June 1, 2009
· Filed under Neo Steam · Tagged MMO, Neo Steam, poms
Due to technical difficulties, I was forced to start as a magic-embracing Elerd pom in Neo Steam. Okay, that’s mostly a lie–there was a problem with Rogwel (to be explained sometime in the future), but that had nothing to do with my decision; I had wanted to be a citizen of the magical nation since Atlus put the site up. I still wanted to be thorough and check out the other side, though; just because something is good in theory doesn’t make it good in practice. So I started creating a Rogwel pom and received an aesthetic shock. Red hair! These were the poms I had wanted all along! Maybe the opening movie influenced me, but I find them much cuter than the white cotton balls. I had thought at the time I was creating that first Elerd pom that this kind of coloring wasn’t offered to players or that it would be, but only through the cash shop.
That all but cemented it for me. The only thing holding me back was that I wanted my “main” name, which was currently being occupied by my magic-loving pom. I didn’t want to wait 10 days–the wait period for the name to be freed up–just so I could play with that name and I still had a bit of an attachment to her, little as I played her. So I decided to not delete her and just relegate her to alt status so I could spend time with my adorable red-head.
An adorable red-head that I kept deleting. First, I decided I had the “wrong” face. Then I decided I had the “wrong” class. Then it was the “wrong” name. Then the “right” name, but the “wrong” class (yes, again). I finally think of a better name, one that I’m never going to change it from this name I just thought up (seriously, matches my class and cuteness perfectly without being too…non-name-like) and I accidentally make her the wrong class. I didn’t just change my mind about the class this time around; I actually was careless enough to not select the right class before finalizing the creation. Another deletion. So now I have the “right” class puttering around with the “wrong name”. That cash shop just can’t open quick enough for me. Well, I suppose there’s nothing I can do even if it were to open right now. The words “ten” and “days” together will from this day forward carry with it a sense of despair and grief. Please pray for those poor poms stuck in limbo.
May 28, 2009
· Filed under Neo Steam · Tagged MMO, Neo Steam
As just a game, I don’t really think much of Neo Steam. The surroundings look average, the elves look speshul, and it crashes every time I try to play a lyell (but that last part’s just me, if the forums are anything to go by). Yet I still want to keep playing. Poms are just so adorable! Atlus is awesome! (Edit: Took out “almost awesome community” after people started bashing other MMO’s in the world chat. It’s not a terrible community, but it turns out it’s pretty average after all. First day novelties are wearing off. Poms are still awesome. So is Atlus.)
There is just one thing getting in the way: motion sickness. I don’t get this with other games, such World of Warcraft or Dream of Mirror Online because they move the way I expect them to. In WoW, I see my character from behind and it doesn’t change unless I want it to. She turns, I expect to see my view turn. I wish it worked that way in DoMO, too, but that’s more a control issue. Anyway, my sylph may not turn when I want her to, but I know what to expect to see on my screen: her heading in the direction I accidentally set her off to (well, I’ve gotten better now) from the same viewpoint I’ve been looking at her from the whole time. When an angle changes, I expect it because I made it change with the mouse.
My view changes drastically in Neo Steam and for no reason at all. My cute pom is waddling along, and then bam, she’s a few steps back (and for some odd reason, facing the screen), the view having stepped back as well. She keep going, it keeps happening. She’s making slow, but sure progress, and I’m feeling the urge to throw up. If she talks to an NPC, sometimes the camera will actually spin up into the sky before slowly settling back down to its normal NPC-talk view. Speaking of which, why change views at all when talking to an NPC? The sudden shift in angles, while not always to the sky, is still headache-inducing.
I’d like to think, “It’s only beta, it’s got problems,” but I have this same problem in Guild Wars, albeit it to a lesser extent, which is definitely not beta. The headache and dizziness probably should be enough to make me stop playing since there are plenty of alternatives, but I’m nuts like that. All this really means is that I can’t play either of these games without going afk every few minutes.
May 22, 2009
· Filed under Neo Steam · Tagged MMO, Neo Steam
There are two races that I always gravitate to when I play a game that lets me create characters: elf-like folk and midgets. Elves because they’re lithe and pretty, midgets because they’re pudgy and cute. Maewen isn’t always Maewen, but she’s always a pleasing sight for my vain eyes: a dainty blood elf, an adorable tarutaru, a lovely sylph, a charming sprite, an elegant elven lore-master, etc. Now in Neo Steam’s Early Access Beta she’s…an almost cross-eyed elf who runs with her arms wildly swinging about her sides. Arms with blades in them. (Well, one blade so far.) Sorry, insane elf scout, but you’re going to have to take a backseat to my precious pom machinist.
