Movies: Big Dreams Little Tokyo

Might be a good movie to watch, really funny trailer. Would want to see it sometime this week, but I guess I have to postpone that due to a busy tight schedule. Well, wanted to share this to you all, since most comedy movies are a great way to take away stress.

Angry Valkyrie Player Parody

Yup, been surfing youtube again and this time I've found one hilarious clip that has been famous from the very start when Valkyrie had login problems. Someone shared the infamous original Angry German Kid clip and that brought some laughs and took out some stress from logging into Valkyrie.

Now with a new version, this is probably one probable sight to see in an internet shop, if that player is really a mad man addict to Ragnarok Online.

Road to 99™: Tetsuo Shima, Lord Knight 99

I've finally done it. A shinning Lord Knight! Thanks to the 2 week 3x exp mod bonanza then followed by a whooping 5x exp mod, who wouldn't want to take advantage of the opportunity to reach that highest goal a Ragnarok player would want to have?

A pat on the back, I would like to claim my rightful spot back into the Ragnarok Legends, Tetsuo Shima, Lord Knight 99.

Now, would that mean I would stop playing Ragnarok? No. There's my second project and it's named, Project Serenity. I should have downloaded a desktop recorder software but took the time to power level my way into the hall of fame. Oh well, probably next time.

Forgive me for my randomness, I lack sleep for at least a week now and hopefully I'll regain my normal self after a good night's rest. Good night Midguard, may there be more exp mods to come. /gg

Signature @ Britain's Got Talent

I was surfing youtube, as usual, and found a great segment on a dance duo named Signature. These two are extremely good dancers with one of them a carbon copy of Michael Jackson. Here's two clips of their acts, the first one is their audition and the last one is the semi-finals portion.

The reason why I liked their act, it's because they've done a twist with MJ's songs with their own native music, which reminds me of my high school life where my friends danced to the beat of Indian music. Enjoy.

Nameless Experience in pRO

A huge experience mod given for a week when the Nameless Island, a whooping 5x. Now that's what we call an exp mod. But wait, it would be much higher if you combine it with the Odin Premium Service and a bunch of Field Manuals to your leveling greed. Too bad the hypermart sale for Field Manual Boxes was last week, didn't even get the chance to buy some. Oh well, I'll share some experiences for the newest patch in pRO, Nameless.

We've all seen the WOE 2.0. Ten new castles, five each in both juno and rachel. One big map to lessen the burden of the loading screen yet very hard to overcome by a soloist breaker due to the three barricades, two guardian stones, and a bunch of very difficult to escape agit guardians, add to that some guild defenders. Might as well be on the defending part there rather than be on the offense with little chance of breaking that agit due to lag and sometimes disturbing disconnections. More info about WOE 2 HERE

Moving on to the features of Nameless. Some people have reported a bug in the Nameless Island Quest, others died due to lack of support in defeating a particular monster required for the quest. Others just did the quest partially and later on, found that they couldn't continue on to finish the quest along with other friends. Now this is somewhat alarming but I think LU did put a temporary portal in the map for others to access the Nameless Island to finish the quest. Or was that announcement another bugged incident. Not sure but I do hope that it would be fixed sooner or later.

Mercenaries. Who wouldn't want one of these three cute recruits to follow you around and level with them at your control. That's right, you can control where they walk, what they attack, and can also use skills that is available for each mercenaries. I kinda liked the archer mercenaries more than the lancer and fencer. Probably because I'm a Lord Knight and it would be quite redundant to have a fellow spear/sword mercenary following you around. More info about mercenaries HERE

Anyways, the week is almost gone, Wednesday is the scheduled weekly server maintenance for pRO. I hope to have a high level character soon. Hopefully, this is probably the last time I'd ever ask someone else, "Will there be an exp mod this coming week?" ^_^

pRO Valhalla meets inRO

A sudden announcement made by LU India, inRO will be merged with pRO. As the news spread, another shocking announcement was shown to the public. inRO would be merged in pRO Valhalla.

~*~

As a pioneer in India and braving its challenges, Level Up! is committed to providing a good gaming experience to all, and sometimes we need to take some difficult choices to ensure that the quality of experience does not suffer.

In keeping with this we are going to merge our India Ragnarok players with the Philippine Ragnarok server so that our players have a bigger community, and more advanced updates compared to the one available right now.

Effective 20th May 08, Level Up will be start the activities for the migration of inRO players to pRO server, during which time the inRO game services will not be available.

We are still finalizing the nitty gritties of the merger process and will announce the full details in the coming days but overall:

Players can look forward to tons of new game features like

- New jobs like Taekwon Kid, Taekwon Master, Ninjas & more
- New features like Auction System, Mailbox
- all new War of Emperium SE
- and load of new monsters, items & quests

- A new start with the ‘Nameless’ Episode

We will also be moving our message boards to ragnaboards.levelupgames.ph … we look forward to seeing you online in pRO!

When does the server migration start?
The server migration starts from 10:30 am India Time on 20th May 2008.

Which server will the inRO players be shifted to?
The inRO players will be shifted to the Free2Play Valhalla server.

Source Link

~*~

Looking at the move that they had made, I was wondering of why was inRO aware of it and the pRO population was left in shock with the news. Yes, it did shock me at first but then again, more people playing in the server, the merrier, I hope.

Going back, why didn't LU Philippines make an announcement of it where the pRO players got the news from a inRO player in Ragnaboards PH? Is there something LU PH wants to hide or did LU India advanced too much with the announcement that it left players of both countries in shock and much anticipation? But researching for more news about the merge, I found an article that could answer my question.

~*~

We have learned from a very reliable source that the negotiations for the merger are still not final. The necessary contracts have not been signed and inRO’s initiative to post the details in their website have jumped the gun. Our source has confirmed that if there WILL be a merger it will be a long long way away. This will explain why Level Up! Philippines still has not made any announcements regarding the matter.

Source Link

~*~


So the question is, when will the merge begin and how will inRO players cope up with such advancements in Ragnarok Episodes (they are currently on Lighthalzen episode while pRO is in for the Nameless Episode) and how would pRO players cope with the overwhelming equipment, items, and zenny from inRO players, and even include the Godly items.

Probably an imbalanced economy at the beginning but after that, things may stabilize and surely prices will then become a norm to all.

Here's what my other fears for the merge would be. Racial discrimination and cultural shock. Racial discrimination cannot be prevented, since these are two countries under one server. If they can't settle their differences in-game, then this would turn out to be a virtual Gaza Strip, but hopefully, inRO players are mannered and well-behaved, suited to the friendly aura of Pinoy Valhallians.

Culture shock. Why did I mention it? Well, Indians and Filipinos are two different cultures yet they have been put together into an area where they have no choice but to mingle and live together. Many may be saying, "That's a wierd build" but for the others, it would be "Dude, that's an awesome build." Another example would be a fad in their country and then discuss it in-game, where the other group would just think of them as wierd since they don't know anything about it. But since this is Ragnarok Online, it may not be that bad after all, since RO is somewhat a good medium between the two populations.

Language barrier can be a minor part of the game, unless they try to talk to each other using their own native language. Or even start a fight or an all-out grudge against each other due to a misunderstanding. But then again, looking at Ragnaboards PH, it seems that English may become the universal language Valhallians would use.

My view of this merge, it sounds great. Short term, probably people should start to get into the flow and stop resisting change. Long term, and who knows what may happen, there might be another merge from another RO country and then probably have an continental RO. Just a thought, no official news leakage from here. /heh RoK oN!

Games: X-Com Apocalypse

An old DOS game that I've managed to find under a box filled with a ton of DOS games, which I played when I was a little boy at the age of 10, I found myself stuck playing this old favorite called X-Com Apocalypse. Compared to today's games, I'd have to say the graphics do seem old but the game play can still be deemed as brand new.

Anyways, just wanted to share this game to the viewers who love to reminisce and play old games, especially DOS based games. So here's a quick summary of the game.

It's a RPG where you control a research facility along with military personnel where you try to research more about the unknown aliens and then develop new weapons and research to aid you in revealing the secrets within the alien world. Another feature to add that is quite extraordinaire is the AI of the enemy. It's so dynamic that it reacts appropriately to any responses you do in both the battle and your performance as a commander.

That's probably the best thing I can say about it without revealing spoilers.

Movie: What Happens in Vegas

Set in Sin City, story revolves around two people who discover they've gotten married following a night of debauchery, with one of them winning a huge jackpot after playing the other's quarter. Unhappy pair try to undermine each other and get their hands on the money -- falling in love along the way.

Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1033643/plotsummary

I've kinda liked the trailer. Planning to watch this since it's quite amusing of how the story goes. Hope to get a couple of good laughs throughout the movie. /no1


Additional Notes:

I've watched the movie with my girl and yes, it was a great watch. Wanted to watch it the second time around but had to go do some shopping and other things to finish. Oh well, I'll probably try to get a DVD copy when it comes out, good to add to the collection in the comedy romance genre.

Movies: Forbidden Kingdom

An American teenager who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kung-fu classics makes an extraordinary discovery in a Chinatown pawnshop: the legendary stick weapon of the Chinese sage and warrior, the Monkey King. With the lost relic in hand, the teenager unexpectedly finds himself traveling back to ancient China to join a crew of warriors from martial arts lore on a dangerous quest to free the imprisoned Monkey King.

Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0865556/plotsummary

I'm planning on watching this later on because my favorite kung fu actors are here, Jet Li and Jackie Chan! Probably intense action scenes with a mix of comedy is what I'm expecting from this movie. Others have already recommended to watch this so I probably will enjoy spending at least 2 hours on a couch eating popcorn. ^_^

Dance Mania!

I've been going through youtube to view entertaining segments and the one thing I can't resist is looking at dance moves or crews doing their thing. So here's what I saw which I considered one of the best break dancing.



I've also checked out a crew that was part of the movie Step Up 2. The Jabbawockeez! Cool masks, uniformed, and a knit-tight performance. You can watch their other dances in youtube.



Enjoy!

Odin's Premium Service Part II

Second week of Exp Mod Bonanza of 3x on general experience, I've taken the chance to try the service once more. What did I expect? A glowing knight. Did it happen? Yes and more than that, it became a mid-high level Lord Knight in the process. Good thing the Field Manual Boxes were for sale or I'd have to do it on a minimum exp mod of at least 4.5x from the general exp mod + premium service.

The experience part wasn't the only thing I didn't take advantage. I also used the dungeon warp NPC for premium players as well as picking up loots from a boosted drop rate of +50%. Talk about more income while power leveling at a hard to get place dungeon. ^_^

Second time around, I have to say, sulit na sulit. I just wished there's more incoming exp mods and sales. ^_^

Road to 99™: Lord Knight

Hard to believe but thanks to LU's 2 week exp mod bonanza along with premium and FMB sale, who wouldn't abuse, err I mean take advantage of the once in a life time opportunity to shine and boast your achievements to your friends or other players?

Yeah, boasting too much may be dangerous but hey, if you got something to brag about that you've done rightly, you got the right to brag.

Anyways, people have been saying about VIT knights being the fastest way to level since they are made to tank and destroy everything in its path. I'm not a fan of VIT knights, probably because it takes up too much pots when mobbing and then sitting down all the time to get their HP fully charged. What I prefer is, AGI knights.

Why? Probably because of the 190 ASPD of attacking a monster looks wonderful, not to mention when critical attacks fly all over the screen. And the most beautiful part is that you get to mob and think less of getting hit because of your high flee rate.

My project Tetsuo Shima primary objective has been completed. Make it a Lord Knight. Secondary objective was to get it to job 50 for its berserk skill, but I didn't make it in time, run out of time and energy. But more importantly, I have my Lord Knight back in the game!

Here's a preview of my Knight shinning and shimmering and turning into a Lord Knight.











Congratulations Tetsuo Shima and welcome back.