༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ Give DIRETIDE!

Right I know the hype is like almost over now, but just in case you have been living under a rock (or maybe just not following Dota 2, Volvo, Najib, Namewee or Obama’s pages) for the past week…

Namewee – One of the many public figures affected by the Give Diretide movement

1. WTF is Diretide?!

Back in Oct 2012 when Dota 2 was still in beta, Valve created a Halloween event for the game – an alternative, fun game mode was introduced, with festive twists to the game map, funky costumes for in-game characters, ‘candy-stealing‘ replacing tower-defense for the gameplay & a 100% cosmetic item drop-rate as a reward for completing each round.

It was a really well-crafted in-game event, just take a look at the official page here for an idea of how it was like!

2. How did you like Diretide 2012?

Loved it, of course! I was only just starting Dota 2 (and Dota as a game in general) at that time last year, and it was through Diretide that I got to try out heroes outside of my comfort zone.

Not to mention that the game mode is much more fast-paced and exciting than the original.

3. So uhh, what happened this year…?

Fans would of course assume that it’s an annual event. But guess Valve spent too much of their resources into making TI3 an absolute success (mind you, it was fantastic), so perhaps Diretide just happened to slip their mind.

Or maybe they just didn’t realize the impact that the event have had on the community last year.

Official statement by Valve was along the lines of them wanting to stabilize the normal game modes first since the game was only just officially released.

To make things worse…

Fan-made images like this started appearing over the Internet a few days prior to 31st Oct this year.

And then, on 30th Oct Valve actually released a 73MB update for Dota 2. So of course, hopes were raised –

But as it turned out, that update only contained hats. Like, cosmetic items. Hats.

So Dota 2 fans, being the most non-toxic community there is, proceeded to spam Volvo’s page with

༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ Give DIRETIDE!

Some guy even called Volvo up to enquire about this outrageous lack of a Halloween event.

And here’s another guy who was lauded by the D2 community since this incident –

AwesomePageAdmin13 @ Volvo.com

So that’s what happened, in a nutshell.

Orange’s Guide to How Pub Games Should Be Played

Few months back, if you were to tell me to do a ‘trilane‘, ward excessively & stack creeps as a support, or to lane instead of nc just because it works better for the team, I’d probably just laugh it off and say ‘chillax la‘!

Because I’m used to gaming to de-stress and have fun with friends, especially in Dota. When everyone would Skype and talk cock, and things like wards placed wrongly, fail ravages, missed hooks etc. become food for entertainment.

Things ranging from your most basic failed hooks…

… to high-level, unintentional suicides

“RELAX, YOU’RE DOING FINE”

My daily gaming stack comprises of my closest friends IRL, and yet even amongst this group of about 10 people there’s a clear-cut division between those who prioritize playing serious / winning games and those who just want to have fun in game and troll each other / opponents whenever possible.

Before I was made aware of the existence of a competitive Dota 2 scene, I was all for the latter – not that it’s in my nature to troll others, but gaming with that mindset makes Dota a highly enjoyable pastime & my daily dose of entertainment. 

Around April this year though I started trying out Captain’s Mode. Before that, I didn’t even know what “drafting” was. But just for the fun of it, I’ve decided to join in. And that’s when I first came across the phrase:

‘ggwp tryhards‘

I didn’t understand that term initially.

But now from what I understand, there are several common defining characteristics of teams/players who’d be called ‘tryhards‘ in general:

1. If you opt for trilanes instead of doing it 2-1-2
2. If you pick Naga + DS + Enigma, SD + Mirana or other combo heroes
3. If you wait for the other team to pick their heroes and then counterpick them
4. If you have roaming supports setting up early smoke ganks
5. If you get lots of sentries / dusts i.e. well-prepared to detect invisible heroes
6. If you keep warding / dewarding around the map

Basically, it’s a summary of things normally done in competitive matches in order to win the game.

See what I don’t understand is, if you were playing in Captain’s Mode or Team Matchmaking, presumably the need and drive to win is already there, and it’s a more serious game mode compared to normal All Pick games.

Thus shattering the logic behind the act of calling others ‘tryhards‘ in Captain’s Mode.

And if we were in an AP game, we usually random or pick heroes we’re comfortable with.

The reason why I end up picking Na’ix so much is because I can slack and just right-click in the NC for a while. Some might have seen me eating bread while farming early game.

So nope, with that mentality there’s no ‘game plan’, no stacking; loads of fighting for farm, KS-ing and casual blaming…

And of course not forgetting denying Aegis, buying a Rapier and delivering it to oppo’s base, etc.

Example: Getting two Mantas and a Refresher on Weaver, just to see if you can get four illusions.

 

Also, a Mjollnir on Zeus so that you get double arcs. And lifesteal so Zeus can solo Roshan.

Because throwing games is part of the fun.

Babyoling’s Step-by-Step Guide: How Pub Games Should Be Played

1. Random a shit hero
2. Play it like a boss
3. Feed or throw
4. Wait in fountain for the other team to end
5. Buy LOTS of couriers / wards
6. Decorate
7. Run around
8. If opponents have a Pudge, get smoke and hide
9. Report everyone on the other team
10. Laugh
11. Type “http://www.babyoling.com” at the end of the game
12. Actually have fun playing the game
13. Rate enjoyment as Very High
14. Get item
15. Find another match

Jokes aside.

 

Course it’s the best if you can win the game WHILE having fun, but it’s just utterly pointless to play a game and let your mood get ruined because you’re trying hard but unable to win, even worse if you actually argued with people over the outcome of teamfights or the entire game.

It’s just not worth it.

Orange’s Logitech G-Series Gaming Mouse Review! (G100s & G400s)

Received two Logitech G-series gaming mice last week for review! hold on –

GREEN NAILS!

Thank you for your attention.

1. G100S: Gaming Mouse For MOBA / RTS Games

The first mouse I received for review is the G100s! It’s one of the earlier models developed by Logitech for the G-series gaming products line.

Btw this is not a technical specs review, for technical specs check out the link: Logitech G100s

 

What is RTS/MOBA?

• If you didn’t already know, RTS stands for Real-Time Strategy, and MOBA stands for Multiplayer Online Battle Arena which is a sub-genre of RTS. 
• Age of Empires, Starcraft, etc. are typical RTS games, while DotA & LoL etc. are MOBA titles.
• All of them require quick thinking on the spot to defend your own base / attack enemy bases with armies / heroes.

“G100S: RTS/MOBA OPTICAL GAMING MOUSE“

G100s: Appearance

On first look it resembles my old Logitech optical mouse.

As a matter of fact I don’t think Logitech actually aimed to veer too far from the old-fashioned, ergonomic & light-weight optical mouse model here. Because after all, RTS is all about fast thinking and quick reaction time.

demonstrating “ergonomic grip” the wrong way

Then I proceeded to plug it into my comp. The mouse is just super small and light.

Here’s a side-by-side size comparison with my current mouse, the Razer Lachesis.

Size-wise, the Lachesis is actually a bit too huge for my hands, especially the lower part which sometimes affect my wrist movement. The G100s is just nice.

G100s: Buttons

There are 4 mouse buttons in total, 3 basic ones (L, R, Middle) plus this:

the little running guy

It’s a sensitivity switch. Means while in-game, you can press it to change the sensitivity on the spot. Pretty handy feature.

There are no side buttons though, but I guess keyboard macros should be more useful in MOBA games.

 

G100s: Price & Verdict

The Razer Lachesis cost me SGD$200 & the G100s is only SGD$35.

It wouldn’t be fair to compare both in terms of specs, (I’ll compare my Lachesis with the G700s instead) but as an entry level gaming mouse, it’s good enough for any MOBA/RTS games.

 

2. G400S: Gaming Mouse For FPS Games

Here comes the FPS mouse! Once again if you didn’t already know, FPS = First Person Shooter games. Like Counter Strike.

I think the mouse specialty applies to Third Person Shooter too since there’s really not much of a difference unless there’s no aiming down the sight.

Once again more tech specs here: Logitech G400s

 

 

G400s: Appearance

The G400s is notably larger and heavier than the G100s, or any normal optical mouse.

unboxing it!

Side-by-side comparison with the G100s (on the right):

Also, it has a thumb ridge (idk how else to describe it) on the side for a much firmer grip. It gives much more control and stability than your lightweight MOBA mouse.

Perfect for people who loves to snipe in shooting games.

G400s: Buttons

Look! It has side buttons!

And two extra buttons (+ & –) on the top and bottom of the scroll button. It allows for on-the-spot adjustment of mouse sensitivity.

Haven’t figured out what the small mouse button in the middle does though.

G400s: Price & Verdict

It’s SGD$65, perfectly affordable for it’s above-average specs.

It’s definitely a very good mouse for FPS, but maybe a bit specialized? I tried using the mouse for normal functions like surfing the web & photoshop, but it turned out to be a little bulky & slow. Just what I feel.

Then again, maybe it’s because I play too much Dota.

EPILOGUE

Will be receiving more Logitech products for review in batches!!! (Should be getting more and more ex ones!) 

SO STAY TUNED FOR MORE REVIEWS OKAY!

[ADV] LOGITECH GEAR WARS CONTEST

If you have the time, talent, passion for gaming, just sign up for this design-your-own-rig competition by Logitech!

“Simply submit your design, sketch or idea of the Ultimate Gaming PC rig or set up by 30 June 2013, and STAND A CHANCE TO SEE YOUR CREATION BROUGHT TO LIFE!“

Yeah you only need a sketch – the idea is what matters.

 

 

Deadline is 30th June! 

 

 

More details here: Logitech Singapore Gear Wars Contest

Bastion Review!

After I heard the voice of (and fell in love with) the Bastion announcer in Dota 2…

Morgan–Freeman-voice ftw

Thought should probably try out the game where the narrator originated from – Bastion! 😀

I’d say that for this game there are two main things to look out for: the BEAUTIFUL GRAPHICS & the AWESOME NARRATOR. Trailer here should give you a good idea of what it’s like:

And here’s how it starts…

a dreamy-adventure kinda interface!

 

1. THE NARRATOR

And you get introduced by the narrator to your character… ‘THE KID‘.

All from a third person’s view, accompanied by a calm, soothing & powerful voice…

… who tells you the story bit by bit, laying out and furnishing the storyline with details, like puzzle pieces that slowly fall into place. In a Morgan-Freeman voice.

 

Also, with a hint of cynicism. He’s a narrator with a defined personality.

2. THE MAP

Then you have your map!

You can fly to any destination you want, which consists mainly of dungeons that you have to retrieve Cores / Shards from, in order to rebuild the Bastion.

However, as the game was developed for the Xbox initially, the camera angle is like 45 degs and everything is diagonal. Which makes our WSAD controls slightly counter-intuitive. Esp. when you have a narrow path to balance on.

Well I think I took the ‘nasty fall‘ at least 100 times.

Oh, did I mention that you can actually fall off the edge?

You won’t die though, you just take a bit of damage and recover.

3. THE MONSTERS

One thing about the bad guys in this game is… they’re mostly damn cute!

awww lookie at this cutee balloony thingy

and not forgetting the cutest one of all (that may also be tamed with a special ability)…

A PET SQUIRT! ♥

So monsters-wise Bastion is actually similar to games like Maplestory or Ragnarok, in which this cute little Squirt is like the Bastion-equivalent of the Slime or Poring! 😀

4. THE ARSENAL

One of my favourite things in the game would be the weapons!

You can equip two weapons (left & right mouse button) and a special ability at any one time.

My favourite weapon combination so far is the War Machete & the Galleon Mortar! One’s for its attack speed + melee/range flexibility, the other for the pure area damage.

– I don’t really use special abilities though – might be the fact that every time a new special ability is learnt it is automatically equipped, before I even have time to really try out the previous one.

There are also a variety of passive bonuses to be chosen from in the Distillery!

Which means… the Kid drinks?

And one thing I love is the creativity that went behind each in-game item.

“Stabsinthe” (passive bonus) – Auto-retaliation when injured

5. THE CHALLENGES

Besides the primary dungeons, you have your weapon challenges!

Bow Challenge: To clear the targets with the least shots possible!

The first prize is normally achievable after a few tries, and you’d be rewarded with the strongest special ability for that weapon!

Hammer Challenge: To smash 100 things in the shortest time possible

Achievable and earns you special abilities + good money for upgrading your weapons!

And of course you’ll have your achievements ie. “Vigils“…

And after everything if you feel that the game isn’t challenging enough, feel free to activate the various “Idols” in the Shrine, to make your foes gain special passive bonuses (in exchange for more money & exp)!

funny how the Gods in Bastion bless the foes instead huh.

 

6. THE CUTSCENES

Have to give a special mention to the beautifully-drawn cutscenes!

Just makes the story so much more moving.

 

7. THE VERDICT

For this adventure-based RPG, I’d say that it trumps the other games in terms of its beautiful albeit cartoony graphics, but it really depends on whether you like the style.

And the game is actually quite short!

Plus: Narration, Graphics

Minus: Unable to change weapons during most dungeons, Camera Angle

Total Score: 7/10!

In short, super cute game with an awesome narrator that’s definitely worth playing if you have about 5 hours to spare!

 

 

 

 

Ghost Recon Online: Review!

Recently thanks to Sw!ne’s enthusiastic recommendation I’ve been trying out Ghost Recon Online!

For shooting games I’ve only played like Call of Duty, Battlefield, Far Cry etc., and most of the time it’s First-Person Shooter (FPS) over Third-Person Shooter (TPS) for me. Might just be cos I’m more familiar with the FPS camera & playstyle.

 

BUT!

Ghost Recon Online might just be my new love (:

Apparently it’s developed by Ubisoft Singapore!

1. SERVER

Okay firstly, there are two servers, Europe and North America. I rmbed installing the EU version earlier on & was wondering how come I wasn’t able to find and add Sw!ne. So if you’re playing, I recommend the NA version! Why? Because… I’m playing on that server!

 

2. THE THREE CLASSES

Like many online games you get to choose your character’s class / job at the beginning. But in Ghost Recon Online you’re able to change your class any time. Every class comes with 2 basic types of weapons and later on, 2 special devices specific to your class.

First you have the Recon class, who’s equipped with a Sniper Rifle & a Submachine Gun (SMG). Recon special devices include an enemy radar and/or a cloak (invisibility) later on.

Stealth, sniping and sneaking around! My favourite class

Then you have the Assault class, with the Assault Rifle and Shotgun. They’re the chiong people, so their special devices include a huge-ass shield, and/or a disruption device to disarm people temporarily and deal some damage (cmiiw).

Just equip your imba shield, and charge in like a boss

And there’s this third Specialist class, but when I read descriptions like ‘electronic gadgets‘, ‘defensive items‘, ‘protect your teammates‘, I got bored. 

Sorry but I don’t really know what they do

Anyways, though interchangeable, the three classes have separate levelling trees.

For example, I’ve played a few hours with the Recon character, reached Level 4 & obtained some upgrades, but when I switch my class to the Assault, I become a Level 1 Assault with the basic items and no upgrades. 

BUT the gold is shared so of course it’d be wiser to pick a class and upgrade everything instead of trying to upgrade your character in all three classes.

 

3. MATCHES

I’m now Level 5 and thus still in the beginner’s matchmaking pool! Took me 3 games ie. less than an hour of total gameplay to get to Lv. 5, so I’d say it’s quite fast.

Each match is about say, 5-10 minutes, and consists of 2 to 3 rounds in the same map, where both sides try to advance to the opposite side, done through capturing points.

Waiting to snipe someone while capturing Point C

As you can see on the top-right corner, there are a total of 5 points to capture in each map. The colour reflected on the diamonds would be the teams’ map control which determines the victor.

Sometimes you get leavers and unbalanced teams. Frustrating yes, but you can still enjoy killing people in the process.

But of course, you’ll always have your exciting and well-balanced matches!

 

4. GRAPHICS

The maps are quite nice in terms of graphics! I’d rate it a 7/10.

Not jaw-dropping, but definitely good enough for an online TPS! I kinda like this subway station map.

Reminds me of the MW2 No Russian mission

Also there’s a pretty green map on the top floor garden of a building!

 

5. GAMEPLAY

Sw!ne said that Tom Clancy games are all about hiding behind covers. And I’d say that’s the gist to this game. There are many many walls/covers all over the map.

(Source: Google Image)

You can hide behind practically anything, but note that if you don’t, it’s incredibly easy to snipe you off. And I say that because… I always aim those people.

Also, it’s really important to communicate with teammates in game.

E.g. when you see someone hiding behind a wall but he just refuses to stick his head out for you to snipe him, then you might need to tell your Assault teammate to charge in and just blast his head off with a shotgun.

Getting your teammates to cover you while you advance is important in capturing points too.

 

6. WEAPONS, UPGRADES

Probably my favourite part of any shooter game: the fact that you can upgrade and customize your weapons!

Every attachment is customizable

And that applies to armor & special devices too.

There are two types of currency in game, one hard-earned through games & one bought with real-life cash. If you spend real-life money it probably does make your life easier, but it doesn’t give you that much of an advantage either due to the level locks.

And after all, what’s lots of damage if you have horrible aim?

And one minor complaint I have is that grenades are hax in the game. They deal like 200 damage when you have 100 HP, so as long as you’re caught within range, you die immediately. That one abit sian, but other than that the shooting is definitely fun.

 

7. MEDALS, ETC

As with many games, they total your kill streaks in game. I.e. small feel-good mechanisms.

There are also small incentives like Medals & Best Players at the end of each round!

“look even though we lost I got the Most Headshots!” i.e. things to convince yourself that the game was totally worth your time.

Oh, they let you know how exactly you died too.

y u do dis Zeil 😦

 

8. CONCLUSION

I’d say that for a free-to-play online game, this is a really good one. That it convinced me to play when I love FPS so much more than TPS is proof enough.

Overall rating: 7/10

The games are quite short so you can always just log in for a short while, play a few rounds, and log out to play other games. Kinda like a tidbit game that you can always play for a while when you’re bored.

So come join me if you’re free!

Support – An Art I Could Never Master

I only started Dota 2 (technically Dota as a game) like June last year and decision making-wise I’m reeeeally not experienced.

Unfortunately I like to play carry (partly cos I suck at playing support), but I often need another carry to be fat before I can end the game. And of course good disablers to help me lock down enemy heroes while I chase and whack.

And somehow I reeeeally suck at playing support. Esp. those with powerful skills.

Like if I were playing Warlock or Magnus, I’ll feel extremely impulsive about using their ulti. Probably cos they’re so powerful that they’re potentially game-changing.

And I just can’t handle that much power calmly.

you can trust me to farm till Level 25, and suddenly ulti in the middle of nowhere.

Maybe it’s cos I generally have high expectations of myself.

And when the pressure to ulti properly (“OI WARLOCK!!! ULTI ULTI!!!“) is so damn high, I might just crack, or feel an impulse to do things differently.

“I could eat a… sashimi?“

That’s why it’s great to have a bunch of teammates who’re damn pro at playing supports / disablers / nukers, so that most of the time all I have to do is stand and whack.

and that’s why Na’ix is my favourite

On a side note, I’ve recently started trying out tankier carrys, or simply Tank heroes like Doom, Syllabear, etc., I realized that they’re not really my cup of tea.

DOOOM.

I guess I just like the feeling of dealing tons of damage to the enemy heroes just by attacking normally. Not saying that the tanks aren’t strong, Doom and Bear definitely have strong attacks, but somehow… not as impactful.

Maybe cos they take much longer to farm up before you can perform the chase – whack – chase – whack ritual with them. Or maybe it’s the micro.

Lone Druid, his True Form & his Spirit Bear.

ANYWAY I really don’t know why I haven’t mentioned this until this day, but IF I had the PANDA cosmetic item to replace the original, realistic looking grizzly, I’d SO play Syllabear every game.

 

I mean… just look at that cute little panda omg. And it claws & bites the enemy for you!!!

And… I digress.

After playing Na’ix for so long (whose role constitutes mainly of farming & whacking, in a non-stop cycle till game ends), every time I decide to switch back to non-carry heroes, I would sometimes overestimate my health and damage or lack faith in my skills.

Which probably results in feeding, and/or not being able to play my role properly.

 

Not forgetting warding. I suck at warding.

… and proper warding is actually damn hard.

“Team Dignitas: Ultimate Guide to Warding“

• Red – Rune wards
• Yellow – Ubercliffs
• Pink – Lane/aggressive/defensive/ wards
• Green – Jungle wards
• Blue – Push wards
• White – Very situational
• Purple lines – Blocks the pointed neutral camp from spawning

Not to mention the self-important carrys would always say damned things like:

“eh, no ward ah?”
“ward pls”
“walao eh no vision how to fight“

Sometimes you even hear that from semi-carrys or disablers / nukers.

But being professional supports, they’ll most probably just give an emotionless ‘k‘ or ‘wait money‘ and go on to ward. All the while experiencing a series of emotional turmoil, like worrying if they would die on the way to ward and feed the enemy carrys.

 

So in summary, they have to give you all their farm, and wait for some measly assist gold to buy Chick, Bird, Meka, Dust, Smoke, Force Staff, Blink, Wards, Wards, Wards, Wards, Wards, Wards,….

While trying to:

1. spam all their skills and die in clashes or
2. spam all their skills and not die in clashes

… RESPECT, PLEASE.

 

P.S.: “BROODMOTHER”

(friend reminding me that I missed out Broodmother on my boobs list.)

Friend: u missed out brood mother on yr female hero list

Me: LOL. that’s a bug

Friend: lalala still female

Me: but no boobs. unless I flip it over and check

Friend: k i searched online, dont think it has boobs lols

 

But if Broodmother really had boobs…

An Orange’s Minecraft Woes

I’m a sucker for HD graphics. The kind who swoons every time I see HD graphics, be it games, videos or design.

So naturally after seeing some of my friends playing Minecraft for the first time my initial reaction was…

“omgeww why is everything so pixelated?!”  

“the cow is square. the sheep is square. everything is square. my brain is becoming square.“ 

“why are so many people playing this game omg they must really have zero need for any form of aesthetics gratification!“

That said, as a kid I was a huge fan of Legos and building stuff, so when introduced to the Minecraft I was deeply intrigued by the idea of a completely freeform world where you can build anything you want.

And of course I didn’t even give the original graphics a second glance before I downloaded my HD texture pack. Which made everything look kinda funny cos everything was still cubic, just with a realistic texture coat.

I and kept using it until a series of unfortunate glass accidents happened.

this is HD glass.

this is original Minecraft glass.

Well you should be able to guess it by now.

Basically I was building a glass platform in the middle of the sky, and it got reeeeally hard for me to tell whether I was standing on glass or air. Because there was just nothing there.

So after falling to my deaths several times and losing all my items, I’ve decided, wisely, to revert to the original graphics. And from there onwards slowly learning to appreciate the simple beauty of it.

… And thus began my adventures in Minecraft.

 

1. THE PLAYERS

 

just download & use the most guailan skin you can find.

For those who’re not familiar with Minecraft, in terms of game contribution the players are inevitably divided into 3 categories:

1. The Engineers: they play with Redstone wirings & aim to automate all in-game collection / farming / resource-generating processes. The practical people.

2. The Designers: they herd sheep, collect colorful building blocks and run around building pretty things, often dying in the process. The not-so-practical people. People like me.

3. The In-Betweens: those who’re either crazy good at both (like Minecraft God Etho) or suck at both.

But then I’m such a redstone illiterate I have basic problems surviving in the Minecraft world sometimes.

It’s funny how the situation imitates the real world, where engineers thrive doing practical work & garnering resources, while delusional artists starve while working on their idealistic designs.

The only difference is, when artists starve in Minecraft, they actually die.

Oh wait…

 

2. THE BAD GUYS

The primary aim in Minecraft is to survive. So it’s a must to build a house/shelter, because scary things come out at night.

Zombie siege on a village!!!

Aww look at that cute lil’ creeper riding in a minecart!

Try saying the same when he blows up in your face & destroys everything you’ve been building for hours.

And that’s why the creepers top my personal list of the most-feared & most-hated game villains.

If there was a real life ‘Bad-anon‘ like in Wreck it Ralph, this guy would be the fking leader.

 

3. THE CUTE THINGS

 

Squarish & rectangular farm animals. Only in Minecraft.

You can…

tame a wolf and make it fight the bad guys for you…

have staring contests with pigs…

have a friendly iron golem guard your homestead…

trap mooshrooms in your house for no apparent reason…

And last but not least…

tame the master of the universe, the ocelot / jungle cat. Why? Because IT KEEPS OUT CREEPERS.

Need I say more?

4. REDSTONE

I don’t know shit about redstone, so here’s a diagram that I found online:

I believe it links stuff up and… somehow makes things work.

Yep. That’s all I’ve got for you.

 

5. THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS

This might be an outdated version (they replaced some of the colors), but they were definitely the first building blocks that caught my eye!

PRETTY ♥

That’s why I herd rainbow sheep everywhere I go.

If you ask me, coloured wool is like the best thing that ever happened to Minecraft. Why? Because you can use them to build…

(I really love Pokemon)

and the first ever structure I built in Minecraft, the Rainbow Tower!

Might seem a little juvenile now, but I’m still proud of it.

Oh you can also build around huge mushrooms!

 

Yeah, like in a pixelated fairytale.

Introducing my first ever town, Fort Leoric!

and three of our players posing in my Japanese-themed village.

But of course I’m looking to build even crazier structures like these…

(Source: Google Image – ‘Minecraft Siao Structures’)

So stay tuned for updates!

 

6. EPILOGUE

If you ask me, being a total redstone illiterate means like,

1. Using torches because I can’t get lamps to work
2. Manually collecting / mining various resources
3. Having to look up countless tutorials just to make my color-changing wool work…

… but hey, that’s what our engineer friends are for, right?

Dota 2 Female Heroes! …and their boobs

Been playing Dota 2 for almost a year now, and here are some things that have been bothering me about the female heroes in Dota 2.

1. GIRL HEROES = WEAKER?

I rarely use female heroes when playing Dota 2. Perhaps an occasional Luna or Enchantress, but mostly uh… humanoids, reanimated corpses or bugs. Why? Cos most badass heroes fall under those categories. Unfortunately.

nuff said.

On the other hand, amongst some of the heroes in game with the slowest attack animation, slowest movement speed, lowest damage, lowest base HP are female heroes like Lina, Drow Ranger and Crystal Maiden.

which in summary means while you’re walking slowly & waiting for your attack to fly over and hit the enemy dealing a little bit of damage, you’re probably dead.

Then again, the actual game impact that any hero can have in any game is largely determined by the players. I’ve personally seen a pub player playing Crystal Maiden who got all the hard carry items, and basically she disabled everybody on the enemy team, and managed to get triple kill with her damage skills and get away unscathed.

“Heh heh heh“

So whether or not this game is sexist in terms of gender stereotype in hero abilities, will always be a debatable issue.

On the other hand, in terms of hero models… it’s a different story altogether.

 

 

2. CUTE GUYS COUNT: ZERO

If you’re looking for cute guys / eye candies / fan service for girls in the pool of Dota 2 heroes… you’re gonna be very very disappointed.

For instance, the Night Stalker has the most powerfully built & muscular body amongst the heroes (yeah I notice things like that), but overall it looks like this:

holyshit.

The other potential shuai hero in Dota 2, the Dragon Knight, is, on the other hand, covered from head to toe in armor.

HAIZ.

And the rest are either old, blind, bald, faceless or monsters.

 

 

 

3. BOOBS.

(You’re probably looking at the pictures below already. WAIT CAN.)

Look I’m way past complaining about female characters’ boob size in games already, seeing as the gaming industry is pretty-much for males, by males… you have your Lara Croft, Chun Li, Citra, etc., and you know… at least they’re still realistic & wearing stuff that resemble clothes.

But when you inject fantasy elements like horns & wings, the heroes’ clothing goes completely wild too. Just look at Queen of Pain & Vengeful Spirit for instance.

Clothes? I’m not sure if these count.

That said, being a long-time, avid fan of Dota 2 I shall end my complaints here.

There are definitely things here and there that annoy me, like QoP‘s overly suggestive responses, Luna‘s accent (“Let’s Go” / “For Salamene” omfg), Drow‘s slow attack animation etc….

BUT being the all-accepting seasoned gamer (read: bopian lah gaming is such a male-dominated world) that I am, I shall just overlook all these and enjoy the game as it is still, without doubt, one of the best games I’ve ever played.

Let me end off with this rather informative Dota 2 Boobs Chart I found.

Topping the Dota 2 boobs size list would be QoP (no surprises here), followed by fiery Lina, Templar Assassin (really?!), Crystal Maiden and Vengeful Spirit.

Coming in 6th is a personal favourite Luna, followed by Drow Ranger, Mirana and Death Prophet.

 

And lastly we have the more flat-chested ones, namely the cute Enchantress, Naga (whom I believe is uh, naked), Phantom Assassin (with her hard & shiny chestplates), Spectre (… which I honestly didn’t realize was female), and finally… the cute ginger Windrunner (awwww).

Boobs Chart courtesy of Agito666, whom I’d like to sincerely thank for his time & effort in this specific area of study, providing us with extremely valuable insights.

Commended!

Far Cry 3 Review

YEAHHH finally completed this game!!

i’ve decided to dedicate a blog post to FC3 cos i’ve just finished it a few minutes ago, and its ending, the entire storyline still resonates in my brain. my eyes are still kinda teary haha.

okay firstly i’ll confess that the only reason i decided to play this game was cos of its cover:

honestly this guy just looks so damn badass. hard to resist. i mean the game.

yeah so apart from that he’s also damn freaking goodlooking walao i think they really did consider the fact that girls who game will be attracted by this guy? probably that’s why they didn’t even bother putting citra on the cover. in any case i think the gun and the half-buried head will suffice as the pull factor for guys.

bonus close-up. omg *silent scream*

okay so the game. i noticed since i started playing that the environment of Rook Island that this game is based on seems really really familiar. it reminds me so badly of my ahma’s kampung area where i’d follow my dad to hunt wild boars. so yupp it’s either based on Malaysia or Indonesia’s landscape. you get kampungs like this:

not to mention that the main faction, the Rakyat, are a Malay-speaking native tribe. okay wait not really Malay. my (residual) proficiency in Malay tells me that for one, you do not say Selamat Tengahari to the village in the middle of the night. i guess they just threw in some Malay-sounding words here and there to add on to the native-tribe feel.

but all the more reason that this game would intrigue me, that all that hunting, the wildlife and the kampungs remind me so vividly of scenes from my childhood. and when you have on Ultra graphic settings and noise-cancelling earphones, it feels pretty surreal and awesome as you immerse yourself completely in the game. you can almost feel the breeze when the grass sways.

well that is, until a crocodile or rabid dog grabs hold of your leg (which is damn horrifying). or when evil pirates start shooting at you.

AND so as not to spoil the game for my fellow friends who’re still playing it, im just gonna list down the few general comments i have regarding the game:

1. GENERAL

graphics are awesome, voice acting for all the maniacal, unpredictable antagonists is reeeally awesome, blahblahblah all these are sort of a given since it was so highly anticipated, so skip.

2. MORAL ASPECT 

it’s a struggle in the moral grey area, and the state where everything is fucked up becomes the norm. and i didn’t understand some really messed-up parts of the story and had to get someone else to explain to me. like the necrophilia. and the sexual assault on imprisoned teenage boys, etc. it’s kinda deep though. makes you think about all these things and wonder if there really are so many messed-up things going on in shady corners of the world.

3. BOOBS

they stand out in this game. cos the game designers so daringly smack it on screen in an artistic manner. doesn’t really appeal to me much; guess it’s still a guys game. i was actually rather appalled when the boobs suddenly appeared on my large monitor so kinda hard to even avert my gaze. and then.. well, as usual i just sighed and moved on.

hers. complete with artistic tribal tattoos.

4. WEAPONS

gotta love the weapons! my personal favourite, as with any other fps game, is the sniper rifle, the M93 to be specific. and the gorgeous paint jobs!! omg. 

oh and not forgetting the witty handbook entries. this one’s a personal favourite

my only complaint though is the money constraint. like how every time i barely have enough money to restock on ammo & armor, just because im too lazy to loot each of the enemies’ bodies for cash. also, i hate it that the looting prompt always overlaps with the switch weapon prompt. you always have to move to a very specific angle in order to loot & not exchange your damn nice weapon for a sucky one. which is basically why i gave up on looting bodies. 

oh and, gotta love the self-service gun vending machines. and of course the badass old Malay aunties who smokes cigarettes while holding a LMG, asking which gun you wanna buy today.

5. ANIMALS

well being the sucker for (in-game) animals that i am, and having played all the Zoo Tycoons and quite a few hunting games, i’d say that the hunting experience in FC3 is by far the most awesome one. why? idk, maybe cos of the beautifully-carved out details for each species in the game? or the rich variety of weapons to hunt the animals with? heck, you can even hunt ultra-mini crabs and small birds in the game. provided u’re fast enough to nail them to the ground with ur bullet.

6. CHARACTERS

i love how each of the characters are eccentric in their own way, and memorable as such. did i mention how much i love Vaas? hell i even love Citra. and Buck. and Sam. but maybe not Dennis. he reminds me too much of the Malay uncle who helps guard my dad’s plantations.

7. COMPLAINTS

other than the looting rage that was mentioned earlier, i kinda hate the animals-skinning process too. that it actually takes a few seconds. same goes for plants gathering. i mean, for these kinds of stuff that you need to do so often in the game, why not make things easier for us, esp after the gruelling tough fight to put down the animal? and we get it, jason brody hates skinning animals. even after he’s killed countless people. just show the animation once or twice can alr pls.

the “eww… gross.” or “f*ck!” every single time you skin an animal.

and omgomg that damned SAVE option!! firstly, it’s just there for show. and secondly, every time you die you respawn in the nearest safe house, but your inventory reverts back to a previous state. meaning if you skinned any animals, gathered any leaves, crafted anything, it all disappears. and the worst part of it is having to check ur inventory and tracking down what u’ve lost.

and when doing a mission, esp in an open world game, you can’t save at will. it’s a autosave checkpoint system and it’s a bitch. trust me when i say that. that’s what made the Doppelganger mission absolutely horrible for me. also, when you accidentally enter a mission zone, it just autosaves and forces you to finish the mission. not to mention there’s only ONE save slot. so each autosave or save overwrites the previous. well… it sucks

8. ENDING

not gonna spoil it, but i was actually really tempted to pick the ‘bad‘ ending. then again, i went with the ‘good‘ one cos… well, im an annoyed girl gamer playing a guy’s game. those who’ve finished the game will know what i mean.

WELL EITHER WAY, it’s a damn awesome game. the graphics, the bad guys, the wildlife, the weapons, etc. are simply too awesome to be ignored. i was actually playing Dishonored and Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood when FC3 came out.. and i veered from my original agenda for about 5 days while i hunted and gathered and sniped countless guys following the storyline. 

all in all, Far Cry 3 is a must-play. i would rate it a 8 out of 10! (: