I'm Not Happy, Bob, Part 2

Now that I've had a couple of days to let my initial ire subside, I was able to take a closer look at more of the Cataclysm news without my blood pressure shooting off somewhere into the lower Mesosphere. I'm not taking back 100% of what I said, but after seeing some side-by-side comparisons of old zones to their new versions (greened-up Desolace is one hell of an improvement over the abomination that zone is right now) really kinda helps me appreciate the expansion a bit more.

For one thing, this is going to help avert the typical "classic zones = dead" equation that I've found in most of the MMOs I've ever played. This was especially noticeable back when I played EverQuest, after three, four, five expansions came out, zones that I was used to seeing a crowd in were virtually empty. Once the Plane of Knowledge was implemented, the East Commonlands were a virtual ghost town, and that made me kinda sad. I don't notice that problem so much in WoW right now, simply because there's such a massive number of players, but any steps to keep it from happening are welcome.

I'll also be interested to see how the Path of the Titans turns out. I welcome any chance to help make my character a little different from the rest of the pack.

My biggest fear - and I hope this is unfounded - is that this expansion won't keep me occupied. When Burning Crusade was released, yeah, it took them a while to do it, but there was a lot of stuff to do, and it took a long time to do it. I'm pretty sure it took longer to get from 60 to 70 in BC than it did to get from 70 to 80 in Wrath, and I was a little disappointed by this. And since I'm not much of a raider, and PvP pisses me off to the point of distraction, that doesn't leave very much for me to do. I'm not asking for them to shower ubersuperlewtz on my sorry, "casual-gaming" ass, but I do hope there'll be more to keep my interest for a longer period this time around.

I can only hope, at least.

Stay cool.

&hearts,
Fusspot

I'm Not Happy, Bob

Not. Happy.

Ask me why.

No, wait, don't ask. I'll just tell you. I won't lie, though. This is a big, ugly rant, but judging from the other comments I've seen, I know I'm not alone in my thinking that Blizzard's rehash-a-palooza has reached fever pitch, and frankly, I'm just plain bored by it all.

Now, call me a whiner all you like, but tell me, can you look at these screenshots and honestly tell me how it looks even remotely different from the world we're already used to playing in? I glossed over them three or four times, but it all looks like the same old, same old, right down to the "new" goblin race. (I won't even start in on the worgen. Most anyone who reads this blog already knows about my irrational fear of furries.)

Before you jump all over my ass, yes, I understand that this "cataclysm" is supposed to permanently alter old-world zones, but honestly? It just feels like they're slapping a coat of paint on things and handing it right back, perhaps with a pinch of salt for flavor.

Maybe I'm being judgmental. I'll have to see what the coming months bring, I guess. But as it stands, I don't care about new raid content, and I don't care about more levels or achievements, so I can't say I'm anywhere near sold at this point. I hate saying these things about a company I'd normally say I love the hell out of, but plz, sir, I can haz something new?

Peace out,
-fusspot


*Quote shamelessly ripped from Octopus Pie.

Too Lazy for Titles

Textures from Mayang's Free Textures

Kind of a two-part speedpaint warm-up thinger, carried over from yesterday. Lighting/proportion/everything's fucked over, and it's obvious that I need to look at collars a little closer, but I wasn't exactly going for perfection. I'm trying my damnedest to get going on my work for Emerald Kingdom. Unfortunately, my room is disproportionately toastier than the rest of the house, and my roommates keep shutting off the air conditioning, leaving me to pretty much roast my ass off. I keep thinking I should buy a box fan, but that's just another thing to plug into my already electronically-saturated room. On top of this, I'm still trying to find a new place to live, no thanks to my bagadouche landlord.

Needless to say, I'm becoming frustrated in ways that I can't possibly express verbally without offending at least someone out there.

Soundtrack: Kaishou (Track 18) - Gankutsuou Soundtrack

Any Plan Vere You Lose You Hat....

...iz a bad plan.

Saw a hat that I liked in a magazine. Somehow, it led to this. Not sure what to do with it, really.

Amusing quote shamelessly ripped from Girl Genius.

Pink Eye

Done in Paint Tool SAI. Bout 15 minutes.

A Winner is Me

This has been a long, long day. After much ado and obsessively checking the mailbox, my package from Popcap containing my phat lewts finally arrived:

(There was also a bumper sticker that says XTREM FVR.)
(Forgot to include it, like a dummy.)

No sooner than I received the gift card did I go out and immediately procure one of these:

(16gb!)

And now I can finally listen to my own music in the car again.

What's funny is that they sent the affidavit that I had to fill out with the prize package. I had to laugh to myself as I read "Congratulations! You've been selected as a potential runner-up!" Talk about potential, already having the goods in my grubby (and blue) little hands.

Anyway, I've been waffling so long about getting an iPod. I was gonna get a Nano when they released the latest generation of them, but one thing or another always got in my way, and there was no way in hell I was going to do the iPhone. Can't afford the extra (required) monthly fee. Even though I've already got another touchscreen phone, it's an LG Vu and they're really bitchy to get accessories for, I've come to find, unlike the iPod which practically shits its own cases, cords and what have you.

Plus, it's just good to have a music player that doesn't freeze every other time I hit the Next button.

So that's that. I could have killed for some of those stuffed Chuzzles, and there was no mug, but I'm very happy with what I got.

Besides, my mug is cooler, anyway.

Peace out, yo. And sorry for the cruddy photos. My room is somewhat cave-like in its lighting levels.

&hearts,
Fusspot

Nerding OUT!

Okay. I don't usually freak out over action figures, but THIS?!

Thought I might do a little fan art at some point in the future, and in the midst of my snooping for reference pics, I happened upon this crazy-fantastic thing you see right here.

I was the biggest damn Ronin Warriors nerd when I was younger, around 7th or 8th grade. Went out of my way to get them all on tape way back when they were originally on, cripes, WCIU? UPN? Aside from Grimm's Fairytale Classics, it was my first real exposure to anime. I remember wanting the action figures so, so badly but I was scared to death of telling my parents that I was into "boy stuff". I'll tell you, if I had 70 bones laying around RIGHT NOW, I'd be all over this one.

Since this is part of Bandai's "Armor Plus" line which includes other series, I'm not holding out any hope of seeing the other four done up like this. But damned if it wouldn't be cool if they were.

Oh God, give me some freakin' strength here.