Yay! I'm an uncle (again)

Now that I've had a couple of hours to nap, I may as well blog my 16 hours with my sister-in-law at my local hospital during her childbirth. Actually had to leave work 2 hours early to run back there. I can never ever remove the sense of awe when I see a newborn come into the world (I've been witness to my niece and nephew born in person) But it's still a painful thing to watch a woman almost rip apart in half when you have twins coming out at the same time. Yet she persevered through the pain and both her and her twin boys are doing fine, and in 3 weeks she can go home and the rest of my family can welcome Alex and David into the family.

Wonder how I'll feel when the time comes when I meet my future significant other and share this experience with her.

2000 views. Much thanks!

Considering I've been busy with work, playing labor coach to my expectant sister-in-law, people still keep visiting. I guess once real life responsibilities settle down I'll start blogging again.

A public apology

To a representative of Aeria. To GMTaz in particular. After waiting on the results of the blog contest for 2 months already, me being a grizzled old fart that I am, decided to pursue GMTaz on the matter. What was very uncharacteristic of me was not displaying my usual patient self when dealing with people (guess that comes with getting close to my looming 40's *Yeah I know I'm 32-so sue me-I'm getting there!* )

This is merely my way of apologizing to GMTaz in general. And I look forward to seeing the reults of this contest.

You don't deserve to play any MMO if you ask for a PAUSE function...

SMT Imagine has the the slight notoriety to have demons that have unpredictable aggro. And if you have the misfortune of answering nature's call and leave your character unattended and end up seeing a dead one after returning, that's clearly your fault. But asking for a PAUSE function is very ludicrous, and this small gem of silliness stands out, considering it's a GAMEFaqs board (since I do go there to chat up old clannies)

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/genmessage.php?board=921999&topic=49272829

Have a good laugh.

And I added an extra JP link to another Megaten wiki courtesy of Finella.

Lilith. What's the big deal?

So I may be jumping back and forth again between the JP and NA servers and hopefully reach lvl 92 and acquire the plug-ins for Lilith. But I was recently asked why do I like this particular demon so much?

Apart from being freaky sexy, she was an interesting tragic character in SMT. Since most of us know of Lilith's Biblical origins I'll spare the info, y'all can just look it up yourselves later.

But in the game depending on what alignment choice you took, you get a slightly deeper insight into Lilith's motives. In Law and Neutral you just simply fight and kill her, but in Chaos route after you kill her, she dies in your arms asking for forgiveness and regrets attacking you and joining up with the Chaos Hero and other transgressions she did. All she wanted was to be close to the main protagonist and become your new Eve in the world you will help re-create. May seem such a selfish character flaw, but it added a level of empathy for the character.

Being pretty alone and displaced by God and Adam due to her forceful actions during the Time of Creation which brought about the downfall of Mankind, I really don't blame Lilith for being such a spiteful bitch, but she displays that human quality of acceptance but fails due to the fact that she went about using the wrong methods to be accepted and loved.

Anyways, just as with all mythos you fellow readers may have a different take on it, but this viewpoint is from a Megaten perspective, thus this is no in-depth study of Lilith but merely a reason why I love the character and looking forward to fusing her in the Jakyou Manor. (If I still can considering it was an anniversary event *crosses fingers to see if he still can*)

Been slow lately

Other than the current Fortune Card update and static events on certain days, I've found myself being less motivated to play lately. Especially after hearing that they implemented Lilith and the Beelzebub boss fights on the JP servers. Oh well, I'll just have to wait till Aeria catches up...

1500 views and counting!

Thanks to all my followers, non-followers and anonymous viewers who have been reading my blog currently so far. But as appreciative I am in regards to such endearing devotion (and occasional flaming and trolling of my online personae in game) it'd be nice if some of you my cherished viewers actually leave some comments/criticisms. A blog like this cannot improve/evolve without some sort of feedback. But again I give thanks to you all for following this blog so far.

Interesting development

After sobering up last night I checked my e-mail and got Aeria's Megaten newsletter concerning their future add-on:

FEAR THE FUTURE PVP!!!!



Have fun discussing this folks!

Buzzed and random

Having the long Easter Weekend off is amazing. Have a few pints, some chicken wings and listening to a variety of metal music. With that in mind I was contemplating lately to switch to full Chaos once I'm done training my demons for their melee elemental spins. Then a thought occurred to me: What would be a kick ass anthem for Chaos players to play to while romping about in Megaten?

Two songs came to mind. Maximum the Hormone's Shimi




And White Zombie's Thunderkiss '65





Now if you'll excuse I'll sober up a bit and enjoy some Megaten time.

Happy Passover/Easter Long Weekend

Yeah you wish the Easter Bunny left ya a Demon Egg =3

An inquiry and clarification to a comment I made...

About a Megaten player burning his face in protest. To assuage your fears this happened to a Japanese player 2 years ago in May 2007. He burned his face in protest against Cave when his failed lawsuit claim sent him on this life scarring and drastic action when he spent 100,000 yen which in Canadian currency to date would be around 1,239.21 CAD (yes that's a lot of money) on an limited edition set of clothes that resembles the school uniform from Persona 2 which Cave placed on their regular lottery as a general item without informing the player base that it's so rare even playing it 1000 times the chances of winning it is VERY slim. (note this is an actual life-size replica, not a CP in-game item)

I had to clarify this since it seems it snowballed into a little rumor that this happened on the Aeria version, which thankfully did not happen. So please, PLEASE read my blog a little more carefully next time before starting up such nonsense.

And to cite a credible and easily readable source visit this:

http://zepy.momotato.com/2007/07/24/shin-megami-tensei-online-fan-burns-face-in-protest/

Also don't do anything drastic to yourselves when playing and gambling away your AP in Aeria's in-game AP lottery. Mmmm'kay?

Even Kaneko-sensei likes his mechs.

Before I finally overcome my insomnia, I had a little argument with a player online on Shout chat a while back who kept stating that Kazuma Kaneko can't do anything else other than demon designs.

I beg to differ.

He's also done mech designs as a guest mecha designer for Super Robot Wars Alpha 3's Werkbau/Dis Astranagant and Keiser Ephes and Z.O.E 2nd Runner for Lloyd and his Inhert. And to show that not only do these design look kick ass and freaky cool, here are some vids of epic mecha proportions. Enjoy this as a treat to all Kaneko fans and a big flipping bird to all ya haters of the artist who really deserves his nickname as the "Devil Painter".

KANEKO SENSEI BANZAIIIIIIIII!!!!

Happy April Fools! Hee-ho!

So will you be online and playing SMT when Conficker/Downandup virus supposedly hits?

I've been debating this last night as I reread multiple warning e-mails from friends as to whether I should log on at midnight tonight as April Fool's looms closer to the countdown kicks off on this supposedly massive and potently harmful virus will begin.

I say supposedly since electronic doomsayers say it's affected 10 to 12 million computers and even Microsoft themselves have offered a quarter of a million dollars to anti-hackers and independent computer tech teams to stop this virus.

But this is not the first time it's happened. 5 years ago in 2004 a similar even took place with the Mydoom worm virus. The virus' primary role was to simply infect millions of computers and all start attacking sco.com and microsoft.com by having them all log on to their respective sites and pretty much cause traffic bandwidth overload. And of course all premeditated attacks against the said companies in protest.

This new gem that's been gradually and discreetly "worm"-ing it's way (pardon the pun) into our computers since 2008 according to the experts is a quite nasty piece of work. Version A (yes this bugger has 3 versions of itself) embeds and copies itself by exploiting a vulnerability in Windows Server Service and acts like a harmless background service application. Version B will attach itself to Admin access points and copies itself over a network. And version B will infect removable media like USB's and use the Autorun feature to upload itself in another computer.

And the supposed initial result when April Fool's kicks in:
-Resets System Restore Points
-Disables important Windows system services like Windows Automatic update/error reporting, Windows Defender and Windows Security Center
-Prevents access to antivirus sites
-Account lockout being reset
-Large amount of traffic on LAN's

Well that's a lot of info to summarize, but if you're interested in more and take on preventative measures here's a wiki link that's keeping tabs on the current situation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conficker

As for me, I'm still double checking my laptop and hopefully find myself worm free and be able to enjoy Megaten later after the initial virus launch. Good luck all and start checking your computers.

Hardcore Gaming101. Guys that know their old school with new school flair

http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/

Why I posted these guys? They have a very concise and in-depth article on the ORIGINAL SMT 1 & 2. Plus they explain the differences between SMT's spin-offs and other SMT related stuff. Once you get your fill, you can also read other articles of classic and last gen gaming to the obscure and sometimes under appreciated Japanese titles. Happy reading!

A great place for scans of SMT and more

http://www.dokuganryu.com/

Great visual resource for SMT and other scans from games, anime and manga. Be nice to these folks when you request and ask their permission before using these images they have so generously scanned.

The joys of a wireless on the go connection

Doing this little post during my break at work via that little wonderful wireless device I just bought from my ISP. Anyways I've included a third set of links that may be of use to you guys.

http://finella.nemissa.info/

She's the closest you can get when it comes to a more concise and unbiased view of the Japanese version of Megaten (which has been sorely lacking lately due to the lack of content and the developers reneging on their promises) Despite her infamy with certain players who constantly troll her blog, I tend to believe her opinions and outlook on Megaten more than most self-proclaimed "experts".

I'll also be adding more resources to all you aspiring and veteran DB players, but now I gotta get back to work.

Another random moment Caramelldansen with a Megaten twist

Sadly no Imagine version so enjoy a P3 version. Got this silly song in my head a few hours ago when I went out with a few friends today and her player had this song on a drive to an all-you-can-eat buffet. I enjoyed this more than eating subpar buffet food XD

Finished Act 16 and displaying the spoils of war

Well not exactly...Just stuff earned by doing the story and the trophy from Ogami, her Kotetsu II.

To mark this event for myself, I've put on Kuroe's cracked FMD Snipe, Snakeman's COMP and bringing out the ever trusty Cerberus.

(Yeah yeah, I know y'all know I'm a Gunner, but I'll be stowing these away as memorabilia in storage anyways XD)

Thanks to mog, Emmer, Crius and Hyato for tagging along. Looking forward to doing more Acts and Demon Busting in future patches (and hopefully Chapters) in SMT: Imagine

Why new players should never skip tutorials

I guess this is a semi-rant. But it's a valid rant nonetheless...

We all hate tutorials. Especially when creating a new character and having to go through all the rigmarole of "learning" all too familiar game mechanics. But it has it's advantages, and in SMT Imagine it's no exception.

Tonight instead of lying down for sleep after helping several clanmates finish acts and getting some bonus EXP for the time, I decided to hop on my unlisted alt and just care/mooch off my nakama. As I was about to log off the SHOUT box flared, and decided to check it out. A new player was pleading for help and was vastly ignored with some occasional flaming due to his "noobish"-ness. And as my fatigued mind and neck was screaming for the comfort of a pillow, I decided to help.

Thus started an hour and a half of pretty much reiterating what Snakeman would normally teach you...but this fella just decided to run for the exit and ignore Snakeman and the VB Girl in favor of bludgeoning passive Hua Po's till he got taken down by the more aggressive occasional spawns of an Inexperienced Orthus and Cait Sith's prowling around.

So pretty much I verbally (but nicely) dragged him back to the VB Room after resurrecting his pixel corpse outside Home 3 and told him do the training again. He/she whines that there's no point since he's already done Act Zero, wherein I explicitly explained he was wrong and there are benefits for doing so,and still insisted on him doing the VB Training.

15 mins later he had some macca to buy some gear and starting magnetite courtesy of the training, I provided some meager hand-me-downs and proceeded to show the more subtle complexities of SMT. Expounding more sagely advice in our Party chat and helping them up to Act 3, I bid farewell to the new Licence-less DB and added another name to an ever growing Friends list.

Granted this is probably a normal reaction for the vast majority of the more experienced players to help out, but the slim fraction out there don't tend to bother to be helpful. And this sometimes detract from a new player's experience in enjoying SMT. But it's also a new players perogative to just take in a few minutes to explore and speak with NPC's and check their Quest Logs and also to be respectful and not spam the Shout chat with inane questions or beg for items and not show any appreciation. But it's a quite common aspect in all MMO's for most newcomers. It's all just the matter for most us to be patient (unless they're real jerks that don't warrant any attention/help).

Thankfully this player wasn't. And the last thing he asked was:

*player name withheld for privacy*
"Thanks for the help. How can I pay you back for the time you spent?"

Me:
"Just do the same thing I did for you. Remember, we were all noobs once. It's the attitude that will separate you from a good player or an elitist noob."

Now where's my pillow...