Post soundtrack: “Pulp Culture” by Thomas Dolby
I know I ranted, and raved, and complained when EverQuest II Extended was announced… (I did draw the line at throwing excrement, however – something I’m relieved about in hindsight) But I’ve since downloaded and installed the Extended client, and have started working on a new Ratonga after reading an enlightening post on Mystic Worlds.
The post, Logic of Subscribing on EQ2 Extended, reminded me of two things that had slipped my mind. First, it’s possible to have fun despite external limitations. And second, it’s silly to be put off something wonderful by something (or someone) disagreeable.
Oh, and third, it’s fine to change your mind.
(Also, with the pleasure I took in leveling Mingle, the phrase “Cutting off the nose to spite the face” comes to mind)
Reading back to my throw-my-toys-out-of-the-cot post about why I was leaving, I think my complaints still hold true. I still expect to get lost. The lore isn’t really well explaining. And crafting is only going to be more difficult, with the chronic lack of bag space for non-subscribers.
But I’ve started to come to terms with the RMT nature of the game – I might not agree with the prices, but I’m not the target audience for most of what they’re offering. As it is, all the game has cost me so far has been the data to download the client (which is still streaming in the background – 12GB takes a while, but you’re no longer stuck until the download has completed) and my time.
I had sufficient station cash on my account from special offers in the past (SC is the currency that Sony uses in their various in-game stores) to allow me to unlock Ratongas (along with another couple of races I’ll likely never play), so buying that pack was a no-brainer. I’ll probably be making my initial purchase of SC this weekend, which will raise my membership level to silver and give me an extra bag slot to play with (and I’m thinking of buying some diamonds as well, the Runes of Magic currency).
Incidentally, I’d started playing before the news surfaced on the forums today that SOE are going to be allowing bronze and silver members to purchase classes in the near future, and are considering changing the bronze chat limitations (currently limited to /say, /tell, /group and /guild) and may be allowing bronze and silver some form of access to the broker. So that’s my biggest complaint about the EQ2E tiered-membership system fixed, and another one that might be soon.
Anyway, it’s been a nice, low-pressure couple of weeks – I’ve been playing Spellforce (a nice RPG/RTS combo from 2003, which was on special on Gamersgate), started playing Runes of Magic (which is deserving of a post of its own at some stage), (re-)started EQ2E, and briefly played Alganon (very briefly; after I was able to stop turning my nose up at it, uninstalled it and deleted the installation files, something I’m rarely driven to do).
I’m also having something of a dalliance with the idea of learning German. (Yes, I have a foolish reason why: Perry Rhodan)
And twitter… Well, let’s just say, I’m exploring my options. (On that note, can anyone recommend a good twitter client for windows?)
Well, Pringlerouse awaits my attention – she’s busy with her betrayal quests, working towards signing up with Qeynos. (Having run through 14 levels of Neriak starting quests, I’m very glad to not be dealing with their so-bad-they’re-almost-parody brand of evil any longer – I’m amazed there wasn’t a baby-eating delivery quest in there somewhere)
Oh, and a prize* for the first person to identify the source of the lyrics attached to the screenshot above.
/wave
* – 1x unopened sense of satisfaction – single owner, never used. (Offer void where prohibited by law)
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