Bravo, KingsIsle!

Ah, the leaves are fluttering in the commons, Jack Hallow has returned, and there are carved and lit gourds all about! It all feels so very..."Autumnal".  What better time for a Necromancer? It's my favorite time of year.

Yes, dear Wizards, I am not dead, (yet). Though I feel I do owe everyone an apology. It's funny how the days take forever, but combined, the weeks speed by, and months accumulate. Thanks to a chance encounter with Fallon Shadowblade on the 'net, and a gentle nudge from Professor Greyrose, I am reminded just how remiss I have been. There have been several updates, (with Celestia now on Test, you know more than I do), and I *just* now rescued The Wizard in Watery Place. (I was half tempted to leave her there, and the ending dance routine confirmed that I should have, lol)

I am very happy to see dueling circles in Player Housing, now. It re-affirms the KI is always listening.And the little graphical tweaks continue to impress.

W101 always holds a special place in my heart, and I *promise* to be more active ( I really do!), and atm I am trying to "community build" (in a different place), that reflects the same awesome sense of community that we have here. It's become a "carved in stone" truth that W101 will never leave my hard drive, because it continues to be that special little place, regardless of how huge it becomes.

I can allow myself to feel less bad about my drifting, because I know that there's a rock-solid Community here, with a ton of talented bloggers picking up my slack. (You know who you are, and I'm proud of you!)
And, as always a "Tip o' the hat" the Friendly, who I still consider "The Greatfather of w101 blogging".(Although he's looking kinda "YMCA", atm. ;P )

W101 continues to grow, and I feel that it can only continue to get better from here.
So, yes, "I'm around", and will continue to be, as available.

Celestia reveal 10

and the detail:

A pirate elemental? A crusty buccaneer ogre? I dunno, what do you think?

Exclusive Pet at GENCON

Wizard101 and Beckett Media will be giving away an exclusive STORM SNOWMAN pet only at GEN CON from August 5 to the 8th. This new pet is said to be very rare and powerful!

You can be one of the few people to own the Storm Snowman pet.

GEN CON is also a great place for gamers to meet other gamers and get together. For more details on the exclusive pet item stop by the Beckett Media booth #1929. Plus, there will be all sorts of surprises and prizes you can win too!

Next Celestia Reveal

In all it's glory:

and in detail:

Part of the Lost Team? He looks like a "Beauford", to me. Definitely the blue collar sort

Yes, I'm still around. I feel bad, I know I've been rather absent lately. You can blame the "other" blog. I know I've missed out on great events, and just the general coolness that is the W101 community. Bear with me, I am watching, if not writing.

Be well.

Celestia just keeps getting bigger

Courtesy Prof Greyrose, the new Celestia Reveal:

And the new reveal is a (Marleybone?) Mechanic, and her pet/assistant. Possibly from the lost explorer's team?

"Pass me a crescent wrench, will ya, 'Gov?"

And *several* new reveal slots have opened up:

Just when you thought the reveals were coming to an end.

Yeah, the posting has been sparse.

Sorry for my lack of posting, lately. Fortunately there are, nowadays, a plethora of excellent bloggers to cover all aspects of W101. More often than not, it seems my posts aim for what *isn't* covered, and I'm fine with that. It allows me to be quirky and philosophical, while still ensuring our wonderful blog world gets all the info it wants. I truly appreciate each and every w101 blogger, from Friendly (Our Blogging Greatfather), to whoever blogs next.

It's given me some time to work on one of my *other* blogs.

Yeah, I have more than one. More than 2, actually, though one is now dead, (and it's not this one)

So, please indulge me this little bit of advertising, because I believe the w101 community to be bright, and readily informed, as well as constructively critical. (short version: " I really like you guys!" )

The *new one*, the one that really inspires me, is now up and running. C0dehexwitch.

 (Yeah, the witch is definitely Necromancer-inspired. )

The new blog is all about "Augmented Reality", so it's not necessarily W101 related. But it could be. Which is why I'm re-visiting a post from the Graveyard, today.

Just got a new comment today, regarding a post from this blog in 2009. Now with a new perspective, it seems more "do-able" than ever.

Eye of Judgement I'd love to see a Friendly Version. (no pressure, Mr. Lionblood.) ;P

Can you imagine if KI took Friendly's card deck, and made an AR game from it? Major 'cool' points.

Heck, they've even brought back the good ol' Rock 'em, Sock 'Em Robots:

Horrible commercial, great product Idea.

Even if this never comes to pass in W101, could we please, please have Home Dueling Circles for Lands and Castles?

Your thoughts?

Up from the depths...

30 diapers high
breathing fire
with cake in his eyes!

DiaperZilla! Happy First Birthday, Little 'mancer.

Next Celestia Reveal

In all it's glory:

In detail:

This guy looks like he's been through a lot.

"An Installation issue is a Critical issue"-Game Theory

One of the many things I love about KI, and W101, is the complete *lack* of installation problems. From the very start, installation and updates have been flawless. For that, KI, I am very grateful. Thank you.

I do a lot of Beta Testing, of various games. In this case "a lot" is applicable as in "The Titanic took in a lot of water". One of the games I'm (currently) testing is from a company that has 2 games in 'beta'.

'Game A' has a down loadable client that, upon extraction, requires you to modify several Windows Security protocols, (like Digital Signatures), to even install (*) The extraction process is run from the game's *web page*, and requires the user to manually adjust some Windows settings. You only learn this if you navigate through several pages of 'tech support forums'.
*note: Yes, changing Windows security settings is *very* risky, and should only be done by people who know EXACTLY* what they are doing. 9 times out of 10, a Security change puts your PC at risk, so try to avoid doing it.

'Game B' has a down loadable client that doesn't even get through extraction, citing a critical (and unidentified) error. There is no access to 'user support' on the game's forums unless you already have an in-game character created. so, if you can't install it, you can't get help for it.

Now both of these games are "F2P", and will eventually be cash-shop oriented, which got me to thinking. And after a quick search at Gamasutra, I couldn't find anything relevant, I thought I'd ask you for your opinion, (and maybe a poll).

Here's the question I'd like your opinion to:
"As an online gameplayer, how much tolerance do you have for game installation? How far are you willing to go to get access to a game you *really* wanna play? Do you toss it out after the first attempt? Three attempts? Do you go to the game's 'tech support' forums, or contact the game admins, themselves? "
I think you get the idea of what I'm asking. Please feel free to be as verbose as necessary, and include any perspective I may have missed.

Be well!

Celestia will be a "hot" destination. As in "Hot in the shade"

Well, took the plunge on Test Realm, and started the chain for The Celestia Spiral Key. Can you say "Briskbreeze, redux?". Yeah. The Archive Tower in Marleybone is "four people required" because "the bosses cheat". Fun, fun, fun.

I'll get to it....later.

Also, just 'cause I love crypto, some images:

Original Message from the Resonating Omni-ka-thingy.

The (re-assembled) "Stone of Mazzaeroth"

Which, coincidentally, is the W101 version of 

:

The Rosetta Stone 

(no, not the software you see sold in carts at the Mall.)

Read all about this historical artifact from our world.

And with the stone completed, the original resonating-ma-thingy message is:

The Umbra Queen? Sounds interesting... some etymology, perhaps?

(from wikipedia) :

Umbra

 

Umbra, penumbra and antumbra (click for larger)

 Example of umbra, penumbra and antumbra outside astronomy. (i.e. "shadowplay")

The umbra, penumbra and antumbra are the names given to three distinct parts of a shadow, created by any light source. For a point source only the umbra is cast.
These names are usually used when referring to the shadows cast by  celestial bodies (my emphasis)

Penumbra

The penumbra (from the Latin paenes "almost, nearly" and umbra "shadow") is the region in which only a portion of the light source is obscured by the occluding body. An observer in the penumbra experiences a partial eclipse.
An alternative definition is that the penumbra is the region where some or all of the light source is obscured (i.e., the umbra is a subset of the penumbra). For example, NASA's Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility defines that a body in the umbra is also in the penumbra.^[1]

Antumbra

The antumbra is the region from which the occluding body appears entirely contained within the disc of the light source. If an observer in the antumbra moves closer to the light source, the apparent size of the occulting body increases until it causes a full umbra. An observer in this region experiences an annular eclipse.

Hmmm "Antumbra Duskhunter"...kinda has a ring to it... Anyways, simple version :"Shadow Queen". I think I'd like to meet her. Perhaps for a spot of tea... I used to watch an anime-ish show called "The Mighty Orbots", (video) , and their main villian was "Umbra". Not a handsome chap, that one. (*shiver*)

All the pieces, the ever so slowly drop into place

Updates and Test Realm.

Shiver..*so* close, now... Test Realm is coming! Celestia is *ever* so close!

Be sure to read the June Update notes. Lots of new stuff, (not just Celestia) Must..read...NOW!

A less-than-comprehensive list of things covered:

Crafting:  Crafting comes to Grizzleheim!

Housing: New Privacy options, and the ability to "kick" people out!

Pets: Price reduction. confirmation window, more..

Dragonspyre: Mob hp decrease, exp increase, fewer mob per quest, (overall DS has been "softened")

other notes:
PvP temporary fix vs. "chain stunning"
New Clothing (Beastmaster Set)
Badges, snacks, spells, ect!

And in other news....*almost* Celestia related

I try to keep this blog W101 related. Honestly, I do. I know that *sometimes* , I stretch the boundaries..."a bit".

This is gonna be one of those times.

As many of you know, I'm "old". Like "just had a birthday with black balloons" old. I've been around a while. For instance, when I was pre-teen, I used to watch an old anime series called "Star Blazers". Ah, it was my first real exposure to Japanese Anime. Here's a sample for ya:



Well, *now*, in the spirit of "All things from my childhood repackaged for you", check THIS out:



I am so psyched.

Umm, so this has to do with ships, and stars, so I think I can almost reasonably justify posting it here. Nyah!

Major milestone

How about ..10 Million..wizards?

Yeah, that's right. One to the Zero to the Zero to the Zero to the Zero to the Zero to the Zero ? Yeah, you get the idea. Ever think the commons were crowded? Now, you know why. 

From the Official Press release:

TEN MILLION WIZARDS JOIN FORCES TO SAVE THE SPIRAL

IN WIZARD101

PLANO, TEXAS (June 22, 2010) – KingsIsle Entertainment, Inc. today announced that since its launch
in September 2008, more than 10 million Wizards have registered to play Wizard101. Today, the Wizard101
player base continues to grow at an accelerating rate and KingsIsle expects rapid growth to continue for the
foreseeable future.


“Over the last twenty months our domestic launch has taken us from an unheard of company with an unknown
product to running one of the most successful properties in the family entertainment space,” said Elie Akilian,
chairman and CEO of KingsIsle Entertainment. “I am profoundly grateful to the millions of extraordinary people
who call Wizard City home and the  talented writers, artists, designers, producers and engineers who have come
together to create this magical world.”


While the technical and creative design requirements to create a virtual, safe and compelling online universe such
as Wizard101 are enormous, it is the active and enthusiastic community of players that truly makes Wizard101 come
alive.


“We are overwhelmed and honored by this huge achievement,” said J. Todd Coleman, VP and Creative Director of
KingsIsle Entertainment. “We will continue our work to add exciting new content and features to Wizard101 through
the launch of our next world, Celestia, and well beyond.”


As a small gesture of thanks to the wonderful denizens of Wizard City, KingsIsle Entertainment is offering every Wizard
a complementary “Party Pack” and encouraging them to throw a grand celebration welcoming Wizard #10,000,001
to the Ravenwood School of Magical Arts. Each Party Pack will contain a decorative banner, balloons, a festive party
hat and a celebratory cake.


To receive this FREE item set, simply go to www.wizard101.com/promo and enter the word PARTYPACK. 


In Wizard101, kids and families enter the magical world of Wizard City as student Wizards setting out to hone their
Wizard skills, cast spells and summon powerful creatures to fight evil forces. The characters and worlds of Wizard101
are influenced by literature, history and pop culture, giving the game a depth and quality appreciated by families and
players of all ages.

I...AM...CopperMan

Next reveal is out...

And, altough it's not Duracell, it's certainly a Copper Top. (Okay, maybe brass)

If this ain't steampunk, I dunno what is.

Also, I have to go check previous reveals, but I don't remember there being a Celestia script.

Time for some letter substitution. Let's get crackin', cryptos!

New Header graphic

Courtesy of Taji34 , over at Sorcerer's Corner. It is a very thoughtful "welcome back" gift, and I am very appreciative.

"Homework"'s new Header. Thank you, Taji34!

Sadly, Taji's Party kinda evaporated, and the hours I work on the weekend are difficult to work with, so perhaps I will have my (first ever) "Homework" meet-and-greet. Hmmm..I *still* have a Gobbler to give away, too..I have something in mind...heh, heh, heh,,,

365 days does not equal a year.

Well, wanderers, by chronological standards, "Homework" made it to the"1 year" mark on June 6th. I'm not entirely 100% on claiming this 'anniversary', since I *did* take an  8-month 'hiatus' (as KI so politely put it).

There is so much more left to do, and time seems to be the one quantity I don't have enough of. 

So, for the sake of getting past this point, I'll go and say it:

Happy Birthday, Homework.

Knock, knock!

Who's there?

Duh, duh.....Duh, duh...

"Candygram"

http://www.spike.com/video/land-shark/2802070

Some Shark facts.

And, speaking of eating, new mega-healthy snacks available at the crown shop:

Ravenwood Newsletter- June

Little Drummer Crab
Do you see what I see?
Do you see what I see?
Holding up a spear, Little Crab.

Do you see what I see?
Do you see what I see?

It's soon, it's soon.
As early as Late June.
With a quest chain Celestia is nigh.
With a quest chain Celestia is nigh.

Yes, The June Ravenwood Newsletter is up. Go read now.

New Book of the Month, Tips on Video Drivers, and more.

Ravenwood Ball

Two words:

CRAZY BUSY

I mean, wow. Almost *too* many people, (if there can be such a thing). That, and trying to co-ordinate with Ravenwood Radio. After a bit, I just handed Ashley the computer and said "Here, you go do it.". I may have to set up an individual "Meet the author" event, for those that who want to add me, but couldn't find me in that Sea of Blue. Heck, just trying to get to Area 01 was a trial in "outsmarting the server", lol. I was getting all sorts of graphical glitches around Bartleby,,like massive "white outs" that split him right down the middle.

It's kinda funny. Next time KI wants to "stress test" a server, all they need to do is have all the bloggers announce a single event.

Pets are LIVE

Yeah, after staring at this for a while:

You'll be in, and pets are officially live. Have fun! Oh, and crowns are on sale again..this would be a good time to grab some! (Expect some time in updating, there's a lot going on.)

Also, THE CODES ARE IN! Thanks to Professor Greyrose, the following individuals need to comment me an email address (using the same logins used to win the Great Gobbler Giveaway on Homework.) Email addresses will NOT be published.

"Sailing with the Captain" delivers!

It's alive...

Yes!

Anticipation...an-tici-paaaaa-tion. It's making me wait.

And you know what that means. I got the codes! Thank you, Professor Greyrose!

Summer Reading Suggestion

Hiya, Graveyard Wanderers!

As you may have figured out, I'm big on encouraging literacy, right? Well, today, on my twitter feed, I got a new "follower":  Clarissa Johal.  After a bit of investigation, (because we know that not all twitter-er-ers are 'legit', I discovered that Clarissa is a published author, (gratz!). Her current YA (Young Adult) offering? Pradee

Clarissa's blog can be found HERE

So, what's it all about? The official synopsis is as follows:

"Pradee is a fantasy adventure of a world which has been divided by different races and belief systems. Four regions hang in the balance; all with unstable regional truces and allies. Pradee, a rural region, is inhabited by cooperative Shelled-Ones, Riverfolk and Burrowers. Juriss, a region to the south of Pradee, is populated by staunch and winged Lawkeepers. To the north is Datard, a place inhabited by bloodthirsty and feared Gamers. Then, there is the unexplored eastern region of Vel. Magical and mysterious, Vel may hold the key to a peaceful future for all regions. Three friends; Wex, Mourr and Cobweb, are accused of poisoning an Elder in their village. They escape to Vel in search of the Guardian of a mythical artifact. If they find the artifact; it is reputed to have the powers to see the past and change the future, thus proving their innocence. However, if it falls into the wrong hands, the artifact could destroy the future of their world as they know it."

Sounds like a good read. I'll be checking it out, myself, (although I'm chronologically too far afield of the 'Young Adult' category...just finished Dan Brown's 'Lost Symbol' in >24 hours)

Order Clarissa's Young Adult Fantasy novel Pradee

 

At Amazon or Barnes&Noble 

 

http://www.clarissajohal.com/

http://clarissajohal.blogspot.com/

Theory crafting on crafting

Hiya, Graveyard wanderers!

Haven't done any good theorycrafting for a bit, and I thought I'd just throw a thought out there. Mind you, it's probably "already been thought of", (because a truly original idea is a rare thing, indeed), but honestly, I am not going to go check out every nook and cranny to see if anyone else has brought it up. My little Grizzleheim post really took the air outta my balloon, thataways.

So, that being said, let's move on to the theorycrafting proper, shall we?

1) All of us wizards have stats, right? Most of them are visible (power pip chance, attack, defense, movement speed, ect, ect.).

2) Most of us have at least *a* house, (okay maybe it's not the uber house of your dreams, but even a dorm room is a workable space.).

3) We have crafting (cough, cough).. umm. yeah. Love it, or hate it, we have it. Completely optional. DO the time, reap the ...rewards?.

Hmm..#3.... rewards. Aside from getting some titles. What is crafting good for? Well we know that pet snack crafting is gonna be a 'big thing', right? Well, I say we already have an untapped potential for crafting, and it's already "in place" (the game coders must really hate when I so casually dismiss how 'in place' everything is).

Right now, what good is "Master Artisian"? Aside from "Wow, I can't believe you *actually* got all those Black Pearls, and Blood Moss, gratz!", and being able to craft some nifty decorative items, where's the real *drive* for crafting? Once you got your title, where's the impetus to *keep* crafting?.

"Autumn's Easy Answer":  passive bonuses.

Say what, Autumn?

Hear me out. Nothing 'godly', mind you, but what if KI went ahead and said :"Craft furniture in your (active house, only), and you'll get a passive character bonus, depending on your crafted item!" ? How fast would crafting, and reagent hunting pick up, again?

Autumn's collection of completely theoretical examples.

Of course, this would not be a simple task. Nothing is. However, I feel the coding deities at KI could make this happen, without any serious imbalances, (like "1 boost, per type, per house", or something), and encourage crafting beyond the "look what I made" decoration scene.

This...is...Celestia!

Yeah, you know it. Reveal , the next, is out:

Clicky for biggie

and, now *this* is a lobster:

You know everybody is going to say it, at least once.

(For those of you who don't know the reference, it's from a movie called "300". Since the movie isn't really kid friendly (at all), I had to find a *giggle* "suitable" *giggle* trailer to *snort* show you):

Giggle. Um, yeah..the movie was *just like that*. Ahem...

So, yes, we now have a lobster. A true lobster. A true Centurion. Notice the Galea with red bristles, the War Skirt, ect. ect. Oh, yeah. Hail to the Emperor, baby!

Truly fun for all ages

Well, here I was, doing some light grinding in Golem Tower. By my side, 2 little ones, ages 5(girl) and 3(boy).

The 5 year old has taken to asking :
"Are you playing Won-Oh-Won?"
"Is that Won-Oh-One?"
"I like Won-Oh-Won."

So, I had a young fan club watching with rapt attention, as I monotonously swept through the floors, repeatedly dancing around the Iron Golem. Soon enough, the 3 and 5 year old displayed their understanding of what was going on, in their own curious little ways:

"Oh! Vampire is going to put the robot in time out! Bye-bye, robot!"
"Flap, flap, flap!"
"Shovelman!"
"Arrrrr, matey!"
"Hahaha! He fell apart and made a big mess!That's silly!" (Iron Golem)
"He hit you! He's naughty!Bad robot!"
"no leper-cons!"

It's always refreshing to see the world, through new eyes. Long ago, I had a Sensai that told me to "always keep your beginner's mind". What he meant by that was " do not let your accumulated learning weaken your original hunger to learn all you can".short version: "Don't get jaded."
You know how it is. Remember your first day in Wizard City, when *everything* was new? All you knew was "how much you didn't know". And so, you learned. A lot. As much as you could.

Fast forward to present day. Do you still have that same "gotta learn it all" enthusiasm? Odds are, "no". That's not to say that you don't love the game, but it's a natural part of human nature, (often coined negatively as "Familiarity breeds contempt", or "resting on your laurels"). We get so used to a "thing", (in this case, W101), that sometimes we forget the magic that swept us up, in the first place.

Thanks to the don't-know-any-better wisdom of a 5 year old, and a 3 year old, I have been reminded to "keep my beginner's mind". Food for thought.

Be well!

History of Wiz 101

Hiya, Graveyard Wanderers,
Just passing on a bit of W101 update notes, about....um, update notes. You *do* read the update notes, right?

Just a quick look at the synopsis, shows just how far KI has come, in (really) so short a time. The fact that the game you play 'today' is not the game we played 'yesterday'. Almost 2 years, already? Wow.

Finally got around to re-testing the test realm, and was pleasantly surprised by the small 'tweaks', that I noticed, (not all of them related to pets). Each of these small, seemingly unrelated adjustments seems to be 'minor', in and of itself, like a single drop of water in a cup. Given time, though, those drops add up, and soon enough, our cups runneth over.

So, why not take a moment, and see just how full our cups are now, as opposed to where they *were*, (and then project that forward to where they *will be*).

I think we need bigger cups.

Be well.

Curses! Foiled again!

Yes, dear Graveyard wanderers, it's "sad, but true". Friendly's level-headed, slow-to-draw-conclusions, and let's-go-check-the-actual-facts demeanor has prevailed, yet again.

I'll get you next time, Friendly! Next tiiime!

Maybe I should just take a moment to consider that Friendly's way might just be the right way. Keeping an "even keel", and not "flying off the handle" into wild speculations.Actually getting the facts, and not jumping to conclusions...
...
.....
......
Nah.

I mean, as excellent as Friendly is, and prodigious, and well loved and respected by all (including me), he just doesn't seem to echo the inspiring motivational poster quoting the sage wisdom of Dark Helmet:

Um, other than that, I got nothing.

(And thanx for being such a good sport, Friendly!)

Be well!

This video should be remade

(curse you, Friendly, now I'm all nostalgic!) I really think someone good with audio/fraps should make a wizard101 version of this: (Go ahead, tell me you can't see this in Wizard City, heckhound, even the original video has the 'power pip' sound in it!)



The Wizard Dance
W-w-w-w-I-i-i-a-Z-z-z-Z-z-z-A-a-a-a-R-r-r-D-d-d
Wiz, dance!

[Spoken]
We can cast if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't cast and if they don't cast
Well they're no friends of mine
I say, we can go where we want to
Dragonspyre's mighty fine
And we can act like we come from out of this spiral
Leave the real world far behind
And we can cast

[Sung]
We can cast if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't cast and if they don't cast
Well they're no friends of mine
I say, we can go where we want to
Maybe go to Grizzleheim
And we can act like we come from out of this spiral
Leave the real world far behind
And we can Cast
Caa-aast!

We can go when we want to
The dead all live and so do I
And we can dress real neat from our hats to our feet
And surprise 'em with the Banshee cry
Say, we can cast if want to
If we don't nobody will
And you can act real cool and totally improved
We've got a Dragon Titan left to kill

[Refrain]
I say, we can cast, we can cast
Everything is under control
We can cast, we can cast
We're doing it from hall to hall
We can cast, we can cast
Everybody look at your hands
We can cast, we can cast
Every Storm Wiz iz takin' the cha-a-a-ance

Wizard dance
Is it safe to cast
Is it safe to cast
W-w-w-w-I-i-i-a-Z-z-z-Z-z-z-A-a-a-a-R-r-r-D-d-d
Wiz, dance!

We can cast if we want to
We've got all your life wizards in line
So long we don't abuse it, never gonna lose it
Everything'll work out fine
I say, we can cast if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't cast and if they don't cast
Well they're no friends of mine

[Refrain]

Is it safe to cast, oh is it safe to cast [6x]
Is it safe to cast

Ha!

Dearest Friendly,

I see your tweet, and raise you a video!



Gotta love *anything* with Sir Christopher Lee in it! (And yes, those are the same two twins from Terminator 2. Don and Dan Stanton)
Let the blog skirmishes of obscure 80's culture commence! Muah, ha, ha, ha!

Cryptkeeper: What do you get when you cross a witch and an igloo?
The Old Witch: I don't know?
Cryptkeeper: A cold spell

Test Realm Reset

This, according to post at Wiz101 Official:

So, it's only a 4 day rollback. No 'biggie', really, but it has me curious. A 4 day rollback is nothing epic, (and certainly not game breaking, since it *is* Test Realm, after all. I just don't get it. In my experience, a MMO rollback is usually to address an unintentionally coded 'exploit' being used by players. If that's the case, I say 'serves them right', and better that it gets fixed now, as opposed to live. Anyone who has the 'cheat' to get ahead lacks honor, imo, and thus respect. And can someone please tell my *why* there should be people begging for crowns on Test Realm? Actually had someone ask me (and this, after the second issue of the free 100k). Ridiculous. Our main purpose for the Test Realm, (this time around) is the pets.

 "Oh, I bought a couple houses".
On Test Realm? Boggles the mind, it does.

Or, (even better), "Can you help me beat [insert Boss name here]? I beat him once before, but now I have the quest, again.". *sigh*. And guess what? When you go back to live, you've still already beat him.

"Why so serious, Autumn?" "You should lighten up, a bit"."It's probably just a coding issue, on KI's part, that they're fixing".

Meh. It's not really in my nature to look at the "bright side". And besides, The Death School already has a Star Pupil to handle all that: Friendly. Now, don't get me wrong, I respect Friendly to Dragonspyre-and-back, but his level-headedness is not my level-headedness. He'll give a person the "benefit of the doubt", whereas I'll just usually doubt. He'll (usually) give a person the opportunity to correct their errant ways. Me? I'll see their head on a pike at the castle gates, if I had my way. There's a reason that Friendly is the one we all look to for inspiration: He's just that darned good. Me? I tend to slither by on sarcasm. Fortunately, there's room enough in The Spiral for all types. ('cause if it came down to Friendly vs. Me, even I wouldn't vote for me)

A Tale of Two Necros

"Good Necro, Bad Necro". You know which is which.

Okay, this post is going waaaaay off topic. Back to Test Realm Reset.

One way, or another, it shows KI's active development, and bodes well for all future product. (And the 250k crowns is a very nice "sorry for the inconvenience". Keep it up, KI!

What? No time for games!

Back to work, people! We have Celestia to bring forth! (from here)

Headmaster Ambrose schooling the good folks at KingsIsle

btw, How many pips does it cost to cast "ping pong", Headmaster? And which, exactly, school is that?

(I'm going to go with Death School, (of course)), because I have substantial proof:

Yeah, Death School *rules* ping pong!

C'mon, now, would Christopher Walken choose "Life School"? I think not.

Never in a million years. Death School, forever, baby!

Anyone up for a little arena PvPong?