T w e n t y S i d e d

I played several hours in Lord of the Rings Online this past week, and learned *something else* new. The game has had a 64-bit client for several years. *BUT* apparently they only made 64-bit *servers* available like, last month. Standing Stone started encouraging everyone to transfer to the new servers; they even offered a free server transfer. (If you don’t play MMORPGs regularly, this is one of the standard purchases that every MMO with more than one server offers. It’s one of the reliable money-makers. Because people want to play with their current friend group or active guild, you know.) I find it very interesting that the new servers give a pretty accurate measurement of the current population. I mean, other than what the developer claims, which may or may not be accurate. LOTRO has been considered a decently-populated game for an older legacy MMO, operating dozens of servers as recently as only a year or so ago. Under the 64-bit schema, SS is offering one RP server (role-playing), one non-RP server, and one “Legendary” server (I don’t know anything about those) in North America and Europe, for a total of six servers. This actually puts LOTRO on par with Star Wars The Old Republic which has six servers as well, although they aren’t divided by role. Since transferring to the new server, I have in fact noticed much-improved performance and the occasional improved texture. I assume there are other improvements I have not noticed.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “A Week of Various Updates and Upgrades”

Paige Francis He/him

Remember the last time I said I was done with Lord of the Ring Online for good? I think it was in January. Just a few months ago. I had even mentioned THEN that I had previously become so disillusioned with the game I had tried to delete my Standing Stone (the publisher) account. Well, funny thing. As has happened multiple times before, I started missing certain things. On top of that, the problem with performance should surely be addressable. While I have no doubt playing on Linux introduces certain problems, I keep seeing people mention (and I remember from troubleshooting last time) the poor performance is *not* limited to Linux players; Windows players have the exact same problems. On top of that, most of those problems seem to have only presented themselves in the last year or so. One problem I have I know is because of Linux: I have the game installed on a separate SATA mechanical hard drive. Uh, formatted in ext4 if I remember correctly. Program access in that situation is known to be relatively slow, and how Linux caches disk writes and reads means you can tie this process in knots if you’re not careful. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The bottom line is that a few days ago I re-installed LOTRO *again* and started playing with a set of of criteria…that *seems* to be working this time. And one particular change to the graphics that has helped immensely.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Insanity: I’m playing LOTRO AGAIN”

Paige Francis He/him

I made it half-way through the current Galactic Season in Star Wars The Old Republic this week. I was thinking it’s only been a month since it started, but after checking some dates it’s actually been…about six weeks. Pretty sure I’m on track to finish Season 8 in about the same time as Season 7. I *have* been a bit lucky having at least two weeks in the last three giving enough objectives that I can do with pick-up groups or alone to finish the weekly objective counter. There is one short daily that is the same every time: get 25,000 Conquest Points (simple). The weekly list is seven items, of which I can usually do five without taking extra steps. This past week had four World Bosses. The lowest level-bosses can be two-personed, and some claim they have or at least seen someone solo them. I’ve been part of groups of four and six that beat these World Bosses with no particular problem; so while *I* probably couldn’t do with less I’m sure it’s possible. Since I typically don’t group and I’m not a member of a guild, I usually just camp the World Boss until another group shows up and then I join in. Occasionally enough players playing solo arrive over time to enable taking out a world boss. (I have rarely tried objectives that are PvP-adjacant, and this method can work, too. Like attacking the guards of the enemy faction’s base, etc.)

I have also, for the record, just about had it with my nearest Sonic (the fast food drive-in, just to be clear). I don’t know if they all get ingredients from the same source; some franchises have more control over this then others. But our nearest, local one changed all their chicken products for cheaper, lower-quality options a couple of years ago. This took them from the “decent” realm of fast-food chicken strips and patties to the “yucky” tier. They started implementing their “Smash” burgers several months ago, which I find inferior to their previous burgers. Their “Groovy” fries are of lower quality than the previous offering. And the other night I ordered one of their “toaster” burgers and was thoroughly unimpressed with the tastelessness. I just don’t see a point to eating there any more. Half the ordering screens are damaged and/or removed. I was made aware that someone “somehow” rammed into the side of the building recently, as there is a new hole about pickup-bumper height (makes sense for this region). I somehow doubt it was an accident.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Final Fantasy 1 (part 008) – Earth Crystal and What’s Next”

Paige Francis He/him