The soundtrack I’m recommending this time is a soundtrack from Granado Espada for an area called Ustiur Base Camp, and it’s called Grito Fuera… which means “cry out” when translated from Spanish using Google Translator. No idea why it’s called that, but the Spanish name is catchy!
.

It’s a moderately paced trance soundtrack, and it’s a peaceful piece. Enjoy. =D

.

Grito Fuera soundtrack from Granado Espada.
Note that I have nothing to do with the creation or posting of this video;
I merely posted it here in my blog.

.

~Estrelita Farr, really in GE mood o_o

Though this list is posted while I’m currently in Granado Espada SEA version 3.2, hence the score is based on that.
.

The resources:
.

• Granado Source: 3.5/5

  A pretty good place to look for the almost-complete list of guides, including RNPC recruitment guides. One gripe I have about the quest guide on this place is that it’s not exactly most recently updated; many of the quests now give glaziums (low grade, general grade, high grade, etc) for pioneering equipment, but it doesn’t say it. Another grip is, it’s pretty difficult looking for older posts if they’re not popular; there isn’t a list of categories to choose from.
  .

• Distinguished Sword: 2/5

  Even more incomplete compared to Granado Source, especially the fact that its latest post is on a “new” NPC for version 2.4. Regardless, there are extra guides here that many other places don’t cover, such as the Hedgestone and Area Voucher quests, not to mention it also has a list of costumes that are possible to be gained, at least for people who like to look nice like me… except it also isn’t updated. Not so useful beyond that though.
  .

• Book of Wind: 5/5

  A consistently updated Granado Espada site. The catch is, this site isn’t focused on guides and databases like others, but rather on characters. List of characters, combination buffs, stances and more, which will help in choosing which characters to be placed in your long term team. A pretty good place.
  .

• Granado Cafe: 2/5

  An expansive database and explanation articles, which will help new players greatly. However, I don’t think it’s updated anymore; the latest piece of news is in 2007, so it may not have data on the newer stuff. Still, it helps a bit.
  .

• Port Coimbra: 3.5/5

  An even bigger database compared to Granado Cafe, it has data on weapons, armour, shops and more. While it’s still being consistently updated, the only problem is that some of the names are different… because it’s based on Sword of the New World, not Granado Espada SEA version. Personally I don’t use this because it’s a bit of a hassle trying to find out the names of the equipment and stuff; going to the NPCs in-game is much more convenient. I don’t quite like the site design either, but that’s another story.

.

I’ll update when I get more. @_@

.

~Estrelita Farr, relies a lot on resources. x_x

It’s been some time since I started, but I wanted to make sure I was going to stay in the game for a while… it’d be sad if I were to announce “Hey, lookie here, I’m playing Granado Espada again!!” and then disappear after a while. x_x
.

So look here, my characters; level 60 already!

.

.

Nice, isn’t it? I used some hard earned vis from my old account to buy some costumes from the market, as well as some elite equipment; which is why they’re not shining! The sad thing is, I forgot about the pioneering armour until now; I just only started using pioneering equipment at level 60. That’s 10m gone from upgrading equipment to +6 and enchanting them. T_T
.

In case you’re wondering how much I had from my old account… well, I stopped at level 62 with a Fighter-Elementalist-Scout team with about 128m vis. Yep, I had that much when I was playing with the Golden Well and Bellem Boxes (that’s my only method of making money then, but I was pretty patient), but after they removed the Golden Well function (in a way to protect the economy, I guess), it’s much harder to make money at lower levels now. I’m still playing with Bellem Boxes, but sometimes there’s no profit… sad.
.

But anyways, it’s pretty fun now with my friends on, so maybe I’ll restart the GE comic I did the last time!
.

No promises though, I may get really lazy and stuff. @_@

.

~Estrelita Farr, enjoying herself!

I have a bunch of friends who install games in the Final Year Project lab at the university. Of course, it’s not like they play all day and do no work; on the contrary, they go there to work and play games during breaks.
.

That’s when I first saw a friend play World of Goo.
.

It’s such a cute game; I mean, who could resist those cute little blobs of goo? They squeal when you accidentally drop them, and if you put them into a structure (more of the gameplay later on), they stare at you with big curious eyes as though wondering what you’ll do to them next.
.

It’s a mind-tickling game too. It’s based on physics, as in building structures and making sure that they don’t crash before you reach the goal. Sometimes you’re required to do more than just building structures; you’ll have to wake sleeping goo up!
.

But first, before I go more into detail about the game, here’s a trailer:

.

Official World of Goo trailer taken from YouTube.
Note that I have nothing to do with the creation or posting of this video;
I merely posted it here in my blog.

.

It’s actually the second official trailer. I didn’t put the first trailer instead because I didn’t quite like it; it sped all the gameplay up and confused new people (like it did my friend).
.

But anyways, now I’ll go deeper into the details of the game, and my thoughts on it!

.

Artwork / Graphics:

.

The first thing you’ll notice from the trailer is the stunning colours of the game. Different chapters of the game will give a different feel to the atmosphere; the happy summer beginning is filled with greenery and blue skies, a nice happy start to the game’s early stages; brown desert colours as we approach the autumn chapter in a windy desert; and so on.

.

The Colourful Design of the World of Goo.
Source: http://wii.ign.com/

.

These colours are pleasing to the eyes, making the game an attractive game to see, especially to people who usually prefer 2D games like me.
.

It doesn’t matter if it’s not incredibly realistically 3D like Devil May Cry 4; a game doesn’t have to be 3D to be attractive, right?

.

Music / Soundtracks:

.

From the trailer, after the artwork / graphics, the next thing you’ll notice about the game is the music. Dramatic, full of vocals, mostly orchestrated (or, at least, it sounds orchestrated to me) and sometimes touched with percussion, the soundtracks adds on to the emotions created by the game, just like the track used for the trailer.
.

Of course, not all soundtracks are dramatic and orchestrated; Captain of Polka is a fast-paced song, giving the players the excitement of building the highest tower of goo; Drive Slowly has a slow, dangerous feel to it, cautioning the players to proceed with care; Wind Through the Willows, a slow sad song that shows the desolation of a windy desert; and so on.
.

For people who like orchestrated or slow songs, World of Goo is a great recommendation, available for download for free at Kyle Gabler’s Portfolio: World of Goo Soundtrack.
.

Geez, I sound like a promoter now. x_x

.

Gameplay:

.

And, of course, the gameplay of the game is important; after all, without good gameplay, a game is of little value. Fortunately, World of Goo has a great gameplay, keeping players occupied and entertained for hours to end.
.

World of Goo is a puzzle game with strong emphasis on physics, where the players build structures to reach towards the goal, not completely unlike the flash game Fantastic Contraption. There are five chapters in the World of Goo, each with varying number of stages, and in every stage, the player is given a different starting structure with varying number of goo balls (you may get a little as four clickable ones or as many as a hundred), distance to the goal, and terrains and obstacles to the goal, which may include, but not limited to, spikes, fire, blades, and more.

.

The Different Ways of Reaching the Goal.
Source: http://www.gamesradar.com/

.

The players will have to use each set of terrain to their advantage and build towards the goal, which, in many cases, is the pipe where the goo balls are sucked into. The catch is; each stage requires a certain number of remaining / unused goo balls to pass.
.

Can you build a structure and still attain the number of goo balls left?
.

Not only that, there are also several types of goo balls; the black ones, which can only attach to two others at the same time; the green ones, which can attach to three others and be detached from the structure; pink balloons that help to keep the structure up; water drop-like clear ones that only attach to one; and more.
.

Other than the stages in the five chapters of the game, there is another stage called the World of Goo Corporation, where extra goo balls gained from each stage will go. Here, players can build a tower of goo as high as possible and submit their score to the online leaderboard.

.

Storyline / Plot:

.

Usually puzzle games have little to no storyline, as the focus is often on the gameplay. However, in World of Goo, there is a short plot; which is told mainly through short cutscenes (which occurs between every chapter) and even shorter messages on signs left all over the stages, which are written by the mysterious Sign Painter.
.

As the game starts, we are presented with the curious and naïve goo balls, and we follow them around the summer island in search of adventure. As they reach the highest point of the island, they tried to go even higher by floating high into the sky, and there, they are able to see far and wide; a world much bigger than just their puny little island, where they can meet new kinds of goo!
.

But the World of Goo Corporation then opens… what lies in store for the goo balls? What is this organisation up to?
.

The storyline is a little subtle; while the Sign Painter’s messages are hints to help the players on the stage completion, they’re also often subtle messages that hint towards the storyline. The storyline are humourous and creative, added with a degree of silliness that makes it fun and entertaining.
.

Yep, the storyline has a degree of silliness in it, with happenings that don’t make sense in the real world. For example, who would’ve thought it was possible to leave an island by grabbing onto floating eyeball things (filled with helium, maybe?) that are strangely strong enough to support a whole structure of goo?
.

Of course, I don’t mean that the silliness is a bad thing; in fact, it’s greatly welcomed, we do need some humour in our lives. Not unlike how I enjoy watching cartoons sometimes!

.

Is It Worth It to Get World of Goo?

.

Of course! With great combination of colourful and cute design, expressive soundtracks, fun gameplay and interesting (though short) storyline, topped with humour and creativity like icing on a cake, who wouldn’t want to at least try the game?
.

But hey, still not convinced? Well, here’s some extra resources for you!

.

Reviews:

• IGN (Score: 9.5/10)
• GameSpot (Score: 9.0/10)
• 1UP (Score: A+)

Downloads:

• World of Goo Demo
• World of Goo Soundtrack

.

Get it now! You’ll enjoy at least some hours of fun. =D

.

~Estrelita Farr, who finished the whole game!

A world filled with violence. A world filled with brutal deaths. A world that often comes with fateful encounters; some favourable, some not. A world overrun with monsters of many shapes and sizes, a world reigned by powerful ones. A cruel world, an unfair world… a world that is Gunz.

.

And a world filled with simpletons, apparently.

.

Introduction:

.

(Feel free to jump to the next section if you don’t like lengthy introductions.)

.

Everyday, all the time, we meet all kinds of people; some who’re nice and pleasurable to be with and some who enjoys making people frustrated. All kinds of people, and all kinds of experience.
.

Gunz is no different. Nor is other online gaming community.
.

However, the Gunz community seems to have this particular culture… whether you win or you lose, hack or play legibly, skilful or just starting out… you get called a noob. If you’re doing well in a room, they try to kick you out of the room. If they lose against you more than once, they call you a hacker if you don’t get kicked.
.

Life is fun. And I don’t mean that sarcastically.
.

Why? Because this, on its own, is a source of entertainment. If they accuse you of being a hacker when you’re not, it shows they’re dissatisfied with the outcome of the battle and, instead of blaming their (inadequate) skills, they blame you instead. If you act indifferent towards them and/or ignore them, they get frustrated.
.

And, if you can counter all of their claims effortlessly, you rile them up.
.

It’s truly fun.
.

Of course, don’t get me wrong; never in my life I’ve called someone a noob… a more specialised / focused degrading term maybe, but never a noob. I’ve always found ‘noob’ an overrated insult. I mean, after being called that for hundreds of times for various (usually irrelevant) issues, wouldn’t you feel it’s a useless insult as well?
.

But back to the being-called-a-hacker story.
.

I’ve never hacked in my whole life, in all of my gaming experiences. I’ve always played them the legit way (though I may have played on illegal private servers…), and I usually follow the rules. Even the player-made rules, such as bow rules and one-versus-one in Gunz.
.

One way you could describe the way I play in Gunz as ‘fighting with honour’. Of course, honour is useless when it’s just a game, but I pretty much enjoy it. Killing an person who is AFK (away from keyboard, for those who don’t know) is boring; if I were to gain EXP, I might as well duel the usual way to gain some skill-increasing experience.
.

I don’t really mind it if someone calls me a noob, though I might personally go after that person and kill him (if it’s a free-for-all room).
.

I guess you could say; I’m usually nice, until someone decides to be not.
.

It then becomes entertainment to me, to see someone who accuses me blindly receives an equal blow on himself.
.

Tired of this lengthy intro? Let’s move on to what happened to me recently.

.

Where the Wry Remark Comes In and the Simpleton is Pwned:

.

I don’t really have much an issue with simpletons. Many of them irritate people by asking questions already covered in the FAQ, or in many other resources; I don’t really know if they’re lazy, or it never occurs to them.
.

But the line stops when they accuse me of being a hacker when I’m not. From then on, it’s entertainment time.

.

The Situation:

• A free-for-all melee-only room in Veteran Channel. It may be called a ‘veteran’ channel, but loads of people there still play like newbies.
  .

• Usually I use a single sword (as with a majority of the Gunz community), but when I’m bored, I sometimes switch to kodachi, a pair of swords that are much faster but does less damage. Pictures are shown below as proof.
  .

• Kodachis are fast, but I can use them faster by hitting the guard button the moment I start the second slash (similar to how the butterfly technique is applied), thus cutting my animation sword yet still dealing two hits instead of one.

.

Level 10 kodachi vs level 10 sword.

The Story:

(Note that I’ve changed That Other Guy’s real in-game name; wouldn’t like to target this blog to him. And I edited his sentences; wouldn’t do to suddenly have uncapitalised-first-letter, unpunctuated and misspelled sentences in this this blog entry, now would it?)
.

• *Me has defeated That Other Guy.*
  .
• That Other Guy: Zomg hacker!!
  .
• Me: Oh, so I’m a hacker now? Pray, tell me what kind of hacks I’m using.
  .
• That Other Guy: That’s easy; speed hacks!
  .
• Me: With a kodachi?
  .
• That Other Guy: I didn’t say you did it with kodachi.
  .
• Me: Oh, really; in a melee room where we can only use ONE melee weapon and a kodachi happens to be mine?
  .
• That Other Guy: You still speed hacked!
  .
• Me: With a kodachi? A weapon used because of its lesser delay?
  .
• That Other Guy: You’re hitting me with more slashes than me!
  .
• Me: Obviously; I’m hitting two slashes to your one.
  .
• *momentary silence.*
  .
• *Me has defeated That Other Guy.*
  .
• That Other Guy: I’ve got it now, you’re using damage hacks!
  .
• Me: With a kodachi? A weapon famous for its lack of damage?
  .
• That Other Guy: You’re hitting me with the same damage as a sword!
  .
• Me: Of course it has the same damage as a sword… that is, if you’re talking about the Rusty Sword. Besides, how would you know exactly how much damage I’m dealing to you?
  .
• *long silence*
  .
• *That Other Guy has left the room.*
  .
• *That Other Guy has joined the room.*
  .
• Me: *encounters That Other Guy in battle again.*
  .
• That Other Guy: *is using a kodachi*
  .
• *Me has defeated That Other Guy.*
  .
• That Other Guy: Why can’t I go that fast?
  .
• *That Other Guy has left the room.*

.

I’ve won the moment he rejoined with a kodachi instead of a sword.
.

Now, you may wonder if my claims that a kodachi has the same damage as the no-level-requirement rusty sword is right. Hence, I’ve taken the following screenshot:

.

Level 10 kodachi vs level 1 sword.

.

But hey, I was close, aren’t I? One point of damage isn’t really going to catch your attention like a bright, multi-coloured billboard.
.

Still, it was entertaining. Let’s hope he got exceedingly frustrated from the so-called discussion enough to learn that he shouldn’t blindly accuse someone of being a hacker after that.

.

~Estrelita Farr, perhaps a demon?

Yes, I just pulled an all-nighter the night before yesterday, which I usually can’t do.
.

And I had a mere 12 hours’ sleep last night… which, of course, is not enough to completely recover.
.

Still, I’m really glad my program is done. I can finally relax, have a good rest, and the best of all, PLAY GAMES!!
.

So, over the next few days, I’ll gradually fill up the “no post” gap with some posts to make it look like I’ve been diligently posting on my blog. xP
.

Hey, at least I still post!

.

~Signed,

Estrelita Farr, finally relaxing!

A cat that loves rat instead of chasing and playing with it? Of course it’s cute!
.

I always thought humans could learn things from animals. Not things like how to scratch your head with your leg, of course… more like, how to coexist in harmony with each other.
.

For example, in most (if not all countries), one can see the level of racism and how bad certain races are treated for, well, just being of that certain race. Some Chinese and Japanese people may still dislike each other (the hatred probably spawned from the Japanese occupation times), and many white and black people are often at odds with each other. How many people refused to vote for Obama simply because he was black? Even here in Malaysia, where we are proud to be multiracial, racism knows no bounds.
.

Humans also seem to be the only creature capable of cruelty… What other creature would cause war among themselves and kill each other? What other creature would actually rape its young due to uncontrollable lust? Of course, animals might actually fight its own kind, like a stray tomcat defending its territory from a trespassing cat or a pair of male moose dueling each other to win the heart of the female, but never would they actually kill the other if they win… merely drive them away. In the animal kingdom, it’s a eat-or-be-eaten world, a tale of survival, but some people do unspeakable acts just for amusement.
.

Sometimes, one couldn’t help but to feel sad.
.

But, different animals could actually be friends with each other, like the video (which was supposed to be the main topic of this post, really o_o). Even at my house, the three cats and one dog at my house (originally two cats and two dogs, one dog died of old age and we recently got another cat) live together in harmony. Well, not in full harmony yet (my cat likes to bully the newcomer, once she’s gotten used to her…), but there are never fights among them in my house.
.

Why can’t humans live in  harmony with each other when animals of different species could?
.

Oh well, I guess it’s a question that I probably won’t get an answer to… not that I mind so much, anyway.
.

Regardless, I recommend this video to all animal lovers! :D

.

.

Note: This video is copywrited by the original author at YouTube. I had no hand in its creation, nor do I have any relation to its owner! I merely posted this video here for recommendation purposes.

.

~Estrelita Farr, who finds the video cute!

In case you’re wondering what it’s about, it’s what they call a “short form improvisional comedy TV show”. We have four performers and a host, and the performers will improvise the scenes / songs / etc on the spot, using prompts from the host (predetermined) or the audience.
.

If you want to know more, Wikipedia is the place to go!
.

This particular YouTube clip of Whose Line? features a game called Hollywood Director, where Colin (the green-shirted guy) is a bigshot Hollywood director giving pointers to three actors to improve the scene. The current scene is Ryan (the tall, red-shirted guy), a prisoner doing a job of breaking rocks, and the warden, Chip (the blue-shirted guy), has something against him because he thinks he’s concealing a weapon. Wayne (the pink-shirted guy) attempts to bust Ryan out with a helicopter.
.

Hopefully you’ll enjoy it! My favourite is the last scene, STOMP-style! :D

.

.

Note: The video is uploaded by the guy at YouTube, I had no hand in its creation nor do I have any relation to the one who uploaded it!

.

~Estrelita Farr, who likes the show!

But what is there to do? The world is full of simpletons… or noobs, as we would say in gaming terms.
.

Today, once again, I’ve received a forwarded email from one of my contacts… the exact same email hoax I’m presenting to you today.
.

Do you know how long this particular email has been circulating? Since 1997! It does make you wonder just how many simpletons our world has, huh?
.

In case you still think it’s real, ponder on these points:
.

• There is no way an email can be tracked so easily without raising privacy issues; if you really want to track an email, some kind of hidden script has to be embedded into it. Would you like your email to be made known to the world through that nifty little script? No? Well, that’s why Microsoft can’t track email like this… it would cause a wave of complaints throughout the world.
  .
• They can’t track the email using the headers either. You know when you receive a forwarded email, you get that long list of “From: so-and-so” and “To: so-and-so” thing? It tells you where the email has been circulated thus far… providing the previous senders didn’t delete it. What happens if you were to delete that list and forward it to your list of friends? Would they know where the email have been around before it came to you? Of course not. Same goes for Bill Gates and Microsoft, they can’t track emails in this manner.
  .
• Okay, so let’s assume for a moment that a forwarded email can be tracked. If a million Hotmail users were to forward the email and ONE person who forwards to so many people receives around $500 USD, wouldn’t that mean that Bill Gates would have to fork out $500 million USD? $500 million USD is already half a billion; if their net income is $4 billion USD a quarter, do you think Bill Gates will give a quarter of his company’s income freely to people who barely spent a minute forwarding emails? Would you want to do that if you were him?

.

Still don’t believe it’s a hoax? Read the articles in these links:

• Hoax Slayer: Money from Microsoft Giveaway Hoax (link)
• Urban Legends: Bill Gates Is Sharing His Fortune! (link)
• Snopes: Microsoft / AOL Giveaway (link)
• Trend Micro: Make $$ “Bill Gates Fortune” Hoax (link)

.

You can also ask Uncle Google about this by typing “Bill Gates sharing fortune email” and seeing what you’ll get. The same thing what I’m telling you about, right?

.

But hey, what does Microsoft have to say about this? Here’s an official statement from Microsoft:

REDMOND, Wash., May 12, 1999 – Recently an email has been circulating on the Internet about a new "email tracking system" from Microsoft.
.
As you may have suspected, this is a hoax and did not originate from Microsoft.
.
Microsoft does try to investigate the source of these hoaxes and take appropriate action. However, many times the hoaxers take elaborate steps to shield their true identities and we cannot identify them. Privacy and security are very important to us here at Microsoft, and we work every day to build great software for the Internet that keeps information safe, secure and private.
.
We regret any inconvenience this may have caused you.

.
You can search for the official statement by typing “Bill Gates sharing fortune email official statement” in Google search.
.

Conclusion? It’s a hoax, an annoying chain mail. So why waste a minute of your busy day even reading this hoax email? You could’ve have a minute more to do other stuff, right?
.

So please, don’t blindly forward emails; do search about it online (Uncle Google is best) and find out if it’s a hoax first before you forward them. It’s rather tiring to receive the same email over and over… for a span of ten years!

.

~Estrelita Farr, tired of hoaxes. >_<

Note: This video isn’t made by me. It’s made by the guy at YouTube!

.

One of my favourite opening themes. It’s so dramatic! I usually love game soundtracks that are orchestrated and dramatic, and this is one of them. xP

.

~Estrelita, who likes orchestrated songs!