Colony Wars: there's a bug in the system! Plus more fashions and fantazzies

The results of this Sunday's Colony Wars session.

Congratulations to Dominion, Fenrir, Vradical, Anonymous, Orb and CARNAGE factions on acquiring / defending their colonies!

[Apologies to Orb faction! Sorry I forgot to include you...there are no excuses, mea maxima culpa *deep bow*]

***

During the CW session, a few members of some factions PM'ed me with a complaint about the "Declaration of War" feature. Apparently this week the mechanic that allows factions to go into combat against each other had some kind of trouble or another.

Since that mechanic is more or less integral to the entire Colony Wars experience, I wonder what IAH is going to do about it?

Are we going to get a statement or some kind of ruling from them on this one, do you think?

***

Another bit of fun with my main Granado Espada team:



Family status at present:

Members: Aurana, First Aid / Fortitudo scout [both stances maxed]; Chimal, The Illusionist wizard; Tuon, Sabre Guard fighter.
Levels: 56 / 56 / 56
Costumes: Aurana is wearing an Original Scout costume; Chimal is wearing only her Justocorps soft armor; Tuon is wearing a School Uniform costume.

Makes for something quite unique to see, doesn't it? ^^

***

WTS > Recipe for Elite Chassepot [Grace Bernelli exclusive; Level 52]. PM me for offers on Cervantes server.

Birthday team pics!

The girls on Cervantes pose for me, and make jokes at my expense, on my 25th birthday.


Let's get the popcorn and wait for her quarter-life crisis~!


[in sarcastic voices]As we go on, we remember, all the time we spent together....

[Not really a fan of Vitamin C, hurr.]

More pics later, if I can get them.

*goes back to scarfing Cheetos and drinking shandy*

[CONTEST] RNPCs Are Love - we have a WINNER!

Congratulations to the winner of the Divine Angel Wings: THORAINE!

I'll be emailing the code to you in a few minutes so please watch your inbox!

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in this contest and I hope you'll all come back for the next one!

Quick update while I wait to draw the contest winners

...and also to say that yes, it's my birthday tomorrow. If you read DeSanggria's latest post you would know that already.

And, thanks to Arcleaumont - not only does his latest post show off his elementalist in her School Uniform, but it was also he who reminded me that I should probably purchase my own School Uniform costume for one of my girls.

I took the fighter costume on his advice and here's what it looks like on my Tuon:


High-Guard Tuon, after classes at Fighter School.

OMG she looks HAWT!

After a few moments of incoherent gushing and thanks at Arc he promptly asked for a photoshoot of my fighter and his elementalist - here's the best shot we got:


School friends Tuon NineMoons and Amelina Arcleaumont.

Also in this picture are two members of the Oraif family, friends of Arc's from CARNAGE faction.

***

Now if you'll excuse me - I'm going to stare at my fighter some more ^^

[CONTEST] Running tally of the RNPCs Are Love entries

Share the love for your favorite RNPCs! Go read these entries and, should you find yourself so inspired, please write up your own entries and join the blog contest!

Who knows, you might soon be the proud owner of a pair of Divine Angel Wings! Remember, it's a non-tradeable and non-droppable item that grants the character who wears it bonuses of +5% to Movement Speed and +5% to Attack Speed. You can't get this item anywhere else but from the community-based contests, so what are you waiting for?

Entries so far include:
Thoraine's comment on Emilia the Sage, Comment #1 at the original contest announcement
Gyl of Granadosource's comment on Andre Janzur, Comment #6 at the original contest announcement
Craeon of Granado Espada: Not Merely A Hobby. More Of A Passion's entry on Grace Bernelli, My Online Goddess: GRACE BERNELLI
Fiksdotter of Granado Espada: Fiksdotter's Box's screenshot-comics on Claude Baudez, Fiksdotter's love for Claude
Sinborn/Futanari of Sinborn.everything's entry on Catherine of Strength, RNPCs Are Love - Catherine of Strength
Jadoel's comment on Catherine the Summoner, Comment #12 at the original contest announcement
ellipsis's comment on Andre Janzur, Comment #14 at the original contest announcement
PaNeRaI's comment on Grace Bernelli, Comment #1 in this roundup entry

***

The contest is still open so please send in your entries! The contest closes at midnight tonight Singapore time! This is your last chance to send in your entries!

I'll be announcing the winner of the Divine Angel Wings tomorrow!

CONTEST is CLOSED! See above for the winner!

Starting to think I shouldn't reveal my nationality any more....

The following post has elements of indignation, irony, sarcasm, and frustration.

Granado Espada, Cervantes server, anywhere from 2am-onwards. It is past midnight in the Philippines and the lonely roosters warm up their crows in order to start waking people up for school and work.

If you're still awake, then you're likely to be quietly leveling somewhere, hoping to get a chance at some good drops and some serious EXP.

And then, the outrage begins to assault your eyes.

Server broadcasts full of capslock!of!rage and the word "ASA" scroll up on your user interface; people abuse the "@" in order to type out insults; too much Filipino appears on the broadcasts, and by God I'm not talking about polite language at all.

Certain members of certain factions in Cervantes are starting to take their toll on my nerves.

It's these people who make me sick, and violently apprehensive to reveal that I, too, am from the Philippines, out of fears that other people will lump me in with the tiny-minded griefers simply because of my nationality.

I could name names here, but let me just say it involves certain loud-mouthed players from a few all-Pinoy factions. They seem to spend an inordinate amount of time calling each other out with reams of [uncreative] insults, a never-ending game of the [dreary] dozens that you can almost set your clock by.

There's this guy who seems to be actively competing for the title of "biggest griefer" in all of Cervantes, and his nearest competition are actually the members of his own faction. They PK people left, right and center and then boast to the server of such claimed kills, taking even more pleasure out of deriding others.

Anyone who makes the mistake of responding to them on their own terms - i.e. in the same boorish language - is in turn targeted for repeated PK.

Anyone who makes the even larger mistake of winning - and then calling them out on losing - becomes the target of concentrated verbal abuse all over the server, often in the form of the above-mentioned server broadcasts.

Given it's 2,000 vis a pop, these guys apparently like to waste their money playing these silly little verbal games of one-upmanship, taunting each other all over the Cervantes airwaves, recycling the same old insults over and over again.

No one can even get past the childish words to craft gems of insult; I've never even seen anything that approaches, at least, the amusement afforded by the classic

I fart in your general direction! Your father was a hamster and your mother smelt of elderberries!

[gratuitous Monty Python and the Holy Grail reference]

Given this ignominious situation, I feel much like this,



wonder where the "Facepalm" pose is, and feel very reluctant to say I'm from the Philippines.

These guys went to One Esplanade hoping for fistfights with rival factions, for chrissakes.

I'm starting to think I should find a way to take out the left-side information display on my user interface, so that when I turn off floating text as well, I will never have to watch this inanity ever again.

***

Just a reminder to all: the RNPCs Are Love blog contest will continue until midnight tomorrow, 27 September, and I'll draw and announce the winner on Friday, 28 September.

To join the blog contest, simply comment about your most favorite RNPC in all of Granado Espada here: ♥♥RNPCs Are Love♥♥.

Join now and stand a chance to win a pair of Divine Angel Wings.

New article at the Game! blog: launch weekend recap

Granado Espada Launch Weekend Events: Roundup and Recap

Sorry about the Ran Online tag in the URL - I filed the story under several headings because I mentioned the other e-Games titles in the main article ^^

Please check out the article!

***

And speaking of articles for Game! Magazine: watch this space for an announcement concerning the November issue! [Big shout-out to Welling!]

Colony Wars update, fashions and fantazzies, and a reminder!

Congratulations to Dominion, CARNAGE, TheRepKnights, Anonymous, and Fenrir factions for acquiring / defending their colonies!

***



Just a bit of showing-off, with my main team all in Original-type costumes! [Spent an arm and a leg for those three costumes but I'm not complaining ^^]

Five levels to go and my wizard is going to achieve a fairly serious milestone, woo hoo~!

Must...grind...!

***

Please DO NOT forget to join my current blog contest, and stand a chance to win a pair of Divine Angel Wings!

♥♥RNPCs Are Love♥♥

Remember, deadline for submission of entries is on 27 September!

[CONTEST] NineMoons is giving away a pair of Divine Angel Wings!

Want to win a pair of Divine Angel Wings? Sure you do!

All you need to do is join this all new contest on my blog!

***

One of the most unique features of Granado Espada is that not only can you interact with many colorful and interesting NPCs - but you can also recruit many of them to join your adventuring family in the New World! And they even bring new stances, weapons, and fighting styles with them!

Therefore, RNPCs are love and we all know it!

♥♥RNPCs ARE LOVE♥♥

The rules for this contest are really, really simple. Just comment and tell me who your favorite RNPC is, and why.

Be creative! Write a very short story. Post a poem you wrote about that RNPC whom you love so much. Put up a link to your fan art. Show a screenshot that you created that features him/her. The possibilities are endless!

This contest will run until midnight [Singapore time] of 27 September 2007 - Thursday next week. I will draw one lucky winner from all of the entries, and announce on 28 September, Friday!

So what are you waiting for? Get ready to tell the world who your favorite RNPC is, and stand a chance to win a pair of Divine Angel Wings for a lucky member of your adventuring family!

***

Got blogspotted again, this time for the first part of my coverage of the GE PH Commercial Launch events. Thanks to RCM Hrin for the wonderful prize!

[LAUNCH] The fifth post: NineMoons's shout-outs

The fifth in a series of posts documenting the Granado Espada launch events in the Philippines, taking place over the weekend of 15-16 September 2007.

Featuring smaller pictures for easier reading and navigation.

Previous posts:
Event Prep
Press Luncheon and Upcoming Patches
Liberty's Wrath Finals
GE at e-Games Evolution

Granado Espada is nothing without its community, and one of the major reasons why I covered the events was so that I could finally get to interact with many of the guys and gals whom I've met in-game or through their blogs!

Here are some massive shout-outs, and for those with blogs, a lot of link love!


Welling of AdeptasFraternas faction [thanks to Feitan at the forums for the correction], and the lovable boys from PasawayProphecy faction, all from Caravaggio server. Welling is one of my fellow GE bloggers and a friend of mine; he competed along with Team Cainta during the PvP tourney. The PP boys saved me a place in the registration line - maraming salamat, guys!


Alex Crosse and Nate of Casa Reclusion, in the flesh!


Sigrid and Stiles!

We - Crosse, Nate, Sigrid, Stiles, and me - all had fun with the many trivia questions thrown around during the 15 September Day Raid.


The mighty Arcleaumont, the linchpin of Team Cebu and a fellow blogger too!


From Anonymous faction in Cervantes, come all the way from Baguio to help cheer on their faction-mates during the tourney finals: Esteveste, Anima, and Prettylicious [the girl]!


DeSanggria, Ligaya [known in-game as Lucido], and NineMoons, at the close of the Day Raid! The two girls went on to party hard at the Night Raid!


Lord Darrick of Casa Reclusion, at the e-Games Evolution roadshow!


The Casa Reclusion boys sandwich NineMoons, with prizes in hand!

I hope to see everyone again at the next Granado Espada event, and the next, and the next....~!

***

This closes the coverage of the launch events for Granado Espada in the Philippines. Hope you enjoyed reading about it, as much as I did covering the events and blogging about them afterwards!

[LAUNCH] The fourth post: 16 September, SM North Edsa the Block - e-Games Evolution

The fourth in a series of posts documenting the Granado Espada launch events in the Philippines, taking place over the weekend of 15-16 September 2007.

Featuring smaller pictures for easier reading and navigation.

Previous posts:
Event Prep
Press Luncheon and Upcoming Patches
Liberty's Wrath Finals

Next post:
NineMoons's Shout-Outs

The day after the Granado Espada Commercial Launch Day/Night Raids at One Esplanade was marked by yet another GE-related feast: the kickoff program for the IP e-Games Evolution series of roadshows. This series of activities will take the redesigned e-Games logo and the consolidated roster of MMOs all over the country, from schools to malls to internet cafes.

By consolidated I mean that e-Games is now promoting Granado Espada along its other games: Ran Online, O2 Jam, Dance Battle Audition, Supreme Destiny, Battle Position, and Dreamville. Previously, GE was being promoted by e-Games's sister company IP-Interactive; now, one company promotes all of these popular games. And the roadshow was designed to call attention to that very fact.

I got to the venue, the Block at SM North Edsa, at around noon and saw that the preparations for the day's event were nearly complete. pCM Veya, fresh from the Night Raid and the previous day's activities, was helping set up the GE booth. She also gave a short welcoming message during the program.


pCM Veya and her sunglasses at the GE booth.

The GE booth, located directly at the entrance of the activity area, boasted eight PCs for use during the 3v3 PvP tournament and to help new users register within the game. Two standees flanked the booth opening:


The return of the hard-working male musketeer.


A new female elementalist standee, this one dressed in the Elementalist robes and already in battle.


The GE sign at the back of the booth, flanked by two columns.


The rules for the 3v3 PvP mini-tourney, on a banner next to the male musketeer.

Two GE-related cosplayers showed up at this event:


The winner of the GE cosplay at the Day Raid, the female elementalist.


Me and the model wearing a Le Blanc costume. [Thanks to Ms. Ivee for the correction!]

Once again, e-Games President and COO Steve Tsao made the opening remarks of the event.

I also got a quick interview with him at the venue. He said that the redesigned logo, arrived at after much trial and error and consultation with the constituent player communities, heralded a relaunch of the company to include celebrated titles such as Granado Espada and upcoming releases under its aegis. He emphasized that the free-to-play games would remain free-to-play forever, and that they would be bringing in more free-to-play games, as well as games with new business models, to cater to more segments of the gaming public.

Next month, he promised that there would be major statements regarding the acquisition/release of new game titles. Now there's something to look forward to!


Mr. Tsao gets interviewed by Hero TV.

GE Product Manager Ivee Feria reprised her Powerpoint presentation from the 15 September press launch, and even gave away some really cool prizes during the trivia questions: the coveted door hangers and postcards, and more pairs of Divine Angel Wings.


Ms. Feria during her presentation.

It seemed like a lot of fun was had by all at this kickoff event. And since it's a roadshow, expect these booths and activities, and a lot more fun, as they make their way around the country!

***

Final post: last but not the least, new friends and introductions~!

To view all the pictures from the event, please click on this Photobucket album: Granado Espada launches.

[LAUNCH] The third post: 15 September, One Esplanade - Liberty's Wrath finals

The third in a series of posts documenting the Granado Espada launch events in the Philippines, taking place over the weekend of 15-16 September 2007.

Featuring smaller pictures for easier reading and navigation.

Previous posts:
Event Prep
Press Luncheon and Upcoming Patches

Next posts:
GE at e-Games Evolution
NineMoons's Shout-Outs

One of the showcase events of the Day Raid of the Granado Espada Commercial Launch in the Philippines was the National Finals of the Liberty's Wrath 5v5 PvP Tournament. Qualifying tourneys were held in the different regions of the country in the weeks leading up to the launch, and the winners were to compete against each other in the finals during the launch itself.

The eight winning teams represented the following regions:
- National Capital Region [teams NCR-1 and NCR-2]
- Northern Luzon [Baguio]
- Central Luzon [Bulacan]
- Southern Luzon [Cainta]
- Visayas [Cebu]
- Northern Mindanao [Cagayan de Oro]
- Southern Mindanao [Davao]

The rules of the finals were the same as in the qualifiers except one:
- all matches 5v5
- players used pre-made accounts on the GE test server, containing the five stock characters and Emilia the Sage, all at Lv. 100 + Veteran status
- weapons and armor were provided
- no item trading or exchange between players
- no unsportsmanlike conduct, uncivil behavior, or rudeness
- the different mechanic involved potions and other consumables: many of the standard consumable items were already provided in the test server accounts, such as HP and SP potions, buff potions, resurrection potions, orbs, and bullets

Fantastic prizes were up for grabs to the 3rd placer, runner-up, and national champion:
3rd Place - 1 Chrysalis Box, 1 pair Divine Angel Wings for each member
2nd Place - 1 Pioneer's Kit Strategy Pack [15 days], 1 pair Divine Angel Wings for each member
1st Place - 1 Pioneer's Kit Strategy Pack [30 days], 10 Ring Boxes, 1 School Uniform Look costume of choice, 1 pair Divine Angel Wings, merchandise from sponsors for each member

All matches during the event were held as best-of-three rounds; on-site coordinators oversaw the teams and enforced the rules of the finals.

Here's how the event played out.

The Eliminations pitted the following teams against each other, in the following order. Winners are indicated in italics:
NCR-2 vs Cainta
Cagayan de Oro vs Cebu
Bulacan vs Davao
NCR-1 vs Baguio

The four winning teams immediately went to the Semifinals:
Cainta vs Cebu
Davao vs Baguio

The Cebu and Baguio teams made way for the 3rd Place match:
Cainta vs Davao

And finally, the event was capped by the Championship match:
Baguio vs Cebu


3rd Place - Team Davao [Carracci: Cabagnaughty, CaBankai, Cabagnoot, Cabagnut, CabagnotA]
Yes, there seemed to be a theme in the members' names.


2nd Place - Team Baguio [Cervantes: HeavensFence, DeathGod, Saints, oGTo, DeathAngels]
They came armed with a banner stating that they were all proud members of Anonymous faction.


1st Place - Team Cebu [Cervantes: Arcleaumont; Pachelbel: Gakitsu, Deathwolf, Encabo, Knightfall]
The only "mixed" team, and the team that went through the finals with a nearly unblemished record. They lost only one round, to Team Baguio during the Championship match.

Congratulations to all the winners!

***

Next post: details of the 16 September e-Games Evolution Roadshow at the Block, SM North Edsa, with special GE features~!

To view all the pictures from the event, please click on this Photobucket album: Granado Espada launches.

[LAUNCH] The second post: 15 September, Mall of Asia - press luncheon and upcoming patches

The second in a series of posts documenting the Granado Espada launch events in the Philippines, taking place over the weekend of 15-16 September 2007.

Featuring smaller pictures for easier reading and navigation.

Previous post:
Event Prep

Next posts:
Liberty's Wrath Finals
GE at e-Games Evolution
NineMoons's Shout-Outs


In the previous entry I talked about some of the event preparations for the Granado Espada Commercial Launch [Day and Night Raids] at One Esplanade, and featured some of the cosplayers, factions, and decorations.

Now I'm going to talk about the special luncheon hosted by IP e-Games on the same morning, around 12nn. This was for members of the press, including the gaming press, some of the mainstream media such as TV and newspapers, and especially for the online journalists. It was held in the function rooms of Highlands Chinese Palace, an upscale Chinese restaurant in the south wing of the mall.

My own badge at the press luncheon identified me as "GE Blogger/Writer"; the only person so designated.

The e-Games people came out in full force for the launch of their first triple-A title in the Philippines: President and COO Steve Tsao, VP for Marketing Ed Pasion, Corporate Communications head Sheila Rada, GE Product Manager Ivee Feria, and GE Media head Emir Samonte.

The special guests were Mr. Victor Ngo of Cyberworld Corporation in Vietnam, the GE licensee for that country; and three officials from IAH Games in Singapore: Deputy CEO David Ng, Marketing Manager [Marketing & Strategy] Wendy Lim, and Assistant Director for Product Management Jojo Angeles.


From left to right: Mr. Ngo, Mr. Tsao [standing, with mic] and Mr. Ng.

After their opening remarks came a special video presentation: a message from Granado Espada's creator, Kim Hakkyu. In the video he said he was sorry that he could not come to the launch events because of his tight schedule. He also said that he and his group would continue working to create better content for the game.


The subtitle reads: I want thank [sic] all of you again for supporting Granado Espada and giving us so much love.

After the video, Ms. Feria gave a Powerpoint presentation detailing not only what Granado Espada is and what the Philippine community has been up to, but also describing the current patch, v.2.1.18, Forgotten Territories.

Included in this portion of the talk were the Premium Item Shop, the new RNPC Irawan, new dungeons and monsters, the Mercenary Contract, and the Baron-related items.

There was also a brief flash on the Republicans/Royalists conflict, including the Party Elections. The slide that particularly caught my eye was the one that showed the costumes now available to the political party leaders. The Royalist Duke/Duchess can wear the Shield of Peace on his/her back; while the Republican President can wear the Sword of Freedom.

***

Ms. Feria's presentation also contained sneak peeks at the next two patches for GE: Tierra de Muertos and the much-awaited Tropical Island.

Tierra de Muertos ["land of the dead"] features:
- The new RNPCs Cut Lyndon and Eduardo Hingis, who both have the "Summon Grim Reaper" skill.
- A functional necklace, which packs an HP increase bonus.
- The ability to manufacture Lv. 92 Elite items.

Tropical Island features:
- Swimsuits and shades collections. The slide that showed the five stock classes wearing swimsuits brought a chorus of titters from the audience.
- The next-level status after Veteran: Expert status, again accompanied by the extra stat point which can be assigned to a chosen stat.
- Mini-games of chance and 15 new raid dungeons.
- The new RNPCs Selva Norte [rapier], Garcia Hingis [rapier], and Soso [Chapter of Frost/Ice].

***

Other upcoming features hinted at during the event: in-game anti-bot reporting system; pets; and weapon swapping/hotkeys.

***

Next post: a comprehensive wrap-up of the Liberty's Wrath National PvP Tournament~!

To view all pictures from the event, please click on this Photobucket album: Granado Espada launches.

[LAUNCH] The first post: 15 September, One Esplanade - event prep

The first in a series of posts documenting the Granado Espada launch events in the Philippines, taking place over the weekend of 15-16 September 2007.

Featuring smaller pictures for easier reading and navigation.

Next posts:
Press Luncheon and Upcoming Patches
Liberty's Wrath Finals
GE at e-Games Evolution
NineMoons's Shout-Outs




That's the sign on the wall of the building known as One Esplanade, the venue for the 15 September Commercial Launch Party of Granado Espada in the Philippines.

I was at the venue by 8am, the better to fall in line for the Divine Angel Wings that were to be given out to the first 100 registrants; and also to document the preparations being made for the Day Raid and Night Raid.

The first thing that caught my eyes at the venue were five full-size, beautiful standees depicting the five stock character classes of GE:


The male musketeer and his rifle.


The male fighter and his rapier.


The female wizard and her escort the male fighter.


The female scout and her potion at the ready.


The female fire elementalist. [Pay special attention to this standee; you might see it again soon.]

The event registration was supposed to begin at 2pm, but as early as 8:30am there were already a few people hanging around and watching the event staff and e-Games people set up.

As I understood it later, the Day Event was to take place outside, on the roofed pavilion; while the Night Raid was to be inside One Esplanade itself, which throughout the day was being set up for a first-class dance party.

Crowd pictures:


That's Welling in the red jacket and shades, surrounded by friends from PasawayProphecy faction from Caravaggio server.








A few members of Pinoy-AllStars faction from Pachelbel server. That banner shows their support and pride for their faction, which sent a team to the National Finals.

Also early at the venue were the cosplay marshals sent by Cosplay.ph, and with them came this cute little girl, cosplaying none other than Catherine the Summoner!


Look at those dolls! A Helena and a Sasha in this picture, as well as a Lloyd that followed later!

Applause from the appreciative crowd followed the successive appearances of the next GE-related cosplayers:


Two of the models in scout costumes.


A girl in a fire elementalist robe, next to the elementalist standee. She carried three sets of bracelets on her wrists: red, for fire; blue, for ice; and bronze, for lightning.


My and DeSanggria's friend Ligaya, cosplaying Brunie Etienne.


And the e-Games personnel were not to be outdone - here are DeSanggria herself as Idge Imbrulia [note the sword!], and pCM Veya as Emilia the Sage!

Idge/DeSanggria and Brunie/Ligaya were kind enough to let me borrow their weapons for pictures:


Me and Idge's greatsword.


Me and Brunie's twin pistols.

Preparations ran on until around 4pm, even with the crowd of players already milling around the venue.

***

Next post: my detour to the Mall of Asia for the special press luncheon, along with pictures of the special guests~!

To view all the pictures from the event, please click on this Photobucket album: Granado Espada launches.