Level Skews

Chatting with a friend tonight, I realized a few things. The primary item we discussed was something that I'm going to call "level skew", or how far off from the main story someone actually is at different parts of the game. Before Grizzleheim (GH), everyone was usually in about the right area (though sometimes one ahead or behind, depending, but always close) to obtain their next spell as it happened. And then came the advent of side worlds.

I haven't played a new character through anything yet, but I can tell you that the experience from Wysteria (WS) and GH will mess up spell obtainment in Marleybone (MB). Once you get messed up, it stays pretty messed up the rest of the way. GH wasn't a huge problem on its own, because the areas unlocked gradually as you leveled. What about WS, though??  Adding in a level 35 spell obtained in GH has also caused a weird order to doing things. Do you play through GH first to try and get that spell, or stick to the main line, grab your level 28, and then continue to 35? If you play to the level 35 spell, doesn't that put you WAY behind on getting your level 38 (and then 48, 58, and 68 due to the delay)?

I adore the side worlds mostly and the feeling that your problems aren't the only ones in the Spiral. Side worlds allow more depth into the universe to show parallel stories and to see how interactions on one world are not felt elsewhere until a direct influence (Malistaire or Morganthe) happens to start causing problems.

Those of you who have played through with the new content, how does it off-set the spell quest time periods? From the time you become eligible and obtain the quest ("dinging" a certain level), how many additional levels does it take you to actually get to the area (not by teleporting, but by legitimately earning your way there) required to obtain the spell and complete the quest? I have quite a few toons sitting on the back burner that I'll be experimenting with, but I'm curious to hear about some other experiences.

Just some food for thought.

Your Friend Always,
John Lifeglen

Reminder and Housekeeping

The title implies that I'm reminding people of something...which is only halfway true. I'm reminding approximately 4 people of something that was brewing. This is *not* a "Happy Thanksgiving!" post done early. I have other plans for that. Anyway, the other people involved (and one person who just happens to know what's going on) might be able to recognize this stuff. Maybe not. It's been a while since it was last discussed. Anyway, here's a picture. For those of you who know what it means, I hope it jogs your memory. I haven't given up hope on that yet, just haven't had the time to act on it. Eventually, though!

In other news, a friend of mine just turned 20. For his birthday we wanted bacon incorporated into the cake somehow, as it's one of his favorite foods...so we rolled bacon into roses and dipped them in chocolate before putting them on a store-bought cake. You expected me to actually cook? I'm a culinary disaster. Here's the picture of that glorious thing, anyway. 

Yes, those are Magic: The Gathering deck boxes in the background. One has Nissa and the other pictures an Etched Champion. If anyone ever wants to peek at my deck builds (new and old, a couple no longer exist but could be reassembled easily enough!) here's a link to my stuff.

Your Friend Always,

John Lifeglen

Not Much

Just dropping in really quick to tell everyone that Through the Eyes of a Sorcerer is now on Google+. Exciting news, I know. Here's the link.  Anything that goes on over at G+ will be more conversational than it is here. Rather than dealing with approving comments and such I'll just open up the floor there. Leave random comments if you'd like about pretty much anything game related to see if we can't start the fire of discussion!

Highly considering making one for the Bloggers' Club for easier communication, even! Rather than having everyone's identity, though, it would link together pages for the specific blogs. Leave me a comment with your opinions on that!

Your Friend Always,
John Lifeglen

Gambling Revisited...Again

Greetings, Spiralites. All is well here in the wonderful land of "College". It's busy enough that I don't have much playtime...but then I do finally get around to poking Twitter for the day and find out that there's yet ANOTHER gambling bit. Yes, there's a wonderful new Jungle-Themed bundle, complete with 2-seat mount. Check out Friendly's blog for news on that. I'm here to reassert the view that KingsIsle is teaching children how to gamble, and possibly getting them addicted to it. The first time it was a little bit interesting.

Maybe, just maybe, we thought, it would be a one time deal. And then came the advent of the Wyvern's Hoard with not one but five unique mounts for the collectors (myself included) to try and obtain. And now we have this. The Nightmare Pack. Once again it has a cool new pet, an astonishing new mount, and some spectre-tacular new robes. Any one of those things in the Crowns Shop and I'd be signing up and hopping in line in a heartbeat to get my hands on some shiny new gear. The way it's going right now, though, I'm not spending one red cent on any of it.

This is actually pushing me further away from a game that I felt so passionately good about that I voted for it for GDC and have actually joined the "community" of. Never had I done that before, and now I'm seeing more than ever that politics + growing company = less enjoyable gaming experience. Growing company = more monetary need. I get that.  Larger companies require more money to operate and expand effectively. This expansion model, though, while effective, will eventually disenchant a large segment of the player base.  It just boggles my mind why a company so focused on family-friendly gaming would begin putting so much focus on a lottery aspect.

Yeah, that was semi-ranty-getting-thoughts-outy and not a fantastic reading experience. Oh well, it's out. And now that it's out, it's staying out. Maybe eventually enough people will realize what's going on and stop supporting it. Maybe they already have and I'm late to the party. Drop me a comment with your thoughts/views/questions/comments/complaints/rants/queries/remarks/suggestions and otherwise general forms of communication and I'll publish that right up for you.  KingsIsle is a good company, and I'd hate to see it go down the pipes because they get greedy.

Your [Ranty] Friend Always,
John Lifeglen

Ravenwood Radio for 50, Please!

Ok, so maybe playing this like Jeopardy isn't the best start. Oh well. Yeah, I've been keeping a low profile for a while now. Not by choice, but by the forces known as college. Many of you see random spurts in twitter action as I update everyone to my Magic: The Gathering antics or, as of today, Humans vs. Zombies. All little time killers with friends also on campus.

The real point of this, though, is to clue everyone in on a little secret. Ravenwood Radio is turning 50 today. It's funny to think about how far Ravenwood Radio has come since episode 23, where Stephen and Leesha had a table full of sorcerers along for the ride. That seems like only yesterday!

Congratulations and many thanks for 50 fantastic episodes to Stephen Spiritcaller, Leesha Darkheart, Christina Icedreamer, Wolf Redfist, Kevin Battleblood, Fallon Deathslinger, Cassandra Dragonheart, and Lady of Blades for their hard work on Ravenwood Radio from the beginning to current times. It wouldn't be the same without each of you.

And now I need to get going to work...and avoid the zombie infestation while I'm walking. I'd love to be there for the show tonight, because it's going to rock, but I'll still be at the dining hall doing closing procedures and boring stuff of that nature. I request that everyone who reads this goes and has a good time for me!

Your Friend Always,
John lifeglen