Tag: everquest

My New House in EverQuest

On By Michel McDonaldIn EverQuest1 Comment

Thanks to the 13th anniversary of EverQuest, Sony Online Entertainment has given me the three expansions I was missing so I was finally able to buy a house.  At first I bought the 1 bedroom for 5k (forgot the exact amount) but then I noticed how tiny it was compared to the rest of the houses in the neighborhood and decided to go get a refund and buy a 3 room house instead for 10K.

I have been noticing from inspecting my items that some of them say they can be used in the front yard or in a house, so I figured why not grab all of those items from my bank and place them, and now I have quite a nice display of old armor that has been clogging up my bank for years.

I had to resize some of them so they were bigger on the wall because it didn’t look good that some of them were huge while others were tiny.  Notice my wizard epic in there?  That was my first epic, when I upgraded it to epic 1.5 I got to keep my epic 1 which has been collecting dust for years, so now it can collect dust on the wall.

It isn’t just old weapons that I could decorate it with, I was also able to add my trade skill trophies to a table which I bought for that purpose.

The one on the left is my brewers trophy, the one in the middle is my tinkerers trophy and the one on the right is my baking trophy.  My brewing and tinkering are both 287 so I just need to get them to 300 and they will look different on the table.  I am only missing my trophy for fletching, jewelcraft, blacksmithing and tailoring, but maybe one day I will get there.

I had a little bit of fun with buying decorations.  I bought a cute 4 poster bed and a dining room table for the other room with a slab of meat and a loaf of bread that I placed on the table which also has 4 chairs.  Then there are 3 pictures on the walls and garden gnomes in the front yard.  Yes, I know, a gnome who has garden gnomes in his front yard.  Hilarious right?  The problem was, they were too big, I was half the size of the garden gnomes so I had to shrink them down.

I hope you can see them.  I don’t know why it looks bright and cheery in the game, but then when you leave the game all of the screen shots are really dark.  I don’t know how to fix that.  I let Picasa do an auto fix, but it still looks dark.  Perhaps someone might tell me how to fix that.

Well, enough working on the house, I better get my moneys worth and start actually playing the game instead of focusing on a stupid house I will probably rarely ever go to.  At least I was able to lighten my bank, and I have made all of my alts co-owners so I can lighten their banks too.

Oh and just in case I forget to mention, you can’t just buy a house and that’s it, you have to pay a daily or weekly upkeep fee.  I am paid up for the next 8 weeks lol.  In Lord of the Rings Online you can only pay for 5 weeks up front, at least in EverQuest I was able to do 8 weeks.  I’m sure I can do more but I’m not positive how far in advance.  And if I run out of money then I can always go back to my shaman character and make a buttload with alchemy to pay for more time.

EverQuest on my HDTV

On By Michel McDonaldIn EverQuest5 Comments

My monitor stopped working so I had to start using my HDTV instead.  I was so happy that I bought a new video card with an HDMI plug, but for some reason EverQuest won’t load at all when I have it plugged into the TV.  I have been searching my heart out on the internet trying to find out why but nobody seems to have the answer.

I remembered that my friend Ruth told me a few years ago that she got a HDTV and she had her computer plugged into it and was using that as her monitor.  I sent her a message on Facebook asking her how she did that but it took her awhile to respond.  Today she responded to me to tell me she can help.  I spoke with her a few hours ago and she revealed the answer.  Stop using the HDMI and plug the computer into the TV using the VGA cable instead.  OF COURSE!  Why didn’t I think of that?

After I got off the phone with her I decided that I couldn’t wait to try it.  My computer was off so I had to wait for it to come on and it immediately defaulted to loading on the HDMI since I had them plugged into both.  When windows was finished loading I switched it over to VGA with the video driver software.  It didn’t look good at all so I had to do some adjusting to it so it looked normal and then I loaded EverQuest and to my surprise it loaded.

So there you have it, if you are using a HDTV using your HDMI plug, you won’t be able to play EverQuest until you plug it in with your VGA cable.

My Recent Blog Absence

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

Well I’m sure my fives of tens of fans may have noticed that I haven’t been writing very much lately.  I guess I’m getting bored with the whole thing.  I have so many things going on… ok that’s a lie, I’m bored out of my skull which means I have absolutely nothing to talk about anymore.  It’s like my brain has seized up on me.  Writers block if you will.

Or maybe I was abducted by some aliens who took away the part of my brain that allows me to function.  Maybe I need to make myself a hat out of aluminum foil to block the signals.  Or maybe just get unbored and get my mind on other things to give me new things to obsess over.

Actually, I did start playing a game called Lord of the Rings Online for free with a few premium features.  I’m not paying for the monthly subscription because I just can’t afford it so I have given them $8 so I could buy a few things that I wanted like a horse.  But that will be a post in itself that I will write tomorrow or in the next week.  Let’s face it, I’ll get to it but I can’t promise when.  Yeah, I’m sure you’re on the edge of your seat even if it’s because the person whose seat you are sitting in refuses to get out of first.

Yes I will have some pictures, first impressions and tips for new players wanting to learn trade skills.  What not to do to get into trouble, not that I haven gotten into trouble which is why I can tell how to stay out of it.  Ok so my advice will probably be horse manure since I’ve only played the darn game for a week so you don’t even have to listen to me at all lol.

I do have 6 years of first hand experience  in EverQuest which was one of the very first MMORPG games so I think I might be taken a little seriously but I doubt it.

Anyway, I will get right on that LOTRO post quite soon, soon as I wake up maybe?  Wait and find out.

Restoration Is A Lot of Work

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

It has been a couple of weeks since my blogs database went corrupt and I’ve been working every day trying to restore everything that I’ve totally forgotten about everything else around me.  It’s a lot of work but I have other things in my life like books and tv shows and online friends, not to mention house work that has taken a back seat.

Today I decided that after I finish restoring December 2008 that I will read a book.  I read 2 chapters and it was very good to be able to do something else for a change.  I think I said in a previous post how boring the copying and pasting was getting so this was good for my psyche to do something else.

My next side project is to get a new banner.  I’d like to grab a pic of Xanapus from EverQuest and put him by himself in the banner.  What I would really like to do is to draw him to make him look more cartoonish than 3D gameish if you know what I mean.  I can’t draw so let’s hope I can figure out how to do it with Gimp hehe.

I’d also like to change my background, not just for the banner but the site itself.  It’s kind of boring me and since my site is going through some major changes I might as well change it’s look as well.

I’ve been so busy restoring that I haven’t been blogging much so this is sort of an update as to where things stand.  Give me another few weeks, it will all be back to normal and hopefully I can find a way to restore some of those comments too.

Lord of Ultima

On By Michel McDonaldIn Games, MMORPGLeave a comment

Here is my latest obsession. I know that Lord of Ultima is not new, it has been around for several months but thanks to the Google Chrome Web Store, I have found it and am now playing it with my CR-48 laptop.

Today is only my 3rd day of playing so I’m not going to give a rundown of how you play the game but I will say that it is fun and kind of addicting. Not in a negative way because it does get boring after a while. You have to place buildings in your city and keep upgrading them which can take a long time. The more you upgrade things, the longer it takes to upgrade to higher levels.

When you send your army to raid dungeons, you have a long waiting game. You can’t actually be there with them, you can only wait until they get back to see what they brought you.

I wanted to play a game that was like EverQuest but something that was browser-based and although this is nothing like EQ, it is browser-based and works on the CR-48 laptop. If it can play on this computer then I’m good to go for a while.

The screenshots below are covered in snow because it’s winter now. If I had known they were going to do that I would’ve taken some screenshots yesterday when the ground was dry and green.

The one on the top is just an image of the center of my city. You got the town hall in the middle then a farm with the lake, an iron mine and a cottage on the bottom left and the right.

The one on the bottom is an image of the region where my city is. You see a dragon on that mountain, well it’s in the screenshot but it’s gone from the game now. I don’t know where it went but they removed it. It’s a good thing I already raided it lol. They had a minotaur dungeon but it was gone before I could even react. Oh well, my loss.

What I like about this game is that 1 its browser-based so it works on the laptop and 2 it’s FREE to play. So if you want to join me in playing Lord of Ultima, click the link with my referral number to make sure I get the credit for inviting a friend. If you already play the game, my name in there is Xanapus so say hi when you get in the game.

Planet Michael

On By Michel McDonaldIn Games, SingersLeave a comment

I just heard about this new MMO game on Attack of the Show based on the music of Michael Jackson.

Unfortunately it probably won’t be available until the end of next year but it will be an ongoing game and social network where players can build virtual Jackson worlds.

I signed up to receive updates on all the progress of the game by typing in my birthdate and giving my name and email address.

It’s said that this will be a free game and from the video they showed on Attack of the Show it looks very cool.  It’s completely 3D and looks very similar to the other MMO games like World of Warcraft and EverQuest, except it’s Michael Jackson music video worlds and not a kingdom or village.

I’m almost positive that my computer won’t be able to handle it considering it can’t handle games like WoW, EQ, LoTRO and DDO but hopefully it won’t be as memory intensive.  I’m sure it will be though.  And just like those other games, people are going to take it too seriously and get into fights over loot lol.  Maybe.

As far as being a social network, I think I’m good with Facebook and Twitter considering I don’t need to install anything (well, except for TweetDeck).  I can’t imagine being stuck in a game just for conversation and not being able to check my email or blog because I’m too focused on “Planet Michael” but I still wouldn’t mind seeing how it looks.

WoW Look At That Phish

On By Michel McDonaldIn ScamsLeave a comment

I don’t know if this is a new scam or if it’s been around and they are just now getting to me but last week I got an email that looked as if it really came from Blizzard telling me that a character faction change is now pending for my World of Warcraft account with my email address and a link to track the status of my request.

Down in the email they had a transaction ID number with my email address again then below that was some “more information” along with a few links.  2 of those links were different from what was shown in the text.  That there was my clue that something didn’t smell right.

So, obviously I knew it was a phishing scam because I don’t have a World of Warcraft account with them.  I played the trial back in 2006 for the week they gave me but I really only played it for a couple of days.  I was taking a break from EverQuest to get away from all the drama in the guild and during that break I tried out the demo of some other games.

The only thing that concerned me about this email was that when I was at the blizzard website looking for their contact information I stumbled onto their FAQ page and found out that they charge $30 to change your characters faction.  If I did have an account, which I knew I didn’t but if I did I didn’t want to be charged $30 for nothing.

I finally found the contact page and forwarded them the email that I got.  They responded letting me know that they can confirm that the email address that was associated in this phishing email does not exist in their database, meaning I don’t have an account to worry about.

I got another email today from a different email address but still from blizzard telling me that my account has been locked due to suspicious activity.  It said that my account had been logged in via a different IP address than what their records show as being my IP address.  They are concerned my account has been stolen so they locked me out.  I don’t have an account so you didn’t lock me out of something I didn’t have in the first place.

Naturally I can only assume this is another phishing scam email.  I went to verify that the links were exactly as they were showing up in text and of course they are different.

So even though I know I have nothing to worry about, I am writing this blog post to warn other people out there who actually do have a World of Warcraft account to beware.  If you get these emails and you know for a fact that you did not order a faction change for $30 and you know for a fact that you can still login, that your account hasn’t been locked then you know not to click ANY LINKS in those emails.  Beware when someone sends you an email asking you to click a link to login to your account because you might be handing over the keys to the Bentley without even knowing it.

Bored

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

I get bored easily, real easily.  When I find an interest in something it’s all I can think of, talk of, even dream of.  But as with everything I get bored with it after awhile.

The boredom graveyard:

Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, EverQuest, crafts, Snood, Just video games in general, the internet… my computer….  my bike?  Maybe soon.

I don’t know, I still visit those websites I’m bored with hoping to find something that will spark an interest again, except for EverQuest because that’s not free to explore.  They charge you $15 a month so it’s not good to be bored with something that you have to pay to play.

I guess I’m just bored with everything, life included.  I’m bored with people who think they are funny.  Wait a minute… I think I’m funny.  Am I bored with myself?  Good lord, I’m bored with myself!  UGH!  I need to make myself laugh and if I can’t do that then I have no hope for humanity.

Google Chrome OS?!?!

On By Michel McDonaldIn Computer, CR-48, Google ChromeLeave a comment

This is coming straight from the Google blog…

Official Google Blog: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

Wow.  That’s so cool.  This is going to be neat to be able to turn your computer on and once it gets past all those tests that you see, you know, where it shows how much memory you have, then all of a sudden you’ve got desktop.  No more waiting for the Windows screen that shows that animated bar at the bottom of the screen.  Instead you are instantly taken right to your desktop so you can immediately start browsing the web.

The only thing that concerns me is if this will allow me to install my Windows programs like the Sims, EverQuest, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Premiere Elements, Autodesk 3DS Max 2008, my webcam software, my mp3 player software etc.  And will it allow my hardware like my webcam and my Kodak printer?

One of the things that I really look forward to is if this will allow me to play my old Win 98 games that Win XP won’t let me run.  I just hope that this isn’t something like Mac and Linux where you have to buy the Google OS software only which will probably only be a few programs at first and will always only have 10% of the software compared to the 100% that Windows offers.  That’s always been an issue and why I won’t ever have a Mac or Linux again because I want to be able to buy whatever program I want.  It’s really depressing when you go to buy software and the aisle for that OS is just a shelf while the rest of the store is for Windows.

Of course I’ll have to wait until the 2nd half of 2010 for this to become available so I look forward to all of the blogs and pictures and possibly videos showing how well it is on Netbooks.

Edit 2011-02-15: I have been using Google Chrome OS CR-48 since mid December and it does not allow me to install anything and it does in fact have apps that you can install from the Google Chrome store.  They apps install a link to your desktop which are basically just a link to a website.  There are also tons of extensions that you can use and it does work with my printer through the cloud.  No I can’t play those games I listed above but there are other games I can play that are web-based.

I would not want this to be my desktop, it works great as a netbook only in my opinion.  You would still need your regular desktop for your other programs and MMO games.