Greetings Antonia Baylers!!
Apologies for the delay in getting this out - its been a busy couple of months! Since the last ‘Corner:
I:
- Attended Fan Faire
- Welcomed our 1000th guild member!
- Plodded ahead in the Swords of Destiny line!
- Eeked ever closer to finishing out my AAs
Non Blackhawks Players of the Month! (it's a tie this month!!)
This month the award goes to LYSSA of Raven Guard, whose kind words have inspired me to get off my plate armored butt and do another Kaalenard's Corner. Lyssa is one of those folks who, whenever you meet them, you walk away a little better for the experience. Shes always very polite, even when we disagree, and Antonia Bayle is a better place for us having her here. Thanks Lyss!
The award also goes to KHELDAR of Chromatis Draconis. Met Kheldar in a pickup group heading into CMM. Together we got a few SoD updates and camped the sage a little. Was a fun group and Kheldar helped keep the chatter lively and fun. When the group ended, not having gotten all our updates, I figured that was it. Kheldar went out of his way to follow up with me, over the course of a few days, even going so far as to include me in his guild group, to ensure that I got most of the other update. Thanks for all the help man, and you can call on me anytime.
Blackhawks Player of the Month!
This month the award goes to HARUACHAI (or Haru as shes known to those of us with no idea of how to pronounce haruachai). Haru is one of the most consistently helpful, kind and courteous guildies that all guild leaders love to have. She's always there to lend a hand, offer advice, pitch in on a quest, or assist in any way possible. Thanks Haru, for all that you do!!
Completely shameless plug for the team! It's still summer! For many online groups this means logging in to two guildies, or worse NO guildies online. Its not so with the Blackhawks. We have members online 24/7/365. If the servers are up, there are Blackhawks online. Currently averaging 15-20 members online around the clock and as many as 35 or more during peak hours - there is always someone on to lend a hand. Check out the stickied thread at the top of the AB boards for more info. We will celebrate FIVE amazing years together in one month!! (this is NOT a recruiting thread so please pm me with any inquiries lest we incur the wrath of the mods).
Members of OTHER guilds: Stuck? Need a hand with the last mob of a quest? Need a group? It doesn't matter if you want to join the Blackhawks or not! We will still help! If you are stuck spamming the level channels and are getting no response, try hitting the U key and paging and officer online and asking for assistance. We exist to help others and , while we cannot meet every request, we will meet most of them. Don't be shy - we usually have someone on capable of lending a hand. Just ask in any level channel for some Blackhawk assistance. Feel free to email me as well for pre-planned assistance.
The things I think I think
- 1.) I think that, in spite of the tedium of Swords of Destiny, there are parts of it that I am really enjoying. Up until now, I hadn't done a whole lot in Castle Mistmoore except poke around here and there and get my class armor shoulders. Im on the pages gathering stage now. One thing I have heard about the quest that troubles me. Im told that , after getting the pages, you have to go back to all the same areas where you just were and kill the names that, in all likelihood, you have already killed to get to the pages! Im hoping that this isn't the case , though that seems to be the pattern with a lot of these higher end quests. Step one - visit an instance and go kill or talk to an NPC. Step two - go run all over creation within the instance gathering objects. Step three = go revisit all of the same locations again and kill the mobs. Personally Id be happier if theyd just put the items and the needed mobs in different locations! Ah well, guess I'll find out soon.
- 2.) I am SEVERELY disappointed in the handling, rollout , and lack of communication regarding the new recruiting policy with regards to the forums. Since I've already railed against it ad nauseum elsewhere, that's all Im gonna say here.
- 3.) From what I have heard, there is a STRONG possibility that we will be getting our " fluff armor" slots in the next live update. According to DEV Roethgar (sp?) The interface for your inventory change is going into test shortly. This is one of the best changes I could have hoped for. For those that don't know, at Fan Faire there was a panel of DEVs talking about whats in store in the future for the game. One of the things I am looking forward to the most is the fact that we will now, in essence - be wearing two sets of armor. The first set will be your normal set you wear all the time. But we will also get slots for a second "appearance only" set. This set will not give stats but you will have the option of making it the armor that everyone else sees you in. So - no more clown suits!! If you want to fight in polished parade plate, a set of clothing , or your tier one armor - you can! Im really looking forward to being able to look AND fight like a paladin at the same time! Its not armor dyes, but at least it gives us better control over the way we look!
- 4.) Fan Faire - was... an interesting experience. There were a lot of things I liked and a few things that definitely need to be addressed before I would go again.
The highlights:
- Meeting artist Larry Elmore in person. This guy, for those that don't know is one of the best fantasy artists of our time. He did the box art for all the old TSR PnP games like the Basic Dungeon and Dragons set. He also did all the original cover art on the Dragonlance series of novels. You may not know the name, but you know the work. Examples below:
- The future of the game panel - What a great experience. We're getting some cools stuff besides the appearance armor slots. Things like "reactive combat music" that changes tune during the battle and plays differently depending on the level of opponent you are fighting. It ebbs and flows as the tide of battle turns. Really cool and thankfully, not repetitive. And of course - GUILD HALLS!! They are 6-9 months off at least - but they will be instanced , out side of cities, could have as many as 40 rooms, will have banners in your guilds colors, etc. For those that haven't seen the pics:
- Seeing the new map system. Maps are going to be on an alternate page, full screen and full color. And yes there will still be a minimap too. Not only that - but the plan right now is to have an interface where you can type in the name of the quest and all of the waypoints for that quest only will be highlighted. How cool is that!! (insert map pics here - will post tonight when I get home from work)
- Meeting some folks from all over the game. Met a lot of nice folks, one outrageously hardcore RPer, and not a few...folks who were a tad different. Nice to see that folks from all walks really do play this game.
Areas of Opportunity
- Unfortunately work would not let me get there for the opening day so I arrived on day two. Huge mistake on my part. The checkin process was annoyingly and needlessly slow. (we have to print your badge but you have to wait until enough people check in so that we fill a sheet of paper) What? Its SONY - multi billion dollar company - they are gonna make me wait - I kid you not an extra 35 minutes beyond the hour Ive already spent in line - so they can save 12 cents!! Not a good start to the day
- This was compounded when we went to wait in line for our gift bags. They were all out of most of the stuff and had to take names and email addresses for those who couldn't get T-shirts...Just could've been planned a little better.
- The game room - Maybe I misunderstood. But was under the impression comps would be available for us to login to the game all through out the Fan Faire. When we arrived the machines were closed, and you had to wait in line to sign up and reserve a machine - which wouldn't be available until 2pm - right in the middle of panels I wanted to attend. Registration for comp time shouldve been do-able on the sign up sheet when you register for attending.
- Vendors - I had hoped to attend and make some serious purchases of EQ2 and maybe even Planetside or SWG branded gear. Most everything sold out the first day , so buy the time I got there for Shirts I had to choose from a DoF shirt, a brown hat, and the previous Fan Faires leftover STAFF shirts. Also there really weren't that many vendors there. Maybe going to other types of conventions spoiled me, but I expected 20 or 30 vendor tables and there were fewer than 10.
- I don't know his name. But the guy who ran the panel for SWG combat amazed me at just how little he cared about what the community wants. At least ten ppl in the SWG combat panel wanted a minor ability changed (to cheers of the rest of the crowd) and his answer was, in essence, "well I play that class and I like that - so im not gonna change it" wow. Reason #22786 why I'll never log in there again.
- Other SOE games - there was , aside from discussion panels, very little for fans of non Eq2/EQ games. There was one SWG poster I saw, and I think they did an impromptu wookiee sound alike contest, but I guess I was expecting a bigger presence for other games. I suppose it makes sense that EQ2 got the lion's share so to speak. But to me, if I were the SOE folks, Id have pounced on the chance to maybe reel in my bigger customer base towards not just new products, but existing ones as well.
5.) Rise of Kunark. I simply cannot wait! I have a feeling that this is going to be the best expansion yet. I know some folks grumble about reintroducing zones from EQ1 over and over. For me that's less of an issue since I didn't play EQ1. From what I've seen though, it looks amazing , and Im really looking forward to being able to level the guild again!
Non EQ2 thoughts this week
1.) Michael Vick. Is there a bigger idiot on the planet? 130 million. Gone. Your career - in all likelihood, gone. Your freedom, GONE. I cant remember the last time something in the news outraged me this much. The sheer cruelty. I hope he gets three years in jail and a lifetime ban from the NFL. And before anyone jumps in and says he shouldn't be banned for life, think about this: Say you worked at an office job and did what he did. Do you think that company is going to offer you your job back when you get out of jail? Of course not, and neither should the NFL. Let him go pl ay in Canada or the UFL when it comes out. Maybe.
2.) [I cannot control my vocabulary] I hate the Yankees, especially when they are breathing down the Red Sox necks! Looks like the upcoming home and home series will determine it.
3.) Thank GOD football is back! I cant wait for the regular season opener.
4.) Twenty Five issues of Kaalenarc's Corner! Woohoo!! With any luck (or perhaps to the chagrin of my detractors) I'll start getting on a more regular pace with these.
5.) Does anyone here read Ctrl-Alt-Del ? Funny funny stuff! http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/
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Kaalenarc's Kitchen.
Im on a diet. Its killin me. But since Im trying to get a little better about what I eat... here goes.
Kaal's lowfat Grilled chicken salad.
You need
3 Cups Apple Juice
1.3 cup Lime juice
Oregano
Tomatoes (on the vine or organic - not the kind that comes plastic wrapped)
1lb chicken breast cut into strips
1 red onion, romain or iceberg lettuce.
Extra virgin Olive oil
Cider Vinegar.
Marinate the chicken in the apple and lime juice overnight. Or at minimum 6 hours.
Grill chicken on the BBQ - discard remaining marinade. This will reduce fat and give the chicken a nice smoky apple flavor. For the salad combine a few slices of onion and the tomato (cut into 8ths) with the lettuce in a large tupperware bowl that has a cover. Salt to taste and sprinkle liberally with oregano. Add no more than 2-3 TBLSP of the oil and enough vinegar to coat the lettuce. Cover the bowl and shake to mix and coat the lettuce. Place mixture in large salad bowl and top with the chicken right off the grill.
Quote:
Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts. - Aristotle.
Alrighty folks - that's it until next time - stay safe and I will see you soon!
