How To Play PC Games On A Potato

Have you ever wanted to play pc games on a cheap, crappy, laptop? Is that all you have and a nice gaming desktop is too expensive? Well, look no further adieu, here's my guide for how to play pc games on a potato. 

Keep in mind that your potato has to be at least somewhat decent. I would say spend at least $400 [or more if you can spare, but my laptop is $400] and make sure you have a graphics card. My laptop is an Asus with a Radeon Graphics card. The computer isn't anything special but it boots up fast with Windows 10. 

To start, you must make sure you have your laptop's energy plan set to High Performance. This is a no brainer but you would be surprised that some people only always leave their laptop's energy plan set to save energy or energy planer because they use it periodically throughout the day and can't always have it plugged in. However, for gaming you'll always want this set to High Performance. 

Now for the in game settings. I'm going to give you my options that have me running three different games [Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm, and Team Fortress 2-my favorite games] with smooth frame rate and relatively low [if any] input lag. The games won't look great, or that good, but it will be smooth. Always make sure to run the games in windowed mode, a smaller window, as fullscreen takes up more processing power on your CPU, making your potato cry more and lag incessantly.

Overwatch 

 

Display Mode: Windowed

Resolution: 1366x768 [60`] [you always want this set to whatever option your overwatch game has the ` key set to, as this is your native resolution, which will give you better fps]

Vsync: OFF

Triple Buffering: ON

Reduce Buffering: OFF

Limit FPS: Custom

Frame Rate Cap: 30

Graphics Quality: Low

Advanced then click Render Scale: Automatic 50% 

And everything else set to low and off. Make sure to run the game in windowed mode, about 70% fullscreen size.

Heroes of the Storm

 

For this one it's more tricky as this game can become super laggy sometimes. A trick I've learned is that whenever you disconnect from a game just repeatedly hit the ESC key [don't know why that works]. You're going to want to go into the game files folder and add your own custom options there. 

 

On my computer you start by clicking This PC then going to Documents then Heroes of the Storm, and there you will see a text document entitled Variables, click that and change as neccessary. Here are my settings. You can tweak these as needed but I have everything set to the lowest possible and low and behold! The game runs fine. 

 

accountCountry=USA
alternateclock=false
alternateLowTextures=true
ambientenvironmentmap=false
aolight=false
architecturePreference=2
autojoinchannel=true
camerafollow=true
camerasmartpan=false
chatpositionx=0.000000
chatpositiony=0.000000
cheapquadselection=true
creepnormalmap=false
creepQuality=0
creepselfshadow=false
creeptrans=false
creepUseGroundNormalTexture=false
cursorconfinemode=1
deff=false
deffspec=false
deffspecpow=false
depthDisp=false
displaymode=0
displayunitstatus=Damaged
dof=false
dragScrollMode=GripWorld
dragscrollspeed=28
extrapostprocessbuffer=false
fogvolume=false
foliagedensity=0.000000
foliagequality=0
frameratecap=60
frameratecapGlue=30
gamma=1.253306
globalhdr=false
glossmaps=false
GraphicsApi=Direct3D11
GraphicsOptionEffectsDetail=0
GraphicsOptionLightingQuality=0
GraphicsOptionModelQuality=0
GraphicsOptionMovies=0
GraphicsOptionOverallQualityVer7[21]=5
GraphicsOptionPhysicsQuality=0
GraphicsOptionPortraits=1
GraphicsOptionPostProcessing=0
GraphicsOptionShaderDetail=0
GraphicsOptionSSAO=0
GraphicsOptionTerrainQuality=0
GraphicsOptionTextureQuality[2]=0
halo=false
height=1080
highqualityframeblur=false
highqualityhaloblur=false
highqualityhaloblurgame=false
hotkeyprofile=0_Default
keyboardscrollspeed=31
lastDeviceId=39028
lastReplaySaveMode=0
lightingLevel=1
lightmap=true
lightmapcastshadows=false
linearDepth=false
localao=false
localeidassets=enUS
localeiddata=enUS
localeidinstall=enUS
localhdr=false
localight=false
localShadows=false
lowqualitymodels=true
lowQualityMovies=true
mastervolume=1.000000
mousescrollspeed=32
MoviesSeen[1]=1
music=true
MusicContinuous=false
MusicHeard=1
musicvolume=1.000000
normalmap=false
normalzieHalfVector=false
OptionRevision=5
OptionRevisionAccount=0
parallax=false
particlelod=0
particleobjects=0.000000
particleterrain=0.000000
physicsClothEnabled=false
physicsdensity=0
physicsMaxComplexRagdolls=0
physicsRagdollsEnabled=false
pixellight=false
portraits3d=false
preBlendedCreep=true
PreferredGameSite=
profanityfilter=true
reverb=false
ribbonlod=0
shadowmapsize=512
shadows=false
simplifiedCloaking=true
simplifiedShaders=true
soft=false
softshadows=false
sound=true
soundambience=true
soundambiencevolume=1.000000
SoundAutoDetectCPUCoreCount=4
soundchannels=32
soundeffects=true
soundeffectsvolume=1.000000
sounderrors=true
soundheadphonemode=false
soundoutput=Speakers (Conexant SmartAudio HD)
SoundQuality=0
soundready=true
soundreadyvolume=1.000000
SoundResampler=NOINTERP
soundresponses=true
SoundSampleRate=22050
soundui=true
sounduivolume=1.000000
soundvoices=true
soundvoicesvolume=1.000000
spec=false
splatlod=0
ssparticles=false
subtitles=false
targetinfopanelpositionx=0.000000
targetinfopanelpositiony=0.000000
targettexeldensity=0.150000
terrainHeightmapBlend=false
TerrainTextureLowResCacheSize=40
TerrainTextureSize=480
texQualityLevel=0
transparentshadows=false
treadlod=0
useLowqualitymodels=true
voicechatautojointeam=true
vsync=false
watercaustics=false
waterdeptheffects=false
waterflipbook=true
waterrendertargetformat=0
waterrendertargetsize=768
watershadow=false
width=1920
windowheight=697
windowstate=1
windowwidth=991
windowx=185
windowy=0
winkeydisabled=false
 

You can delete your files and copy and paste mine but I don't recommend that. I recommend looking at what your settings are and changing them to mine if you have a potato machine to game on. These settings will automatically change your in game graphics settings [it will say custom when you check it in graphics settings] so you don't need to mess around with the in game settings for HoTs except for the following. It helps to lower the sound quality, turn off headphones mode and reverb, turn off voicelines and subtitles, turn off Vsync, and run in windowed mode, about 60% to 70% fullscreen size.  

Team Fortress 2

Lastly, my favorite fps game, TF2. This one was a bit more tricky for me to get perfect but I finally nailed it. 

Resolution: 1280x720 [I've had problems with Native Resolution on this game]

Display Mode: Run in a Window

Click Advanced Graphics Settings 

Model Detail: Low

Texture Detail: Low

Shadow Detail: Low 

Shader Detail: Low

Color Correction: Disabled

Antialiasing Mod: None

Filtering Mode: Bilinear

Wait for Vertical Sync: Disabled

Motion Blur: Disabled 

Multicore Rendering: Disabbled 

High Dynamic Range: Full [if available]

Use Bloom effect: not toggled on

That should do it for these three games. What works for me might not be as great for others. Again, this is only options for people with a super low end laptop. Mines only cost $400 so its pretty much a potato. Also, keep in mind that you must run the games in windowed mode with these settings. For Hots I have to play it on a much smaller window for it to work, which caused me to learn how to play it with a smaller interface, which thankfully is easy with the grid movement button via mouse. But its also the same for Overwatch and Team Fortress 2, you must run the games in a smaller window, maybe not a totally small screen like I do for hots, but like 70%-75% of the screen you're used to if you always play games on fullscreen. 

Another important detail is that because you're going to be gaming in windowed mode for all this, you need to go into your Mouse Settings and where it says Roll the Mouse Wheel To Scroll, set it to One Screen At A Time. If you don't do that whenever you accidentally click outside of the window of any of the games, you'll run into problems.

I was really bored today because of the election so I decided to write this. I hope this helps somebody out there who like me, isn't very technical with computers but is willing to learn and test things out. And game on a potato.

Happy gaming!

Anger Management in Video Games

 Everybody's been there. You're in the middle of a competitive match in a video game and then one of your teammates berates you and the rest of the team, hurling insults and cuss words, sometimes even slurs. 


It's not a good look on the individual that performs this action, but nonetheless, it is forever constant no matter what rank you are and no matter what competitive game you play. Here are some tips and tricks on how to control your anger in competitive video games. 

1) Don't react 

No matter what you do don't give that person who is toxic and angry the power of a reaction. It's always better to ignore that person and move on. If you're the angry person, realize that you overreacted and stepped out of bounds, and come to the conclusion that you have to control your emotions and the way you react to the game. 

2) Keep calm

Always keep calm. When you're winning, keep calm, when you're losing, keep calm. Don't raise your voice if you use voice communication in the game, rather, always speak with a cool and even level and tone. The calmer you are the more effective you can be in the game and improve. This is the most effective way to use voice coms in competitive games too. 

3) Get used to losing

Get used to losing. No matter how good you are at a game, all these team-based games that I play have many variables based on what my teammates and enemy team players are doing. So technically speaking, no matter how good I am as an individual player, I can still lose if my teammates are just a little derpy. Get used to it. It will happen and you will lose as a result of it. It's a part of life. 

4) Get mad, then get over it

Sometimes you have to just lay someone out on the pavement, and watch the gore from behind the scenes afterward. You will get angry at people and will inevitably tell them off. That's normal. What you must accept is that it was wrong to do so, apologize if you like or have the willpower to do so, and then simply move on. 

5) Keep playing

When most 'nerd rage' gamers get mad in a game they get so worked up emotionally that they stop playing the game. While this might be a good way to take a time out like a toddler, I actually think that if you're angry at the game, you should continue to play, and learn to calm down while continuing to play. Instead of smashing the TV screen, just keep playing and learn to enjoy the solace of gaming again. After all, the reason why we play video games is so that we can have fun. The longer you keep playing, the higher your chances are of having fun while doing so. So remember, have fun. 

Good luck and have fun!     

Back To Reality

Hello, world. I've been on a leave of absence from work since April. Tomorrow I get back to my retail gig at the market. I thought I'd jot down some thoughts on the time I spent away from work. 

I've been in my own quarantine without having caught the virus since April. I didn't see or talk to people in person other than people at the grocery store and my family. I really started to miss those everyday actions and interactions with people. I went out on a lot of long walks on most days. Even tonight I went for a long walk. 

The time I spent away for two months was great. Time spent enjoying an interior life. This pandemic calls for the individual to have an interior life. If you don't have an interior life this pandemic is going to be very rough for you.

I caught up on a lot of reading. I read The Plague by Albert Camus, We the Russian dystopian novel, Slan the first mutant novel sort of like X-Men, The Day They H Bombed Los Angeles the first zombie novel from the 1960s, an entire Science Fiction Hall of Fame collection of short stories from the 1930s-1960s, Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Marquez, The Satyricon by Petronius Nero's style expert, The Art of War, the Tao Te Ching, parts of Don Quixote, 75% of Plutarch's Lives, and parts of Zhuangzi. All of these things have merit and were well spent reading time. I was particularly impressed by Love in the Time of Cholera. How it goes to such excruciating and yet humorous details about the tribulations of undying love. 

Reading was probably the one thing that I couldn't do without during this time. I learned a lot reading Plutarch's Lives about famous men of antiquity [my favorites are Pompey, Crassus, Ceasar, Pericles, Romulus, and Nero], their virtues or lack thereof, military conquest, and the culture, history, and philosophy of ancient Greece and Rome. I plan on finishing Plutarch's Lives within the next week or so. I got into reading Plutarch because my brother turned me onto a podcast about the History of Rome, Mike Duncan's History of Rome [downloaded over 100 million times] so I supplemented that with Plutarch. The book was given to me by a customer at my work. She thought I would like it because I've told her that I've read certain things in history and philosophy.

I also spent a lot of time gaming. I played a lot of Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, and Team Fortress 2. My go-to games for the last six years. I started playing ranked Heroes of the Storm a lot more and that's been a good experience. I took a break from competitive Overwatch but still plan on playing it in the future. Likewise, I've been on a break from Team Fortress 2. So it's mostly been Heroes of the Storm ranked mode. Playing online games competitively teaches you how to be a team player and a leader. To improve and rank up in games takes determination, will, skill, and sheer luck. Although I probably played way too much I would say it was a good experience. Therapeutic even.

I also spent a lot of time reading the news, watching the news, and discussing politics with friends on social media. If you aren't following up on the news you should wise up and start paying attention. There's so much happening in a single 24-hour news cycle nowadays that not reading the news for one day will put you far behind on the issues. I read the news every night before bed and sometimes also in the morning when I wake up. It's a routine.

With the pandemic still ravaging the human population in America and the unending systemic oppression of black and brown people by police still haunting us every day, keeping up with the news will make you a smarter, more informed individual. You don't want to be an everyday low information person. Those people sound dumb when they speak before others and they speak the loudest as well. Do you want to be like them? If not, then keep up on the news. You don't have to be a news junkie but a few articles every day goes a long way.  I recommend Rachel Maddow [for a general but important view] on msnbc for TV and the Nytimes [for a national view] website for text-based news.

Lastly, I want to say that I did a lot of thinking and soul searching, without even going anywhere, doing anything in particular, or leaving my house. This is the time for us to do that; during a pandemic that's put millions of Americans out of work, during a period of civil unrest where police brutality and racism is running rampant. I thought a lot about what I want out of life. Goals, dreams, actions, near, far-term, the future, and all the metaphysical feelings associated with it. The time off really chilled me out. I see now more than ever that the world exists based on your reaction to it, as well as others'. You can only control yourself, your own actions, and your own thoughts. If you can bring people into your life and make them meaningful to it in some way then perhaps that's what we are all here for. "Love is life's sovereign goal." If more people saw life in that way, the world would be a much better place.

Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse Virus pt. 6

Greetings noble readers of my blog. How's the quarantine life treating you all? I figured I would continue my series about life during the coronavirus. If you haven't seen any of the previous posts about this up to this point, I recommend you click on the 'plague journal' at the top of my blog page and review some of the earlier posts. Or you can find it here. I explain the working conditions at my job and stuff, it's quite an overview. 

Anyways, we're somewhere in the middle of this virus. Not contained by any means but it has not taken over California like it did in New York, Italy, China, or Spain. 23,000 people have died in the US. But that's considered low numbers. For the time being. But it's still a crippling reminder that this virus has ravaged our country. It's very sad. 

We're all very lucky to have good leadership in California under Gavin Newsom and under the Los Angeles mayor Garcetti. They called for stay at home orders long before other states followed suit. Smart guys who listen to their advisers. 

I didn't catch the virus from work but the threat of continuing to work in the front end at a grocery store greatly expanded my chance of catching the virus, exponentially. Naturally, I took a leave of absence from my job, as other coworkers did as well. The number one reason was fear that I could catch the virus, bring it home, and give it to my elderly father, whom I love very much. The other being unsafe working conditions.

Now I'm on somewhat of a respite. The threat of the virus is still there if I go out in public like another grocery store but as long as I stay in lockdown I am now much safer. Thankfully! Eventually, I'll have to return to work but hopefully, by then the stay at home order will be lifted and perhaps businesses will open up again. I doubt it but anything's possible, right?

What is life like now? Well, it's calm. I have a regular routine per usual. 

I started running in the mornings to try to lose weight. Been working on zen breathing and the art of running. I do afternoon jazz guitar concert sets on my balcony for all the passersby walking down my busy street. I love to play solo guitar jazz standards. I stream video games on twitch, which you can find here. I read a lot, mostly science fiction at the moment. I've also got a new Kant book to read as well; Moral on Metaphysics, my cup of tea. I plan on writing a zombie virus series which you can find the beginning of here. 

I have no social life because some of my friends have existing conditions and some of their parents are against us meeting up during this time of crisis. A fair assessment of the situation I would say. As a result, we've banded together online, text chat on phone, direct messaging on Facebook, voice coms on Discord, hanging out in each other's twitch streams, gaming together online, and such. In such dire straights, you would think the infrastructure of the internet would collapse, lol. But it's fun to talk to and chill with my friends online. I miss them very much and perhaps that's the greatest loss during this pandemic. The fact that we can't gather round in person, chill together, find solace in human solidarity together. 

If there's one thing I'll remember with all this shit going on [a popular California way of talking about the virus], other than 'social distancing,' it's the fact that "we're all in this together."

Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse Virus pt. 5

Here we are. We've arrived at part five of our series. Here I'd like to jot down some general notes and ideas on the current state of affairs during this historic moment. Mostly of a personal nature. I've saved part 4 for detailing the historical aspects and news headlines. Reading through those headlines in part 4 really gives you the wider picture beyond me and my now solitary life. 

First, my life has fundamentally changed. Maybe not forever but for the indefinite future. No more guitar and singing at open mics. No more hangouts with friends. Now I live the humble life of a guitar playing, writing, gaming, grocery store worker. It ain't much, but it's a living. But at what cost? 

Some of my relationships have been put on hold. Others have gone south in some aspects. A friend of mine wants to hang out but he's got a weak immune system so I dare not hang out with him, lest I unknowingly spread the virus to him, and kill him. Another friend of mine got into it with me over comments on social media, saying that I was being delusional. I'm not going to be seeing any friends anytime soon. That much has sunk in. I've started a new life, not without them, but away from them, temporarily. 'Social distancing!' Once this thing blows over, I believe my friendships will be stronger than ever. But in the meantime, the distance has brought a rift between us. I feel sad about it, but alas, this is the fate of all. 

Well, that's grim. But remember this is only temporary. But until then it is indefinite. These are the facts, the new reality, the brave new world. Let's see how brave we really are. I'm going to keep practicing social distancing and avoid going out of the house except for work. I can't risk spreading the virus to my family, friends, or even coworkers really. Which brings me to my next point. 

Although my personal friendships are going through some rough patches I have to admit that my relationships at work with customers and coworkers have improved a hundredfold. The staff, employees, and management have really come together, showing me that even if my own friendships are put on hold, at least I have my coworkers to depend on. We've really come together at that little store. There have been so many changes, so many alternating managers and employees, that we have no other choice but to come together. Showing the power of human solidarity, our workplace is a great example for others, a beacon of hope.  We will get through this and prevail.

Lastly, I can't say that personal life has improved. It's become more solitary. More hermit-like. I really only talk to or hang out with family and coworkers. I do talk a lot to friends online on social media but social media isn't like real life. You can fake being happy or sad on social media or texts. It's artificial.

I've spent a lot of time in isolation writing nonstop. I'm going through a creative spike. I've also been playing a lot of guitar. Listening to a ton of new music via YouTube, especially classic jazz albums from the 50s and 60s that I've missed over the years. I've been reading a lot and posting my book reviews on Goodreads. Currently, I'm ranked as a #12 Reviewer in the US, ranked #19 in the world. Not too shabby for a guy who loves to read and write. You can view my ranking here. Keep in mind you have to have an account to see view it. I've also been gaming a lot to relieve the pandemic stress. I believe that nowadays more than ever we should have a good amount of time just for dumb fun. Now more than ever. 

Until the next post in this series. Keep the faith. 

Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse Virus pt. 3

Wau! So we're finally at part three of our little series. So far I'd been writing about the doom and gloom of the situation. Mostly outside in the world and at work especially. For this post, I'd like to focus on quarantine life and positivity. What is life now like, now that for the most part, America is on a national lockdown? What advice do I have for quarantine life?

Well, for starters,  you should maintain some sort of schedule. You should have a list of things you want to do every day and do them in whatever order of your choosing. For me this resulted in a creative spike: writing, guitar playing, even playing video games can be creative, at least for me, depending on the type of game and/or gameplay style. Really? Said the non-gaming naysayers. 

I'm still working five out of seven days a week. A typical workday for me is like so. My late shifts are better than my morning shifts as I don't get supremely tired on those days. So I wake up around noon or later [oh wau!], I clean up, brew some coffee, and read the latest news about the virus. Sometimes the NYTimes articles get depressing but I always read them to the end because the NYTimes is covering the pandemic with precision and skill. In fact, I trust their view on the coronavirus because they're looking at it from the very big picture whereas something like the LAtimes is covering just the state of California. 

While reading the news and occasional op-eds about the virus, I'm listening to a lot of jazz and classical music, so as not to have lyrics be too distracting. I've discovered a lot of lost 1960s hardbop/bebop music through this. Then I may play video games to put my mind off things. And I go to work. Usually, I close the store at one am but considering that the store closes at eight pm now, most of my managers are allowing me to leave at midnight. Kudos!  

One thing that should be put into consideration is that you should go out and enjoy nature. Go for a walk or a hike. Even when it's raining and I'm getting wet, I don't seem to mind it as much. Nature in and of itself is beautiful and relieves stress. I can't stress the importance of nature enough. The dark ominous clouds before the rainfall. The bright oh happy day of the afternoon sunshine. Love it.

When I come back to work I play acoustic guitar to keep up my chops. I play songs and jam. Then I play video games for a while. Then I go into writing mode. Currently, I'm working on a short story or possibly novella. Again, this zombie apocalypse virus has really spiked my creative endeavors. After this thing blows over I hope to spice up my writing skills and get a writing gig somewhere. Difficult I know, but not impossible. During the current moment of crisis, as a creative person, I've found that words, sounds, and images have taken on much more severe importance. It's become much more visceral. It's all changed really.

Then I go to sleep and do it all over again. Every night before I go to bed I read. Even if its only twenty pages or thirty, I always read something. Currently, I'm reading The Plague by Albert Camus. It is truly a masterpiece in fiction. I'm inspired by the pandemic.

Sometimes I have morning shifts and that changes the dynamic. My schedule happens in reverse on those days. So you should maintain a schedule. My schedule is going to be different from yours, it goes without saying, but I believe if I keep doing what I'm doing I'm going increase my creativity, improve my writing and guitar playing, and save lives by practicing social distancing and staying away from others, only going out to get food and work, thankfully located at the same place. 

Next, tip number two. Always do things that are fun. Just dumb fun. For me, that includes playing video games to relieve stress. Video games are now one of those things that people can still do with others [online as opposed to in person], that still connects everybody, and is still fun. Voice communication in gaming has become more important during this time. It's a connection with others. If you don't like gaming you can catch up on shows you like. For example, I'd like to binge-watch Game of Thrones.  

Next, keep in touch with friends and family as much as you can so as to avoid too much self-isolation. The best way for me to keep in contact with friends is through phone, text, email, and social media. Every time I contact friends and family I feel a sense of relief, knowing that I'm not in this alone. Their well being is important to me and just knowing that life goes on for them without having the virus, their safety, it's a boost in our collective spiritual unity.

Lastly, you could learn something new. You could learn to play the guitar or the piano, how to cook a certain dish, a new work skill that will be more in demand after the virus goes away [if it goes away], or write a song, poem, blog, or op-ed about your thoughts during this historic moment. Even though technically the country is on lockdown it doesn't mean that life doesn't go on. 

"Nothing you can do if you want to sing the blues, but you know it don't come easy."

The initmitable competitive gaming spirit: 3 years later

Greetings! This is a post about competitive gaming. I used to write a lot of posts about PC games, even going to the excruciating details of Blizzard Tuesdays patch updates. It's been a while since I've written anything like that so I figured I'd do an update from when I wrote about this stuff back in 2016. 

I've been a competitive PC gamer since 2010 when Starcraft 2 Wings of Liberty came out. I was so addicted I used to play team matches with my college classmate in the middle of class. We were a great Terran/Zerg combo. However, I also played a lot of Smash Bros Melee against all my friends in middle school, Halo 3 multiplayer in high school, and a lot of Starcraft Brood War [also middle school]. 

I was also really into single player jrpgs since grade school. To this day some of my favorite gaming moments have been from playing Xenogears, Final Fantasy 7, and Final Fantasy Tactics. 

Anyways, I'm still a big gamer today. Last Thursday I was at my first Smash Ultimate tournament at Fire and Dice [local hobby shop] and I did pretty well for my first tournament. I beat a really good Lucina player in bracket and did pretty well [but still lost] against two other players. It was a good exhibition for me and my friend Neal, a Yoshi player. I played Samus and Dark Samus most of the time but I did two matches [where I almost won both] as Fox. 

I still play some of the old games I used to play three years ago. I've found that I'm not only much better at them, but that I'm getting better and better each day, exponentially. It was a very slow, gradual change that took me three years.

Part of it was that in the past I didn't have as much confidence. Also, I didn't have the right mindset. I would go into a competitive game with the mindset that I just want to have fun and losing didn't matter. Now I go in with the mindset that I will have fun AND win. That's a huge difference. 

When I play certain games like Ovewatch and Team Fortress 2 [my personal favorite fps games of all time] there's actually a lot going on in my head, especially as I play the healer role most of the time. 250 of my 600 hours on Overwatch are on Mercy, the best healer in the game. And 65 out of my 200 hours on Team Fortress are on medic, the only healer in the game. 

Anyways, there's a lot going on in my head when I play. In every given scenario I'm running subroutines in my head: If I follow this person will that lead to a successful frag? If we're outnumbered and my allies die fast and I fall back and let my teammates die will I be able to live and regroup with them out of spawn before the enemies kill me? If I take out the syringe gun and shoot down an enemy soldier/scout/demo/pyro/spy will I be able to live/run away back to safety? Its endless really.

Its like a puzzle. There are endless variations of what could really happen. You could play the perfect game and your team can still lose because of your allies' inefficiencies. The main reason why I lose certain Team Fortress games [I always play Control Point] is because my allies will run in fast, get killed, and get backcapped [killed as they run to the point out of spawn] before I can get to them. That's a very common way to lose a game in Team Fortress. Probably the most common. 

These same 'subroutines' apply to fighting games. I recently became friends with a guy I met through work that plays a lot of fighting games. And he's very good at all of them. He was surprised as heck and applauded me when I was able to figure out how to play all these technical fighting games and after 2 matches where he'd win, I had figured it out and starting defeating him in loops. The reason I was able to figure it out is because I'm playing with this same logical thought processes. 

It takes a lot of practice to get to the point where you don't have to run through the endless variations/variables. Anything can happen really. But then again if you can make what you want happen and it comes to pass, that is where the power of the smart, thoughtful gamer comes in place. 

It took me a while to understand games. For the longest time I just played games to relive stress. But at some point I realized I wanted to be great and 'git gud' [Kranky's advice] at every game I would ever pick up. Although I'm no e-sports champion I would say that I'm a damn good gamer at the games I play: Heroes of the Storm, Starcraft, Overwatch, Team Fortress, Smash Bros, and Marvel Vs Capcom 2. I've even gotten to the point where I see single player games as extremely relaxing and enjoyable. Its good to find out that you don't need to always have that competitive mindset to have a great time. 

Gamers take their gaming very seriously. You're always going to run into those toxic people that will talk shit about your gameplay and hurl insults/slurs, harassing people, etc. You might even become one of those people during some of your matches. The thing you gotta realize is that even when you're so good you're at the point where most people you play against/with are scrubs, in the end its all just a game. If you can't understand that then you should stick to the single player arena. Rage will only hurt your gameplay and your mindset. To be a winner you have to think like a winner. 

"Experience transcendence." 

Original post from 2016 here: https://ofigueroamusic.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-inimitable-competitive-gaming-spirit.html

The Joy of Free to Play

Ah, the joys of the truly free to play game. Lets talk about one of my favorite games for a moment, Heroes of the Storm (Hots for short). Hots is a free to play moba created by Blizzard in 2015 that has micro transactions (mostly for the coolest skins and mounts) but otherwise characters can be unlocked by spending gold in the shop. Gold is acquired by logging in everyday and doing quests, which can earn you from 200 to 800 gold. Each day you get one new quest, thus giving you unlimited (but limited b/c of how the time and respawn of quests work) gold as long as you keep logging in and playing the game.

At first you would think this is time consuming or too much of a hurdle to go through to unlock characters-because of the grind. But no, this grind has brought me joy.

Its been about two weeks since I've been grinding gold and doing quests in Hots to earn the latest character Alexstraza (pictured above), who now costs 10,000 gold (when heroes first come out they are 15,000 gold). Right now I am sitting at about 9,500 gold and it feels great. The work, dedication, craft, and blood of my enemies to earn all that gold is quite satisfying. I don't think I would get this same satisfaction if I played League of Legends of Dota 2, two other popular mobas. Those games are work just to make it through a forty-five minute match. But I digress.

When I unlock Alexstraza in a few days it will be quite the reward. Rewards for playing games is something most gaming companies have to work much harder at. Sure you can earn loot boxes in Overwatch but at the end of the day the skins don't add much. A new character to your roster in a game adds much much more.

Here's a game that does free to play gaming right. I can earn every character through grinding quests and find a ton of satisfaction from it. Beat that EA.  

How do I play video games with no time?

 

Ah, the age old question. How do I play video games with no time? This is a hard question to answer. I recently got promoted at my job which gives me more daytime hours but leaves me with only a little bit of night and only a little bit of daytime before work. It's been very difficult to fit in gaming, if I get to even game at all. In fact, I've been doing more social media, listening to music, and hanging out with my friends more so than gaming. I haven't even played World of Warcraft for over a week now and just a week ago I was playing everyday. I'm quite saddened by this of course...lol.

Now to answer the question. If you don't have time but you want to play video games you must use your time wisely and focus on the games that you like the most. For me that means booting up Heroes of the Storm at least once a day and grinding out the daily quests for gold. Right now I really need the gold (15k gold) to unlock the next new hero (Kel'Thuzad from Warcraft 3, and yes I'll write a post about him soon). So that means everyday logging on and playing one or two matches. Simple enough. It's fast, easy, fun. I get to play a game and work on grinding gold for a new hero without spending real money. Another game I've been playing that's super satisfying without playing for hours is Team Fortress 2 and Terraria. I've been playing with a real life friend of mine so its even more fun. These kind of games give you a lot of reward for little playtime. Naisu!

That's the answer really. Using your time to just focus on a game(s) you really like and playing just a bit. Real life takes up more and more time the older we get and the more responsibilities we have. I'm still using a lot of my time arranging jam sessions with musicians, actually going out and jamming with people, and of course practicing guitar. I do a lot of activities in addition to my job so it really takes a lot out of me. After work I'm usually pretty tired but that doesn't stop me from playing games, guitar, or hanging out with friends. Work hard, play hard! Time management is the probably the most difficult thing in life, especially as we get older. Remember games are made to have fun. They will still be there tomorrow.

What's going on? August 2017 Edition

So it occurred to me that its been a super long time since I've written anything for the blog. This is mostly due to the fact that I had a super bad cold that kept me pretty down in the dumps for the last two weeks. It was pure hell. Nothing worse than a summer cold/flu after not being sick for over a year. It hit my immune system hard but I'm starting to feel better now. About 80%-85%, just in time for my promotion at work!

That's right, I got promoted at my grocery store job. Instead of being a combo clerk (cashier/bagger) I will now instead be working as a cheese department personnel working under the cheese department manager. I'm looking forward to the change of work pace and my next chapter of employment. I really hope everything works out great and that my new manager likes me. So there's that. I'm really looking forward to increased pay and raises. Which means more money for games, guitar/music equipment, and saving money for my future. I start training for the cheese department Tuesday at 7 am. No more closing shifts. No more bagging groceries. This is all so exciting!

I also have to talk about the new Starcraft Remastered. This game is everything I could have hoped for in a remaster. The fact that the new version of Brood War runs at 300 frames per second is freaking astounding. Blizzard has really outdone themselves. I've been playing the game a lot, mostly practicing my Zerg tactics in 3v3 big game hunters, which is my favorite team practice map. I've gotten to the point where I can survive most rushes and make it to mid to late game but I still have to work on my late game when it comes to Zerg tactics. I'm about twenty years behind on Korean Brood War tactics. I'll probably start studying some builds on Team Liquid once I start to get more serious. As of now I'm just enjoying the sick graphics and the amazing hardcore rts gameplay. This is a golden game with a great remaster. Now if only Blizzard could get a Warcraft III Frozen Throne remaster that would be great. 

More stuff about my personal life incoming. I recently lost a bit of weight. Nothing too big but I lost about ten pounds. During the weeks I was sick I lost my appetite and dropped some weight. I've since gained two or three pounds since but I'm going to work hard to keep the weight off and lose even more. I'm really watching my diet, making sure to drink plenty of water, and never overeating at dinner or restaurants. Easier said than done but I'm on my way.

I've also been practicing a lot of guitar. Even if I'm just chilling at my friends' house I always pick up their guitar and practice my legato, scales, jazz standard heads, whatever. I haven't been able to make it to an open jam for a few weeks but I will get there when I can. I've been trying to setup jam sessions with my friend/bass player Dennis for a while but I was sick last week and had to cancel. There's another guy at work that wants to start a band with me but I don't think he's serious because every time we're suppose to meet up he bails with some sort of excuse. It's all good. I just wish I could find band members more easily and have my own group. Until then I'll just keep practicing, going to open jams, and recording and releasing tracks on Soundcloud.

I had a really good day today. It was my last day of cashiering on the front end then tomorrow I'm off, and then Tuesday I start my training for cheese department. Not only was my last day fun and stress free but earlier in the day before work I was hanging out with my good buddy Eric at Fire and Dice (local hobby shop, board games, smash 4 tournies, etc) and I won a free board game! It's a great fun board game called Smashup! So not only did I have a great day hanging out with my buddy playing Magic the Gathering and board games but I also got a free prize! It was a great way to commemorate my last day of cashiering. I even got some cool weeb anime girl sleeves for my Magic decks.

The next couple weeks will test my working skills hardcore because I'm going from a primarily labor intensive cashiering to a more food orientated environment that involves using your peoples skills in a different way from just being a cashier. I'm excited!  

"The future is ours to decide" -Shulk, Xenoblade Chronicles

Orcs in spaaaace

Tonight I'd like to talk about about a game that is pretty dear to my heart, Starcraft. I probably played Starcraft Brood War more than any other pc game around 2002-2004. By the time I was in 7th grade I was already a master 6 pool player that won many games just off that one cheap tactic. I really loved the game. Fast forward to 2010 and Starcraft II arrives to the gaming scene. I had a cheap laptop and I decided to buy the game while I was away at college. That was when I knew I had to be a pc gamer!

Starcraft is many things. It's an rts (real time strategy game) where you have to build an army and use it to fight an opposing player in real time going as fast you can with the mouse and keyboard, referred to as apm (action per minute). The single player campaigns have always been great and satisfying but the true heart of Starcraft is its multiplayer modes. There's nothing like crushing an opponent through wits and cunning plays. South Korea took the game and ran with it. Brood War and Starcraft II are still super popular games that are huge in esports mainly because of South Korean players and fans. Blizzard never would have guessed that their orcs in space (original Starcraft was created using Warcraft I engine, but they soon scrapped it and completely redid everything) game would blow up and become one of the most famous gaming franchises in history.

I've spent years playing Starcraft II and around 2013 I was even in a guild called Team Peace. We used to run tournaments and stream them online. I only participated in a few matches (usually won because I was usually placed against low level players) but the entire experience made me aware of the social aspect of PC gaming (ie voice chat, text chat, guild, party systems, team-speak, Skype, all before discord). It was one of the most fun gaming experiences I've ever had. However, over the years everyone from Team Peace stopped playing and the guild eventually disbanded. Rip.

But that doesn't stop me from reliving the hardcore rts experiences of 1998 and 2010. In an old post (that can be viewed here) I talked about games I wish I could play if I had the time to do so. Well I've found the time and I've been playing a lot of Starcraft Brood War and Warcraft 3 Frozen Throne. Its made my gaming time much more fun and strategic. These games are so incredibly hard to play that even after playing the games for two days straight now there are still things I'm trying to figure out, relearn, practice, and master. I really dig the challenge! Nothing like getting your ass handed to you, figuring out what you did wrong and winning the next match because you fixed up your mistakes from the loss game.

There's just something about Starcraft and Warcraft 3 that is incredible to me. Part of it is the fact that after nearly twenty years both games hold up extremely well. The colours are vibrant, the graphics are unique albeit a bit cartoony, and the gameplay is so rewarding, competitive, and complex. Put all of this together and you have in my opinion the two best rts games ever.

I'd like the end this rant here but if anyone from Blizzard is reading my blog I have one proposition for you. Warcraft 4: Orcs in Space. Orcs go through a portal that takes them through space and time and they end up in a future world where they find the Alliance is still around but with advanced technological weapons! They then have to mobilize their troops, setup camp in the new world, and learn everything they can about this new secret hidden tech. Good idea?

Picture is Starcraft made in the original engine, which was the same engine as the original Warcraft Orcs and Humans, it looks so trippy man! 

Hearthstone is the most fun card game I've played since MTG

So I finally got around to playing Hearthstone. I really dig it a lot. Hearthstone is the most fun card game I've played since Magic the Gathering and Yugioh. It takes the best of both of those games and puts things into a simplistic game-style while still being complex with strategies and deck building. Its a very well made free to play game with only slight pay to win aspects. Sure the cards I have right now aren't that great and it makes playing against other players super difficult but at the same time its made me stronger and forced me to learn all the different strategies the game has to offer faster on the fly. It's great!

I think the thing I like the most about Hearthstone is that its a chill card game based on Warcraft. I can play the game while drinking a soda, talking with my friends, hanging out with multiple people while sitting on the couch, the variety is unlimited. You don't even need a mouse or keyboard you could just use a laptop touch-pad. In addition, I believe the game can also be played on a tablet and smartphone. I haven't played a game this chill in a long time.

There's a lot of interesting mechanics. There's these things called secrets that don't activate until your opponent does something to you or your minions. There's taunt which forces the enemy player to attack your taunt creature before he can attack your life points directly (Yugioh anyone). There's things like charge where creatures can attack the turn they come out (basically haste from Magic the Gathering). I'm still learning everything that can be done in the game but I think I'm doing a great job with the cards that I have now.

My favorite hangout is the Arena where I can quickly forge a deck from random cards. However, I'm also still playing all the classes in Quick Play against other players to unlock all the cards for all the classes. It's pretty difficult but I've been able to get a surprising amount of wins just using the stock premade decks. I've also made my own custom rogue deck too. Its not that great but it will become better as I get more packs.

You can actually unlock packs just by doing daily quests in game. Most of them will be like Win 3 games, Play this many of this certain classes cards, etc. You can get gold and dust too. Gold can be used to play in the Arena and dust is used for crafting. I haven't quite figured out how crafting works in the game but I'll definitely figure it out soon.

The sound effects and visuals for the game are pretty top tier. It looks so clean and sounds so good. The music is nonchalant which is perfect. The class system with the cards is pretty fun and unique as well. I don't think I've ever been this happy with a free to play game like ever. It's seriously an amazing game with so much technical aspects and competitive aspects too. I'm glad I started playing just before the next expansion.

Apparently in the next expansion every class will be able to turn into death knights. I'm definitely going to buy the expansion upon release and try the death knight stuff out. I've become involved in the game, even looking at articles on pcgamer about the game and the new cards that are coming out.

Pretty excited to be playing it. I'm about to play right now. Another great thing about the game is that it doesn't make my laptop cry. If you want to play a great game that helps you relax while is still competitive then play this game. You won't regret it.

Naisu! 

Grimoire: Manastorm is a fun spellcasting Unreal Tournament

So I was looking around on the free to play game section on Steam and I found this game called Grimoire: Manastorm. This is an fps (first person shooter) game made by Omniconnection where you play as wizards and cast spells to kill your enemies. Pretty great idea already. Replace guns with a bunch of spellcasters and you have a super fun experience. The game is in early access on Steam.

From my initial experience and only having played the game for maybe twenty minutes I can say this is one of the most fun free to plays I've tried out on Steam. I haven't had this much fun on a free to play on Steam since Nosgoth was out.

The game's free version only comes with the fire and earth spellcasters. The fire mage is freakin' amazing. They give you one of the coolest mages ever for free which is pretty awesome. When you burn people as a fire mage it is so satisfying watching their hp drop. It makes me feel like the pyro from Team Fortress. I love it.

The other class you get free is the earth mage. His regular attack speed is super fast but weaker than the fire mage but he can heal himself I noticed. You can cast a spell that creates a tree and when you stand near it your hp recovers at a moderate speed. He's definitely a support mage. This game has supports like in Team Fortress or Overwatch.

The game features abilities like a moba (like Heroes of the Storm) and all the different mages' abilities can be countered so its possible to survive any situation theoretically and given the proper skill and effort. One thing to note is that you can teleport too. This makes the game crazy fast a la Unreal Tournament and Quake, great games to be inspired by. It brings the Skyrim (the first person view of the mage with the fireball or manacrystals in their hands look exactly like Skyrim) style mage into the twitch shooter environment. Its the best idea I've seen in a game in a super long time. The fact that this game puts together ideas and is inspired by so many other games is probably what makes it so fun. Add to that the unique idea of shooting spells instead of guns. How clever and unique.

The one thing that could be better is the graphics. However, you don't need high end graphics in a twitch shooter. As long as the environments are creative enough and fun to play on everything's cool. I'm going to keep playing this game. I'm interested in seeing how big the community becomes for it and how long the player base will keep on it. I think the game has a lot of potential especially if they create more interesting spellcasters.

Heroes of the Storm's Stukov is the coolest support in the game

Tonight I'd like to talk about Heroes of the Storm's latest new hero, Stukov.

Here's his backstory: 

"In the 25th century of Earth's history, the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet was dispatched to reign in the Terran Colonies of the Koprulu Sector. Over time, these expatriate colonists that were once loyal had wavered in their allegiance, threatening the fabric of government which had been sewn across the galaxy. Of the formidable commanders tasked with this imperative endeavor, Vice Admiral Alexei Stukov was second in command.

During the violent campaign in that system, developments ensued that would eventually cast Stukov in a traitorous light to his superiors. Having been found to be in violation of a direct order to destroy the powerful Psi Disrupter, Stukov was subsequently executed for his disobedience. Unbeknownst to the UED at the time, their ranks had been infiltrated by a powerful shape-shifting alien entity that sought to sow confusion about the importance of Stukov's mission. After his death, Stukov's corpse was later recovered by the Zerg, who sought to infest human leaders and mutate them into leaders of their own colonies. As the first of their attempts to blend their genetics with that of humanity's, the once lifeless husk of Stukov was reanimated into something at once both more and less than human.
The infested Admiral known as Stukov has now entered the Nexus as a formidable melee support, ready to spread his healing pathogens and deadly disease across the battleground." (heroesofthestormgamepedia.com)

And also you should also know his abilities.

Bio-Kill Switch

Cooldown: 16 seconds

Activate to detonate all of Stukov's Viruses. Each Healing Pathogen heals its target for 500 health, and each Weighted Pustule does 100 damage and Slows its target by 70% for 2 seconds.
Can be cast while channeling Lurking Arm.

Q

Healing Pathogen

30 Mana Cooldown: 10 seconds

Infest an allied Hero with a Healing Pathogen that heals the target for 240 Health over 4.5 seconds. Healing Pathogens can spread to a nearby allied Hero every 0.75 seconds, and a single Healing Pathogen can spread to each allied Hero 1 time.
Can cast it on self, and spread to self.
Cannot spread to targets to whom it has already spread.

W

Weighted Pustule

50 Mana Cooldown: 10 seconds

Hurl a pustule that impacts all enemy Heroes in its path, dealing 20 damage and Slowing by 5%, increasing to 50% over 3 seconds. Deals an additional 80 damage upon expiring or being removed.

E

Lurking Arm

60 Mana Cooldown: 8 seconds

Channel at a target location, creating an area that Silences enemies inside and deals 144 damage per second to them. Deals 50% reduced damage to non-Heroes. Does not cost Mana while Channeling, and lasts until canceled or interrupted.

R

Massive Shove

50 Mana Cooldown: 20 seconds

Extend Stukov's arm. If it hits an enemy Hero, they are rapidly shoved until they collide with terrain, taking 200 damage. Stukov gains 50 Armor while shoving an enemy.

R

Flailing Swipe

100 Mana Cooldown: 80 seconds

Swipe 3 times in front of Stukov over 1.75 seconds, dealing 50 damage to enemies hit and knocking them away. Each swipe is larger than the previous.

Alright now lets talk about his kit. He's technically a healer but his melee damage is pretty strong and attacks moderately fast so you can defend yourself for a while before retreating to fellow teammates. His q key (Healing Pathogen) is a super strong heal once activated with d (Bio-Kill Switch) which will increase the healing by a ton. Its a super strong heal. The kill switch has a long cooldown but if your teammates are smart and don't get hit all the time your heals will always be enough.

One of the strongest tools for Stukov is his e key (Lurking Arm). It silences enemies. This is probably his greatest asset as a support in the game. The fact that he can silence enemies and do it often and its not an ultimate ability is astounding. You have to channel the spell so once you move the silence is automatically turned off. However, if you can cast lurking arm when your enemies are out of position or trying to run away you easily pick them off. Its become one of the coolest and strongest abilities in the game right now. It's super effective!

Weighted Pustule (w key) is a great way to slow enemies to give your dps allies the chance to finish them when they have low health. Its not very strong and the slow is better overtime. Still not bad though.

My favorite ultimate for Stukov is Massive Shove. It has a super short cooldown of just 20 seconds and it pushed an enemy as far as an enemy will go until they hit something like a wall, tower, or other part of the map. He extends his zerg arm super far, sometimes going almost across the map. Not only does it look super cool but it helps get your team in a better position for team fights. If this ultimate is used effectively the enemy team will be one less player during team fights, giving your team the advantage until that enemy hero runs back.

I would say that Stukov is a good healer that can also dish out good dps while also dishing out great utility and crowd control (the silence, slow). Because of this he's become one of my favorite heroes. His play-style can be a bit tricky at first but once you play a few games with him you start to learn that he's most effective when you're always in good positions. Positioning is key with this hero so you can't just run out in the middle of a random fight and hope to come out killing everybody. He's kind of like a healer specialist in a way. He's very unique, and super fun!

Not to mention he's from one of my favorite Blizzard games, Starcraft II. When I found out he was coming to hots (heroes of the storm) I knew he would be some kind of interesting character but I didn't think he was going to be a healer with such a cool kit. Its about time they added a new support hero and I'm glad they did a great job with it. Not to mention his squid skin is just awesome!

For the Queen!

Garrosh Hellscream is coming to Heroes of the Storm

Everybody's favorite villain from World of Warcraft's Mists of Pandaria is coming to Heroes of the Storm. He's expected to hit the ptr on July 31st.

Heh, greetings. Blizzard has revealed that Garrosh Hellscream, son of Grommash Hellscream and former chieftain of the Warsong Clan, will be the next hero added to Heroes of the Storm. The studio said on Twitter that he'll be playable at the ChinaJoy conference next week, and it aims to have him on the HotS PTR for the week of July 31. (pc gamer )

A lot of players on the forums online are actually pretty disappointed with Garrosh being the next new hero in hots. The main problem is that the game is getting another orc. We already have a lot of orcs. It would've been a lot cooler to get some other Warcraft race character, particularly a Dranei hero of some sort. But even like a night elf would be amazing. I think hots definitely needs a dranei in the game. Maybe like a dranei warlock or something? That would be something.

I'm already stacking up my gold from doing quests daily. When Garrosh comes out I'm going to hopefully be able to purchase him with in game gold right away. I won't have to wait a super long time like how I did with Stukov. Stukov is a freakin' great character by the way, I've been really enjoying him.

Anyways, despite the haters on the forum I'm super excited for Garrosh Hellscream. I was still playing WoW (World of Warcraft) back when he was leader of the Horde so its cool to see a familiar face. We will have to wait and see how his play style fits into a moba. Should be good.

For the Horde! 

Making limited time work as a passionate gamer (that loves Blizzard)

I was thinking about ideas for things I could write about and this idea popped up in my head. How do you create time to play video games and how do you manage your gaming time in order to get the full gaming experience? Pretty interesting question that would vary for every passionate gamer. Here, I'd like to go into details of my gaming time management and what games I focus on playing.

First, when do I play games? Life goes fast and you only have so much time within a given day. That's why I like to wake up early (10am, I know that's late for most people lol) and that's pretty much my prime time gaming spot for the entire day. I do sometimes play late at night (12am-3am) as well but not all the time due to my roommate needing sleep for work. So when I wake up at ten I get ready for the day, maybe eat something small, grab some water or iced tea, and then hop on the computer. I'll usually game from then on until I need to go to work. Lately I've been going in around 330pm so that gives me about a good five hours. Those five hours are spent wisely (on the right games), at least I like to think so.

Okay, so first things first I like to start off by playing some Heroes of the Storm matches. I always do the quests for gold because I always want to be ahead of the curve when a new hero comes out. I always want to have enough gold to buy them right away upon release. It's a super fun game and I'm really great at it as well so it doesn't feel like a chore just to do quests, akin to doing quests in World of Warcraft. After I finish the quests I hop off quickly and move on.

Then, there's Overwatch. I still play Overwatch frequently but not as often as last year. Now I play for just a little bit and then I like to move onto other games. Lately, I've been playing dps heroes (mainly Reaper with mariachi outfit) in Quick Play so I've just been practicing my aim and not really focusing too heavily on competitive at all. I'm waiting around for Doomfist to be released before I play more competitive. I think the game will be more interesting then. So yeah I play a few rounds and then stop playing.

Here's a curve ball for ya. I recently started playing World of Warcraft again and I've already leveled to 110 (max level currently) but the game's really only just beginning at that point. Finding the time to play has been super difficult as I'm already on a time budget as it is. I think I've found the solution. I should focus on pvp for the time being. I pretty much only played wow back in 2013 just for pvp so I can do it again. It doesn't require hours and you can farm pvp gear which will still increase my item level. Problem solved. But still fitting this game into my schedule is really pushing my time to its limits.

So World of Warcraft is just a game that I might maybe play within those five hours but a game that's more likely to be launched is Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls. Ever since I bought the necromancer dlc the game has become much more fun to me. I already played the game a lot before and I have every character to max level and I can do some pretty high torment levels on my barbarian but the necro has just reignited the fun switch for me. I typically don't play this game often either. I just log on, do a few rift runs, farm a bit, test out all the skills and abilities all the time, and that's everything I do for now. I've been trying to farm more set gear and increase my toon damage but as you know it's all just a grind. A fun grind, like doing a five-o down a handrail on a skateboard!

Playing just Heroes, Overwatch, and Diablo 3 can take up the entire five hours but sometimes I'll play other stuff other than those games. These are some more curve balls.

Honorable mention to Team Fortress 2. I love TF2. Honestly, its probably the best first person shooter game I've ever played. Everything about it is amazing and once I start playing its hard for me to stop, even though there's no real incentive to keep playing (like lootboxes) other than just for the love of the game. I've been meaning to play it more but sometimes Overwatch takes that fps game slot. I can't play both in the same day (or if I do I have to play tf2 a lot more) because too much fps gaming gets repetitive to me.

The next two are games that I don't really play competitively or anything, just for funzies. I started playing Starcraft 2 again but I'm so out of practice that I can barely remember the units (especially the new legacy of the void ones) or even the buildings that require other buildings to make units. Its all coming back to me now and I've even been playing zerg and protoss. The last time I played competitively (on the ladder) I only played terran.

And then there's Warcraft 3 Frozen Throne. This game is just so cool. It reminds me of Heroes of the Storm but much more difficult to play. I'm enjoying the steep learning curve this game has. I think I can learn to play pretty well if I just keep messing around with it here and there but it would take me a super long time before I could start wrecking people in 1v1's. For now I've just been practicing 4v4's. Its fun, casual, and I'm learning how the game mechanics work. I'm only about 12 years late on this one guys!

That would pretty much cover any given day with a five hour time slot. Sometimes I'll get an extra three hours late at night if my roommate is up  so in total I could possibly have eight hours in total. That's a lot of gaming time for any person but when you're passionate about games and you love the multiplayer experience its not like a job, its a chore of love.

I should also mention that when I'm playing most of the time I'm chatting with my friend Sean from Wisconsin on discord, my Warcraft guild, my friend Eric, and gaming friends that I met through my brother. They're all super chill people and talking to them makes the entire experience more meaningful.

Sometimes after these long sessions I feel like I was time hopping with Chromie! 

Overwatch competitive is in a bad place right now

Overwatch competitive is in a pretty bad spot right now. Players have reached the tipping point because of competitive mode. This season (season 5) placed players lower than their sr (skill rating, measurement number of how good you are) than previous seasons and its become a grind to go back to last season's sr and then to also exceed that and push to the next ranks. It's become incredibly difficult. Players have become more stubborn (one trick ponies, only want to play certain heroes, never switch off to counter enemy compositions). Not to mention the fact that players have become so incredibly toxic.

The most toxic thing that's happened to me is this one time I lost a match (in comp of course) and this guy yelled on the mic "you guys all fucking suck!". He was yelling at the top of his lungs so it was painful to the ears with my headset on. What a dick. Its fair to say that Overwatch is probably Blizzard's most toxic game. I can see why. Players just want to win. Every loss hurts them (my precious sr!) and winning is the only way to verify that they're "good".

Let's not forget the lower level ranks which are severely difficult to rank up through. At the bronze, silver, gold levels you have pretty much no control over anything but yourself. Players are insta-dps lockers and when you ask them to switch most of the time they'll just stay whatever hero they first picked. It's become infuriating as a support main myself. Its come to the point where I don't play too much competitive. In fact, the only Overwatch I've been playing is the ptr. I've been having a lot of fun playing Quick Play with Doomfist on the team. I'm still pretty much healing but only because nobody picks healers too often.

I've actually developed a new philosophy to the game when it comes to what heroes I should play. Next time I play comp I'm going to only pick heroes that are needed. So if somebody already picks a healer I'll go dps or tank. I've come to the conclusion that being a one trick pony isn't the most effective way to develop a good team. You gotta play what the team needs. I like players that wait until everybody has made their character choices and then says oh well I guess we need a tank and then picks one. Those are the players that are the best Overwatch players.

Anyways, because of the problems and toxicity in competitive Overwatch has gone to a boring, salty, and toxic halt. Until Doomfist comes out I don't see myself playing too much comp, if ever. I think the game is probably at its worst footing right now ever since launch. It could possibly even become a game that people stop playing because competitive just isn't fun anymore. Well, why not just play Quick Play you say? That wouldn't work because competitive is the only game mode where players actually try to use their heads and work together as a team. All the other modes are just filler for competitive in this game. Plus, Quick Play just isn't a fun game mode. Usually you only get one healer (if even that) and its all based on dps comps with maybe one tank (again, if even). Its super lame.

This all makes me super sad because I love the game dearly but I fear that if Blizzard doesn't do something the game might just disappear.

Just like Tracer blinking away....

Games I wish I could play (if I had a hyperbolic time chamber)

So I've been reading a lot about games and posting a lot of blog posts. I figured I'd do a post about games I wish I could play if I had more time. Or money. Most of these I'll never play because games are expensive and money is hard to come by these days. Time is also hard to find these days too. Let's start this thing.

So the first game I would love to play is Final Fantasy A Realm Reborn and its expansion Stormblood. I've heard so many great things about this game and I've been watching a lot of game play on YouTube ever since I read reviews about how great it was. Apparently A Realm Reborn is pretty grindy (takes a long time to hit max level) but once you do the expansion (Stormblood) is what makes the entire game great. What I like about it is the art style. It's very colourful and there's tons of spells, combos, and abilities going on. Kind of like World of Warcraft (which I've been playing) but I think FF14 has more of a combo button activation feel. Much more so than WoW. But yeah my favorite thing about the game is the fact that its a Final Fantasy game and it looks so fresh, bright, and colourful. I would love to try this game out but buying A Realm Reborn, Stormblood, and paying for the subscription fee ($14.99/month) just isn't within my earnings. Would love to try like a trial or something. Maybe that's a thing?

Next, I would really like to try out PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG). Its a massively multiplayer online battle royal game where you spawn in a server and immediately try to run around, survive, and kill enemy players. The idea of the game is pvp (with 100 players duking it out) with players going in by themselves or in small teams. The last player and/or teams alive wins. It's a modern era game with guns and stuff. Its currently the most popular game on Steam and its only in early access. Once the game is fully developed and launched it will become even better, and possibly even more popular. I've never played a game like this but I have been interested.

Next up is Epic Games' Fornite. The game launches later this month and its a Minecrafty tower defense game where you build forts and hold off waves of zombies with guns and such. You build forts, often at night and you try to survive. Anyone can see that its got a Left 4 Dead vibe with four hero characters surviving waves of zombies but I think this game is going to be much different than Left 4 Dead because it has a lot of other mechanics.

"It’s part Minecraft, in that you bust up trees and rocks with a pickaxe to build big fortresses out of big snappy pieces, and part tower defense in that zombies creatures make a beeline towards said base with the singular goal of destroying your creations. It’s also a third-person shooter with class-based co-op synergies and tons of loot—traps, weapons, heroes, and even NPC support characters. Fortnite is a lot of things. It’s too many things, really." (PC Gamer)

I'm interested in it if I ever had the chance. But with all the work I'm going to be doing its probably not going to happen unless some of my friends start playing it. It does sound interesting. Muy!

Then there's Destiny 2.  Anyone that knows anything about me will tell you that I'm a Blizzard fan. I am pretty excited about Destiny 2 coming out on the pc but I don't think I have the time for an mmo like that because I'm currently playing WoW. I actually played the original Destiny on Xbox 360 for a little while but I became bored because at the time the 360 was a dying console and was easily replaced by the Xbox One Destiny scene. I did think it was a great game. I just didn't stick with it because I don't like console games unless they're fighting games or single player rpgs (smash bros, mvc2, xenoblade, final fantasy vii, etc). I think Destiny 2 will be even bigger than the first one. Mainly because it will be on pc. Pc gamers are always looking for more shooters to play so an mmo fps will be like heaven to them.

Lastly, to keep this post short (because I could go all night) I'm gonna go ahead and say Hearthstone. I've been reading about the game here and there and its a pretty hip and happening game in the overall gaming community. I heard in the next expansion Blizzard's gonna make it so that every class in the game can turn into death knights. I'm a huge death knight fan (mained worgen death knight in WoW back in Cataclysm) so this is exciting news and it might just be the tipping point for me to actually start playing.

That's gonna do it for the games I wish I could play if I had more time. Time is of the essence. The thing is that other things need to get done (guitar playing, hang outs with friends, work) and there's only so much time in the day. Making effective use of my time is my primary directive at all times before work during the day. I even wake up earlier than I used to back in 2014, 2015, and 2016 because I realized I wouldn't get everything I needed done if I was sleeping in all the time. Sleep is good but getting things done is even better. 

 If only I had a hyperbolic time chamber!