Returning to Life
I am getting a really late start today, because I had to edit an extra long podcast this morning… then from that point on we have been doing adult type activities. We walked to lunch at the local Pho place, and then went grocery shopping. Finally I am now settling in to write my blog post. Anyone who has kept up with my blog over the last month will realize that PAX South kicked my ass in so many different ways. Firstly I was in significantly worse shape this year than I was last year. In 2015 I had been walking every single day… and in 2016 I had pretty much fallen out of that habit. So physically the exertion was real of walking 25 miles over the course of the days I was at the convention. I think I simply wore myself down to the point where it likely made it easier for me to catch something at the convention, because starting that Sunday on the drive home I struggled with this crud quite literally until right now. I am still in the process of fully getting back my voice, and I still go into random coughing fits. That said I am feeling so damned much better than I did, and yesterday really helped that. Also if you have read my blog for a very long time… you will know that one of the pastimes that my wife and I like to partake is what I lovingly refer to as “junking”. Generally speaking this is us going to a bunch of flea markets, thrift stores, and other “junk” shops in search of something. For me personally my constant hunt is for cheap Legos… and for her… the mission varies greatly. Recently she has been on the hunt for cheap board games for her class room.
The other thing that I really enjoy about the process is that I find some really strange shit while roaming around. I tend to take photos of these and either blog about them… or simply post them to twitter throughout the day. Yesterday was no exception, and you can see in the above image gallery some of the oddities I found. The first image…. is apparently a Cat Hanger…. for when you want it to look like your cat is wearing your clothing. The second was this insanely huge raptor mask…. that I thought I really needed, but had zero clue where I would actually put it. I thought it would have been amazing to try and stuff and hang on the wall like a trophy. Next up is the Freddy Krueger “Fright Squirter” which… is a disturbingly named product and I am just going to leave it at that. I really like old school technology, and while roaming around I came across what I can only assume is a key punch of some sort? Either that or a really strange adding machine. I also happened across this insane deal on Funko Pop Vinyl figures, and I managed to exercise real restraint in that I only managed to bring four of them home. They were roughly $10 each before the special so I picked up Illidan, Tyrael, the Lone Wanderer, and the Borderlands Psycho. There were so many that I wanted to pick up, and I probably would have if they had any of the Mass Effect series or some more of the Blizzard ones. Basically it was this awesome day of running around and for once the weather cooperated, making it what seemed to be needed to greatly improve my spirits.
Teetering On the Fence
I am guessing as the day went on yesterday, the folks at Ubisoft made some significant infrastructure changes because this morning I was able to play the Division PC without any of those hiccups I was experiencing yesterday. Now unfortunately I am on the fence as to which platform I favor. There is something nice about being able to play on the PC, especially since in theory my laptop is capable of running it…. albeit extremely ugly. The big thing that concerns me about this game is that I think the Dark Zone will actually be somewhat fun to play around in, especially with a team. On the PC how nice your system is will absolutely dictate how well you perform out there, and there is just something reassuring about knowing that you are on an even playing field with all of the other players you might encounter. I had quite a bit of fun this morning, because I finally completed the cleaner mission unlocking the tech operative and restoring power to the section of the city. I also spent a good bit of time wandering off the beaten path. Last night on the AggroChat podcast I talked a bit about my lament for the lack of content density, and I guess in truth I just needed to wander around off of the main streets. While roaming the back alleys I seemed to encounter quite a few more people than I did in other areas, which also seemed to be lucrative when it came to drops and other rewards.
Essentially I need to see who all is interested in playing the game, and what their platform of preference is. This is the sort of experience that is only really going to be fun if I can get a group of people to play with. The other question is…. do I really have the time to devote to something else. This game is only sixteen days away at this point, and I have so many other things that I want to be playing. After the discussion last night about Warframe I really want to give that another chance, and there is so much left that I want to be doing over in Elder Scrolls Online. Basically I question if I have enough time to devote to this new game, even thought I think it is going to be really fun. One of the problems that Tam and I talked about last night on the podcast was the lack of “space guns” or that the game was essentially locked down to guns that actually exist today. That said it does seem like there is a huge variety in weapons available, because I have at least a dozen different weapons right now that I have picked up as drops and they all perform vastly different. In any case… I guess I need to be making up my mind soon so I can get my pre-order in and lock in those pre-release bonuses. Mostly they are cosmetic in nature…. but you know me and my love of cosmetics. Though I have to say I have been pleasantly surprised in just how many outfit drops I have found by roaming around. The game looks to be a lot of the things that Destiny promised to be… which in some way makes me sad…. because I still very much love Destiny.