don't really know about the cranberry sauce--I wouldn't normally put berries on my roast chicken--but it's traditional, I guess.
Apparently the dog sleeps on the couch now and he's trying to use me as a pillow, so I suppose I should get out of his way.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Yep, there it is, fire cape.
The Fight Caves, as it turns out, are absurdly easy in the new combat system. I brought mage gear with an arcane spirit shield and lots of ice barrages. Crushed through the first 62 waves, got to Jad, and steamrolled him with shield abilities. First I used the one that reflects half his damage back at him, then I used the one that blocks all his damage, and I threw in the one that makes his next hit heal me instead of damage me. Ice barrage and chain shot easily lured the healers away, and I won without breaking a sweat. It was a laughably easy battle. I can't believe I even considered using an instakill dart.
If I were doing it again (and I probably will, if I get it as a slayer task), I wouldn't bother wearing a shield the whole time. I'd bring more firepower to get through the waves more quickly. I would also bring a melee weapon for the Tok-Xil and their annoyingly high magic resistance.
I suppose the Fight Kiln is next, then. And the Dominion Tower at some point--I still need to beat the Monkey Trio, the Dagannoth Mother, the Untouchable, and the Pest Queen. I don't expect them to be terribly difficult, especially with the new combat system--it's mostly a question of finding them. Oh, and obviously I need to do more dungeoneering to get me some chaotic stuff. But yeah! So far so good.
The Fight Caves, as it turns out, are absurdly easy in the new combat system. I brought mage gear with an arcane spirit shield and lots of ice barrages. Crushed through the first 62 waves, got to Jad, and steamrolled him with shield abilities. First I used the one that reflects half his damage back at him, then I used the one that blocks all his damage, and I threw in the one that makes his next hit heal me instead of damage me. Ice barrage and chain shot easily lured the healers away, and I won without breaking a sweat. It was a laughably easy battle. I can't believe I even considered using an instakill dart.
If I were doing it again (and I probably will, if I get it as a slayer task), I wouldn't bother wearing a shield the whole time. I'd bring more firepower to get through the waves more quickly. I would also bring a melee weapon for the Tok-Xil and their annoyingly high magic resistance.
I suppose the Fight Kiln is next, then. And the Dominion Tower at some point--I still need to beat the Monkey Trio, the Dagannoth Mother, the Untouchable, and the Pest Queen. I don't expect them to be terribly difficult, especially with the new combat system--it's mostly a question of finding them. Oh, and obviously I need to do more dungeoneering to get me some chaotic stuff. But yeah! So far so good.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Sonnet the Hedgehog
A blue blur races through the Green Hill Zone
Too quickly for the naked eye to track
Collecting rings and fighting robot drones
The hedgehog with the attitude is back
And at his side, his trusty sidekick, Tails
A fox with the unlikely gift of flight
Together, they'll set out to blaze new trails
From Marble Garden to Casino Night
Spring Yard, Oil Ocean, Mystic Cave
Every level speeds by in a flash
Seven emeralds and a world to save
And one mad scientist with whom to clash
Run, jump, run, roll, jump, run to survive
Sonic: he's the fastest thing alive
Too quickly for the naked eye to track
Collecting rings and fighting robot drones
The hedgehog with the attitude is back
And at his side, his trusty sidekick, Tails
A fox with the unlikely gift of flight
Together, they'll set out to blaze new trails
From Marble Garden to Casino Night
Spring Yard, Oil Ocean, Mystic Cave
Every level speeds by in a flash
Seven emeralds and a world to save
And one mad scientist with whom to clash
Run, jump, run, roll, jump, run to survive
Sonic: he's the fastest thing alive
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Well, the good news is that we recently got our long-awaited buff to solo Dungeoneering xp. I've been holding out for this update for a long time now. Dungeoneering in teams doesn't really appeal to me, but I still need to train the skill in order to get the chaotic equipment I want, and solo xp rates are dismal -- or at least, they were, until this update. They're much more reasonable now. As a result, I've started plumbing the depths of Daemonheim in earnest.
It's slow going, but I really only have myself to blame for that, since I've been dilly-dallying gathering all the resources. I really need to get that mining level for promethium ore--it's frustrating having 99 summoning and having to settle for the second-best bloodrager familiar because I can't get the materials to summon the best one.
The Evolution of Combat is going to shuffle everything around, of course, so that's going to take some readjustment. The new combat abilities will take some getting used to--I'm fairly sure the correct play is not to just use Momentum and kick back. I thought about switching to a one-handed weapon bind, but it turns out the ring classes have changed to refer to one-handed and two-handed weapons rather than aggressive and accurate stances, and all my Berserker levels would go to waste if I didn't stick to a two-handed weapon. That's okay; it also turns out that the celestial surgebox (which I would have wielded in my offhand slot) has been moved to the quiver slot, so I can still hold it at the same time as a two-handed weapon. Phew.
I've been shuffling my bank around in preparation as well. For ranging, I picked up a crystal bow, an Armadyl crossbow, and an archer ring; I already have a set of Armadyl that should serve pretty well, and I can sell my old Karil set since I won't be wearing it while meleeing anymore. For melee, I bought a Bandos helmet and a warrior ring. For magic, I decided to go ahead and fill up the Ancient Book--it looks like it might actually the best of the god books now. I don't know if I'm necessarily going to end up dual-casting, but if I do, it offers a good prayer boost with some armor, HP, and crit tossed in. I do still have my arcane spirit shield, which is getting a lovely buff to be the mage equivalent of the divine spirit shield; I expect that'll come in handy if I need a shield.
I have 22k loyalty points to spend on new auras. I want to spend them all because value. I think Quarrymaster is on my list this month, since I do need that 90 mining. (The ability bar should make it nice and easy to drop my gold ore, so good timing.) Then I might go for Inspiration or Greater Invigorate--boosting adrenaline seems pretty good. Not sure, though.
I also need to think about using my instakill darts. One for the fire cape seems reasonable. Do I keep going and try for the full Har-Aken kill? Or maybe the whole minigame is just going to be easier enough after the combat update that I won't even need them, and I should just get a few Nex kills? Hmm.
It's slow going, but I really only have myself to blame for that, since I've been dilly-dallying gathering all the resources. I really need to get that mining level for promethium ore--it's frustrating having 99 summoning and having to settle for the second-best bloodrager familiar because I can't get the materials to summon the best one.
The Evolution of Combat is going to shuffle everything around, of course, so that's going to take some readjustment. The new combat abilities will take some getting used to--I'm fairly sure the correct play is not to just use Momentum and kick back. I thought about switching to a one-handed weapon bind, but it turns out the ring classes have changed to refer to one-handed and two-handed weapons rather than aggressive and accurate stances, and all my Berserker levels would go to waste if I didn't stick to a two-handed weapon. That's okay; it also turns out that the celestial surgebox (which I would have wielded in my offhand slot) has been moved to the quiver slot, so I can still hold it at the same time as a two-handed weapon. Phew.
I've been shuffling my bank around in preparation as well. For ranging, I picked up a crystal bow, an Armadyl crossbow, and an archer ring; I already have a set of Armadyl that should serve pretty well, and I can sell my old Karil set since I won't be wearing it while meleeing anymore. For melee, I bought a Bandos helmet and a warrior ring. For magic, I decided to go ahead and fill up the Ancient Book--it looks like it might actually the best of the god books now. I don't know if I'm necessarily going to end up dual-casting, but if I do, it offers a good prayer boost with some armor, HP, and crit tossed in. I do still have my arcane spirit shield, which is getting a lovely buff to be the mage equivalent of the divine spirit shield; I expect that'll come in handy if I need a shield.
I have 22k loyalty points to spend on new auras. I want to spend them all because value. I think Quarrymaster is on my list this month, since I do need that 90 mining. (The ability bar should make it nice and easy to drop my gold ore, so good timing.) Then I might go for Inspiration or Greater Invigorate--boosting adrenaline seems pretty good. Not sure, though.
I also need to think about using my instakill darts. One for the fire cape seems reasonable. Do I keep going and try for the full Har-Aken kill? Or maybe the whole minigame is just going to be easier enough after the combat update that I won't even need them, and I should just get a few Nex kills? Hmm.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Braaaains
The zombie exploits continue. I shambled together some more games. A few rounds of 2HG, and some 1v1 during the downtime in between.
You know what's sweet? Brains. Zombies should eat brains. But Undead Alchemist is the only zombie that actually eats brains. Luckily, Undead Alchemist is also heaps of fun to play with.
Unluckily, Endless Ranks of the Dead is underperforming. It's still ghoulishly difficult to get it going, and even when it works, it tends to be win-more. Really, I didn't expect much more, but it's still disappointing.
Even more disappointingly, I've never even been able to cast Army of the Damned. I'm thinking I might need to add in a bit more of the ol' Twisted Abomination + Lord of the Undead combo if I want to get anywhere on that front.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Spoilers
Spoilers!
Characters who die:
Ned
Jon
Sam
Arya
Theon
Sansa
Ned
Robert
Tyrion
Jaime
Joffrey
Littlefinger
Cersei
Asha
Stannis
Varys
Bran
Renly
Syrio
Danaerys
Brienne
Hot Pie
Robb
Hodor
Grey Wind
Ghost
Summer
Lady
Shaggydog
Nymeria
Shae
Jaqen
Jorah
Catelyn
Gendry
Melisandre
Davos
Viserys
Rickon
Osha
Characters who live:
Jon
Sam
Arya
Theon
Sansa
Ned
Robert
Tyrion
Jaime
Joffrey
Littlefinger
Cersei
Asha
Stannis
Varys
Bran
Renly
Syrio
Danaerys
Brienne
Hot Pie
Robb
Hodor
Grey Wind
Ghost
Summer
Lady
Shaggydog
Nymeria
Shae
Jaqen
Jorah
Catelyn
Gendry
Melisandre
Davos
Viserys
Rickon
Osha
Valar morghulis, bitches.
Characters who die:
Ned
Jon
Sam
Arya
Theon
Sansa
Ned
Robert
Tyrion
Jaime
Joffrey
Littlefinger
Cersei
Asha
Stannis
Varys
Bran
Renly
Syrio
Danaerys
Brienne
Hot Pie
Robb
Hodor
Grey Wind
Ghost
Summer
Lady
Shaggydog
Nymeria
Shae
Jaqen
Jorah
Catelyn
Gendry
Melisandre
Davos
Viserys
Rickon
Osha
Characters who live:
Jon
Sam
Arya
Theon
Sansa
Ned
Robert
Tyrion
Jaime
Joffrey
Littlefinger
Cersei
Asha
Stannis
Varys
Bran
Renly
Syrio
Danaerys
Brienne
Hot Pie
Robb
Hodor
Grey Wind
Ghost
Summer
Lady
Shaggydog
Nymeria
Shae
Jaqen
Jorah
Catelyn
Gendry
Melisandre
Davos
Viserys
Rickon
Osha
Valar morghulis, bitches.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Boy, I've been working on these sentence trees for my grammar class, and it's taking longer than it really has any right to. All the sentences are full of extra adjectives and adverbs that don't really make them difficult, but sure as hell make them take longer to draw.
Well, I suppose I'll be all right, since I'm working with a solid buffer before the deadline. The objective in having so many modifiers is presumably to drill them until they become routine, as is standard practice with homework in many such disciplines. I just wish they could take up less space on the page. At this rate, I need a full page for each sentence, and I'm losing paper faster than Mitt Romney is losing Facebook "Likes".
I also had to write up an essay about Robinson Crusoe for English 10C and do a poetry workshop writeup for 5P, so I've been busy this weekend.
Unrelated: I'm finally getting around to reading the Thursday Next books. I finished the second one this morning. So far so good; I'm enjoying them. Pretty nifty premise. But of course, I'm also excited about the impending release of a new installment in The Dresden Files--so much so that I went ahead and preordered it from Amazon to get it delivered instantly to my Kindle as soon as it's available. The sample chapters have been trickling in on Jim Butcher's website, and it's all very thrilling.
Well, I suppose I'll be all right, since I'm working with a solid buffer before the deadline. The objective in having so many modifiers is presumably to drill them until they become routine, as is standard practice with homework in many such disciplines. I just wish they could take up less space on the page. At this rate, I need a full page for each sentence, and I'm losing paper faster than Mitt Romney is losing Facebook "Likes".
I also had to write up an essay about Robinson Crusoe for English 10C and do a poetry workshop writeup for 5P, so I've been busy this weekend.
Unrelated: I'm finally getting around to reading the Thursday Next books. I finished the second one this morning. So far so good; I'm enjoying them. Pretty nifty premise. But of course, I'm also excited about the impending release of a new installment in The Dresden Files--so much so that I went ahead and preordered it from Amazon to get it delivered instantly to my Kindle as soon as it's available. The sample chapters have been trickling in on Jim Butcher's website, and it's all very thrilling.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Well, I ended up getting 99 firemaking.
You'd think that I'd feel more invested in a skill in which I collected thirteen million points of experience. I dunno. I don't think it's really a big deal. The way it happened was I needed 92 to get the inferno adze, right? For the Varrock Elite tasks. So I did some training in the Jadinko Lair with curly roots -- this was around when I was getting 99 farming, so it was worthwhile just for the vine herb seeds. And once I hit 92, which was in December of last year, I pretty much stopped there.
And then later, the Firemaker's Curse quest came out, so I started getting a boatload of xp every week from doing the new circus event and Char's little spiral-pattern activity. It turns out those things dish out a ton of xp even if you do nothing else. I got a few million xp just by dropping by once a week for about fifteen minutes at a time.
But then I was like, "Wait, why am I even bothering with this? Firemaking is useless. I'm wasting my time." And I pretty much gave up, because by this point I was already at 97 and able to do literally everything in the skill anyway.
Except then the daily challenges came out, and the firemaking challenges were all like, "Light 13 beacons! Light 13 beacons! Come on, we've got this whole minigame that nobody plays! Light 13 beacons!" Yeah, nobody does that because it sucks.
By this point the bonfire update had been out for a while, so firemaking was a lot easier to train. And so I was basically like, "Screw it, I'm practically there already, I'll just hunker down a couple hours and get 99 firemaking so I can turn off these stupid beacon challenges."
And I did. Took about four or five hours over the weekend. I watched a few videos and then I was done. Meh.
So yeah, I have 99 firemaking now. I guess the cape is kind of cool? I dunno, whatever.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Secret of the Magic Crystals
So Secret of the Magic Crystals is a horse simulator.
Can I choose neither of these players? They both look like the dorkiest guys ever.
Yeah, no duh nobody believed him, because that's stupid.
Okay, so the gameplay is pretty simple. You get a horse. Here's my unicorn in the stable. You can click these things on the left to groom her and feed her, and she has stats that affect her performance in races and such.
Things you can do with the horse. First: training. You can practice on these training courses to improve the horse's stats.
The training just looks like this. You press the arrow keys when arrows appear. Higher accuracy means more xp for the horse. Simple enough.
You earn money by sending your horses on quests. They're nothing special. Your horse walks off, then wanders back a little while later, bringing back money and an item.
This is what it looks like to enter a race. Just text popups. From what I can tell, the outcome is randomly determined based on the horse's stats. If you win, you get prizes.
You can spend the gold to upgrade the items in your horse's stable, which will give it stat buffs. Gold can also be used to level up buildings, giving access to higher-level features.
Items, which are things like herbs and metals, can be used to make horseshoes and potions, which boost the stats of the horse you use them on. You can spend gold to find new recipes for this stuff.
If you win enough races, you eventually get trophies and win the Magic Crystals. Collect them all...I guess?
Also, after a while, horses can breed, which results in higher-level horses.
I dunno, this is basically just one of those Facebook games, y'know? It doesn't have much play to it. Just the Skinner Box. I don't think it's the game for me. More like the sort of game you'd give to your grandmother. Or if you really like horses.
I enjoyed the Chao Garden in Sonic Adventure 2, but it had a pretty different aesthetic. The creatures were cuter, and you could walk around the garden to play with them in real-time rather than through an interface. Chao would change color depending on the items you gave them, making training feel more meaningful and less arbitrary. And the whole minigame was stapled onto an actual fun main game. Bottom line is that Secret of the Magic Crystals has a similar spirit, but is a vastly lower-quality experience.
So, verdict: meh.
Can I choose neither of these players? They both look like the dorkiest guys ever.
Yeah, no duh nobody believed him, because that's stupid.
Okay, so the gameplay is pretty simple. You get a horse. Here's my unicorn in the stable. You can click these things on the left to groom her and feed her, and she has stats that affect her performance in races and such.
Things you can do with the horse. First: training. You can practice on these training courses to improve the horse's stats.
The training just looks like this. You press the arrow keys when arrows appear. Higher accuracy means more xp for the horse. Simple enough.
You earn money by sending your horses on quests. They're nothing special. Your horse walks off, then wanders back a little while later, bringing back money and an item.
This is what it looks like to enter a race. Just text popups. From what I can tell, the outcome is randomly determined based on the horse's stats. If you win, you get prizes.
You can spend the gold to upgrade the items in your horse's stable, which will give it stat buffs. Gold can also be used to level up buildings, giving access to higher-level features.
Items, which are things like herbs and metals, can be used to make horseshoes and potions, which boost the stats of the horse you use them on. You can spend gold to find new recipes for this stuff.
If you win enough races, you eventually get trophies and win the Magic Crystals. Collect them all...I guess?
Also, after a while, horses can breed, which results in higher-level horses.
I dunno, this is basically just one of those Facebook games, y'know? It doesn't have much play to it. Just the Skinner Box. I don't think it's the game for me. More like the sort of game you'd give to your grandmother. Or if you really like horses.
I enjoyed the Chao Garden in Sonic Adventure 2, but it had a pretty different aesthetic. The creatures were cuter, and you could walk around the garden to play with them in real-time rather than through an interface. Chao would change color depending on the items you gave them, making training feel more meaningful and less arbitrary. And the whole minigame was stapled onto an actual fun main game. Bottom line is that Secret of the Magic Crystals has a similar spirit, but is a vastly lower-quality experience.
So, verdict: meh.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
You know what I don't like in my music? Autotune. So brave, I know. It just sounds so bad, though, when a singer's voice gets transmuted into a robotic whirring. I mean, it's pretty harmless if a competent sound-mixer-person is using it to touch up a couple notes for the recording, but when singers have to go all T-Pain because they can't sing the notes for real, that makes me die a little inside.
I'm also not a fan of the screamy stuff you get in heavy metal subgenres. It's really grating, and it doesn't sound anything like music to me. If you're a singer, your job is to sing. It's bad enough when you're a bad singer like Rex Harrison and you speak the lyrics instead of singing them--if you scream them, it's like, not only are you bad at singing (or, if you're not bad at singing, then killing your vocal chords so you will be in a few years), but you're actively making it as painful as possible for the listener.
Oh, and Korn. I don't like Korn.
I know there are a lot of people who are like, "Oh, yeah, I don't like rap," or "I'll listen to anything except country." I don't really feel that way. I mean, for starters, I don't really listen to rap, but it's not like I dislike it (well, excepting the autotune stuff). And what's wrong with country? I like country. Country's fine. They've got good vocal harmonies and, like, strings and stuff.
And Justin Bieber... seriously, guys? I mean, you might not personally like his stuff, but the vitriol I see directed at this kid just baffles me. I've heard him on the radio and as far as I can tell, it's pretty standard pop schlock--but his popularity is solid proof that he's doing something right, even if it's targeted to a narrow demographic.
Anyway, my point here is that everyone else should stop hating things I don't hate, and start hating the same things as me instead.
I'm also not a fan of the screamy stuff you get in heavy metal subgenres. It's really grating, and it doesn't sound anything like music to me. If you're a singer, your job is to sing. It's bad enough when you're a bad singer like Rex Harrison and you speak the lyrics instead of singing them--if you scream them, it's like, not only are you bad at singing (or, if you're not bad at singing, then killing your vocal chords so you will be in a few years), but you're actively making it as painful as possible for the listener.
Oh, and Korn. I don't like Korn.
I know there are a lot of people who are like, "Oh, yeah, I don't like rap," or "I'll listen to anything except country." I don't really feel that way. I mean, for starters, I don't really listen to rap, but it's not like I dislike it (well, excepting the autotune stuff). And what's wrong with country? I like country. Country's fine. They've got good vocal harmonies and, like, strings and stuff.
And Justin Bieber... seriously, guys? I mean, you might not personally like his stuff, but the vitriol I see directed at this kid just baffles me. I've heard him on the radio and as far as I can tell, it's pretty standard pop schlock--but his popularity is solid proof that he's doing something right, even if it's targeted to a narrow demographic.
Anyway, my point here is that everyone else should stop hating things I don't hate, and start hating the same things as me instead.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
endlessranks.dec
So I thought I'd experiment with a 60-card deck, and I dug up 6 tix (80% of which were consumed by Zombie Apocalypse and Grave Titan, the only two mythics) to stitch together this silly little Modern zombie brew based on Undead Alchemist and Endless Ranks of the Dead, with the intent of playing it in some 2HG or something. (Because two brains are tastier than one.)
It seems I made a grave mistake, since from what I can tell, nobody plays 2HG in any formats except Standard and Classic.
But I did manage to shamble together a couple of games, and, uhhhh...meh. Endless Ranks of the Dead is pretty difficult to work with. Getting it going is hard. On the upside, if it does get going, it's a rot of fun.
Calvin's dad explains the electoral college
The electoral college is a lot like most other colleges, except instead of getting a diploma, you get to be president. First, everyone in the country gets to vote on who they want to be in the electoral college. Usually they look at their GPAs, their SAT scores, extracurricular activities, and application essays, that sort of thing.
Then once the candidates get into the electoral college, they have to take tests in all the different states. Whoever gets the highest score in a state wins that state. Some states are worth more points -- this is because the questions are harder. For example, in Wyoming, most of the questions are things like "Where's Waldo?" or "Find the six differences", so it's only worth 3 points, but in California, the questions are mostly advanced calculus and physics, so it's worth 55 points.
Candidates have to study for these tests. Usually this is done by going to a particular state and camping there to read up on the material (this is called "campaigning", which is a French word for "camping"). The parties' strengths and weaknesses usually come into play here. For example, the Democratic Party is well-known for having a big tent, which is great for bringing a lot of people with you when you campaign. But a big tent is hard to move around because it takes longer to set up and take down, so democrats tend to do better in states like New York where people are packed close together in cities -- it means they don't have to move around as much.
Once all the tests have been graded, whichever guy got more points is the winner, and he gets to graduate from the electoral college. The tests are graded on a curve, too, so even if both candidates got a lot of questions wrong, someone will always graduate.
Then once the candidates get into the electoral college, they have to take tests in all the different states. Whoever gets the highest score in a state wins that state. Some states are worth more points -- this is because the questions are harder. For example, in Wyoming, most of the questions are things like "Where's Waldo?" or "Find the six differences", so it's only worth 3 points, but in California, the questions are mostly advanced calculus and physics, so it's worth 55 points.
Candidates have to study for these tests. Usually this is done by going to a particular state and camping there to read up on the material (this is called "campaigning", which is a French word for "camping"). The parties' strengths and weaknesses usually come into play here. For example, the Democratic Party is well-known for having a big tent, which is great for bringing a lot of people with you when you campaign. But a big tent is hard to move around because it takes longer to set up and take down, so democrats tend to do better in states like New York where people are packed close together in cities -- it means they don't have to move around as much.
Once all the tests have been graded, whichever guy got more points is the winner, and he gets to graduate from the electoral college. The tests are graded on a curve, too, so even if both candidates got a lot of questions wrong, someone will always graduate.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Calvin's dad explains the common cold
It's caused by your body reaching an abnormally low temperature. That's why it's called a "cold". The low temperature causes your boogers to freeze, clogging up your nose, and over time they melt into drippy snot. Your throat gets scratchy because it literally frosts over with ice.
That's why you're supposed to eat chicken soup when you have a cold -- the hot soup warms you back up again. Although it doesn't really have to be chicken soup; any kind of hot soup will do. Chicken soup gets the most press because of lobbying from the chicken-farming industry.
So why are colds contagious? Well, that's a myth, really. Lots of people often catch a cold at the same time because the weather outside is cold, and they all live in the same place. You might look at it and think it's being spread around from one person to another, but really they're independent cases that have a shared cause. (This is why you're still going to school this week, Calvin.)
It's general knowledge that there's no cure for the common cold, and that's because in order to cure the common cold, you'd have to stop cold weather. But as it turns out, scientists have actually been making progress in this regard! That's what global warming is all about: a concerted effort by doctors around the world, trying to cure the common cold.
That's why you're supposed to eat chicken soup when you have a cold -- the hot soup warms you back up again. Although it doesn't really have to be chicken soup; any kind of hot soup will do. Chicken soup gets the most press because of lobbying from the chicken-farming industry.
So why are colds contagious? Well, that's a myth, really. Lots of people often catch a cold at the same time because the weather outside is cold, and they all live in the same place. You might look at it and think it's being spread around from one person to another, but really they're independent cases that have a shared cause. (This is why you're still going to school this week, Calvin.)
It's general knowledge that there's no cure for the common cold, and that's because in order to cure the common cold, you'd have to stop cold weather. But as it turns out, scientists have actually been making progress in this regard! That's what global warming is all about: a concerted effort by doctors around the world, trying to cure the common cold.
Monday, November 5, 2012
The true story of how I milled the table without playing a single spell
Shuffled up Mayael the Anima
Against Niv-Mizzet, Wydwen, Kaalia
My op'ner needed one green mana source
But I refused to mulligan, of course
Niv-Mizzet's Sol Ring promised a quick start
And lo, his next play nearly stopped my heart
For on turn 4, he grinned and played Hive Mind
Sharing spells could be construed as kind
But trouble came when, with mischievous glee,
Wydwen untapped and cast Prosperity
Again, a card that might seem generous
But her gifts showed themselves as treacherous
When Niv-Mizzet tapped three more of his lands
For Windfall! Everyone tossed out their hands
(Already filled with eighteen precious spells!)
To draw that many more, as it compels
But Hive Mind's trigger had to interject
And three more times, repeated the effect
Until our libraries were very small
With hardly any cards in them at all
Our decks were down to just three measly draws
And running out would leave us with a loss
Niv-Mizzet's Howling Mine sped up this clock
Our time was ticking down -- was it a lock?
Not so! For I had one trick up my sleeve
By which a vict'ry I might yet achieve
Discarding at the end of my next turn,
I binned my Vigor and my Worldspine Wurm
Their triggers sent them back into my deck
And I was leading, though 'twas neck and neck
Three turns passed by, and three opponents down
With two cards left, I proudly took the crown!
I sat back, quietly musing, "Well, well, well --
I won the game, but never cast a spell!"
Against Niv-Mizzet, Wydwen, Kaalia
My op'ner needed one green mana source
But I refused to mulligan, of course
Niv-Mizzet's Sol Ring promised a quick start
And lo, his next play nearly stopped my heart
For on turn 4, he grinned and played Hive Mind
Sharing spells could be construed as kind
But trouble came when, with mischievous glee,
Wydwen untapped and cast Prosperity
Again, a card that might seem generous
But her gifts showed themselves as treacherous
When Niv-Mizzet tapped three more of his lands
For Windfall! Everyone tossed out their hands
(Already filled with eighteen precious spells!)
To draw that many more, as it compels
But Hive Mind's trigger had to interject
And three more times, repeated the effect
Until our libraries were very small
With hardly any cards in them at all
Our decks were down to just three measly draws
And running out would leave us with a loss
Niv-Mizzet's Howling Mine sped up this clock
Our time was ticking down -- was it a lock?
Not so! For I had one trick up my sleeve
By which a vict'ry I might yet achieve
Discarding at the end of my next turn,
I binned my Vigor and my Worldspine Wurm
Their triggers sent them back into my deck
And I was leading, though 'twas neck and neck
Three turns passed by, and three opponents down
With two cards left, I proudly took the crown!
I sat back, quietly musing, "Well, well, well --
I won the game, but never cast a spell!"
Mayor the Anima
It would explain why Townsville keeps attracting giant monsters. And he does call up The Powerpuff Girls...
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Saturday, November 3, 2012
So I think I forgot to mention, but I got 99 summoning last weekend.
I've said for a long time now that summoning is easily the best skill to get to level 99. That's because, see, with most skills, the marginal value of leveling up that final time is pretty small. With ranged, for example, the only benefit from the final level is a slight boost to your accuracy and damage. With herblore, once you get Overloads at 96 (and you can even use Greenman's Ale to boost to them from 95 for free), there's no other benefit to leveling up. With mining, you get a teensy little increase in mining speed. And so on.
But with summoning, that last level is huge: it gets you Steel Titans! Steel Titans are pretty much giant balls of concentrated pwnage. They kick ass, and you only get them by going all the way to 99.
Well, with that in mind, I've been putting all my xp lamps and stuff into summoning for a long time now. About a year ago, when I got the Jack of Trades aura (which gives you a free xp lamp every day), I realized that I could very viably get to 99 using only xp lamps. When the Squeal of Fortune started handing out lamps like candy, it went from "viable" to "very real opportunity".
I didn't expect to make it this soon, but two things caught me by surprise: the massive xp rewards from the Mad May and Sizzling Summer events; and the Halloween double xp weekend event. Between them, I got an xp windfall large enough to propel me all the way to the skillcape.
So, what now? Well, I'm reallocating my xp lamps to slayer. It's the only skill I need to level before I can complete all the achievement diaries. (I need 93 slayer to kill an Ice Strykewyrm for Fremennik Tasks, although I could boost from 87.) Also, now that I have all the most awesome familiars to help me fight, I can do some proper slaying as well. I already tried out the Steel Titan at a Nechryael task, and it dropped them like things that drop easily. The Pack Yak did some nice work too, helping bank the bone drops from blue dragons and iron dragons.
I've also moved dungeoneering up on my agenda now that solo xp is getting buffed. Putting a team together is a drag, but moving at my own pace makes the skill much more comfortable to work with. I'd like to get a chaotic rapier at some point. Plus, since Tears of Guthix is also getting buffed, I'd really like it for my lowest skill to be something where the xp is more relevant.
Oh, and of course, I've got a dragon hatchling to raise!
I've said for a long time now that summoning is easily the best skill to get to level 99. That's because, see, with most skills, the marginal value of leveling up that final time is pretty small. With ranged, for example, the only benefit from the final level is a slight boost to your accuracy and damage. With herblore, once you get Overloads at 96 (and you can even use Greenman's Ale to boost to them from 95 for free), there's no other benefit to leveling up. With mining, you get a teensy little increase in mining speed. And so on.
But with summoning, that last level is huge: it gets you Steel Titans! Steel Titans are pretty much giant balls of concentrated pwnage. They kick ass, and you only get them by going all the way to 99.
Well, with that in mind, I've been putting all my xp lamps and stuff into summoning for a long time now. About a year ago, when I got the Jack of Trades aura (which gives you a free xp lamp every day), I realized that I could very viably get to 99 using only xp lamps. When the Squeal of Fortune started handing out lamps like candy, it went from "viable" to "very real opportunity".
I didn't expect to make it this soon, but two things caught me by surprise: the massive xp rewards from the Mad May and Sizzling Summer events; and the Halloween double xp weekend event. Between them, I got an xp windfall large enough to propel me all the way to the skillcape.
So, what now? Well, I'm reallocating my xp lamps to slayer. It's the only skill I need to level before I can complete all the achievement diaries. (I need 93 slayer to kill an Ice Strykewyrm for Fremennik Tasks, although I could boost from 87.) Also, now that I have all the most awesome familiars to help me fight, I can do some proper slaying as well. I already tried out the Steel Titan at a Nechryael task, and it dropped them like things that drop easily. The Pack Yak did some nice work too, helping bank the bone drops from blue dragons and iron dragons.
I've also moved dungeoneering up on my agenda now that solo xp is getting buffed. Putting a team together is a drag, but moving at my own pace makes the skill much more comfortable to work with. I'd like to get a chaotic rapier at some point. Plus, since Tears of Guthix is also getting buffed, I'd really like it for my lowest skill to be something where the xp is more relevant.
Oh, and of course, I've got a dragon hatchling to raise!
Friday, November 2, 2012
Scheduling considerations!
Well, I double-checked, and my pass time for registration is in a week. So I've been looking through the classes I want to take in the winter.
It's a different experience this time, because for the past two years, I hadn't really settled on a major. But now, I'm firmly settled into English (Creative Writing emphasis), with a minor in Writing. Additionally, I've gotten all my GE breadth units are locked up, and I have upper division standing. Consequently, instead of browsing the entire catalog looking for areas that interest me, I get to peruse a list of requirements for the degree I want and pick from a much smaller selection of courses that fulfill those requirements.
I'm looking at ENL 110B, which is a required course about literary and critical theory. I definitely have to take it, but I may or may not end up taking it this quarter, depending on how the rest of my schedule works out.
I've got a lot of historical literature requirements to fill, so I thought I might start with Shakespeare (ENL 117). That'll conflict with Chorus rehearsal, though, so I can't take it this quarter. I'll have to wait for it to be offered at a different time slot. Good chance I end up taking Early American Literature (ENL 142) instead. I also need one course on pre-16th century literature, and I'm hoping to fill that with Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales (ENL 113B), but it won't be offered until the spring, so that'll have to wait.
I definitely want to take ENL 100F (Creative Writing: Fiction), since writing is what I'm really interested in. (The nonfiction version isn't offered this quarter, so no need to choose between them.) It requires an application, so there's a chance I don't get in...fingers crossed, though.
ENL 183, Adolescent Literature, is being offered this coming quarter. I'd really like to sign up for it. I'm not sure if it'll count toward my major, though, because I only need one course from its category, and it's in the same category as English Grammar (ENL 106), which I'm already taking this quarter. However, ENL 106 is also a requirement for the Writing minor, and I think you're only allowed to overlap one course between your major and your minor. If I use UWP 101 for the overlap, I might still be able to take ENL 183. I'm going to check with my advisor next week about this.
On the minor side of things, I'll need to take one of the "Writing in the Professions" courses. They've got Business Writing, Law, Journalism, Elementary and Secondary Education, Science, Health, Technical Writing, and User Experience Documentation. I might spring for Technical Writing (UWP 104T) or Business (104A), or maybe Education (104D), I dunno. My current instructor for UWP 101 also teaches 104T; I might be dropping by his office hours anyway to get some feedback on my essay, so I s'pose I could ask him about the other class too.
So if I take four classes, that'll be 16 units, plus Chorus makes 18. If I took all three of ENL 100F, 142, and 183, that might be awkward, though -- my Tuesdays and Thursdays would be a solid 4.5-hour block of classes from 10:30 to 3:00, with another two hours of Chorus rehearsal from 4-6. Missing breakfast and lunch two days a week seems rough. If I were to swap 142 for 110B (which is a MWF class), I'd have a break at noon to get something to eat.
Oh! I guess I also have to finish the ENL 10 series with 10C. I should probably do that. If I take the first section, I'll still have 6.5 hours of TR classes, but they'll be spread out better to give me a lunch break. Yeah, that's got to be the correct play.
The Freshman Seminar I took last spring is also being offered again this quarter, Wednesdays at 2:10. I can't get credit for it twice, but there's a good chance I decide to audit.
So yeah! I'm definitely moving along.
It's a different experience this time, because for the past two years, I hadn't really settled on a major. But now, I'm firmly settled into English (Creative Writing emphasis), with a minor in Writing. Additionally, I've gotten all my GE breadth units are locked up, and I have upper division standing. Consequently, instead of browsing the entire catalog looking for areas that interest me, I get to peruse a list of requirements for the degree I want and pick from a much smaller selection of courses that fulfill those requirements.
I'm looking at ENL 110B, which is a required course about literary and critical theory. I definitely have to take it, but I may or may not end up taking it this quarter, depending on how the rest of my schedule works out.
I've got a lot of historical literature requirements to fill, so I thought I might start with Shakespeare (ENL 117). That'll conflict with Chorus rehearsal, though, so I can't take it this quarter. I'll have to wait for it to be offered at a different time slot. Good chance I end up taking Early American Literature (ENL 142) instead. I also need one course on pre-16th century literature, and I'm hoping to fill that with Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales (ENL 113B), but it won't be offered until the spring, so that'll have to wait.
I definitely want to take ENL 100F (Creative Writing: Fiction), since writing is what I'm really interested in. (The nonfiction version isn't offered this quarter, so no need to choose between them.) It requires an application, so there's a chance I don't get in...fingers crossed, though.
ENL 183, Adolescent Literature, is being offered this coming quarter. I'd really like to sign up for it. I'm not sure if it'll count toward my major, though, because I only need one course from its category, and it's in the same category as English Grammar (ENL 106), which I'm already taking this quarter. However, ENL 106 is also a requirement for the Writing minor, and I think you're only allowed to overlap one course between your major and your minor. If I use UWP 101 for the overlap, I might still be able to take ENL 183. I'm going to check with my advisor next week about this.
On the minor side of things, I'll need to take one of the "Writing in the Professions" courses. They've got Business Writing, Law, Journalism, Elementary and Secondary Education, Science, Health, Technical Writing, and User Experience Documentation. I might spring for Technical Writing (UWP 104T) or Business (104A), or maybe Education (104D), I dunno. My current instructor for UWP 101 also teaches 104T; I might be dropping by his office hours anyway to get some feedback on my essay, so I s'pose I could ask him about the other class too.
So if I take four classes, that'll be 16 units, plus Chorus makes 18. If I took all three of ENL 100F, 142, and 183, that might be awkward, though -- my Tuesdays and Thursdays would be a solid 4.5-hour block of classes from 10:30 to 3:00, with another two hours of Chorus rehearsal from 4-6. Missing breakfast and lunch two days a week seems rough. If I were to swap 142 for 110B (which is a MWF class), I'd have a break at noon to get something to eat.
Oh! I guess I also have to finish the ENL 10 series with 10C. I should probably do that. If I take the first section, I'll still have 6.5 hours of TR classes, but they'll be spread out better to give me a lunch break. Yeah, that's got to be the correct play.
The Freshman Seminar I took last spring is also being offered again this quarter, Wednesdays at 2:10. I can't get credit for it twice, but there's a good chance I decide to audit.
So yeah! I'm definitely moving along.
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