This is likely to be the final post at the NineMoons Family blog. I want to wrap things up properly, and get the last bits of everything off my chest, before I leave the New World, and I hope you and I can soldier on to the end together.
***
The Yays
YAY to RCM Hrin. She may not update her blog so frequently, and she may not always be in the forums or in-game, but she has always been my favorite GE-admin-type person. She's sweet and funny and kind - and if you're polite and patient enough she will always be accessible for any comments or questions.
YAY to the GE PH community, who continue to crusade for the game even after over a year of indifference, lack of promotion and distribution, and even the occasional act of sabotage. They come to the defense of the New World when they are called, and stay vigilant against all attacks. They are its true and stalwart pioneers and they are its most deserving inhabitants.
YAY to the GE PH fan artists: the fanfic writers, the fanart creators, the machinima directors, the independent cosplayers, and everyone else in between who has contributed their tangible and considerable talent to the community. You may be a small group and you may not always win the prizes, but your talent and sheer love for the game definitely show how much you rock.
YAY to the GE bloggers, and especially to the horde of them in the GE PH players' community. Without them, the game might have sunk into obscurity and be left on the wayside as other gamers rush towards what's new and what's shiny without considering the relative merits and demerits of each. The GE PH bloggers have fought long and hard for the game to get equal attention and love from the local gaming community. I may have started the entire GE fan-blog thing, but I could never in a million years have done it alone. It is everyone else who followed this little idea who are the real heroes - they didn't have to, but they did, and that makes all the difference.
And finally, YAY to all the friends I have made through this blog and through this game. I make no secret of the fact that if it weren't for GE in the first place I would never even have started this blog - hence I owe any tiny measure of celebrity and recognition I now possess to GE. But more important that that are the true friends that I have discovered in the process of playing, blogging, and living GE. There are many of them, and there are even some of them I may not get to meet in real life, and they are all cherished and dear to me.
[And now, because every list of Yays must have a list of Nays to balance it out.]
The Nays
NAY to IP e-Games. It's been a recurring theme in this blog, ever since that extreme disillusioning sometime during 2007. Thanks for nothing. Yes, you lot brought in the game, you distributed the pretty posters and the very first set of installers - and then after that there was really not a whole lot of anything. You let us down and dropped us as though we were hot potatoes, all the while enticing people to play your other games instead without mentioning the game you once marketed as the first Triple-A MMORPG brought to the Philippines. I don't know how to run a game publishing business, but I am certainly not going to run it as you attempted to do for GE, because you botched it, big time.
NAY to the fishers and to the saboteurs both in the community and from the competition. Nice try, kids.
***
As I write my final dispatch from the New World, I wonder how much it will take in terms of money, talent, and love to bring the game back to the forefront of gaming in the Philippines. GE has been unfairly sidelined and woefully underpromoted.
I only pray that the game can survive. It has its very devoted fans and its loyal players. Long may they last and well may they prosper.
Goodbye.
~NineMoons, as she lays her pen down
27 November 2008
[One year, eight months, and fifteen days in the New World]
Showing posts with label community. Show all posts
Showing posts with label community. Show all posts
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
NineMoons's Last Stand: 2008's Best Posts
I had been hoping that it would not come to this. But if I'm going out, I'm going out with a bang.
NineMoons's Last Stand, Part 1: The best posts from 2008
JANUARY
NineMoons at POGS 2008
Grace Bernelli and the Art of Dying
FEBRUARY
Dekaravia Owns Cervantes
The 2nd GE PH Bloggers' Meeting
World Premiere: Not Another Love Story Ze Musical
MARCH
For Love of the Game
FFA Grand Finale: The Philippines Rocks Machinima
Post-FFA Rant
NineMoons's First Anniversary
NineMoons Moves to Carracci
Not Another Love Story, all versions
GE PH Community Heroes
Tribute to the Ladies
APRIL
NineMoons's Convention Guide, Part 1
Dom1nation II: Cosplay and Factions
Dom1nation II: FFA Winners, GE PH Community Heroes
Dinner with RCM Hrin
MAY
I Believe in seaGE
GVCs Rant, Part 1
GVCs Rant, Part 2
JUNE
Takhisis Faction Anniversary EB
The Five Servers of SEA / ANZ Granado Espada
GE Hangaroo, Version 1.0
Introducing Granado Espada to Gamers
JULY
Introducing Granado Espada to Non-Gamers
GE Hangaroo, Version 1.2
NineMoons at the IGN.com Vault
50k Hits
If These Girls Played GE
NineMoons Makes Vet
SEPTEMBER
NineMoons and the One about the GE Gamer Girls
An Adventurer is You!
GE PH Mini Community Meeting with CM Aethrin
Vetting a Musk
GE PH First Anniversary
NineMoons's Convention Guide, Part 2
GE PH Black Party
The One About The Faithful Granado Espada Blogger
OCTOBER
NineMoons as Faction Leader: ShenAnCalhar
A Gamer Girl's Lament
e-Games Hosts the GE PH Gamer Girls
The Two Servers of SEA / ANZ Granado Espada
Presenting the NineMoons Family Grabber
Game! November 2008 Features GE Gamer Girls
Five Hundred Posts
Now is your chance to relive with me my memories of this year in Granado Espada. Please comment away!
NineMoons's Last Stand, Part 1: The best posts from 2008
JANUARY
NineMoons at POGS 2008
Grace Bernelli and the Art of Dying
FEBRUARY
Dekaravia Owns Cervantes
The 2nd GE PH Bloggers' Meeting
World Premiere: Not Another Love Story Ze Musical
MARCH
For Love of the Game
FFA Grand Finale: The Philippines Rocks Machinima
Post-FFA Rant
NineMoons's First Anniversary
NineMoons Moves to Carracci
Not Another Love Story, all versions
GE PH Community Heroes
Tribute to the Ladies
APRIL
NineMoons's Convention Guide, Part 1
Dom1nation II: Cosplay and Factions
Dom1nation II: FFA Winners, GE PH Community Heroes
Dinner with RCM Hrin
MAY
I Believe in seaGE
GVCs Rant, Part 1
GVCs Rant, Part 2
JUNE
Takhisis Faction Anniversary EB
The Five Servers of SEA / ANZ Granado Espada
GE Hangaroo, Version 1.0
Introducing Granado Espada to Gamers
JULY
Introducing Granado Espada to Non-Gamers
GE Hangaroo, Version 1.2
NineMoons at the IGN.com Vault
50k Hits
If These Girls Played GE
NineMoons Makes Vet
SEPTEMBER
NineMoons and the One about the GE Gamer Girls
An Adventurer is You!
GE PH Mini Community Meeting with CM Aethrin
Vetting a Musk
GE PH First Anniversary
NineMoons's Convention Guide, Part 2
GE PH Black Party
The One About The Faithful Granado Espada Blogger
OCTOBER
NineMoons as Faction Leader: ShenAnCalhar
A Gamer Girl's Lament
e-Games Hosts the GE PH Gamer Girls
The Two Servers of SEA / ANZ Granado Espada
Presenting the NineMoons Family Grabber
Game! November 2008 Features GE Gamer Girls
Five Hundred Posts
Now is your chance to relive with me my memories of this year in Granado Espada. Please comment away!
Monday, November 10, 2008
NineMoons Talks About Fatigue
Once again, I begin this entry with an apology for the sudden decrease in posts on this blog.
The truth is, I'm kind of scaling back my Granado Espada playing time. Recently, my main reason for logging in at all was to farm Sun Stones for my pet Pilfurr Po - but even that wish was foiled, since the particular Poison Yard I entered was also occupied by people who insist that Super Fight maps are nothing but personal PvP shooting ranges. To no avail did my family carry the "Farmer" signs over their heads - they still got hunted as though they were animals.
In order to NOT lose my head in anger, I quit doing even that. People have to have their fun, and I decided to give mine up so others can enjoy theirs.
I'm sure Po will find it in his furry little heart to forgive his negligent mistress.
I wanted so much to increase the number of Veterans in my Rembrandt Barracks, but, well, I'm not sure I should be looking forward to the many days of grinding that I need to put in. And that's not mentioning the months it will take to train one single trio up to Expert level, too.
Certainly, there is no point in asking for the return of certain items if the regional distributors have already made it clear that the matter is not in their hands to control.
Certainly, there is no real reason to ask for an increase in experience rates.
Just to make it clear - I am not whining, I don't want anything, and I have absolutely no intentions of asking for sympathy. All I'm saying is that right now, the fatigue has set in, and I'm having to dig deep in order to find the reasons for me to stay in the New World.
Also, I wanted you all to know this because it is thanks to you that this blog has existed and flourished at all - and now that it seems to be undergoing a [temporary, I hope] downturn, I hope that you can understand, in one way or another, me, and my reasons why.
The truth is, I'm kind of scaling back my Granado Espada playing time. Recently, my main reason for logging in at all was to farm Sun Stones for my pet Pilfurr Po - but even that wish was foiled, since the particular Poison Yard I entered was also occupied by people who insist that Super Fight maps are nothing but personal PvP shooting ranges. To no avail did my family carry the "Farmer" signs over their heads - they still got hunted as though they were animals.
In order to NOT lose my head in anger, I quit doing even that. People have to have their fun, and I decided to give mine up so others can enjoy theirs.
I'm sure Po will find it in his furry little heart to forgive his negligent mistress.
I wanted so much to increase the number of Veterans in my Rembrandt Barracks, but, well, I'm not sure I should be looking forward to the many days of grinding that I need to put in. And that's not mentioning the months it will take to train one single trio up to Expert level, too.
Certainly, there is no point in asking for the return of certain items if the regional distributors have already made it clear that the matter is not in their hands to control.
Certainly, there is no real reason to ask for an increase in experience rates.
Just to make it clear - I am not whining, I don't want anything, and I have absolutely no intentions of asking for sympathy. All I'm saying is that right now, the fatigue has set in, and I'm having to dig deep in order to find the reasons for me to stay in the New World.
Also, I wanted you all to know this because it is thanks to you that this blog has existed and flourished at all - and now that it seems to be undergoing a [temporary, I hope] downturn, I hope that you can understand, in one way or another, me, and my reasons why.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Recent Goings-On at the Forums
Just a linking post for today since there seems to be a lot of action going on at the SEA / ANZ Granado Espada Forums. Remember to log in during maintenance and check out what's happening!
From the Event and Contest Announcements sub-forum:
Pets Day, 14 November
War of the Factions III, 9-30 November
The Quest Master Challenge, 1-30 November
Title Change Event, 23 October - 6 November
Note that the Title Change event is only until 2359 tonight, Singapore time.
Also ongoing are the Newbie Faction and the Novia Execution events.
Enjoy and get a little R&R before the maintenance ends!
From the Event and Contest Announcements sub-forum:
Pets Day, 14 November
War of the Factions III, 9-30 November
The Quest Master Challenge, 1-30 November
Title Change Event, 23 October - 6 November
Note that the Title Change event is only until 2359 tonight, Singapore time.
Also ongoing are the Newbie Faction and the Novia Execution events.
Enjoy and get a little R&R before the maintenance ends!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Finally! e-Games e-Points can now be converted to GE G-Points!
Extra, extra, read all about it! Click the banner to see the official news article!
Allow me to repost the conversion values here. EP = e-Points, GP = G-Points, ABS = Adelina's Booty Search.
20 EP = 230 GP + 1 ABS
50 EP = 750 GP + 3 ABS
100 EP = 1800 GP + 5 ABS
200 EP = 3600 GP + 8 ABS
300 EP = 5800 GP + 10 ABS
1000 EP = 23800 GP + 35 ABS
Now, I guess my only question is, where can I buy me a 1000 eP card???
EDITED TO ADD: CM Aethrin has popped in with a link to a list of the e-Points retailers. The list is here: e-Games Partners. He says the list is updated on a monthly basis.
SON OF EDITED TO ADD: The forum discussion thread for this news is buzzing with CM Aethrin's announcement: Coming soon: the 70k g-points denomination in the Philippines!
Allow me to repost the conversion values here. EP = e-Points, GP = G-Points, ABS = Adelina's Booty Search.
20 EP = 230 GP + 1 ABS
50 EP = 750 GP + 3 ABS
100 EP = 1800 GP + 5 ABS
200 EP = 3600 GP + 8 ABS
300 EP = 5800 GP + 10 ABS
1000 EP = 23800 GP + 35 ABS
Now, I guess my only question is, where can I buy me a 1000 eP card???
EDITED TO ADD: CM Aethrin has popped in with a link to a list of the e-Points retailers. The list is here: e-Games Partners. He says the list is updated on a monthly basis.
SON OF EDITED TO ADD: The forum discussion thread for this news is buzzing with CM Aethrin's announcement: Coming soon: the 70k g-points denomination in the Philippines!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Stories of the New World: New Community Event!
[In-Game Event] The Quest Master Challenge!
Now, here is a call for events that I can quite get behind!
If you have a story to tell in the New World - write it up, embellish it with screenshots and other details, and post it at the forums - you might see your story turned into an event for all the pioneers of Bach and Rembrandt!
Gosh, this might turn out to be a bit of an outlet for me. I'm a writer by training and this is really the sort of thing that could be an exercise for me. Not to mention that I've got quite a few tales I've always wanted to tell. I think I'll sign up for this one.
Edited to Add: Okay, here's my entry. I'll be updating it with the accompanying pictures very shortly.
[The Quest Master Challenge Entry – Rembrandt/NineMoons] Waiting For Fate
Do drop in soon and tell me what you think!
Now, here is a call for events that I can quite get behind!
If you have a story to tell in the New World - write it up, embellish it with screenshots and other details, and post it at the forums - you might see your story turned into an event for all the pioneers of Bach and Rembrandt!
Gosh, this might turn out to be a bit of an outlet for me. I'm a writer by training and this is really the sort of thing that could be an exercise for me. Not to mention that I've got quite a few tales I've always wanted to tell. I think I'll sign up for this one.
Edited to Add: Okay, here's my entry. I'll be updating it with the accompanying pictures very shortly.
[The Quest Master Challenge Entry – Rembrandt/NineMoons] Waiting For Fate
Do drop in soon and tell me what you think!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
A GE Gamer Girls Meeting at e-Games
It was, rather ironically, Blacksword who called my attention to a posting in the SEA / ANZ Granado Espada forums on the second day of the Server Merge.
[Blacksword, of course, is a guy ^^]
e-Games is hosting a Focus Group Discussion for its female gamers! This forum thread was posted by GM Phryzea, a/k/a Grantoza in Rembrandt.
So I signed up, and got the details. Which meant that I had to get up at the ungodly hour of 6am - on a weekend - and run off across the city to this Focus Group Discussion. The GE group was to be accommodated during the first session [of four], and it was to start at 10am.
Who else showed up?
Attendees:
NineMoons
ryuuosha
Serpentes [a/k/a Hahaziah]
Clairemont
Hargrove
Skeffington
Niji
Facilitators:
CM Jes, a/k/a GM Amethy
CM Aethrin [okay, he's a guy, but since he's the CM for GE....]
GM Phryzea [the aforementioned Grantoza family]
GM Makadesh
GM Chromium
GM Faiga
The session was supposed to have been shared with the gamer girls who played another e-Games-distributed game, Supreme Destiny, but it turned out that the GE players were the only ones who turned up, and not all of them besides. All of us attendees came from Rembrandt; the registrants from Bach seemed to be unable to make it.
We had the discussion solely to ourselves, and we talked about how GE could be better improved. To answer the always-thorny problem of GVC availability in the country, the e-Games people told us that they were finally in the last stages of putting together the process to be able to convert their own e-Points to GE's G-points. Apparently they'll be going public with this soon, denominations and all; they were at least able to claim it'll be up by November or so.
To answer the question of having more PH events both in-game and in real life, CM Aethrin mentioned that he had already turned in a list of suggested events [likely to both his bosses and to IAH, I guess]; GM Amethy said that by 25 October they'd start an all-new provincial tour, called "Road to Domination" or something like that.
They asked us what it would take for us to cosplay at events. We all looked at each other and held out our hands in a local gesture that means "money"! They wound up suggesting a quid-pro-quo scheme: show up in our own costumes, made at our own expense - which would be compensated by in-game items. We were pretty much unanimous in asking that if we were to be given items, the items should at least have some use to us in-game....
They gave us some tokens of appreciation for showing up - Field Manuals and 20 x Adelina's Booty Searches apiece - and also raffled off some prizes, including the rare and coveted GE ID laces / lanyards, GE mousepads, and a stuffed-toy version of the Ran Online mob "Hooligan". I got a mousepad, and it has Grace Bernelli on it ^^ They also gave us posters for The Requiem.
I think at some point we asked if e-Games would be distributing the actual DVDs of the Version 2.9 installer [as shown by RCM Hrin here] - they said they would. I hope so - I'd like to get my hands on one of those!
Okay, quick pics:
From right to left: NineMoons, ryuuosha, Serpentes, Clairemont, GM Phryzea a/k/a Grantoza, and GM Makadesh. [Oops, bunny ears!]
From left to right: GM Amethy, CM Aethrin, Niji, Skeffington, and Hargrove.
Seated, from left to right: Clairemont, Serpentes, and ryuuosha. Standing, from left to right: GM Phryzea, GM Faiga, NineMoons, GM Amethy, Hargrove, Skeffington, and Niji.
At the close of the discussion, we all promised we'd get together again; GM Amethy insisted it'd be a real event next time, and not just a Focus Group Discussion.
GE Gamer Girls Rule.
[Blacksword, of course, is a guy ^^]
e-Games is hosting a Focus Group Discussion for its female gamers! This forum thread was posted by GM Phryzea, a/k/a Grantoza in Rembrandt.
So I signed up, and got the details. Which meant that I had to get up at the ungodly hour of 6am - on a weekend - and run off across the city to this Focus Group Discussion. The GE group was to be accommodated during the first session [of four], and it was to start at 10am.
Who else showed up?
Attendees:
NineMoons
ryuuosha
Serpentes [a/k/a Hahaziah]
Clairemont
Hargrove
Skeffington
Niji
Facilitators:
CM Jes, a/k/a GM Amethy
CM Aethrin [okay, he's a guy, but since he's the CM for GE....]
GM Phryzea [the aforementioned Grantoza family]
GM Makadesh
GM Chromium
GM Faiga
The session was supposed to have been shared with the gamer girls who played another e-Games-distributed game, Supreme Destiny, but it turned out that the GE players were the only ones who turned up, and not all of them besides. All of us attendees came from Rembrandt; the registrants from Bach seemed to be unable to make it.
We had the discussion solely to ourselves, and we talked about how GE could be better improved. To answer the always-thorny problem of GVC availability in the country, the e-Games people told us that they were finally in the last stages of putting together the process to be able to convert their own e-Points to GE's G-points. Apparently they'll be going public with this soon, denominations and all; they were at least able to claim it'll be up by November or so.
To answer the question of having more PH events both in-game and in real life, CM Aethrin mentioned that he had already turned in a list of suggested events [likely to both his bosses and to IAH, I guess]; GM Amethy said that by 25 October they'd start an all-new provincial tour, called "Road to Domination" or something like that.
They asked us what it would take for us to cosplay at events. We all looked at each other and held out our hands in a local gesture that means "money"! They wound up suggesting a quid-pro-quo scheme: show up in our own costumes, made at our own expense - which would be compensated by in-game items. We were pretty much unanimous in asking that if we were to be given items, the items should at least have some use to us in-game....
They gave us some tokens of appreciation for showing up - Field Manuals and 20 x Adelina's Booty Searches apiece - and also raffled off some prizes, including the rare and coveted GE ID laces / lanyards, GE mousepads, and a stuffed-toy version of the Ran Online mob "Hooligan". I got a mousepad, and it has Grace Bernelli on it ^^ They also gave us posters for The Requiem.
I think at some point we asked if e-Games would be distributing the actual DVDs of the Version 2.9 installer [as shown by RCM Hrin here] - they said they would. I hope so - I'd like to get my hands on one of those!
Okay, quick pics:
From right to left: NineMoons, ryuuosha, Serpentes, Clairemont, GM Phryzea a/k/a Grantoza, and GM Makadesh. [Oops, bunny ears!]
From left to right: GM Amethy, CM Aethrin, Niji, Skeffington, and Hargrove.
Seated, from left to right: Clairemont, Serpentes, and ryuuosha. Standing, from left to right: GM Phryzea, GM Faiga, NineMoons, GM Amethy, Hargrove, Skeffington, and Niji.
At the close of the discussion, we all promised we'd get together again; GM Amethy insisted it'd be a real event next time, and not just a Focus Group Discussion.
GE Gamer Girls Rule.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Thoughts and Impressions for After the Merge
And it looks like we all survived!
I was in Rembrandt briefly last night - why briefly? I'll explain later - and the following things really wanted to make me cheer. One, LOTS of people in Auch! For this instance, I tend to NOT complain about lag in walking around the city. It just makes me happy to see all the people there, and feel like NOW it's an MMORPG. I missed walking around in a packed-to-the-rafters town; I'm just glad my PC can handle the graphics load.
Two, LOTS of friendly broadcasts from real people! For once, the broads were overwhelmed by actual people talking about things in friendly ways, instead of those pesky RMT fools. Very heartening show.
It feels like the community makes a comeback!
Now, I couldn't stay long. What the heck happened? Well, I had numbers in my family names! I've managed to restore them now, thanks to Hrin and her tech team. I think it's safe to try the Family Name Change, since the server-application-thingummy error seems to have been resolved for the moment. Of course, NO TO IDENTITY THEFT. I'm just glad mine wasn't stolen at all.
Recent links to Hrin's blog show the following entries:
The One About The Program Lineup For October~November'08: A schedule of everything that's coming up in GE in the next few weeks. I am certainly interested in that Bai Hu costume, "Narciso", which might well be the one in this entry.
And also - a quiz show! I LOVE quiz shows!
The comments to this entry also show that with the Version 2.9 content now being readied for download to our clients, there are several ways to update the game to bring in all the content that's coming to us.
The One About V2.9 Poster & DVD Sleeves: Posters and graphics for the Version 2.9 release. At the end is a listing of sites where the Version 2.9 full client and manual patches can be downloaded; I think I'll wait for a good time to look into getting that manual patch.
I wish I could have the full DVD copy though.
I hope the servers come back online so I can go back to enjoying my actual REAL family name in-game....
I was in Rembrandt briefly last night - why briefly? I'll explain later - and the following things really wanted to make me cheer. One, LOTS of people in Auch! For this instance, I tend to NOT complain about lag in walking around the city. It just makes me happy to see all the people there, and feel like NOW it's an MMORPG. I missed walking around in a packed-to-the-rafters town; I'm just glad my PC can handle the graphics load.
Two, LOTS of friendly broadcasts from real people! For once, the broads were overwhelmed by actual people talking about things in friendly ways, instead of those pesky RMT fools. Very heartening show.
It feels like the community makes a comeback!
Now, I couldn't stay long. What the heck happened? Well, I had numbers in my family names! I've managed to restore them now, thanks to Hrin and her tech team. I think it's safe to try the Family Name Change, since the server-application-thingummy error seems to have been resolved for the moment. Of course, NO TO IDENTITY THEFT. I'm just glad mine wasn't stolen at all.
Recent links to Hrin's blog show the following entries:
The One About The Program Lineup For October~November'08: A schedule of everything that's coming up in GE in the next few weeks. I am certainly interested in that Bai Hu costume, "Narciso", which might well be the one in this entry.
And also - a quiz show! I LOVE quiz shows!
The comments to this entry also show that with the Version 2.9 content now being readied for download to our clients, there are several ways to update the game to bring in all the content that's coming to us.
The One About V2.9 Poster & DVD Sleeves: Posters and graphics for the Version 2.9 release. At the end is a listing of sites where the Version 2.9 full client and manual patches can be downloaded; I think I'll wait for a good time to look into getting that manual patch.
I wish I could have the full DVD copy though.
I hope the servers come back online so I can go back to enjoying my actual REAL family name in-game....
Monday, October 13, 2008
Two Days To Server Merge: Don't Forget To....
Today the good folks at IAHGames start setting up for the Server Merge by setting up the "new servers with upgraded hardware" for Rembrandt and Bach.
Here's what YOU need to do today to not be panicky or nervous:
- Start taking out all the stuff you're selling through the Market Manager. Aw, don't let her sad face get to you - you'll get back to her soon.
- Claim any and all leftover loot from Adelina's Booty Search. Select the server you want to receive the loot in, click Claim Loot, then log in and choose the Receive Premium Item option from Leonardo Expreso.
- Sell, drop, or otherwise dispose of all the extras and odds and ends knocking around in your Item Vault. It WON'T be affected by the Server Merge, but it's always nice to have some more room in there!
- DO NOT activate any more long-term Premium Items!
- Start planning for what you can do during the days of no GE. I'll come up with my own list later, so please watch out for that.
Here's what YOU need to do today to not be panicky or nervous:
- Start taking out all the stuff you're selling through the Market Manager. Aw, don't let her sad face get to you - you'll get back to her soon.
- Claim any and all leftover loot from Adelina's Booty Search. Select the server you want to receive the loot in, click Claim Loot, then log in and choose the Receive Premium Item option from Leonardo Expreso.
- Sell, drop, or otherwise dispose of all the extras and odds and ends knocking around in your Item Vault. It WON'T be affected by the Server Merge, but it's always nice to have some more room in there!
- DO NOT activate any more long-term Premium Items!
- Start planning for what you can do during the days of no GE. I'll come up with my own list later, so please watch out for that.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Now HERE is something to look forward to after the Server Merge!
RCM Hrin announces the Event Zone: in-game events ahoy!
The Server Merge is supposed to make organizing in-game events easier and more enjoyable for everyone: two servers, lots of people in each, win-win. And it looks like that's what the Event Zone will be for: a place to hold all the events the community might ever want. [At least we hope so.]
Amazing stuff! Gotta say I'm really looking forward to meeting that talking sheep! [Incidentally: why sheep? Someone overdose on Warcraft or something? XD]
The Server Merge is supposed to make organizing in-game events easier and more enjoyable for everyone: two servers, lots of people in each, win-win. And it looks like that's what the Event Zone will be for: a place to hold all the events the community might ever want. [At least we hope so.]
Amazing stuff! Gotta say I'm really looking forward to meeting that talking sheep! [Incidentally: why sheep? Someone overdose on Warcraft or something? XD]
Thursday, October 9, 2008
The CURRENT Schedule for the Server Merge [as of 9 October 2008]
Straight from Hrin's forum post on the subject:
Dear Gamers,
There will be a server maintenance for Granado Espada from 15 Oct 2008, Wed, 0800hrs (GMT+8)-16 Oct 2008, 1800hrs (GMT+8). During this period, Granado Espada game service will be unavailable. Players are recommended to avoid activating Premium Items that last for shorter durations (e.g. 1 day) during this period.
Here’s an update on the schedule of what will be happening behind the scenes during world migration next week:
On Monday, 13th Oct 2008: New servers with upgraded hardware will be set up for worlds [Bach] and [Rembrandt] – GE LIVE servers will not be affected.
On Tuesday, 14th Oct 2008: We will be testing the new server worlds for [Bach] and [Rembrandt] – GE LIVE servers will not be affected.
On Wednesday, 15th Oct 2008: GE LIVE server is shut-down at 0800hrs. The current worlds will be migrating into [Bach] and [Rembrandt]. We will then be running tests on these new worlds to minimize any errors of migration.
On Thursday, 16th Oct 2008: IAH will open the [Bach] and [Rembrandt] to the public at 1800hrs (GMT+8).
Time to make plans then!
Dear Gamers,
There will be a server maintenance for Granado Espada from 15 Oct 2008, Wed, 0800hrs (GMT+8)-16 Oct 2008, 1800hrs (GMT+8). During this period, Granado Espada game service will be unavailable. Players are recommended to avoid activating Premium Items that last for shorter durations (e.g. 1 day) during this period.
Here’s an update on the schedule of what will be happening behind the scenes during world migration next week:
On Monday, 13th Oct 2008: New servers with upgraded hardware will be set up for worlds [Bach] and [Rembrandt] – GE LIVE servers will not be affected.
On Tuesday, 14th Oct 2008: We will be testing the new server worlds for [Bach] and [Rembrandt] – GE LIVE servers will not be affected.
On Wednesday, 15th Oct 2008: GE LIVE server is shut-down at 0800hrs. The current worlds will be migrating into [Bach] and [Rembrandt]. We will then be running tests on these new worlds to minimize any errors of migration.
On Thursday, 16th Oct 2008: IAH will open the [Bach] and [Rembrandt] to the public at 1800hrs (GMT+8).
Time to make plans then!
Monday, October 6, 2008
*taps foot* Explanation PLEASE!
I said that I would wait for this to be resolved before I blogged about it. One weekend later, nothing has been done beyond a nonspecific announcement of investigations to be done.
I had actually challenged the IAH moderator who stepped into this issue to reveal the results of the investigation, if any, to the public.
[The moderator appeared on Page 5; my challenge on Page 6.]
The community has kept the thread alive throughout the weekend. We're still waiting for a response, if any should be forthcoming, on this matter.
In the meantime, please feel free to debate this issue in the comments, as well as in the original forums post.
Please give us an explanation for this.
Original thread: Analyze this by Dem.
STOP PRESS: Here's the IAH response: Official Announcement for Notice Abuse. Read and learn, think about it, and if you have any more questions - I know I do - take 'em to comments ^^
I had actually challenged the IAH moderator who stepped into this issue to reveal the results of the investigation, if any, to the public.
[The moderator appeared on Page 5; my challenge on Page 6.]
The community has kept the thread alive throughout the weekend. We're still waiting for a response, if any should be forthcoming, on this matter.
In the meantime, please feel free to debate this issue in the comments, as well as in the original forums post.
Please give us an explanation for this.
Original thread: Analyze this by Dem.
STOP PRESS: Here's the IAH response: Official Announcement for Notice Abuse. Read and learn, think about it, and if you have any more questions - I know I do - take 'em to comments ^^
Thursday, October 2, 2008
[Guide] REMINDERS FOR THE SERVER MERGE ON 13 OCTOBER 2008
[And yet another rare instance of the all-caps entry title, because, hey, this is just that important.]
NineMoons's Guide to Surviving the Upcoming Server Merge
1. The Server Merge will begin on7 October 2008 Corrected to 13 October 2008, see Hrin's latest blog post. Hope hard that the maintenance will be declared as done on time.
2. Before saying/doing anything else, read the following links VERY VERY CAREFULLY:
GE Official Website: Granado Espada World Migration Official Announcement
GE Official Website: World Migration Family and Faction Migration Guide
Forums: Granado Espada World Migration Official Announcement
Forums: It's Maintenance Day! Ask [Mee Pok Tah] about the World Migration here!!
Special re-link to the first post in the Granado Espada World Migration Official Announcement forums thread, where Hrin has started to compile an FAQ based on questions and answers given in the thread itself [all currently 55 pages of it]:
Granado Espada World Migration Official Announcement: Frequently Asked Questions
3. If you'd also like to find out what I think about some of the most pressing issues involved in the Server Merge - and thank you! - here are the two posts I did:
Server Merge What The-?! Hilarity Ensues....
Server Merge Commentary: Channels, Compensation, and the Staff
4. Things you need to do as soon as the servers come back up:
- Claim all items in your Booty Chest from Adelina's Booty Search
- Claim all items from your server's Market Manager
- Claim all items from Leonardo Expreso's "Receive Premium Item" service. As Hrin has already emphasized, the Item Vaults will NOT be affected by the Server Merge.
- DO NOT activate any more time-based premium items. The only possible exception to this rule is the use of one-day items.
- Contributed by Staark: Find something to do during maintenance time - something productive perhaps?
That's it for now. If I've missed anything, I may update this post. Please comment and let me know what else needs to be done NOW, before people forget, and then wind up in hysterics after the Server Merge catches people flat-footed....
NineMoons's Guide to Surviving the Upcoming Server Merge
1. The Server Merge will begin on
2. Before saying/doing anything else, read the following links VERY VERY CAREFULLY:
GE Official Website: Granado Espada World Migration Official Announcement
GE Official Website: World Migration Family and Faction Migration Guide
Forums: Granado Espada World Migration Official Announcement
Forums: It's Maintenance Day! Ask [Mee Pok Tah] about the World Migration here!!
Special re-link to the first post in the Granado Espada World Migration Official Announcement forums thread, where Hrin has started to compile an FAQ based on questions and answers given in the thread itself [all currently 55 pages of it]:
Granado Espada World Migration Official Announcement: Frequently Asked Questions
3. If you'd also like to find out what I think about some of the most pressing issues involved in the Server Merge - and thank you! - here are the two posts I did:
Server Merge What The-?! Hilarity Ensues....
Server Merge Commentary: Channels, Compensation, and the Staff
4. Things you need to do as soon as the servers come back up:
- Claim all items in your Booty Chest from Adelina's Booty Search
- Claim all items from your server's Market Manager
- Claim all items from Leonardo Expreso's "Receive Premium Item" service. As Hrin has already emphasized, the Item Vaults will NOT be affected by the Server Merge.
- DO NOT activate any more time-based premium items. The only possible exception to this rule is the use of one-day items.
- Contributed by Staark: Find something to do during maintenance time - something productive perhaps?
That's it for now. If I've missed anything, I may update this post. Please comment and let me know what else needs to be done NOW, before people forget, and then wind up in hysterics after the Server Merge catches people flat-footed....
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
September's end: NineMoons's article on the GE Gamer Girls Season 1 initiative TEASER
Granado Espada: Gamer Girls in the Spotlight
by PJ “NineMoons” Punla [http://geninemoons.blogspot.com]
Back in the beginnings of the World Wide Web and the Internet, those who wanted in had to endure sharing their connections with everyone else, slow or laggy data lines, the occasional influx of not-quite-polite new users, and a slightly misogynistic take on things.
There are many stories as to where the hostility toward women on the Internet began. Some of the tales cite the relative anonymity of the early days, when people began to shift from using their own real names to the prototypical “handles” and usernames. Others mention that the original groups of users tended to be mostly male, and tended to expect that everyone else was, too. And still others paint pictures of the original groups of users as being rather left out of “real” society, lacking the ability or inclination to successfully mingle with fellow humans.
The misogyny scaled along with the growing community of users until eventually, the stereotype emerged: the typical Internet user is a male white teenager, whose ideas about the opposite sex are juvenile at best and outright hostile at worst.
One of the products of that stereotype is the following section taken from the so-called “Rules of the Internet”. Take note that these “rules” that were already offensive when they first came out, since they originated from a badly-behaved image discussion board:
Rules of the Internet
28. Always question a person's gender - just in case it's really a man
29. In the internet all girls are men and all kids are undercover FBI agents
30. There are no girls on the internet
31. TITS or GTFO - the choice is yours
The 31st “rule” may be the cruelest of all: if you claim to be female on the Internet, either show your breasts, or get the [insert your preferred expletive here] out.
And who can forget the pejorative abbreviation “GIRL” [Guy In Real Life], or its local equivalent term chicksilog, meaning a guy who assumes a female persona online?
With the advent of Web 2.0 and its many new applications, the Internet may finally be rebelling against the old misogyny: blogs run by and for women, many even organized into their own networks, such as the BlogHer network; social networking sites such as Friendster, MySpace, and Facebook, boasting multitudes of female users; and even media-streaming sites where women create and dictate the content, such as Christine Gambito’s Happy Slip Productions.
Video games bring up the special case of gamer girls. The female of the species has discovered a new playground, and has set out to conquer it with a vengeance. Since many girls have taken up gaming – many even professionally, and make no mistake, they are good at it – the marketing programs of what was formerly a male-adolescent-dominated audience [sound familiar?] are now shifting in order to target the new crop of players.
Gamer girls have been part of Massively Multiplayer Online Games [MMOGs], a special subset of video games, from the beginning – but now they are being heralded as the new face of the genre.
***
To read the rest of the article online, click the following link: ScoutAreaOnline.com > Technology > Technology Features > Granado Espada Gamer Girls in the Spotlight
To read the rest of the article in print, check out the November issue of Game! Magazine, hitting stands soon.
by PJ “NineMoons” Punla [http://geninemoons.blogspot.com]
Back in the beginnings of the World Wide Web and the Internet, those who wanted in had to endure sharing their connections with everyone else, slow or laggy data lines, the occasional influx of not-quite-polite new users, and a slightly misogynistic take on things.
There are many stories as to where the hostility toward women on the Internet began. Some of the tales cite the relative anonymity of the early days, when people began to shift from using their own real names to the prototypical “handles” and usernames. Others mention that the original groups of users tended to be mostly male, and tended to expect that everyone else was, too. And still others paint pictures of the original groups of users as being rather left out of “real” society, lacking the ability or inclination to successfully mingle with fellow humans.
The misogyny scaled along with the growing community of users until eventually, the stereotype emerged: the typical Internet user is a male white teenager, whose ideas about the opposite sex are juvenile at best and outright hostile at worst.
One of the products of that stereotype is the following section taken from the so-called “Rules of the Internet”. Take note that these “rules” that were already offensive when they first came out, since they originated from a badly-behaved image discussion board:
Rules of the Internet
28. Always question a person's gender - just in case it's really a man
29. In the internet all girls are men and all kids are undercover FBI agents
30. There are no girls on the internet
31. TITS or GTFO - the choice is yours
The 31st “rule” may be the cruelest of all: if you claim to be female on the Internet, either show your breasts, or get the [insert your preferred expletive here] out.
And who can forget the pejorative abbreviation “GIRL” [Guy In Real Life], or its local equivalent term chicksilog, meaning a guy who assumes a female persona online?
With the advent of Web 2.0 and its many new applications, the Internet may finally be rebelling against the old misogyny: blogs run by and for women, many even organized into their own networks, such as the BlogHer network; social networking sites such as Friendster, MySpace, and Facebook, boasting multitudes of female users; and even media-streaming sites where women create and dictate the content, such as Christine Gambito’s Happy Slip Productions.
Video games bring up the special case of gamer girls. The female of the species has discovered a new playground, and has set out to conquer it with a vengeance. Since many girls have taken up gaming – many even professionally, and make no mistake, they are good at it – the marketing programs of what was formerly a male-adolescent-dominated audience [sound familiar?] are now shifting in order to target the new crop of players.
Gamer girls have been part of Massively Multiplayer Online Games [MMOGs], a special subset of video games, from the beginning – but now they are being heralded as the new face of the genre.
***
To read the rest of the article online, click the following link: ScoutAreaOnline.com > Technology > Technology Features > Granado Espada Gamer Girls in the Spotlight
To read the rest of the article in print, check out the November issue of Game! Magazine, hitting stands soon.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Friends and More at the Granado Espada PH Black Party
Previous Posts
Now, THAT'S what I call a Birthday Present!
NineMoons Marks Her 26th Birthday~!
Pictures and After-Action Report: The Granado Espada PH Black Party
[There will be pictures in this post - lots and lots of pictures! I'll be resizing them so as not to completely kill your browsers dead, but it's well worth it to wait while all the pictures are loading since they're pretty much integral to the story. In fact, as I often do for these after-action reports, the pictures and the captions ARE the story. Hope you can stick around to wait for them, since they're quite worth it.]
The single best part about going to gatherings such as the Black Party is, of course, meeting and greeting a whole lot of people, making friends, and taking photos! The honor I received this year was that now people were asking to have pictures taken with me ^^ Never had that happen to me before.
Rivendel attempts to log in to Granado Espada.
Ditto for Covenant faction leader Blacksword.
A proper picture of Sigrid and NineMoons.
Covenant faction from Carracci, take 1.
[I left temporarily because I wanted to try setting up a faction of my own, and doing the Faction Lv 51 and 52 quests. As things stand, I've had to postpone setting up until after the Server Merge.]
Nate Reclusion and Sigrid.
RoseChavez and NineMoons.
NineMoons and Whiteships a/k/a Feng Ling.
RoseChavez, NineMoons, and Santoss.
Xei and Artaxerxes.
Covenant faction from Carracci, take 2 - with CM Aethrin.
To friendship, the Power of Trinity, and Granado Espada~!
Now, THAT'S what I call a Birthday Present!
NineMoons Marks Her 26th Birthday~!
Pictures and After-Action Report: The Granado Espada PH Black Party
[There will be pictures in this post - lots and lots of pictures! I'll be resizing them so as not to completely kill your browsers dead, but it's well worth it to wait while all the pictures are loading since they're pretty much integral to the story. In fact, as I often do for these after-action reports, the pictures and the captions ARE the story. Hope you can stick around to wait for them, since they're quite worth it.]
The single best part about going to gatherings such as the Black Party is, of course, meeting and greeting a whole lot of people, making friends, and taking photos! The honor I received this year was that now people were asking to have pictures taken with me ^^ Never had that happen to me before.
Rivendel attempts to log in to Granado Espada.
Ditto for Covenant faction leader Blacksword.
A proper picture of Sigrid and NineMoons.
Covenant faction from Carracci, take 1.
[I left temporarily because I wanted to try setting up a faction of my own, and doing the Faction Lv 51 and 52 quests. As things stand, I've had to postpone setting up until after the Server Merge.]
Nate Reclusion and Sigrid.
RoseChavez and NineMoons.
NineMoons and Whiteships a/k/a Feng Ling.
RoseChavez, NineMoons, and Santoss.
Xei and Artaxerxes.
Covenant faction from Carracci, take 2 - with CM Aethrin.
To friendship, the Power of Trinity, and Granado Espada~!
Pictures and After-Action Report: The Granado Espada PH Black Party
Previous Posts
Now, THAT'S what I call a Birthday Present!
NineMoons Marks Her 26th Birthday~!
Next Post
Friends and More at the Granado Espada PH Black Party
[There will be pictures in this post - lots and lots of pictures! I'll be resizing them so as not to completely kill your browsers dead, but it's well worth it to wait while all the pictures are loading since they're pretty much integral to the story. In fact, as I often do for these after-action reports, the pictures and the captions ARE the story. Hope you can stick around to wait for them, since they're quite worth it.]
In order to celebrate its first year since commercial launch in the Philippines, IP e-Games piggybacked onto a Globe Telecoms event, hosting a Gaming Arena area on the first floor of the SMX Convention Center, the pet exhibit center of the SM Mall of Asia. The Gaming Arena boasted about a hundred or so PCs, and was intended to host the games being promoted that day: CABAL Online, Top Speed, Dance Battle Audition, and of course Granado Espada.
The Granado Espada banner at the Gaming Arena.
PCs! Lots of PCs!
Unfortunately all those PCs wound up becoming so much dead things. How ironic that a telecoms promotion that was supposed to extol added connectivity via both computers and mobile phones wound up providing an extremely inadequate Internet connection to this whole lot of computers. The lack of a reliable Internet connection had several repercussions for the event; the biggest casualty was this:
The Granado Espada PvP go-round, and any other tournaments that the other games might have wanted to put on, was unceremoniously bricked because there was no actual connection. Too bad since the GE tourney was supposed to take place on the Test Servers! I can only hope the PvP teams found the rest of the day at least as eventful as the tourney would have been. At least everyone who registered for the tournament was given a prize ^^
There was no PvP, but there was a lot of People Meeting People, in many cases for the first time, and in a few cases after a long time! Here's one of the surprise participants at the rest of the event: Sigrid!
[With thanks to Alex Crosse who took this pretty cool candid shot of me and Sigrid talking.]
The Black Party kicked off in earnest with the Trivia Contest, hosted by Grantoza and CM Aethrin.
[The telecom company also did not provide microphones, so we had to make do with that megaphone - and that prompted several rounds of jokes about being right back in Granado Espada, what with the game having Megaphone items to talk to an entire map at once, and the Microphone item to talk to the entire server.]
Part of the crowd that hung around the stage to join the Trivia Contest. Is it any wonder they were crowded so thickly when the prizes included video cards and such?
Lucky me to win one of the major prizes at this Trivia Contest; details here.
After a break, during which this cake was revealed and eaten with much relish, Aethrin got back on stage [I hope he enjoyed his chunk of the cake!] to hand out certificates of appreciation to the GE PH bloggers for, once again, going above and beyond the call of duty to keep the community informed and up to date with the game's latest developments.
As the certificate itself says:
For [their] stupendous efforts in chronicling events, news and features pertinent to the Granado Espada community.
The first group of bloggers honored: from left to right, Fiksdotter, Blacksword, Christus, CM Aethrin, Sigrid, and Southernsky.
The second group of bloggers honored: standing, from left to right, Churvanesska, Welling, CM Aethrin, Mena, and Artaxerxes. Kneeling, well, that's me [NineMoons].
Other bloggers were called but were not around, including Ogasawara and Craeon. [Craeon, that's the second certificate you've missed....]
The fan art competition drew a few contestants, and the prizes were won by StreyCat and Serpentes [a/k/a Hahaziah].
As a parting shot at the close of the Black Party, CM Aethrin suddenly yelled, "Okay, everyone who showed up in black, line up in front of the stage!" One scrum later, people walked away carrying GE mousepads [with Pirate Adelina on them] and other random real-life goodies. Whiteships a/k/a the lovely Feng Ling cosplayer snagged a limited-edition shirt, to her joy, after she'd been unable to buy anything in her size. I also got a shirt - but was able to trade it to Blacksword in exchange for his GE lanyard!
My parting photo: the Carracci crowd what attended the event, in what will likely be the last picture of this group under that name! [Since in two weeks' time Pachelbel and Carracci will cease to exist and instead become the single server Rembrandt....]
[Next Post: Friends and more - and pictures of us eating that cake!]
Now, THAT'S what I call a Birthday Present!
NineMoons Marks Her 26th Birthday~!
Next Post
Friends and More at the Granado Espada PH Black Party
[There will be pictures in this post - lots and lots of pictures! I'll be resizing them so as not to completely kill your browsers dead, but it's well worth it to wait while all the pictures are loading since they're pretty much integral to the story. In fact, as I often do for these after-action reports, the pictures and the captions ARE the story. Hope you can stick around to wait for them, since they're quite worth it.]
In order to celebrate its first year since commercial launch in the Philippines, IP e-Games piggybacked onto a Globe Telecoms event, hosting a Gaming Arena area on the first floor of the SMX Convention Center, the pet exhibit center of the SM Mall of Asia. The Gaming Arena boasted about a hundred or so PCs, and was intended to host the games being promoted that day: CABAL Online, Top Speed, Dance Battle Audition, and of course Granado Espada.
The Granado Espada banner at the Gaming Arena.
PCs! Lots of PCs!
Unfortunately all those PCs wound up becoming so much dead things. How ironic that a telecoms promotion that was supposed to extol added connectivity via both computers and mobile phones wound up providing an extremely inadequate Internet connection to this whole lot of computers. The lack of a reliable Internet connection had several repercussions for the event; the biggest casualty was this:
The Granado Espada PvP go-round, and any other tournaments that the other games might have wanted to put on, was unceremoniously bricked because there was no actual connection. Too bad since the GE tourney was supposed to take place on the Test Servers! I can only hope the PvP teams found the rest of the day at least as eventful as the tourney would have been. At least everyone who registered for the tournament was given a prize ^^
There was no PvP, but there was a lot of People Meeting People, in many cases for the first time, and in a few cases after a long time! Here's one of the surprise participants at the rest of the event: Sigrid!
[With thanks to Alex Crosse who took this pretty cool candid shot of me and Sigrid talking.]
The Black Party kicked off in earnest with the Trivia Contest, hosted by Grantoza and CM Aethrin.
[The telecom company also did not provide microphones, so we had to make do with that megaphone - and that prompted several rounds of jokes about being right back in Granado Espada, what with the game having Megaphone items to talk to an entire map at once, and the Microphone item to talk to the entire server.]
Part of the crowd that hung around the stage to join the Trivia Contest. Is it any wonder they were crowded so thickly when the prizes included video cards and such?
Lucky me to win one of the major prizes at this Trivia Contest; details here.
After a break, during which this cake was revealed and eaten with much relish, Aethrin got back on stage [I hope he enjoyed his chunk of the cake!] to hand out certificates of appreciation to the GE PH bloggers for, once again, going above and beyond the call of duty to keep the community informed and up to date with the game's latest developments.
As the certificate itself says:
For [their] stupendous efforts in chronicling events, news and features pertinent to the Granado Espada community.
The first group of bloggers honored: from left to right, Fiksdotter, Blacksword, Christus, CM Aethrin, Sigrid, and Southernsky.
The second group of bloggers honored: standing, from left to right, Churvanesska, Welling, CM Aethrin, Mena, and Artaxerxes. Kneeling, well, that's me [NineMoons].
Other bloggers were called but were not around, including Ogasawara and Craeon. [Craeon, that's the second certificate you've missed....]
The fan art competition drew a few contestants, and the prizes were won by StreyCat and Serpentes [a/k/a Hahaziah].
As a parting shot at the close of the Black Party, CM Aethrin suddenly yelled, "Okay, everyone who showed up in black, line up in front of the stage!" One scrum later, people walked away carrying GE mousepads [with Pirate Adelina on them] and other random real-life goodies. Whiteships a/k/a the lovely Feng Ling cosplayer snagged a limited-edition shirt, to her joy, after she'd been unable to buy anything in her size. I also got a shirt - but was able to trade it to Blacksword in exchange for his GE lanyard!
My parting photo: the Carracci crowd what attended the event, in what will likely be the last picture of this group under that name! [Since in two weeks' time Pachelbel and Carracci will cease to exist and instead become the single server Rembrandt....]
[Next Post: Friends and more - and pictures of us eating that cake!]
Friday, September 26, 2008
[GUIDE] Convention Guide REBOOT
Inspired by, and cribbed from, Blacksword's Player's Guide to Conventions and Events.
A new version of my own elaborated Preparing for conventions etc.: Tips, Tricks, and Common Sense
***
So, the Granado Espada PH First Anniversary Black Party will take place tomorrow: 27 September 2008, at the SMX Convention Center, right next to the SM Mall of Asia.
Important things to remember:
No Boxer Shorts, No Slippers, and No Sandos Allowed.
And when we say "No Slippers" we really mean NO FLIP-FLOPS. Doesn't matter what brand they are, they're still not allowed. Take a lesson from that faction what showed up at Dom1nation II in flip-flops and wound up having to travel home just to change to proper shoes.
Wear proper, comfortable shoes instead. Take another lesson from the layout of Dom1nation II: remember that there were very few seats at the venue. If you're going to wind up doing a lot of walking and standing, do yourself a favor and wear comfortable shoes.
Wear good, comfortable clothes. Be stylish all you want, but make sure that your outfit will stand up to the general stresses of a convention: no place to sit, a good amount of walking, lots of standing up, and the occasional need to sit on the floor because there's no other way to get comfortable.
Bring a Bag.
It's a convention, there are usually things for sale, and you do not want to be left juggling a mass of awkward packages, especially if you want to commute home. My personal recommendation is always to carry a big backpack - you can carry it on both shoulders, leave your hands free, and carry all your purchases easily. Just be sure to keep an eye on it at all times!
Bring Extra Money.
Best to always be prepared. You never know if you need to buy food, drinks, and new toys there.
Bring Some Way to Record the Event.
Bring your trusty digital camera. Bring a camcorder if you have one. Or make sure there's plenty of room in your mobile phone to take pictures, video, and voice recordings with. It's always nice to take away some sort of memory from large gatherings like this.
Be Polite to Everyone.
Please, please, DO NOT DISRUPT CONVENTIONS BY BEING RUDE.
Do Not Overwhelm the CM with Questions about the Server Merge.
Do I need to explain this? I'm sure he will be willing to take questions - but do not be rude, do not be angry, and do not yell.
Ladies: Dress Properly and Protect Yourselves.
Bring a companion if you can, just in case some crazies DO show up - at least then you'd have some protection. If you're by yourself, bring something like an umbrella, carry it like a club, and be aware of your surroundings.
That said: Look for me tomorrow if you want to chat. I'll be wearing a press pass and a large backpack. Let's try to enjoy tomorrow.
A new version of my own elaborated Preparing for conventions etc.: Tips, Tricks, and Common Sense
***
So, the Granado Espada PH First Anniversary Black Party will take place tomorrow: 27 September 2008, at the SMX Convention Center, right next to the SM Mall of Asia.
Important things to remember:
No Boxer Shorts, No Slippers, and No Sandos Allowed.
And when we say "No Slippers" we really mean NO FLIP-FLOPS. Doesn't matter what brand they are, they're still not allowed. Take a lesson from that faction what showed up at Dom1nation II in flip-flops and wound up having to travel home just to change to proper shoes.
Wear proper, comfortable shoes instead. Take another lesson from the layout of Dom1nation II: remember that there were very few seats at the venue. If you're going to wind up doing a lot of walking and standing, do yourself a favor and wear comfortable shoes.
Wear good, comfortable clothes. Be stylish all you want, but make sure that your outfit will stand up to the general stresses of a convention: no place to sit, a good amount of walking, lots of standing up, and the occasional need to sit on the floor because there's no other way to get comfortable.
Bring a Bag.
It's a convention, there are usually things for sale, and you do not want to be left juggling a mass of awkward packages, especially if you want to commute home. My personal recommendation is always to carry a big backpack - you can carry it on both shoulders, leave your hands free, and carry all your purchases easily. Just be sure to keep an eye on it at all times!
Bring Extra Money.
Best to always be prepared. You never know if you need to buy food, drinks, and new toys there.
Bring Some Way to Record the Event.
Bring your trusty digital camera. Bring a camcorder if you have one. Or make sure there's plenty of room in your mobile phone to take pictures, video, and voice recordings with. It's always nice to take away some sort of memory from large gatherings like this.
Be Polite to Everyone.
Please, please, DO NOT DISRUPT CONVENTIONS BY BEING RUDE.
Do Not Overwhelm the CM with Questions about the Server Merge.
Do I need to explain this? I'm sure he will be willing to take questions - but do not be rude, do not be angry, and do not yell.
Ladies: Dress Properly and Protect Yourselves.
Bring a companion if you can, just in case some crazies DO show up - at least then you'd have some protection. If you're by yourself, bring something like an umbrella, carry it like a club, and be aware of your surroundings.
That said: Look for me tomorrow if you want to chat. I'll be wearing a press pass and a large backpack. Let's try to enjoy tomorrow.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Server Merge Commentary: Channels, Compensation, and the Staff
Since there are still people in the forums who are just jumping straight into the rants-n-raves mode before knowing what's going on, read this or die:
IAH is implementing a server merge for SEA / ANZ Granado Espada effective 7 October 2008.
News and Sources:
Granado Espada World Migration Official Announcement
Bulletin 1: World Migration Family and Faction Migration Guide
[More bulletins to come, apparently, and I will update the post as they are released.]
Official Forum Threads for Comments and Complaints:
Granado Espada World Migration Official Announcement
It's Maintenance Day! Ask [Mee Pok Tah] about the World Migration here!!
***
I'm still not tout a fait ["completely"] happy with the continuing wait-and-see tactic regarding the number of channels available to players after the server merge. As I quoted in the previous entry, Hrin was left saying something about IMC, HBS, and IAH deciding on whether there would be more channels in the new servers only after the merge had been completed.
Maybe I should say it a little more strongly, though I'm not sure what good it might do me right now:
One of the fastest ways to assure the SEA / ANZ GE community of players, right the heck now when the news is still fresh enough to cause shock and anger, is to say that there WILL be more channels already implemented in the new servers, ready to use when we all log back in.
Corollary statements:
- More channels will assuage the fear of overcrowding, especially in the merged PK server which will play host to the denizens of the THREE old PK servers.
- More channels may allow for more boss raids, which will mean that better loots and items may become more accessible to more people and thus affect the new servers' economies.
- More channels will negate the fear associated with "Where will the newbies level now?", because more channels equals more space for everyone to level in.
There was a brief description of the supposedly new hardware and servers that IAH bought, which they'll be migrating GE to. The burden of proof of those new servers falls squarely on IAH - prove how new and how robust those things are by programming them to hold more channels.
I still remember the outcry when SEA / ANZ GE transitioned to its commercial phase because in that transition, all of the Channel 3s were dropped most unceremoniously. That lingered as a sore wound in the community because up until then, everyone had most cheerfully utilized the wide-open freedom of the New World in three separate channels. The irony of that wide-open freedom being abruptly curtailed, just when the game went into wide release and presumably looking for new players, was a hard blow to deal with.
The suggestion has been to bump the number of channels back to, at the very LEAST, three in each new server - and there are even those who are advocating four to six channels. My two cents involves assigning two channels for each of the old servers:
New PK server Bach: Six channels, two for each of the three former servers Cervantes, Caravaggio, and Vivaldi
New Non-PK server Rembrandt: Four channels, two for each of the two former servers Carracci and Pachelbel.
And, following the second corollary statement above, opening boss raids in at least two channels apiece, as initial concession to the large numbers of raiders pouring into each of the new, after-merge servers.
***
I also do not agree with having only the World Migration Package as the compensation for all players. The suggested items to be included in the package might not satisfy everyone. I might have suggested adding one thing to that package: 15 ABS for everyone. I'm not joking, at least this gives people a chance, however much of a chance that game is, at getting good items, as compensation for many items that may be lost in the process of merging.
***
Finally, for everyone what's going to the Black Party GE PH Anniversary event on Saturday: Let's at least PLEASE try NOT to overwhelm CM Aethrin with too many questions about this server merge. My best piece of advice will be to READ THE LINKS ABOVE before going - and if you cannot find an answer to your burning questions, only then can you go ahead and attempt to have the CM look into it.
Be advised that the forum threads are already being manned by staff who are already making extreme efforts to accommodate everyone's questions. Ask THEM first, and preferably BEFORE Saturday - they're right there so ask them already!
IAH is implementing a server merge for SEA / ANZ Granado Espada effective 7 October 2008.
News and Sources:
Granado Espada World Migration Official Announcement
Bulletin 1: World Migration Family and Faction Migration Guide
[More bulletins to come, apparently, and I will update the post as they are released.]
Official Forum Threads for Comments and Complaints:
Granado Espada World Migration Official Announcement
It's Maintenance Day! Ask [Mee Pok Tah] about the World Migration here!!
***
I'm still not tout a fait ["completely"] happy with the continuing wait-and-see tactic regarding the number of channels available to players after the server merge. As I quoted in the previous entry, Hrin was left saying something about IMC, HBS, and IAH deciding on whether there would be more channels in the new servers only after the merge had been completed.
Maybe I should say it a little more strongly, though I'm not sure what good it might do me right now:
One of the fastest ways to assure the SEA / ANZ GE community of players, right the heck now when the news is still fresh enough to cause shock and anger, is to say that there WILL be more channels already implemented in the new servers, ready to use when we all log back in.
Corollary statements:
- More channels will assuage the fear of overcrowding, especially in the merged PK server which will play host to the denizens of the THREE old PK servers.
- More channels may allow for more boss raids, which will mean that better loots and items may become more accessible to more people and thus affect the new servers' economies.
- More channels will negate the fear associated with "Where will the newbies level now?", because more channels equals more space for everyone to level in.
There was a brief description of the supposedly new hardware and servers that IAH bought, which they'll be migrating GE to. The burden of proof of those new servers falls squarely on IAH - prove how new and how robust those things are by programming them to hold more channels.
I still remember the outcry when SEA / ANZ GE transitioned to its commercial phase because in that transition, all of the Channel 3s were dropped most unceremoniously. That lingered as a sore wound in the community because up until then, everyone had most cheerfully utilized the wide-open freedom of the New World in three separate channels. The irony of that wide-open freedom being abruptly curtailed, just when the game went into wide release and presumably looking for new players, was a hard blow to deal with.
The suggestion has been to bump the number of channels back to, at the very LEAST, three in each new server - and there are even those who are advocating four to six channels. My two cents involves assigning two channels for each of the old servers:
New PK server Bach: Six channels, two for each of the three former servers Cervantes, Caravaggio, and Vivaldi
New Non-PK server Rembrandt: Four channels, two for each of the two former servers Carracci and Pachelbel.
And, following the second corollary statement above, opening boss raids in at least two channels apiece, as initial concession to the large numbers of raiders pouring into each of the new, after-merge servers.
***
I also do not agree with having only the World Migration Package as the compensation for all players. The suggested items to be included in the package might not satisfy everyone. I might have suggested adding one thing to that package: 15 ABS for everyone. I'm not joking, at least this gives people a chance, however much of a chance that game is, at getting good items, as compensation for many items that may be lost in the process of merging.
***
Finally, for everyone what's going to the Black Party GE PH Anniversary event on Saturday: Let's at least PLEASE try NOT to overwhelm CM Aethrin with too many questions about this server merge. My best piece of advice will be to READ THE LINKS ABOVE before going - and if you cannot find an answer to your burning questions, only then can you go ahead and attempt to have the CM look into it.
Be advised that the forum threads are already being manned by staff who are already making extreme efforts to accommodate everyone's questions. Ask THEM first, and preferably BEFORE Saturday - they're right there so ask them already!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Server Merge What The-?! Hilarity Ensues....
Okay, heart attack time for all of you who haven't yet heard of this:
IAH is implementing a server merge for SEA / ANZ Granado Espada effective 7 October 2008.
News and Sources:
Granado Espada World Migration Official Announcement
Bulletin 1: World Migration Family and Faction Migration Guide
[More bulletins to come, apparently, and I will update the post as they are released.]
Official Forum Thread for Comments and Complaints:
Granado Espada World Migration Official Announcement
It's Maintenance Day! Ask [Mee Pok Tah] about the World Migration here!!
Please, for the love of Grace Bernelli or Andre Janzur, PLEASE read through the news articles and the official comments in the thread above, before anyone panics!
[And have some sympathy for the IAH staff because even while this development has caught everyone flat-footed, they are now the ones who have to face the collective wrath of the community.]
***
I've already had my freak-out over this news, so maybe I can contribute my comments and suggestions - in the hope that I've calmed down enough to be coherent AND rational, of course.
The major themes in the thread linked above have been:
Compensation for this sudden merge, and the losses that people may incur in its implementation
How the PK and the non-PK servers will be affected, respectively
Channels, or the current lack thereof
Items and how they will be dealt with in case of loss; special mention to items such as character cards, limited-edition items such as Divine Angel Wings, and the non-tradeable RNPCs such as Rio, Irawan, Feng Ling, and Bai Hu
And then there are the people who dashed headlong into the thread without knowing what's going on. I refer you again to the beginning of this blog post for the relevant links.
My comments on the themes:
Hrin mentioned something called the "World Migration Package":
We have proposed to IMC and HBS to allow us to have a World Migration Package for you guys.
To ease all migrants’ transition into the new worlds of Bach and Rembrandt, all users who log in between 7 September 2008, 0000hrs (GMT+8) -7 October 2008 0000hrs (GMT+8) will receive the following on 9 October 2008, Thursday, after the merger is complete:
a) 3 Combat Manual (1 day)
b) 3 Stance Manual ( 1 day)
c) 3 Forgotten Territory Pass (1 day)
d) 3 Ancient Territory Pass (1 day)
e) 3 Lucifer Wings (1 day)
f) 3 Devil Wings (1 day)
Yes, that is not a cure-all for all item losses, but it's a start.
Alternatively, a friend of mine suggests doing the following:
- Create a mule account for every server: specifically, one mule account that has only one family in each server
- Merc the characters you want to save
- Pass the items, the vis, and the merced characters to the mule account
- Pray the merge goes through properly
- Retrieve the stash from the mule accounts
The merge works this way:
Cervantes + Caravaggio + Vivaldi = Bach -> Three PK servers become one PK server
Carracci + Pachelbel = Rembrandt -> Two Non-PK servers become one Non-PK server
Since Viv and Pach were the last two servers to be released, some players from those servers have the complaint of lagging behind the other servers in terms of growth and age. The particular comment about Pach was that its population was simply going to be incorporated into Carracci.
The way I see it, yes, there will be problems with overcrowding, but at least it MIGHT become easier to get together for pick-up raids and missions. I can't really judge it until it's actual merge time, though.
When it comes to talking about channels, this quote from Hrin scares me:
As for additional channels, we will observe the situation after the world migration before we discuss further with IMC.
Um, BOO HISS...? It's my firm belief that having the additional channels will immediately assuage the community's fears of having overcrowded servers.... Though someone HAS pointed out to me that this is not a likely thing to happen. This might have been the one truly depressing thing about this. Where in heck are we going to find spots if all the spots get taken very fast?
I really hope IAH pushes for more channels.
And about the rather thorny problem of legacy items...I personally have no stake in it, but I understand that it DOES become a major concern for everyone who went to amazing lengths to get those items. I have nothing to say yet since I want to think about it some more. I guess that means there will be follow-up posts.
So, let's talk about this in the comments. Everyone is welcome, but no trolling or foul language please.
IAH is implementing a server merge for SEA / ANZ Granado Espada effective 7 October 2008.
News and Sources:
Granado Espada World Migration Official Announcement
Bulletin 1: World Migration Family and Faction Migration Guide
[More bulletins to come, apparently, and I will update the post as they are released.]
Official Forum Thread for Comments and Complaints:
Granado Espada World Migration Official Announcement
It's Maintenance Day! Ask [Mee Pok Tah] about the World Migration here!!
Please, for the love of Grace Bernelli or Andre Janzur, PLEASE read through the news articles and the official comments in the thread above, before anyone panics!
[And have some sympathy for the IAH staff because even while this development has caught everyone flat-footed, they are now the ones who have to face the collective wrath of the community.]
***
I've already had my freak-out over this news, so maybe I can contribute my comments and suggestions - in the hope that I've calmed down enough to be coherent AND rational, of course.
The major themes in the thread linked above have been:
Compensation for this sudden merge, and the losses that people may incur in its implementation
How the PK and the non-PK servers will be affected, respectively
Channels, or the current lack thereof
Items and how they will be dealt with in case of loss; special mention to items such as character cards, limited-edition items such as Divine Angel Wings, and the non-tradeable RNPCs such as Rio, Irawan, Feng Ling, and Bai Hu
And then there are the people who dashed headlong into the thread without knowing what's going on. I refer you again to the beginning of this blog post for the relevant links.
My comments on the themes:
Hrin mentioned something called the "World Migration Package":
We have proposed to IMC and HBS to allow us to have a World Migration Package for you guys.
To ease all migrants’ transition into the new worlds of Bach and Rembrandt, all users who log in between 7 September 2008, 0000hrs (GMT+8) -7 October 2008 0000hrs (GMT+8) will receive the following on 9 October 2008, Thursday, after the merger is complete:
a) 3 Combat Manual (1 day)
b) 3 Stance Manual ( 1 day)
c) 3 Forgotten Territory Pass (1 day)
d) 3 Ancient Territory Pass (1 day)
e) 3 Lucifer Wings (1 day)
f) 3 Devil Wings (1 day)
Yes, that is not a cure-all for all item losses, but it's a start.
Alternatively, a friend of mine suggests doing the following:
- Create a mule account for every server: specifically, one mule account that has only one family in each server
- Merc the characters you want to save
- Pass the items, the vis, and the merced characters to the mule account
- Pray the merge goes through properly
- Retrieve the stash from the mule accounts
The merge works this way:
Cervantes + Caravaggio + Vivaldi = Bach -> Three PK servers become one PK server
Carracci + Pachelbel = Rembrandt -> Two Non-PK servers become one Non-PK server
Since Viv and Pach were the last two servers to be released, some players from those servers have the complaint of lagging behind the other servers in terms of growth and age. The particular comment about Pach was that its population was simply going to be incorporated into Carracci.
The way I see it, yes, there will be problems with overcrowding, but at least it MIGHT become easier to get together for pick-up raids and missions. I can't really judge it until it's actual merge time, though.
When it comes to talking about channels, this quote from Hrin scares me:
As for additional channels, we will observe the situation after the world migration before we discuss further with IMC.
Um, BOO HISS...? It's my firm belief that having the additional channels will immediately assuage the community's fears of having overcrowded servers.... Though someone HAS pointed out to me that this is not a likely thing to happen. This might have been the one truly depressing thing about this. Where in heck are we going to find spots if all the spots get taken very fast?
I really hope IAH pushes for more channels.
And about the rather thorny problem of legacy items...I personally have no stake in it, but I understand that it DOES become a major concern for everyone who went to amazing lengths to get those items. I have nothing to say yet since I want to think about it some more. I guess that means there will be follow-up posts.
So, let's talk about this in the comments. Everyone is welcome, but no trolling or foul language please.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The latest costumes from kGE, and the banner for the GE PH Black Party!
[So, obviously, image- and link-heavy post. Please wait for everything to load.....]
From this and this at doratomo.jp, the latest eye-candy new costumes that will be coming in as part of the Version 3.0 Third Civilization updates.
I got a few pictures of the lot, and there are better ones at the doratomo links plus this thread on the SEA / ANZ GE forums.
Have to assume that there are part and parcel of the "Rose" set of costumes. Remember from here: the female fighter's costume in this series is called Rose Camellia, and the male wizard's is Blackness Rose.
Now, we're missing the following costumes in this series: Male Scout, Male Musketeer, Female Wizard, Female Elementalist. Those, we should be looking forward to in the following days....
***
And here's the banner for the GE PH Anniversary Black Party, upcoming this Saturday. Here's the linky to all the events taking place then.
Eee trivia, I really wanna join that!
From this and this at doratomo.jp, the latest eye-candy new costumes that will be coming in as part of the Version 3.0 Third Civilization updates.
I got a few pictures of the lot, and there are better ones at the doratomo links plus this thread on the SEA / ANZ GE forums.
Have to assume that there are part and parcel of the "Rose" set of costumes. Remember from here: the female fighter's costume in this series is called Rose Camellia, and the male wizard's is Blackness Rose.
Now, we're missing the following costumes in this series: Male Scout, Male Musketeer, Female Wizard, Female Elementalist. Those, we should be looking forward to in the following days....
***
And here's the banner for the GE PH Anniversary Black Party, upcoming this Saturday. Here's the linky to all the events taking place then.
Eee trivia, I really wanna join that!
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