Pretty Pretty

I got a new toy...

This is my dude. He's pretty hot. But as far as I can tell, everyone in Guild Wars is really, really, really ridiculously good-looking. What I actually wanted was a female Elementalist, but I made one and deleted her after Level 4 because I decided I could not stare at her boobs hanging out the entire game. I just couldn't. This was after I went on the internet and confirmed that all the Elementalist armor looks like that, not just the outfit you start the game with. Then I wanted a Mesmer, because of the clothes, but I hated all the faces, and besides, that type of magic isn't really my thing. Then I wanted a Ranger, because I loved the hairs, only I didn't want a Ranger, because I just played one in Neverwinter Nights. Then I felt like the most hopelessly superficial gamer in the world, and gave up and made this guy. I have played maybe one male character in the history of ever, but at least he has clothes on. Also, he's a hottie, isn't he?

But today I also made this warrior, and I think she looks pretty bad-ass. I don't know if I'm going to get around to playing with her for a while, though. I should also mention that I have NO. CLUE. WHAT. I. AM. DOING in Guild Wars. I am not at all used to having other actual people running around me when I'm gaming, and it sort of weirds me out. Luckily for now I have the option of just ignoring them and running around the countryside by myself.

Sorry, Sorry, Nothing to See Here

Very busy, had company in town this week, and in my (scant) free time, have been off doing other pursuits. So I am updating quickly to confirm that I am still alive.

In other news, now that I have (semi) conquered PC gaming, Mike thought it would be fun to do the Star Wars RPG together. Me, I feel like I am crossing some geek threshold, because it is one thing to play KOTOR on the computer, but it is entirely something else to sit around your coffee table rolling dice. I am intrigued, though. I have never done this before. It involves a lot more math than I expected. But I don't know what the plot is yet. Because he won't let me look at it.

In the process of gearing up for this pinnacle of geekery, I discovered what might be the coolest site ever: Star Wars Artists' Guild. It's a bunch of people who have drawn pictures of their characters, all different species, only they are far better at it than I am. I'm so impressed and fascinated by the art there.

Oblivion: Just a Tribute

Today I finished the main quest in Oblivion, which I'd been putting off for quite some time. There are still things I haven't done in the game, and quests I haven't finished, but I feel like giving it a rest for now. I have a second character that I'm going to use to do Shivering Isles at some point.

To be filed under the category of "geekiest things I've ever done," I made a little highlight video of my character Thayet's trip through Oblivion. I've had a lot of fun with her... about 200 hours of fun, to be precise (yeesh). I thought she deserved a nice sendoff!

Oblivo-Stats

Yes, I have game ADD. Back to Oblivion with my first character to beat the Fighter's Guild today. And I figured if you've done one actual useful thing in the game, why not do another? So I went and killed that Umbra bitch. And now my sword matches my outfit.

I made a list of some truly frightening stats on this character.

Name: Thayet
Race: Redguard
Birthsign: The Thief
Class: Custom
Level: 29

Top Skills: Blade 101, Light Armor 100, Acrobatics 99, Sneak 96
Top Attributes: Strength 100, Agility 100, Speed 100

Hours Played: 158 (eek)
Items Stolen: 7575 (heh)
Assaults: 101
Murders: 6
Horses Stolen: 3
Locks Picked: 690
Oblivion Gates Shut: 11 (I told you I hate them)
Gold: 172,000

Thayet is the Master of the Fighters' Guild, the Grey Fox, and the Arena Grand Champion.

Really, the frightening part of this is the 158 hours without getting close to actually beating the game.

Media of My Weekend

Books of my Weekend (procured as a present to myself at Barnes & Noble yesterday on the way home from the West Bank):

Sorcery and Cecilia, or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot, by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova

Kushiel's Chosen, by Jacqueline Carey

The Ghost Orchid, by Carol Goodman

Netflix of my Weekend:

Star Trek: Enterprise Season S Disc 5

Games of my Weekend:

The Longest Journey

O-Bliv: Shivering Isles (of course)

The Clothes in the Shivering Isles Expansion?

SO MUCH prettier than the clothes in plain Oblivion. (P.S. Don't mess with the blonde. She has a mean fireball.)

Girl Revan Is Not Pleased

So my brother has a shop on CafePress. I was toying with the idea of making one, because I am the kind of person who likes funny slogans. One morning I kind of went crazy, and came up with a bunch of stuff that may or may not be funny to anyone who isn't me or my brother. (We spent a whole day on the phone making Space Quest shirts.) The only problem with the free shop is that you can only have one of each product (ie: one white t-shirt, one bumper sticker). This sucks if you have more than one design. Because I tend to get carried away, I shortly had more designs than I knew what to do with. So instead of paying the $$ and getting a premium store, I just made a billion little mini stores.

I was really just trying to make T-shirts that I wanted, so I could buy them for myself. But! Some random people have bought my stuff! The most popular thing thus far seems to be my Girl Revan shirts. In the game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, the character you play can be male or female, light side or dark side. But then the LucasFolk had to go and ruin the fun by declaring "Canon Revan" to be a light side male. This decision has always annoyed me. So I made Girl Revan Is Not Pleased, and Girl Revan says, what is this canon you speak of? I really, really want to buy one (both!) for myself, but there's this whole zero dollars thing. Someday soon.

Once I made the base design, I kind of went out of control. I was really on a roll there. I also have Girl Revan Hearts Flyboys. And I have several more on my hard drive, including Girl Revan Finds Your Lack of Faith Disturbing and Does Girl Revan Have to Slap a Sith?, but I drew the line at uploading them onto CafePress. I wouldn't want to glut the Girl Revan shirt market (me! and apparently like four other people!) with too many products at once, ya know.

Meanwhile, Back in Obliv...

I downloaded a better facial texture for the characters in the game. Here's a comparison. Thayet's skin looks less blotchy. It's one of the unfortunate downsides of Oblivion that they included so much customization, yet it's really, really hard to make your character not look like they've been hit by the ugly stick. If it looks like her skin's a little darker, I did that. The problem with doing your character's facial coloring while underground is that when you come up into the sunlight, you realize it looks a bit off. I didn't mess with any of the sliders that control face shape though. So it's the same exact character, with better skin and without those odd white/pink splotches. I really like how much more realistic the lips look.

Not that I thought Thayet was hit by the ugly stick before, but you really, really don't want to know how many hours it took me to make her.

To be honest, the reason I took/am taking a break from Oblivion is that I found I had stopped playing. As in, doing things to complete quests or advance the actual plot. I mean, I have played 120 hours and only managed to complete the Thieves Guild and the Arena. (Although, they are waiting for me in Bruma to assault that Oblivion gate, but they're probably going to be waiting a while.) It's difficult to say what exactly I have been doing in Oblivion. Before my break I found that I was going about behaving very... oddly. To wit, my fly amanita cap collection. I keep them in my Imperial City shack. I decided my next step is to buy a house with a basement so I can collect skulls there. Perhaps all manner of bones.

I told you.

See What Happens When I Take A Break From Oblivion

Some idiot comes up with a new laughable female body model. It is voted the most popular mod of the month at TESsource. And the other idiots go crazy making idiotic chainmail bikinis for it. Ugh.

I weep.

I've posted before on the lack of realistic Oblivion body mods out there. Honestly, I sort of like this one. By "sort of like" I mean don't entirely hate. I don't know. The underwear is certainly cuter (though that rope bra's gotta be chafing, but at least it's appropriate to the time period?), the model looks athletic and not too skinny, and she has a nice six pack going on. But the boobs. Oh, the boobs. They are out there. It's like, if they'd kept it ONE cup size smaller I'd be downloading this. I've mentioned that I don't particularly like Bethesda's body models in the original game. So this is frustrating. So close... but yet so far.

What is up with the chainmail bikini? It's the world's biggest oxymoron. Who first came up with it? What is the rationale for it? Do guys really sit around jerking off to video games?

Maybe I'll download this one anyway. Are giant boobs better than the weirdly chunky, pointy boobs my character came with?

No. No, I won't. And so, here I sit, patiently waiting for someone to rescue me from my pointy-boobed plight. I expect I will be waiting a long time. (Edited to add: a modder gave it a breast reduction! I might be sold. But sans chainmail bikinis, naturally.)

Ahahahaha! What T Rex?

Oh, you mean that T Rex.

The one that got OWNED.

YA THINK I Might Be Cold?

You know, just a little bit? It's sort of like my "light armor vest" in Oblivion that's really a bra and exposes my whole stomach... I'm sure it made sense to some gaming developer somewhere who does not get out much. But it doesn't make much sense to me. At least Lara is sensibly wearing socks with her boots?

Because it was my birthday yesterday, and because Oblivion and I are on a break (we're not divorced, or even separated, don't worry-- just on a break), I went and got myself a new toy. So. This is Tomb Raider: Anniversary. I can climb around on cliffs and flip onto ledges and stuff... but my boobs be ridiculous, yo.

Seriously. I think in real life I'd fall over backwards.

Rumors of KOTOR...

Both Club Jade and TFN are reporting a rumor that Bioware has a Knights of the Old Republic MMORPG in the works. While all sites are stressing the fact that this is just a rumor, it is interesting news considering fans have been waiting for word of KOTOR 3 for three years now. I'm of mixed feelings on this. On the one hand, I feel that the KOTOR story was deliberately left unfinished after the last game, and I want it to be wrapped up. On the other hand, if they decided to continue the KOTOR franchise as an online game, of course I would play it. The downside of this is they would be charging a monthly fee to play it. But I still would have to. Now, you might say, "Sarah, be reasonable. No one is tying you down and FORCING you to play video games."

But you obviously don't get it. I would have to play it. And that is all there is to it.

If I Show Up On Your Doorstep, Chances Are You Did Something to Bring Me There

I know I just posted an Oblivion screenshot. And I've really promised myself not to do this very often, namely because what my character Thayet (Level 21) does in the game is of interest to no one but me.

However.

I have finally acquired the last missing piece to The Outfit I Have Wanted All Game: a black hood. And I am really super giddily excited about it. So much that, of course, we had to have a massive photo shoot. It looks like a very simple outfit. But please bear in mind that I play a thief, and it is surprisingly difficult to put together an all-black ensemble in Oblivion. Unless you want to wear a black robe, which is fine for some characters, but Thayet doesn't think the look is "her." The hood really pulls together this look, I think. I am so dangerous and shifty!

Contrary to what I imply on here, Oblivion is not all about arranging your bookshelves and playing dress-up with your character. There are quests and guilds and a plot.

... Heh. Oblivion is totally all about dress-up.

Today's Oblivion Screenshot

This Week In Oblivion

Mike finally started a game. I wish he hadn't. Hmph.

Last night Thayet leveled up about 20 points in alchemy. Yes, I managed to get to Level 17 without bothering to do any alchemy. But I decided to go on a flower picking spree across the countryside, to gather ingredients... while avoiding those pesky Oblivion gates. I have a green glass sword now. It is a rather bright color of green.

Fun things I have done in Oblivion this week:

-Killed Hieronymus Lex for fun to see if he was a good fight. (He wasn't.)
-Incited two riots in Imperial City, in which many NPCs ended up dead.
-Killed the former Gray Fox to see if I could get the Boots of Springheel Jak back. (I couldn't.) Then killed his wife because I was irritated about the boots.

Screw Microsoft

I so did not plan on spending the last two hours trying unsuccessfully to run KOTOR 2 in Vista. What a huge waste of my afternoon.

10:08 PM
I'm in! Back on the Ebon Hawk... and I do not look like I have a sense of humor about this.

Three SF/F Things I Am Enjoying Right Now

1. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion -- I'm on Level 15. I closed my second Oblivion gate yesterday and came to the shocking conclusion that, for someone who loves the game... I hate hate hate being in actual Oblivion. It has such ugly scenery and, frankly, bores me. You have to go through these dreary towers full of rooms with names like "The Meat Tower of Anguish," "The Flesh Render," and "The Blood Feast." We are supposed to be in hell. I GET IT, OK? I don't care what kind of cool loot is in there, if I have to go through another Meat Tower and fight thirty more of those stupid dinosaurs and ice monsters, I may die of boredom.

I just want to collect all 12 volumes of 2920, pick flowers, and steal things, all right?

2. The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch -- This book was so much fun when I read it this fall. This is my first re-read, and I'm pleased to report that... it's still fun. Cannot wait for Red Seas Under Red Skies, the sequel, which will be out in a couple of months.

3. Battlestar Galactica -- Have watched Season 2 up through Epiphanies. Liked the part where they found Pegasus. Slightly sketched out and suspending sense of scientific disbelief over the Cylon-baby cancer curing blood incident. But when does Season 3, Part 1 come out on DVD? Because I don't want to rush through Season 2 and then have to wait. Battlestar is my new guilty pleasure. You just sit there like, "They didn't!" and then, "Oh, come on," and then, "But I must have more..." Or at least I do. Lee Adama: sohotrightnow.

Anyway.

KOTOR 3... Please Please Please!

Every month or so, I run a search to see if there's any word on the streets re: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3. If you read this blog, you know how I feel about Star Wars. KOTOR was THE coolest game because, for the first time, it was an experience that really allowed you to live in Star Wars. If you have something you really, really, really love the way I love Star Wars, you know how special that is. I think I clocked 15 game hours in the first 24 hours we had the game. It was the first game I actually got out of bed at 7 AM for, because I had to play. I, in fact, refer to it to this day as The Game. Fans have been waiting for the continuation of the KOTOR series for years. This interview makes it sound like it might be in the works. And this post from last month, though based entirely on secondhand rumor mill-type information, gives a person reason to hope. Honestly, I don't know why LucasArts seems to have dropped the ball on KOTOR 3... both of the previous games were critical and commercial successes. Not to mention the huge cliffhanger ending they left us with in KOTOR 2. And the fact that in Star Wars, things tend to come in threes.

Don't get me wrong, I'm having a great time in Oblivion, but as I wander around I can't help thinking, "Oh my god, if they come out with KOTOR III and it looks like this, it will be the most amazing thing in the history of ever!" The thing is, it's not out of the realm of possibility. Chances are, if (when, I'll just say when, because they'd be stupid not to make it) KOTOR 3 comes out, it will be in 2008 or 2009 and it will look like that. Which is to say it will look ten times more awesome than the previous incarnations of the game, which came out in 2003 and 2004.

And now, a short quiz. If they announce KOTOR 3, I will:
A) Pee myself
B) Fall on the ground and twitch
C) Spontaneously die of coolness
D) All of the above

The answer is (D).

In the spirit of these hopes and because I'm in a space-y mood lately, I decided to play a little KOTOR 2 this afternoon... only to find that the game won't start. Tried downloading new patches and no-CD cracks, even though I was pretty sure Mike already did it, but to no avail. I did a little digging online, and found out that KOTOR 2 is one of the games that has Windows Vista compatibility issues. I got into it twice, amidst a series of crashes when you click the launcher, but now it's decided not to let me load it. I thought maybe it was because I was playing with the graphics settings (we have a vastly better graphics card now, why not use it?), but when I set them all back, it still wouldn't start. I ran a hardware check and it popped up a message that my graphics card wasn't good enough. Which, obviously, being an NVidia 7600GS that can run Oblivion with no issues, it is. In the message it says, "Update your drivers," but the version it tells you to update to is something from 2003. @%#*&!!! Now I read online that people can get it to run by disabling sound?? Well, screw Windows Vista. What I don't get is why KOTOR works fine but not KOTOR II. Sigh.

Tags: games, star wars, knights of the old republic, kotor 3

This Week In Oblivion

The coolest thing I did this week in Oblivion was climb this mountain, right at sunset. I must have taken about fifteen screenshots up there (Thayet brandishing sword! Thayet without sword! Thayet in Elven armor! Thayet in clothes!) I might have gone a little overboard.

Shortly after this impressive scenic photo shoot, I should admit that I had to reload from a previous save because I lost my horse. Like, I hopped off it to run up to the peak and take pictures of myself, and then I couldn't remember where I'd left it. I wandered around for a good ten minutes looking for the damn thing, then gave up. I am such a flake in Oblivion sometimes.

For those who actually care about my progress in the game, I'm around 50 hours in. I am currently Level 11, and almost finished with the Thieves Guild quests, I think. I just started the main quest (ie: the actual plot), too, but then I stopped as soon as I started. They wanted me to go to Kvatch to find the heir to the throne, but I didn't care to go. There was something else I wanted to steal that sounded more fun. Also, I've only seen Kvatch from the outside, but it looks suspiciously like another shit-town. How, you may ask, am I only on Level 11 after putting in so many hours? Well, I would have to guess it's because I tend to do things like change my clothes every ten minutes, or spend an hour rearranging my bookshelf (I recently decided to collect all the books in the game), or pose and take screenshots whenever I see a piece of cool-looking scenery. Or whenever I get a new sword. Or a new dress. I spend inordinate amounts of time picking flowers. Once I was occupied for several minutes trying to put a skull on my bedside table (it kept rolling over onto its face).

There's just too much to do!

Tags: oblivion, gaming, video games

I Got a Red Right Hand

The other night in Oblivion I snuck into the castle in Bravil and stole all the silver from the dining room... behind the Count's back while he was eating at the table. I have $6,200 in stolen goods right now. And more photos for my slightly lame and tourist-y album.