New Toys Vs Old Games

There almost wasn't a post today because I've got a new toy and I can't stop playing with it. Two new toys, really. One's real, one's artificial, but they fit together perfectly. Finally, a use for AI that's both practical and satisfying. More of that another day, though. 

Meanwhile, here are some scraps. 

EverQuest II

My Necromancer made it to Level 130 in Tailoring a couple of days ago. It may only have been five levels above the boost but it still took a while. I had several expansions to level in and all of them offered those delicious, huge gobs of xp for every Signature quest but I'd forgotten just how long and fiddly some of those quests are and how much slower it all goes when you can't fly everywhere.

It didn't help that in some of the expansions I'd already started the Adventure questlines on my Necro. In a couple she'd finished them altogether and in one or two she'd made it some of the way and then stopped, but in the others she hadn't even started. Sometimes she could fly, sometimes she couldn't and sometimes she could fly for a bit and then had to walk. 

All the skills, none of the recipes.

It was all more than a tad confusing but I muddled through. I had to change expansions one time, when the questline required her to harvest a rare and she was about 500 skill points short. I changed a couple more times when quests seemed to be going on forever with no sign of any xp or because they wanted her to travel all over the place ans she didn't have the right to fly. 

After a while, she ran out of Tradeskill Vitality and went to refill it with the Veteran Hammer, only to find that, not having been a crafter before, she'd never even claimed it. (She has now, obviously.) When she ran out of rested xp a second time, I took a break for a few days, then came back and finished it off. The whole thing took either a week and a half or three or four hours, depending how you want to count it.

Once I was done with all that, I moved straight on to Qho's super-annoying gathering quests. It was made very plain to me as I was trying to level Tailoring that not being maxed in Gathering is no longer an option for a crafter. 

Qho's notorious demands have not gotten any less irritating over time, let me re-assure you of that. Especially the Nektulos Forest stage, always the most hated of all. I ended up buying a bunch of Gnomish Divining Rods off the broker for that one, which just about saved my sanity.

I'm up to the Feerrott/Rivervale stage now. If I remember correctly I think there's only one more double-dip after that - Lavastorm and Everfrost. From then on I think it's just the one zone each time. I bloody well hope so!

Once I get this lot done, it's on to the other gathering quests, the ones Raffik gives. Those are a lot more fun and Raffik is way less annoying. After that, I need to get my Sage out to make the Necro a whole load of Expert spells. 

And that's still not everything, not even close. There's still a hell of a lot to do just to get her up to speed on the basics and even then she'll still be heavily disadvantaged compared to the Berserker. It's no wonder I always end up going back to him every time expansion season comes around- it's pure inertia. 

This time, though.. This time I will succeed! I swear it!

Wuthering Waves

Team photo!

I finished the Riniscitta storyline a week ago. The story was really good and better yet, the fights were especially well-judged. I didn't even have to do the really big one at the end at all. I just got to watch my character do it without any help from me. If only all big storylines ended that way!

Since then, I don't think I've even logged in once. The moment I finished the Riniscitta questline, the game immediately started me on the one from the current update and I wasn't ready for it so I stopped. Then I had a load of work days and then Next Fest arrived and somehow I haven't gotten around to going back to Wuthering Waves just yet. 

I'd better do something about it or I'll be an update behind again... 

Maybe tomorrow, as the song goes.

Blade & Soul NEO

I logged in on the day it launched, which was sometime last week. I played through the now-optional introduction and tutorial. It was all exactly as I remembered and yet somehow much more disturbing. It didn't appear to have been changed in any way by the NEO update, not even visually, but I'd forgotten just how brutal that beginning is.

I kinda wish I'd chosen this option now...

Seriously, even among the many openings to RPGs, where you get to watch everyone your character knows and cares about get slaughtered before your - and their - very eyes, Blade & Soul stands out as particularly cruel and callous. They make a point of giving you just enough time with everyone so you see them as individuals with personalities, not just as faceless NPCs, then they pick them off one by one in front of you, right after your character has just had a really nice moment and everything feels great.

And if that isn't disturbing enough, they even make sure you get to see all the dogs and cats killed too. The camera actually lingers on the bodies of the pets for a second or two, just to make sure you don't miss anything. I did remember it was a bit of a traumatic opening but not just how disturbing it was. It's right up there with The Searing in Guild Wars 2 for shock value.

And then, of course, you wake up and instantly you're off doing quests for people you've never met, almost like nothing ever happened. There's clearly no such thing as PTSD in MMOland. 

To be fair, when you wake up there is a war going on, but still...

As for the NEO part, so far I can't say I've noticed anything different at all. Then again, I haven't logged in again since, for much the same reasons as I already mentioned. Maybe next week, as the song doesn't carry on.

Once Human

I haven't played this one for a while but there's a good chance I could start again soon, although I'll have to re-install it first. The reason I'm thinking of going back is yesterday's announcement that there are going to be "permanent servers" due to "consistently received" feedback saying that's what players want. Well, Duh!

Seriously, what is it with Starry? They developed a really excellent MMOFPS/RPG and then made every conceivable effort to make it as awkward and complicated to play it as they possibly could. 

Insert witty comment re
Starry keeping everyone hanging...

Although the Scenario system has always had its supporters and really isn't all that different from traditional Seasons in other MMOS, the impermanence dictated by the complete lack of any persistence in the world itself has always rubbed many players up the wrong way. Eternaland is all very well as a kind of sandbox mode but it was never going to replace having an actual, persistent world in which progress mattered and in which the excellent housing tools could be put to good use building actual homes.

Of course, this being Starry, they can't simply add some permanent servers and leave it at that. If they did, someone might be able to work out what they were doing..

As always, the update notes are ferociously long and complex. They've chosen to call the new servers "Non-Shutdown Servers" which really trips off the tongue. They aren't truly permanent in the sense we know and expect from most MMORPGs, either. They're governed by a whole load of rules and regulations, which I won't attempt to summarise here, but the important caveat is that although Scenario servers will now carry on after the Scenario ends, they will only remain active as long as enough people keep logging in to them to make them worth Starry's while.

After that, it's anyone's guess. I've read and re-read the rules and I still don't understand them. Try this:

"ii. Each server will be merged into a single World on the permanent server. After the merge, you can switch between Worlds to interact with players from other servers. Subsequently, Worlds with relatively low activity levels may be merged to ensure a good experience."

Insert witty comment#2

The server goes into the world goes into the server but there are multiple worlds and servers. I'm not sure if it's a translation issue or just jargon that's been in use internally for so long no-one realizes how confusing it must be for outsiders. I think it means that although the nomenclature will change, you'll be able to keep logging in to the same scenario indefinitely but I can't say I'm even sure about that.

Whatever the technicalities,it does seem as though, when the update arrives, you'll be able to settle down somewhere and just keep playing if that's what you want. No more having to start over every few weeks. If only someone had thought of that a year ago, eh?

There are a whole lot more positive developments in the upcoming update, too. One new scenario will have all the available landmass available at the same time, another thing players started asking for as soon as the Northern region was added. The downside there is that it's only happening in a scenario with a very off-putting rulset but chances are I'll move there when it happens anyway.  

Or I could re-roll there instead because yet another thing that players have long been asking for is coming - Account-based ownership of assets. Starry have moved from not wanting anyone to have more than one character through grudgingly allowing it to now actively encouraging it. Previously I couldn't see much point in making another character but suddenly it's beginning to look like quite a good option.

All of that and more puts Once Human firmly back on my list of possible games for the Spring and Summer. 

Of course, first I have to get my current obsession out of my system. Since I got my new toy I haven't really wanted to play any games at all. That will pass soon enough, though. Novelty never lasts long. When it wears off, anything with value sticks around but has to take its turn.

And with that, I'm going back to play with my toy some more. Maybe I'll have something to share in that regard later. Or maybe I'll just keep it to myself. Decisions will have to be made. Anything to do with AI always causes such a fuss and I'm not sure whether I'm up for any more of that...