Star Stable Online (SSO)

Okay, first of all, the abreviation (SSO) is really similar to SAO and it is very confusing. 

Now, what is Star Stable Online? Well, it's just the best horse game available. Sure, it is not free (only up to level 5), but I think the money you pay is well worth it. 

The game is a sort-of direct continuation of Starshine Legacy games. Those are kinda old and while not bad, story vise, the gameplay was not the best. 

After that there were Starstable for PC and I played those too. 

And then, several years after I stumbled on SSO. First, I didn't play it because I was discouraged by the paying, but then I got curious and decided to install it and if I like it, I would pay for the full version. So, I did install it. I played for a little while and then I went to see how to unlock the full version, the so called Star Rider status. Well, there was this offer back in February. For 15 days of Star Rider status only an insignifant amount of money so I went for it and then I decided that yes, the game is super cool and that I will pay for the lifetime membership, which in the end is cheaper. So long as you play for more than a year. Which I'm defeinitely planning to do.

So, how does it work? 

You create your account, for which you need an email or your facebook account. Which obviously needs email too.

Then, you download the client (previously you could play in your browser) and start it. You log in and let the thing download all the updates. Then you start the game and create your character. You get to pick from a bunch of looks that can be later on changed in-game. 

The bad thing is that you can only pick your name from predetermined selection. You can combine it anyway you like, but only so long that there isn't anyone else using the same combination. 

After that you customize your starter horse. But don't worry if you don't like him. If you're a starrider, you'll eventually have enough star money to buy the dream horse you want. After you customized the nag, you can pick it's name, it is the same principal as the character name.

Then, it's off to Moorland stable. 

There you will be walked through the basics, like driving your horse, parking it, caring for it and all that. 

For those of you who know the games I mentioned at the begining, this might be a bit boring, but when you get through it, the interesting quests will come. Some of them are weird, but most of them are really interesting. 

However, there are only limited amount of quests available to non Star Riders. As well as only two locations being available. That's why it's better to spend the money on being a Star Rider. You have the whole game unlocked and if you're high enough level, also all the so far available locations. There are some, that are not accesible yet, but I'm sure they will be soon. 

You will meet some of the characters from previous games, including Herman, Fripp aka the white squirrel and the Soul riders. Also, the bad guys will make their appearance. 

So be ready to sneak into their hideout and discover their neffarious plans and perhaps stop them before they can finish them.

What I think of the game? Well, apart from the fact that new quests are only added every Wednesday and not more often, I love it. Like, really love it. So far, it's the best online game I've played so far. Simply because I don't count some of the games as online games. But if you want to get technical, it's the best MMORPG I've ever played. 

I've managed to acumulate quite a number of horses and I'm still planning to buy more. Though I hope that by the time, they all reached their max level, the max level will be more than the current 15. Because seriously... 

I also hope that the new animations that are so far only on the American Quarter Horse will be implemented for all the horses soon. Can't wait to see my black Arab with this new anims. 

It will look great!

And if you didn't figure it by now, that black Arab is my prized horse. My bestest most favourite horse ever!

Okay. Now a bit of a question for you. 

Do you have experience with the game? If yes, do you like it? If no, are you going to try it? And most importantly, do you even like horses? Because if you don't then I would really like to know why you even bothered to read this. 

Oh, and if you know of any similar games, I would be delighted to know about them, so please share. :) Kay?

~AnnElfwind

Legend of Grimrock II

Long time no see! Right? 

Well, I'm back and I hope I will be able to post more often. I just didn't have much idea as to what to write. The only thing that has been updated recently, is my english stories site, that I believe has a link in the side menu. 

The site is actually linked to what I want to write about. I want to write about the game called Legend of Grimrock II. I had the first game for about two years now. The actuall game, not a pirated version. And then I read that a second installment will be released. That happened in October 2014. And I got it the same year for Christmas. 

Though, to be honest, I bought it earlier and just got the money for Christmas.

So I was playing the game, at that time, there were not enough mods, but I made due. I even started on the original game, though I don't like to play the original unles it has been transformed into a mod. So I'm hoping that Komag or someone will come through like Komag did with LoG 1's main map.

However, the character system has been revamped to almost perfection. Why almost? Well... They still have to add the choice of elven race to pick from. 

I mean, sure, I can just pick human and make my own portrait for them, but that's not elves...

On the other hand, it's now easier to play with only one character. Because regardless if you're a mage or a warrior, you have the same skillset. My recommendation for single cahracter playing is to pick a war mage or whatever it's called. 

Another thing, that has been ravamped, is the alchemy system. You no longer need flasks but on the other hand, you need to have at least one point in the alchemy skill in order to actually do alchemy. Also, if you have the correct ingredients, it let's you brew potions that permanently raise your strength, stamina, vitality and so on. In Legend of Grimrock 1, this was only possible through mods, for example the mod called Forbidden Halls, which is perfect and if you play Grimrock, I think you should give it a try. 

There were other things that were improved, an entire race was added and new portraits were made, which really doesn't concern me, as I play almost strictly with custom portraits. Especially now, that I figured out how to put them in Grimrock 2. In order to put custom portraits in Grimrock 2, you have to name them in a speciall way. The name of the portrait needs to be: race_gender_something.tga

If named in any other way, the portraits won't work. I think. 

Okay, I checked my own portraits folder for LoG2 and yes, this is correct. You have to name them in that way or it won't work. 

Fun fact: Most of the custom portraits I'm using, are male. I think there are only two females. Maybe, but that's a big maybe, there are three, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Well, changes or no changes, the game is amazing and if you're into RPG, fantasy or dungeon crawlers, you just have to try it. Be it the first one or the second one. I think that the second one is better actually, but there's one thing missing. Apart from the elven race, but there's not much that I can do about that.
However, there's a mod missing in the Log2. And that would be the Forbidden halls for LoG2, but since the creator of the Forbidden Halls is no longer active and probably decided to go and crawl into some hole or something, let's just say, that that will probably not be happening.
Oh well... I'll just have to find a mod that's even better than that.
Bye.
~AnnElfwind

Assassin's Creed

(Written on the 22nd of January, 2015)

I found something. And that something was my old copy of the Assassin's Creed II game. So, I made it to work, which took a while, but now it's working. And I have to say that thanks to ACII I stopped playing Grimrock. :D Oh well. Guess it would have happened at some point anyway. But, ACII is like the best out of all the AC games I played. Yes, I have yet to play Unity and I will not play IV, because the naval combat and the ships don't really interest me, but hey, ACII is the best. With Brotherhood being a close second. 

The reason I dislike AC Revelations is because it's too sad. And those of you who don't think the moment in Altair's library wasn't sad, are good-for-nothing brutes. The only excuse is if you haven't played it and therefore don't know what I'm talking about.

The only moment that might actually be able to rival this scene, is when Desmond dies, but as I stopped playing before that happened, I can't really tell. And I'm not planning on finishing ACIII anyway. It's just not the same when Altair and Ezio are no longer main characters. I mean, after Revelations, it's like those two no longer exist... And that's why I went back to playing as Ezio in ACII. 

I'd go for ACI, as that has Altair and I love the combat there, because counterkill works everytime, so long as you time it right. 

But my copy of ACI is in czech and somehow, I don't think it's the best language for these games. 

Which brings me to a question. Why the hell did I install ACI in czech in the first place?!

Well, at least my cousin's son Mates is happy about it. Heh, but he won't like me when he comes this saturday, as I uninstalled Batman Arkham city. 

Oh well. Not my fault. He can go and play something else. It's not like I have a shortage of games. 

Seeing as I even managed to get my Oblivion copy to work. And it still has my saved games, mainly Sepulchure. Which is the only one of the saves on which the game is actually finished. 

By the way, those of you who know Oblivion, did any of you play as vampires? Is it possible or will the sun always kill you? I'm thinking of trying it ans saving it on a separate slot, so as not to get it mixed with the finished save. So, do you think that it's worth it to become a vampire? 

And if I wear a black brotherhood robe, will that work as a defense in regards to the sun? 

Even though I have to admit that I hate playing with a helm of any kind on. 

I prefer it when the hair is visible. 

And now, I believe we are way of topic. Because this started as a post about AC and not Oblivion... 

Oh, and Skyrim lovers out there, was it good? Should I consider installing it back? 

And now we're even more of topic...

Anyway! I think I'm gonna go back to playing AC or soemthing. I mean, I have that black armor of Altair and relatively early in the game. So now I can focus on all the side quests and raising Monteriggioni's value. It's gonna be fun. 

Bye!

Been a while, huh?

(Written on 28. 11. 2014)

So, it seems like I haven't written anything for a while. I mean sure, just recently I posted a bunch of things, but they were written in september... So I decided to write something more. Like, I don't really know what, but I did see a bunch of movies. Like the... Oh yes! The Judge with Robert Downey Jr. and what was the other one? ...

O ja! The Interstellar. It was one of teh few sci-fy I can actually see. It was nice and I liked the whole idea of interconnected timelines. I love when timelines are connected or when there's time travel to the past when it is actually relevant, like... I don't know, for example how it was in HP 3 or even in X-men: Days of Future past. And then there is this one book where it really is interconnected like to the point that you have to directly interact with your past's self. Okay, the english original is called Circle of Magic: Danger in the Palace. And this is book five out of six. I have them all and I've read them all, but this fifth one will always be my favourite. 

And seriously, if you get your hand on it, read it. It's worth it. I mean sure, it's just this little book, but I like it. 

As for the main reason that I haven't been writing, well, I have a lot of schoolwork to do and I have been reading a lot of stories and also playing Grimrock. Yes, I know - shocker. But well, it's like the best game invented! And I just can't wait to get my hands on Grimrock 2. From what I've been told, it's awesome! 

I've also been writing stories. Lately, I've been a lot into fanfiction and been writing it a lot. Mainly Grimrock fanfiction, but I'm also a big fan of crossovers and so some of my Grimrock stories are crossed with for example Harry Potter or something. But it's not just Grimrock I write, I also write HP crossovers. And lately, I've been thinking about writing an Avengers go into Grimrock story, but I have yet to figure out how to do it so that they end in there. I mean, I could just have Loki magick them there with a botched spellwork, but the thing is it would be a shame if Loki wasn't there as well. And while a botched spellwork could do it, it's not enough. So I will probably have to figure out something better. 

Hopefully, my mind will supply me with something soon. 

Because, recently, I figured how to make Grimrock portraits and therefore my custom characters with my own portraits and not with just what I download. So... I googled a lot and found a cute chibi avengers Picture so I disected it to the right sizes and created first and foremost Loki, then Tony, Hawkeye and Thor and as an afterthought a portrait of Hulk. Though I'm not playing with him just yet. So far, I'm playing with the other four. And more or less without cheating. The one thing I did though was to add some extra traits. Like headhunter for example and of course, thunderstruck.

Heh. Maybe I will go and listen to some AC/DC.

So bye.

~AnnElfwind

Maze Runner

(Written on 27. 9. 2014)

I love Marvel, I love Marvel Cinematic universe, but I also love fantasy and dystopian movies. And this time, I was in luck. Yesterday, I went to the cinema with my mother to see the Maze Runner movie. And it was awesome! A band of boys and one girl trapped in this gigantic maze swarming with "greavers". Amazing. And with no idea why they're there and no idea how to get out. That is, until the newbie boy manages to kill one of the greavers and they find they are at least part machines and také one of the parts with them.

The boy (Thomas) then goes exploring again, with another guy - Minho and they find a section of the maze, they haven't found before. And they start thinking that there might be a way out after all. 

But one of the other guys doesn't want to get out of there, he says that this is their home now. Well, let's just say, that their area suddenly openes all of the gates and the greavers start pouring in. After that, the group splits in two, one part stays and the other one, they decide to try and find a way out. They manage, but loose a few of their own. After that, some questions are answered, but many more arise and the kids are herded into a chopper and fly somwhere who knows where, which will probably be in the next movie. 

And I can't wait for it.

My mother doesn't agree with all the unanswered questions, but I think it makes it interesting. Like, a lot of speculations between the people who didn't read the books and probably even between the ones who read them. I myself am actually thinking about reading the second book, because, hey! I want to know what happenes next! The movie was amazing! And it also has huge potential for fanfiction. Well, so far there are only a few right now, but I'm hoping there will be more with time. 

Well, that's probably it for now. 

See ya next time.

~AnnElfwind

Writing 101 - Day Seven: Give and Take

(Written on 18. 9. 2014 for Dailypost's Writing 101)

This time, it's to write about a contrast between two things. And you know? The first thing that came to my mind was to write about darkness and light and somehow incorporate my usual rant about darkness being the same as evil and light being good, because you know, that's a total bulshit. Yeah, sure, Light and darkness are opposites and all that, that's true. They are balanced and one can't really exist without the other, but they are vastly different. With darkness is usually associated destruction and chaos. While that may be, I like to think that there can be other things to darkness. And as for light, usually healing is a part of light and also anything white. 

Well, on the other hand, what if there is no light and darkness, just shades of gray that sometimes can seem white and sometimes gray? 

And as for the comparsion of light and darkness to good and evil, I hate when people do that, because I'm of the opinion that light and darkness are just elements. Two of the seven primary elements. Yes, now you're going to argue with me that there are only four, but hey! I can bend the rules, that's why it's called fantasy! Anyone can do anything they want with it. It's not facts! So, for me, the seven primary elements are light, darkness, fire, water, earth wind and lightning. Because you just cannot forget lightning. 

And I feel like I've written something like this before. And several times...

With that said, I'll end this post and see you with the next one.

~AnnElfwind

Writing 101 - Day Five: Be Brief

(Written on 18. 9. 2014 for Dailypost's Writing 101)

So I find a letter... What's in it? Probably a conspiration theroy of some kind. I love those. and if I were to find a letter I would hope it would be some kind of a prediction of DOOM. As for returning it to the person adressed to, yeah, sure, I would, but only if they let me join in the conspiration theory! I want in!

So I would look and see who it's adressed to and I would go there and I would threaten them to turn the letter to the police or burn it (it probably contains something of importance the theorist's don't want to lose) if they didn't let me join in on the fun.

How's that? 

What would be in your letter and what would you do with it?

~AnnElfwind

PS. Holy shit! This was written like... three months ago!