Category Archives: Thursday in the Zone

Gaming-related posts, covering games of my particular interest from the collectible, video, and PC genres.

Thursday in the Zone

Old-School Gaming, part I: Super Mario World for SNES

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When Christmas of 1990 arrived, I had just turned six, and I got a Super Nintendo system from Santa. Oh, the joy–and oh, the hours of trying to play through the first levels of Super Mario World, which, as accurately as I remember, came with the game system itself.

I was admittedly terrible at it, often killing Mario by jumping just a wee bit too far or a wee bit too short, or by getting agitated and sending him straight into the path of an enemy. But I made my slow and careful way around the Super Mario World map–I even made it to the Tubular secret level, by some act of God.


This is the Tubular level, also known as “Where Bad Marios Go when They Die.” xD

Read on for reminiscing about Super Mario World, one of the games I (and many other gamers of our generation) grew up on…


The boss battle with Iggy Koopa, seen above, was very difficult for me as a six-year-old–I kept jumping around thinking I just had to get off the platform onto something invisible on the sides. Needless to say, poor Mario died in the flames quite a lot because of my stupidity. LOL


I remember hating the Roy section of the map because I couldn’t find the way to get to Roy’s castle. This Youtube video would have saved me hours of ROAR and frustration, back in the day.


Wendy Koopa’s boss battle (at the end of this video) was the reason I broke my first SNES controller–those stupid flame ghosts kept getting me, and if by some miracle I managed to avoid them, then the Koopas got me. At least I had the good sense to disconnect the controller from the system before chucking it full-force at the wall…


This is the Donut Ghost House, which allows you to get to both the next official level in the game, as well as a top secret area. I never found this top-secret area, to my knowledge, unless I blundered into it somewhere.

(Random childhood memory: I was playing a Ghost House level near Halloween, while Mom and Dad were watching some kind of scary movie upstairs. Right as I was fighting King Boo, a horrible scream rang out from the TV upstairs–and I just dropped the controller and ran. LOL! Poor Mario, abandoned to die in the Ghost House because I was too chicken to stay in the room. xD)


My favorite levels were the Star Road levels (seen in the video above)–not because they were easier, but because they were pretty. 😀 I also liked how they interconnected with each other, and had lots of secrets to explore. (Not that I ever found any of the secrets without help…or without accidentally stumbling on them. xD)


The Castle Theme track (available through this video) freaked me out as a little kid. *shiver* Still gives me the willies listening to this track!


Image source 		Oh, how I hated the football-player guys that randomly throw baseballs. They always managed to tag me out, or jump up and catch me (like this one is doing in the pic) as I tried to avoid them. Fail.


The Cape Feather was AWESOMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE 😀 Even if I was a terrible flier, it was so COOL to be able to fly! (What I wouldn’t have done for this tutorial back in the day–it took hours of practice before I could get Mario to hold onto his cape like a parachute… LOL)


…And flying with Yoshi (as you might have seen already in the Donut Ghost House video) is pretty awesome, too. 😀 Start this video at around 0:55, and you’ll see!

For More Information

If all this reminiscing has made you want to play Super Mario World again, or perhaps play for the first time, you can play the game through the Wii’s Virtual Console system, as well as playing the slightly edited version made for the GameBoy Advance system. Or, if you still have access to an old SNES that still works, you can probably find a cartridge for this game floating around for cheap, and enjoy it as many gamers have done over the years!

Super Mario World @ MarioWiki
Super Mario World @ Wikipedia

Thursday in the Zone

9 Ways You’re Accidentally Annoying Your Opponent

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We don’t always give a lot of thought to how we treat our human opponents in games. In fact, sometimes we can get so lost in the actual playing of a game that we forget we’re playing against another human being.

Today, as both a reminder to myself and to raise awareness about respecting other gamers, I’ve written this article to help us all remember to treat each other better. We help make others’ gameplay experience either fun or not fun, based on many of the issues I’ll be covering today, but it all comes back to respect. Read on, for the surprising ways you may be annoying your opponent!

#9: Disrespecting Their Stuff

As gamers, we don’t appreciate it if someone handles our stuff without asking, flipping through Magic decks or picking out random Clix figures while we’re in the middle of another game. Yet many gamers do this to each other as if it’s accepted behavior. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been playing another game, only for someone to go rifling through my stuff, picking out things they want from my boxes without asking whether the items are for trade. Not only that, they sometimes handle my Near Mint collectibles with dirty or sticky hands, drop the items everywhere, or shove them back into the boxes willy-nilly.

It’s important to ask before you handle anything that isn’t yours; it’s doubly important to be careful with their items if they give you permission to look through. When you look through someone else’s stuff, remember that they probably spent a good bit of money to get what you’re looking at, and treat it accordingly.

#8: Not Stating Your Actions Clearly, Every Turn

Silent games may be fun for some, but not for everyone. I, for instance, like to know what kind of combos or actions my opponent is doing, so that I can have time to respond if there’s a game opportunity. But if you’re hunched over your side of the table, and you either don’t tell me what’s going on or you mumble it where I can’t understand, you’re in fact making it harder to play the game.

It’s tempting to leave the explanation of your game actions out–believe me, I know. We get so familiar with our strategies that we think they don’t need explanation anymore. But to someone who’s not familiar with them, those strange silent moves seem incomprehensible. Take just a little time to explain what you’re doing–this will help all players understand what’s happening in the game and enjoy it more.

(I do realize that extreme shyness or even medical conditions can lead to silent games as well. If you’re uncomfortable or incapable of speaking loudly, you can also simply offer your opponent the chance to look at the cards or figures you’re playing, so that they may see the abilities for themselves.)

#7: Only Playing Games/Game Types that You Can Win

It’s boring and sad to play a game that you know already is a foregone conclusion…well, at least for most gamers. But there are some gamers who truly enjoy soundly defeating others, so much so that they only play games they know they can win. Unfortunately, this can be very annoying to other gamers, who might like at least a chance of winning. Soon enough, a gamer who only plays what he or she can win will find themselves fresh out of opponents.

We all like to win; that’s natural. But the most fun experiences of gaming, I find, come from a real tooth-and-nail struggle, a game that’s truly “anybody’s game”–not a game where the same person always wins and it’s over in 5 minutes. You grow more as a player when games are not easily won, for one thing, and it’s just more fun for everybody when every player can share in the (imaginary) carnage. If you’re always playing one type of game, allow someone else to teach you a new game similar in style, and branch out. Who knows, you might find out you have a new favorite game! (Just don’t monopolize it… xD)

#6: Not Being Careful with Food/Drinks

You wouldn’t want your hard-earned collection ruined with someone else’s careless positioning of a drink or food item, would you? One of the more annoying things that a fellow gamer can do is to put an open drink right next to where they’re playing, well within range of getting knocked over by a careless hand gesture, or even another player. Greasy food items also come under this heading: if the grease splatters out from the food as you’re trying to eat it, where is that grease going to go but onto the tabletop, where possibly hundreds of dollars of gaming stuff lies?

Using drink cups or bottles with tight-closing lids (and keeping lids closed!), and having napkins handy for surrounding greasy food, are both easy solutions to avoid annoying or worrying your opponent. Plus, you run less risk of messing up your own gaming stuff, too!

#5: Whining About Your Luck

“Yes, I know the Dice Gods are smiting you and Lady Luck is not being a lady for you. You’ve said that 10 times this game already.” I find myself thinking this often during tournament play, when it seems the whole community of gamers becomes overly superstitious. xD A few mentions of luck not being with you is one thing–it can lighten up the mood. But talking about it over and over as if luck is the only thing against you? It sounds suspiciously like whining to most people, and whiners are not happy gamers to play against.

If you’re really having a tough time of it, try talking about other topics other than the game to get your mind off it–anything where you’re not focusing on how bad your luck seems to be running for you. I can be whiny about my luck, too, and this strategy surprisingly works, especially if you’ve got an opponent who’s a little more laid-back. And, if you’re facing an opponent who is doing nothing but whining about luck, try getting him or her off the topic–distract them from the bad dice rolls and card pulls, if you can. One person’s whining quickly casts a pall over other people’s games, and the quicker you can stop the negativity train, the better.

#4: Being Continuously Distracted During the Game

It’s great to have an opponent who’s interested in lots of different games. It’s not that great to have to play someone who’s involved in about 5 different games at various tables, or who has his or her phone out texting the whole time, etc. If you’re playing one game, stick to doing that activity and nothing else if at all possible. After all, who wants to be stuck at a table waiting on your opponent to get back from winning/losing two other random games?

Focusing on one task at a time will make you a more alert player, make the game more enjoyable for everyone, and might actually help you win instead of lose because of player errors and distractions. It also lets your opponent know you respect them and their time enough to play the game in a timely manner.

#3: Taking Forever to Do Your Turn

Slightly dovetailed with #4, “taking forever to do your turn” could mean you’re highly distracted during the game, but also could mean having small nervous crises over which card to play this turn, or which figure to move into combat. It also could mean an impossibly long, detailed, combo-ridden turn, in which the other player(s) are forced to watch you basically play and win the game by yourself. Any of these scenarios are incredibly annoying to opponents–they can end up thinking, “why did I bother even playing?”

If you’re unsure of how to play a new strategy, or just aren’t certain how to move forward, it’s not a sin to ask someone else for strategy help. These are games, not real war tactics, after all. And, if you look around the table and notice that most of your opponents’ eyes are glazed over after your 15-minute turn of ultimate doom, you might want to rethink how you play–at least, if you ever want to play against human opponents again. Super-combos of supreme ownage are great against computer-generated opponents, but we humans like to feel that we’ve got at least a fighting chance of winning. Instead of proving your authority by taking over the game, allow others to be part of the experience, and perhaps take time to observe how they play the game, too!

#2: Being Loud/Inappropriate/Offensive, and Refusing to Act Otherwise

Telling slightly offensive jokes (or hearing them bandied about) is pretty much par for the course amid gamers, but there’s a difference between being funny and just being loudly offensive/inappropriate. Most especially, if you’re playing a game and your opponent is having trouble concentrating because of your “humor,” you could end up alone at the game table in a matter of moments. Not to mention that someone might just decide to leave if you’re talking offensively and refuse to stop even for polite requests.

It’s important, especially in a large group environment, to be sensitive to how others are responding to your words and actions. If you notice that someone looks a little uncomfortable with what you just said, apologize; if someone asks you to tone it down a little, simply do so and make no further comment on the issue. I admit, I’ve made some pretty inappropriate remarks in my past, but learning how to apologize and keep going is part of getting along with others in general. We don’t have to self-censor all the time, but being aware of the people around you can keep you from making major verbal faux pas.

#1: Showing Poor Sportsmanship

Nothing is more annoying to a fellow gamer than to see his or her opponent stalk out of the gaming shop, mad because he or she lost. Mild fits of temper, especially in high-stakes tournaments, are naturally going to happen, but when a gamer lets one loss color the rest of the experience, both for themselves and for the other players, you know the poor sportsmanship has gone too far.

I’m preaching to myself here a good bit, because I don’t like to lose, and I don’t like to lose in 5 minutes with barely any time to fight; it angers me, much more than it should, and I can’t seem to let the anger go easily. But it’s important to realize that every game will have a winner and a loser, and you can’t be the winner every single time. The best thing you can do is to be a cordial, pleasant loser, so that the winner doesn’t end up feeling bad about it. Angrily stomping around, or getting in your car and speeding off, is not going to change the result, but it will disturb the other players and cast a good-sized shadow over everyone else’s games.

Summary

As I said at the beginning, many of these points go back to respecting other gamers and being considerate. I’m not saying that gaming should be conducted with the pinky finger perfectly extended, but perhaps we could put the middle finger away, just for a while. 🙂

Thursday in the Zone

The Wondrous Powers of Null the Gull

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In City of Heroes, there are various strange personages you can meet with, either to receive missions, gain story background, or buy/sell items. But there’s one entity you’ll want to take every character to see, and that’s Null the Gull.

Where is Null the Gull?

Seated atop an unmarked truck on the Villain side of Pocket D, Null the Gull is a little seabird who can help you streamline your CoH experience (and make it a lot less annoying to play in groups, too).


The view of the villains’ Mayhem Mission truck and Null the Gull, looking from the center of Pocket D.


There he is, sitting on top of the truck!

IMPORTANT: Make sure you don’t click the truck when you’re trying to interact with Null the Gull! The truck is the beginning of a Mayhem mission, and you may not be able to back out of it once you click.

Here’s a short list of what Null the Gull can do for you:

  • Keep Speed buffs and debuffs from affecting you
  • Keep you from being affected by Group Fly or Team Teleport
  • Choose to always accept or always deny Mystic Fortune instead of having to click in the dialog box every time
  • Keep up with your Dimensional Warder Badge progress by learning how many archvillains/elite bosses you have left to defeat.

To preview the dialogues so that you don’t accidentally choose the wrong option, check out the Option Dialogues on the Null the Gull page @ ParagonWiki.

Why Are These Changes Worth Mentioning?

This sounds like a pretty simple list, right? And most of these changes or updates are small, almost insignificant. But you’d be surprised how much these little edits help. For instance:

  • Speed Boosts, while greatly increasing your speed, can really mess with how you move your character onscreen–you can end up in the middle of fights you didn’t mean to trigger. Keeping Speed Boost and other speed buffs/debuffs from affecting you helps you play at your chosen tempo, all the time.
  • Group Fly and Team Teleport, while they sound nice, can be very annoying for team members who aren’t expecting a teleport, or have their own movement powers they prefer to use. Turning their effects off lets you move at your own pace.
  • Auto-accepting or auto-denying Mystic Fortune is a GODSEND. If someone throws cards at you during battle, you no longer have to hunt for the mouse cursor and click on the Accept or Deny button–it just happens, or doesn’t happen. Since I play on a laptop, not having to hunt for the mouse cursor keeps me from having to stop what I’m doing (and risk dying) if someone cards me mid-battle.
  • If you don’t keep track of which archvillains/elite bosses you’ve faced so far, your Dimensional Warder badge can be very frustrating to achieve. Null the Gull helps you out with that, helping you remember which ones you’ve faced.

One Small Caveat

The only bad thing about Null? You can’t just make the changes on one character and have that choice affect all your other characters; you must instead take each character to him individually and make the choices. It’s a pain if you want everything to be the same across all characters, but at least there’s the option of going in the first place.

Summary

If you’re a City of Heroes player and have never met Null the Gull, now might be the perfect time to go see him in Pocket D and make your life in Paragon City that much easier. Enjoy this “hidden gem”, fellow CoH players!

Thursday in the Zone

Funny Clix and Star Wars Minis Juxtapositions

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These are all pictures I took while gaming at various local shops over the years…I generally come up with funny ways to position Clix and SWMinis figures during longer games. xD Scroll down and enjoy!

HeroClix


Superman and Black Hand taking time out from the battle for a quick fist-bump.


The making of Iron Man V: Tony Stark Meets a Mirror


We know what Speedball’s really interested in, and it’s not dealing damage.


Nightwing’s kick is pretty powerful if it can age the Flash 50 years in one hit!


Funny, I never knew Galactus was a falconer…


Judging where Iron Fist’s Dragon Punch energy is coming from, this is either a huge ego boost for Power Man, or incredibly painful.


Nick Fury got tired of trying to explain Facebook to Captain America after the first 10 times…


The World-Eater himself is caught in the act of adding another gruesome line to his reputation.


When the paycheck from the newspaper wasn’t enough, Peter Parker had to get creative for his second job.


A sparkly-caped Justice, in the act of punching Mojo where it really hurts, apparently.


BONUS: This was an actual shower gel product sold in my local drugstore a few years ago, marketed to men. I LOL’ed, and then snapped this quick picture.


BONUS: The title of a Clix event we held at our local gaming shop a few years back–it was an all-female tourney event, as you might have guessed.


I took the liberty of decorating the dry-erase board with thematic illustrations for the event…


…Yeah, I couldn’t resist illustrating bloody beauty products for this tourney.

Star Wars Minis


Queen Amidala: “For the last time, Chewie, I have no idea what “raaaaaaaahhhaaaaaaaawwwrrrr” means!!”


This poor little soldier is about to find out why it’s dangerous to be crammed in a small space with a bunch of Jedi…OW.

Thursday in the Zone

Jelly Jumper

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Looking for a Flash game that will test both your reflexes and your skill at solving puzzles? Then give Jelly Jumper a try!


A shot of the first level–deceptively easy!

Basic Gameplay

In Jelly Jumper, you control a cute little guy made of green jelly, and you’re trying to jump him around a virtual, generic black keyboard, in which certain keys are traps, certain keys are helpers, and certain keys are just there to give you fits. The goal is to jump on all the green-highlighted keys, and if you can do it within a certain number of jumps, even better!


These are your targets–jump on all of these in a level to complete it.

You move the little guy around the virtual keyboard with your arrow keys. If you venture too far off the keyboard, your poor little jelly man will die, but any regular black keys (unmarked) are always safe zones.

The Various Types of Keys


Bomb
Space
High-Jump
Space
Opposite
Space
Random
Teleport
Space
Fall-Away
Space
Protective
Space
Matching
Teleport
Space

Explanations

  • Bomb Space: instant death if you hit it.
  • High-Jump Space: propels you much higher into the air so you can get across bigger spaces.
  • Opposite Space: you move in the opposite direction from normal. Example: if you hit the Up arrow key, you’ll move down the keyboard instead.
  • Random Teleport Space: will put you on another section of the keyboard when you hit it.
  • Fall-Away Space: falls out from under you once you hit it, kinda like the donut blocks in Super Mario Bros.
  • Protective Space: creates a protective bubble around you when you hit it, so you can touch down on a bomb space without fear of death for the next jump.
  • Matching Teleport Space: always occurs in pairs–when you hit one, you’ll instantly be transferred to the other one.

Strategies

This takes precision, patience, and a little luck, especially as you level up. The first level (pictured at the beginning of this post) is quite easy, but a little farther into the game you get levels like these:


This is the most irritating level I’ve gotten to so far. The black keys are your only safe zones–no wonder this level is called “Stepping Stones!”


No, wait, I take that back, THIS is the most irritating level I’ve done so far. See all those matching-teleport spaces along the top? You can’t tell which one is linked with which; you just have to jump on them and find out where they each take you! Ah, experimentation…

Playing this game, you will get good at pressing the arrow keys JUST long enough to propel you to the target without overshooting it. Getting a run-and-go can help you on certain levels where your targets are spaced farther apart, but on some levels, it pays to just jump in a safe place for a little while if you need to get your bearings. Don’t worry too much about trying to do the level in a certain number of jumps, especially if you’re just starting out. You don’t get penalized or lose progress for jumping 20 times in a level which usually can be done in 3 or 4…trust me, I tested those limits quite thoroughly. LOL

As the game progresses, you’ll find more and more bomb spaces surrounding your targets, promising instant death at a touch…you just have to keep your cool and not move too rashly. Also, beware of moving spaces–those bomb spaces and teleportation spaces can and do move around in a few of these levels!

This game is an excellent combination of a puzzle game and an action game–it makes you think, but also makes you work your gamer reflexes.

To Play:

Jelly Jumper at JellyJumper.com

Thursday in the Zone

It’s Almost 900! (A Tale of Epic Life-Gain)

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It all started with me, my boyfriend, and two Magic decks we had never played against each other–his Zombie Clerics (known as “Priests of Pain and Drain”) against my Sanguine Bond & Boon Reflection (affectionately nicknamed “Sanguine Boon”) deck.


Priests of Pain and Drain decklist @ EssentialMagic.com

Sanguine Boon decklist @ EssentialMagic.com

The Opposing Strategies

My boyfriend’s Zombie Cleric deck’s strategy is actually pretty simple, revolving around a four-card combo: Cabal Archon, Rotlung Reanimator, Conspiracy, and any random Cleric to begin the fun. Use Cabal Archon to sacrifice Clerics to gain 2 life and make the opponent lose 2 life (this is called a “life swap”). Now, thanks to the Reanimator, the Clerics you sack through the Archon give you Zombie tokens, which then become Clerics themselves with the use of Conspiracy set to Clerics. Repeat cycle as long as you have mana to do it.

My Sanguine Boon deck is also pretty simple: gain enough life to be able to stall till I get Sanguine Bond (and, if I’m lucky, Boon Reflection). Then, play more super-cheap life-gain spells/abilities, causing major life loss through Sanguine Bond and the ability to draw more life-gain spells using Well of Lost Dreams. (I’ve spoken about this strategy before, but not in this larger context.)

How These Strategies Faced Off

My boyfriend’s strategy would have probably succeeded against mine in the early stages of the game, if I had not played an Isochron Scepter with Rest for the Weary imprinted on it. Ever after, every time I played a land, I would be gaining 8 life instead of just 4, and I could gain at least 4 life every turn. But, because I don’t play much offense in my deck, he was able to amass his combo fairly soon after I had played the Scepter-Rest combo, and so he was able to start draining me of my newly-gained life points.

Stalling Like Mad vs. Life Drain Like Mad

Fast-forward to about turn 25 or 30, and both of our decks were running at near-top capacity. I now had two Boon Reflections out, gaining 16 a turn off Rest for the Weary if I hadn’t played a land and 32 a turn if I had played a land. But my boyfriend was able to drain at least 16-20 life off me per turn with the Cabal Archon “sack-a-Cleric” combo. With all the early-game life gain I had done, he was not able to defeat me entirely, but was able to make my life total yo-yo all over the place. We were both fighting for purchase; he was trying to keep my life total under control, and I was trying to survive until I could get that darned Sanguine Bond, which still hadn’t shown up yet.

Game-Changer: Well of Lost Dreams for 7 Cards

The almost literal stalemate continued for the next few turns. At last, I pulled Well of Lost Dreams; I played it, used Ghost-Lit Redeemer’s ability to gain 8 life, and paid 7 mana to draw 7 cards, since I had been top-decking for most of the game. The long-awaited Sanguine Bond was the first card I drew, and Demonic Tutor was the last, promising a second Sanguine Bond in hand if I could last that long. My life total was now up around 400-500, with my boyfriend’s life total just a little higher. I thought I could make it. 😉

Sanguine Bond (x2) for the Win!

Once the first Sanguine Bond was played, I sacked the two Sunspring Expeditions I’d had ready and waiting on the table for most of the game, which created a 32-point life-swap thanks to the double Boon Reflections. That, plus my usual Scepter-Rest combo and a Ghost-Light Redeemer or two gaining me more life, drained him of over 150 life in one turn. Then…well, I managed to retrieve the other Sanguine Bond; though I wasn’t able to play it that turn, I knew next turn would become even stronger, as I gained quadruple life and made him lose quadruple life, twice.

A couple of turns after I played the second Sanguine Bond, it was over, 2 hours after we had started. My ending life total was 894–and that was with my boyfriend draining off 32 every turn for close to 20 turns. :O How high would it have gone if he hadn’t been keeping it down somewhat? The world may never know.

So, using my Sanguine Boon deck, I finally beat my boyfriend’s Zombie Cleric deck…and it only took 2 hours of free time. Ahh, extreme-long-game Magic at its best. 😀

Thursday in the Zone

City of Heroes “Freedom”: Restrictions and Compromises, Ahoy!

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When NCSoft’s popular MMO City of Heroes came out with its “Freedom” expansion, allowing players to get and play the game for free for the first time in game history, I was thrilled. Now some of my real-life friends who could not afford to play the game could enjoy it as well!

But there are some important caveats to the “Free” player system, which I believe more players should be aware of before they get into the game.

Free Players Can’t…

  • Send Tells (private player messages) or in-game emails
  • Receive items from other players
  • Trade items with other players through the Trade Screen
  • Receive experience in Architect Entertainment (player-created) missions
  • Make more than two characters
  • Use Invented-Origin Enhancements for their powers
  • Earn Reward Merits or Vanguard Merits
  • Use Wentworth’s (Player Auction House)
  • Play post-level 50 content
  • Build Controllers, Masterminds, Peacebringers, Warshades, Arachnos Soldiers, or Arachnos Widows
  • Create Supergroups

Why Are These Big Issues?

The loss of most of these game mechanics severely limits the player and the team or group around them–not only can you not give a Free player a spare Inspiration to help them during a mission, but the Free player is restricted in what items they can use. They can’t even sell items on Wentworth’s or trade items to other players, and those items can quickly junk up the already-limited Inventory space that Free players are given.

The inability to send Tells or Emails lowers the Free player’s ability to connect with other players; with Incarnate content disallowed, there’s not much for a Free player to do with his/her character once it gets to 50. The restrictions on receiving Merits and receiving XP in AE missions are secondary, but still annoying–didn’t the Free player play just as much to receive those benefits as a paying player?

The limit of two characters is understandable, as is the restriction on what archetypes you can build as a Free player. And I suppose I can understand why Invented-Origin Enhancements are off-limits; if they weren’t, then Free players would have complete access to all the high-level, really strong Enhancement Sets that max out characters’ healing, damage, etc. But some of these restrictions seem silly for Free players, when it restricts so much of gameplay that it’s almost too frustrating to deal with.

Light at the End of the Tunnel: Premium Status

But, if you want the Free price tag but not the Free experience, there are a couple of ways to attain the “middle” status between a Free player and a completely-paid VIP player–this type of account is known as a “Premium” account. This status gives you a little more access, but possibly without as much monetary investment.

Any time you spend any money on the game at all, whether it’s an item set, costume piece set, or a special booster pack, you’ll be upgraded to a Premium Account if you’re currently a Free player. Also, if you get a Game Card that gives you a paid month of game access time, you will also be upgraded. (Important Note: Premium Players do not get opted-in to a paying plan automatically.)

Once you are a Premium player, you can purchase access to several key options, including:

  • Full access to all communication channels available through the Chatbox
  • Holding up to 2 billion influence (in-game money) per character
  • Sending and receiving email
  • Earning Reward Merits and Vanguard Merits (you must be level 35 and have run Levantera’s missions in the Rikti War Zone to get Vanguard Merits)
  • Varying levels of access to the Architect Entertainment system:
    1. Playing solo missions in AE, but not getting any XP: 2 Reward Tokens
    2. Getting XP and rewards from AE missions: 8 Reward Tokens
    3. Making your own AE missions: 20 Reward Tokens
  • Joining Supergroups and editing Supergroup Bases
  • Getting medium and large Inspirations (temporary boosts) through regular combat
  • Trading with other players
  • Creating Invented Enhancements

However, you must pay for each of these options individually using Reward Tokens in the Paragon Rewards system, which does cost real money. You will need to pick and choose which game features you really want and which you can live without if money is very tight. Being a Premium player makes it more bearable to play for less money, but it is still restrictive (though not nearly as restrictive as the Free account). (By the way, the only way I can see to get access to Premium account status without much money investment is to ask for Game Cards as birthday and Christmas presents… LOL)

Summary

Playing City of Heroes for “free” can give you a fair experience of the game, but it does restrict players in ways that most of us wouldn’t expect or even think about. That’s why I’ve shown the drawbacks of playing for Free in this article, as well as the ability to occupy a “middle ground” between Free and VIP status. Keep this in mind, and definitely don’t judge the whole game by the Free-account experience!

Thursday in the Zone

When Life-Gain Becomes a Weapon

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I have made much reference to my favored playstyle of life-gain in Magic: the Gathering (see my articles on life-gain as defense and life-gain as many things, including win condition). But usually, decks that are completely devoted to life-gain strategies are generally regarded as lacking in competitive strength.

This could be said most especially of my Artifact Life-Gain deck, affectionately nicknamed “Timex” because of its ability to “take a lickin’ and keep on tickin'”, as the old Timex slogan went. The decklist appears below:


My Timex decklist on EssentialMagic.com

Now, up till a few weeks ago, this deck was mainly life-gain artifacts, artifacts that made other artifacts cost less, things that retrieved artifacts from the graveyard, and a couple of high-defense creatures. These all made this deck a very efficient and fun life-gain engine, but little else. Most times, opponents either had to concede because I was gaining life too fast for them to smash me down, or I simply ran them out of cards (thanks to Elixir of Immortality’s ability to put my graveyard back into my deck). Then, I found a card that gave Timex some teeth.


Card image courtesy of Gatherer

This is a Transforming card, one of Magic’s newest mechanics. At the beginning of any game, this card is simply “Chalice of Life,” a 3-cost artifact that gains one life when you tap it. Simple, basic Artifact Life-Gain, just like the rest of my deck–seems fairly straightforward, right?

But it’s the transforming text that changes the game entirely if I tap it when I am at 30 life or more–it gains me one last life, then flips over, revealing “Chalice of Death,” which makes a target player lose 5 life every time it is tapped. From then on, the opponent has 4 turns to smash me down before I drain their starting life total completely, 5 points at a time.

How This Plays

Since I’m usually way more than 10 life up from my starting life total, because this deck has the capability to gain 10 or more life per turn, Chalice of Life is almost assured to transform at some point. When it does, the life-gain engine becomes a little meaner; the addition of the loss-of-life game mechanic takes this formerly timid deck and gives it threat and power.

From my play-testing, I’ve found that Timex is still just as resilient and flexible as ever, but with a weapon like this on the table, it can go on the offense as well. Suddenly, I’m no longer just hiding behind my high life total, but using its high number to power Chalice of Death. And with all the cards that retrieve artifacts from my graveyard (Sanctum Gargoyle, Hanna, Ship’s Navigator, and Rootwater Diver), just getting rid of the Chalice won’t save my opponent for very long.

The opponent’s challenge, then, is to find a way to take down my higher life total before Chalice of Death takes theirs down. Sure, a very aggressive deck might be able to do it…but will it be quick enough to offset a 5-point life loss every turn?

Your Opinion?

What do you think about this twist on life-gain? What types of strategies might get around this deck’s main combos, and which ones might fall most easily? Tell me in the comments!

Thursday in the Zone

Proposing a Perfect New Clix Power Color: Pink!

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HeroClix has introduced a couple of new colors to characters’ dials over the years. Time was, the Light Green power color didn’t exist; Earthbound, Quake, Combat Reflexes, and Exploit Weakness simply weren’t printed abilities. Even the Silver and Brown/Gold powers didn’t exist all the time either, and who could imagine a HeroClix game without Hypersonic Speed, Impervious, Leadership, or Telekinesis?

But despite the range of power colors in Clix, there’s one color they don’t have yet, and that’s Pink.

Are You Kidding Me? PINK in Clix?

I fully admit, as a concept, this is hard to take seriously. HeroClix, almost completely male-dominated by definition, having a PINK power color? Ridiculous!

…And yet, it could flesh out some abilities that as yet are only handled by special powers and traits. It could end up simplifying a good bit of rulings, too–the addition of a new color leads to better shorthand references for such abilities. Should we care that pink has such a feminine association, if it will end up being an asset to the metagame?

Personally, I think adding a new color, whatever it ends up being, could help shore up some missing strategies in Clix, and potentially breathe new life into the sets. After all, there are some very funny (but very effective) strategies that pink could represent.

Potential Pink Powers

For each power slot, I’ve come up with two possibilities for what pink could represent on the dial. (Also, forgive the low-quality illustrations–I had to make up a blank Clix dial myself in Paint, and I am certainly no technical artist… xD)

Pink on Movement

  • Sashay: (for grounded characters only) This character may move by opposing characters without stopping. Any opposing characters who come into adjacency in this way cannot attack this character next turn.

    Why: Walking in high heels is only done for the effect on other people, not comfort. xD

  • Perfume Cloud: (for flying characters only) Wherever this character moves on the board, leave up to four “perfume” tokens in their exact path, which fade at the beginning of the controller’s next turn. Friendly characters who are in or enter these marked squares receive a +1 to attack; opposing characters who are in or enter these squares receive a -1 to attack. This is not treated as Hindering Terrain.

    Why: Because reactions to perfume are either “Ooh, girl, I like that perfume!” or “Ugh, what are you wearing?!”

Pink on Attack

  • Distraction: If this character makes a successful attack roll on an opposing character, no damage is dealt. Instead, the attacked opposing character is not allowed to attack this character next turn. (Successful attacks do not have to be able to deal damage in order for Distraction to go off, such as in the case of hitting an Invulnerability character with a 2-damage character.)

    Why: Low-cut shirt. That’s all I’m saying. LOL

  • Super Slap: If the first attack by this character is successful, reduce the target’s defense by -1 and make a second attack immediately afterward. The target’s defense goes back to normal after this action resolves.

    Why: Because no girl slaps another girl just once. There’s always a backhand-slap after the first one. 😛

Pink on Defense

  • Presentation: Place an action token on this character to modify defense by +2.

    Why: ‘Cause makeup, hairstyles, and nice clothes really do make a difference, and they boost your (social) defense, at least. And it does require action on one’s part to affect this transformation. 🙂

  • Rebuff: When an attack made on this character is unsuccessful, modify the attacking character’s stats by -1 until the end of your next turn.

    Why: When a girl gets hit on and tells the guy “no,” it usually leaves him feeling pretty low.

Pink on Damage

  • Rumor: When this character makes a successful attack against an opposing character, after damage is resolved deal 1 unavoidable damage to another opposing character with at least one shared keyword. The character given the unavoidable damage does not need to be within line of sight or line of fire.

    Why: Rumors fly faster than Hypersonic Speed and always damage the target, no matter how tough the person is.

  • Pep Talk: Place an action token on this character to modify 1 adjacent friendly character’s stats (values of movement, attack, defense, damage, and range) by +1 for this turn. This effect fades at the beginning of your next turn.

    Why: Boosting another person’s confidence is key to keeping friendships!

Thoughts on the Pink Power?

Despite the slightly tongue-in-cheek nature of this post, What do you think about these abilities? Do you think HeroClix is ready for pink on its stats? Could these abilities really work in-game? Tell me in the comments! 🙂

Thursday in the Zone

Creature Types M:TG Should Try

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Magic: the Gathering is literally riddled with creatures of all different types. Whether you like Horrors or Avatars, Angels or Demons, Vampires or Humans, Goblins, Beasts, or Wizards, you’re sure to find a creature type you like in Magic. (For instance, my favorite creature types are Angels, Walls, Treefolk, Dryads, and Clerics.)

But there are a few creature types for which I’ve seen little to no representation in Magic…and I’d kinda like to see them in print.

Forestwalk Plus: The “Deer” Creature Type

I love deer, and I’m not talking about venison; they are such peaceful and graceful creatures. Living deep within the forest as my family does, we see a lot of deer in the woods around the house–they seem to know it’s a safe place where they won’t be shot or hit by cars. But the most surprising thing about them is how well they can hide. I’ve often stared right at a deer in the middle of a group of trees, and not known it was there until it moved. (And yes, I was wearing my glasses at the time, LOL)

Thus, I came up with a conceptual mechanic called “Forestshade” to capture this ability for the “Deer” creature type (or any creature that can hide itself well). I believe this would set the Deer creatures apart from the rest of Green’s creatures.

Forestshade: If controller has a basic Forest in play, this creature has Hexproof and +0/+2.

Source for Sable Fawn art
Source for Soft-Footed Doe art
Source for Regal Stag art

The “Bounding” Mechanic: The “Rabbit” Creature Type

While there have been a few Rabbits (such as Zodiac Rabbit), there are not nearly enough bunnies in the game for my liking. All that cuteness in a little itty-bitty package? You could kill your opponent with cute overload! LOL

All joking aside, I have always liked rabbits for their speed and agility, as well as their cuteness. And, like the Deer, I sought to make M:TG Rabbits different enough from other similar Green creatures to warrant making a new creature type. So I created a mechanic called “bounding”, which I feel accurately captures how bunnies bounce around and evade capture like almost no other creature I’ve ever seen. (We had two pet bunnies when I was a kid, and one of them was an escape artist…’nuff said.)

Bounding: This creature is chosen to block, but evades the attack and is not damaged. Attack is considered blocked, but neither creature’s damage is dealt.

Source for Littlest Hare art
Source for Warren of Rabbits art

A Little Bit Like Slivers: The “Noble” Creature Type

I am aware that tribe-boosting “Lord” cards like Faerie Noble/Sprite Noble, Eladamri, Lord of Leaves, Kobold Overlord, and Lords of Atlantis and Lineage have been released before. But perhaps the concept of “royalty” could be taken in a new direction?

To give M:TG perhaps a little more medieval-fantasy flair, I thought about introducing a “Noble” creature type, plus several Noble sub-types. I think this could be a fun way to incorporate the political complexity of a traditional court within a game scenario. Something like the following, where each subtype boosts its own subtype and gets bonuses for a second subtype being played:

Source for Princess Adi art
Source for Titled Knight art

What’s Your Take?

Would you play any of these creature types or use any of these mechanics? Do they seem workable within the existing M:TG framework? Let me know in the comments!

All concept card images made with the help of Magic Set Editor. Great program if you like to create your own funny or concept cards!