I'll be frank: when it comes to SWTOR in my family, things haven't been looking promising.
You may be wondering why I've been sticking with my blogging challenge topics, instead of interspersing them with other posts, as I had intended. Well, I haven't found myself playing a whole lot in the last week or so. There are a number of reasons for this, generally boiling down to a lack of enthusiasm in my family or a lack of enthusiasm in myself.
My husband finds himself not terribly interested in playing on a normal night. He is interested in the story lines of the individual classes, and he's willing to play if I make an appointment with him to do so, but with his main, he's not sure what he really wants to accomplish by logging in without a defined purpose.
"What's the point?" he asked me. "I finished the story line, but the operations seem disconnected to the main story. I'm just not clear how they fit in, unlike some other games, where the end game was something toward which you progressed the entire expansion. In addition, I worked hard at raising my companions' affection levels--even got married--and now my wife doesn't even talk to me anymore."
I laughed and told him that might be some people's impressions of marriage in real life . . .
The fact is he's been finding other things he wants to do more than play SWTOR. We finally got Skyrim from Gamefly, and he and the girls liked it so much he picked it up for PC and paid for the PS3 used copy, so two of them can play at the same time. And he and the girls have had a great time lately watching the Castle DVDs we've been getting from Netflix . . . or streaming survivalist shows.
The girls still play a little, but not much. They are having fun on the Xbox and the PS3, as well as reading, watching/listening to things on their iPods or laptops, or finding outdoor activities, now that spring has arrived. (I have one who is really good about watering my garden for me.) My eldest daughter--the one who plays Sith--completed her GED and is now working full-time to save for higher education, so when she comes home, she wants to veg on her computer, reading mangas.
And me? Well, again, I love my main, but I'm not intending to be a hard-core progression raider, so I don't feel the motivation to grind things terribly much. Nishaa is now about level 14, but she's on Coruscant, which means aside from the class quests, this is the third time I'm running through these quests. I find myself space-barring through the conversations, clicking on whichever option is most "STRAC", knowing those ones will usually be the ones Aric likes, while listening to Audible books on my phone. (I've found more satisfaction some evenings cleaning or doing dishes, let alone baking a new bread for my bread blog . . .)
Last night, however, when I logged on my consular (after an emotionally exhausting night of preparing and e-filing taxes), I decided instead of running circles around the fleet base and logging off, I would go run a warzone. Just one. When I finally started zoning in, I realized I was entering a Voidstar encounter in progress. Great. (When you enter one in progress, it's almost always a loss.)
Our turn as defenders ended about three seconds after I finally saw the scene. Then it was time to attack.
It didn't take long to figure out this team was most likely not heading anywhere very quickly. But in spite of this knowledge, as I ran from point to point, I felt that old familiar thrill. The pace of the action and the amount of full-scale attention required boosted my adrenaline levels and overall mood.
I couldn't help laughing as the Empire characters ganged up on me after realizing I was keeping people alive despite their efforts. As purple lightning surrounded me, I giggled, knowing if I was drawing their attention like this, I was doing a good job as a healer. (Comforting thought as I fall down dead, right?)
And every time I jumped back off the platform after rezzing, buffing as I fell, I felt a renewed sense of energy as I charged back toward my teammates, ready to bubble and heal like crazy.
I got the strange feeling I needed woad . . . and a barbarian cry . . .
After so many days of lackluster play or not logging on at all, it was great fun to feel that rush again. It carried over into the quests I ran with Nishaa afterward, until finally I realized bedtime had snuck up on me, and I logged her off where she stood.
So now I know. If I need a boost of energy, if I want to feel more enthusiasm about playing, it's time to log on my consular and queue for a warzone or two.
It works for a while, anyway.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Challenge #8--Ten Things You Don't Know About Me
When I wrote this for my WoW blog, I stuck with 10 things people didn't know about my character or how I played my character. But I had a few years' worth of history from which to draw by the time I was writing that, so it was relatively simple.
SWTOR's only been around a little over 3 months (I resisted jumping on the meme . . .), so there's not much of real substance I haven't already spoken of in my blogging. This means . . . I guess I'll have to reach into my real life to find 10 things you don't know about me.
1. I was born in Germany. (Army kid, after all.)
2. I graduated from high school on Okinawa, Japan. (Ditto above comment.)
3. I have been on Good Morning America. (Sorry, not going to link it here or you'll know my RL identity and where I live . . . not that I'm terribly afraid of stalkers, because we're in the middle of nowhere and because of item #4.)
4. I have a concealed carry permit. (Living in the middle of nowhere sort of necessitates this.)
5. I am terribly socially challenged. My husband wonders if our second daughter, who is autistic, got her condition from my genetics and, therefore, he wonders if I might also be somewhere on that very broad spectrum. Might be; who knows? At this point, whether I am or not, it doesn't matter, as I don't need special considerations to function in society. To most people, with whom I interact superficially, I seem normal enough, if quiet. To those who get past the superficiality, I just seem a bit eccentric. This means, of course, I fit in very well with the geek crowd, where eccentricity is readily accepted. /shrug
6. When I was 15, my family had a ping-pong table on our enclosed porch. I used to put one side up and spend hours batting the ball against it as a cathartic exercise. It also helped hone my ping-pong sense to the point where I could trounce most people I met in college and everyone in my family. While I never became expert, I am still at the point where most people consider me a reasonably good player.
7. I don't get brain freezes; I get back freezes. Seriously! There's a spot about half-way down my back which seizes up and hurts like crazy in reaction to eating something cold, similar to a brain freeze. When my husband realized I wasn't kidding him about it, he shook his head and said, "I knew it! You really are wired differently."
8. My favorite job ever was as a role player in training scenarios. There's nothing quite like being in a house which ends up with the front door explosively breached (i.e., they use explosives to blow it open), then either being rescued or captured and questioned extensively, depending on the role you're playing that day. I've been hysterical, evil, sneaky, obnoxious, etc., all in accordance with what was needed in the various scenarios. I've screamed my head off, thrown myself at the pavement while running full tilt, lain on the floor amidst broken glass and dead insects (and worse), shot someone in the back with a very dense paintball and taken long-lasting bruises on legs and hands from said paintballs (other locations had armor). Talk about an adrenaline rush! I was very sad to have to leave that job, but . . . real life reared its ugly head, and I needed a full-time job instead of intermittent work. /sigh. It was then that I realized I would have absolutely loved to have been an actress . . .
9. I have no fashion sense whatsoever in real life, and I hate shopping. When my husband shoos me into a dressing room and starts passing clothing over the top of the door, it's not because he wants to control my wardrobe; it's because he knows if I don't get some help, I will never get any clothes. (I always have final say.) This also means that I am happy to leave the task of helping our teenage daughters shop for clothes to my husband, who has great fashion sense. (This is probably one reason I'm glad the Sage clothing tends to coordinate . . . Not much thought required on my part.)
10. I had PRK laser surgery when I was 36. We investigated Lasik at first, but my corneas were too thin to maintain stability after Lasik, so the doctor recommended PRK, instead. It's a much slower-healing and more painful process, but I was so absolutely delighted at not having to wear lenses (after 26 years of wearing them) that I still considered it money well spent. Now, however, my age is starting to catch up with me, and I have to wear glasses in certain low-light situations. (Or with certain kinds of fluorescent lighting . . . Wal-Mart, I'm looking at you!)
That's enough for now . . .
SWTOR's only been around a little over 3 months (I resisted jumping on the meme . . .), so there's not much of real substance I haven't already spoken of in my blogging. This means . . . I guess I'll have to reach into my real life to find 10 things you don't know about me.
1. I was born in Germany. (Army kid, after all.)
2. I graduated from high school on Okinawa, Japan. (Ditto above comment.)
3. I have been on Good Morning America. (Sorry, not going to link it here or you'll know my RL identity and where I live . . . not that I'm terribly afraid of stalkers, because we're in the middle of nowhere and because of item #4.)
4. I have a concealed carry permit. (Living in the middle of nowhere sort of necessitates this.)
5. I am terribly socially challenged. My husband wonders if our second daughter, who is autistic, got her condition from my genetics and, therefore, he wonders if I might also be somewhere on that very broad spectrum. Might be; who knows? At this point, whether I am or not, it doesn't matter, as I don't need special considerations to function in society. To most people, with whom I interact superficially, I seem normal enough, if quiet. To those who get past the superficiality, I just seem a bit eccentric. This means, of course, I fit in very well with the geek crowd, where eccentricity is readily accepted. /shrug
6. When I was 15, my family had a ping-pong table on our enclosed porch. I used to put one side up and spend hours batting the ball against it as a cathartic exercise. It also helped hone my ping-pong sense to the point where I could trounce most people I met in college and everyone in my family. While I never became expert, I am still at the point where most people consider me a reasonably good player.
7. I don't get brain freezes; I get back freezes. Seriously! There's a spot about half-way down my back which seizes up and hurts like crazy in reaction to eating something cold, similar to a brain freeze. When my husband realized I wasn't kidding him about it, he shook his head and said, "I knew it! You really are wired differently."
8. My favorite job ever was as a role player in training scenarios. There's nothing quite like being in a house which ends up with the front door explosively breached (i.e., they use explosives to blow it open), then either being rescued or captured and questioned extensively, depending on the role you're playing that day. I've been hysterical, evil, sneaky, obnoxious, etc., all in accordance with what was needed in the various scenarios. I've screamed my head off, thrown myself at the pavement while running full tilt, lain on the floor amidst broken glass and dead insects (and worse), shot someone in the back with a very dense paintball and taken long-lasting bruises on legs and hands from said paintballs (other locations had armor). Talk about an adrenaline rush! I was very sad to have to leave that job, but . . . real life reared its ugly head, and I needed a full-time job instead of intermittent work. /sigh. It was then that I realized I would have absolutely loved to have been an actress . . .
9. I have no fashion sense whatsoever in real life, and I hate shopping. When my husband shoos me into a dressing room and starts passing clothing over the top of the door, it's not because he wants to control my wardrobe; it's because he knows if I don't get some help, I will never get any clothes. (I always have final say.) This also means that I am happy to leave the task of helping our teenage daughters shop for clothes to my husband, who has great fashion sense. (This is probably one reason I'm glad the Sage clothing tends to coordinate . . . Not much thought required on my part.)
10. I had PRK laser surgery when I was 36. We investigated Lasik at first, but my corneas were too thin to maintain stability after Lasik, so the doctor recommended PRK, instead. It's a much slower-healing and more painful process, but I was so absolutely delighted at not having to wear lenses (after 26 years of wearing them) that I still considered it money well spent. Now, however, my age is starting to catch up with me, and I have to wear glasses in certain low-light situations. (Or with certain kinds of fluorescent lighting . . . Wal-Mart, I'm looking at you!)
That's enough for now . . .
Monday, April 9, 2012
Challenge #7--Blog Name
Why did I pick this name? It's very simple, really . . .
It's simple because overall, our family plays Republic characters, many of us Jedi, where staying on the Light side is generally better.
In addition, if you could say we have a goal in real life, it is to choose the Light, so to speak, or "Choose the Right," as our church frequently says. (There is even a whole industry around "CTR" jewelry, from the classic rings to the more varied.) This is similar to the more widely-popular "What Would Jesus Do" (WWJD), which we like, as well, but don't tend to wear as frequently.
So "Light Rank V" is a reminder to always "Choose the Light," as I spoke of in my first post, and the subtitle "What Would Jedi Do" is a play off WWJD, Star Wars style.
It's simple because overall, our family plays Republic characters, many of us Jedi, where staying on the Light side is generally better.
In addition, if you could say we have a goal in real life, it is to choose the Light, so to speak, or "Choose the Right," as our church frequently says. (There is even a whole industry around "CTR" jewelry, from the classic rings to the more varied.) This is similar to the more widely-popular "What Would Jesus Do" (WWJD), which we like, as well, but don't tend to wear as frequently.
So "Light Rank V" is a reminder to always "Choose the Light," as I spoke of in my first post, and the subtitle "What Would Jedi Do" is a play off WWJD, Star Wars style.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Challenge #6--Workplace/desk
There is no way I will put a picture of my workplace here. I doubt I will ever take a picture at all, to be honest.
Our family lives in a three-bedroom house. Fortunately, the master bedroom is so huge, my husband and I decided to give it to the girls. Their three bunkbeds (two with full-size beds on the lower bunk), fit in less than one half of the room. (You read that right--less than one half, even with nightstands in between the bunkbeds.) There is room in there for chests of drawers, as well as space to play, even on the Kinect. My husband and I have one of the smaller bedrooms (which still fits our king-size bed and a bunch of drawers.)
The third bedroom is the "catch-all" room. In this room, there are three sets of wire shelves about the size of rhino racks (18"x3', 18"x4'), one reasonably large bookcase (poor books are double-shelved), one other bookcase about half the width of the first one, two 2-drawer filing cabinets, two standing gun safes, and two fairly small desks, sitting back to back. The closets are full of sewing stuff, a fire safe, some of my lesser-used but still occasionally useful clothing, a few 1980's formal gowns someone gave me in case I wanted to remake them for my daughters' Homecomings and proms (probably will alter a couple--the girls love 'em), and more than half of my husband's shirts. (He has much more clothing than I do.) On one of the walls is a hat rack made of deer antlers from a hunt my husband's grandfather went on years ago, and on another wall is a hat rack made of horseshoes. (They are both full of hats, by the way, some double-stacked.)
I sit at one of the desks, with my back to the wall holding the deer antlers, facing the door. I purposely put my desk that way when we moved in, so while I was on the computer, I could see the kids in the living room and keep tabs on any shenanigans. (I have since developed a sense that I don't like to have my back to people when I am on the computer. It gives me the creeps.) One of the wire shelf sets is next to my desk, forming a sort of wall next to me, holding my computer, UPS, and printer. My widescreen monitor is on my desk, and my G15 keyboard and 5-button mouse are on a nice, wide keyboard drawer. (The wide keyboard drawer is why I chose this particular desk out of the two used desks which were given to us.) I keep a stack of various papers all over my desk, which I occasionally go through, sort, and destroy.
It sounds pretty chaotic, and it actually is. I keep trying to brainstorm, figuring out ways to rearrange the room to still allow functionality, but make it seem more orderly. But if we still want to be able to access everything, I'm not sure there is a better way to organize it all. (Maybe I should just go through a bunch of it and throw it away . . .)
Our family lives in a three-bedroom house. Fortunately, the master bedroom is so huge, my husband and I decided to give it to the girls. Their three bunkbeds (two with full-size beds on the lower bunk), fit in less than one half of the room. (You read that right--less than one half, even with nightstands in between the bunkbeds.) There is room in there for chests of drawers, as well as space to play, even on the Kinect. My husband and I have one of the smaller bedrooms (which still fits our king-size bed and a bunch of drawers.)
The third bedroom is the "catch-all" room. In this room, there are three sets of wire shelves about the size of rhino racks (18"x3', 18"x4'), one reasonably large bookcase (poor books are double-shelved), one other bookcase about half the width of the first one, two 2-drawer filing cabinets, two standing gun safes, and two fairly small desks, sitting back to back. The closets are full of sewing stuff, a fire safe, some of my lesser-used but still occasionally useful clothing, a few 1980's formal gowns someone gave me in case I wanted to remake them for my daughters' Homecomings and proms (probably will alter a couple--the girls love 'em), and more than half of my husband's shirts. (He has much more clothing than I do.) On one of the walls is a hat rack made of deer antlers from a hunt my husband's grandfather went on years ago, and on another wall is a hat rack made of horseshoes. (They are both full of hats, by the way, some double-stacked.)
I sit at one of the desks, with my back to the wall holding the deer antlers, facing the door. I purposely put my desk that way when we moved in, so while I was on the computer, I could see the kids in the living room and keep tabs on any shenanigans. (I have since developed a sense that I don't like to have my back to people when I am on the computer. It gives me the creeps.) One of the wire shelf sets is next to my desk, forming a sort of wall next to me, holding my computer, UPS, and printer. My widescreen monitor is on my desk, and my G15 keyboard and 5-button mouse are on a nice, wide keyboard drawer. (The wide keyboard drawer is why I chose this particular desk out of the two used desks which were given to us.) I keep a stack of various papers all over my desk, which I occasionally go through, sort, and destroy.
It sounds pretty chaotic, and it actually is. I keep trying to brainstorm, figuring out ways to rearrange the room to still allow functionality, but make it seem more orderly. But if we still want to be able to access everything, I'm not sure there is a better way to organize it all. (Maybe I should just go through a bunch of it and throw it away . . .)
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Challenge #5--Favorite In-game Items
Um . . . . . I don't think I've become attached to most things enough to call them my favorite items . . .
Actually, that's not quite right. Since I've been able to run a couple of operations, I've managed to pick up the appropriate crafting materials to make my Rakata medpac, stim, and one adrenal. I have plans to make another Rakata adrenal, for situational use.
I love knowing I simply don't have to go pick up stims and adrenals for operations! I spent so much time in WoW just gathering my herbs, mixing my flasks, fishing my fish, and cooking fish feasts, it was like having a part-time job to support my raiding habit. (Between the actual raiding hours and the preparation hours, it actually took about as much time as a part-time job . . .) With Rakata supplies, I am always prepared, without having to put in all that extra time.
I can even pop a stim while running warzones without worrying about the cost . . . What isn't cool about that?!
Sure, I still have to supply my husband's Trooper with stims and medpacs, but with only one of us to supply, and with the blue stim recipe available in my list (persists through death), the load isn't terribly heavy.
Everlasting stims and adrenals . . . definitely a great perk for Biochem.
Actually, that's not quite right. Since I've been able to run a couple of operations, I've managed to pick up the appropriate crafting materials to make my Rakata medpac, stim, and one adrenal. I have plans to make another Rakata adrenal, for situational use.
I love knowing I simply don't have to go pick up stims and adrenals for operations! I spent so much time in WoW just gathering my herbs, mixing my flasks, fishing my fish, and cooking fish feasts, it was like having a part-time job to support my raiding habit. (Between the actual raiding hours and the preparation hours, it actually took about as much time as a part-time job . . .) With Rakata supplies, I am always prepared, without having to put in all that extra time.
I can even pop a stim while running warzones without worrying about the cost . . . What isn't cool about that?!
Sure, I still have to supply my husband's Trooper with stims and medpacs, but with only one of us to supply, and with the blue stim recipe available in my list (persists through death), the load isn't terribly heavy.
Everlasting stims and adrenals . . . definitely a great perk for Biochem.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Challenge #4--Best SWTOR Memory
It's hard for me to call up a "best SWTOR memory" about which I haven't already written . . .
After all, the crazy path to defeating the Lord Vivicar challenge was pretty epic . . .
Or the time I first used the Jedi Mind Trick . . .
And seeing my 8-yr-old daughter progress well through the game was really cool . . .
And playing in warzones is always a source of great fun . . .
I have screenshots from the closing scene in Chapter 3, which was nice, although the conclusion was rather bittersweet.
I don't think I'll identify one here as the "best." Just count on it that whenever I find myself delighted in-game, it will be reflected in my blog, so you won't be missing anything. ;)
After all, the crazy path to defeating the Lord Vivicar challenge was pretty epic . . .
Or the time I first used the Jedi Mind Trick . . .
And seeing my 8-yr-old daughter progress well through the game was really cool . . .
And playing in warzones is always a source of great fun . . .
I have screenshots from the closing scene in Chapter 3, which was nice, although the conclusion was rather bittersweet.
I don't think I'll identify one here as the "best." Just count on it that whenever I find myself delighted in-game, it will be reflected in my blog, so you won't be missing anything. ;)
Monday, April 2, 2012
Challenge #3--First Day
My first day of playing SWTOR was on a beta weekend.
To be completely truthful, I had no idea I would end up playing at all. My husband had preordered the game months previously, but at the time, I was still raiding in WoW and had no plans whatsoever to look at another game. And when I quit playing WoW, my emotions were too raw (a combination of burn-out and emotional distress caused by certain players and family members) to consider signing up for another MMO.
So when my husband received his beta weekend invitation, roughly a month and a half after I had become a non-MMO-player, I was happy for him, but that was about the extent of it. There was only one detail which marred his excitement about the whole thing: he had to leave for a business trip that Sunday morning.
"Since I can't play on Sunday, why don't you take a look and see what you think?" he told me as we were packing up his clothing.
I shrugged.
I had done a little reading about the game when my husband had been researching it and already knew the Consular would fit my playstyle the best. And, as I wanted to have eyes and didn't want horns, I figured the Mirialan would be my racial choice. (Humans are boring.) With these more simple choices out of the way, I was surprised how long it took me to fine-tune my character's appearance. I knew there was no way I would ever remember the settings upon which I settled, if I ever found myself wanting to duplicate it, so I wrote them down.
I was delighted to find that most of the interface/movements/etc., was very familiar to me, being similar to WoW. (Made life simpler.) I was even more delighted to see the map go translucent when I ran with it up. (Also made life simpler, if I wanted to follow marked paths.) And I found I connected well with my character's demeanor.
Long story short, I fell completely in love with my Jedi Consular on the beta . . .
My husband figured out pretty quickly I'd had fun, so he bought me an account as an early Christmas present. He got into early access before I did, obviously, but as we were in no hurry, it wasn't a big deal. I don't remember that first day much, but the beta weekend, I do.
And I did use the character settings I wrote down when I created Anachan . . .
To be completely truthful, I had no idea I would end up playing at all. My husband had preordered the game months previously, but at the time, I was still raiding in WoW and had no plans whatsoever to look at another game. And when I quit playing WoW, my emotions were too raw (a combination of burn-out and emotional distress caused by certain players and family members) to consider signing up for another MMO.
So when my husband received his beta weekend invitation, roughly a month and a half after I had become a non-MMO-player, I was happy for him, but that was about the extent of it. There was only one detail which marred his excitement about the whole thing: he had to leave for a business trip that Sunday morning.
"Since I can't play on Sunday, why don't you take a look and see what you think?" he told me as we were packing up his clothing.
I shrugged.
I had done a little reading about the game when my husband had been researching it and already knew the Consular would fit my playstyle the best. And, as I wanted to have eyes and didn't want horns, I figured the Mirialan would be my racial choice. (Humans are boring.) With these more simple choices out of the way, I was surprised how long it took me to fine-tune my character's appearance. I knew there was no way I would ever remember the settings upon which I settled, if I ever found myself wanting to duplicate it, so I wrote them down.
I was delighted to find that most of the interface/movements/etc., was very familiar to me, being similar to WoW. (Made life simpler.) I was even more delighted to see the map go translucent when I ran with it up. (Also made life simpler, if I wanted to follow marked paths.) And I found I connected well with my character's demeanor.
Long story short, I fell completely in love with my Jedi Consular on the beta . . .
My husband figured out pretty quickly I'd had fun, so he bought me an account as an early Christmas present. He got into early access before I did, obviously, but as we were in no hurry, it wasn't a big deal. I don't remember that first day much, but the beta weekend, I do.
And I did use the character settings I wrote down when I created Anachan . . .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)