Guild Wars: Nightfall Philippine Launch

Haven't posted since last Thursday. Why? Nightfall Worldwide Release! In the Philippines, the game was launched in Game Frog in Metrowalk, Ortigas at 20:00 last Friday, 10/27 (the same day as the global launch). I showed up, not intending to buy the game, as I was planning on getting the Collector's Edition with the help of my SO.

While waiting around for the event, I ran into an old acquaintance from college. I mentioned that I was planning on getting the CE version, and he mentioned that he thought about the same thing too, but decided against it. He reminded me that in the Prophecies CE, players had an aura. Aside from the "making of DVD" and the art books, the only bonus is the unique dance. Now, Since I don't see myself dancing a lot, it made me realize that waiting for something like an aura would be of better value. Given this, I decided to get the game already, and I got it at a small discount, with a free shirt, an ID strap, and a ball pen to boot. :D

Ergo, no time to post! Too busy preparing to save Elona! :P

Initial 2006.10/25 Patch Comments

The complete patch ain't done yet, but enough has been downloaded for me to play. Here are some initial comments.

I wasn't able to maximize being able to place the henchmen yet. I didn't do anything complicated for me to need it, but I should be useful if I decide to do harder tasks on my own.

The skill template is an absolute blast! I already configured some of my more common templates for my Ele and Rit, and I noticed that I had a lot more configurations for my Rit. My Rit is really flexible, he can spike, he can support, he can be a Minion Bomber, and he can go Resto. I'll definitely move my Rit along in Prophecies, the same way my Ele is moving along if Factions.

One of the configurations I'm trying with my Rit is to maximize the Channeling/spiking capabilities. I noticed that my energy management was a tad off, I guess I got so used to the large energy capacity from my Ele that I forget that not all casters have that much energy. Given this, I'm gonna consider putting put some energy management tweaks to some builds.

I'll keep y'all posted.

2006.10/25 Guild Wars Patch

Just because I haven't played Guild Wars all day doesn't mean that I won't play it all day ;). Apparently, they have a HUGE patch today, I I'll just let the patch download while I bum around. (If I knew this earlier, I would've activated the patch downloading earlier, particularly during lunch, oh well).

Among the more significant changes:

• Preparation for the Halloween events (this will be temporary, though)
• Skill and Equipment templates (this will go a long way in switching modes)
• Equipment balance changes (20% recharge now affects all spells, not just a specific attribute!)
• Henchmen controls and updated AI
• Skill balance changes (of big note to me personally are changes to Assassins and Elementalists)

Strangely, any skill changes to Ritualists were not mentioned (maybe there weren't any?).

Now, I'll just relax and let the patch download a while.

See you in Tyria! :D

Lazy Day (just the way I like it!)

Can you believe that it's already the afternoon and I haven't played any Guild Wars at all yet?! Well, after defeating the Lich and Shiro, I do need a little breather.

Most of the morning, I spent on non-game related activities, as well as a little Triplejack Poker on the side. Funny thing is, I'm learning a lot about myself as I observe how I play, and how my goals change when I play. I think these small realizations will pay off in the future somehow.

After another post, I'll just sit back and read, perhaps I can pull off finishing "Flags of Our Fathers" before the movie comes out in the Philippines.

Upcomming Events (2006.10/26)

Things to look out for:

• (2006.10/25) release of Firefox v2.0
  • already available
    
• (2006.10/27) release of Guild Wars: Nightfall
  • Guild Wars: Nightfall event at GameFrog in Metrowalk, 20:00 PH time (8pm to non-military time folks)
• (next week?) Flags of Our Fathers movie (directed by Clint Eastwood
  • I haven't finished the book yet! If it does come out next week, I don't have enough time!

MS Publisher

My SO called me up while my dad and I were finishing-up on car's tune-up. Apparently, she was having trouble doing some layout parts in MS Publisher, which I didn't have and never used.

After the tune-up, and lunch, I went back home and did some research and finally figured out what she was trying to do. Afterwards, I tried to discuss with her on how to do it. It was rather confusing, not because what she was trying to do was all that hard, but because I didn't know anything about MS Publisher.

My only background in print and publishing software was NewsMaster (and those old greeting card making software), and very little PageMaker. After PageMaker, I had very little idea on how publishing software evolved. I did hear that the in-thing to use was Adobe InHouse, and I knew that MS Publisher was a similar product, but that's it. Apparently, my SO was having trouble 'coz she was used to using an old version of MS Publisher, and the new version handled what she wanted to do differently.

Based on my research, things seemed pretty consistent with similar layout options in MS Word and such, but I guess the old Publisher was quite different. Given this, I'd probably struggle myself if I used the old version.

Now, if only I could start figuring out Adobe Photoshop...

Have a Good... err... 2006.10/26 Day Without Work?

I heard that today is a holiday due to "Ramadan", so I was looking for the official declaration so I won't get things wrong and inadvertently offend some people. Unfortunately, I'm confused. From what I gather, Ramadan ended last Sunday in the Philippines, and today is Eid’l Fitr (Feast of Charity). I'll just refer to that Inq7.net article for whatever the official reasons for today is.

Regardless if you're Muslim or not, I hope today goes well.

As a side note, "Ramadan" keeps reminding me of the very first Sandman (by Neil Gaiman) comic I read. I think I was in high school, and the issue was Sandman #50, the story entitled Ramadan (reprinted in "The Sandman: Fables and Reflections". A great story, though I wouldn't be reading Sandman until I started working.

Triplejack Poker Day

My SO is out with some friends today, so I'm spendin' most of this Saturday by myself. I just finished Prophecies yesterday, I think, so I'm in the mood for something else. Yes, I know that this weekend is the Dragon Festival at Shing Jea Monestary, and I did drop by for the festivities for a while, but most of this afternoon was spent at Triplejack Poker.

I mentioned before that I've been playing it a while, and as much as I run into a lot of Filipinos, I do want to play with pals from time to time. I ran into some of my former officemates in IM, and managed to convince some of them to try it out. Some didn't know how to play poker, which actually makes Triplejack Poker a great place to start learning, particularly since you can play without losing real money.

I tried to create a private table, but either my free membership doesn't have that feature, or that feature hasn't been done yet (most probably the former), so I just made the smallest table possible and hoped nobody but my pals would play while we went through things slowly. Of course, you can't stop others from butting in, and there was one spammer who was annoying, but otherwise, things went well. I'll run into more pals next time.

If ya wanna check it out, please click here 'Triplejack Poker' or the other referral links in this blog (if I refer people to join, maybe I'll get some perks... maybe...).

See yaz at the poker tables!

Salvi The Friar has finished Guild Wars: Prophecies!

A few minutes ago, Salvi (my Elementalist) has just finished Prophecies. The large Energy due to the Energy Storage attribute helps in a lot of spellcasting, and the nuking is useful all around. I can be a spiker, a nuker, or a degen. I'm probably gonna have a lot of fun with this character.

Now, should I go finish Factions as well, or cap some Prophecies specific elite skills...?

Sweet Beer Aftertaste!

My GAWD!!! I can't believe it's 23:00 and I can STILL taste the delicate sweetness of this afternoon's beer! It's so dang good!!! I am definitely going back to Grappa's for more pitchers/pints!

Afternoon With Beer

I decided to have lunch with my buddy today. After having pizza at D' Mark's, we went to Grappa's for a pitcher of dark beer. I tend to avoid Grappa's because of the cost, but for a quick beer, perhaps it was ok.

The beer was great! I haven't had beer that good in a long time! Now, that's the life, good beer, good buddy, good conversation... a relaxing afternoon.

My buddy tells me there's a place in Makati where they specialize in beers from around the world. Thanks to Grappa's, I'm looking forward to trying what other surprises beer has to offer!

Mom Fevers

I was patiently working on capping some skills and accomplishing the quests on the way to Sorrow's Furnace (in Guild Wars) when my mom called. Apparently, she feels sick and wanted to go home, but didn't feel up to driving. So, I logged out, picked her up, and took her home. Her temperature wasn't that high, but it did seem that she was gonna get a fever.

Get well soon, ma'.

"Business as Usual" in Makati City Hall

Having heard that some aspects of Makati City Hall were opening today, DZBB radio host Mike Enriquez decided to call the trunk line of Makati City Hall on-air and see if anyone answers. After a few rings, someone did. I was actually surprised that someone answered, more surprised that they were asking where Mike wanted to be transferred to, and even more surprised that they were very polite and helpful! I never expected the operator to a government anything be polite and helpful!

Quite impressive. Also an indicator on what kind of ship Binay runs.

Makati Mayor Suspended

Shortly after my initial brainstorm regarding "kardz", I turned the TV on for some news. Typically, I tune in to CNN if it's early morning, but I happened to tune the TV to a local TV station. Any Filipino who has even a passing sense of the news today should know about what's going on in Makati right now. Binay is with the opposition, and happens to be mayor of the Philippine's financial capital. Pee Wee, the mayor of Pasay, was also suspended some weeks ago. Government representatives say that some administration people have also been suspended recently, not just opposition people.

Life gets more colorful when things like this happen, but that doesn't mean it is less disturbing.

Codename "Kardz"!

I woke up something like 0400 'coz this idea was bugging me. After mulling it over half-asleep, a eureka moment came to me and I woke up! Now, I just have to put all the thoughts and ideas down before they float away!

I won't go into details yet, but for now I will give it the codename "kardz".

When I unleash it to the world, it's gonna rock!

Outdoor Cookout and Poker

Yesterday was cookout day with my SO and her friends. We went to the market and bought a bunch of stuff which we'd cook in one of my SO's friend's houses. I guess they liked the grilled asparagus I made last time, 'coz they wanted it again. Unfortunately, since I can't eat anything that ain't soft, I couldn't eat a lot of what we got. It's really sweet that my SO got me salmon and made mashed potatoes so I can eat something nice with them.

After the meal, they started playing Poker. I never play card games with money, regardless of how low the denominations are. I had a vague idea of how poker is played, and given that I don't play for money, I just watched.

Apparently, they bought a Texas Hold'em poker kit, with chips and all. I've heard that my former officemates play this version sometimes and that some of them play at Triplejack Poker, so I really wanted to see how that was played. However, they played what I assumed to be regular poker (they didn't appear to be following the procedure for Texas Hold'em that was stated in the kit). Regardless, it probably wasn't very far from Texas Hold'em and it's still worth observing.

One of the things I noticed is that the game relies less on statistics and more on "mind reading". In Pusoy Dos, I could typically gather enough statistics to guess who has which cards, but that ain't so effective in Poker. The game is really geared towards reading your opponent for clues on what they have in their hands.

It was a lot of fun. Perhaps someday, I'll break not playing with real money just to be in on the action. Guess I gotta practice a bit to get a feel on the probabilities of the various hands you can get. Maybe I'll practice in Triplejack.com.

Elona Reach, Augry Rock, and Dragon's Lair

After spending most of yesterday fruitlessly trying to get past Elona Reach, I finally got through. Ironically, it was only when I tried doing it by myself did I succeed. The mission is quite hard, but apparently it could be run. So, I setup Salvi (my Elementalist) with running skills and tried it out. I don't know if it can be accomplished by just running, since I had to do some fighting, but I was able to avoid a LOT of fights and finish the mission.

Augry Rock is a fight with your doppleganger, I didn't read any techniques on this since I was interested on how to pull it off, but apparently, my double didn't maximize the skills I had, so I managed to go through it fine.

Dragon's Lair is quite straightforward, and with a team of 8 (hench in my case), things were easy. I was excited of the chance to fight Glint (who sounds just like Kunnavang), but then I didn't have to. It turns out that fighting Glint is a bonus mission, and losing it incurs no penalty (you still finish the main mission). Glint is tough, really tough. I intend on going back and trying to get her again.

For now, my main objectives are done. Time to for other stuff, like watching, reading, and planning (on stuff other than Guild Wars :P).

Muscle Relaxants

After more than a week of the jaw ache with minimal signs of getting better, I got worried and consulted a doctor. I was right in suspecting that my impacted molars have nothing to do with it (I will have to deal with this quite soon too, though), but they do recommend that I take some muscle relaxant for around 4 days and eat soft food.

No problem with the meds, but there is some issue with eating soft food. Intriguingly, both my SO and my mom said that it's cause of eating steak too much (that's cause I keep ordering "medium" instead of "medium rare" so my SO can taste it).
This will be a long and hungry 4 days.

BTW, glad to hear you're feeling better Jerson. Get well soon.

Selected Web Downtimes

Can't access Google for some reason. I highly doubt it has anything to do with it's recent acquisition of YouTube. Anyway, there's always Yahoo, as well as other search engines. What Annoys me is that GuildWiki, my default resource for any Guild Wars resource I need, also can't be accessed. It had to happen in a "story day" (days when I want to move the plot along instead of fight).

Great timing.

The Departed

I found this movie disturbing, in a good way. Powerhouse male cast, a lot of swearing, violence in a rather personal level, and long (around 2.5 hrs). It was very well done, and I do recommend people to watch it. The tension builds-up gradually, and there's a lot of conflict from the start. If you're squirmish to bloody deaths, well, you've been warned.