Mystic Worlds

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Add-ons Seriously Needed

I could really use some in-game tools or add-ons to help manage the furniture shop I’m running in EQ2 Extended.  An in-game calculator, notepad and permanent wallet history, ala EVE Online accessories would be very nice in deed.  I use the player made notebooks to keep track of inventory, customers and orders but it’s a hack attempt at best.  I was using a spreadsheet but I didn’t like alt-tabbing out of the game.  It breaks the RP feel of what I’m doing.  Not that I’m some big RP person but I like how connected this character feels to the world of Norrath – like she lives in that world.  As a result, I don't want the jarring exercise of popping in and out of game using programs.

Besides having something like the WOW add-on, Auctioneer for seeing the range of prices for an item, a permanent list of your sales crate information would be very useful.  Right now what we have is a scrolling log of past sales where things fall off the list as new items are sold.  The information provided such as the item sold, cost and purchaser is very valuable.  First off, it helps me to understand my optimal price points so I can adjust accordingly.  I rarely price items based on what everyone else is doing even though I often check our of curiosity.  I prefer go by the tier, whether or not there was a rare component and the uniqueness of the item.  If I went by what I see many others doing, I’d be selling for less than the fuel costs, which I simply do not understand.

EQ2X: Busy Bandit

It’s been extremely busy for me in game the past couple of weeks.  This is a good thing since I’m running a furniture shop in EQ2 Extended.  I’m still trying to strike the right balance between making and setting up new showroom displays when I learn more recipes, managing custom orders, executing house design projects, farming components and leveling my main.  *Whew*  At times it’s very daunting and I question my ability to sustain this endeavor.  I also have other projects mapped out that will require a significant amount of effort.

Everyone Needs Personal Space

One such project is my “House within a House” which is almost finished.  Here’s a sneak peak - an aerial view of the exterior. I will blog the whole crazy idea soon.  In a nutshell, because my Erollisi Manor is really a showroom for Alysiaa’s Friendly Furnishings, I didn’t feel like she had a home of her own.  I considered having an alt purchase one for her but she actually needs to be on the premises so much that it didn’t feel like a good solution. When the patios were added, I decided to build a small private residence behind the store for her instead. I’m extremely happy with the results.  It feels like "her", whereas the shop is decorated and styled for the masses. Once I finish landscaping the exterior, it will be job complete!

I need a WOW CGI Movie - 'Nuf Said

Just give me a movie that's of the same quality as the World of Warcraft cinematics.  Why do we need to wait for live action negotiations and daydreams??? Into the line of greatness comes the Cataclysm cinematic. It's not quite as awe inspiring as WOTLK but it's still gets me excited.  And in my mind, nothing - I mean n-o-t-h-i-n-g, beats Illidan's TBC trailer.  I watched it twice just getting the link.

Stop f'ing around with your live action shenanigans and deliver us a CGI movie for cripssake! OMFG these trailers are always so hot they even get me pumped and I'm over being excited about playing WOW.  At this point, no one in my family plans on doing Cataclysm but that might change for someone as the time draws closer.

I'm not going to lie. I'd love to see the revamped zones.  Plus levels 1 to 20 are always a sweet deal.  I have no doubt that revisiting to do the the Worgen starter zone would be fun.  But eh, not sure I want to buy the box just to fly around Azeroth and level a soon to be abandoned Worgen.

Regardless, I have to give Blizzard mad props again because their tailers are awesome.  Damn, give us a movie PLEASE!!! I'd take the day off from work and wait in line on opening day like a sycophantic lap dog!

Talking EQ2 Extended with the Sisters on show #71

I've been so busy crafting I forgot to mention that I'll be doing several "after shows" with the Sisters from No Prisoners No Mercy podcast.  They've had one of my favorite game related podcasts for a long time now.  You should listen to the whole show because they're terrific!  If you just want to catch the EQ2X info, my segments will be at the end.  Enjoy!

EQ2 Extended DIY Decorating: Issue #2

Mystic Worlds EQ2 Decorating DIY: Issue #2 is hot off the PDF press and awaiting your perusal.  If you love kitchens like I love kitchens, don't miss 3 low-effort yet-high impact custom upgrades any player is capable of mastering.

Fully-body Costumes Arrive for Halloween

I'm not an in-game holiday sort of person.  I loathe quests that have me running across the globe for frivolous items.  I rarely find themed holidays in games appealing.  I was all set to bypass Halloween in EQ2 Extended like I do in every other game, except that I received a wall of in-game mail from customers and guild members.  They all wanted to make sure I knew about the special furniture recipes that can only be obtained now. I rushed to the vendors to buy them and scanned through everything else that was for sale which was the beginning of my down fall.

I started clicking on items and noticed full-body costumes.  Not masks, no sir - fully body.  Say what?  As a result, I spent the first couple of hours running around acting like a fool.  First I walked, ran and jumped on very surface I could find. That's right Square Enix  (Final Fantasy series), us foreigners like to jump.  Get over yourselves!! After I'd had enough prancing around, I decorated my shop with candles, pumpkins and Jack-o-Lanterns. *Woot!*

I plan on doing some of the quests that drop unique house items and farm mobs that drop the components for crafting the special event furniture. I think they will be huge sellers after the event is over.  There are nice sofas in different shades, tables and the obligatory spooky items which I'll skip. I would have done a few yesterday but customers never sleep and since I'd been out of the game for a few days, people found me really fast!  *Smile*

WOW does a good job at dressing up Azeroth for holidays but I rarely bothered other than watching the fireworks on the 4th.  EQ2 grabbed me right away because of the quality of the costume. I mean damn, they look good.  And now that I'm officially a crafting whore, adding new furniture and recipes gets me at log-in.  *Smile*

New Directions

This Friday is my last day in the Corporate America sweat shop that I've worked at for almost 7 years. I'm so happy and relieved to be exiting the telecommunications industry, I can hardly wait.  I'll be taking a few weeks off before starting in a new position, in an entirely different industry.

I want to use this opportunity to revitalize my attitude.  It's in jeopardy of becoming permanently evil and grumpy.  Watching millions of dollars in waste while good people lose their jobs and the so-called fortunate salaried employees that are kept, get to do more work and more hours for the same pay BUT reduced benefits and wage freezes, has made me less than amiable to work with. *Smile*  Yes, it's better to have a job than no job but at some point it's blood money.  Or at least, that's how I started feeling a couple of years ago.  Anywho - I'm finally out. Less money but happy with the choice I've made.

I will be mostly MIA the next few weeks while taking time off and then starting somewhere new, where I'll need to travel a bit more than I've needed to in the past several years.   Expect the sudden increase in posts to slowly wan down back to -- not sure what, just yet.

As soon as I can get EQ2 EX to load - gawd this launcher sucks after every patch, I'll pay my rent so the shop will re-open.  Thank Ziyi for bringing it to my attention.  I was sick this week and lacked the patience to deal with the service instability that started a few days back and haven't attempted to log on in a few days.  I'm having the game do a full file scan now in hopes of fixing why I can't get app to launch after the log-in screen. *sigh*

Garden Memories - Making Magical Spaces

When I was a junior in High School, I wrote my first serious attempt at a fantasy short story.  It was titled, Garden Memories and was a fictionalized account of an adventure I’d had playing in a nearby park with friends.  It was The Little Rascals meets The Secret Garden.  My English teacher and then writing mentor, Helen, convinced me to submit it for the literature journal and a national contest.   It was accepted into the journal and awarded 3rd place in the contest.  I’ve been writing more or less ever since that event.

I’ve always been in love with and fascinated by the short lived beauty of flowers.  They live vivid but brief lives.  And because of that beauty, they are snatched from nature to be placed in vases and gazed upon by adoring eyes, who have now hastened the flower’s demise.  I find that tragically ironic.

I surround myself with flowers - fresh cut, potted, pictures and paintings.  Here’s one of my favorite paintings.  I’d willing walk into this picture and stay forever.  I’ve also dabbled in digital photography where flowers were a favorite subject.  Having said all that, it should come as no surprise that I got around to building a garden in EQ2 Ex.  The player housing and in depth crafting system make it too easy to experiment with recreating your every imagination.

The Beauty of Final Fantasy XIV is Tempting

It's insanely difficult for me to resist taking a tour in a game that looks as lush and visually polished as Final Fantasy IV. Sure they copy-pasta'd some scenery elements in a way that seems lazy-obvious.  I could get past that faux pas, IF the game is more than another Asian-port grindfest.  I know FF as a series has a long history and loyal fan-base.  I'm sure this game has legs and its core populace is going to play this game come hell or grindwater.  However, I have my reservations and can name Aion as my most recent port experience gone bad - times two collector editions.  *Sigh*  Do I really need another MMO parked on the shelf gathering dust?

Slow Doesn't Scare Me
Slow progression doesn't scare me if there are interesting things to do along the way. Killing 50 mobs for one quest versus sending me on 10 little step-n-fetch quests wouldn't bother me one bit.  I HATE quests that send me back and forth, back and forth, as if the idiot dribbling out his needs (stupid NPC) couldn't have told me the first time that he required 10 foxes, 5 bears and 6 pig nuts, from that valley WAY over there, the first time he opened his trap.  Nah, he has to dole it out one request at a time and have me running back and forth like a fool.  Not sure why I'm supposed to be entertained by such activity in a - wait for it, GAME, as though because the request was dribbled from some quest-givers lips, it all of a sudden becomes fun. HA!