|
 On 01/06/2017 at 12:27 PM by Machocruz See More From This User » |
Games: Time is precious, and I just don't have the desire currently to spend much of it on video games. I am become kasual! No more ambitious lists of what I will play in the new year, as they never come to fruition anyway. Will stick to one or two games at a time and probably only play a few hours on the weekend. And only what games interest me at the moment, not what everyone says is the hot new shit. So....
Made a decision to muster through GTA V (PS3). It hasn't grabbed me like GTA has in the past. I don't like the cover shooting mechanics (I rarely do), nor the lock on aiming, and the combat overall could stand to be more arcadey; the lack of crime related activities so far (big problem I had with GTA4). The character switching takes me out of the "flow" of the game, and after playing the Saints Row 2 and 3, not being able to create my own character is a step backwards in my mind. Still, I'm interested in seeing how progression is in this game. What vehicles will I be able to acquire, what activities will open up, how my characters' skill will develop, how much character customization there is to delve into. Basically how "high level" I can become. Will I be able to have my own attack helicoptor stored away?
Also playing Diablo 1 with the HD mod. The first Diablo is the most elegantly designed and atmospheric in the series. I see more and more people who feel it is the best game in the series, and I can see it. I much enjoy the random quests that make multiple playthroughs slightly diferent from each other. Unlike the following games, getting a piece of equipment with good stats and mods is a big deal as the next good piece is not right around the corner, therefore each item feels special, as a piece of magic equipment should. Resource management is a bigger concern in this game also, as gold (for potions and other items) is not as abundant. This is a more arduous and careful game than its successors. Anyway, the HD mod increases resolution and adds content like new spells and areas. It's wonderful so far.
Lifestyle: I made a resolution for 2017 to "give back." I'm looking to get involved in charity events as a way to do this and, because I'm not completely selfless, as a way to increase my network. A friend of mine told me about a drive for the homeless that is happening tonight, but by the time he did I was already scheduled for work. The drive involves loading up vans with care packages and handing them out around the city (Chicago). I can definitely get with that, but it's not to be this time.
Overall aiming to live more social, step outside of myself. I no longer work 5 nights a week, so I'll be able to enjoy some nightlife.
Made an account on Instagram. I'm getting into photography. Practicing with my iPhone's camera. Being a 5s, it doesn't have much functionality, but it will do for studying composition and lighting. I plan on getting a proper DSLR in the near future, and take photography classes at the nearest community college. Unfortunately that means no PS4 or PC upgrade anytime soon. Well, unless I upgrade my career/financial situation, which is another resolution....
Came back to the volunteer scene, New Years Eve morning spent in the forest preserve. Haven't participated since early spring. Was working Friday evenings and I just cannot deal with Summer in the woods. Winter is my time, and I finally had a Friday night off. We collected trimmings that interns cut down the previous day. Built two brushpile fires and spent all 3 hours throwing trimmings into the flame. A good time was had. Lunch break saw a plethora of treats to celebrate the new year.
Health and fitness: This has been a fairly big part of my life since high school. I'm currently on a 3 day a week, full body weight workout. I will be engaging in that later today. I go to a gym attached to a hospital. A lot of senior citizens use the facility. It's mostly seniors, actually. Old man balls galore in the locker room, lol. I started jogging again, but it is VERY cold here this week in Chicago, and I've been sick lately. I don't do treadmills or any kind of extended indoor aerobic work; I need that fresh air.
In my eagerness to put on more muscle mass, I've been eating a lot. And while i have put on weight (from 183 to 194 in a couple months. Muscle memorty ftw), a bit of it is subcutaneous fat. Too much for my liking. My build does not wear it well. I can never be huge like a mesomorph build can, so I need to be more cut to make up for it. So I'm reduncing food intake until I reach desired leanness then I will go forward from there. Three square meals and one or two protein shakes. Size isn't everything.
----------
Diablo 1 HD Mod
Links to nature photos on Photobucket, taken from volunteer day (images to big to be posted here. And I don't have Photoshop to resize)
Owl pellet (poop) with mouse bones:
http://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii439/Machocruz/Owl%20pellet_zpsllkemymv.jpg
Volunteer trying to put ot a burn area in a downed tree. Embers from brush pile hit the tree.:
http://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii439/Machocruz/Waterlogging_zpsmaupomal.jpg
Waning brush pile fire:
http://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii439/Machocruz/FireandVolunteers_zpspke4zkyq.jpg
I feel you on that first paragraph, very close to my thinking right now as well.
Diablo HD. I wonder if that's the same thing Blizzard's adding to Diablo III this month. Probably not though. It'll likely be Diablo I locations and bosses with Diablo III gameplay.
I use to consume one game at a time, supplemented with rental. I actually played and completed more games that way. Now due to Steam sales, lots of people have huge backlogs of games and don't get far in any of them.
Diablo HD is an unofficial mod. That thing Blizzard is doing is a reskin of locations from D3 with a D1 "filter". Kind of lame.
I'm started to trade in a lot of stuff. I just know I'll never get to them anyway. Might as well get some value for them when I can.
I played the Dark Tristram thing the other day. So pixely. Pretty short too. It was kind of neat to see my Witch Doctor's pets in pixelated form, though.
I definitely need to pull back on gaming. Luckily, I'll have time to do that and am already mostly done with what I care to do in games I own.
Cold weather definitely makes me lazy. Might just start doing body weight stuff at home for now.
I can't risk getting ill again by running in single digits temperatures. Hopefully I'll get back to it next week.
When I was a teenager and limited to 2-3 games a year, I wrung every bit of gameplay out of my games. I'm a long way off from my game-buying peak in my early 20s, but my game library sometimes still has the decadent excess of a Roman banquet. I limit myself to a handful of games, most of them RPGs, yet I don't finish a lot of them. If my wife and I aren't too tired in the evenings, then we go out and spend time together instead of playing video games. And these days, my latest gaming hobby is gaming videos. Since I don't see a whole lot of point in posting videos of games that pretty much everybody knows about, I stick with obscure games or trying to do really cool stuff like getting the 30K bonus in the shooting coaster in FFVII or winning Valkyria Chronicles battles in one or two turns. My wife even got me a game capture box for my birthday.
I enjoy travel, and with that comes photography of interesting things I see on the road. I took a lot of pictures of New York from the top of the World Trade Center. I have a DSLR camera but I haven't become dedicated enough to worry about making artistic photos, LOL.
I am ready for the cold weather to be done. It's cold where I'm at. When I was in Arizona visiting my parents around Thanksgiving, people were still swimming in their pools. That's where I want to be.
I've said it before, but for me the big draw of GTA was the ability to cause havoc, which is what set it apart from other video games. Once it became clear how sharply segregated the story missions the designers wanted you to do were from the day to day havoc, to the point where merely having your car sprayed would erase all of your misdeeds no matter how great they were, the novelty wore off for me.
I planned to travel to Arizona in December, but other things got in the way. Hopefully before February or March are out. Trekking, rock climbing, and photos galore.
I try to give all my photos a cinematic/artistic bent. Depends on the available lighting. I took some gym photos and I don't think there is any way I can make those aesthetically intriguing under those lights. Maybe if I took them into Photoshop, which I don't have right now..
I have to say that the PS2 era of GTA was the peak. I'd rather play graphical overhauls of 3, VC, and SA. Saints Row 2 took the crown, but then they ripped alot of cool stuff out for SR3. Maybe Just Cause is where it's at now?
I remember the first Diablo being hard in a way the series hasn't touched on since. I remember being scared to go into new rooms because of what might await me and how badly it would destroy me. Basically, I remember it being like isometric Dark Souls in that way. Am I right or is it just nostalgia talking? I need to play that game again.
Holy shit that waterlogging photo is awesome! And it's awesome that you're both trying to give back and stay healthy. Hopefully those things continue and they bring you joy.
Yes D1 was the hardest by default. It was closer to its roguelike inspirtation than the others. Resources were far more hard to come by, couldn't just spam potions like D2. No, it's not nostalgia, that's the way the game is if you haven't played it before and don't know what to expect.
Comments