virtualvoyages: The words "SW:TOR Fan Fic" on a starburst background (Fan fic)
  (The universe of SW:TOR is, obviously, not my own. I am merely playing in George Lucas, Lucasarts, Bioware, etc's sandbox.)
 
 
Title: Conflicts of Interest (Part Five)
Genre: Gen (adventure)
Rating: PG (mild violence, swearing)
Summary: Missions for their respective governments have set Kyrian (an Imperial Agent) and Jezari (a Smuggler who does work for the Republic) on a collision course.  There is also the slight matter of a Bounty Hunter...
 



Read more... )
virtualvoyages: The words "SW:TOR Fan Fic" on a starburst background (Fan fic)
 (The universe of SW:TOR is, obviously, not my own. I am merely playing in George Lucas, Lucasarts, Bioware, etc's sandbox.)
 
 
Title: Conflicts of Interest (Part Four)
Genre: Gen (adventure)
Rating: PG (mild violence, swearing)
Summary: Missions for their respective governments have set Kyrian (an Imperial Agent) and Jezari (a Smuggler who does work for the Republic) on a collision course.  There is also the slight matter of a Bounty Hunter...


 
Read more... )
virtualvoyages: an old worn book on a black back ground, a glow at one corner of the book (Default)
Obviously, all the plots in an MMORPG are going to be railroad plots (and much of the time in tabletop gaming as well, really), but there's still the matter of whether one feels railroaded or not. Or at least as if one bought the ticket to where the train is going, as opposed to finding out that somehow your ticket to Orlando was now a ticket to Juneau or London or Nairobi. (Halp! This train is teleporting!)

Most of the time, despite inherently having less choice than a tabletop game (where, say, one's Jedi could devote his or her life to correcting the wrongs the Republic is committing, or one's Bounty Hunter could decide that, actually, they'd rather become a rescuer of folks kidnapped by the assorted despicable governments, or whatever), SW:TOR does a great job of presenting stories that flow naturally and feel as if they contain real choices (even if those choices often lack the consequences they really should carry). But sometimes, they flub up badly.

And they - in my opinion anyway - flubbed in Chapter one of the Bounty Hunter and in Chapter Two of the Jedi Knight

Spoilers under )
virtualvoyages: an old worn book on a black back ground, a glow at one corner of the book (Default)
So, let's just pretend I haven't not posted here in ages.  Still here.  Still playing SW:TOR.  Still writing...or trying to write...or something.

Brief non-spoilery sum-up: the romances in SW:TOR are kind of strange, some of the storylines have plans that really make no sense in them, both factions are evil as frak, and I still love the hell out of the game.  (Though I have a bit of a problem with the flat out black vs. black story.)

Spoiler babbling follows. You have been warned. )
virtualvoyages: an old worn book on a black back ground, a glow at one corner of the book (Default)
First, the nonspoilery review of the two classes I've finished (and they will come as a surprise to no one).

Agent: Totally awesome!  Epic fun spy fiction along the lines of James Bond (though less ruthless if you play Light Side).  Oddly enough, quite possibly the furthest to the Idealism side of the Sliding Scale of Idealism vs Cynicism, if played Light Side.  The vast majority of LS choices line up nicely with good (though I will note that many only work because this is an idealistic story as you are frequently endangering your mission by being LS) and it is tropetastic in the best possible sense.

Smuggler: I love the dialogue options, but the story did not hold up at all well. I felt like it's twists were more on the order of retcons and the story just felt a bit generic.  (Rather than centered on you/your chosen career the way the Agent story is.)  While it still has a number of LS choices that are on the idealistic side and the story itself could still be argued to be, it's set in a not-so-idealistic world.

Now for the more spoilery class reviews and some tweaks that I think would have made the game a ton better.


Spoilers under cut )

virtualvoyages: an old worn book on a black back ground, a glow at one corner of the book (Default)
First, let me apologize for the long pause in writing! I am so sorry, life and a bit of writer's block has slowed me down. I will get the rest of "Conflicts of Interest" written, I promise!


I don't remember exactly when last December I started playing. I know it was slightly after launch, though by game time I was in it from the beginning. I had to replace my computer in order to play (except for the video card) and I know we didn't get the new one made until after the game launched. In any event, I've been playing for about a year, and loving it. Best. MMO. Ever. (That I have played, anyway.)

So... my one year commentary. The game is mostly awesome, but with a few things I wish were different.

I burbble about the game )
*The fact that I can't decide if the game is presenting a conflict that is Black and White (but with a lot of good people on the wrong side and a lot of evil people on the good side) or Black and Black (with a lot of hapless good people caught up in it) or meant to be Black and White and the writers failed hard makes my fan fic very hard to write sometimes. In fact, that's why I'm having writer's block at the moment, I think. My knowledge of the world is interfering with my characters making in character decisions. They don't have my knowledge, though. They don't know about Belsavis and a whole bunch of other stuff. Argl.

virtualvoyages: The words "SW:TOR Fan Fic" on a starburst background (Fan fic)
(The universe of SW:TOR is, obviously, not my own. I am merely playing in George Lucas, Lucasarts, Bioware, etc's sandbox.)


Title: Conflicts of Interest (Part Two)
Genre: Gen (adventure)
Rating: PG (mild violence, swearing)
Summary: Missions for their respective governments have set Kyrian (an Imperial Agent) and Jezari (a Smuggler who does work for the Republic) on a collision course.  There is also the slight matter of a Bounty Hunter...


 

Read more... )
virtualvoyages: The words "SW:TOR Fan Fic" on a starburst background (Fan fic)
(The universe of SW:TOR is, obviously, not my own. I am merely playing in George Lucas, Lucasarts, Bioware, etc's sandbox.)


Title: Conflicts of Interest (Part One)
Genre: Gen (adventure)
Rating: PG
Summary: Missions for their respective governments seem to have set Kyrian (an Imperial Agent) and Jezari (a Smuggler who does work for the Republic) on a collision course.  There is also the slight matter of a Bounty Hunter...

 

 


virtualvoyages: an old worn book on a black back ground, a glow at one corner of the book (Default)
In which I ramble about bounty hunters in Star Wars, Boba Fett, and why I've decided to go with logic, rather than canon, in my fanficing. (Which, yes, I'm still doing. I've just been eaten by moving.)

I've been playing SW:TOR and loving it (obviously), as have a number of my friends. We're all Star Wars fans anyway, and the fun we've been having with the MMO prompted us to break out the old D20 Star Wars RPG and have ourselves a game over the internet (we're spread across two states - and even those of us in the same state live in two different cities). We're playing in an AU based off one of the Infinities comics - the New Hope one, I think.

Following my usual tendency to make the most useful of characters*, I'm playing a gambler with the attention span of a squirrel and an affinity for walking into obvious traps (especially when pretty girls are involved). The rest of the party consists of a deserter from the Empire, a mechanic, a drunken Force user, an escaped pleasure slave (who is almost certainly more than she seems), a rebel soldier (or a soldier from what's left of the rebellion, anyway), and a bounty hunter.

It's the last character on the list that prompted this post. You see, the player decided her awesome bounty hunter should have the exact same armor as Boba Fett. Which sounds like a great idea on the surface. You know, before one actually looks at Boba Fett's armor and all it contains and has attached to it. (And, no, I'm not talking about the Wookiee scalps.) I'm beginning to think we should've linked her Cracked's Boba Fett rant. Though, given that she replicated Boba Fett's armor after reading the description of it in one of the source books, it might be a lost cause.

What's wrong with Boba Fett's armor, you ask? EVERYTHING. Even if we skip the fact that he looks rather like a space hobo (seriously, have moths been at his cape?), the dude made some really bad choices.

- He's got pockets at shin level in his pants - which means he can only reach what's in them by bending over or dropping to one knee (not the best choice for a man in a dangerous line of work).

- He has a wrist mounted flame thrower that (at least according to the game source book) is fed from the fuel for his jet pack. Which couldn't possibly backfire horribly. Oh no.

- His jet pack also has missile/grappling hook launcher - because a jet pack is totally where I'd want to launch things from, what with the flammable fuel and all.

- And, speaking of flammable, the guy is wearing a cape with his jetpack. A CAPE!? There's a whole new "No capes!" waiting to happen. (And why has no one fan-arted this?) But that's not the worst!

- The worst, the winner of the "what was Boba thinking!?" award, is the fact that he has rocket darts on his knees.

That's right, guys. Boba Fett has the ability to fire darts with his knees. How, Mr. Fett, do you plan on aiming those? Your eyes are waaaaay up here on your head. Unless you're keeping a second set somewhere else, I'm thinking those darts don't hit their target very often. (Though I desperately want to go all Mythbusters and build kneepad dart launchers and test their aim. Desperately.)

So, yeah, my friend and fellow player read up all that at and just copied it for her character. Knee darts, high likelihood of self-immolation and all. I expect hilarity when she uses the knee darts.

But I can't blame her too much. Lucas and co. came up with that mess and, apparently, no one ever went "Cape and jetpack, whut?" or "Knee darts!? bwahahahahaha" at any point during the design process. This was clearly pure rule of cool with no thought at all for how any of it would actually work. After all, we were treated to another bit of rule of cool/lack of thought with the whole "No disintegration." line.

How the frak are you supposed to collect a bounty on someone you've disintegrated? You can't even prove that they're dead, much less that you killed them. (There is a part of me that wonders if Karrels Javis saying that people will probably think he was disintegrated if your Agent spares him on Hutta in SW:TOR was a writer's subtle poke at the whole disintegrating people thing.) And, besides, bounty hunters aren't, technically, assassins in the first place.

Or at least, they're not supposed to be. The lore suggests they're not (see the Bounty Hunter's Creed), the dialogue in SW:TOR suggests they're not. And yet, there's very little non-lethal weaponry for bounty hunting in either the d20 game or in SW:TOR. Hell, the only non-lethal weaponry my SW:TOR bounty hunter has (so far, anyway) are her electro darts. That's it. And those, by all logic, shouldn't work on people in heavy armor, being darts and all. (Though at least they're wrist fired, not knee fired.)

This has lead to my having to re-equip my SW:TOR bounty hunter for her appearance in my fanfics. She needs to be armed mainly with non-lethal weaponry: the electro darts, flash grenades, stun baton...some sort of ion weapon for shorting out droids or power armor, perhaps a sonic weapon, sticky foam... you know, things you'd actually use to capture someone. Ironically, re-outfitting her makes her more dangerous as a fanfic character, since Plot Armor doesn't work on non-lethal measures (something you'd think savvy villains would take advantage of).

And, no, she does not wear a cape with her jetpack. No flaming "No capes!" moment for her.

Damn, now I want to go fanfic.

And draw Boba Fett's flaming "No capes!" moment.

And build knee darts.

Knee darts. Bwahahahahahahaha!


*Someday, I really should try to come up with a complete badass in some game, somewhere. I always play the comic relief, the voice of reason, or both. Though I suspect that any attempt to make a complete badass would simply result my making a comic relief character with skilz. Look at my writing! My characters suffer from badass decay (or at least get handed the dude in distress ball) by the time I start writing about them! The real problem, of course, is that I prefer characters who are awesome and fallible. That second part tends to punt them out of badass territory.
virtualvoyages: A woman with brown hair and small tattoos under her eyes faces the viewer (Captain Jezari)
I don't care who tries to tell you what about Taris, stay away from it. It's a rakghoul infested cesspit and I don't want to have to come smuggle your ass off it because you fell for the brochures and now Governor Asshole won't let you leave.  I mean it.  There is nothing there except swamp, rakghouls, pirates and toxic waste.  And people who fell for the brochures.

The customs official's a jerk, the governor just cares what it looks like to the people back home, and the soldiers have been stuck there so long they're losing it.  The damn planet needs warning beacons, not resettlement.

Seriously, I don't care if your great-great-great-great grandwhatever had land there, it's not worth it. 

Not than anybody'll listen to me.

Damn being an upstanding citizen.

virtualvoyages: The words "SW:TOR Fan Fic" on a starburst background (Fan fic)
The universe of SW:TOR still belongs to George Lucas, Lucasarts, BioWare, etc...)

Title: The Enemy of My Enemy Is...? (Part Four of Four)
Genre: Gen (adventure)
Rating: PG
Summary: An Imperial Agent's and a Smuggler's missions intersect, for better or worse.

 

 

Read more... )

 

virtualvoyages: an old worn book on a black back ground, a glow at one corner of the book (Default)
I've noted a time or two already that the factions of SW:TOR do not tidily break down to Good (the Republic) vs. Evil (the Empire).  Which is actually kind of nice and, at least in my opinion, better than the Protagonist-Centered Morality Good vs. Evil of the prequel movies.  (It's even better than the Good vs. Evil of the original movies, especially if people are going to be playing both factions.)  But I've noticed some odd things about it.

Cut for mild spoilers and space saving )

virtualvoyages: an old worn book on a black back ground, a glow at one corner of the book (Default)
Favorite location? But I haven't been everywhere yet.  Ah, well, we'll go with my default of babbling about the subject of the question my own way.

While SW:TOR isn't as pretty as some games, it's got pretty good graphics and a wide variety of planets, most of which I find quite nice.  And a few of which are appropriately eyesores.

I was surprised to find myself enjoying the deserty wide open spaces of Tatooine, which are somehow more appealing in game than they were in A New Hope.  Some of my friends hate Tatooine, but I rather like it.  (The Empire does seem to have shuffled all its least competent people there, though.  Which leads to some very funny overheard NPC dialogue.)

Alderaan is also very lovely, though I found myself wondering if I shouldn't have packed a winter coat.  (I expect to be bothered by that to a far greater degree when I arrive at Hoth. But there doesn't appear to be any cold weather gear in game.)

Dromund Kaas is horror movie pretty, though I wouldn't go so far as to picnic there.  (Kaliyo, you are so weird.)  It also feels like perpetual dusk, which makes me wonder how the heck the plants manage to survive so marvelously.  They must have epic photosynthesis abilities.  Or snack on the wildlife when we're not looking...

Korriban is another deserty planet, though you see so much less of it than Tatooine that it makes less of an impression.  Likewise, parts of Tython are pretty, but the WoWishness of questing there kind of ruins it.  (Why do the Manka Cats all have dentures!?  WHY!?)  And Balmorra somehow fails to leave an impression (even if the quests there do).

Hutta is appropriately disgusting, Taris is the sludgy swamp of wreckage everyone loves to hate (or just hates), Ord Mantell is just kind of there, and...

Then we get to the planets where my opinions make no sense even to me.  Coruscant and Nar Shaddaa are both city-planets and the questing all takes place in corridors and rooms, yet I don't care for Coruscant (except for the view when I'm outside) but enjoy Nar Shaddaa.  And I don't know why.

Actually, I have a suspicion why - maybe two suspicions - Coruscant is where you learn that the Republic is a frickin' mess and possibly hopelessly corrupt.  If my Republic characters manage to somehow get off their starting worlds without realizing that the good side is messed all to hell, they'll quickly learn it there.  You're fixing messes created by the Republic failing miserably to live up to anything resembling its ideals, discovering how speciesist it is just under the surface, and how corrupt it all is.

Nar Shaddaa, that neon-lit land of debauchery, slums, and rampaging gangs is exactly what you'd expect of Smuggler's Moon, the seedy jewel of Hutt space.  It's an awful mess, but you're not supposed to be on the side of the ruling establishment (in as much as there even is a ruling establishment).  Also, Empire side, you get to punch a Hutt.  And who hasn't always wanted to punch a Hutt?

There is also the fact that the quests on Nar Shaddaa have a bit more humor than the ones on Coruscant.  Now, I've had it claimed to me by people of a forum I visit that the Republic side is every bit as funny as the Imperial side, it's simply a different kind of humor.  A more blatant kind.  A kind that, apparently, sails right over my head.  (Excepting the humor of the Smuggler quests.  There is humor there!)

I don't suppose anyone could point out this blatant, possibly Benny Hill accompanied, humor that I'm missing on the Republic side?


20 Days of TOR (Redux)
Day 01
– Introduce yourself
Day 02 – Why did you decided to start a blog?
Day 03Your best SW:TOR playing experience Your first day playing SW:TOR
Day 04 – Your favorite SW:TOR quest or quest chain
Day 05 – Favorite item(s) in game
Day 06 – How many active characters do you have? Do you suffer from "altitis"?
Day 07 – The reason behind your blog’s name
Day 08 – Your favorite class so far, and why
Day 09 – Favorite attack or special move
Day 10 – Crafting: yay or nay? What professions, if any, do you seriously pursue?
Day 11 – Bad in-game habits and flaws
Day 12 – What's a typical TOR gaming session look like for you?
Day 13 – What do you hope Bioware will add to the game?
Day 14 – What aspect of the game upsets you the most?
Day 15 – Have you created a unique headcanon for your characters? If so, what is it?
Day 16 – Your favorite character companion
Day 17 – Your favorite in-game location
Day 18 – Your favorite outfit
Day 19 – What strange things do you keep in your bags or bank?
Day 20 – Conclude with a free day! Write about a SW:TOR topic that the previous 19 days failed to address
virtualvoyages: an old worn book on a black back ground, a glow at one corner of the book (Default)
My favorite character companion?  But I haven't met them all.  I don't even think I've met half of them yet.  How about I just blather about the companions I have met instead?

With one exception, the companions my characters have collected so far fall into one of two categories: characters I like and characters I may not exactly like, but find entertaining anyway.  The one companion I can't stand?  The Trooper's first companion, Aric Jorgan.  He is a dick from word one, blames your character for everything and tells you to your face that he doesn't respect you and doesn't think you're command material.  Excuse me!?  He's not entertainingly annoying; he's just annoying.  Also way out of line, and you're given no real way to deal with it.  I don't know how the Republic military works, but I'm pretty damn sure you can't talk that way to a superior officer in any real life military without getting in trouble for it.  The fact that Lt. Jackass is apparently the romance option for F!Troopers rather makes me want to throw things.  (For so very many reasons.)

Companion Characters I Like: (so far)

Bowdaar is a very nice, sensible wookiee.  I sometimes think he may be the "mom" of my Smuggler's crew.  Risha is still a bit of a mystery, but keeps being a better person than I expect her to be.  (And I can see why people want to romance her.)  I haven't gotten to the point that Akaavi joins the crew, but her introduction was awesome and I fully expect to like her.  (And possibly write her into my ficverse.)

T7 is so much fun.  I love the dialogue and I'm enjoying how much personality T7 has.  I also like what little I've seen of Kira, who appears to be about as much a rogue Jedi as my Knight is.  I expect them all to get along swimmingly.

Qyzen is also the awesome.  I'm not even sure why.  Somehow, he's just an incredibly likable big-game-hunting lizard dude.

(So far, I'm finding the companions the best part of playing Jedi.  But that's largely because I've still got "uck, Jedi" issues.)

Mako is awfully sweet (though she has a bit of a dark streak), and it would be awesome if my Bounty Hunter does actually get to romance her.  They'd make a cute couple.

I expected Vector to be boring, but he turned out to be very likable, if rather odd.  I love his combat dialogue, particularly his surprise at succeeding in fights.  And his companion stuff, so far, has been really fun.  Who'd expect to get to go to a Kilik party?

Vette has quite the mouth on her and is entertainingly baffled by my light sider Sith.  Practically every time my Warrior does something good, she's all WTF?  But they're developing a nice sisterly rapport that I find charming.  And Quinn is... I don't know what Quinn is.  I almost put him in the other category because I mainly find him entertaining.  He's so passionate about the Empire and so at a loss as to what to do with a giant Sith Zabrak flirting with him.


Companion Characters I Don't Exactly Like But Find Entertaining: (so far)

Corso is a sexist ass, but he's also completely dippy, and all of 19.  I'm sure my Smuggler would like to borrow the Sith Pureblood social emote from time to time, but, while I find him an appalling romance option, I do actually find him entertaining.  And I do have to admit that his heart is in the right place, and that his unbelievably backwards views of romance might be the result of his being both little more than a kid and having grown up in the back of the back of beyond.  (I also suspect he has zero actual romance experience.)

Kaliyo is completely untrustworthy, homicidal, and the worst "friend" anyone could ever have.  She is also hilarious.  I have done more spit takes on her dialogue (in cut scenes or just prompted by location) than any other companion so far.  Did she just say she felt like burning down the Imperial capital while they're walking through it!?  Did she just ask for twenty credits to get somebody to lick her feet?  "Dibs on the head!?"  Kali, no one else wants the head!  Did you just cheerfully offer to shoot my Agent if he actually changes sides!?  And her first companion mission?  Bwahahahahaha.  Oh, Kali, what did you think he was going to do?  She's a horrible, horrible person, but a very entertaining fictional character.

Khem is another horrible person but entertaining fictional character, at least so far.  (My Inquisitor has only just gotten him.)  He has some wildly funny dialogue - often centered around eating Force users, so I like him in that sense.  I can't imagine inviting him in for tea, though.

20 Days of TOR (Redux)
Day 01
– Introduce yourself
Day 02 – Why did you decided to start a blog?
Day 03Your best SW:TOR playing experience Your first day playing SW:TOR
Day 04 – Your favorite SW:TOR quest or quest chain
Day 05 – Favorite item(s) in game
Day 06 – How many active characters do you have? Do you suffer from "altitis"?
Day 07 – The reason behind your blog’s name
Day 08 – Your favorite class so far, and why
Day 09 – Favorite attack or special move
Day 10 – Crafting: yay or nay? What professions, if any, do you seriously pursue?
Day 11 – Bad in-game habits and flaws
Day 12 – What's a typical TOR gaming session look like for you?
Day 13 – What do you hope Bioware will add to the game?
Day 14 – What aspect of the game upsets you the most?
Day 15 – Have you created a unique headcanon for your characters? If so, what is it?
Day 16 – Your favorite character companion
Day 17 – Your favorite in-game location
Day 18 – Your favorite outfit
Day 19 – What strange things do you keep in your bags or bank?
Day 20 – Conclude with a free day! Write about a SW:TOR topic that the previous 19 days failed to address
virtualvoyages: an old worn book on a black back ground, a glow at one corner of the book (Default)

Have I created a unique headcanon for my characters? Hell yes! Pull up a chair, this could take a while.

My headcanon for them relies on both what info I've found in Wookieepedia and best guesses made from what the game gives us (that I've encountered so far). I've never read any Old Republic era fiction and I didn't play the KoTOR games. And I can't seem to find much information about either Republic or Sith Empire society, as a whole or by planet. If one can wild mass guess by oneself, I've done so.

 

This gets a little long )
virtualvoyages: an old worn book on a black back ground, a glow at one corner of the book (Default)
What aspect of the game upsets me?  Upsets seems rather strong wording, but there are a few things that seem...off.

There's the (previously mentioned) inequality between male and female characters as far as flirting and sleeping around goes.  (And it's disconcerting that F!Agent reacts to sleeping with someone to maintain her cover as if it's a bad idea.  M!Agent is never portrayed as regretting his sleeping around.*)

And, of course, there's the (also previously mentioned) lack of same sex romance options and the question of whether they'll implement them well.

Lastly (and this is a problem with nearly all games), there's the whole measure of a mook problem.  If you're going to have diplomatic options with the named NPCs, it seems bizarre that you slaughter your way to them first.  Add on the fact that the Light Side of the Force appears to oppose killing, and the game really is in need of some other options for characters.



*Though I would have considered walking away doing the *facepalm* "what was I thinking?" thing entirely appropriate to hopping in bed with the Sith lady who oversees the Bonus Series on Nar Shaddaa.  But that may only be because in my agent's case, he only flirted with her to be difficult.  Being taken up on it was... unexpected.  (But escaping out seemed wrong, since the error seemed completely in character.  Even if he doesn't make a habit of flirting with Sith (who he generally doesn't like), but she was half way decent (for a Sith) and the flirt options seemed the most appropriate dialogue options...)


20 Days of TOR (Redux)
Day 01
– Introduce yourself
Day 02 – Why did you decided to start a blog?
Day 03Your best SW:TOR playing experience Your first day playing SW:TOR
Day 04 – Your favorite SW:TOR quest or quest chain
Day 05 – Favorite item(s) in game
Day 06 – How many active characters do you have? Do you suffer from "altitis"?
Day 07 – The reason behind your blog’s name
Day 08 – Your favorite class so far, and why
Day 09 – Favorite attack or special move
Day 10 – Crafting: yay or nay? What professions, if any, do you seriously pursue?
Day 11 – Bad in-game habits and flaws
Day 12 – What's a typical TOR gaming session look like for you?
Day 13 – What do you hope Bioware will add to the game?
Day 14 – What aspect of the game upsets you the most?
Day 15 – Have you created a unique headcanon for your characters? If so, what is it?
Day 16 – Your favorite character companion
Day 17 – Your favorite in-game location
Day 18 – Your favorite outfit
Day 19 – What strange things do you keep in your bags or bank?
Day 20 – Conclude with a free day! Write about a SW:TOR topic that the previous 19 days failed to address
virtualvoyages: an old worn book on a black back ground, a glow at one corner of the book (Default)
A typical TOR gaming session?  Well, that rather depends on if I'm playing by myself or with friends.

If I'm playing by myself, I'll log on whoever I'm in the mood to play and probably play for a couple of hours, at least taking care of a grouped batch of missions.  I might muck around with crafting for a little, too, or at least try to remember to log everyone on to send crewmembers off to get stuff before I sign off.  Sometimes, I run through several characters, doing batches of missions here and there.  (This is one reason why I try not to have characters in the exact same place on the same side.)
Of course, if I'm playing one of the characters I'm meant to be keeping journals of, I'll take some notes from their point of view.  (And I have got to get that short story finished.  As well as work out how I'm organizing game verse/fic verse stuff.  Well, okay, I know how I plan to do that, I just need to note it somewhere.  Unless I already did and forgot. But I digress.)

If I'm playing with friends, I usually spend some time crafting/sending crewmembers off while we work out what we're going to do (play one of our teams, and, if so, which one, or run flashpoints to get someone gear).  Then we do whatever it is we've decided to do for the evening.

I should add that in any event, I nom your typical gaming munchies (and sometimes veggies as well) and often have to play around a cat, who figures if a human is sitting, it must be to give him a lap.

20 Days of TOR (Redux)
Day 01
– Introduce yourself
Day 02 – Why did you decided to start a blog?
Day 03Your best SW:TOR playing experience Your first day playing SW:TOR
Day 04 – Your favorite SW:TOR quest or quest chain
Day 05 – Favorite item(s) in game
Day 06 – How many active characters do you have? Do you suffer from "altitis"?
Day 07 – The reason behind your blog’s name
Day 08 – Your favorite class so far, and why
Day 09 – Favorite attack or special move
Day 10 – Crafting: yay or nay? What professions, if any, do you seriously pursue?
Day 11 – Bad in-game habits and flaws
Day 12 – What's a typical TOR gaming session look like for you?
Day 13 – What do you hope Bioware will add to the game?
Day 14 – What aspect of the game upsets you the most?
Day 15 – Have you created a unique headcanon for your characters? If so, what is it?
Day 16 – Your favorite character companion
Day 17 – Your favorite in-game location
Day 18 – Your favorite outfit
Day 19 – What strange things do you keep in your bags or bank?
Day 20 – Conclude with a free day! Write about a SW:TOR topic that the previous 19 days failed to address
virtualvoyages: an old worn book on a black back ground, a glow at one corner of the book (Default)
Bad in-game habits and flaws?  I have lots of those.

You know the alphabet soup that goes with this type of game?  I'm terrible at it.  I almost never group with anyone (excepting those I know outside of game) and I have a bad habit of freaking if people try to interact with me in game.  Granted, that isn't always true.  On rare occasion, you can find me chatting in General (even, at times, in character! (I play on RP servers)), or grouping with people to accomplish something specific.  But most of the time, my only interaction with my fellow players is drive by buffing.  And I often have the General chat turned off, so I don't even see it.

Oh, I RP with the game.  Not only do most of my characters (excepting a few who exist just to group with friends) have personalities, but I talk to the game while playing - responding to the area specific companion commentary, complaining about stuff in character, explaining why I did what I did since the game doesn't give me that option.  I'll even sometimes make use of the emotes.  And I kinda-sorta RP my evil team characters with my friends.  (Evil is easier to RP?)  But for the most part, I am too shy to RP with actual people.  (Even though I play pen and paper RPGs and have for years.  But I don't do that in public.)

I also have no interest in scouring the internet to be the best player evar.  I play for fun.  If I run into a mission I have trouble with, I'll see what other people have to say about it on Torhead or the like and either adjust my strategy or call in a friend for help.  (And I do help friends, likewise.)

I also care more about appearance than having the best gear.  Which means that I'll stick with my upgradable orange gear even if something temporarily better drops because I like my gear.

I suppose my tendency to stop and try to read the signs is a bad habit when I am grouped with people.  (Most of the signs are in Aurebesh characters and quite readable.  There are signs in other alphabets and Hutt Space is full of... what's the Basic equivalent to Engrish?)


20 Days of TOR (Redux)
Day 01
– Introduce yourself
Day 02 – Why did you decided to start a blog?
Day 03Your best SW:TOR playing experience Your first day playing SW:TOR
Day 04 – Your favorite SW:TOR quest or quest chain
Day 05 – Favorite item(s) in game
Day 06 – How many active characters do you have? Do you suffer from "altitis"?
Day 07 – The reason behind your blog’s name
Day 08 – Your favorite class so far, and why
Day 09 – Favorite attack or special move
Day 10 – Crafting: yay or nay? What professions, if any, do you seriously pursue?
Day 11 – Bad in-game habits and flaws
Day 12 – What's a typical TOR gaming session look like for you?
Day 13 – What do you hope Bioware will add to the game?
Day 14 – What aspect of the game upsets you the most?
Day 15 – Have you created a unique headcanon for your characters? If so, what is it?
Day 16 – Your favorite character companion
Day 17 – Your favorite in-game location
Day 18 – Your favorite outfit
Day 19 – What strange things do you keep in your bags or bank?
Day 20 – Conclude with a free day! Write about a SW:TOR topic that the previous 19 days failed to address
virtualvoyages: an old worn book on a black back ground, a glow at one corner of the book (Default)
Crafting: eh, it's there.  I sort of like crafting, but I can't say I've ever played a game where I thought "Crafting is awesome!"  SW:TOR is no different.  Though I like that you send your companions off to craft for you, and I like that crafting isn't level capped.  This means that it doesn't matter that my medpac makers are by far not my highest level characters - they can supply everyone, anyway, as long as I keep them in money and their companions busy.

Other than biotech and the ever useful medpacs, I can't say as the crafting has really netted me much, though.  I thought armormech would help with the "dear god, who came up with Agent armor, and do they have the same color perception and fashion sense as the rest of us? O_o" problem, but the only orange recipe so far had the same problem. (Fortunately friends and flashpoints did net me armor that wasn't eye-stabbingly awful.*  In fact, it netted me armor I actually like.) 

Armstech is semi-useful, at least for gearing companions, but not as useful as I expected. I haven't gotten any other skills high enough to have commentary on them, really.  I imagine making color crystals will be fun, even if it doesn't prove to be useful as such.  (Though, given that there doesn't seem to be a source of crystals outside of making them - or finding them preinstalled in a weapon - artifice should be useful.)  I also expect cybertech to be fun.  I have a suspicion that my Force users will find synthweaving to be no help at all, though.



*I really do want to meet the person who came up with the medium armor for Imperials.  You leave Hutta in something that looks like Power Ranger armor and a wetsuit had babies, and it actually manages to go downhill from there.  I picked up a sand colored duster somewhere that was okay, but I don't think there were any pants anywhere that weren't either bizarre colors (pink?  really?) or appeared to involve wearing frilly underwear on the outside (or both) outside of the Hammer Station flashpoint.  (Hey, Imperial Uniform.  Nice for RP purposes, anyway.  Also non silly pants!)   And the black duster from Cademimu is spiffy.


20 Days of TOR (Redux)
Day 01
– Introduce yourself
Day 02 – Why did you decided to start a blog?
Day 03Your best SW:TOR playing experience Your first day playing SW:TOR
Day 04 – Your favorite SW:TOR quest or quest chain
Day 05 – Favorite item(s) in game
Day 06 – How many active characters do you have? Do you suffer from "altitis"?
Day 07 – The reason behind your blog’s name
Day 08 – Your favorite class so far, and why
Day 09 – Favorite attack or special move
Day 10 – Crafting: yay or nay? What professions, if any, do you seriously pursue?
Day 11 – Bad in-game habits and flaws
Day 12 – What's a typical TOR gaming session look like for you?
Day 13 – What do you hope Bioware will add to the game?
Day 14 – What aspect of the game upsets you the most?
Day 15 – Have you created a unique headcanon for your characters? If so, what is it?
Day 16 – Your favorite character companion
Day 17 – Your favorite in-game location
Day 18 – Your favorite outfit
Day 19 – What strange things do you keep in your bags or bank?
Day 20 – Conclude with a free day! Write about a SW:TOR topic that the previous 19 days failed to address

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