For the entire weekend, Philippine cyberspace and mobilespace have both been working overtime: people are updating with weather reports, news on relief and donation drives, locations of people who still need help, and admonitions of more bad weather possibly coming in.
In an attempt to weave together the many tales of help-wanted and we're-ready-to-assist, Google has put together a page expressly for Typhoon Ondoy (international name Ketsana): how to help, where to go, rescue operations, news and information, the works. Most of the information in this post therefore comes from that page, located at http://www.google.com/landing/typhoon-ondoy.html.
First off, an Ondoy situation map for Metro Manila, a volunteer-driven map plotting flood updates and persons who might still be in need of rescuing.
It's useful to note here that friends and fandom idols have even chimed in with calls for help and assistance. Neil Gaiman has already both tweeted and blogged on the subject - see this blog post: Bet you thought I was... oh hang on, I used that one already. Thank you, sir, for thinking of us even when you're recovering from the stresses of your trip and film shoot.
Important note and something else to prepare for: several news sites have broadcast the word that there may be more bad weather in store for the Philippines. Be prepared for that, too, and keep helping those who are still recovering from this one.
1. Typhoon Ondoy has made a fucking shambles out of my home city and all its adjacent areas. Areas that had not been flooded before were inundated. Even starlets and celebrities had to ask for help from the roofs of their homes, and presidential aspirants are falling all over themselves to gather donations and help.
2. My SO and I are safe, as are my family. The SO and I had arranged to meet yesterday in a mall for food and a spot of shopping, I made it to his side - good move. Had we not gotten together, in all likelihood he would have been stuck at his office and I at our flat - with no way to meet. We checked in at an inn - were thankful for the tiny room - and came home this afternoon. Luckily our location was not too affected by the deluge.
3. PLEASE HELP AND GIVE WHAT YOU CAN. Here's a start: Send Red Cross donations through SMS by texting RED[space]AMOUNT (5, 25, 50, 100 or 300) to 2899 (Globe) or 4483 (Smart).
4. Before coming home, we completed the shopping - we bought clothes and books and bread. Bare necessities.
5. Tomorrow I will turn 27. I will likely spend the day attempting to do my civic duty - I plan to change my polling precinct for the elections, and then donate money for the victims of the typhoon. See item 3 above.
6. I saw a lovely Stitch doll at a local store and am thinking of mailing it to my idol Takako-san. Now I wonder, how much is shipping to Japan and how do I find the exact mailing address for the Wao Enterprise?
7. I am praying for you and for your family and loved ones. Give them a hug and tell them they are important to you. All is as nothing - a deluge, rising floodwaters, political situation down the crapper. Be good and love each other.
The picture is a screengrab from an Atlantica Online mini-site that discusses the details of the new patch, Van Gogh's Gallery. In the photo: the first mercenary capable of using the Instrument weapon class, Paganini the Minstrel. Details below.
I guess I should be glad I'd finished lunch before checking out the details for the latest patch to the MMORPG Atlantica Online, "Van Gogh's Gallery" - I might've done multiple spit takes at my PC otherwise.
In keeping with its long-standing tradition of references to the history and culture of the real world, the latest content update will now allow players to explore the world of that master painter, Vincent Van Gogh.
The developers really took the idea of Van Gogh to heart with this patch: the background of the mini-site is recognizably one of that artist's most famous works, The Starry Night.
Lots of new features come with this patch, and the important ones include the raising of the level cap (from 120 to 130), a new set of armor and weapons for the level 130 set (Dragon God Equipment), new dungeons, and more.
Funny how they gave Paganini a bit of a sex change, eh? The real Paganini, the celebrated Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer Niccolò, is remembered for being one of the most accomplished violin virtuosi, as well as for his technically challenging and imaginative compositions.
The AO version is a sexy young woman with a penchant for leather and a long blonde ponytail, and is the NPC who starts you off on the quest to recruit the Minstrel. It rather puts me in mind of a funny picture: the developers playing a lot of Guitar Hero / Rock Band while conceptualizing the new merc.
A few caveats: - The patching better be an uneventful and easily-done deal. I don't want to be staying up at all hours of the night and babysitting the home PC just to make sure it all loads properly. Patching DONE. Silly me, I forgot that I'd been preloading the patch while playing all day yesterday, so I only had to complete the actual patching process. Hit a few glitches on the way, but there were helpful threads in the forums, so that got sorted out nicely. - No more bugs in the code that cause the game to crash, PLEASE. We've had periodic problems with that since the August Hwarang patch; things were really bad in the first few weeks since lots of people were reporting game crashes. Turns out it was something in the code that caused memory leaks. I hope there are none of those this time. UPDATE: Jury's still out on this one. We'll see in a day or two.
We've already had a cake post in this series, but here is another one, and an interesting story to go with.
A couple of weeks ago my brother and his girlfriend planed in from Singapore for a quick break. Realizing that here was our only chance to actually get things done, my mom immediately set out to organize a birthday party for a lot of people.
This requires an explanation.
My parents: mother's birthday in June, father's in September My siblings and me: my birthday is in September, brother's in November, sister's likewise in September The significant others: my partner's birthday is in October, as is that of my brother's partner
See a pattern here? My mom was actually planning an advanced birthday party for everyone else in the family.
As previously mentioned elsewhere in this blog, no birthday is ever really complete without cake. On the day of the party, which we had at a great seafood place in TriNoma, my partner brought THIS to the shebang:
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the crown jewel of local desserts. It's called Mango Bravo and it's made by a great place called Conti's Pastry Shop and Restaurant. See how it dwarfs even the nearby tumbler of iced tea? This is really a cake of ginormous proportions, and the perfect thing to take along to a shindig.
As pretty as it already is, it really has to be eaten to be appreciated. This cake is famous for its wonderful mix of flavors. Lurking beneath the rich icing are fabulous layers of both a nougat-like torte and butter cake, seasoned lavishly with whole nuts and cubes of ripe mango. This is a cake to remember, and it is one of the marquee brands in cakes in the country - people queue up to buy it, and/or take pains to order well in advance so that they can secure it for their celebrations.
It makes a GREAT birthday cake. I had two slices out of this one. A lovely dessert and one that everyone should really try.
Going into Cosplay Mania 2009 I promised myself I'd come home with something: toys, clothes, or otherwise some sort of knick-knack to remind me of the event. You see, my birthday's on 28 September; I thought that I might as well treat myself to something at the con since there was likely to be something there that would catch my eye.
I arrived very early at the venue, early enough to watch several of the retailers set up their booths and look over what everyone had for sale. After purchasing a few cute keychains I got very, very lucky: of the booths there selling Figma and Nendoroids there was one that was selling the nekomimi Nendoroid version of Izumi Konata from Lucky Star. Luckily for me, the price of PHP550 (JPY1039, USD11.41) was right.
My very first Nendoroid Puchi GET. Here I've partly unboxed her at home. Eventually I'll start traveling around with her, show her my office and everything....
Edited to add: Have just found out that my Nendoroid Konata is a bootleg version. Oh well. I guess it will take me quite a while to find a real one yet.
I was already in seventh heaven following the acquisition of Konata, but it seemed that fate had a couple more treats in store for me. Several stalls were selling all manner of stuffed toys, both anime-related and not. One had several bins open in a corner and after a quick rummage, I found not one but two purely cute Totoro plushies:
My food is here and Blue Totoro wants to dig in!
Gray Totoro joins me at dinner, after Cosplay Mania 2009. Spoon provided for perspective.
And now I am the proud owner of two lovely plush Totoro toys! Total cost, an unbelievably cheap PHP110 (JPY208, USD2.28)!
Happy birthday to myself! I promise to look after all three very well.....
Cosplay Mania 2009 13 September 2009 Megatrade Halls 2 & 3 + Function Rooms, SM Megamall
So, yes, I was there: Cosplay Mania 2009, one of the biggest cosplay-oriented gatherings we have here in the Philippines. This year, they made the most of a greatly expanded function area (the previous event took up one convention hall; now they occupied two, and used both function rooms besides) to bring in a ton of booths. Many of the merchants catered to dress-up types (wigs, accessories, a few actual clothes sellers), and others sold typical con merch (figures, anime, manga, stuffed toys, etc.).
A few of my favorite photos from the day. Top row, left to right: three famous cosplay costumes. The Gundam Girl and the Zaku Girl were made by the same guy, while the Saitou Hajime outfit was made famous at the first con in the Philippines. Second row: a guy in "The Box" from the Metal Gear games, a great crowd favorite. Too bad he didn't do the catwalk. There's also a pic of six members of the Philippine Outpost of the 501st Legion of Stormtroopers. Third row: another hit with the crowd was this adorable little guy in his full Son Gohan outfit. He did the catwalk to the huge squee of the crowds. He, the Moogle/Tonde Buurin (Super Boink) pair, and the Bruce Lee cosplayer were part of the huge blast-from-the-past air at the con. Fourth row: Musashi and Koujirou (Jesse and James) of Team Rocket, blasting in at the speed of light; and a guy in a full Space Marine kit, from the upcoming Starcraft 2.
As mentioned above, there were quite a few old-school anime titles represented at the event: from Sailor Moon to Rurouni Kenshin; as well as games for the PC (Final Fantasy VIII and X-2) and MMORPGs (Granado Espada).
Multiple Vocaloids and Axis Powers Hetalia groups showed up, and there was one large group of students/classmates/friends who had apparently been assigned various national costumes to wear to the event.
I stuck around to see various bands perform (there was one band that did a K-On! set, and one that performed a rock version of the Imperial March), and then for the entirety of the cosplay catwalk events. There was a group event and an individual event; I'll post the winners soon.
You can check out my other photos HERE. Please be kind when you repost the pictures: put in a credit link back to the blog.
Edited to add: Finally I've managed to upload this video somewhere and play it properly. During the con, there was a special comedy skit that went onstage just before the group and individual cosplay catwalks. It was a dance-off between the New Worlds Alliance's resident comedy/dance group, the Stormballs, and a group of challengers who called themselves the Yagbols.
I managed to capture the last part of the skit on my camera, and here it is. Warning, this is slightly NSFW - most of the people onstage at this time are down to their skivvies.
Please swallow anything you're eating or drinking before you press Play.
[Up next: the loot from the event. Yes, there is loot. I saved my money up deliberately for the event, because there were some things I really wanted to buy.]
We've been having some nasty stormy weather here: buckets of rain in fierce downpours, thunder and lightning and the occasional bout of flooded streets. With a storm just leaving and another one coming in, it looks like it's going to continue for another few days or so.
So what happens when it's frightful out and you have to contend with cold and *wet* weather creeping down the back of your neck? The answer for me and my boyfriend is to go out and endure the storm anyway, so we can eat a lovely, filling, comforting meal at one of our favorite restaurants.
After the first time eating at a chain of fast-casual Chinese outlets called Flavours of China, we've found ourselves going back again and again. The restaurant proudly declares that its food, which is mostly Cantonese with some Szechuan dishes thrown in, is "healthy": no MSG, no trans fats, and all-fresh ingredients only.
We've eaten our way through most of the menu at Flavours, but this Meal in the City post is dedicated to two of our favorites there: Seafood Fried Rice, and Nido Soup.
On the left, a huge mound of Seafood Fried Rice; on the right, a steaming tureen of Nido Soup. That's my boyfriend's apple juice in the center; the red straw means he gets free refills.
Flavours's signature Seafood Fried Rice contains scallops, shrimp, asparagus, and fish roe; the Nido Soup is their take on the famous bird's nest dish, plus fried bacon crumbled over the top. Each dish is already superb on its own, but in this combination, it's a winning tandem of comforting flavors.
One of the reasons why we always come back to Flavours of China is because they have such lavish servings for reasonable prices. The rice and the soup can feed two very hungry people, as we were when the picture was taken, or three average appetites. (In our defense, this was brunch.)
The nice thing about Flavours of China is that they've done their best to be located in areas where lots of people will be able to see them and try them out. So far, we've been to three of their outlets and the food has been great every time. They've become one of our usual options when it comes time to answer that perennial question, "Where are we going to eat?"
Great value for money paired with wonderful cooking. Try this place out.
After much buildup and massive amounts of work, it's done and online!
Presenting: GE.Nobody, Darrick/Mr. NG's machinima version of the popular Wonder Girls ditty - as performed by the five stock character classes of the MMORPG Granado Espada!
If you ever wanted to know what the original Korean lyrics meant, then you can find out right here. The director threw in subtitles for the entire song. And watch out for the gorgeous costuming and fantastic dance effects!
Enjoy the song and marvel at the hard work and dedication of its creator.
(Yes, that's me in the credits. I was among the cheerleaders for this project. :) )
SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES One amusing set of similarities between GE and AO lies in their settings. GE is located in an alternate-universe version of our own reality: the Old World features countries named Oporto, Vespanola, Correa, and Katai, while the New World boasts of locations named the Bahamar Swamplands.
(Oporto = Portugal; Vespanola = Spain, Correa = South Korea, Katai = China; the Bahamar Swamplands are an allusion to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and its tropical setting.)
On the other side of the coin, AO is set in a fantasy version of the Northern Hemisphere: towns include locations such as Manila, Saint Petersburg, and Chicago, while dungeons are set in wonders of the world and locations of interest such as the Taj Mahal, the Valley of the Kings, and the fabled pirate-infested coves of the Caribbean Sea.
Since both games have heavy graphics and AI loads they both require better computers and Internet connections. Additionally, GE's soundtrack works best piped through good speakers, in order to showcase the quality of the music. Other game bloggers have recommended going better than the recommended computer specifications given for both titles to maximize performance, making for a better playing experience.
Comments on both GE and AO from Filipino players attribute a kind of "learning curve" to the two titles. For one thing, the entire idea of the one-player-multiple-characters concept is like nothing else encountered in other locally-released MMO titles; the exceptions being those who had previously been exposed to Final Fantasy, its successors, and/or Tactics-type titles.
Titles of this sort call on players to have certain skills in strategy, long-term thinking, tactics and decision-making. It's best to make plans right at the outset: what makes a good family/formation at the newbie stages? What changes are required in order to survive in the endgame? On creating an account in either GE or AO, one must already be thinking about everything from starting equipment to working within the in-game economy to making plans for which extra characters to recruit and the order of recruitment, and all the way until the level cap is reached. And then what does one do when one reaches that cap?
Were that it were possible for more people to try new experiences even in online gaming. And for now, barring the continued progression of the genre as a whole and new advances in gameplay, GE and AO stand on the cutting edge, offering whole new levels of gaming experiences to casual and dedicated gamers alike. Both games come highly recommended and serve as groundbreaking titles.
***
These blog posts are dedicated to several friends and fellow gamers, and particularly to Mistress Hrin. Inspired by the musings of the MMOtaku.
Images in order from top to bottom. Top, a high-level female axe warrior in armor; second, the same character wearing a Jiangshi Outfit; third, mounts allow characters to travel more quickly and can be traded on the in-game market; fourth, encounter with an enemy mob; fifth, the first turn of combat; sixth, resting on the map and showing the UI.
PATH TO ATLANTIS: ATLANTICA ONLINE In creating AO, nDOORS followed a different path. A player took control of a main character, and saw only that character while moving through the world maps. However, that main character could recruit mercenaries to assist him/her in combat situations. Progression through the game will eventually require one player to control a full team of nine characters: one main character plus eight mercenaries.
A notable addition to AO's complexity is its reliance on instance-reliant, turn-based strategic/tactical gameplay. Enemy groups are transported into an instance to battle; battle proceeds as per the classic rules of turn-based combat, where the enemy groups move in turn and alternate until one side is defeated.
Both enemy groups can use items or abilities to summon up to two more allied groups; this means that some battles are large-scale productions of 27 vs 27 (3 players and 24 mercenaries versus 27 enemy monsters in Player vs Environment, or another group of 3 players and 24 mercenaries in Player vs Player).
As with GE, many of the mercenaries in AO can be recruited as the storyline progresses, with their recruitment quests helping to advance the plot.
Both GE and AO have earned awards at home and abroad for their innovative take on online gaming and for their rich gameplay experiences. New titles employing the one-player-multiple-characters strategy have been announced to follow in their footsteps, including the recently-revealed Fantasy Zhu Xian from Perfect World Co. Ltd.
Now let's zoom in on what makes these sorts of MMORPGs click.
Images in order from top to bottom. Top, a novice Granado Espada family of Scout, Musketeer, and Fighter outside a town; second, a mid-level team of Scout, Fighter, and Wizard in a dungeon; third, a squad (group of families) in combat against enemy mobs; bottom, another squad fighting a raid boss.
ENTER A NEW WORLD: GRANADO ESPADA Designed by Kim Hakkyu, Granado Espada (known in North America as Sword of the New World) invited players to explore an alternate-universe reality, with a backstory mirroring the real Age of Exploration (15th to 19th centuries) and countries with similar names to actual nations. Players were invited to set sail from an Old World toward a New, forming "pioneer families" and conquering new lands.
The genius of the concept lay in the emphasis on the pioneer family. To bring that experience to life, the game was designed so that a single player could control up to three characters at once. Unique gameplay features made it possible for a player to either micromanage each of the three characters, or take control of one primary character while the other two followed AI commands.
In addition to making it possible for a single player to control a three-man basic adventuring party, GE also took a cue from the Final Fantasy titles, and allowed the recruiting of additional characters encountered throughout the storyline. Thus, the range of characters available for use expanded from the game's five stock classes to a wide range of other characters, each with his or her own specializations.
With GE already pioneering the MMORPG field in terms of one-player-multiple-characters gameplay, it was only a matter of time before other companies followed its lead. In 2007, another Korean gaming developer, nDOORS Corporation, took up the challenge, putting together the concept of its flagship title, the fantasy MMORPG Atlantica Online.
Top image: a "periodic table" of Final Fantasy characters; bottom image: World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King login screen.
INTRODUCTION In general, most video games are easy to understand in terms of the relationship between the player and the character: one player controls one character. The player either completely micromanages the character, or calls on the game's AI to help automate certain types of behavior.
But talk about Role-Playing Games, and the idea of the party becomes a necessity. Travel alone, and face instant death; join an adventuring group, and gain an increased chance of surviving. The early RPG video games made use of certain boosts and AI-controlled allied characters or summons in order to aid the player and the character, but fell short of allowing the player control of an actual party.
And then along came a little something called Final Fantasy. For many video game enthusiasts, the idea of being one player controlling a party of characters was influential and revolutionary, increasing the fun factor, replay value, and mental flexibility of games and players alike. The Japanese have since gone on to enshrine the concept among their plethora of video game tropes, and the West has followed suit (see: Bioware).
The same progression may now be underway in that group of video games known as Massively Multiplayer Online Games - and in particular, the large segment of those titles that are RPGs.
Pioneering MMO worlds such as those of Ultima Online and Everquest operated within the one-player-one-character paradigm, and also allowed players to join together in groups: parties, guilds, alliances, nations. Following in their footsteps: World of Warcraft. and many, many others. Some MMORPGs even take the progression of group size to its logical limit, allowing entire servers to unite against global threats.
In 2006, the progression took a step futher, with the introduction of a Korean title that was eventually ported throughout the globe: IMC Games Co., Ltd.'s fantasy MMORPG Granado Espada.
