Online games, FF8 cards, and Fabio. - October 10, 1999 - Andrew Kaufmann
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this column are those of the participants and the moderator, and do not necessarily reflect those of the GIA. Rumor has it that I had been forgetting something at the end of the disclaimer. Oops. There is coarse language and potentially offensive material afoot. Don't say we didn't warn you.
It's Monday, and it's AK again. Call it your lucky day, or some horrid luck, depending
on your tastes. Drew got busy and tired and came begging on hands and knees to me, so
I agreed to do the column tonight. Of course, he has to give me all his lunch money
and his firstborn, but he decided that was a small price to pay.
Many of today's letters dealt with the card game "glitch" mentioned in yesterday's
letters, which everyone was quick to point out isn't a glitch but a neat feature (no,
they don't work for Microsoft). The stunning answer will be revealed, and a correction
on yesterday's guitar tab will be made. All on the next (ie today's) DOUBLE AGENT!
| Playing in the MUD |
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Hey Drew, AK asked about good online gaming so here's my take.
MUDs : if you get over the fact that they're text based most of them are fairly enjoyable, although Drew would hate them since they play like paper and pencil RPGs. ^o^
Graphical MUDs: Ultima and Everquest along with the slew of independents are often decent but they draw a much more immature and occasionally dangerous (hacking, cheating, excessive player killing) crowd then most MUDs. However they do offer a more well rounded experience considering you can actually see what you're doing and a picture is worth 1000 words or something.
As far as these games go they tend to be an acquired taste. Rather then a console RPG they have no plot and there is a very different learning curve. In FF7 for example, you first went through Midgar then outside and through a progression of increasingly difficult enemies that when you started posed little to no threat. However, in an online game there is no learning curve, its like if FF7 started you off and then said OK you're in Midgar now go wherever you want I don't care.
Each style has its place and I'm very interested in seeing what Sony does with its EverQuest experience once the PS2 network is up. Playing against PC users would be pretty cool and start to close the gap that so many people end up flaming about. Anyway that's all :P
Spy Guy
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Thanks for the secret field report Spy Guy. Me, I hate MUDs. I've tried them, and
found it more fun to go outside and play in the mud. Ultima and Everquest I've never
played, so I can't say good or bad about them. I know people that adore both and
adore MUDs, though. MUDs are generally free, so it can't hurt to give one a try.
Ultima and Everquest cost, of course, but they have pretty graphics.
| Playing in the MUD again |
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Hey, you know what's a good free MUD? UnOfficial Squaresoft MUD. It covers a good number of the Squaresoft games, it's free, the other users aren't harassing, and one of the game hosts is named after the executive producer of FF8. Play it for 20 minutes, you'll be hooked. The address is uossmud.cx and port 9000.
Oddbrain, a brain tat is odd
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I gave it 20 minutes a long time ago, and I wasn't hooked, but others might be.
Give 'er a try if you're interested.
| A misinformed reader |
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OK. I'm going to say this once:
Gilgamesh may be THE man, or the MAN, but he is NOT THE MAN! That title can
only be held by one individual and one individual alone: Bahamut!
So speaketh Pharoah.
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Every now and then our readers email us something completely absurd and wrong.
This is such a case. Gilgamesh is THE man, the MAN, and above all, THE MAN.
| Online RPGs |
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Damn, I wish I shared your sense of humor so I knew what you were talking
about half the time.
I've noticed that the past few days, the phrase "Don't say we didn't warn
you." has been omitted from the end of the disclaimer. Have you noticed
this? Is it some conspiracy? Or did someone (*cough*AK*cough) accidentally
erase it and forget to put it back?
~Cid Reincarnate
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Well, I don't have a sense of humor, so you don't have to worry about that with me.
Drew does, however, and it's a weird one. Don't feel bad, I never understand him,
either. He'd give shrinks a fit, and I think he's proud of it.
Oops... it was probably me that accidentally erased it. You can beat me with a
flagpole now.
| Card clarification |
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Ok, here you go. The "MONSTER" label on the card help menu indicates
what monster you need to kill/use card skill on to obtain the card.
Since you can't use card skill on the bosses, and they don't give you
cards, you need to either win them in games, or use the card skill/kill
(tee hee, I made a rhyme) the monster listed to recieve the card.
For example, if you kill enough Bombs or Buels, (which are located in
the Fire Caverns), you may eventually win a Krysta card. Which can also
coincidentally give you 10 holy stones when you use the card mod skill
on it, which can then be turned into 10 stocks of the spell Holy.
Using this combination, if you're the kind of person who used to get
their characters up to level 50 before leaving the game's first area,
you can have all three characters equipped with 100 Holy stocks before
you leave for Timber.
Now where's my damn Smartass award?
-Eimi, who is, by definition, not Ian P.
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Thanks for clearing that up, Eimi. But sorry, no Smartass award for you.
You see,
you showed that you're smart (whether this is your ass that's smart or your brain
is none of my business), but not a smartass. There's a big difference between having
a smart ass and being a smartass. I think you understand what I'm getting at here.
| Further proof |
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Hey Drew,
Tell Andy I said thanks for the tab, but I noticed one little flaw: When
changing over to the A chord, or barring the 5th fret across the last three
strings, Jeremy has an A minor chord, which shouldn't be there. It should be
an A major chord, and look something like this:
e:5
b:5
g:6
d:0
a:x
e:x
But, besides that it sounds perfect.
-Mikey B.
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Works for me. Thanks Mikey. Hey! Mikey likes it! Sorry, couldn't resist.
| The real deal |
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I was wondering if any of you guys knew where I could find some of the
final fantasy VIII merchandise that you posted on your site
(particularly the Squall necklace). So far I've only been able to find
it on e-bay.
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Sorry bud, I have no idea. That stuff is hard to come by, from what I
understand. If any of you happen to know, drop Drew a line.
| The real deal |
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I'm going to be directing the PlayStation2 comercials in the upcoming
media blitz planned for it's release. Here's what I have so far:
[Montage of the incredible graphics of the PSX2, etc etc etc.]
[Cue romance novel model, Fabio, wearing a tuxedo and cradling a PSX2 in
his arms]
Fabio: I can't believe it's not Full Motion Video. (Smirk)
[Cue bird in a miniture rollercoaster car slamming into his head. Fade
to black, cue PSX2 logo and "PlayStation" voice over.]
What do you think? Does it make you want to buy a PlayStation?
~Ian P.
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Ian, that genuinely frightens me. I had put thoughts of Fabio into my past,
but now they have resurfaced to my present. What a drag. It's an interesting
concept, though. So intersting, in fact, that I deem it TOMORROW'S TOPIC!
*cue dramatic chord* Everyone tell Drew how you would market the PlayStation 2.
Closing Comments
Drew will be back tomorrow. Have fun playing with his mind. Peace.
-Andrew Kaufmann
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