Monday, July 30, 2007

war of the factions report + GE stuff!

I was in the office on a Saturday to particularly witness a first in the world of GE, and that of course was the War of The Factions. IP-Interactive, the premium brand under IP e-Games and the exclusive distributor of Granado Espada in the Philippines, was the one who hosted the event. So that meant it was me, pCM Veya, ninja GM Wisschenschaft and GE Product Manager Ivee who were the only noisy souls in the office that day. Naturally, we were as psyched as all GE gamers who expressed their excitement over this in-game event.

Basically, the War of the Factions was conducted with 15 of each Faction’s best representatives pitted against another Faction of the same number of members from all servers. Imagine the tall order we had on our hands, but we delved into the nitty gritty part of coordinating all Faction Leaders into organizing their teams before entering the battle arena (well, that was GM Wisschenschaft’s job, but I was an avid spectator nonetheless).

The 15 v. 15 matches were held in the Liberty Colloseum, which was with the City of Auch’s PvP Officer. The area itself was quite spacious and has a lot of room to run around (and hide XD). The place reminded me of the Colony areas wherein the main objective was to eliminate all enemies and at the same time grab as much Colonies as one can to provide the necessary buffs. Getting all Colonies without bringing down the opponents won’t help much though, so really, the real deal here was massive enemy wipeout. Plain and simple.

A tiny angel passed by, and stars lit up the sky.

The first match was held in Vivaldi, which had 5 participating Factions. The first few matches seemed like a blur to me…people were dying by the score by the time we got to where the action was. Some Factions, such as the Republicans, quickly wiped out their opponents in less than 5 minutes. Some opted to spread their troops around the area instead of meeting their contenders head on, perhaps hoping to score a few buffs by conquering Colonies. Some waged war the old fashioned way, that is, meeting the wave of enemies smack in the middle.

The battle in the Pachelbel server was not that taxing compared to the first, for there were only 3 Factions who joined. Despite the server being a non-PK environment, we had to hand it to these brave families who took on the challenge and gave a good fight.

However, it was probably at the start if this match where we saw that some groups had incomplete members. For instance, the Nemesis™ Faction had to make do with only 6 members, whereas their opponent, †PINOY†ALLSTARS† had twice their number. Naturally, the one with the most number of troops vanquished the other. However, the †PINOY†ALLSTARS† Faction were not able to stand up to Destroth, who strategically went around to enclose the enemy, then proceeded to decimate their troops by the score. That was one cunning move if I do say so myself.

Meanwhile, we had the most number of participating Factions in Caravaggio, which totaled to 8. The first match was interesting to watch, as the Families from PasawayProphecy Faction did the unthinkable—sacrificing a few of their members, and then resurrecting them all when the IAMVIETNAMESE Faction thought of going in for the enemy Colonies. When majority of then were revived, they turned the tables on the enemy, thus rendering the remaining IAMVIETNAMESE members at the mercy of almost 40 opponents.

Some Factions were actually a tough nut to crack, even with the full force of an opposing group. TheCore, for instance, lost only 2 members battling against the Unholy. EpicSynx Faction meanwhile, baited a lone Fighter against the rampaging Rebirth Faction. This was actually an effective strategy as the other Faction members went in for the kill once they spotted Rebirth right where they wanted them.

The final match between TheCore and Reborn was a fast one. As previously mentioned, TheCore was an impenetrable wall, but nevertheless, Reborn did not go down without a fight. The match was short-lived, but exciting nonetheless.

Over at Carracci, we had 7 Factions competing, and perhaps this was the server with the lowest turnout of Faction members, that being the ScotlandWarriors who only had 3 members when they fought against TITANS who had 10. Regardless of their number, the ScotlandWarriors were aggressive in their fight to even push the TITANS to defend their home base.

On the other hand, there were also even-matched battles, one such thing was the GodLike versus Merlion. These two groups went for an all-out attack, killing quite a number from each contesting troop. In GodLike’s other matches, some of the group’s Scouts were on an enterprising mode as they set traps in pathways leading to their base. I believe Council and Honor had a roll when they stepped into a virtual landmine of sorts, but then again, some people from Honor actually weaved past the traps to confront GodLike at the end of the road.

Last, but definitely not the least, was the Cervantes server, which was participated by the popular Factions such as Yakisoba, Vradical, GoD, CARNAGE and Dominion. Yakisoba took down GoD quite easily during the first match, leaving 13 people versus an army of 43. CARNAGE Faction was likewise quick to conquer some of Vradical’s Colonies, thereby providing the much-needed buffs to their allies, while they quickly decimated their opponents without much ado.

One of the more interesting matches happened with GoD and Dominion, with almost each Family having skirmishes of their own. Dominion spread its troops, while GoD took them on equally and with much force.

Still fresh from their first victory, CARNAGE had to deal with a loss after getting pummeled by Yakisoba. Subsequently, they lost to GoD after meeting them head on in a deafening clash of swords and magic.

The last match saw Yakisoba and GoD face to face once more, with the former living up to its reputation of dealing fast blows and swift attacks. GoD put up quite a fight, but had to concede as their numbers lessened.

Whew! That was one rundown that had me reliving the action once again. We’d like to thank all Factions who participated, as well as a big congratulatory whoop to the server champions of War of the Factions!

Vivaldi: IntrudeRz
Pachelbel: Destroth
Caravaggio: TheCore
Carracci: GodLike
Cervantes: Yakisoba



As for me, I’ll be posting the details of yet another in-game happening—the first official Colony Wars event!

Stay tuned!

P.S.: Here are some last minute screenshots I took (most of them were matches from Cervantes ^^). Not to worry though...videos will be up soon!

CARNAGE takes a beating out of GoD

Infernalz Family pummels Vradical base

Sweet victory for GoD

===

On a side note, some great news came to the office in the form of a package. CM Veya and I were giggling like a bunch of school girls over these:

GE Doorhangers! FTW!

Of course I felt the overwhelming need to decorate my bedroom door with my personal pick from the lot...

Get out of my fantazzzies!!!<<--winning line ever!


Friday, July 27, 2007

weekend action up ahead!

A lot's going happen this weekend with GE...just thinking about it makes my head swim. XD

Anyway, what's this stuff I'm yakking about? For one, we're having an i-Cafe event in Malabon, where we'll be having a tournament for new Pioneering Families of levels 5-20. Players new to GE can experience the action first hand in a PvP tourney of "newbies". Hmmm..a newbie PvP tourney sounds exciting, but unfortunately, I live in the far side so I won't be able to see that for myself. Hehe. CM Veya, however, is going there so GE players in Malabon ought to watch out for that.

Read all about the event and tourney mechanics here.

Also on Saturday, there's going to be a War of the Factions, in which we in GE PH are hosting. This is going to be one hot competition against factions from all servers, and this is one more thing to anticipate this weekend (wonder if the paps from CARNAGE are joining too...I haven't seen their names in the official list as of this writing).

Read all about the War of the Faction mechanics here.

RCM Hrin has announced that Colony Wars will become a weekly event starting Sunday, July 29. Oh. my. God. Weekly CW = Dedz Anne. LOL.

I'm definitely going online to at least attempt a more comprehensive report similar to the Mena Family's coverage of CW in their server.

Lots of action this weekend! Now, if only I'd have enough time for sleep...

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

fun with squads & cosplay plans

Aside from my (very) obvious fandom for GE, I'm also a cosplay fanatic and have been a lot more active in the cosplay community since 2001. Most of my cosplayer friends are into games as well, and there's quite a handful of us playing GE.

Last Saturday, I invited some of my friends for an in-game meet up. The plan was to either engage in a mission as a team, or to just help each other out by squad level grinding. There were about 5 of us who met up in Cite de Reboldoeux Ch. 1, all excited for what lay ahead. Initially we were to have the Crowe family with us, who is also a cosplayer friend and perhaps the only high level player from among the lot. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to join us because of work concerns.

Find the DeSanggrias in the squad.

Inevitably, 5 families took on the Mission: Highway 1. The result? Disastrous.

Hahahaha.

Honestly though, I should've researched more on the kind of monsters in each mission to inform everyone on what kind of trouble to expect. Little did I know that this quest involved defending 2 towers, which happened to be on top of some platform of some sort. It was futile defending the bases if you had to contend with ground and airborne monsters, plus lag. Bad, bad combination.

Squadding in Porto Bello: The Cabin

In the end, we settled for squad mode and beat up a handful of mobs in Porto Bello: The Cabin. The girls leveled up 2 notches and earned quite a lot of loot which I sold to NPC merchants for a nifty price. Great stuff. Plus, it was great chatting with familiar friends in the cosplay community.

Speaking of which, I have to get started on the Idge cosplay project. This is going to be an exciting task. Time, money and effort consuming, but exciting nonetheless.

Many thanks to Lucido, SiegeVelentine, βeoulve, and Majeure family for last weekend's fun. Let's do this again another time. ^_~

Friday, July 20, 2007

GE PH site now LIVE!


Pinoy GE players, head over to Granado Espada Philippines and check out the website! It's just a beta site as of now and we are coming up with an even better version really soon!

The full version of my article on CARNAGE Faction can be found there as well, plus a feature on the Crowe Family, one of the members of GE Team Philippines who competed at the Zouk Raid Party during Toycon.

Please visit and give us feedback! ^_^

Monday, July 16, 2007

disappointments, going 40 and new friends

Okay, so I just missed this Saturday's unannounced and unpublicized (note the emphasis) Colony Wars. However, thanks to NineMoon's update, I learned that CARNAGE got at least one colony despite the sudden announcement.

And knowing that the next day meant another day of war, I made sure I was there to witness it. But the thing is, a large number of the faction's members did not know about the impending war. And so with still a few families present, the group had to make do with whoever was online.

While observing the guys talk about their next steps, I read some of the peepz brought up the idea of not participating at all, given the fact that we were lacking in troops. I for one thought that it would actually materialize since some of the guys voiced out the same sentiments.

But at 10 minutes before the war started, Overseer decided to deploy all troops for the defense of the single colony in El Tejado Verde.

Dunno what happened after that, though I was only able to get snippets of the discussion (was busy leveling to reach the 40 mark), which included some requests to Overseer to declare war on some factions and the usual talk about strategies and all.

I was just surprised to find out at the end of the stipulated 2-hour war that our one and only colony was swiped from us by Yakisoba. And to even add insult to the injury, I found out that Estradz was banned for 5 days for...botting?! WTF?!

Why o why do they resort to surprise CWs? *head desk*

The New World's not the same without CARNAGE on the map.

===

And I'd like to interrupt the drama with this announcement:

Alaena!! Heaven and Hell!! WAAAAH!!

Finally, after 48 years, I finally did it. However, I've noted that this particular stance's kinda inhibiting in a sense that I'm having a hard time dealing with mobs. Verdandi does most of the job in eliminating the ugly hordes, but Alaena's stance doesn't have that much against multitudes of monsters ganging up on you. Well, perhaps I need to work on leveling the stance itself, but jeez...I don't want Alaena dying every now and then when I go to the Porto Bello Cabin.

So right now, I've resorted to using the Plow Guard stance, using the Castor Sword as the weapon. The Skyliner skill works like a charm against mobs. Always.

===

Oh, and Idge makes a new friend!

Do introduce us!

And....*gasp*

Cyradis canoodling with unknown Fighter

I can just see the look of indignation on her sisters' faces. >:)

And I just went on another mission with a faction mate. ^_^ Thanks for letting me tag along, Max!

Thursday, July 12, 2007

working on GE PH site

I've just finished writing the article for the website which is about the featured faction, CARNAGE. It took me quite a while to finally type the last word, but all in all, I'm proud of my handiwork. Blame it on the fact that I know these guys well enough to tell their story without the usual hassle.

We hope to launch the beta version of the GE PH website by tomorrow. This is the reason why I've been neck-deep in work since yesterday, foregoing all other stuff that I need to do for other projects.

I'd like to share with you a sneak peek of the article. Enjoy!


Perhaps one of the more evident instances where one can see CARNAGE’s synergy at play is during Colony Wars. During this in-game event, everyone discards their carefree selves to become full-fledged warriors. Their mission: to conquer and defend as many colonies as possible.

At this time, Overseer turns into a stern commander-in-chief, grouping members into platoons with their designated leaders for easier information dissemination. Platoon members quickly respond to their leaders’ commands in assisting other members during War Declarations.

After the battle, everyone switches back to their lax and funny selves. “I think what sets CARNAGE apart from other factions is the members’ diversity. We also have a few foreign members, but majority of us are Pinoys and with Pinoys, there’s a different kind of interaction. We may have different personalities and professions, but we all get along. We’re like one big barkada even if we haven’t seen each other in person,” says Stormrage.


Where I work, favorite RNPC, failed mission and more work

This current addiction to GE has made me some sort of a "freak employee" at work. For one, I log in at work at the most absurd time of the day (6AM being the earliest) at leave at an equally insane one (9PM being the latest). So in most cases, I report for work for 15 hours on a typical weekday, not discounting the overtime stuff I do on weekends.

God, this made me realize how much I miss sleeping on my bed for 12 hours straight. Hehe.

On a sudden streak of vanity, I took a few pictures of my workstation using my cellphone camera.


Anne's cluttered desk

Pardon the small size of the picture and the clutter. My seatmate's a terrible hax when it comes to tidiness. XD

Notice anything familiar? That's right, it's a GE tumbler sitting next to the monitor. I rarely use it now because it's sort of coming apart. Don't ask why, it's just that way. I dunno if I chose the substandard one from all the batches we gave away for the press last January, but I have a bad feeling that I did pick the worst in the lot.

And just this morning, my seatmate, who also happens to be my boss, had this lying around the table.

The Zouk Raid Party Guest Pass

Wow, neat! I still wish to this date that I was able to attend the Zouk event as well. Must've been loads of fun.

===

I am currently working on populating the content for the temporary GE PH site, which is why I've been recently spending more time in-game after work. Last night, Nepomuceno, one of my faction mates in CARNAGE, invited me for the Trinity Mission. We set off to meet in Port of Coimbra Ch. 2 and warp into the quest room from there.

It took me quite a while to get there because of this totally abominable work PC that I have. In the quest room itself, the girls got wiped out by several Escudo Pechers coming from all directions. So there I was getting frustrated with the uber slow machinations of this PC while Nepomuceno handled the mission all by himself.

Massive failure

Yeah, so we failed. Damn.

I just wish my request for better hardware gets here by next week, otherwise I'm going to scream bloody murder.

===

While on my usual level grinding moments, I took on Idge's last quest. Having previously collected the Liquefied Talts from Mermen in Porto Bello, I took quite some time finding that stone in Jezebel Glen to battle with the Grim Reaper. I thought I was going to have a hard time again, but thankfully, I finished the mission, and I'm totally bowled over by the reward:

Idge's great news for me

Yay! I finally got Idge! I've been wanting to have her in my lineup, given the fact that she's my favorite RNPC (next to Adelina Esperanza).

Idge is now a DeSanggria

Exploring the city with a new team

Idge and Cyradis up close

I felt like skipping for joy when I finally added her to the DeSanggria barracks. I didn't change her name just to stay on with the Idge fandom, though she now carries the DeSanggria surname. I'm thinking of having her and Alaena do some serious level grinding in Porto Bello The Deck. Alaena's has only 2 notches to go before Heaven and Hell! I can't wait!

Man, this is going to be fun later at 6PM when I go online. Woohoo!

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

day 2 of colony wars: strategies for defense

The 2nd Day of the said in-game event was actually twice the fun and anxiety as factions with Colonies had to defend their keep from invading factions. One such group is the strong force of the Yakisobas. Fresh from their Saturday EB, this well-known faction went on an all-out assault for Colony takeovers and war declarations.

Of course, CARNAGE Faction did not disappoint as they gathered their forces for the defense of their 6 Colonies. I chose to let the girls stay behind and support the faction from the sides, as well as to chronicle the events as they happened. Again, I noticed a low attendance of CARNAGE member families, considering the fact that defending the Colonies were a lot more work.

Anyway, Lolo Seer mobilized everyone to assemble at the usual spot (Port of Coimbra Ch. 1). I was at Reboldeoux watching the faction chat for any developments. Platoons were soon given orders to meet in a particular area to defend nearby colonies.

I killed time by leveling the girls in Porto Bello, but I was still watching for any updates. Perhaps at one point I became engrossed in my own activities that I missed a few developments. Although I did learn that the Colonies in the Porto Bello Deserted Quay and King's Garden were soon occupied by Yakisoba and VIRLEAD Factions respectively. And naturally, the faction's HP boost went down from 45% to 27%.

It was then that the action started kicking in.

Lolo Seer gave orders to abandon the Colony in Porto Bello's Desolate Cliff to defend the ones in El Lago de Tres Hermanas and El Tejado Verde. It was then that VIRLEAD took the Desolate Cliff Colony as their property.

Faction Leader Overseer divulged the main strategy during that time: take the Yakisoba territories while they were busy claiming other lands.

Wow. Heavy.

To the rescue

Anyway, I later found out that the Hermana Colony was safe, and that the next stop was the Deserted Quay. At this point, I made a stupid move of going there to help out. I encountered a faction mate on the way to the area, but was later on taken by surprise at the appearance of several Yakisoba families awaiting us on some sort of ambush. And because there were only the two of us in the area (and the lag started to kick in at this point), we were easily taken down. I believe it was RavaNa who pwned the girls without so much as batting an eyelash.

Death by Yakisoba

An in-game shout-out announced that the Tejado Colony was successfully acquired by the VRADICAL Faction. Lolo Seer then ordered everyone to move to the area to reclaim the Colony, and then someone from the faction announced that another platoon's efforts to reconquer the Quay Colony was already on its way. After the success of getting back El Tejado, Overseer announced the defense of Tres Hermanas next. Scouts were ordered to equip daggers and install traps for an all-out defense of the territory.

After the dust has settled, I'm proud to announce that CARNAGE got 3 colonies after the gruelling two-hour battle. Not bad at all. Congrats to the mamaws of CARNAGE for a successful defense!


And another congratulatory shout out...

CARNAGE ATTAINS LEVEL 52 FACTION STATUS!

Great work, mga paps! v^0^v

Monday, July 9, 2007

sad news up ahead

Aw, man, I just learned that CARNAGE's gonna be a lot more strict when it comes to level requirement. Just today when I logged in the game, a faction-wide announcement read that all families under CARNAGE are required to be level 80 and above in three weeks' time.

LEVEL 80 IN THREE WEEKS?

*Looks at DeSanggrias' level 37 status*

Okay, so that made me think of the following options:

a. Have a pilot for my account and have that person play 24/7.

b. Transfer to another faction with less restrictions and grind until I reach a much more decent level before joining any Colony Wars.

c. Stay faction-less until I reach a decent level and THEN join a faction.

Sigh. Sad news indeed.

*edit*

And I also found out (via GE forums) that CARNAGE has reverted to the Republican Political Party from its former stand as Royalists.

Okay, I've thought early on that the DeSanggrias are Royalists. This sudden news has somewhat added to the problem of staying or not.

Decisions...decisions...

Sunday, July 8, 2007

colony wars: a first-hand experience

The DeSanggrias got their first taste of Colony Wars yesterday, and I have to say that the experience was nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time! If I had serious hypertension concerns that time, I'd have died writhing in my seat. XD

Anyway, I went off to i-Hooked Net Cafe in Katipunan just to play GE and to have a first-hand experience of what it's like to go to war with one's faction. Despite the fact that the place was not that cold, I was freezing with anxiety. In fact, I was a bit adamant to join because of my family's level, but I figured it was worth a shot to try it out just to see my faction mates all together.

The attendance for the CARNAGE Faction was surprisingly low. Most of the resident faction mamaws were particularly missing, like Estradz and Infernalz among others. I just remembered then that some of them had an EB together with the wildboyz Faction that night (which also meant that these guys were probably drinking booze until the wee hours and would not wake up until late in the afternoon..LOLZ!).

In spite of the shortage, everyone was already on their toes, waiting for faction leader Overseer to start issuing orders. At 30 minutes before the start of the war, Lolo Seer (as we fondly call El Capitan XD) finally organized troops and gave orders for the platoon leaders to mobilize their members. I was able to tag along Quicky & Seighart's 3rd platoon and we all decided to meet up in Port of Coimbra.

CARNAGE Faction converge in Port of Coimbra Ch. 1

Upon arriving at the said location, I was surprised to see a lot of my faction mates—all eager for the battle to commence. I also noticed that I was the lone lowbie in the group, much to my embarrassment XD. Anyway, I learned from Seighart that our platoon was supposed to meet up in El Lago de Tres Hermanas. And since I didn't know how to get there, he offered to lead the way from the City of Auch to the awaiting colony.

The 3rd platoon contingent arrives

It's clobberin' time!

Making room for Quicky to do his thing XD

The first contingent of the 3rd platoon arrived at El Lago sometime after the start of the Colony War. I was with Seighart, Quicky, AquinoYap, Hawksmoor, Foxhoundz and Bushma before the rest of the group came in. The main objective was to whack the colony tower in the middle of the surrounding structures before any other faction beat us to it.

Little did I know that little tower sure took a long time to give in despite the fact that I was with a bunch of high level families. XD

A few minutes after we started ganging up on the Colony, Seighart told us to back off to give room for Quicky to do some serious damage. Then after, we got back to hacking and slashing and before long, El Lago's Colony became property of the CARNAGE Faction!

El Lago Colony: OWNED!

Our next stop was at Porto Bello's Deserted Quay. I decided to move back to the barracks and to use the Waypoint on the way to Porto Bello, but when I got there, several Thoracotomies (lvl 100) populated the area and I was dead in an instant. I went back to Reboldoeux, let Cyradis heal the group and then trudged back to Porto Bello. I took quick steps and veered away from the path of the high level monster until I reached my destination and waited until some of the squad members arrived.

The conquest of Porto Bello's Colony

Like in El Lago, the conquest of Porto Bello's Deserted Quay Colony was an easy one. I was able to use Verdandi's newly-learned skill, Meteor Strike, without any disturbances from enemies. Damned skill took quite some casting time, which made it hard for me to use in mob attacks, but thankfully I was able to see up close what it looked like while it dealt a bit of damage on the colony.

CARNAGE Faction at its best form

Spot the clones! LOLZ!

There were a lot of CARNAGE peepz in that location and I saw quite a handful of Claude Baudez and levitating Wizards in Clara Mago outfits. Wah! Seeing those floating Wizards made me wish I'd gotten myself one. But then again, it was nice to see Elementalists in Rosa Matrimonia outfits...the very same gown I want Verdandi to wear when she gets to a much higher level.

Next colony in line: Jezebel's Glen. Well, at least I knew how to get there so I just used a warp scroll (thank God I was able to save that location) so the girls went on to help the rest of the group. I saw a few families from other factions trying to worm their way in getting the colony, but due to the overwhelming number of CARNAGE mamaws (hehehe), it was inevitable that we claimed Jezebel's Glen.

CARNAGE claiming Jezebel's Glen Colony

Afterwards, someone from the squad (forgot if it was Hawksmoor or Seighart) announced that we were to head next to King's Garden. I took the long trip of going to Al Quelt Moreza then Cathari Falls before finally arriving in the designated area. I was surprised to know that VIRLEAD Faction already owned the place, and even more flabbergasted when I was the first to arrive there. Imagine the shock on my face when I met the faction's full force—and I was the lone CARNAGE family (and a lowbie one at that), so naturally I got pwned. LOLZ. Now I knew what it's like to be surrounded by a pack of hungry wolves. XD Man, I should've gotten a screenshot of that...it would've been priceless!

In between missions to claim Colonies, CARNAGE engaged in Faction Wars as well. As far as I can remember, we've declared war on CloudNine and VIRLEAD Factions. Also, some of the Colonies we acquired soon underwent attack from other factions, so Lolo Seer called out members to help in protecting our Colonies. And since time was running short as well, our faction leader was bent on defense rather than getting more Colonies from other factions.

There was one point when I went back to the Deserted Quay that we encountered a Sabel Tiger ganging up on enemy factions. Hehehe. It was as if the monster was there defending the Colony for us instead of the other way around. And there was another moment when I ventured back to El Lago that I got chased by an enemy faction who was out for CARNAGE blood. Seeing that I was no match for a high level family, I retreated and saved my girls from utter pwnage. XD

All in all, CARNAGE owned 6 Colonies at the end of the 2-hour war. Dominion Faction got the most, but the excitement's going to be several notches higher in today's Colony Wars as the Yakisoba Faction's bound to make an appearance.

I'm not so sure if I can cover today's war, but I doubt I'd be much help in defending our Colonies with Yakisoba in the run. Nevertheless, I'm just happy to have been able to participate in such an exhilarating event.

Until next CW! CARNAGE FOR TEH WIN!!!


Much thanks to Seighart, AquinoYap, Hawksmoor and everyone at CARNAGE for being a big help in the DeSanggrias' first CW adventure. Go Go Go Paps! Hehehehe.

Friday, July 6, 2007

peekchur time!

While waiting for the server maintenance, a few of my factionmates with me and Veya chatted over at YM. I didn't get much work done in the process (hehe), but I did get stomach cramps just from controlling the urge to howl with laughter. I think my boss thought me weird yesterday, looking constipated and all, but what the heck...it was the perfect way to pass time.

After work yesterday, I logged in the game to chat with a few more CARNAGE peepz, and even joined factionmate AquinoYap's invitiation to engage in a Mission Interchange adventure. We invited a few more from the faction, but eventually it was just the DeSanggrias, AquinoYap and Estradz who took on the quest.


It was actually my first time to do a squad mission, and I was pretty much uneasy with these two high level mamaws (mwehehe). My computer was in a virtual state of lag yet again, but I managed to be not much of a burden to the team as we battled Escudo Pechers, Mermen and some crate octupuses. I was actually waiting for some of the girls to die because of the snail's pace connection and all that crap, but thankfully, none of them wavered, thanks to Estradz's hot Scout (LOLZ!).

All in all, it was fun! I really ought to do more of these Interchange quests. The drops are pretty cool as well. I didn't get to pick out some skills rings, but that's ok. There'll be more opportunities to get some rare drops in the future.

Winnar!


But of course, I'm not about to pass up on the chance for screenie-taking! I put some thought balloons on some of the pictures, although only Pinoys will be able understand some of the dialogues I put there. Hehehe. Click on the image for full view!


AquinoYap's funny Adelina, McDo-ish Wizard and cute Scout!

Owned! LOLZ!

Chillaxin' on the streets of Reboldoeux with Estradz

Omayghulay!

Demure effect

Fireworks at the end of a successful mission


Big shoutouts and thanks to Estradz and AquinoYap for a fun quest!

And there's going to be a test Colony Wars once again this weekend at 8PM - 10PM (GMT +8)! I hope I can join in with the faction to document the action as well. ^_^

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

the music of granado espada


One of the many things I like about GE is its one-of-a-kind soundtrack that perfectly fuses trance, pop, classical and dance music. I like to listen to as much musical genres as I can, and thanks to some good friends, I've been introduced to quite a lot. Seeing these various genres in one game soundtrack is nothing short of pure genius. This is also one of the reasons why I like advancing to higher levels because you can get to take quests in various areas, and thus get acquainted with the diverse background music (BGM) that goes with it.

Although my characters are still at level 35, I've already quite a handful of favorite tracks to listen to. Below are just a few of my personal picks:

Granado Espada - Kim Junsung

This is the music you'd get to hear first prior to logging in the game. When the log in page appears, this classical piano piece sets the mood for the game's romantic backdrop.

Barracks - Kim Junsung

After logging in, you're immediately transported to the Barracks, and this is the accompanying track for the said location. Even if you're not a huge fan of orchestra music, you'll definitely find yourself humming to its tunes.

Supercooled Girl - SoundTeMP

This is the music you'll hear upon leaving the Cite de Reboldoeux's walls and venturing into the Queen's Gate. It has a light, catchy beat that picks up as the song progresses.

Beyond Hope - S.F.A.

If you were able to view one of the official video teasers of the game prior to POBT, then you know this song. Or if you've spent long hours leveling in Al Quelt Moreza, you've probably heard this playing in your mind as you sleep. Hehehe. I love the sound of string instruments, especially the violin, and this track is one of my most frequent LSS (last song syndrome). There's also the nice mix of synthesizers and percussions, giving it a semblance of "texture".

Odyssey - Kubota Osamu

This chorus song is usually heard upon arriving at Al Quelt Moreza Nartex. It has a bit of an epic feel to it as well. The electric guitar and piano medley is just amazing.

Forget-me-not - SoundTeMP

I've spent countless days in Al Quelt Moreza Parsonage, and this is one of those songs that I usually hear in that specific area. Everytime I hear this music, I'm always reminded of my level grinding stuggles in the game.

Aria de Coimbra - Kim Junsung

One of my top favorites. I like the operatic feel of this track. It really sets the mood and is a perfect romantic BGM in one of the game's picturesque towns.

Trancephobia - SoundTeMP

Definitely one of my favorite trance songs in the game. You'll be able to hear this cool track in Tetra Grand Corridor.

Temptation - Kim Junsung

This definitely has an Egyptian feel to it. Hehehe. Since I've been spending a lot of time in Tetra Golden Road, I can practically hear this in my sleep. XD

Andalusian Rhapsody - SoundTeMP

I haven't been to the location where you can hear this particular track, but I'm growing fond of this BGM. The guitar, flute and synthesizer mix depicts a brooding, yet light atmosphere whenever I hear this track.

Nangman Trance - SoundTeMP

Definitely and absolutely my top favorite in all the GE tracks I've heard so far. It's upbeat, eclectic music keeps me awake, and the fact that it's a fast song makes me want to be in the rush as well.

Violin of Death - S.F.A.

As previously mentioned, I love the sound of violins, and this track particularly highlights the drama and urgency violins connote. The heavy drums and electric guitar adds to its mysterious and playful ambiance. Does anybody know what location can you hear this music?


A bit of trivia:

I've recently learned (through Wikipedia) that SoundTeMP is not one person, but actually a team of Korean musicians who create music for online games. They've also composed BGMs for Ragnarok Online and Flyff (Fly for Fun). Kim Junsung, the musician behind the opening track of Granado Espada (the one in the log in page) and other in-game music, is also part of the team.

And I was able to scour the Net for a picture of Kubota Osamu!



And as an added bonus, I'd like to share a link to some of the music that can be found in-game. Check out this place to listen to a vast array of GE tracks, which unfortunately cannot be downloaded. :P Veya likewise has a playlist up in her blog as well, so do check it out and comment on some of the game's fantastic tracks.

I'd rather buy the original album anyway. I'm pretty sure it's a big bang for my buck. Mwehehehe.

There are still a lot of fantastic in-game music that I'd like to talk about, but we'd get to that once I advance to much more better locations. ^_~

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

faction EBs, quests, blogging and everything else in between

I have moved!
Okay, so I previously said I won't, but after Veya told me people had to sign up just to comment, I knew I had to move the DeSanggria abode to a more user-friendly host.

GE PH gamers have recently started conducting meet-ups to get to know their fellow GEeks (a term I coined to describe GE players XD). Talks among factions to have their own Faction EBs (eye-balls or get-togethers) are the buzz these days in the forums. GE PH Community Manager Veya has attended some of these and have written a post-event account in her blog.

Likewise I'm excited for a CARNAGE Faction EB sometime soon. Some of my factionmates have arranged impromptu EBs a few weeks ago, though I'd really like to see a huge attendance of the members in a grand meeting of sorts (although, I'm not too sure of a 100% attendance because some members reside in the provinces). I know for a fact that this faction is one bunch of crazy, funny gamers and I do want to meet them in person to put a face to those funny anecdotes I encounter in each of our faction chats.

The big question though is who will steer and organize this meet-up? What of everyone's availability?

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I'm glad to say that some members of the Yakisoba Faction have cleared the air regarding the heated posts in the CARNAGE Faction blog. Apparently, some people have been using the names of the known Yakisoba families to spam and flame in other factions' blogs. It's a good thing some people condoned these flame wars, or else we'd have some serious problems in our hands.

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I've been meaning to put up an Alaena entry, but I've been so engrossed in finishing the quests and leveling up to actually chronicle Alaena's exploits with her sisters. Oh, I've been taking screencaps and all, but some of them are not nearly as significant to merit an entry in this blog. I've been going to just 2 places in the map (Tetra Grand Corridor & Golden Road) so I can level grind and get more quests. I want to level faster coz I can't wait for Alaena to don the Heaven and Hell stance, which I've been rambling on for the last two entries or so. XD

Plus of course, I want to be worthy of being in CARNAGE, since this faction actually has a level requirement.

I guess I am taking my time to some extent because I love doing the quests as well. I've recently stopped doing Carlos' Escudo Pecher quest coz my slow PC puts the game in a perpetual state of lag, thus I can't complete the mission.

And I've finally acquired Gracielo! Hahaha. After 48 years of trying my luck, I actually beat the dude at around level 34. Some people have acquired his character card at a much earlier level, but as I've said, my PCs not cooperating so the girls die most of the time in combat missions. This is also the reason why I can't finish the stuff about Gracielo beating some three hulky fiends at the Coimbra Observation Point.

I've recently finished Brunie's initial request of Hard Chalcedonies, and I'm now doing her quest of obtaining the Golden Horn at the Tetra Golden Road. I've also taken on Idge's quest for some armor parts (yet again).

I'm just taking things one at a time. ^_^

Sunday, July 1, 2007

trouble in paradise?

I dunno if anyone has noticed the trouble brewing over at the Pachelbel server. One of my friends who plays in that server has told me about the strife going on between this Jowin family sowing discord amongst PH and SG gamers. I do not know the entire story of this issue, but as far as I've known, it all started when Jowin sent a message in the world chat using the vernacular language. Some people reacted to these series of Tagalog shout outs, which resulted to a "chat war" of sorts among PH and SG gamers. Again, I don't know if I recounted the tale correctly, so if there's anyone who knows the true story to this, please feel free to correct me.

It seems that the issue here is language, and with GE being hosted in an international server, debates on whether to use English or the gamers' native tongue while chatting has been the topic in the forums. Some have raised valid points on the pros and cons of the issue, and I just personally would like to add that playing with such diverse people calls for respect in cultures. There's no need to sow hatred amongst gamers just because some people feel more comfortable speaking in their native language. I think patience and respect are needed to help each other enjoy playing the game.

On a related note, there were some Yakisoba Faction members who allegedly posted a few rude remarks over at the CARNAGE Faction blog. It has particularly irked me in a way, but then again, one of my faction mates pacified the issue by saying that these people may have just used the names of the known Yakisoba members just to spite our faction. This may be true, but I do hope that this will be resolved soon. I dunno why there are some who seem to have a big grudge against GE PH gamers, but I hope this won't escalate to a bigger dilemma. I believe that the Yakisoba Faction gamers are honorable people who would not stoop to such level of mudslinging against other factions.

Let's just put this behind us and enjoy the game. Or better yet, let's have a nice, good, and clean fight in the next Colony Wars. It's just a game and we shouldn't take it over our heads too much.