Nhaneh’s Tumblr Hideout

Okay, just a quick heads-up. As I suffer this strange delusion that anything posted here needs to at least make some semblance of sense and requires me to take time describing why and how they happened and the sheer amount of things I actually ended up never posting here because I couldn’t think of anything to say or the like… I’ve been hiding away on this placed called tumblr. Specifically on http://nhaneh.tumblr.com/, doing mostly Mass Effect related stuff of the happier, fluffier variety. Somehow it seems easier to just put up an image and simply state how it just somehow happened and be done with it there; I don’t know why, just some fix idea I have for some reason I’d wager.

Anyway, if you’re curious about what I’ve been doing lately in terms of random renders along with a few experiments in animation and the like, that’s where to look.

On Mass Effect 3: Headcanon edition

Yes, yes, I know. Another Mass Effect 3-related post, and still with the spoilers. I’ll get to saying something about something else sooner or later, it just will have to be awhile. For variety though, I thought I’d actually post something positive.

On Mass Effect 3: Partially Digested Edition

With now over a week having passed since I first completed Mass Effect 3, I’ve had some time to process both the content and my reaction to it. Since there’s one particular element that likes to stand out, I’ll go about tackling that first, if more for my own peace of mind than anything. As the previous post, this one contains massive spoilers, and adds several more paragraphs; you have been warned.

On Mass Effect 3, indigestion edition

Okay, so before I tackle anything else about Mass Effect 3, there’s one thing in particular I need to start off with… unfortunately, it will involve major spoilers so if you haven’t played through the thing already and want your experience to contain some semblance of surprise, stop reading now; I’ll see about getting to non-spoiler thoughts later. For the rest, well… I suspect you know what’s coming.

Big Shepard Waiting Time

Since well over a year or two ago I’ve taken to the habit of having FRAPS running in the background in case I feel the need to screenshot things for whatever reason – be it for a specific purpose or just because I like a scene or expressions at play or whatnot and think it’d be nice to keep. Considering how BioWare have declared that today is (or yesterday was, seeing how it’s almost midnight at the time of posting) officially FemShep Friday and how Mass Effect tends to be one of the main contributors to the latter reasoning, I decided to take a dive into my archived FRAPS screenshot folder in celebration of the fact that BioWare is finally acknowledging Jennifer Hale’s fantastic performance in promotional material.

Incidentally, I also discovered that I have a lot of screenshots of my own Commander Shepard.

Small Mini Centurion Fun Time

I generally don’t think too highly of EA’s marketing division – at least from my own perspective, can sometimes come across as almost more interested in alienating potential customers than actually drawing them in; BioWare titles in particular tend to suffer this peculiar trend. So with this in mind, I approached their latest scheme to sneak unlocks for a few additional Mass Effect 3 weapons and armour into demos of other games with a sort of tired dismissal. Of course, then a friend of mine reminded me of it when said demo was released, and I ultimately figured it couldn’t be that long, and surely I could manage what couldn’t be more than an hour or two for the sake of more shinies for my Shepard.

Considering I’m writing this with the benefit of hindsight however, I can only say well played, EA marketing division. Well played indeed… So. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning: the Demo.

On Arc Two: Putting it together

So having taken some time to look over some of the various suggestions I’ve gotten in regards to what people have found interesting or memorable in and about the old Barrens, and in a way the responses I got were both more and less than I’d hoped for. On one hand, most of the things which people did find memorable seem to have stuck with most people – on the other, many responses has also made the Barrens sound something like the most boring place on Azeroth where very little of interest ever happens. Still, in an effort to put all of this together, I went loose on some old maps, the old mapviewer and Paint Shop Pro in order to try to put it all together.

On Arc Two: That Faction Conflict Thing

Trying to construct anything useful and workable out of the wild, chaotic maelstrom that is my plans for the might-possibly-happen-but-no-promises second story arc of Beyond the Tree has always come across to me like something of an uphill battle. While there are many aspects to Arc Two that makes it inherently more complicated to construct than Arc One, one of the largest source of complications stem from a single, simple fact: It takes Beyond the Tree into contact with the Horde.

Request: Tell me of Memorable Central Kalimdor Characters

So I thought, it’s now 2012 and what better way to start a new year than ask some random people on the internet for help! …well okay, on reflection putting it like that makes it sound more than a little bit mental, but bear with me. Basically: Do you consider yourself familiar with Warcraft as a setting? Have you spent plenty of time leveling around central Kalimdor back in pre-Cataclysm days? Have any fond memories of quests and NPCs in that region? Read on, because You May Be Able To Help.

Big Glowy Sword Fun Time

So The Old Republic has been out for awhile – technically a week, with another week of early access for early preorders, which means that I’ve had ample time to play the game – ample enough that I’ve hit 50 with my first character, though I still have a few more narrative beats to go before reaching the actual conclusion of her class narrative. Still, it’s given me more time than a weekend to sample the game and collect my thoughts together regarding what I think of it.