Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Colony Wars (10/28/07): A shaken alliance

Last week's war saw to the formation of the triumvirate of Ethereal, Eclipse and AdeptasFraternas as their names populated the entire map of Caravaggio. This week, however, tested this alliance's mettle as it faced several factions who wanted a piece of the pie as well.

But before we get to the nitty gritties of it all, here's the list of the factions that declared war that night*:

EdeN v. Eclipse
Azyr v. Ethereal
Symphony v. AdeptasFraternas
AdeptasFraternas v. EdeN
SupperClub™ v. AdeptasFraternas
Revolution v. AdeptasFraternas
BloodPact v. AdeptasFraternas
Ethereal v. EdeN
SupperClub™ v. Ethereal
Eclipse v. Ethereal
VietnamIdols v. Ethereal
RedstarAvengers v. SupperClub™
ThousandNeedles v. Adeptas Fraternas

*My apologies if the list seems to be incomplete as I may have missed a few notices in the height of the exciting battles that ensued.


With 15 minutes left on the clock before the official start of the war, several factions have started declaring war in efforts to lay claim on some colonies once the war commences. News had it that the Trinity alliance will be warred by most factions, and the first to have made known the challenge was EdeN and Eclipse.

Once the war started, everyone in AF awaited for any news about an upcoming seige. They didn't wait long though as their colony in Lago Celeste received the first brunt of attacks from Revolution, the new faction founded by ex-ReBorn members.

Revolution comes back with a vengeance in Lago Celeste.

AF was under quite a fix that time, as only 28 families were online to defend 7 colonies from unfriendlies. Revolution was quite aggressive as it sent a formidable team to bring down the colony. Those from AF who went in defense of the said territory were only able to do so little, thus, it was inevitable that the colony fell to enemy hands.

Following this swift attack, SupperClub™ likewise went to Rio Albi to claim the said territory towing a number of their best members to efficiently knock down the small contingent of AF troops.

SupperClub™ siege at Rio Albi

With AF still under heavy attack from the aforementioned factions, Symphony seized the opportunity to go after the Deserted Cliff colony with only a small contingent in tow. Yet despite their number, they were quite able to fend off AF as they quickly put to use the valkyries and turrets on the undefended colony.

As more of AF's colonies fell under heavy attack, faction leader Welling announced the reclaim of their territories in Lago Celeste and Rio Albi. In the latter location, AF showed promise of getting back on their feet as they slowly diminished SupperClub™'s forces, although reinforcements soon arrived to thwart the group's efforts of regaining their territory.

Meeting at Auch

Tension was definitely in the air. In the City of Auch, the group converged to plan an all out attack at the Desolate Cliff. The plan worked out really well, as reinforcements from the alliance came in time to help.

A full force attack to reclaim the Desolate Cliff

The next efforts to reclaim Rio Albi and Lago Celeste proved to be a Herculean task. Despite the full force of AF warring Revolution and SupperClub™, opponents made use of faction-less families who did the medic's job of reviving the fallen.

The end of the war saw AF's loss of 5 colonies, though they were still able to successfully hold on to two territories. On the other side of the alliance, Eclipse was down to a single colony, while Ethereal managed to add another conquest up their list, thus raising their total number of colonies to 10.

[I've noticed Ethereal's unbreakable streak when it comes to attacking and defending. Post-CW comments at the forums remark at their swift response at threats to their colonies. With such a reputation, Ethereal is definitely one faction to reckon with.]

[Meanwhile, I learned that the Rebirth faction managed to get a colony but subsequently lost it to another group. RedstarAvengers and Azyr likewise put up a good fight and I'm pretty much sure these factions will most likely rise up to challenge the big guns in the long run.]

Congratulations to the alliance of Ethereal, Eclipse and AdeptasFraternas for holding their ground, as well as to the victorious challengers, SupperClub™, Revolution and EdeN!


Sunday, October 28, 2007

GE PH bloggers meet for the first time

For the first time ever, NineMoons and I extended an invitation to all GE PH bloggers for an afternoon of friendly chit chat as well as serious talks about GE and blogging in general.

There were just about 7 of us including me and NineMoons, Fixdotter, Welling, the Reclusion boys Nate & Darrick, and surprisingly, Mena. We were expecting the arrival of the others who were supposed to come, but got caught up in other stuff, hence the familiar faces in the group. What's monumental about this, however, was that most of the bloggers present have been blogspotted by RCM Hrin!

As we waited for the latecomers (ahem! ahem! :P), we talked about a lot of stuff, including the anticipated release of V2.4, which RCM Hrin has noted will be released before the year ends. I'm looking forward to the new RNPCs and other great features of this upcoming patch.

That's who we are!

Aside from which, we talked about each server's concerns and issues, most especially the cliques in the factions. We all noted in most of the represented servers (Cervantes, Caravaggio & Caracci) that no one would rather step up against the ruling political alliance. And of course with the diverse backgrounds of each faction and player, drama and all other hullabaloos ensue via /broad and other chat systems.

NineMoons and Mena

Fixdotter and NineMoons

The discussions were different, mostly tackling concerns we normally deal with in-game such as the dynamics of a PK and non-PK server when it comes to settling scores, the upcoming baron RNPC (which will be a tad bit unfair for most non-PK server players), as well as tips and tricks in the game.

I'd like to note (and welcome) Mena who was surprisingly present after being inactive as a player and a blogger due to PC-related issues. Although he may have gone on an unannounced hiatus, he was still able to keep abreast with updates from jGE.

Meeting up with fellow GE bloggers has been fun and informative too. For those who weren't able to attend, fear not because we will hold these meetings as often as we can depending on each one's schedules. So I do hope to see more faces in the meet as soon as we arrange for another one.

And here's something to leave you by...

L-R: Reclusion (Nate & Darrick), Welling, moi, NineMoons, Mena and Fixdotter

Many thanks to GE PH Product Manager Ivee Feria and pCM Veya for providing neat goodie bags for those who attended. ^.~

LONG LIVE, GE! ^0^


Saturday, October 27, 2007

Oktoberfest...the Granado Espada way

Together with a few friends in GE, Welling and I trooped to Metrowalk in Ortigas, the popular haunt for nightlife and gimik place of most people, for the closing party of Oktoberfest. GE PH had a hand as one of the participating sponsors in the event. And of course when you talk about GE, you cannot discount freeplays...and there was just that, right at the Gamefrog i-Cafe.

L-R: NineMoons, Fixdotter, pCM Veya, Welling, DeSanggria & Conteza

I met fellow bloggers Fixdotter, NineMoons, and later on Daemonic in the event. I also got to meet new faces such as Conteza and Vivaldi's Carebear Faction Leader Lobishomen and Deputy MirageEros who were quite engrossed in a boss hunt that time.

Lobishomen and MirageEros engrossed in a boss raid.

Unable to resist the lure of freeplay, I too engaged in the Halloween in-game event in search of Tiburon's scarecrows. I managed to find a handful of them, but later on I had to squad up with Welling to get to the higher level areas.

And finally, my efforts paid off as I finished the quest. I got all the loot from Tiburon—chocolates, diamond coupons, lvl 64 enchantment chips...and pumpkin hats! Unfortunately, only the stock characters can wear them, so only my elementalist, Armeo, looked quite the silly one. The hats are tradeable, so I gave the remaining 2 to Welling. You should see how silly his wizard and fighter looked wearing those accessories. Hehe.

Beer! A huge one!

Anyway, we weren't able to stay for long. We just went to the GE booth at the main event area, and I was surprised to see a lot of premium GE merchandise. Take note that these are not the usual merchandise available here in the Philippines.

The stuff came from IAH Singapore, so you can just imagine all those hard to find goodies such as posters, door hangers, mugs, shirts and mousepads! I was drooling all over it and was even tempted to nick a few (mwehehehe), but alas, they were for token exchange thingamajig in the event.

GE PH Product Manager, Ivee Feria, with teh premium GE loot.

Later on, we'll be having our GE bloggers' meeting. I'm already running late so let's save the chit chat some other time.

Ciao for now!~


Thursday, October 25, 2007

Sneak peak on V2.4 (c/o RCM Hrin)

This particular post from RCM Hrin has got me salivating.

New RNPCs in V2.4!!! OMG!!! And with more interesting background stories to boot!

This calls for some serious fanfic writing! I just wonder when I'm going to be able to get those RNPCs once the patch becomes available. Hell, I don't even own an Irawan card!

GE events + updates (at last!)

Ok, it's been a while since my last post. Things are getting really hectic here, so I'll try to poke the life out of my sleeping blog with a few updates, starting off with some GE PH related events.

GE @ Oktoberfest

Yep, it's the party to mark the end of Oktoberfest, the renowned beer-drinking fest here in the country. The event actually has its origins in Germany, so it's not exactly a local happening to begin with. But what the hey...Pinoys love booze, and what better way to get the fun started than by tying it up with our favorite game?

For those of you who can spare the time, drop by the Gamefrog i-Cafe in Metrowalk, Ortigas and join us for some cool GE activities. To know more about this event, click here for the pertinent info.


I'm extending the invitation to all GE fans. We open registration as early as 4pm...just make sure to bring a scratched or unscratched GVC to avail of the Php 50 entrance fee. Let's get wasted! WAHOOOOO!!!! Okay, I wasn't supposed to say that.

GE @ Station 168 2nd Anniversary

If anyone's familiar with the Station 168 line of i-Cafes, you'll know that this is one heck of a place to play GE. High-end PCs will make your GE gaming experience one hell of a smooth ride...so imagine what'd it be like engaging in a PvP match with seamless connection and great graphics? Since it's their anniversary, we're holding just that! 3on3 PvP matches plus other activities will get the adrenaline pumping in your veins. You may want to check out the details here, if you want to participate in the happenings. ^.~


There's gonna be a cash prize in one of the contests, I heard.


GE PH Bloggers Meeting


GE Bloggers and any interested GE players are welcome to join us as we discuss our roles as bloggers, players and citizens of the New World! That's happening on Saturday, Oct. 27 , at 1PM in McDonald's El Pueblo, Ortigas. NineMoons has a more detailed invite compared to mine, so do check it out here for more info. Hehehe.


Updates, updates


Waaaah! Our Colony Wars reports can already be seen at the sGE website! 'Gratz to my fellow war correspondents NineMoons for Cervantes and Reclusion for Caracci. Any interested people who may want to report on the war in Pachelbel and Vivaldi, do contact me here: desanggria at gmail dot com. We're also opening slots for those who may want to contribute for all servers be it gossips and other news we may have glossed over.

Reporting about the Colony Wars is always an exciting experience for me. I rarely miss the wars and I love to be updated about the cliques within factions. It's kind of akin to showbiz reporting if you may ask. Hehehe. Intrigues...ahlavvit! XD

Many thanks to RCM Hrin for giving us the opportunity to have this great project.

In other news, my babies in Caravaggio are finally getting their wings, courtesy of pCM Veya. Hahahaha! Ahlavvit!~

That's it for now. Imma blog about tomorrow's Oktoberfest event, so be there or be square!


Monday, October 22, 2007

Colony Wars (10/21/07): Three's a crowd

Red - AdeptasFraternas colonies
Purple - Ethereal colonies
Green - Eclipse colonies

Here's the GE map in Caravaggio this weekend. Note that there are only 3 factions populating the colonies, which are Ethereal with 9, AdeptasFraternas with 7 and Eclipse with 5. How these three groups managed to dominate the map was nothing short of a mean feat. Let me give you an overview of what happened in this week's war. But first, here's a list of the various Caravaggio factions who waged war against each other:

Ethereal v. SupperClub™
Azyr v. Ethereal
AdeptasFraternas v. Ethereal
ReBirth v. Ethereal
SupperClub™ v. HeavyMachines
AdeptasFraternas v. Supperclub™
HeavyMachines v. Ethereal
EdeN v. Eclipse
RedstarAvengers v. Ethereal
Justice v. Ethereal
AdeptasFraternas v. EdeN
AdeptasFraternas v. HeavyMachines
AdeptasFraternas v. Symphony
Ethereal v. Exiled
Drow v. Ethereal
Decepticons v. Eclipse
AdeptasFraternas v. Decepticons

The El Lago de Tres Hermanas colony, which was previously occupied by the now-disbanded ReBorn faction, was the first target of most factions, including AdeptasFraternas, Eclipse, RedstarAvengers and EdeN. At five minutes before the start of the war, valkyries, rotating blades, turrets and golden spiders were unleashed on the colony by these factions, hoping to get first dibs on this free-for-all territory.

With so many of these beacon breakers getting a hack out of the colony, it came to no surprise that the said colony gave in under only 2 minutes of hack and slash...and Eclipse was the faction to claim Hermanas, making them the first to own a territory under such a span of time.

Factions trying to get first dibs on Hermanas colony

Meanwhile, Ethereal and AdeptasFraternas likewise claimed additional colonies in Via Fluvial and Pradera de Ceniza respectively. Ethereal was able to wrest Via Fluvial from its previous owner, Supperclub™, while AF warred Ethereal to claim Pradera, but immediately truced the said faction after owning it..

AF's conquest of Pradera colony

The first hour of the war was actually a silent one over the entire server. Notices on any colony conquest were nil, as well as war declarations. And then until after several minutes did those notices started popping out the server, announcing factions at war with each other.

The AF peeps, meanwhile, had EdeN's Tetra Hill colony up next on their sight. They made an initial assault on the colony, which was surprisingly left undefended. One of AF's squads apparently diverted EdeN's attention in Bonavista River in order to get a clear shot at the colony and to help out Eclipse as well. And true enough, they were able to claim the said territory without much resistance.

Towards the final minutes of the war, these three factions fended off attacks from other groups, which resulted to less takeovers and more of defense and assistance with regards to troop deployment. One such instance was the assistance AF gave to Eclipse in defending the former's colony in King's Garden from EdeN.

The battle at King's Garden

Basically, this week's CW in Caravaggio lacked a bit of action so to say when it comes to more challenges against factions. Although it's also interesting to note the dynamics of these 3 dominating factions on the map and how such power house groups will perform in next week and the wars thereafter.


Birthday greetings...

Before I relay my CW report, the DeSanggria family from Cervantes and Caravaggio has managed to sneak up behind me for this rather abrupt post...


Thanks guys, but it's a belated, by the way. :P

Thursday, October 18, 2007

GE on Pinoy Gamers!

I got a text message last night from the peepz at Pinoy Gamers that they were going to air the GE Launch Party segment in their show, and so I rushed home early to watch the said program over at Makisig Network (Ch. 82/76 on Sky Cable).

I was quite surprised that they devoted quite a number of air time for their coverage of the event, starting from the press conference, down to the party itself. I was able to capture some parts of the show, but my digicam had limited space...so please pardon the low quality of the videos, ok? ^_~

And yeah, don't mind the Idge person on the 3rd clip. Hahaha. (I look fugly! XD)


featuring e-Games' President and COO, Steve Tsao


featuring GE's Product Manager, Ivee Feria


featuring..err..never mind XD


Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Colony Wars (10/14/07): The tides have shifted + other updates!

Again, my apologies for the late CW update. And I'd like to apologize yet again because this report won't be that much detailed as I wasn't able to fully watch the events happen. Last Sunday's war also happened to be the birthday celebration of one of our faction mates, so please pardon the things I've looked over.

Anyway, I just learned (c/o AF's leader Welling) that this particular CW will be ReBorn's last hurrah. Note that this faction has once been an adversary of AdeptasFraternas for quite some time, and the news of the faction's impending disbanding caused such a ruckus all over Caravaggio. ReBorn is actually a known group in the server, along with Ethereal, who have held a vast majority of colonies for the past few wars.

And so, with ReBorn's final stand that day, Colony Wars in Caravaggio will never be the same.

As for the people in AF, defending all their 7 colonies would be a daunting task. With only 50 or so people online, I had expected quite a number of factions to declare war on AF, but such a thing did not happen at the first hour of battle. AF went for the colonies of other factions, particularly those with 1 or 2 territories on the map, particularly those of Azyr's in Tetra Hill.

The initial conquest of this colony was fairly an easy one, and afterwhich, EdeN's colony in Scorching Plateau was targeted next. AF had a pretty easy first hour during the war, and I kinda assumed that there wouldn't be that much problems.

But I guess I spoke too soon.

Perhaps it was about 45 minutes until 10PM when everything fell into place. The lag was starting to kick in and factions started declaring war on AF to reclaim their colonies. Azyr struck back, followed by EdeN. Ethereal likewise took a hack out of AF's colony in Porto Bello's Deserted Quay. Meanwhile, ReBorn got the Tres Hermanas colony, which was their last until finally disbanding.

The end of the war saw a few factions on the Caravaggio GE map: Ethereal (which was back in being the dominating faction), AdeptasFraternas, Eclipse, EdeN and SupperClub™.


I'd like to congratulate all factions for a job well done. My hats off to ReBorn for a the last good fight as well.


===

A very good friend and GE blogger, Reclusion, asked me to pimp plug his upcoming GE machinima teaser, of which the full movie will be available on the eve of Halloween. Do check out this fantazztic preview!



===

I'd like to take this opportunity to invite Pinoy GE bloggers for an unofficial get together on October 27 (Saturday), at McDonald's El Pueblo in Ortigas. We'll be talking about blogging GE and a few other stuff. Individual and faction GE bloggers are welcome to attend!

Please do drop a comment if you're interested! We'd love to have more people with us. ^_^



Monday, October 15, 2007

Adieu, CARNAGE + DeSanggria in GAME! Mag blog!

As constant as the setting sun in Coimbra, we shall remember the memories with much fondness. Adieu, CARNAGE Faction...

...and so we bid farewell to one of the power house factions in Cervantes, CARNAGE. I was particularly saddened at this news, but such a thing is but normal in the world of GE: factions disband in order to create stronger alliances. With the merger of CARNAGE and Anonymous, I do hope for greater things for this faction in the wars to come.

This faction is particularly close to me as it was the first guild I ever joined in Cervantes. I remember congratulating Overseer in their tournament in Singapore, and after which I received an invite to join his faction. From then on, I enjoyed the game even more with so many fun people to talk to and to get a few tips as well.

CARNAGE has been admired as a strong, solid faction even before the game's CBT days. I know a lot of people were equally disappointed as the group has finally bid its farewell on the map 2 CWs ago.

As they say, change is for the better. So I'm reaaaally hoping for great things from ASA Faction. ^.~

===

DeSanggria featured in NineMoon's column in GAME! Magazine Online!

Many thanks to NineMoons for the opportunity. And to everyone else, do check out her column for the interview. ^^;

===

In next entry, Caravaggio Colony Wars results!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Fanfic: Idge Imbrulia

I was supposed to finish this fanfic as an entry for NineMoons' RNPCs Are Love contest. But alas, I was neck-deep in work that time so I was only able to finish this during my idle time. Nevertheless, I do hope you'd enjoy reading this feeble attempt to come up with my favorite RNPC's back story on how she got to Granado Espada.

===

Life was not always like this...

Everyone is so consumed with thoughts of war. Back home in Illier, things were a lot more quiet, life was a lot simpler. I remember my childhood years in my country where everyone took on life's challenges one day at a time. Illier is probably the best place to enjoy life in all it's simplicity. Thoughts about home has made me miss the rolling countryside, the smell of baked bread from the local bakery and of course, the sound of the incessant pounding in the smithy from which my father worked day in and out.

I grew up in Illier's capital city of Andora, which is by far the busiest, most robust part of the country. My father, Edgardo, was reputed to be the best swordsmith in all of Orpesia. Riza, my mother, was the daughter of a Vespanolan viscount who was quite the charmer. Their marriage was arranged, ironically, by my mother's parents. At that time, father was making quite a name for himself in his business. People told me that even the Vespanolan royal guards' weapons were made by my father. And back then, such favors from the Queen were equivalent to a noble title.

Maman* was a quiet and reserved person who took on to the marriage quite easily. I believe that even if their union was arranged, she loved Papa very much. As a little girl, I would always catch her looking at Papa quite intently, as if memorizing his face. Papa would often catch her looking at him and would smile warmly, making Maman blush furiously. As a child, I thought it was a game they were fond of playing, and I find it endearing to this day.

With my parents' diverse background, I was raised both in the smithy and under society's watchful eyes. Maman would often bring me to parties held by courtiers, noblemen and other titled families. I didn't relish this kind of environment, for I've always thought of these people as fluffed up and stuffy. But Maman told me it was necessary as the daughter of a noblewoman.

On the other hand, Papa would teach me the ropes of his business. At a young age, I would assist him in his work, and at times, let me wield his hammer. Papa insisted on perfection in everything he does, and he has taught me well. By the time I was old enough, I forged my own dagger, which I still keep with me.

To tell you frankly, I enjoyed being in the smithy more than I ever did in people's manor houses. I was immensely pleased doing blacksmith work, and Papa was rather proud of me for taking his work to heart. Although Maman never openly expressed her objections (if there were any), she understood my preference and began to include me less in her social tête-à-têtes.

Such was our life back then, but as people would say, peace is just a prelude to something monumental.

The three-year war brought about by the conflict between Brestia and Vespanola drove the entire continent of Orpesia into chaos. The once peaceful and prosperious Illier was transformed into a major military area. Papa became a sought-after person for top-class weapons, and this overwhelming demand got him working like a madman for months on end.

The work drove him insane, I guess. His mad desire to create perfect combat weapons led him to his death. The plague of the war and his esteemed reputation got to his head to a point that I barely recognized the kind, spirited man that he was before. On his deathbed, I vowed to take up his work as my own. I clutched his rough, callused hands and watched the life ebb from his eyes, and on that same day, I took on his profession as a blacksmith.

Maman, who kept mum on my work in the smithy before, now opposed my decision. As the only child as well as the only daughter, she did not approve of me taking up a man's job. I firmly put my foot down on this matter. It was a decision I made of my own will, and this is something I had to do for myself as well.

And so a month after Papa's death, I enlisted myself on the next ship bound for the New World called Granado Espada. Leaving home was painful for me in a way. My life was there. But in order for me to tread this new path I took, I knew I must start on my own.

I arrived in the Vespanolan stronghold in Cite de Reboldouex wherein the Pioneering Office gave me enough capital to start my own smithy. The city was probably the hub for all families starting out with their quest in this new land. And since I am the only blacksmith in the area, people naturally flocked to my workshop for weapon enhancements. Life had been busy from here on, and I rarely noticed the passage of time as I grew more and more attuned to the sight, sound, and smell of working with metal and fire.

As I got into this new place, I was able to meet new people and learn their stories. The exchange of life stories and the forging of friendship became as persistent as the hammer pounds steadily on heated steel. Life is tough in the New World, but as the gods would have it, such challenges have their own redemption at the end.

I am Idge Imbrulia and this is my story. Wherever life will take me, I will face it the way I was taught how—with much courage and strength.



*Maman is the French word for "mother". I think I read somewhere that the reference for Illier is France because of its affinity to arts and culture.



Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Family updates (web comics version)

Click on the pictures to learn more about this post. ^_~

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Colony Wars (10/08/07): The biggest ever

Similar to NineMoon's observation, last Sunday's Colony Wars was one of the most shocking events ever to happen in Caravaggio server as well. This time around, politics played a great role in shaping the map of Granado Espada in this particular PK server.

What made this weekend war extra special? Oh, nothing much. Only that the entire factions in the server took matters into their own hands to go against the ruling group, Ethereal.

Ah, I never got to wade in so much politics, not even in Cervantes. Wars in Caravaggio are fought with much, much ferocity. This is what makes the squabbles all the more exciting.

Anyway, the peepz of AF got ready to head off to battle by targeting some of Ethereal's colonies in Topolo Durga and Pradera Ceniza. The initial attack on Topolo was met with no resistance at all, which was why they were able to get the colony with much ease. Moving to the next targets was likewise fairly easy for the group as other factions warred Ethereal, thereby splitting the group's defenses over their 13 colonies.

Meanwhile, other factions were gaining colonies within the first hour of the war. ReBorn, AF's nemesis, got its own share as well. For a while, it looked like everyone was getting their piece of the pie while Ethereal was busy holding on to their territories.

When AF got it's 3rd colony in Lago Celeste, it was essentially a defense tactic from then on. For a time, one or two colonies were under attack, but were easily fended off by vigilant troops. At one time, AF had nothing to do...and even took on a Diablo hunt in the middle of the war! Tsk..tsk..

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the DeSanggria boys were able to make a brief appearance in the war as resu medics for the fallen factionmates. It was kinda fun to be back where the action was, and of course, where there is action, there was...LAG. Good thing I remained immune from attacks despite my lowbieness.

Anyway, the two-hour war saw through 4 more additional colonies for AF. They were able to claim a total of 7 colonies, making them the ruling faction in all Caravaggio. Aside from painting a pretty picture in the map, the 50% HP boost wasn't so bad as well. 'Gratz to AdeptasFraternas as well as to all factions who put up a great fight!

Next week is going to be an event worth watching though.

AdeptasFraternas owns Caravaggio ^_~

===

Still about the war, I'm pretty sure NineMoons gave a hint on what we're cooking up sometime in the upcoming CWs. Anyway, We're going to leave it to RCM Hrin to spill the beans eventually, but all I can say is that it's going to be one exciting coverage for us and the Reclusion brothers.

Stay tuned, people!


Thursday, October 4, 2007

Faction news, chizmiz and everything else in between

For some time now I've been shifting from Cervantes to Caravaggio, making friends and joining factions for work related reasons (hehe). I said it once and I'll say it again: factions add a lot of fun to the game. Even if you're doing good in the game by yourself, nothing beats good 'ol friends to help you enjoy the game a bit more.

Having said that, lemme just make a few rounds with the factions I'm currently in.

Caravaggio: AdeptasFraternas

My apologies for not updating the news in this faction regarding the last 2 Colony Wars. Two weeks before, AF lost all their five colonies to their nemesis, ReBorn. For that time, it was a game of catch and fetch with these two factions: colonies swaying to and fro from their contol. However, ReBorn's overwhelming number versus AF's forces. The group made an effort to defend their territories under such pressure not just from ReBorn, but from other factions as well. But then again in spite of such efforts, all colonies were wiped out.

However in this week's war, AF shot back up, showing their strength and persistence as a faction to deal with in Caravaggio. With no HP boost to fortify members, AF went head on to challenge the ruling factions in the map. Squads did their work in monitoring intended targets and in the battles themselves, but the full force attack of everyone in the group did wonders for them in securing colonies. Of course, once they've acquired a territory, these were simultaneously attacked by their opponents and for one time, endangering the very colonies they held.

But in the end, they've surpassed the previous waterloo and emerged to have three colonies in Katovic Snowfield, Porto Bello's Desolate Cliff and in Rio Albi. 'Gratz to the guys and gahls in Adeptas!

AF Colonies last 9/30 CW

Cervantes: Ravenloft

I've recently left Ravenloft because most of the members are always offline and I cannot get in touch with the faction leader after I joined the group. Anyway, I will still be featuring them for the GE PH website, though I do hope sotelo will get in touch with me somehow. T_T

Cervantes: Anonymous

Yep, I've moved from Ravenloft to Anonymous last Sunday and I'm very much excited to get to know these guys! And yes, the 2nd placers from the National tourney came from this faction! Many thanks to faction leader Anima for graciously taking me under their wing. ^_^

Cervantes: CARNAGE

I dunno what seems to be amiss in this faction, but I've been recently hearing sad news that most of the members have left due to the group's "inactivity". It saddens me to see good friends leaving and joining other factions. Of course it's but natural for people to ally themselves with a formidable group, it's just that I kinda miss the old CARNAGE and the usual fun interaction with the members.

I do hope the faction will stick it out to the end and everything works out for the best. ^^


Tuesday, October 2, 2007

DeSanggria teleports to Davao

My apologies to everyone for the long silence for the past few days. A lot has happened ever since, and I'm just as excited to recount the story, first of which was the recently-concluded e-Games Evolution in Davao.

For the uninitiated, this event is a series of roadshows in which e-Games unveils its new logo as well as the addition of Granado Espada into its roster of online game titles.

I was sent to cover the said event and to generally help the rest of the group in setting up the place as well as in helping out in answering queries, hauling stuff and basically doing nitty gritty stuff.

DeSanggria was here!

Despite the hectic schedule, the best part of the event was seeing hundreds of our gamers enthusiastically joining contests and tournaments. And I was even more bowled over when I met some familiar faces in GE.

There were about 10 PCs in the GE booth in which the 5 on 5 tournament was held. Since I was rather busy going to and fro places, I wasn't able to monitor the matches that much. Although I was able to know that two of the members from the winning team were from Team Davao, the 3rd placers during the last tournament in the Commercial Launch Party.

I'm also happy to note that the some of my Adeptas factionmates made 2nd place in the Davao tourney as well. Great work, mga papi!

GE PH's Product Manager Ivee Feria likewise gave away premium GE merchandise from Singapore, which include cool posters, envelopes, postcards and doorhangers. These stuff can't be found here, so 'gratz to all who won these stuff in the trivia contests and raffle. Imma pilfer some for myself when no one's looking. Harharhar.

Big shout outs to the following people: Vallerious, Estrellante, Barredolicious, LuckyStar, †Gundam†, Procopio, LoveKoIto, ±inuyasha±, Ashendale, ClearCrystal and to everyone else I met but failed to mention (hehe). Oh and yeah, I met someone from the notorious MostWanted Faction. Hehehe. Unfortunately, I forgot his family name. XD

And now for a few perfunctory pictures (also known as teh Browser Killing Time™ mode)...

Team e-Games goofing off.

SM Davao's Activity Center prior to the event

Front stage during set up

GE PH Product Manager Ivee Feria in serious mode.

Peepz from Cervantes, with some CARNAGE Faction members.

Me with ClearCrystal and Ashendale.

GE Tourney 2nd placers: The 2nd & 3rd ones from the right are my factionmates in AdeptasFraternas, Caravaggio server. ^.^


P.S.: Watch out, Cebu! You're up next! ^_~