Category Archives: Social

Complexity and Fear

Posted on by

I am not a rocket scientist, or a brain surgeon.  I work in systems architecture, which is  fancy way of saying that I work in puzzles without pictures, and pieces of different sizes.  My job entails taking an idea, breaking it down into smaller chunks, finding or making things to accommodate those chunks, then bringing it all together.  I make things that are hard from the inside, look easy from the outside.

People, in general, are irrational.  They make knee jerk decisions, and the majority of the time it is based on fear.  Fear is a good emotion, it’s what’s kept us from being eaten by spiders and snakes and alligators.  But we don’t (generally speaking) have that problem anymore.  What we have now are taxes, people who are different than us, massively complex bureaucracies, and dozens of new inventions that connect us to each other without us understanding how.

It is a rather simple matter to explain to someone why a snake would bite you.  It’s also acting in fear and self-defense.  Trying to explain to someone where taxes go and what they do… that’s a challenge.  I had a gentleman ask me why his phone automatically recognized a caller that wasn’t in his contact list.  I had to explain to him that he had shared his LinkedIn and Facebook account, the other had done the same, and the system just linked them.  He immediately went back and set it all to private, then started diving into other applications he had used.  I’ve talked to my wife numerous times about online presence and the mindset of her students that simply cannot disconnect.  Without her experiencing that firsthand, and the insomnia and externalized self-worth that accompanies it, there’s no real empathy.

I read a lot of news, from various sources.  There are some articles that are good, most however are quite poor.  To reduce an argument to a single line, or a single idea… that’s unfair.  Even in this connected age, there is not enough material to fill in 24 hours of fear-mongering news.  Most of it has to be made up, spun up, and screamed about.  Apparently everyone is out to kill me, everyone who doesn’t agree with me should be locked in jail, I should be immune to all arguments, and I should never change my mind.

I do get the flipside.  Issues are complicated.  Like a giant house of cards, you can’t just take one piece on it’s own and remove it.  It’s being supported by, and supporting other pieces.  Ignorance is bliss and people don’t ever want to have a hand in the game.  That’s the worst part about fear.  The thing is, without that knowledge, it’s a slow death.  Everyone has a hand in the game, whether they realize it or not.  By sticking your head in the sand and pretending nothing is going on… there’s only one part of your body left to take advantage of.

I want my kids to grow up understanding that fear is a good thing, it’s a daily challenge. By facing that fear, by diving into it and understanding why it exists, we can make greater changes.  It will be hard going.  There will be failures.  Other people will try to pull them down.  But it won’t matter.  They will ask questions.  They will have sympathy to the plight of others.  They will have empathy to better understand why people act the way they do.  And they will grow smarter and stronger for it.

For that to happen, I have to be better.  We have to be better.

 

 

 

Cold Season

Posted on by

I have a head cold.  It’s one of those annoying ones where my nose runs like a tap and I’m feeling like I’ve had 2 hours of sleep, but it’s not enough to keep me in bed.  I’d prefer the flu, where you sleep it off and 24 hours later you’re back at it.  This feels like it’s going to stick around a while… I guess I need some more gin.

Fitness

I picked up the 45lbs weight plates the other day.  I will say that those two plates are more intimidating than an assortment of smaller ones to make up the same weight.  There’s something comical about a string of plates, compared to the solemness of just massive honkers of steel.  I remember thinking on the first set “am I really doing this?”, which got better later on.

As I mentioned to Isey, playing hockey and working out is not going to plan.  I am not a stay at home player, and I like to rush and move.  After having lifted nearly 3 tons of weight, the body needs some rest and hockey is not that.  I personally like progress and I’m at the point where I can no longer make progress in one without sacrificing in the other.  I need to make some choices.  I have about 3 more months of hockey mind you, so perhaps I can just delay for a bit.

I’ve also gone back to counting calories again.  Not for the minute aspect but for the trends and meal planning.  It also provides some evidence for the way the scale works and the way the training plays out.  I’ve tried a few apps for this but right now, MyFitnessPal taking the prize.  The app is straightforward and links to other things.  All good stuff.

All that to say that I should be hitting my fitness goals by the May timeframe.  Just in time for summer cottage/beer season.

Games

Simply put, I seem to be burned out on games in general right now.  I lack the free time to do much on the organized front, and I’ve played all the single player games I want to right now.  The emulator is fun.  Spending some time flirting with a few games here and there.  StarTropics is done, but Kirby is up.  Illusion of Gaia as well.  I’d play the FF series but I’ve gone through them all numerous times.

Let’s go over the big names this past year.

  • Overwatch – Not a PvP fan.
  • XCOM2 – waiting for the LongMod, otherwise superb game
  • Dark Soul 3 – played a few hours, ehh
  • Doom – heard great things.  Waiting for a sale
  • Civ 6 – still trying to wrap my head around it.  Load times and short play sessions don’t help
  • The Witness – played, stomped my brain, loved it
  • Dishonored 2 – still full of PC bugs, waiting on this one…
  • Firewatch – on my wish list
  • Stardew Valley – not a fan of simulators…maybe later
  • Deus Ex 2 – Better than the first one.  The missions are way better than the hubs.
  • Witcher 3 – A great game hobbled by the worst combat controls I’ve played in a long time.
  • The Division – I should go back now that the big patch is in…but end game is nearly all PvP.
  • Grim Dawn – super ARPG, put in a lot of hours here.
  • WoW Legion – I don’t have time to raid and my time expired with 4 max characters.  LFG not including all dungeons still ticks me off.  Never saw an artifact.
  • Tyranny – played it, cleared it, may go back later.

Not much that I haven’t had a hand in, that I at least have an interest in. I’ll be honest, I’m not missing it terribly.

 

Irony Had a Baby

Posted on by

Ok, less gaming related today.

Two interesting stories to mention.  First, that Republicans are feeling targeted on college campuses (NYTimes) and second, that the CIA is complaining that a foreign government had a direct hand in a democratic election (all over but this one from WSJ).

Reading both, it feels like the Onion no longer has any relevant material to write about and that I need to pay double attention to see if an article is real or a joke.

 

My friends and family can certainly attest that I am far from a bleeding heart when it comes to society.  I am a firm believer that people have way more control over their lives than they think they do, and that the wide majority of actions and reactions are based on their direct input.  I would say that I swing left as compared to my elder generation, center when it comes to mine, and right when it comes to the younger one.

That’s not to say that the system isn’t rigged against them.  You need the chips to play poker, and the collateral to call a bluff.  Very few people on this planet have that.  I am more than aware that I live in the upper echelons of my country and as compared to the world wealth, I’m in the 0.10%.  Minimum wage in Canada would put that person at 3% globally, which is just about our country’s poverty line.

Money is not a cycle, it doesn’t trickle down.  Its distribution curve goes only one way.  It’s entirely reasonable that someone who tries hard, puts in the hours and effort and loses their job because of factors outside their control would be resentful when they lose their job and their boss gets a raise.  (Reminds me a bit of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, where all middle managers are sent away on a space ship to colonize Earth).

I get that when someone gets a bum deal, they start thinking about Maslow’s pyramid.  If you have no personal safety, or for those you care for, then it is not possible to be empathetic to others.  People feel isolated and alone.  They make rash decisions that are shortsighted and emotional.  I can assure you that I’ve been in that boat, longer than I care to admit.  Managing change takes energy, and energy is scarce when you’re just scraping by.

Society then breaks into smaller groups, where sameness is key and threats are diminished.  Individuality is washed away, replaced with group-think.  Uniqueness, the underlying quality of each of us, is squashed. 2 people become 3, become 5, become 100.  Mob mentality, where a sense of accountability is lost, but belonging is strengthened.  You end up with Occupy Wall Street, just a rash cry for attention without any goals.

People are not rational by default.  We are emotional creatures that need stability, caring and purpose.  It is remarkable how easy it is to lose all 3, for the fall is quick  is from up high, and we forget the people that surround us when it happens.

 

It’s just unfortunate that empathy is so difficult to achieve unless someone experiences the same events as another.  Walking a mile in someone else’s shoes has never been more apt.

Fun Times Ahead

Posted on by

I guess I got a BINGO on the previous post, smack through the middle.

Blizzcon Bingo Win.png

I think that was the easiest of the bunch to score upon.  There was certainly a lot of opportunity for surprises… which didn’t really show up.  To me, the high points are:

  • Diablo 3 is getting DLC (necromancer and D1 retro)
  • After 7.2 we go to outer space again in WoW (not sure how an entire planet becomes a patch and not an expansion…)
  • That WoW actually has something planned past the next patch!
  • Varian and Ragnaros in HotS.  Especially the latter who can transform into a raid boss.
  • Blizzard’s own esports league. Why?  Starcraft 2 can’t be there.  There’s no real esport in HS.  WoW hasn’t had any since arenas were a thing.  HotS doesn’t work at that level.  Overwatch seems the only candidate…maybe something else is in the pipes.

Overall, not disappointed with Blizzcon but not impressed either.  Wasn’t really expecting much either, given that WoW and Overwatch launched to acclaim this year.  Guess it means next year…

Mobile Stuff

I like idle games.  They scratch the RPG itch of growth, the rogue-like of restarting, and don’t require full attention.  I have played a metric ton of them as well.  Soda Dungeon is right at the top for set-it-and-forget-it gameplay. There are countless others in that stream and most people have to try a couple out to get a feel for it.

The one currently hitting the right notes in Endless Frontier.  It has the same level progression as others, plenty of characters, guild wars, PvP battles, dungeons, and pets.  It’s a rather complicated system to grasp at first but it is quite generous with mistakes.  The best part is the dev’s approach to in-app-purchases.  Gems are used for nearly everything, but you get an ample daily credit, and more during special events.  In a good week, you could get 20k or more.  So while you certainly can use the IAP to progress, it isn’t mandatory at all.  It is exceedingly rare for a game to find the right balance on this front, and eventually they all tend to tip towards dumbness (hello Non-Stop Knight!)  Might as well take a look at it today if you can.

US Elections

Up here in igloo-town (Canada, eh?!), our media cycles are captivated by the US election.  I am also quite curious to see what goes down.  Regardless of what happens, I think the end result is that everyone will have a poorer opinion of the US overall.  For a country that prides itself on the “best of the best”, the options that are on the table are so dramatically polarizing, it boggles the mind.

And that’s on top of a congressional approval rating (11%) that is lower than most warlords in other countries.

It’s just a sad state of affairs, and one I hope that they can get out of without dragging the rest of the world through the wake.  That said, I think we’re all going to wake up to a different world-view tomorrow.

 

Shutting Down the Cottage

Posted on by

This wet weekend was spent shutting down the cottage for the winter.  I had helped with doing that exact work at other cottages in the past, and we did open it this year, but it was the first time where the wife and I were left to our own devices.

Saturday we had the final fire in the pit and got to watch the hunter’s moon (a giant blood moon) come over the rise.  That was seriously impressive.  Plus, the cottage is in the laurentian hills, which means hills everywhere with changing colors… I should get some pictures up about that view.  Combined with the rain clouds, it’s a bit like watching a movie.  Very serene.

A few lessons learned

  • Get the work done outside before it start raining.  Especially if it’s a downpour.
  • Containers that stack together empty and pile on when full are a solid investment
  • Hot water tanks hold an incredible amount of water
  • Don’t bleed the hot water lines until the pressure is off the tank.
  • There is a surprising amount of bedding to store in a cottage with 5 beds
  • The water is ice cold in October.  Bone chilling cold.
  • There’s a certain amount of sorrow when locking the door for the last weekend

So the first year is done.  Nothing but positive things to say about that.  Great memories, lessons that we all learned from, and very much looking forward to the spring.

Fall Habits

With that official closure, it means getting into the fall and winter habits.  I had a few too many beer over the summer and I need to work that off.  But the food in the fall is the best food of all.  Soups and stews and muffins…oh my.

Some people may have this too, but the lack of sunlight has a rather dramatic impact on my energy levels.  Waking up and heading to work in the dark, and coming home in the dark, that’s the worst part of this time of year.  Last year was a good year, and I hope that this one follows suit.  So far, the best remedy is exercise.  A rather tough gambit this month as it seems every night is booked with something.  Heck, I have hockey 4 times this week alone.

Yet it’s manageable and I’m having fun.  And at the end of the day, that’s really what matters.  Now for a cup of hot chocolate…

Self-Motivation

Posted on by

Duke of O has an interesting comment that bears some expansion.  How to get self-motivated.

I think it’s fair to say that I’m an outlier when it comes to motivation.  My wife thinks it’s borderline OCD, though in fairness it has more to do with anxiety & stress management.  At work, I take spontaneous decisions multiple times per day.  Each one is based on the available facts, my memory, expert advice, and finally the analysis of the long-view.  Most people can understand everything but the long-view.

Sure, a decision today has an immediate impact, but what about a few weeks from now, or a few years?  How does it impact me, the people close to me, and the people outside my circle?  How does it impact other decisions?  These are all items that go through my head and are incredibly hard to shake.  I’ll give an example, home renos.

For a long while we wanted to knock down a wall and open up the kitchen.  Sounds simple enough.  After I looked at all the details it actually turned into a whole floor reno.  I needed to re-arrange the kitchen cabinets, get a new counter, open up another wall to run pipes & electricity, move some switches, re-enforce an adjoining wall, change the flooring in the kitchen and remainder of the floor to match, which also joined into a bathroom…it was never ending.  What seemed like a simple job turned into a 6 week reno.  None of it was surprising, as I had thought it all out, but it took time.

How does this link to self-motivation?  I think long term and I think in terms of return on investment.  I worked for about 4 months on a particular work project from my basement. I spent a few weeks at the cottage too, working at odd hours to get it done.  I knew that if I crammed as much work as possible into the right time space, I could get double that in free time later in the day.  I made sure that the environment was conducive to that as well, so I eliminated any distractions.  I basically set up the perfect environment for me to succeed, removing any excuses.

Same goes for exercise.  I just don’t have time to physically travel to and from the gym.  The closest one is about 5 minutes away.  Including the driving, changing, and shower, I lose at least 30 minutes of my day.  And that’s not counting the waiting for a machine/weight to free up.  What would take me 60-90 minutes in a gym, I can get done in 45 at home.  That’s massively motivating.  The equipment I have, and the setup I have, make it extremely easy to get going, listen to music or a movie, and get the workout done.   I’ve removed all excuses from the equation, with the exception of “I’m too tired”.

And that’s the hardest one because it’s often true.  So I use various applications to keep me honest.  My wife uses social groups.  Getting a notification on the phone/tablet that it’s time to workout is motivating.  Seeing the progress between workouts is even more motivating.

Self-motivation is like a chemical reaction.  You need the right conditions and the right ingredients to get it going.  And once it starts, it’s usually quite hard to stop.

Geek Market Family Outing

Posted on by

Last post I mentioned that I had brought the family to a geek market.  This Geek Market.

I did a bit of pre-sale for the event, and both the little ones were all smiles about heading there.  My other half wasn’t so sure.  I knew that spending 4 hours wasn’t going to be an option, but a solid 2 would do.  We headed over, paid the entry and then started walking around the kiosks.

I’ve been to my fair share of these types of events, where people are selling stuff.  I have a great dislike of pressure sales, and the high level of energy required when you’re just browsing.  Geeks are introverts, by and large, so that was certainly the biggest shock (or lack thereof) while browsing.  People just smile and let you look around.  Those that built their own crafts are quite proud just to be sitting there, and are more than willing to share their stories if asked.  But there’s no pushing.  That’s one of the best parts.

Anyhoot, the first spot was a couple guys selling dice sets.  They also had a random dice bin, which my eldest treated like diamonds.  Every 30 seconds, “when can we get some dice”.  Jeebers.  It was the last thing we did before leaving and she was super happy with her choices.  She also managed to find a dice with two 5s and a 7.  Now that’s something!

There was a neat Lego setup, with a perpetual marble machine as the centerpiece.  Again, my eldest just stopped moving and stared for a few minutes.  I think we all did.  Off to the side were 2 millennium falcons, one of which was custom built.  It was like Christmas.  The gent had spent 3 months building it and was practically glowing with pride.  All the rest of Lego was custom sets too, and I could see the wheels turning in my kid’s head for future projects.

My littlest one really liked the toys, all of them.  She ended up with some miniature winnie the pooh figures, similar to one we found in one of our old boxes at home.  She was super pumped.

There were a bunch of other neat kiosks around.  Jewelry, clothes, toys, mugs, boardgames… even a bunch of furries and stormtroopers.  Another section of the floor plan was set up for tabletops and some cosplay.  We didn’t have a chance to explore that side with the time we had.

It was interesting to see my wife’s reaction in all of this.  My guess is that she was expected a set of boardgames and underground culture, when it reality it was just a bunch of people with similar interests, sharing them.  Ninja Turtles, GI Joe, Harry Potter (wands and all) all seemed to resonate with her, though not as a geek mentality.  She did mention that she appreciated the more calm atmosphere, compared to some other trade shows.

Long story short, brought my 2 kids and wife to a geek market.  Confirmed I have raised the 2 kids well, and wife is a slow convert.

Back From the Dead

Posted on by

It’s been a loooong while since I’ve posted and I’m hoping that’ll change.  The last post was an explanation as to how I hate the month of February, and that bled all the way into March.  Winter in Ottawa has been a pain, with snow last Monday.  Finally, the good weather is back, and so am I.

Quick summary of the past 2 months.

  • Lost ~25lbs
  • Added and removed about 50 games from my tablet
  • Played and completed (well, sort of ) the Witness
  • Bought, installed and am running a Raspberry Pi Minecraft server, that my 5 year old loves
  • Went down south for March break with the kids and had a blast
  • Started a new project at work, which will allow our Prime Minister to do his job a bit better

Games

TapTap Far Away Kingdom is the main tablet game at the moment.  It’s a simpler version of Tap Titans, without multiplayer, and doesn’t require me to smash my screen.  I wrote a quick guide for it too.  I can just let it run idle for a while.  There are many idle games on the market, and it’s hard to find the one with just the correct amount of user interaction.  I’d prefer not to break my wrists.

I’m back into Minecraft after a couple years off.  My 5 year old is enamored with it at school and wanted to give it a try at home.  I had first tried to set up a server on my NAS, which event though it had the server specs, it wasn’t able to take the load.  So I bought a gen3 Raspberry Pi and within an hour, the server was up and running.  Less than $100, case & cables, and it was going.  Very impressed.

I’m also playing The Division, which is I guess like Destiny but for PC.  There’s no MMO part of it, unless you’re actively in a group or a PvP (well, half PvP) zone, which makes for a really empty game.  The mechanics are decent, the content is so-so.  I got a good deal on the purchase, so why not?  I don’t really have much time to play though.

Health

I jumped back on the health train a few months ago, using a personal exercise plan and paying attention to what I eat.  I get a 30 minute walk for lunch, and then another 30-60 minutes of exercise after the kids hit the hay.  It’s had a pretty drastic impact on my hockey speed (imagine carrying a case of beer strapped to your body).  My wife is also on this trek, which makes meal prep a whole lot easier.

I picked up a Fitbit ChargeHR which tracks steps, distance, heart rate and stairs.  That combined with MyFitnessPal app allows me to track my meals (calories + macros), weight, and calorie expenditure.  It is stupid easy to setup and once you’ve tinkered with a few things, it’s about 10 seconds to log a meal, with exercises being synced automatically.  It’s magic I tell you.

Upcoming

We’ve bought and are closing a purchase on a lake front cottage, with possession starting in June.  My number one stress relief activity is fishing, and given that I don’t have time to do much of it, having a cottage will change that fact.  Sure, it’s a massive debt load and responsibility, but it’s also a financial and sanity investment.  I have excellent memories of the cottage life as a child, and it’s something my wife and I want to share with our kids.

First of Many

I’ll try to keep on track with regular posts moving forward.  The next one will deal with a geek market I brought the family to visit over the weekend.  It’s rather clear that my eldest is a geek like her dad, with some spark in the younger one as well.  Not to say that my wife’s excitement at seeing Ninja Turtle action figures wasn’t cool as well.  There’s a lot to say there, so I’ll wait a bit.

The Gamer In Each of Us

Posted on by

I was having a chat with my better half the other night and verbally confirmed what I had been thinking for some time.  My penchant for board games has less to do with the actual game and more to do with the social aspect.

Back in the EQ days (heck, even the BB days) I played video games for the social aspect.  Sure, there were always options to play board games, and I certainly did, but video games provided a rather easy way to play without the need to move outside my house.  I played D&D back then, but it was nearbouts an hour there and back to play with the group.  That wasn’t really an issue online.

With a wife and 2 kids, they are mine to manoeuver to play boardgames.  What kid doesn’t like snakes and ladders, or trouble?  Those are staples that will be around for another 100 years.  The challenge is getting them to play more in-depth games.  And to that end, I think I’ve found some ground rules.

Gaming Rules for Kids

The most important rule is that there are only a handful of rules and that they are presented at all times.  When kids have to refer to some manual for a rule, then they are out of the game.  Their attention span and appreciation for nuance isn’t really developed.  Having my kid stay focused on say, Decent, is a massive challenge since the player involvement is rather minor.

My kids are also primarily French and the eldest is just starting to read, so long instructions don’t work either.  An intuitive game, one that mimics what’s on the board, is what works well.  This means that dice games, counted movement games and picture games work great. Math games quite a bit less.  A game where someone rolls damage, then calculates critical change, then rolls defense, then armor and has a trigger ability, then removes health… that’s just too much.

Games also shouldn’t last more than 30 minutes.  If it’s a dice game and it lasts more than 15, there’s a problem.  My kids would much rather play 2 games of 30 minutes than 1 game of 60.

Finally, games that require some strategy/long term choices are best played in a team.  This way, the kids get to talk it out together rather than self-reason.  It’s the exposure to other thoughts here that really counts and after a while, they start thinking macro instead of micro.

Gaming for Neophytes

Let’s get this out front – everyone is a gamer.  Young, old, breathing or sleeping, people are bred to game.  From playing crib with my great grandparents to kerplunk with my little one, everyone has fun with games.

Now that said, with thousands of games available, there’s one for every itch.  Finding your personal itch is important, but finding other people who share that itch is even more important.  My wife couldn’t be bothered with MMOs but I showed her Puzzle Quest and lost her for 2 months.  Plants vs Zombies had her for even longer. She’s a fan of Pandemic and Monopoly (my family has a history with Monopoly, rage and all).  So it would seem that she has a like for strategy games, though perhaps more appropriately she likes tactical games.  She also really likes randomization, which I’ve yet to figure out why.

Playing with her has shown that while she sees the long game in a discussion, she doesn’t necessarily see the links between the short and the long.  Many board games have a ripple effect from the first dice roll, though there’s probably more than simply rely on every decision made instead.  My guess is that a CCG game like Hearthstone would work, because of the immediacy and randomness of play.  A game like Dominion, or 7 Wonders would not because of the long view required.  I’d sure like to try them out with her though, I’m all for surprises!

I know my sister likes boardgames, though the few I play with her are trivia games.  My youngest brother is more into the strategy games, more in lines with Risk or miniatures.  We 3 used to play a lot when we were younger, even playing quite a few games with my dad.  Hero’s Quest in particular was a super fun time.  But we were exposed to a lot of games, of many different types.  From those years of games, we each developed an affinity to a particular style.

And I think that’s really the conclusion here.  To get someone into gaming, any type of gaming, you just have to keep trying different types of games.  Eventually they’ll find something that clicks.

Next Up

So I have my list of games I’d like to try with the family.  I just need to find the right price point to try some of them out.  I really don’t mind paying $50-$70 for something I know I will really like and then can play for quite a few years.  Finding something dedicated for the family and youngings, that has a certain immediacy.  And spending $40 on something none of the kids like… well I might as well head to the park instead.

Cookie For You, Cookie For Me

Posted on by

I baked some toffee/butterscotch cookies with the kids last night.

Long story short, I really enjoy baking.  Short story long, baking forces you to pay attention, be patient and meticulous, while providing an end result that either lasts for days, or makes everyone in a room smile.

It’s been about 6 years now that my wife and I have baked cookies for the holidays.  We usually hand out tins to our friends but this year’s schedule has been a bit tougher to work around.  I was missing the fun of spending a solid weekend just making treats and decided to get something made for the work pot luck.  Ended up with the above toffee cookies and some peanut-butter maple ones as well.  Baking on a weeknight isn’t as much fun as a weekend, since it’s hard to get on a roll, but it’s still quite satisfying.  Especially when your kids and your wife are stealing cookies when you’re not looking.

While I certainly enjoy my current career, a 2nd one in baking has always had allure.  Downsides are the hours (you need to get baking near 4am) and the salary. I guess I can take some classes though…

Devilian

I completed the 3rd zone, made it to level 24.  The leveling speed has fallen, which means that my skill progress has slowed.  The character growth I saw in the first few sessions has sort of petered out.  My inventory is filling up quite a bit faster, so I’m obligated to salvage a lot of stuff.  I’ll need to craft some talisman cards with all those materials.

The last dungeon run was different, in that there was more to do than just kill bad guys.  Well, we needed to kill towers and it had 7 general steps to complete before the boss.  The boss itself wasn’t anything special.  I blew some cooldowns, transformed into Devilian mode for a DPS boost, then just pew-pewed until he dropped.  I did end up with a lot of gear at the end, though truth be told it’s hard to figure out what’s actually useful.

You’d think that Intelligence would be a super stat for a caster, but it gives something like 0.1 damage.  Other stats scale that way as well, so there really doesn’t appear to be any tangible difference at that level.  Which begs the question why bother with various stats at all until you reach higher levels.

An interesting factoid, I haven’t died yet.  I haven’t come close.  I haven’t seen anyone die either.  The dungeon we ran had the warrior pull every spawn towards the gate (15-20 enemies) and we just plowed through them.  It’s a bit of dynasty warriors here, or playing Diablo 3 on super easy mode.  The concept of risk just doesn’t seem to exist yet.

As I mentioned last time, this is reminding more and more of a mobile dungeon crawler.  That’s more of a neutral statement than a judgment.  I really like that style since it’s a pick-up-and-play attitude but the long term gameplay is questionable.  We’ll see as time moves on.