Happy Almost-Friday

I didn't post the last couple days, but I still wanna be your favorite bloggist.

Some shit got kinda dramatic in a few parts of life, and it was a couple days in which it was best if I avoided a medium in which I tell the world what I'm thinking about or what's going on.

It can be hard to maintain perspective at times, especially if you've got a history that's had some rather dramatic moments, but not in a while, if ya follow me. I thrive on being boring. I'm boring by design.

That being said, sometimes shit happens, and it's no one's fault. You can either keep it to yourself, or you can talk to someone. I encourage you to talk to someone. If you think you can't find someone to talk to, keep trying. You might be surprised. Just don't give up. It's worth it to keep trying.

While talking, make sure to listen, too. I had a good friend this morning throw something back at me from another perspective that really surprised me, and it was actually extremely helpful, and something I needed to hear.

When you feel like you're in crisis, clear your head, and really look around you. Your support network is bigger than you realize.

Anyway ...



I'm really stoked because Dawn of War 3 is out in a week, followed by Prey the next week, and I'm already backlogged by Mass Effect: Andromeda, Torment: Tides of Numenera, and Horizon Zero Dawn. Oh, and Elder Scrolls Online gets the Morrowind expac in June.

The good thing is that, after that, I've presumably got several months until anything interesting releases.

Regardless, this weekend, DoW3 is running an open beta that I'll be streaming on Twitch. I'm stoked to get in there and get my ass handed to me. I've loved the Dawn of War series for a long, long time, and I've loved Relic's ambitious and unapologetic approach. They drastically change the game with each numbered release, and that's kept the series fresh while also pushing the medium forward.

I'm not sure exactly what I'll be going live. I'm guessing probably Sunday? My weekends are back to being crazy for a while. Either way, I'll post to Twitter and probably here.

That KotOR Streaming Series
We're resuming the stream tonight and tomorrow night!

My last two episodes, the mic was fucked. I'm sorry. Thank the Maker for a friend that popped in and told me. That has been fixed, and we're resuming tonight!

I'll be going live around 8PM central both nights. Tonight, we start Tattooine, which is a really fun planet in KotOR.

Other Gaming Stuff
My gaming time, lately, is really cut down. That should alleviate once we into the second week in May. I think.

What little time I've had has been devoted, mostly, to Mass Effect: Andromeda, which I'm still really enjoying. I'm also squeezing in some Elder Scrolls Legends when I can, here and there. I hit a point the other night, though, where I really needed something else. I'm not a one-game guy. I'm just not. I fired up Torment for the first time in a month (I got frustrated by an unwinnable battle and Mass Effect hit), and fell right back in love. I was able to come at the battle another way, with no fighting, and move things forward. God, I love that game.

I think my goal is to finish Mass Effect and Torment before E3. We'll see. It would be fun to take the summer and do something different, which is play mostly PlayStation games. My family and I use the Xbox One constantly, but hardly ever touch the PS4, but it has two games I want to finish, which are Horizon and Uncharted 4.

I'm also giving thought to writing off console exclusives altogether. Console games are very inconvenient for me to play, and I really think I might just vote against them with my dollar. Not releasing every game on the device on which it was developed is just stupid. Not being able to take a game on the road or to work or mod it or any of that shit in 2017 is absurd, and I don't want to support it.

Anyway, that's all for now. Time for movie lunch at work.

Oh shit, and there's a new SWTOR release. I need to play that!

-Blaine

It's almost Celebration time!

I'm super-stoked. Star Wars Celebration 2017 starts tomorrow!

I've watched the past two iterations online, and it was absolutely wonderful, as a Star Wars fan. I got to hear from the BIG names (Mark, Carrie, Daisy, Billy D, etc), as well as the smaller bit players, who were just as interesting (random Imperial Admirals, guys in alien costumes, etc). And let's not forget about the trailers and behind-the-scenes footage. And the video games. And the fandom.

Some time, I'm going to go, but it will not be this year.

Luckily, they're streaming the show online, and we'll have a steady feed. Obviously, not everything will be shown, since there won't be multiple live feeds, but enough that I'm really excited.

What, specifically, has me so pumped?

First, I'm pretty isolated in my level of passion for things. I'm always the most 'into' something of anyone with whom I'm close. People that exceed my level of passion for things like Star Wars or Star Trek or Dragon Age or whatever tend to have debilitating mental or social problems, and it's difficult for anyone to be close to them. I won't enjoy things like Star Wars at the cost of losing my job, my family, what's left of my physical condition, etc. Even I have boundaries.

ANYWAY, everyone that's close to me skews more 'normie,' and I know that they don't like hearing about what I love, so I spend a lot of time alone in my love for Star Wars. It's OK. I'm used to it, and it's not something that's destroying my life or anything. It's all good.

But the Celebration stream is a chance for me to revel in my love for Star Wars, and share it with my wife and kids, and let them get a taste of what it means for me.

Star Wars and Star Trek are woven into my life, and have been since as far back as I can remember. They've been constant companions, and while we've grown apart at times, or had difficult moments, we've always come back together.

I'd love it if Star Trek had something like the Star Wars Celebration stream. God, that would be amazing.

It's great getting to share the passion for a few days every year (except next year, apparently.)

Second, the announcements. Whether it be a new Marvel comic series, or a new novel (please bring back Karen Traviss), a new Star Wars game (please make another PC RPG), a Rebels announcement, or *GASP* a new film, I'm all over it. I've loved seeing this universe simplify, and then expand. I cannot wait to see what this year holds.

Third, the reveals. What do I mean? C'mon, guys. The trailer and/or footage.

I will never forget watching the "Chewie, we're home." trailer and sobbing, along with millions of other geeks. I don't know that we'll ever have a moment like that again, unless they bring back Revan from deletion.

The whole thing is just magical. It's a chance to connect directly with something that is a persistent source of joy and wonder. It's something that bridges my child brain and adult brain.

It's going to be so hard watching Mark lead the Carrie Fisher memorial (I can't believe I'm even typing those words), but it's something that I think we all need. I've certainly not totally reconciled my feelings on her passing, and every time I see her, it's like a lightsaber through the gut, but I'm ready to hear Mark talk about it. I hope it heals.

But, yeah, I'm excited to see any and all cast and crew, I'm excited to learn and see more about The Last Jedi, I crave more details on the Han Solo flick, and I wanna see anything else that's in the pipeline, especially if maybe, possibly BioWare has something fun to announce? Maybe?

So, keep an eye on the Star Wars YouTube channel, keep an eye on the Celebration site, and let me know what you're excited about!

May the Force be with you!

-Blaine

KOTOR TONIGHT

I love Mass Effect: Andromeda. I know, I've said it a buncha times already, but I actually think about wanting to play it when I haven't played it in the last 24 hours, and that's unusual for me. That's kinda my litmus test for whether or not I love a game.

Still, I'm really excited to start my KotOR stream series tonight!



It's gonna be really interesting having those two games juxtaposed for a while, since KotOR came out of BioWare back in 2002, and MEA, also from BioWare, just hit. One can actually see the basic framework for the Mass Effect series in KotOR, since that dev team went right into the first Mass Effect from there. It'll be fun playing those side-by-side.

A big part of the reason that I'm so excited for my KotOR (1&2) stream series is 1) I haven't played them in several years, and 2) KotOR rescued gaming for me. I'd been a JRPG guy up to that point, but Japanese dev, especially roleplaying games, had gone a direction that I was not digging, and KotOR acted as the lifeline that I needed, and it led me to a much larger world.



Also, Star Wars is one of the things in this world of which I am the most fond. The Old Republic setting, in particular, really resonated with me. It's thousands of years prior to the films, which unshackled BioWare from having to work in or around the film lore. They went to the comics and referenced the Tales of the Jedi series, which is FANTASTIC AND YOU SHOULD READ, and this gave them a great jumping-off point.

There's also a great KotOR comics series called 'Knights of the Old Republic' (imagine that), and it is nearly as good as the games.

When I play through the first KotOR, I'll be playing only with a few mods that let me set the resolution to 1920x1080. When I get to KotOR2, it'll be heavily modded, so that I can play something that resembles a completed game. It'll be modded to support 1920x1080, but it'll also have the cut content restored and finished, some of which I've never seen. This is going to be a blast!



The schedule, right now, is Thurs and Fri nights at 2000 central. I'll probably also sneak in some weekend sessions when I can. I suppose adopting a more strict schedule could help my regular viewership. What do you think?

While I'm playing, I'll be dropping some fun knowledge about the development, the in-game lore, and my own personal stories about previous playthroughs, how I first heard about it, funny tangential stories, and the like. You're gonna love it, I promise.

I'll be streaming on Twitch, and then pushing it to YouTube after each stream is done.



So, again, that'll be tonight at 2000 central time. We'll start from the beginning, and it'll probably be the first time that a lot of you see KotOR in a modern resolution. Also, for those that are interested, it is going to be a canon playthrough. Our KotOR 1 protag is going to be a male, and the KotOR 2 protag will be female. I'm also going to try and make choices within the bounds of the canon. Well, the canon within SWTOR, anyway. As you may know, Disney deleted the expanded universe, including all the excellent Old Republic stuff.

Regardless, I look forward to seeing anyone that wants to hang out and talk Star Wars or KotOR tonight!

-Blaine

MMOs and Time and Dollars and How Much Can I Really Enjoy Four of Them?

I love MMORPGs. I love the 'instant play' aspect, and I love getting to live inside their worlds. I love the community (usually.) Modern MMORPGs very much cater to the love of story that I have, plus they heavily feature math, which makes me swoon.

The problem is that there are too many that I like. I go through this every year or two, when I need to pare down, especially relative to the lack of free time that I have, and the fact that I mostly play gargantuan single-player RPGs.

So, here's what I have in rotation at the moment.

Star Wars: The Old Republic
This is my champion. Of any game I've ever played, I've put more hours into SWTOR than any other. I was in the beta, and fell in love HARD. I still play this pretty regularly. I adore this game. I've put over 1000 hours into it, and there's still a ton of content I've never played. This one stays, no matter what.

Yeah, I know, this game became fashionable to hate or loathe or whatever weird emotional assignment you tied to it, but it really is delightful, especially if you're a fan of the now-deleted Expanded Universe, specifically the KotOR stuff. This is a natural extension of it.

The free-to-play option is a good demo, but I'm a subscriber, and I feel just fine about that. The Knights of the Fallen Empire and Knights of the Eternal Throne mini-expansions were great. What this game needs is a proper expansion.

The Elder Scrolls Online
I had a bumpy ride with this one early on. Like SWTOR, I was in the beta for a long time, and it was decent, and then once the game launched, I decided to unsub for a time while they worked out some issues. At no point was it bad, but it had some problems that I wanted worked out before I came back. Eventually, I did, and really enjoyed it. I don't sub anymore, because it went buy-to-play, but I buy each of the DLC, and I've prepurchased the Morrowind expansion, which looks AMAAAZING.

What's interesting about this and SWTOR is that I approach each as a living single-player game. I'll group when I need to, and I belong to fairly active guilds, but I don't raid a lot. I do enjoy it when I do, but I'm fairly introverted, and MMOs are an OK way for me to brush up against being social.

I actually got my oldest son pulled in, and he's playing now. Once he's leveled, maybe we'll hit Cyrodiil together.

Guild Wars 2
This is another game in which I've been since the beta. I actually had some IRL friends playing with me for a while, but they've dropped out over the years, and I'm now the last man standing.

I finished the main campaign a while ago, and have been pushing through the Living World content, though I've hit a bugged dungeon, and have been waiting for it to be fixed so that I can continue. It is very frustrating, especially since I've enjoyed the game so much.

Guild Wars 2 is also the most fun 'just sit down and start playing' game that I play. It's just silky smooth.

The world is a hell of a lot of fun, too. Not only the lore, but the reactive elements, which, in my opinion, makes it the ultimate theme park MMO.

The lack of a subscription helps the enjoyment, too. I think the base game is F2P now, too.

Final Fantasy XIV
This is the tough one for me. I pay a sub for it, I used to really love Final Fantasy, I adore the combat and the mechanics of this game, as well as the structure of the world, but it has a few things that really bug me.

I play games that lack voice acting all the time, but FFXIV's flapping lips really bother me. I'd rather that there wasn't any camera work or anything, and that it just had textboxes over static images, or even handled it like the old SNES Final Fantasy games. The flapping lips just bother me.

This is a game that I really need to get more into. The above games were all 'my main game' for some period of time, which allowed me to really propel myself into the game. I've never done that with Final Fantasy XIV. I was even a launch day player, and got to enjoy the debacle of the original version of the game.

I've got Stormblood prepurchased, I've paid my sub through August, so I am going to try and really take the plunge.

Star Trek Online
I played the shit outta this when it first came out. I am absolutely nuts about Star Trek (and Star Wars), and this was my only connection to the franchise for a period of time. The Abrams fan fiction films were fun, brainless action movies, and we'll see if Discovery ever amounts to anything in spite of CBS. This is all I had for a while, and it was really enjoyable. The ship-to-ship combat is great, the ground combat has improved, but is still basically crap, but the game is a fun dip in the Star Trek universe.

I haven't been a subscriber in years, and I really barely play anymore, but I want to play more.

In Conclusion
So, that's five MMOs, plus my constant itch to fire up The Secret World again. I just checked, and holy shit, that's an expensive game to jump into right now and buy the full game.

It's too many, flat out, and I could use some help paring it down. I'd love your opinions. SWTOR and ESO are definitely sticking around.

On the flipside, I could also dial back the single player games that I play, to make more time for the MMOs. I dunno. Having too many quality games to play is a good problem to have, and a very, very first world problem. Still, it can be a fun discussion, and I'd appreciate any input ya'll have.

BTW, one week 'til Torment/Horizon Day!!!

Hit me!

-Blaine

Time ... it is what it is ...

So, here we are, just less than three weeks from Torment/Horizon day. Game-wise, I've been hitting the unfinished classics pretty hard (Baldur's Gate & Morrowind), as well as a lot of ESO. It's been OK, but man, I am BURNING for something new and shiny.

I realized, this morning, that it's been a year and nine months since the last game about which I was insanely excited released. That was The Witcher 3. There's been some solid games since then, but 2016 was my (and this only my opinion about games that I like) JV squad in terms of releases. I'm fond of Deus Ex, Dishonored, Doom, XCOM, and all those type games, and I've really enjoyed the latest releases for SWTOR, ESO, and Guild Wars 2, but those all feel like snacks. Those are my second tier for games, and it's all I had last year.

Part of what caused this was Dragon Age: Inquisition, Pillars of Eternity, and The Witcher 3 all releasing in a six-month span, from 2014 November to 2015 May. It was wonderful and brutal.

I didn't even notice this 'problem' until I really started to think about my recent 'gaming malaise.' I am licking my chops, ready for something new and awesome.

Fucking Torment: Tides of Numenera. Bring that shit on, man. I'm actually taking the day off for it. It looks wonderful. Everything I've seen about it, and everything I've played of the demo tickle my soul.

Yeah, I know. Me not loving the same games you do can be a problem for some, and the fact that I only really get invested in RPGs triggers weird reactions in random folks, but I don't care. I tried some of the indie darlings, thought they were OK, and moved on. I didn't hate them, I thought they had good aspects, and that was pretty much the extent of my judgement. I didn't hate them, I didn't declare that other people shouldn't go crazy for them, I just thought they were OK. Relax.

And all of that is missing the point, anyway. I played a lotta shit last year, and none of it really ignited me. I had a very good time with Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, as well as Dishonored 2. I enjoyed some time with Doom and XCOM 2. I thought whatever 2D indie darling games they made me play were OK.

But man, no matter what I try, the only games that REALLY grab me are the ones that are huge investments with depth everywhere, from the systems to the lore to the story to the characters, to the world, etc. I love games that I can just throw myself at for months. I actually approach my job much the same way. I tend to chase after the 'huge project' work, rather than the little shit. I like deeply investing in things.

Again, as a side note, the fact that I've never finished an Elder Scrolls game still somewhat baffles me. Those games are ridiculously deep. There's just something about the actual mechanics and design choices that throw me occasionally. Most of this is aimed at Morrowind.

Also, in this drought, I did finally find my way into the Fallout Bethesda/Obsidian games. It took several tries over several years, but I finally pushed through Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, and adored them. Fallout 4 was very good, but didn't quite hit the mark that FNV did. I think part of it is that New Vegas was sooo good, and I played F4 like right after finishing it.

Anyway, I'm curious to see how this 2015/5/19-2017/2/28 stretch matches with other periods of time. It certainly feels like the longest I've ever gone. And like I said, it kinda snuck up on me. I knew last year was a 'B-team year' in terms of my favorite franchises and games, but the fact that you have to go back all the way to May in 2015 surprised me.

I'm not offering to do any actual research on the subject, but it really surprised me.

And then, after that, I've got Mass Effect: Andromeda three weeks later. And in those three weeks, I'm traveling for two of them. It's a good 'problem' to have, but goddam. I'll have Torment, Horizon, and MEA all queued up, and then I got Prey in May, and then the Morrowind expac in June, and then, I think, a long drought into winter. Good times.

What about you? You ever have a stretch like this? It's weird how my favorite games seem to cluster in terms of release. In theory, though, I should have a new BioWare game by 2018/3/31, and I have some Kickstarters that should be landing later this year and early next year (though I got money that says no way Obsidian hits 2018 Q1 with Pillars 2, and that's totally OK.)

Anyway, that's that. What about you? You ever have 'awesome game starvation?'

Also, get caught up on my 'The Road to Andromeda' Mass Effect series on YouTube here or below:



Thanks! I'll be resuming the playthrough tomorrow night!

-Blaine

whatcha playin'? 2016/07/28

Maybe I'll start doing this every Thursday lunch. We'll see. I always like talking to people about what they're playing and why. I guess I originally got the idea from gaming podcasts, mainly 1UP Yours and CGW Radio. By the way, those were amazing podcasts when the mainstays of 1UP were still around (Jeff Green, Shawn Elliot, Mark McDonald, Shane Bettenhausen, Luke Smith, Garnett Lee, John Davison, etc.) Such great memories. And we can't forget about the 1UP Show. Changing subject, getting sad!

Anyway, this will be my last weekend in St. Louis for a couple weeks, since I'm traveling again next week. We're going to Vegas for the Star Trek 50th Anniversary Convention. Also, I'll be soliciting advice for that this weekend, but feel free to leave any in the comments right now, in regards to what to expect, and how to go about making sure I get to all the panels I wanna see.

Anyway, the weekend is nearly upon us. Whatcha playin' this weekend?

I'm eyeballing lotsa Wasteland 2. I think I've said it before, but I have a terrible habit of not really giving my full attention to games that aren't in my core series, and this was a victim. ADD like a muthafucka. Now that I'm making myself focus when I play it, I'm really enjoying the hell out of it. And this game features some REALLY tough decisions. I love it, and as a big fan of Fallout, I really appreciate both the similarities and stark differences.

Guild Wars 2's Living World Season 3 has kicked off, and I am nowhere near ready. I'm still pushing through Living World Season 2, and I still have Heart of Thorns waiting, sooo ... I'm gonna continue catching up. I adore this game, but I took like two years off from it to play other MMOs.

I'm going to do another episode of my Deus Ex: Human Revolution: Director's Cut: Lotsa Colons series this weekend. In this series, I'm replaying DXHR (but the Director's Cut for the first time) to get myself refreshed for Mankind Divided. It's a fun series, and it's been cool to compare and contrast the game with other games that have more recently come out.



I'm also excited to get back to SWTOR. I've recently switched to a new guild, after dealing with a dying one all here, and holy shit, having an active guild makes a huge difference. Also, the Dark vs Light event is awesome. I might stream more of it, though the fact that I can't monetize the SWTOR videos is annoying. Anyway, I love this game so damn much, and I'm so glad that they got it back on track after a couple years of slumming it with dumb stuff like macrobinocular missions and starfighter and other nonsense. Knights of the Fallen Empire, eventually, became awesome, and if they carry that into Knights of the Eternal Throne, that will be awesome.

I still want a proper expansion, though.

Also, if you wanna try SWTOR, hit up my referral link, please.

Last, I wanna continue more of Fallout 4: Vault-Tec Workshop. I had a good time with it earlier this week, even though that type of DLC usually isn't my kinda thing. I'm more stoked for the Nuka World expac that's coming, which will be the final release for Fallout 4. I just prefer more story-driven material than the 'more shit to do' DLC. However, the Vault-Tec stuff is pretty rad.

And I think that's it, for now. I really should poke at I Am Setsuna more, but, the more I think about it, the more it didn't make a great first impression. We'll see, though. Maybe I was just in a bad mood at the time.

So, what about you? Whatcha playin' this weekend?

-Blaine

Saturday! Pheeew!

I might've said it before, and if so, it's worth saying again. For a short week, this felt like a looong week.

Now, it's Saturday. I got to sleep in until almost 9AM, I'm showered, I'm relaxing with my sons, I'm listening to Elder Scrolls Off the Record, and I'm typing at you. Good times. I'm thinking about taking the boys out for lunch today. Not sure where. Suggestions are welcome.

I fully plan to engage max chill this weekend. I got my sister-in-law and her boyfriend coming down today, and they're both cool people. I'm buying the UFC thing on PPV tonight for her man, for his birthday, I got a buddy coming over tonight to shoot the breeze, and we haven't seen each other in a while, and I got an itch for some MMO action, so either SWTOR, ESO, FFXIV, or Guild Wars 2 (or some combination thereof) is/are going to get played. Probably SWTOR, at least, since I wanna play the next chapter of Knights of the Fallen Empire, and I wanna continue in the Dark vs Light event.

Your vote here might matter.

All four are amazing games, I don't have nearly enough time for all four, three cost monthly money, I know, but all four are amazing games, and I love MMOs. I love RPGs in general, but I love having a main single-player RPG and an MMO to focus on. I'm fickle about the MMOs, though. I dunno. I'm weird.

I'll probably stream a bit, too. I wanted to stream my first foray into Red Dead Redemption on Xbox, since it's on backwards compatibility now, but I don't think I can stream to YouTube Gaming from Xbox One, which sucks ASS. I don't want to stream to Twitch, but I might anyway. We'll see.

I did have a couple GREAT streams the last couple days, though. PLEASE, if you haven't watched any of my stream recordings yet, check these out. The Doom one starts out slow (I had some dog issues), so jump ahead to six minutes. I guess I could just edit it.

Also, playing Inside was interesting. I do not play platformers, especially 2D, and especially puzzle-heavy. I got a request to go way outside my comfort zone with a game, and this one was suggested, and apparently, the results were hilarious. This was kind of a special video. Give it a look-see.

Anyway, check those out, and please give me some feedback, either here, or in that video's comments. And feel free to poke around my channel, take it all in, and give me some overall feedback. I love doing this stuff, and I wanna do it better.

If you have any requests to see me play something, lemme know. I'm pretty open.

Alright, time to plan for lunch. If I'm gonna stream later, I'll throw something up on my Twitter.

Word.

-Blaine

PS - I love Dark Matter and Killjoys SOOO MUCH. Give 'em a look.