Hi! I’m a reclusive Gen-X software developer. I was diagnosed with cancer in 2025. I write twice a month about games or whatever else is going on.

MMO Roundup #8

415 words.

Now I’m trying to work out why WordPress keeps using old images when it posts these things to Twitter. I think it’s because I was using a “Clone Post” plugin to make these posts. So I’m making this one from scratch. Seeing as how there is a game-breaking bug that prevents me from continuing to play it, I’ve abandoned Kingdom Come: Deliverance until whichever decade Warhorse decides to release the 1.3 patch for the PC. (415 words.)

Life is Strange

689 words.

Steam is having yet another one of those sales, and I saw that a lot of Square Enix games were available cheap. Life is Strange, for example, is available for $5. It’s one of those games that everyone says is fantastic. It also happens that the first episode is available for free, so I thought I’d try it out and see if I wanted to spend the $5 for the entire thing. (689 words.)

Games Played – February 2018

98 words.

I can’t say that February was the most productive month I’ve ever spent on this Earth. But I got a lot of material for a podcast, at least. (And YouTube videos, if I ever upload them.) Kingdom Come: Deliverance - 63 hours Fallout 4 - 60 hours Final Fantasy XIV - 39 hours Elder Scrolls Online - 17 hours If you were to put them in chronological order, it would be: Fallout 4, FFXIV and ESO, then Kingdom Come: Deliverance. I’m actually very surprised I played that much FFXIV and ESO. It didn’t feel like I played much. (98 words.)

MMO Roundup #7

330 words.

Not only am I still trying to find a formula for this weekly bullet post, but I am also still trying to find the right formula for the post’s title. A hilariously anachronistic priest in a supposedly historical game. I have played nothing at all this week except Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and am now over 60 hours. I almost rage quit when I met the first boss and died a hundred times, but after I eventually beat him mostly through luck and potions, I realized it was actually really easy and there was no need to quit. :) (330 words.)

Why Is It So Hard to Get Back Into ESO?

1,160 words.

Coldharbor, a painfully long slog through a very depressing blue landscape. If I had to guess which MMORPG was most popular right now based just on my Twitter feed (discounting WoW of course), I would guess that ESO is probably a strong contender. I used to love ESO. I played for about two months when it launched. I enjoyed it a lot. It was such a fresh take on the genre. It has fantastic graphics, sound, and music. It’s clearly a high quality game, well worth the purchase price. (1160 words.)

Kitchen Sink Post #6

318 words.

_I’m still tinkering with the formula for this weekly “bullet post” thing. Now I feel like I should include news items and any interesting progress I’ve made on games I’m playing. _ ESO… always seems better in screenshots. I started the week playing some FFXIV, trying to work on improving my gear with Rabanastre runs and Omega 4.0 runs. Then I started playing ESO, trying to find what it was that everyone keeps saying that they love about that game. I was determined to level my original launch Templar from 44 to 50, hoping that’s when everything would suddenly click again. I got to 47, but I remain baffled. I’m working on a post titled, “Why can’t I get back into ESO?” I hear what people say about how they think the questing is some of the best storytelling in MMORPGs, but I just stare blankly wondering if we are even talking about the same game or speaking the same language. (318 words.)

That Ashes of Creation Live Stream

2,523 words.

I’ve worked on this post for a very long time. I’ve added stuff. Then I’ve deleted stuff. Then I’ve added other stuff. Then I’ve deleted other stuff. I don’t even know what it reads like anymore. If this were a novel, it would certainly be abandoned. Bhagpuss asked me what I didn’t like about the Ashes of Creation video. I actually try not to be this negative anymore, because it doesn’t do anyone any good to complain about something that other people might like. And it’s not like anyone is consulting me on how to make games. But you asked! :) (2523 words.)

FFXIV – 4.2 Rise of a New Sun Completed (Spoilers)

627 words.

I put off FFXIV for a couple of weeks while I finished my Fallout 4 obsession, then I jumped in and completed the Main Scenario Quest for the 4.2 Patch. It took two whole days, maybe three total hours. I’m glad to have finished it. I had basically zero interest in playing it, to be honest, but I know from experience that no matter how much one doesn’t feel like playing the MSQ, it’s far better to stay up-to-date than to have to catch back up later. (Ask anyone who’s come back to FFXIV after any kind of absence, like, say, me. Go play the MSQ immediately!! Drop everything!! Do it now!! It’s the one inescapable dependency from which literally every other feature of the game inherits.) (627 words.)

MMO News Reactions 5

318 words.

A series of short reactions to the week’s MMORPG stories, otherwise known as “just about giving up on blogging” because I can’t be bothered to write long posts lately. Sorry about last week’s post. I was scrolling through Twitter last Friday and much to my own surprise I found that I’d posted something to my blog without even looking at it or setting a header image or anything. This time I will refrain from scheduling this to post right after creating the draft!_ (318 words.)

RIFT Leveling Anew

1,409 words.

With all the buzz about RIFT Prime, I wondered if I could recreate a nostalgic experience for free just by starting a new character on plain old RIFT Normal. I wanted to check two things: To see if experience points were withheld from free players at the beginning of the game just like at level 68, leading to hard road blocks that could only be made up by endless grinding or spending cash. Secondly, I wanted to speculate on what RIFT Prime might deliver to me that would be superior to what I was experiencing completely for free. (1409 words.)

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