Caffeine fueled productivity

[jpinsd]

Yesterday was one of those holy-crap-i-got-so-much-done kind of days. I finished up a website for one friend, got 90% done on a website for another friend, started designing the website for a third friend, went through my email and cleared out about 350 unanswered messages, registered as an official iPhone developer (and installed iOS4.2 on my iPad. Thanks for the inspiration, mdarnaud ) and as a reward to myself, i re-enabled my World of Warcraft account. For those of you that play, or used to play, all i can say is: holy crap! The 4.0 version is like a new game, with familiar faces.

All of that in about 12 hours, fueled by Rockstar Pommegranate.

Today... I am totally resting. And shopping for some new shoes. Hehe.

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.

Comments

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

As a former tank, I'm really not digging the new system. I let my subscription run out, and I really don't see coming back to it (but the new graphics are very shiny).

They also killed the trees =(

[jpinsd.livejournal.com]

I spent a little time re-specing my 80 Mage, Warlock, and Shadow Priest. I haven't had enough time to really play them, other than superficially. The changes are… interesting. I'm not really a fan of them FORCING you to build an entire talent tree before you can start in on a different tree, tho. One of the things about Warlocks - at least for the first few years - is that they, more than any other class, were able to benefit from a mix of points in different trees.

and… um… killed the trees? what 'choo talkin' about, Willis CMH?

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

Indeed, I am really not a fan of the new talent trees. They pulled back to only 7 tiers, which isn't a bad thing per se, but in doing so, it forces you to take too many talents as filler just to move to the next tier. There are several situations where you are trapped in a 0/2, 0/2, 0/3 situation, and the only useful talent in that tier is 0/2… now you've got to spend 3 points in random crap, without even the benefit of going to another tree for support talents.

The "killing of the trees" was a reference to the Druid Tree Form. They ostensibly took it out of the game. It's now an ability on a cooldown, that has a very brief duration. It's now the equivalent to the Pally's wings (ie, only use it on bosses). Prettymuch every resto Druid is mourning their dead tree.

[jpinsd.livejournal.com]

I've been playing the game since 2004 (crispy fried christ on a stick!! that's a long time!), and i've seen the game and the classes go through many many changes. back in 2004, i was much more of a hardcore gamer, and WoW was perfect for that.

Over time, It's changed, been dumbed-down, and become more casual, and that suits my play style just fine, now. Each change has been logical and progressive. The changes in 4.0 are really very different. It's going to take a while to get used to it.

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

I've become far more casual as well, but the problem I am experiencing is the 'grind' is still there. I didn't play often, so I really couldn't raid, which, up until Wrath, also meant I couldn't get into dungeons, which limited access to gear. The LFG system is pretty good, but it actually makes the casual player *that* much more behind, as everyone badges-up almost instantly.

I realise the Vegas mechanics are exactly what Blizz is looking for, but it's just something that gets me down. "Oh, I have to run this Heroic 20 more times before I can get the yummy" doesn't do it for me, *especially* when I have alts.

Ultimately, I wonder if MMOs are something I like. In the beginning, it's fun to see the graphics, game mechanics, and abilities, but over time, I lose that magic, and I see it for what it is… a bunch of stats that augment a RNG. It's kinda sad, as I miss the fun days of playing AD&D and WH40K with mates. Yeah, they were stats-heavy, but it always felt like fun.

Did you ever play pen/paper RPGs? I've been living vicariously through the D&D stuff that the Penny Arcade is doing, and I can't get enough!

[jpinsd.livejournal.com]

it's never really been about the gear for me. What I enjoyed most were the large, 40-person raids. e.g. Molten Core. Each encounter was different, and took different tactics to win. Everybody had a job to do, and it would often change depending on what encounter you were working on.

I really enjoyed the camaraderie, the companionship, of those raids. That started to change when BC was released, with 15-man raids instead of 40.

For a while, I was grouping with Reid, Robert, Tim, and Cris on Tuesday nights. We had fun, ran lots of dungeons, and got some uber lewts. After a while, tho people got busy, and we stopped grouping.

No, i never played AD&D or WH40K - funny enough, both are online now, also.

I <3 Penny-arcade. those guys are all kinds of awesome.

[goodolmike.livejournal.com]

So, inspired by YOUR post, I wanted to have Rockstar Pomegranate last night. 711 didn't have it, but they did have Rockstar Fruit Punch. OMG, so yummy!

[jpinsd.livejournal.com]

Fruit punch is yummy. but the pomegranate is the bizzOMB!

[genxcub.livejournal.com]

The problem with having a ton of 80's is that I'm still getting everyone adjusted. It's also sad to think that even though I have 10 80's on my original server, the 2 I have on Proudmoore will probably get more attention after 4.0.3 since Taint will get all the guild perks pretty fast.