Thanks to everyone who's wished that I get well soon.
I should be back up, about, and blogging by next week.
Hopefully, you'll all come back and start reading my posts again ^_^
My thanks to everyone in seaGE, the people on the forums, and the blog readers.
BRB ^^
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
ON HIATUS
[Look, rare use of the ALL CAPS post title!]
So, yeah, unfortunately I've come down with the chicken pox. So no Granado Espada for now, and most certainly no new posts for now. I'll go back to updating the blog once I'm not so contagious any more.
Damn I feel worse now. Looks like the pox is part of the New World too.
So, yeah, unfortunately I've come down with the chicken pox. So no Granado Espada for now, and most certainly no new posts for now. I'll go back to updating the blog once I'm not so contagious any more.
Damn I feel worse now. Looks like the pox is part of the New World too.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
[Fanfic] Granado Espada Third Civilization: A letter from the haunted town
[This fanfic was inspired by the videos of Granado Espada Third Civilization. There are some images and videos in this recent blog post.]
This letter was found in a building overlooking both the plaza of the Abandoned Settlement and the Temple complex just outside the town gates.
There were bloodstains on the floor of the room where the letter was found, and an overturned ink bottle fanned out its dark contents in a corner, as if the bottle had been flung there.
No trace remained of the unknown pioneer who wrote the letter.
***
Dear Mother,
My memories of home have long faded. All I can remember now is your face. I cannot even remember when it was that I first came to this settlement. All I can remember now is that it took us a week to sail from the Base Camp in Ustiur to arrive here.
I vaguely remember finding out the name of this town - but I can no longer remember the name.
The few of us still left all have expressions of great confusion on our faces. Every day it gets harder to remember who we are. Every day it gets harder to remember that we cannot go into the temples. Every day it gets harder to remember that we must fight the monsters that besiege the town from the temples.
Every day the temples call to us, and the song becomes more and more irresistible by the day.
Mother, the lines on the ground are coming to life.
Mother, please remember me, even when I cannot any longer remember you.
***
The pioneer who wrote this letter left no signature or trace except, it is presumed, the blood in the room where this letter was found.
This letter was found in a building overlooking both the plaza of the Abandoned Settlement and the Temple complex just outside the town gates.
There were bloodstains on the floor of the room where the letter was found, and an overturned ink bottle fanned out its dark contents in a corner, as if the bottle had been flung there.
No trace remained of the unknown pioneer who wrote the letter.
***
Dear Mother,
My memories of home have long faded. All I can remember now is your face. I cannot even remember when it was that I first came to this settlement. All I can remember now is that it took us a week to sail from the Base Camp in Ustiur to arrive here.
I vaguely remember finding out the name of this town - but I can no longer remember the name.
The few of us still left all have expressions of great confusion on our faces. Every day it gets harder to remember who we are. Every day it gets harder to remember that we cannot go into the temples. Every day it gets harder to remember that we must fight the monsters that besiege the town from the temples.
Every day the temples call to us, and the song becomes more and more irresistible by the day.
Mother, the lines on the ground are coming to life.
Mother, please remember me, even when I cannot any longer remember you.
***
The pioneer who wrote this letter left no signature or trace except, it is presumed, the blood in the room where this letter was found.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Granado Espada Version 3.0 Madness~! [Media mash-up ahoy!]
With this thread in the forums leading the charge, lots of people are now beginning to talk about Version 3.0 of Granado Espada, tentatively labeled Third Civilization by RCM Hrin [and IMC, duh~ ^^] in this blog post.
[That name for the update reminds me of playing my way through Sid Meier's Civilization IV....]
Without further ado, feast your eyes on these pieces of the Third Civilization. This is what we've got to look forward to....
A documentary-type short film in which Kim Hakkyu and the folks at IMC's Research and Development discuss Third Civilization and what wonders it holds.
[Um, yeah, it's in Korean. Translations are quite welcome!]
An eerie, abandoned town. Mayan or Incan-type temples and architecture. Designs on the terrain and monster designs that look like they might be close kin of the Nazca Lines in Peru, South America. A third currency, called the Feso. Cute pets, also under MCC! Socketing RNPC Clare in action!
DJ3 [Comique Family] posts concept art of the new armors and pets in posts 65 and 69. The pictures are originally from the doratomo.jp GE fan site.
Concept art for new armors for the stock characters.
The male wizard and musketeer are YUMMY, and even the male elementalist actually gets to wear something that SUITS him! The male scout seems to be getting even more daring, and hey, why is the male fighter so very covered up?
As for the ladies, I LOVE the fighter, the musketeer and the wizard's costumes!
EDITED TO ADD: From Fiksdotter's own blog post about Third Civilization comes a short video showing actual renders of some of the hot armor in the art above. Muchas gracias, boss.
Still in Korean, but you'll be too busy looking at the renders ^^
And new in Third Civilization: PETS!
Grabber Lady - a female bunny-type pet.
Grabber - apparently the male counterpart of Grabber Lady.
Pixy, a scarecrow-type pet.
From the video and these concept art designs, it looks like the Grabber and the Grabber Lady could be looter-type pets, while Pixy looks like it might be capable of either buffing teammates, or de-buffing enemies, or even both.
I can't wait for this!
[That name for the update reminds me of playing my way through Sid Meier's Civilization IV....]
Without further ado, feast your eyes on these pieces of the Third Civilization. This is what we've got to look forward to....
A documentary-type short film in which Kim Hakkyu and the folks at IMC's Research and Development discuss Third Civilization and what wonders it holds.
[Um, yeah, it's in Korean. Translations are quite welcome!]
An eerie, abandoned town. Mayan or Incan-type temples and architecture. Designs on the terrain and monster designs that look like they might be close kin of the Nazca Lines in Peru, South America. A third currency, called the Feso. Cute pets, also under MCC! Socketing RNPC Clare in action!
DJ3 [Comique Family] posts concept art of the new armors and pets in posts 65 and 69. The pictures are originally from the doratomo.jp GE fan site.
Concept art for new armors for the stock characters.
The male wizard and musketeer are YUMMY, and even the male elementalist actually gets to wear something that SUITS him! The male scout seems to be getting even more daring, and hey, why is the male fighter so very covered up?
As for the ladies, I LOVE the fighter, the musketeer and the wizard's costumes!
EDITED TO ADD: From Fiksdotter's own blog post about Third Civilization comes a short video showing actual renders of some of the hot armor in the art above. Muchas gracias, boss.
Still in Korean, but you'll be too busy looking at the renders ^^
And new in Third Civilization: PETS!
Grabber Lady - a female bunny-type pet.
Grabber - apparently the male counterpart of Grabber Lady.
Pixy, a scarecrow-type pet.
From the video and these concept art designs, it looks like the Grabber and the Grabber Lady could be looter-type pets, while Pixy looks like it might be capable of either buffing teammates, or de-buffing enemies, or even both.
I can't wait for this!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
RCM Hrin's photo mosaic - now it can be told ^^
Inspired by RCM Hrin's blog post about Dom1nation II.
***
A story from the week before Dom1nation II.
I'm not ashamed to admit that as soon as I heard a whiff that RCM Hrin would be gracing us with her presence once again during Dom1nation II, I got very, very excited - and so did my friends as soon as they heard the news as well.
So we decided to put together a gift for her, something to take back to her office with her as a token of appreciation from the GE PH bloggers.
We'd initially thought of sending her a boxful of mangoes, and realized, crap, how's that for letting her lug a kilo or two of fruit through customs and all that? We also thought of making her a soundtrack CD with the songs from all versions of Not Another Love Story, except, whoa, Singapore has stringent rules on stuff like that, right?
So we were all running out of ideas and then someone said photo mosaic.
And it was a BRILLIANT idea, and so we moved to put it quickly into action. I volunteered to do all the work of putting it together: collecting all the photos, finding someone to do the mosaic for us, having the mosaic made, buying the frame, wrapping the gift, et cetera.
I'm sure that Hrin was pretty mystified when I suddenly asked her for a nice picture of her, and got this for a reply. This is pretty familiar to you as her forums avatar.
We planned to use our pictures as the mosaic tiles to create this photo mosaic image.
I'd say we succeeded, wouldn't you?
So happy you liked the gift, Hrin ^^ And thank you so much for all the praise you heaped upon us. We're very grateful.
***
A story from the week before Dom1nation II.
I'm not ashamed to admit that as soon as I heard a whiff that RCM Hrin would be gracing us with her presence once again during Dom1nation II, I got very, very excited - and so did my friends as soon as they heard the news as well.
So we decided to put together a gift for her, something to take back to her office with her as a token of appreciation from the GE PH bloggers.
We'd initially thought of sending her a boxful of mangoes, and realized, crap, how's that for letting her lug a kilo or two of fruit through customs and all that? We also thought of making her a soundtrack CD with the songs from all versions of Not Another Love Story, except, whoa, Singapore has stringent rules on stuff like that, right?
So we were all running out of ideas and then someone said photo mosaic.
And it was a BRILLIANT idea, and so we moved to put it quickly into action. I volunteered to do all the work of putting it together: collecting all the photos, finding someone to do the mosaic for us, having the mosaic made, buying the frame, wrapping the gift, et cetera.
I'm sure that Hrin was pretty mystified when I suddenly asked her for a nice picture of her, and got this for a reply. This is pretty familiar to you as her forums avatar.
We planned to use our pictures as the mosaic tiles to create this photo mosaic image.
I'd say we succeeded, wouldn't you?
So happy you liked the gift, Hrin ^^ And thank you so much for all the praise you heaped upon us. We're very grateful.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Why not a Granado Espada one?
Everyone on the Internet has done a version of this video for their favorite show! And all they needed was some applicable fan art!
Why can't we have Grace Bernelli and Andre Janzur doing this dance?
[Or a female elementalist and a male wizard? Or Claude Baudez and Grandice? Or Jack, Diego, AND Angie? Or Feng Ling? ... This list could go on and on.]
...Before anyone challenges me: ask Fiksdotter, or Artaxerxes. They've seen me actually PERFORM the Caramelldansen.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Le Blanc for Wizard GET!
Still dreaming!
I really need to push the Carracci team; I hope I can make Vet soon.
I really need to push the Carracci team; I hope I can make Vet soon.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
[PICSPAM] Dinner with Hrin ^^
Some of us were lucky to have gotten together with sGE RCM Hrin last night for dinner and ice cr- excuse me, gelato - in Makati. Here are the proofs that we met with her last night!
This was, of course, the second time I had dinner with her ^^
This time, we were at Cafe Bola, again in Greenbelt 3. I guess we keep picking locations near that because we thought it was near to where she was having her meetings?
While waiting for dinner, Darrick Reclusion and Artaxerxes amused Hrin and our end of the table by attempting to slit each other's throats.
[Darrick later said he'd try Photoshopping in the Granado Espada UI and skill names!]
Artaxerxes, me, and Hrin.
Front row from left to right: Artaxerxes, Hrin, pCM Veya, and Fiksdotter. Back row from left to right: Darrick, me, and Nate Reclusion.
Darrick and I face off!
After dinner and cones of gelato for dessert, it was time for pictures with Hrin. So here goes!
Hrin and me.
Hrin and Fiksdotter.
Hrin and Stiles.
Hrin and Darrick.
Nate and Hrin.
Artaxerxes and Hrin.
We wished Hrin the time to go shopping before leaving on Thursday morning, and she quipped that she had been singing the Not Another Love Story: Ze Muzical! song Where are All the Shopping Malls!
We had a lot of fun talking although, of course, the night was too short to tell her everything we wanted to say.
Till next visit~!
Related articles:
Fiksdotter: Dinner with RCM Hrin Lah!
Reclusion: Unguarded Moments: We Dine in Hell!
Artaxerxes: The Unforgettable Dinner w/ IAH Staff
***
All photos are archived at this Photobucket album; alternatively, please click on any of the photos to go to the archive.
This was, of course, the second time I had dinner with her ^^
This time, we were at Cafe Bola, again in Greenbelt 3. I guess we keep picking locations near that because we thought it was near to where she was having her meetings?
While waiting for dinner, Darrick Reclusion and Artaxerxes amused Hrin and our end of the table by attempting to slit each other's throats.
[Darrick later said he'd try Photoshopping in the Granado Espada UI and skill names!]
Artaxerxes, me, and Hrin.
Front row from left to right: Artaxerxes, Hrin, pCM Veya, and Fiksdotter. Back row from left to right: Darrick, me, and Nate Reclusion.
Darrick and I face off!
After dinner and cones of gelato for dessert, it was time for pictures with Hrin. So here goes!
Hrin and me.
Hrin and Fiksdotter.
Hrin and Stiles.
Hrin and Darrick.
Nate and Hrin.
Artaxerxes and Hrin.
We wished Hrin the time to go shopping before leaving on Thursday morning, and she quipped that she had been singing the Not Another Love Story: Ze Muzical! song Where are All the Shopping Malls!
We had a lot of fun talking although, of course, the night was too short to tell her everything we wanted to say.
Till next visit~!
Related articles:
Fiksdotter: Dinner with RCM Hrin Lah!
Reclusion: Unguarded Moments: We Dine in Hell!
Artaxerxes: The Unforgettable Dinner w/ IAH Staff
***
All photos are archived at this Photobucket album; alternatively, please click on any of the photos to go to the archive.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
After Dom1nation II: swag and links ^^
I always wind up carrying stuff home from cons, and that's why I always carry a big backpack to events like those. Big floppy empty backpack in the morning, big HEAVY FULL backpack on the way home.
When I emptied my backpack after Dom1nation II, this is what fell out:
My very own, SEALED Granado Espada Limited Edition Signature Box [G-Points and Emilia the Sage intact]. This one is 9361 of 9999. Thanks to Ms. Sheila of IP e-Games, and to the Dominguez PR peeps ^^
My blog anniversary present from Hrin! It's one of the limited edition 2008 Granado Espada diaries, straight from South Korea ^^ Read more about it here.
I'd been looking for this jacket for literally a year and was more than happy to plunk down my hard-earned money to buy this pretty Granado Espada jacket for myself ^^ It looks quite nice on me.
I am also given to understand that the Granado Espada PH Community Heroes should be receiving permanent costumes as their in-game prizes for their heroism. I wonder how many each of us are entitled to, and how long before they're loaded into our accounts?
[I'm not even sure if the prizes and tokens from the Tribute to the Ladies have been distributed already!]
***
Other bloggers' links and coverage of Dom1nation II [to be updated as the blogs are]:
Fiksdotter: Post E-Games Domination~Dominated!
Mena's three-part series:
Part 1: The Morning Journey (and Woes)
Part 2: Dragon Rides, The Community, and a Quest!
Part 3: Awards, Secrets Revealed and a Dinner!
Artaxerxes: Domination II Fever!
pCM Veya: Aftermath: e-Games Domination II
Sigrid: E-Games Dom1nation: G.E. Aftermath!
Christus: Outcasts Dominates!!!
Reclusion: Domination II the D-DAY!
WyvernitE: E-games Domination II: The Next Level of Online Gaming
Blacksword: @ Domination II
VonRoulema: E-Games Domination II Review
Hahaziah: E-games Domination II at SMX~
stormseeks: E-games Domination II
RCM Hrin: The One About Philippines - Domination II
When I emptied my backpack after Dom1nation II, this is what fell out:
My very own, SEALED Granado Espada Limited Edition Signature Box [G-Points and Emilia the Sage intact]. This one is 9361 of 9999. Thanks to Ms. Sheila of IP e-Games, and to the Dominguez PR peeps ^^
My blog anniversary present from Hrin! It's one of the limited edition 2008 Granado Espada diaries, straight from South Korea ^^ Read more about it here.
I'd been looking for this jacket for literally a year and was more than happy to plunk down my hard-earned money to buy this pretty Granado Espada jacket for myself ^^ It looks quite nice on me.
I am also given to understand that the Granado Espada PH Community Heroes should be receiving permanent costumes as their in-game prizes for their heroism. I wonder how many each of us are entitled to, and how long before they're loaded into our accounts?
[I'm not even sure if the prizes and tokens from the Tribute to the Ladies have been distributed already!]
***
Other bloggers' links and coverage of Dom1nation II [to be updated as the blogs are]:
Fiksdotter: Post E-Games Domination~Dominated!
Mena's three-part series:
Part 1: The Morning Journey (and Woes)
Part 2: Dragon Rides, The Community, and a Quest!
Part 3: Awards, Secrets Revealed and a Dinner!
Artaxerxes: Domination II Fever!
pCM Veya: Aftermath: e-Games Domination II
Sigrid: E-Games Dom1nation: G.E. Aftermath!
Christus: Outcasts Dominates!!!
Reclusion: Domination II the D-DAY!
WyvernitE: E-games Domination II: The Next Level of Online Gaming
Blacksword: @ Domination II
VonRoulema: E-Games Domination II Review
Hahaziah: E-games Domination II at SMX~
stormseeks: E-games Domination II
RCM Hrin: The One About Philippines - Domination II
Monday, April 7, 2008
[Picspam] Post-Dom1nation II, recap and review, part 2: FFA Winners, GE PH Community Heroes, and end
I was going to do just a post-event picspam as I did with the post-GE PH Tribute to the Ladies entry, but I thought you might like a little more commentary with the 100-plus pics I took of the event.
Again, I'll be posting the pics at a slightly smaller size so as not to kill your browsers too much. Please click on the photos to go to the Photobucket archive, where you can view all of them.
***
Previous entry: Post-Dom1nation II, recap and review, part 1: Cosplay and Factions
After the faction honors, it was time to give due recognition to the Granado Espada PH Community Heroes.
First came the individual honors for the winners of the first Fantazzztic Film Awards:
Artaxerxes.
Behringer.
deEspania.
Familier.
Fetuccini.
Fiksdotter.
iCez.
Kincaid.
Mena.
Mortreux.
NineMoons.
Reclusion.
Sigrid.
Weisswritter.
And then the Philippine sweep of the first FFA was made clear, as the three PH teams that made the finals were given their prizes!
Veterans, Perdonato: Mortreux, Weisswritter, and Fetuccini.
Experts, Le Blanc (White): Fiksdotter, iCez, and Reclusion.
Grand Masters, Not Another Love Story: Ze Muzical!: Behringer, NineMoons, and Reclusion.
Next to be honored were the PH heroes of the GE Forums:
AUGLab, Community Crew. [IGN: Castiglione]
BlackSheep, Community Crew. [IGN: RavenBlitz]
The Colony Wars reporters were honored as well:
NineMoons, for Cervantes.
Reclusion, for Carracci.
And the GE PH bloggers with outstanding contributions to the community, not to mention all of whom were blogspotted:
Fiksdotter.
Mena.
NineMoons.
Reclusion.
Welling.
Not in photos: Craeon, Deniva.
It was just too bad that the fan artists were not present at the venue!
And I hope that Blacksword and Arcleaumont receive recognition for their fan work too! [They were the PH community members most recently honored on the main site: Blacksword for his Player's Guide to Conventions and Events, and Arcleaumont for his War of the Factions 2 poster.]
***
While the awards were going on, several activities were taking place around the GE booth and elsewhere: the Battle of the Champions 2v2 Face-Off, won by the Visayas team; the New Settlers' Battle, the War of the Factions 5v5 PvP, and the live Adelina's Booty Search.
Unfortunately, the New World Trivia Quiz did not push through, for reasons yet unknown.
RCM Hrin and pCM Veya announced that Version 2.6 of sGE, as previously hinted at in one of Hrin's earlier blog entries, would be released on 12 June! That patch will have MAJOR consequences for Colony Wars, and introduce at least 3 new RNPCs - support/bard Vicente Rio, crossbow-user Calyce, and taekwondo martial artist Bai Hu.
In the background, bands such as Imago, Rivermaya, and Sugarfree played their hearts out for the audience. The event hosts were DJs Tado and Ramon Bautista of Magic 89.9, and Nancy Castiglione.
***
After Dom1nation II, the bloggers, several faction leaders and companions, and other players went to dinner with pCM Veya, Ivee Feria, RCM Hrin, and the guests from IAHGames. Someone ordered a dish of balut and invited the guests to try it out ^^
***
I'll be writing an article on Dom1nation II and Granado Espada for a future issue of the print edition of Game! magazine, so I hope you pick that one up too!
Again, I'll be posting the pics at a slightly smaller size so as not to kill your browsers too much. Please click on the photos to go to the Photobucket archive, where you can view all of them.
***
Previous entry: Post-Dom1nation II, recap and review, part 1: Cosplay and Factions
After the faction honors, it was time to give due recognition to the Granado Espada PH Community Heroes.
First came the individual honors for the winners of the first Fantazzztic Film Awards:
Artaxerxes.
Behringer.
deEspania.
Familier.
Fetuccini.
Fiksdotter.
iCez.
Kincaid.
Mena.
Mortreux.
NineMoons.
Reclusion.
Sigrid.
Weisswritter.
And then the Philippine sweep of the first FFA was made clear, as the three PH teams that made the finals were given their prizes!
Veterans, Perdonato: Mortreux, Weisswritter, and Fetuccini.
Experts, Le Blanc (White): Fiksdotter, iCez, and Reclusion.
Grand Masters, Not Another Love Story: Ze Muzical!: Behringer, NineMoons, and Reclusion.
Next to be honored were the PH heroes of the GE Forums:
AUGLab, Community Crew. [IGN: Castiglione]
BlackSheep, Community Crew. [IGN: RavenBlitz]
The Colony Wars reporters were honored as well:
NineMoons, for Cervantes.
Reclusion, for Carracci.
And the GE PH bloggers with outstanding contributions to the community, not to mention all of whom were blogspotted:
Fiksdotter.
Mena.
NineMoons.
Reclusion.
Welling.
Not in photos: Craeon, Deniva.
It was just too bad that the fan artists were not present at the venue!
And I hope that Blacksword and Arcleaumont receive recognition for their fan work too! [They were the PH community members most recently honored on the main site: Blacksword for his Player's Guide to Conventions and Events, and Arcleaumont for his War of the Factions 2 poster.]
***
While the awards were going on, several activities were taking place around the GE booth and elsewhere: the Battle of the Champions 2v2 Face-Off, won by the Visayas team; the New Settlers' Battle, the War of the Factions 5v5 PvP, and the live Adelina's Booty Search.
Unfortunately, the New World Trivia Quiz did not push through, for reasons yet unknown.
RCM Hrin and pCM Veya announced that Version 2.6 of sGE, as previously hinted at in one of Hrin's earlier blog entries, would be released on 12 June! That patch will have MAJOR consequences for Colony Wars, and introduce at least 3 new RNPCs - support/bard Vicente Rio, crossbow-user Calyce, and taekwondo martial artist Bai Hu.
In the background, bands such as Imago, Rivermaya, and Sugarfree played their hearts out for the audience. The event hosts were DJs Tado and Ramon Bautista of Magic 89.9, and Nancy Castiglione.
***
After Dom1nation II, the bloggers, several faction leaders and companions, and other players went to dinner with pCM Veya, Ivee Feria, RCM Hrin, and the guests from IAHGames. Someone ordered a dish of balut and invited the guests to try it out ^^
***
I'll be writing an article on Dom1nation II and Granado Espada for a future issue of the print edition of Game! magazine, so I hope you pick that one up too!
[Picspam] Post-Dom1nation II, recap and review, part 1: Cosplay and Factions
I was going to do just a post-event picspam as I did with the post-GE PH Tribute to the Ladies entry, but I thought you might like a little more commentary with the 100-plus pics I took of the event.
Again, I'll be posting the pics at a slightly smaller size so as not to kill your browsers too much. Please click on the photos to go to the Photobucket archive, where you can view all of them.
***
I woke up very early in the morning of 6 April with a splitting headache, and at some point as the day unfolded, I wondered if perhaps my body hadn't been trying to warn me about something.
I began my commute to the venue in hopes of making it in early, and because previous advisories had said that the pre-registered attendees would be allowed entrance as early as 8am. I was soon enough joined by my faction leader Fiksdotter, Artaxerxes, Darrick and Nate Reclusion, and Mena. Along with them came Whiteships [a/k/a/ Len-len], who was going to cosplay Feng Ling, and several other friends.
From left to right: Mena, Whiteships, Fiksdotter, and Nate Reclusion.
Getting into Dom1nation II proved to be quite an ordeal, all things considered: the pre-registration forms turned out to be so much wasted paper, as no one got into the venue itself, the second floor of the SMX Convention Center beside the SM Mall of Asia, before 10am. The old-fashioned registration stubs STILL had to be typed into the computers at the entrance BY HAND, instead of just being deposited for future cataloging. The lines were long and unruly, and the tension was compounded by the hot summer sun and the sheer LACK of food and drinks stands at the venue. Honestly, the few food and drinks sponsors could only serve so many at a time, and there were long stretches during which they ran out and consequently had to resupply.
Chaos at the entrance to Dom1nation II. This was what my headache warned me about.
Our group had run earlier into RCM Hrin and the other guests from IAHGames, and soon after Nate and I were able to get Whiteships registered and into her costume, Hrin walked over to the Granado Espada booth, along with Anne DeSanggria. Anne was back in her Idge cosplay outfit, but without the sword this time.
Cosplayers and Hrin in the same place: you know what that means! Pics!
From left to right: Idge, Feng Ling, and Hrin.
Feng Ling and Hrin hanging with the GE booth host, dressed up as Lisa Lynway.
Nate Reclusion joins Feng Ling and Idge for a photo-op.
Feng Ling and me, with my very own Granado Espada jacket ^^
Bloggers galore around Feng Ling! In foreground, Mena; standing are Nate, Fiksdotter, Feng Ling, Artaxerxes, Welling, Darrick, and friends.
A few of the bloggers wasted no time in getting pictures taken with Hrin:
Hrin and Darrick.
Me and Hrin.
Artaxerxes and Hrin.
Lots of people started coming in around lunch, and that included the team behind Fantazzztic Film Awards third-place film Perdonato:
From left to right, Weisswritter, Fetuccini, and Mortreux.
Weisswritter poses with Feng Ling.
More Granado Espada cosplayers:
Male wizard in Clara Mago, female elementalist in Robe of Fire. Check out her Bracelet of Three Kings!
Posing in foreground, Idge; standing are an IAHGames guest, Hrin, stormseeks as Grace Bernelli in a Bistre outfit, and pCM Veya as a fighter in the Le Corsaire costume.
Feng Ling and Grace Bernelli: DON'T mess with them!
Quite a few factions turned up for the event; and as DeSanggria remarked at some point, this was the first event at which all five of sGE's servers were represented.
Takhisis faction, Carracci.
Outcasts faction, Carracci.
†Pinoy†AllStars† faction, Pachelbel.
Aggrressor faction, Vivaldi.
Ph Care faction, Vivaldi.
RunAway faction, Caravaggio.
Vradical faction, Cervantes.
CARNAGE faction, Cervantes.
The faction banner/tarp contest came down to a final face-off between Vradical and Outcasts - and in the end, Outcasts' banners won the day.
Most Active Factions awardees
Ph Care, †Pinoy†AllStars†, AdeptasFraternas, Aggrressor, CARNAGE, Elite, Outcasts, Revolution, Templars, Vradical, WarGodz
Most Loyal Factions awardees
†Pinoy†AllStars†, CARNAGE, Outcasts
***
To be continued in the next entry with the FFA winners and the GE PH Community Heroes!
Again, I'll be posting the pics at a slightly smaller size so as not to kill your browsers too much. Please click on the photos to go to the Photobucket archive, where you can view all of them.
***
I woke up very early in the morning of 6 April with a splitting headache, and at some point as the day unfolded, I wondered if perhaps my body hadn't been trying to warn me about something.
I began my commute to the venue in hopes of making it in early, and because previous advisories had said that the pre-registered attendees would be allowed entrance as early as 8am. I was soon enough joined by my faction leader Fiksdotter, Artaxerxes, Darrick and Nate Reclusion, and Mena. Along with them came Whiteships [a/k/a/ Len-len], who was going to cosplay Feng Ling, and several other friends.
From left to right: Mena, Whiteships, Fiksdotter, and Nate Reclusion.
Getting into Dom1nation II proved to be quite an ordeal, all things considered: the pre-registration forms turned out to be so much wasted paper, as no one got into the venue itself, the second floor of the SMX Convention Center beside the SM Mall of Asia, before 10am. The old-fashioned registration stubs STILL had to be typed into the computers at the entrance BY HAND, instead of just being deposited for future cataloging. The lines were long and unruly, and the tension was compounded by the hot summer sun and the sheer LACK of food and drinks stands at the venue. Honestly, the few food and drinks sponsors could only serve so many at a time, and there were long stretches during which they ran out and consequently had to resupply.
Chaos at the entrance to Dom1nation II. This was what my headache warned me about.
Our group had run earlier into RCM Hrin and the other guests from IAHGames, and soon after Nate and I were able to get Whiteships registered and into her costume, Hrin walked over to the Granado Espada booth, along with Anne DeSanggria. Anne was back in her Idge cosplay outfit, but without the sword this time.
Cosplayers and Hrin in the same place: you know what that means! Pics!
From left to right: Idge, Feng Ling, and Hrin.
Feng Ling and Hrin hanging with the GE booth host, dressed up as Lisa Lynway.
Nate Reclusion joins Feng Ling and Idge for a photo-op.
Feng Ling and me, with my very own Granado Espada jacket ^^
Bloggers galore around Feng Ling! In foreground, Mena; standing are Nate, Fiksdotter, Feng Ling, Artaxerxes, Welling, Darrick, and friends.
A few of the bloggers wasted no time in getting pictures taken with Hrin:
Hrin and Darrick.
Me and Hrin.
Artaxerxes and Hrin.
Lots of people started coming in around lunch, and that included the team behind Fantazzztic Film Awards third-place film Perdonato:
From left to right, Weisswritter, Fetuccini, and Mortreux.
Weisswritter poses with Feng Ling.
More Granado Espada cosplayers:
Male wizard in Clara Mago, female elementalist in Robe of Fire. Check out her Bracelet of Three Kings!
Posing in foreground, Idge; standing are an IAHGames guest, Hrin, stormseeks as Grace Bernelli in a Bistre outfit, and pCM Veya as a fighter in the Le Corsaire costume.
Feng Ling and Grace Bernelli: DON'T mess with them!
Quite a few factions turned up for the event; and as DeSanggria remarked at some point, this was the first event at which all five of sGE's servers were represented.
Takhisis faction, Carracci.
Outcasts faction, Carracci.
†Pinoy†AllStars† faction, Pachelbel.
Aggrressor faction, Vivaldi.
Ph Care faction, Vivaldi.
RunAway faction, Caravaggio.
Vradical faction, Cervantes.
CARNAGE faction, Cervantes.
The faction banner/tarp contest came down to a final face-off between Vradical and Outcasts - and in the end, Outcasts' banners won the day.
Most Active Factions awardees
Ph Care, †Pinoy†AllStars†, AdeptasFraternas, Aggrressor, CARNAGE, Elite, Outcasts, Revolution, Templars, Vradical, WarGodz
Most Loyal Factions awardees
†Pinoy†AllStars†, CARNAGE, Outcasts
***
To be continued in the next entry with the FFA winners and the GE PH Community Heroes!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
[GUIDE] Preparing for conventions and general big community meet-ups: Tips, tricks, and common sense
Tomorrow is IP e-Games's second anniversary event, dubbed Dom1nation II. The event will be held at the SMX Convention Center, which is right next to the SM Mall of Asia. Best to check out the map of how to get there, as well as make sure that you've pre-registered for the event. Be sure as well to check the shuttle service schedules, so you can see if you can actually get on one of their chartered buses.
Important Notes:
pCM Veya warns that boxer shorts, sandos, slippers, and the like are NOT ALLOWED to be worn at the event. Dom1nation II is still subject to security rules, and the set we need to follow in this case is the one laid out by SM Mall of Asia.
A four-day sale is currently ongoing at SM Mall of Asia, from 4-7 April. As Dom1nation II lands square on the Sunday of that sale, I suggest you plan your transportation accordingly, whether you're commuting or bringing your own ride. See the bus schedules link above.
***
Now: are you ready to go?
Whether you're all packed and set right now, or are thinking, "Meh, it's just a convention, I'll get ready tomorrow," you'd do well to pay attention to some of the stuff in this post.
Before you do anything else, read the Blacksword family's timely, excellent, and blogspotted Player's Guide to Conventions and Events. Tons of excellent advice in this entry; he hasn't been blogspotted for nothing. A few highlights, and some suggestions from me:
Bring a bag and lots of extra money. I'd recommend a backpack - it leaves your hands free, you can keep all your precious things close to your body, and there are lots of backpacks that look cool. Messenger bags don't always work because only one shoulder at a time bears the load of the bag and its contents, and you'll have to shift it from time to time if you want to avoid a backache.
Wear comfortable clothes. This includes having sensible shoes: rubber shoes, running shoes, and sneakers are best recommended. Wear jeans only if you're sure they're broken-in and comfortable. For the ladies, I recommend wearing modest, comfy stuff. There will be a LOT of strangers at a con, not to mention very few seats. Don't make it difficult on yourself by wearing extremely short skirts.
Bring a pen and papers. Blacksword actually recommends you carry at least two pens. I would respectfully take it one step further, and suggest you bring 2 good pens, at least 1 marker (of the Pentel or Sharpie type), and notebooks or loose-leaf paper. You'll need those for registration forms, autographs, doodling and sketching, and even taking notes of what's going on around you.
Required items include: con requirements such as IDs and game cards, cameras and/or camcorders, mobile phone. And it goes without saying: secure your belongings!
Be early. Registration takes time, and you might miss the giveaways that sometimes fall into the hands of lucky early birds.
Be polite. This is actually something you should do all throughout the con: while standing in line to get in, while meeting new people, while speaking with a celebrity, while taking photos.
Participate in all the activities that you can. You never know what you're going to walk away with: a cool prize, a new friend, or lots more fun than you had initially expected!
American sci-fi author John Scalzi also has some guidelines on going to cons. Even if the subject of that post might be leaning slightly towards advice for people who want to meet famous authors (such as China Mieville, Neil Gaiman, and Scalzi himself), the man's been going to cons for a seriously long time now, and some of his suggestions are pretty spot-on.
The "how to meet famous people" part of that post might well be tied into the fact that one of the Granado Espada PH guests of honor will be none other than GE RCM Hrin herself. Dom1nation II marks the second straight time she's graced this event.
Other than RCM Hrin, of course, you might want to "meet and greet" some other guy who you look up to in your respective fandom, gaming community, faction, or whatever. These tips will also come in handy then.
"Even though you've read ... (and our blogs) and feel friendly towards [famous people] ... you're a stranger, even if [they've] interacted with you through blog comments or e-mail or whatever." Hence the need - I cannot over-emphasize this enough - the NEED to be polite.
"...the way to introduce yourself to [a famous person] is the same way you would introduce yourself to anyone you've not actually met before in real life. You come up, make sure [the famous person is] not currently engaged in a task that needs [his / her] full attention, say excuse me or hello to get [his / her] attention, and then introduce yourself."
"Note the difference between public and private spaces, and public and private conversations." If the famous person is talking loudly to a crowd of people, feel free to join that crowd. If, on the other hand, that famous person is talking quietly to a small group of people, it might be best to wait until their conversation is finished before attempting the "meet and greet".
***
ONE MORE THING: the rules for meeting new, famous, or even notorious people get somewhat fuzzy when the people you want to meet are female. If you're going to have to be polite when meeting other gamer guys, be doubly or even triply so when meeting gamer girls. No pawing, no leering, no rude words, no pick-up lines.
You never know if the girl you were trying to smarm up on: 1) has a bodyguard / boyfriend / posse, 2) knows enough martial arts to knock you out, 3) is more than capable of embarrassing you in the VERY public space that is a con, or 4) is really a guy.
Be smart.
Important Notes:
pCM Veya warns that boxer shorts, sandos, slippers, and the like are NOT ALLOWED to be worn at the event. Dom1nation II is still subject to security rules, and the set we need to follow in this case is the one laid out by SM Mall of Asia.
A four-day sale is currently ongoing at SM Mall of Asia, from 4-7 April. As Dom1nation II lands square on the Sunday of that sale, I suggest you plan your transportation accordingly, whether you're commuting or bringing your own ride. See the bus schedules link above.
***
Now: are you ready to go?
Whether you're all packed and set right now, or are thinking, "Meh, it's just a convention, I'll get ready tomorrow," you'd do well to pay attention to some of the stuff in this post.
Before you do anything else, read the Blacksword family's timely, excellent, and blogspotted Player's Guide to Conventions and Events. Tons of excellent advice in this entry; he hasn't been blogspotted for nothing. A few highlights, and some suggestions from me:
Bring a bag and lots of extra money. I'd recommend a backpack - it leaves your hands free, you can keep all your precious things close to your body, and there are lots of backpacks that look cool. Messenger bags don't always work because only one shoulder at a time bears the load of the bag and its contents, and you'll have to shift it from time to time if you want to avoid a backache.
Wear comfortable clothes. This includes having sensible shoes: rubber shoes, running shoes, and sneakers are best recommended. Wear jeans only if you're sure they're broken-in and comfortable. For the ladies, I recommend wearing modest, comfy stuff. There will be a LOT of strangers at a con, not to mention very few seats. Don't make it difficult on yourself by wearing extremely short skirts.
Bring a pen and papers. Blacksword actually recommends you carry at least two pens. I would respectfully take it one step further, and suggest you bring 2 good pens, at least 1 marker (of the Pentel or Sharpie type), and notebooks or loose-leaf paper. You'll need those for registration forms, autographs, doodling and sketching, and even taking notes of what's going on around you.
Required items include: con requirements such as IDs and game cards, cameras and/or camcorders, mobile phone. And it goes without saying: secure your belongings!
Be early. Registration takes time, and you might miss the giveaways that sometimes fall into the hands of lucky early birds.
Be polite. This is actually something you should do all throughout the con: while standing in line to get in, while meeting new people, while speaking with a celebrity, while taking photos.
Participate in all the activities that you can. You never know what you're going to walk away with: a cool prize, a new friend, or lots more fun than you had initially expected!
American sci-fi author John Scalzi also has some guidelines on going to cons. Even if the subject of that post might be leaning slightly towards advice for people who want to meet famous authors (such as China Mieville, Neil Gaiman, and Scalzi himself), the man's been going to cons for a seriously long time now, and some of his suggestions are pretty spot-on.
The "how to meet famous people" part of that post might well be tied into the fact that one of the Granado Espada PH guests of honor will be none other than GE RCM Hrin herself. Dom1nation II marks the second straight time she's graced this event.
Other than RCM Hrin, of course, you might want to "meet and greet" some other guy who you look up to in your respective fandom, gaming community, faction, or whatever. These tips will also come in handy then.
"Even though you've read ... (and our blogs) and feel friendly towards [famous people] ... you're a stranger, even if [they've] interacted with you through blog comments or e-mail or whatever." Hence the need - I cannot over-emphasize this enough - the NEED to be polite.
"...the way to introduce yourself to [a famous person] is the same way you would introduce yourself to anyone you've not actually met before in real life. You come up, make sure [the famous person is] not currently engaged in a task that needs [his / her] full attention, say excuse me or hello to get [his / her] attention, and then introduce yourself."
"Note the difference between public and private spaces, and public and private conversations." If the famous person is talking loudly to a crowd of people, feel free to join that crowd. If, on the other hand, that famous person is talking quietly to a small group of people, it might be best to wait until their conversation is finished before attempting the "meet and greet".
***
ONE MORE THING: the rules for meeting new, famous, or even notorious people get somewhat fuzzy when the people you want to meet are female. If you're going to have to be polite when meeting other gamer guys, be doubly or even triply so when meeting gamer girls. No pawing, no leering, no rude words, no pick-up lines.
You never know if the girl you were trying to smarm up on: 1) has a bodyguard / boyfriend / posse, 2) knows enough martial arts to knock you out, 3) is more than capable of embarrassing you in the VERY public space that is a con, or 4) is really a guy.
Be smart.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
[Fanfic] Lost Occupations of Granado Espada 1/?
In the corner of the forlorn, windswept cemetery in Thueringenwald is a weathered gravestone.
There is no name on the stone, and of the epitaph, only the letters R W can be very faintly seen.
A little cleaning completes the message:
Here lies the last Resume Writer in Granado Espada. Pioneers mourn her, and the Offices of Pioneering Support miss her.
Not all pioneering families who come to the New World have their papers intact, and those in need of proper credentials once journeyed to the City of Auch. She worked quietly inside one of the doors in the Office of Pioneering Support, patiently supplying families fresh off the Jaclina with new papers.
She never complained when some families were too brash, and never did anything showy with the money and gifts grateful families showered upon her.
She spent her days in quiet, honest work, even when many thought her job obsolete.
When she died, the City of Auch - and indeed all of the Offices of Pioneering Support - felt the loss keenly.
There is no name on the stone, and of the epitaph, only the letters R W can be very faintly seen.
A little cleaning completes the message:
Here lies the last Resume Writer in Granado Espada. Pioneers mourn her, and the Offices of Pioneering Support miss her.
Not all pioneering families who come to the New World have their papers intact, and those in need of proper credentials once journeyed to the City of Auch. She worked quietly inside one of the doors in the Office of Pioneering Support, patiently supplying families fresh off the Jaclina with new papers.
She never complained when some families were too brash, and never did anything showy with the money and gifts grateful families showered upon her.
She spent her days in quiet, honest work, even when many thought her job obsolete.
When she died, the City of Auch - and indeed all of the Offices of Pioneering Support - felt the loss keenly.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Just in time for Dom1nation on Sunday!
Reimaru a/k/a/ Blacksword family of Carracci writes a Player's Guide to Conventions and Events.
Food for thought ahead of 6 April ^^
Aaaaaaaaand...BLOGSPOTTED! Congratulations, dude~
Food for thought ahead of 6 April ^^
Aaaaaaaaand...BLOGSPOTTED! Congratulations, dude~
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
I heard it through the grapevine - and now it's TRUE
I was having an early dinner last night when a text message from Mena nearly made me spit out my mouthful of food:
Veya was in Carracci and told me Hrin would be attending on Sunday [Dom1nation II]. Can you please confirm this?
WTF! Accordingly, since I still had Hrin's SMS number, I promptly fired off a text message to her: I said I'd heard a rumor that she'll be going to Dom1ination, asked her to kindly confirm or deny, and said I hoped she would make it.
Two hours later came this message on my mobile phone:
Haha yeah i will be there.
Holy smokes there you go! CONFIRMED: RCM Hrin will be going to Dom1ination II! Yay~
And a big, fat PS: This is NOT an April Fools' Day joke. I know some people will be wary of any news posted today, but this is honest-to-goodness real news. Take it to the bank, kids!
Veya was in Carracci and told me Hrin would be attending on Sunday [Dom1nation II]. Can you please confirm this?
WTF! Accordingly, since I still had Hrin's SMS number, I promptly fired off a text message to her: I said I'd heard a rumor that she'll be going to Dom1ination, asked her to kindly confirm or deny, and said I hoped she would make it.
Two hours later came this message on my mobile phone:
Haha yeah i will be there.
Holy smokes there you go! CONFIRMED: RCM Hrin will be going to Dom1ination II! Yay~
And a big, fat PS: This is NOT an April Fools' Day joke. I know some people will be wary of any news posted today, but this is honest-to-goodness real news. Take it to the bank, kids!
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