Scaling | Kill Ten Rats

If you hit for 5 damage each time and your opponent has 100 hit points, you are weak and low level, and combat is slow. If you hit for 500 damage each time and your opponent has 10,000 hit points, you are powerful and high level, and combat is epic. I hypothesize that most people have trouble conceptualizing division.

via killtenrats.com

Heroes of Three Kingdoms

Sooo, I've been poking around Heroes of Three Kingdoms, which is supposedly in its closed beta.

Supposedly, because:
1) There's no easy way to report bugs, even though I've found them
2) They basically sent the invitation to everyone and anyone who ever played a PWE game
3) There's no NDAs, no nothing... not that I noticed anyway. ;)

It fulfills my expectations of a PWE game. I.E. the gameplay seems to be the same old non-existent thing married to endless grind, the cash shop will doubtless be a vampire, and I already see bits of the casino system showing itself.

As long as you're fore-warned that that *is* what PWE games are, Heroes of Three Kingdoms delivers.

1) The quest text is interesting (at least, if you like Wuxia or historical Chinese stuff)
2) The world is beautiful
3) HoTK is emphatically historical - that means there are history nuggets hidden all over, and you get to meet 'legendary' heroes like Zhang Fei, Liu Bei, etc. (Or at least, I assume you will, from the way things have been going over my puny 15 levels!)
4) The music is nice. But only nice. Jade Dynasty's music is *gorgeous*. HoTK's soundtrack can get a bit repetitive.
5) Fashion (read, cosmetic cashshop items) promises to be as pretty as in all PWE games
6) Day and night cycles - gorgeous solar flares when riding into sunset, sunrise. It's such a little thing, but it matters.

SooOoOooo check it out. Despite the flaws in the gameplay itself, HoTK is very, very pretty. One could even say that PWE simply has a different focus from Western MMOs, and that gameplay isn't the core of the game at all. Just... be careful with your wallet.

Oh yes. And that's my newbie Charmer, Zhiruo (fan dancing/fighting healer archetype thingie) in her newbie clothes in Hebei, what I assume is a nooblet area. =) The city shots are of a city (duh) named Chang'an.

Support | Kill Ten Rats

For those of us inclined to do so, the healer is a great role. Yes, it has problems in PUGs when three different people pull then blame the healer, but it is rewarding to see your friends made into boundless engines of destruction and victory.

via killtenrats.com

Great summary of why healerfolk heal. And no, it's not just because 'it's easier for you to get groups, NUB!'

Considering that I did 80% of my Guild Wars Legendary Vanquisher, Guardian and Protector titles with my lovedolls, and *not* with humans, ease of getting a group has nothing to do with it.

^_^

...which is why while, as those who don't like playing a pure support class rejoice at the lack of such in GW2, my little nugget healerheart quietly crumbles a little bit more.

Yes, I can play other archetypes. Yes, I do enjoy them. But I'm not in love with them. :(

Heroes of the Three Kingdoms - New PWE MMO

via flickr.com

Perfect World Entertainment sure does know how to create beautiful things. If Perfect World and Jade Dynasty are anything to go by, this new title: Heroes of Three Kingdoms, promises just as much visual (and audial!) splendour.

...and probably crap for gameplay! XD But PWE is so good at the first two that I will, at the very least, check this one out. =)

If this gets you interested too, just bear in mind that PWE is utterly, evilly, rapaciously brilliant at milking their F2P model games. Almost immorally so. 'Jade Casino' is one of the nicknames for Jade Dynasty, and the original Mandarin version, Zhu Xian has a similar nickname - only playing on the word 'Zhu' as a pun for 'Pig'. Greedygreedy money nomnoms!

But oh... what a beautiful piggy.

MMOs, MU*s, "Harsher Death Penalties, NOOB!", and Deathtraps. What Fun!

As Psychochild says, somewhere in that stream of comments to this post by Larisa from Pink Pigtail Inn, someone coming from a text (MUD/MOO/MUSH what have you) background comes with a different perspective from someone whose first experience with a virtual world (however deep, or shallow) was an MMO.

As someone who came from MU*s, I think one of the things that is often overlooked when the cry for harsher death penalties goes up, is that MU*s, even the largest ones, are much smaller than MMOs.

In MU*s, if I stayed long enough, I cared not just about the inhabitants, I cared about the *world*.

The fact that these worlds were free - really, truly free, rather than being tied to some payment model, mattered a whole lot. I'm leaving out Iron Realms because I think, though I may be wrong, that even today, most MU*s are free. That these worlds were labours of love mattered to me. And that aspect was, and is, intrinsically bound up with their being free. Art for art's sake, if you like.

As a result, it's like the difference between going to a local restaurant, owned by a husband and wife, who greet each of their patrons by name... and going to a McDonalds, or any other franchised food establishment.

The death penalties that many MUDs had, which seem horribly harsh by comparison to our themepark MMOs now, were appropriate to those MUDs, precisely because of all those things I mentioned above.

In LegendMUD, my longest played (8 years) MUD, and what was, I think the *only* virtual world I ever lived in, there were Deathtraps.

To those unfamiliar with the term, Deathtraps are 'rooms' that, when you enter them, eat all your gear. It's gone. Just like that. POOF!

If an MMO had deathtraps (hacking doesn't count, and EVE is an anomaly) players would be screaming bloody murder.

And they'd be absolutely right to.

Deathtraps served a few purposes on MUDs - the purposes varied depending on the architecture and design of the MUD, but broadly speaking, Deathtraps were there to:

  • Get rid of grandfathered gear, or old, overpowered gear no longer available, thereby putting newer players on more even ground with older ones
  • Foster community through having the players come together to support one of their own
  • Serve as gold sinks, because everything is gold, eventually, and deathtraps eat that, too. Gear is just transmogrified gold! XD
  • Impart a sense of risk to some areas where they fit with the atmosphere
  • Increase immersion by forcing (or trying to force, anyway!) players to pay attention to their steps

In an MMO, I don't see Deathtraps fulfilling any of those functions. Because MMOs aren't free. Especially not the F2P ones.

Once money enters the equation, it brings with it a sense of entitlement. Throw a 'massive' franchised feel into it, and there goes the sense of community. Help the other guy? Why should I! I'm not paying <Subscription amount of your choice> here a month, or I didn't spend <amount of your choice> in the cash shop to be at someone else's service, Nosirree! Yes, I'm generalising, how else are nuggets supposed to frolic on their soapboxes? 

In LegendMUD (and others), I'd risk my hard-won, oftentimes customised gear, to help a friend with corpse retrievals. Because in the smaller communities that MU*s encourage, the human connection is worth more than gear or stats. You *know* those people. And even if it's just a newbie that happens to have their tragic death announced on a MU*wide channel, if they ask for help, if people are around, they tend to help gladly. Sometimes, the newbie doesn't even have to ask. There isn't a culture of 'L2PN00b!'. I believe it's because in MU*s, the communities are small enough that there's always the thought that this newbie could become a friend. That you're proud of your world, and you want them to love it too. Because the world itself is a labour of love.

In a context like that... Deathtraps and harsh death penalties make absolute sense. MMOs are not the same beasts. Just something for those who consider harsher death penalties the Holy Grail of MMO excitement to ponder.

 

MUD on an iPad

O.o

Is it odd that I'm wondering if I could comfortably MUD on an iPad?

I molested the one at work today, and the keyboard was surprisingly pleasant to use. I don't like the iPhone's keypad much; it's too small for my HUGE FINGERS! (Ok, so I don't really have huge fingers, but that's not the point...)

But unfortunately the one at work hasn't been broken to our evil collective wills, and so, apparently, I cannot open a telnet connection on it...

If someone out there has tried MUDding on an iPad, tell a nugget!

Killed in a Smiling Accident. » Blog Archive » From the KiaSA Catalogue.

Lil Questalot – Kill Ten Rats Edition (Ages 2+): Consists of one Lil Questalot Interactive NPC and ten Lil Questalot Ratbots with Shoot’n'Loot action. Each Ratbot comes with its own RFID enabled body part that can be collected and returned to the Lil Questalot NPC. Will you be able to find enough of the right parts to complete the quest? Additional Lil Questalot Ratbot parts sold separately.

via kiasa.org

I wuv Melmoth!

In, as I mentioned at his blogplace, a non-scary golden-battered way. >.>

Guild Wars: PvX Wiki, Babysteps and Ur Doing it Wrong!

The Great Thing About PvXWiki
If you're not familiar with a class, it's a great resource for finding out what generally works. While many of the builds assume you have all three campaigns and access to every skill there is, it's still pretty easy for newbies to look at the builds 'til they find one they can vaguely match, and use it.

Alternatively, if you're not new to Guild Wars, but just new to the class, you probably do have a bajillion skills unlocked, in which case - Skill Tomez to da rescue!

Toddle along in babysteps, learning the class with a decent build, and perhaps eventually becoming able to write one of your own! YAY!

The ARGH Thing about PvXWiki
Unfortunately, some people don't evolve. -_-

It doesn't matter if you've tested your build thoroughly, know its strengths and weaknesses inside out, and know when to use it, and when to bring something else. It doesn't matter if you've done more stuff than them, know the content better than them, or whatever else!

Nooo! What matters is when you link your skillbar, they see that it's, 'ZOMG THAT'S NOT ON PVX! U NOOB!' -_- Even if they haven't the slightest ability to read (and by read, I mean understand) your bar. They'll only feel safe if the build is on PvXWiki because PvXWiki is the be all and end all, and God forbid people might actually make effective builds that they're too lazy to share because they don't feel like signing up on PvXWiki. *whistle to self*

When confronted with such strange people, I usually just change to a PvXWiki bar so they'll shut up and leave me alone. I know some people might view it as cowardice but hey... I can always leave the group and use my trusty Animated Love Dolls (Heroes and Henchmen)! So since I presumably signed up to be social, why not be social. After all, anyone howling at a bar that they obviously haven't a hope of understanding is probably just insecure and new.

And last but not least, the 'I'm So Old I Know It All and Everything Has Been Done So You're a Nub For Not Using PvXWiki' (ISOIKIAAEHBDSYANFNUP!)
Those really annoy me too, since ArenaNet does change and rebalance skills, making some things possible, viable, and even downright sexy, that weren't before. And directly after such changes, it seems not to occur to the ISOIKIAAEHBDSYANFNUPses that things take time to filter into PvXWiki. Time and motivation. Just because someone loves to tinker with builds day and night (like a nugget!) does not mean these people have the motivation or inclination to put them on PvX.

~_o So while the builds I occasionally post may not have made it into PvXWiki, they have worked extremely well for me.

That being said, I promise to post some build love soon. >.< All that RL work, it's getting my batter soggy!



ToME: Troubles of Middle Earth - Screenshots

via t-o-m-e.net

This is one of my favouriteststestest games ever. =) Trouble of Middle Earth - or T.O.M.E is based on Zangband the way Homo Sapiens are based on the Australopithecus. >.>

It's got its roots in Zangband, but it's a very, very different animal.

So much gamey goodness about T.O.M.E. that my nuggethead splodes when I try to think of where to start! XD

So instead I shall settle for the ravings of a Perfectly Normal Nugget.

Some highlights:

  • Epically cursed weapons (a-la Elric's Stormbringer) do really feel epically cursed.
  • You can play an Ent, a Death Mold (yes, a fungus!), a Quylthulg, and a whole bunch of other odd things, together with your normal High Elves, Men, and whatnot.
  • It's purely turn based - very much of a strategy RPG game.
  • Unlike many Angband variants, it has an overarching storyline.
  • It's the whole of the Middle Earth in ANSI!
  • You only get one life per character.
  • Unique character classes - lots of games claim this. T.O.M.E. is the only one where I've been able to play a class that can abandon its own body permanently, take control of a marilith, then wield a sword in every marilithy hand. Yes, you take on the gear slots of your new body.
  • Still not sold? >.> You're the symbol @, and your mission is to kill all the other letters of the alphabet. (I don't know who said that, but it rawks!)