Grrrrr.
Grrrrr.
Grrrrr.
Stupid glitch.
Ugh! I just want to chuck my Fable 2 disk through my tv, use it as a pooper scooper then toss it into my pool. I got "the glitch" last night and I'm pissed.
There's a glitch that seems to happen in random places. There's a guy on one forum who had it happen to him in The Crucible. It happened to me in the Cemetery.
After going into the Cemetery I decided I didn't want to fight 100 Hollow Men right then. So, I tried to leave. Unfortunately the game wouldn't let me. It would dump me right outside of the Cemetery, but no matter what direction I headed it would put me right back into the Cemetery. I tried that three times before the game finally let me leave. It put me near the harbor and the problems really started.
The first thing I noticed was those little glowing orbs were pointing me to where the guy is to take you to Knothole Island. I knew that wasn't my active quest so I pulled up my menu and looked at it. Apparently the game reset my active quest to Knothole Island and when I tried to reset it the game wouldn't acknowledge the change.
Then I started to move. Or tried to at any rate. If I tried to move outside the glowing orb path my character seemed to get pulled back towards the orbs no matter what I did. And when I did follow the path my character moved in jerky movements. I've never had this happen before and even though I've installed the game on my hard drive I figured it was just running through a load sequence and it would get better soon.
It didn't.
When I got to the Knothole Island guy on the pier he had 5 enemies surrounding him and attacking him. I tried to come to his defence but I couldn't pull out my crossbow. Or my great axe. Or use any spells. At this point I was in the middle of them and they started hacking at me and I didn't have a way to defend myself.
So what's a girl to do? I used the quick travel menu option and picked a spot close to where I was. A couple hours of the game clock and one load screen later I was standing safely at the entrance to Bowerstone. Except I couldn't move.
I couldn't walk or run anywhere. I couldn't do any expressions. And I didn't have my dog with me. In fact I couldn't remember the last time I had seen my dog. The Cemetery, maybe? So I went back to the quick travel menu and picked another destination. Same thing. It didn't matter what place I picked, once I got there I couldn't move.
Now, I've read about this "immobile" glitch in the game from several forums. And I'm sure I read there's a way to fix it too. So I saved my game (big mistake) because I had done a lot of things prior to start of all my problems, but I hadn't saved for a long time. Before I decided to go online to find what to do to fix the problem I thought I'd see if exiting the game and reloading my save would fix things. It didn't.
So I ripped the game out of my system and promptly put it back in my game case. Then I got online to figure out how to solve my problem. Apparently this problem was suppose to have been fixed in an update to the game at the end of March. Since I had all the updates I should have been good. But obviously I wasn't. I did some more research and found out that the only way to "fix" the problem was to restart the game.
WTF?
Do you know how many hours I've invested in that game so far? My character was completely evil and completely corrupt (no small feat that). I had a 5 star ranking in both woodcutting AND blacksmithing. I completed the Hero of Strength quest, had not one, but two statues created in my honor and completed many other side quests of the game. So what if I couldn't figure out how to have sex and wake up with a baby? I think I've pretty much given up on that for the time being when for the last couple of days whenever I tried to use a bed I would get this message: "You can't rest here." It didn't matter what bed, in stranger's houses or either of my marital houses it just wouldn't let me do it. And now I find out I've got to start over? You've got to be kidding me?
There's a big difference between a glitch that allows a player to "hide" in a wall and shot at people passing by but not taking any damage from bullets themselves and a glitch that makes your game completely unplayable. That kind of glitch is totally unacceptable. The "guy in a wall" glitch can be dealt with and the game will go on. An "immobility" glitch stops the game cold and pisses off the gamer like you would not believe.
This glitch makes the trouble I had with a boss encounter in Lost Odyssey where the boss dealt only in magic and my party (forced on me) was weak in magic defence look like a walk in the park and then a joy ride. After that boss I put Lost Odyssey aside because I was angry and frustrated with how many attempts it took me to defeat him and picked up Fable II. Now maybe I'll put Fable II aside and go back to Lost Odyssey. Once I finish that game (I'm on disk 4) I can finally go back to Blue Dragon which is a game I've been dying to get to for awhile.
If Lionhead Studios want me to invest in Fable III when it comes out they need to do a better job at doing their job. That one lousy glitch might turn me off the game for a very long time. I might not even go back to finish the first Fable game (which I haven't done yet). It just makes me go grrrr!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Old School is not always fun
So Gears of War 2 this Memorial weekend was an "old school" weekend. Teams were now limited to 4 players instead of 5. Stun grenades kept your character upright, but stunned instead of knocking you half way across the map. Old school rules applies.
And it wasn't all that fun.
Now, I LOVED the original Gears of War and have many fond memories of playing that game 'til all hours of the night. But once you've played with a squad of 5 players it makes it hard to go back to just 4. Take the River map for instance. With 5 players you send 1 down to pick up the Boomshot under the bridge, 1 to cover him immediately, 1 to grab the frags and then come down to cover him (or throw them up to the sniper spot if there is no resistance at the boom), 1 player up to the sniper/torque on your side, and 1 player to keep an eye on the bridge/cover the player going for sniper/torque and maybe even go for the mortar is possible. With only 4 players someone isn't going to have enough protection for very long.
If you send 3 down for the Boomshot (1 with frags) that leaves the sniper vulnerable to someone coming across the bridge and coming up behind them. If you send 2 in each direction then there is some confusion as to where the frags would be best used. If the guy going for the Boomshot waits until he has frag support, the other team will get the Boomshot. If the person getting frags goes to help cover sniper, then they can't be used to throw up at the other team's sniper spot.
If you split up and travel in pairs to back each other up no matter where you go, if one of you gets killed that leaves your buddy all along to face who know how many enemies. Besides, it's a whole team effort, not mini Wingman matches in a larger game. Having that fifth person makes all the world of difference especially on maps where you can use them as roving support. Helping out where it's needed once you've learned the enemies attack pattern. Maps like Ruins.
And the frags? In Gears of War 2 I've thrown a stun grenade at an opponent knowing it would knock them back 10 feet right to the feet of my teammate who would promptly blow their head off. One down, four more to go. With the "old school" stun frags, the enemy just stands there cowering until they can move again. This reaction seems to not last as long as if the player was knocked down and had to get up. It's much harder to get over to someone to kill them if they don't have to take that extra time to get up.
Now, I'm sure someone will say that the original rule for GOW2 has made me lazy and that playing "old school" made you work harder to get your kill. Possibly. But another thing I did noticed while playing this weekend is that playing "old school" made my team communicate much less than playing with a squad of 5. Maybe it was the fact that we knew if we came upon the enemy we'd have to deal with them ourselves because help wasn't coming. With five man teams we could send 3 players to rush the enemy, 1 to stay pack and snipe and 1 to act as a scout and protector for the sniper. We would communicate all the time. Telling each other where enemies were; where they were headed; and where not to go because they tagged something. Maps that felt large with 5 player teams needed a lot of communication, but with 4 player teams you'll either end up dead or the victor before you could get any help.
A five player team also means you have someone who acts as leader. Someone to decide if your team is going right or left on Day One. If someone disagrees and it comes to vote, there is no tie. Someone steps up and takes charge. And sometimes it varies on the map. I have some friends who experience the kiss of death on certain maps and others who excel on those maps. We all know our strengths and weaknesses and with more players participating we have a better chance at exploiting that.
Supposedly these "old school" rules ended last night. We'll see what happens today when I play (and you know I will). Hopefully we'll be back to the way Gears of War 2 was meant to be played. While playing "old school" games can be fun, sometimes playing new games by those rules isn't.
And it wasn't all that fun.
Now, I LOVED the original Gears of War and have many fond memories of playing that game 'til all hours of the night. But once you've played with a squad of 5 players it makes it hard to go back to just 4. Take the River map for instance. With 5 players you send 1 down to pick up the Boomshot under the bridge, 1 to cover him immediately, 1 to grab the frags and then come down to cover him (or throw them up to the sniper spot if there is no resistance at the boom), 1 player up to the sniper/torque on your side, and 1 player to keep an eye on the bridge/cover the player going for sniper/torque and maybe even go for the mortar is possible. With only 4 players someone isn't going to have enough protection for very long.
If you send 3 down for the Boomshot (1 with frags) that leaves the sniper vulnerable to someone coming across the bridge and coming up behind them. If you send 2 in each direction then there is some confusion as to where the frags would be best used. If the guy going for the Boomshot waits until he has frag support, the other team will get the Boomshot. If the person getting frags goes to help cover sniper, then they can't be used to throw up at the other team's sniper spot.
If you split up and travel in pairs to back each other up no matter where you go, if one of you gets killed that leaves your buddy all along to face who know how many enemies. Besides, it's a whole team effort, not mini Wingman matches in a larger game. Having that fifth person makes all the world of difference especially on maps where you can use them as roving support. Helping out where it's needed once you've learned the enemies attack pattern. Maps like Ruins.
And the frags? In Gears of War 2 I've thrown a stun grenade at an opponent knowing it would knock them back 10 feet right to the feet of my teammate who would promptly blow their head off. One down, four more to go. With the "old school" stun frags, the enemy just stands there cowering until they can move again. This reaction seems to not last as long as if the player was knocked down and had to get up. It's much harder to get over to someone to kill them if they don't have to take that extra time to get up.
Now, I'm sure someone will say that the original rule for GOW2 has made me lazy and that playing "old school" made you work harder to get your kill. Possibly. But another thing I did noticed while playing this weekend is that playing "old school" made my team communicate much less than playing with a squad of 5. Maybe it was the fact that we knew if we came upon the enemy we'd have to deal with them ourselves because help wasn't coming. With five man teams we could send 3 players to rush the enemy, 1 to stay pack and snipe and 1 to act as a scout and protector for the sniper. We would communicate all the time. Telling each other where enemies were; where they were headed; and where not to go because they tagged something. Maps that felt large with 5 player teams needed a lot of communication, but with 4 player teams you'll either end up dead or the victor before you could get any help.
A five player team also means you have someone who acts as leader. Someone to decide if your team is going right or left on Day One. If someone disagrees and it comes to vote, there is no tie. Someone steps up and takes charge. And sometimes it varies on the map. I have some friends who experience the kiss of death on certain maps and others who excel on those maps. We all know our strengths and weaknesses and with more players participating we have a better chance at exploiting that.
Supposedly these "old school" rules ended last night. We'll see what happens today when I play (and you know I will). Hopefully we'll be back to the way Gears of War 2 was meant to be played. While playing "old school" games can be fun, sometimes playing new games by those rules isn't.
I've been chastised
At a family gathering yesterday my little brother (kaiakapero) chastised me for not keeping to my "3 posts a week" goal you people set for me. Things have been crazy busy at work and since I love to take a break and type up my entries at work I haven't had much of a chance to do so lately. Yes, I know I could do it once I got home, but after staring at not one, but two computer screens all day I just can't stand to look at another monitor at home. It might be because I've got two 21" flat screen monitors on my desk at work and one 19" old CRT monitor on my desk at home. It makes a difference.
And speaking of my brother kai, his birthday is coming up on June 11th so be sure to pester him with well wishes for growing old. Yes, I know I'm older than him, but I've come to terms with my old age. I'm not sure he's done that for himself yet. Besides, sometimes I think he's lonely playing Call of Duty 4 by himself. We all keep talking about going back to that game. Maybe someday we'll do it and join ya, kai.
And don't worry about this being my only post for the week. I've got another idea rattling around in by brain that I'd like to spill out, once it's more fully framed. And kai and Genghis Khan are to blame if you don't like it.
And speaking of my brother kai, his birthday is coming up on June 11th so be sure to pester him with well wishes for growing old. Yes, I know I'm older than him, but I've come to terms with my old age. I'm not sure he's done that for himself yet. Besides, sometimes I think he's lonely playing Call of Duty 4 by himself. We all keep talking about going back to that game. Maybe someday we'll do it and join ya, kai.
And don't worry about this being my only post for the week. I've got another idea rattling around in by brain that I'd like to spill out, once it's more fully framed. And kai and Genghis Khan are to blame if you don't like it.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
New Avatar coming soon!
Keep an eye on my Avatar if you want a clue as to what the next poll is going to be. For the last couple of polls I've created an Avatar to match. A Little Sister for the Big Daddy poll, a Librarian for the reading poll, and a hooker for the sex poll. What will I come up with next? Wait and see.
Poll Results - Have you had sex in a video game?
Here's the latest poll results:
Well, unfortunately I couldn't vote in my own poll. I haven't figured out how to have sex yet. I'm not giving up (since one of my husband's status is "wants sex"). I'm determined, horny and pure evil now in Fable II since I picked up the Paradigm achievement the other night. (I killed a villager to get it. It was worth it.)
But speaking of sex, I think my friend metallicorphan needs to change his name to "horn dog" or something similar. He's had a lot more "experience" and he admitted it too. I totally forgot about the prostitute in Fallout 3. I've only recently met her (lovely lady) but that's as far in the game as I've gotten. And I haven't played it for awhile. Orphie came up with a bunch more games I didn't even know about.
I remember when "black coffee" came out and the uproar about that episode, which was hidden in the game. Yet, there doesn't seem to be the same out roar for Fable II, Fallout 3 and other games with sex in them. Are we getting to the point where, as a society, we are more open to sex? Will Netflicks on Xbox Live now start distributing porn? If so I don't think the PS3 has a chance. Microsoft is going to have to build a larger hard drive. And if that happens, I know a few guys I might never play a game with again. I just might have more than one "horn dog" show up on my friend's list.
Have you had sex in a video game?
"black coffee" was HOT! (GTA) = 2 votes
I hired a hooker in Bloodstone (Fable II) = 1 vote
I've only slept with my spouse (Fable II) = 0 votes
I don't kiss and tell = 1 vote
Well, unfortunately I couldn't vote in my own poll. I haven't figured out how to have sex yet. I'm not giving up (since one of my husband's status is "wants sex"). I'm determined, horny and pure evil now in Fable II since I picked up the Paradigm achievement the other night. (I killed a villager to get it. It was worth it.)
But speaking of sex, I think my friend metallicorphan needs to change his name to "horn dog" or something similar. He's had a lot more "experience" and he admitted it too. I totally forgot about the prostitute in Fallout 3. I've only recently met her (lovely lady) but that's as far in the game as I've gotten. And I haven't played it for awhile. Orphie came up with a bunch more games I didn't even know about.
I remember when "black coffee" came out and the uproar about that episode, which was hidden in the game. Yet, there doesn't seem to be the same out roar for Fable II, Fallout 3 and other games with sex in them. Are we getting to the point where, as a society, we are more open to sex? Will Netflicks on Xbox Live now start distributing porn? If so I don't think the PS3 has a chance. Microsoft is going to have to build a larger hard drive. And if that happens, I know a few guys I might never play a game with again. I just might have more than one "horn dog" show up on my friend's list.
Friday, May 15, 2009
New Poll - Have you had sex in a video game?
Here's my latest poll:
Vote in the poll and then let me know what you think in my comments. We don't need to know all the dirty details . . . save that for your letter to Playboy.
Have you had sex in a video game?
"black coffee" was HOT! (GTA)
I hired a hooker in Bloodstone (Fable II)
I've only slept with my spouse (Fable II)
I don't kiss and tell
Vote in the poll and then let me know what you think in my comments. We don't need to know all the dirty details . . . save that for your letter to Playboy.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Poll Results - Read a book?
Here's the latest poll results:
Okay one of you admitted voting for the last one a couple of times. I wish all those "What's a book?" votes were mistakes or someone just goofing around. Not only are you messing with the integrity of my polls but you're bumming me out if that's how you really feel.
Personally, I read about 12-24 books a year. Last year I didn't read that many but then I was spending my time trying to buy a house from April 'till October when I finally closed the deal. I even keep a log and 3x5 cards on all the books I read. It's a habit I picked up in college when I had to do it for a class. I had to read 50 books in that semester. Luckily they were suppose to be books that kids in Junior or Senior High would read. It was daunting at first, but once you started to realize what books they liked and how short they usually were they ended up being fast reads. Of course, they were also filled with teenage angst and drama and the writing was usually pretty sappy. You just had to cringe and get through it. I think I ended up reading 52 books for that class.
Dain Bramage was never a reader. He looked at books as a pile of hundreds of little paper cuts waiting to strike at you. I turned him around. I asked him to read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. When he wouldn't comply I gave him the book for his birthday (or maybe Christmas) with a large gift card to Game Stop to use as a bookmark. I told him he couldn't cash the card in until he read the book. I didn't think he would stick to that but he did. And he loved the book. I think it took me two years to convince him to read the first Harry Potter book but he's been hooked ever since.
He's read the "Otherland" series by Tad Williams, "The Homecoming" series and the "Ender's Shadow" series by Orson Scott Card. He also picked up the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe series all on his own. (I'm so proud.) I then recommended the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson. The last book in that series just came out last year in hardback and should be coming out this summer in paperback.
The first book in the series is called Mistborn: The Final Empire. It's kind of strange to have "final" in the title when it's the first book in the series. But it's a great series. The magic system in the book is incredible. Every time I've read the books I can't help but think "that would make a GREAT video game". Usually you have books made into movies. I can see that happening with this series. But it's the possibilities with the magic system that would make it a great video game, even an MMO video game.
People are able to 'perform' magic by first ingesting metal shavings and then burning them. But not all people can do this. If you can only burn one metal, like tin which enhances the senses, you're called a Misting. If, on the other hand, you're one of the few people who can burn ALL the different types of metal you're called a Mistborn. You can burn the metal to 'push' yourself off of anything metal, or burn another metal to 'pull' yourself towards a metal surfaces. You could burn another metal to see briefly into the future, which comes in handy when you're locked in a battle with someone. There's metals to soothe other peoples emotions . . . or to riot them up. If you're Mistborn and can burn them all it's wonderful. If you're a Misting you can be a specialist. Think of trying to fight someone while you (or them) are flying through the air bouncing off of metal spires or door hinges.
I've meet Brandon Sanderson many times at conventions. I even interviewed him for a podcast for a writing website I'm a moderator on. He's a great guy and he tells a great story (and he's finishing the Wheel of Time series for the late Robert Jordan). If they can make novels into movies then turn those movies back into "novelizations" they can certainly make this series into a video game. Maybe it could turn into something like the Expanded Universe of Star Wars. Except this time it starts with a book. And so should you. Pick it up and read it.
When was the last time you read a book?
Within the last month = 3 votes
Within the last 3 months = 0 votes
Within the last 6 months = 0 votes
Within the last year = 2 votes
What's a book? = 4 votes
Okay one of you admitted voting for the last one a couple of times. I wish all those "What's a book?" votes were mistakes or someone just goofing around. Not only are you messing with the integrity of my polls but you're bumming me out if that's how you really feel.
Personally, I read about 12-24 books a year. Last year I didn't read that many but then I was spending my time trying to buy a house from April 'till October when I finally closed the deal. I even keep a log and 3x5 cards on all the books I read. It's a habit I picked up in college when I had to do it for a class. I had to read 50 books in that semester. Luckily they were suppose to be books that kids in Junior or Senior High would read. It was daunting at first, but once you started to realize what books they liked and how short they usually were they ended up being fast reads. Of course, they were also filled with teenage angst and drama and the writing was usually pretty sappy. You just had to cringe and get through it. I think I ended up reading 52 books for that class.
Dain Bramage was never a reader. He looked at books as a pile of hundreds of little paper cuts waiting to strike at you. I turned him around. I asked him to read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. When he wouldn't comply I gave him the book for his birthday (or maybe Christmas) with a large gift card to Game Stop to use as a bookmark. I told him he couldn't cash the card in until he read the book. I didn't think he would stick to that but he did. And he loved the book. I think it took me two years to convince him to read the first Harry Potter book but he's been hooked ever since.
He's read the "Otherland" series by Tad Williams, "The Homecoming" series and the "Ender's Shadow" series by Orson Scott Card. He also picked up the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe series all on his own. (I'm so proud.) I then recommended the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson. The last book in that series just came out last year in hardback and should be coming out this summer in paperback.
The first book in the series is called Mistborn: The Final Empire. It's kind of strange to have "final" in the title when it's the first book in the series. But it's a great series. The magic system in the book is incredible. Every time I've read the books I can't help but think "that would make a GREAT video game". Usually you have books made into movies. I can see that happening with this series. But it's the possibilities with the magic system that would make it a great video game, even an MMO video game.
People are able to 'perform' magic by first ingesting metal shavings and then burning them. But not all people can do this. If you can only burn one metal, like tin which enhances the senses, you're called a Misting. If, on the other hand, you're one of the few people who can burn ALL the different types of metal you're called a Mistborn. You can burn the metal to 'push' yourself off of anything metal, or burn another metal to 'pull' yourself towards a metal surfaces. You could burn another metal to see briefly into the future, which comes in handy when you're locked in a battle with someone. There's metals to soothe other peoples emotions . . . or to riot them up. If you're Mistborn and can burn them all it's wonderful. If you're a Misting you can be a specialist. Think of trying to fight someone while you (or them) are flying through the air bouncing off of metal spires or door hinges.
I've meet Brandon Sanderson many times at conventions. I even interviewed him for a podcast for a writing website I'm a moderator on. He's a great guy and he tells a great story (and he's finishing the Wheel of Time series for the late Robert Jordan). If they can make novels into movies then turn those movies back into "novelizations" they can certainly make this series into a video game. Maybe it could turn into something like the Expanded Universe of Star Wars. Except this time it starts with a book. And so should you. Pick it up and read it.
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