Ding, level 88! I know, I’m the fastest leveler ever right? I swear that most people are either at or approaching level 90 but now and hopping on the gear treadmill. Definitely glad that I am not really feeling pressured to rush to the level cap, though being towards the bottom end of your social group's leveling curve sucks a bit. It was exciting back in the day, running heroics ASAP at the front of the pack, it I just don't seem to have the time or interest for that sort of play style anymore. Also, I will get there eventually so I don’t really see the point of rushing through everything.

I *gasp* actually got my crap together and started tanking instances the other night, which was interesting considering that the last time I had seriously tanked since what, the end of Burning Crusade? My tanking gear is mostly crap, in fact the vast majority of it was replaced by a half-night of questing. I must say, it was nice not having to wait for a tank in the LFG queue for a half hour.

So anyway, questing: Valley of the Four Winds was a fun zone, the brew quests are a blast. I like the WoW farming mini game, despite thinking that it sounded a bit silly when it was first announced. It's simple, quick, different, and feeds right into the cooking profession. Currently working on Kun-Lai Summit. I am enjoying the East Asian martial arts aesthetic quite a bit; From peaceful meditation, training montages to trekking up a mountain Everest style. Departing from run-of-the-mill high fantasy archetypes is a breath of fresh air. The lighthearted pseudo-Chinese theme reminds me of Avatar the Last Airbender, which is most definitely not a bad thing in my opinion.

Like all MMO's, I am curious as to what the general feel for MoP will be 3 to 4 months from now once the most people have settled in at the level cap. That was about the time when Cataclysm attrition has started to hit (for myself included), so I am very interested in seeing what Blizzard had planned to mitigate player loss.

Dave and I had the pleasure of attending Integrity Tactical Solutions' inaugural game at Strategic Operations a few weeks ago on the 22nd of September. It was $65 for an all day event + lunch (1pm to 9pm) at the STOPS training facility in San Diego. The price point seems a little steep but really, it's not bad for all day play on such an excellent field (with pyrotechnics!) I am used to casual pick-up games at Mr. Paintball so being a apart of an event where just about everyone is geared out and uniformed appropriately (alpha = green, bravo = tan) was pretty sweet.

This event was so much fun. The music, the pyrotechnics and the detailed field really added to the experience. There were a few communication issues regarding game rules and the respawn locations probably should have been better clarified. But overall, good times; We are definitely planning on attending their next event in November. Videos below:

Kind of got lazy with the second video and just stitched a couple of clips together from the rest of my footage.

Part of last week's pre-panda gaming time was spent playing Black Mesa. I can't believe that it's actually out. To be honest, I had always assumed that it was the type of game that would just vanish into oblivion. I remember being really excited about it over 5 years ago and then really disappointed when I realized the project was most likely vaporware. Needless to say, I am very pleased to be wrong. To those who live under a rock: Black Mesa is a third-party Half-Life 2 total conversion modification that faithfully recreates both the experience and spirit of Half-Life 1.

Black Mesa isn't just a cheap half-assed remake. The fact that a fan mod is effectively being treated as a 'normal' game is a testament to just how much care was put into recreating almost every single magical moment. Black Mesa also accurately captures the original aesthetic for better or for worse. On one hand, I don't think that fans would have it any other way. On the other, staying this true to the original design serves to highlight outdated level design techniques (mostly the lack of reasonable proportions in certain areas). Then again, the whole point of the project to understanding was to repolish not completely remake every aspect of the game. Regardless, it's amazing how fun Half-Life still is, especially considering its age. There really aren't many games of that age, particularly first-person shooters, that are even playable nowadays.

I was impressed with the quality of most the voice acting. Though to be honest: I most more pleased that the voice acting wasn’t outright terrible like virtually all projects of this sort. The added dialogue is also decent and for the most art blends in with the original content. The music is fantastic, even though the mixing is a bit off. One annoying thing: I really don't remember if the original game was like this but for whatever reason the vertical jumping speed in Black Mesa is set really low to the point where you have to literally crouch jump over almost everything. If this also bothers you, it can be changed by editing a config file.

If you are looking for a nostalgia run or if you've never had the pleasure of playing the original half life, now is your chance.

Two miracles happened today when logged into WoW (thus ending my approx 6 month hiatus). One: My user interface didn’t explode and utterly break as expected. Aside from a few errors and missing elements (my holy bar had vanished...), I didn’t have to do much of anything other than download an updated copy of my addons (against my better judgement I used an addon updater because I am lazy). Two: There were no server problems or queues on Proudmoore when I had logged in during prime time on release day. I downloaded the updated last night, logged in when I got home from work this evening, played, logged out when I was done. No queue, no serious lag, no server crashing. I’m not sure if that means anything anymore, but release days have traditionally been somewhat of a nightmare for past expansions.

I am half way through level 85. I did one of the starting dungeons shortly after logging in, leveled in Jade Forest and did the other starting dungeon. Had an absolute blast playing with friends again, which is really what much of the game is about for me; Good times all around. Jade Forest is a gorgeous zone by the way, hard to imagine that a game approaching it's 8th year can look this good! Not planning on rushing to level 90 to raid as I did with past expansions. I think that I am looking forward to taking my time for once and not rushing through everything to stay on level with everyone else. Also, I don't think I can really commit to a hardcore or even just a 2 to 3 night a week raid schedule anymore. I would love to raid again with a regular group at some point though.

Totally forgot how to play my paladin which was interesting considering that I was invinited into an instance right off the bat. Yay muscle memory! Also, I may actually go tankadin again this expansion but we'll see.

So airsoft is my new favorite outdoor hobby. Dave, who has been doing this for a few years introduced me to it about 5 or 6 months ago. We go to Mr. Paintball once or twice a month, schedule pending; It's not super close to us, but it's a great field to play on. This video is a compilation of about 3 or 4 matches in the CQB area:

The footage from the field matches we played earlier in the day didn’t turn out so well. Apparently I wander around and stare at the ground a lot. I shot this video before I mounted the GoPro on the helmet mentioned in the previous post (headband would slip occasionally). Too lazy to edit it more or clip out the not so interesting bits in which all I do is repeatedly hide behind a box (i.e. most of the footage).

Unfortunately, since this was shot towards the end of the day the GoPro ran out of juice. Blurry parts on the top-left of the screen were from me touching the lense while dicking around with the camera. The random strands flying across the screen would be hair.