SWTOR: My Saga has Begun

I got a pretty sweet birthday gift from Bioware this week; my early access invite to Star Wars: The Old Republic! WOOHOO!

What I’m excited about is how even though I was in the beta, I didn’t get a lot of time to do anything except check out Character Creation and the basics, so I’m letting the game do its thing and taking it all in on my first main character as a noob. It’s refreshing to be in a new (but still somewhat familiar) world and immerse myself in the story. I love all of the cut scenes and storyline sequences because it makes the game feel more real; all of the choices I have to make along the way helps shape my story and for the first time since SWG, I feel like the quests are an important part of my storyline, and they’re actually engaging so far. It’s like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, but in the Star Wars universe, and with other players to interact with.

But let’s be honest – with a 5.5 month old, a full time job, and my small geeky soapmaking business on the side, my game time will be limited. The last couple of nights I’ve logged in after the baby has gone to bed, but because I get up so early, I only play for an hour or two before going to bed myself. There will be a lot of sneaking time in when I can and little windows of gaming opportunity, but I’ve accepted that I won’t be playing as much as I used to, and thus not leveling as quickly as most of my guildmates. But that’s ok – I’m back in a Star Wars game with old SWG friends, which makes me happy.

Speaking of guildmates, here are the particulars. As a nod to my old SWG pink Rodian character from Flurry, my SWTOR character is named Amethyst. She’s a zabrak Sith Inquisitor on the Port Nowhere shard, guilded with some of SWG-Flurry and the Emperor’s finest Imperials… the Durmanhoth Clan. I also have the alts Ame’thyst (Bounty Hunter) and A’methyst (Imperial Agent), who are also Imperials in DC. Be sure to say hi if you see me online!

Hope to see you in-game! :)

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SW:TOR – Join The Empire!

Piggybacking on my previous farewell to SWG post, like most people, I’ve been following and anticipating Star Wars: The Old Republic with my old SWG guildmates for going on three years now. With its beta upon us, some of those old Warriors of Justice guildies are reforming, but this time for the Empire instead.

Back in the day, Amethyst the pink Rodian was born on Flurry and initially followed the path of the Empire. However, shortly after meeting Darth Vader and completing the Imperial Theme Park, she met up with some amazing people in WoJ, and they encouraged her to go Rebel so that she could join their guild. WoJ became her home and many of its members became more than guildmates – they also became friends. Friends who even attended my real life wedding in 2008. Many of us have kept in touch over the years since leaving SWG, and recently some of the old veteran members that built WoJ from the ground up have banded together and have decided to play for the Empire this time around. We joined up with a former “foe” from back in our SWG days, The Durmanhoth Clan, a Sith SW:TOR guild. It’ll be refreshing to play the other side this time around, and Amethyst will get to go back to her Imperial roots. There’s no better clan of imps to join. DC was our big rival back in the day on Flurry, and were an impressive force to be reckoned with. Though we were on opposite sides back then, I had mad respect for DC, and my entertainer even played at the Overlord and Dark Queen’s wedding ceremony, a huge in-game event. Now we’ll smash the rebellion together.

Anyway, I am still on maternity leave these days, though I could make a pretty good argument for my newborn being MORE than a full-time job! I don’t have a lot of time for gaming right now, but am still gearing up to have fun with my old SWG buddies in SW:TOR when I can. If you’re interested in joining a top notch group of great people, check out The Durmanhoth Clan.

Hope to see you in SW:TOR. For the Empire!

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So Long, Star Wars Galaxies

Amethyst Moonshadow of Flurry

I haven’t actively played SWG in years.

It was my first MMO, back in late 2003. I’ve always been a Star Wars fan, and when I realized I could play a character in the Star Wars universe with thousands of other people… well, it was a dream come true. My very first character ever was a human in the Shadowfire galaxy that I played until January 2004, when I switched to my true calling and what I considered my true SWG home… a Rodian in the Flurry galaxy. Amethyst Moonshadow was the Official Pink Rodian of Flurry since January 2004, and I loved her (and all of her identical alts) very much. Understandable; you never forget your first MMO love. I left with a lot of my friends after the NGE fiasco and haven’t returned to play seriously since; it’s been at least a year since I’ve poked around in-game just temporarily, and even though I haven’t actively played for years, I was truly saddened to receive the following email today:

Dear Star Wars Galaxies™ Community Member,

We write to you today to inform you that on December 15, 2011, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) and LucasArts will end all services (MMO and Trading Card Game) for Star Wars Galaxies (SWG). The shutdown of SWG is a very difficult decision, but SOE and LucasArts have mutually agreed that the end of 2011 is the appropriate time to end the game.

We are extremely grateful to all of the SWG fans. We have had the rare opportunity to host one of the most dedicated and passionate online gaming communities and we truly appreciate the support we’ve received from each and every one of you over the course of the past eight years.

In recognition of your incredible loyalty, we are extending special Fan Appreciation offers to the current SWG community. We also plan to go out with a bang with a galaxy-ending in-game event in December and hope to see you all there. The details relating to these offers and events as well as the timeline and specifics regarding the discontinuation of the service, are provided below.

Again, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to our player community for making SWG one of the best online communities in gaming history.

Sincerely,
Sony Online Entertainment & LucasArts

Why should I care, really, when I haven’t played in so long? I keep asking myself this, but it doesn’t change the heavy heart feeling I have over the news. It makes me sad. There are so many memories wrapped up in that MMO. Lots of good friendships were made – hell, one of my dear WoJ guildmates attended my wedding in 2008! I met a lot of incredible people in the Flurry galaxy, and have kept in touch with several of them over the years. Some of us have even played in other games together since; a tribute to how strong the bond in SWG was. Some of my fondest memories are reignited when I log in and see some of the personalized items, like a Christmas fruitcake or a bio-engineered Woolamander, that sit in my cantina, named especially as a gift from some of those incredible people I was fortunate enough to meet through SWG years ago.

The Official Pink Rodian of Flurry since 2004

While you always knew it wouldn’t possibly last forever, RIP Star Wars Galaxies. You died in my eyes with the NGE, but held on for so long and still drew me in nostalgically from time to time because of the unique experience your MMO had to offer. I have yearned for an MMO that had what you had for years, and nothing so far has ever been quite the same or quite able to measure up. The intricate crafting system, the player housing system, the player cities and politics, the social aspects such as having cantinas and a dedicated entertainer/social class… those features made SWG robust and gave players so much more to do than engage in combat all the time to get ahead… something I have not been able to find done as well in any other game since. It truly felt like an open-ended world with limitless possibilities, a true “sandbox” of a game, if you will. Jump into a dungeon, fly in space, find some PvP action, explore various planets, craft, decorate your house, quest for collectibles, set up a shop and sell your wares, sit around in a cantina all day conversing with others and listening to their galactic tales… yup, SWG, you will be missed.

Massively did an exclusive interview with John Smedley, president of SOE, on the end of SWG. I think my favorite part of the interview is that John openly admits the NGE was a mistake and apologizes for it. Not that it matters now, but it was nice to read, because back when the NGE took place no one at SOE was man enough to admit that it was a mistake. The end of SWG is being referred to as its “sunset” and there are some things planned (like an in-game event) for SWG’s sunset that culminates on December 15, 2011.

With that news said, SWTOR is coming… I’m hoping Flurry will be able to rally somewhere together. There have been a few “official Flurry gathering” threads on the SWTOR forums – the first reached its 1k post limit, so a second one was started. Flurrians have been checking in and discussing SWTOR there, so the optimist in me is hoping we can organize where to go together as a galaxy when the game goes live. There are so many old names I recognize in that thread, and I’d sure like to live on in the Star Wars universe (as a Rodian, of course) with some old faces from SWG in SWTOR. We’ll see!

geekling due soon!

As for me, well, as mentioned in my most recent post(s), I’m about to be a first time mom. In fact, we’re due in 4 days. My gaming time has pretty much ceased to exist at this point, even my geeky soap shop is in “maternity mode” for awhile; I do plan to re-sub in SWG in order to be in good standing by September 15. Why September 15? All those who have an active subscription by September 15 will get to play the final months of SWG for free until the plug is pulled on December 15. I’d like to be able to attend the in-game event with other old-timers and putz around with them for free when I do have a spare moment, without a formal commitment. My play time of course will be limited with a newborn and I most likely won’t spend tons of time in-game, but I’d love to see the game off for the last time and hope some old friends join me that final week at the sunset event.

Photos
While you can head over to my Star Wars Galaxies photo gallery and see them all, here are a few images of me as Amethyst Moonshadow taken over the years, just for fun.

[Show as slideshow]

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So long, SWG, you’ll always be my first MMO love.

love,
Amethyst Moonshadow, the Official Pink Rodian of Flurry

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The Good & The Bad

The good news: I currently have an active RIFT account subscription going. The bad news: I’m just not finding time to play consistently!

At the beginning of April we went on a 10 day vacation, our last crack at a getaway before the geekling is born. The relaxation was wonderful, and the trip was much needed! I’m in my 7 month of pregnancy and next week I can say that my baby is due next month (*gasp*), and overall I feel pretty good, but sitting for long hours at the computer is just not working for me right now. I let my RIFT subscription lapse in light of our trip and how I’ve been feeling, but I did re-sub this past week at an attempt to find time here and there in spite of consistency setbacks. My tech teaching job has me at a computer most of the day every day, and the idea of coming home and sitting at a computer all evening on top of that is sometimes the absolute last thing on earth I want to do. It’s hard to get excited about playing when my back, feet, and hips cry out in protest. Not to mention that I’m spending lots of my free time getting the house and other things ready for the geekling. Though I found around 3-4 hours to spend this past weekend in RIFT, the rest of the weekend was spent with family for Easter or organizing the nursery. What is happening to me?!

I have accepted that my priorities have shifted. I have accepted that in a few weeks, there will be someone tiny that needs me more than anything else in this world, and I’m ready for it. We’ve been ready for this for awhile, and gaming has already taken a back seat on this baby adventure and the baby’s not even here yet!

I find RIFT to be a nice escape when I have time and feel up to it, and while I am not auto re-subbing each month and only subbing if I think I have time, there’s always the possibility that RIFT will entertain me in the wee hours of the morning while I rock a geekling back to sleep in the near future. You can be sure that I’m staying in touch with my old SWG friends as we prepare to reunite in SWTOR someday, too, just on a much more casual level this time around for me.

Speaking of old SWG friends, after vacation I came back to RIFT and made a character named Lyrael on the Defiant side of Emberlord PvP because I noticed there were a few Flurry SWG’ers grouped up there. When and if I find time, I’ll probably log in there just to better keep in touch.

Sorry for all of the excuses; I hate these sporadic and excuse-filled posts as much as you do. I’m still here, just… in the background as amazing new things take priority in my life over my gaming hobby. I’m sure you understand! I’ll be keeping up with gaming news and reviews to fill the playing void and looking forward to finding a spare minute or two here and there for the latest games when I can. Besides, someone’s gotta bring this geekling up right – to be a gamer! ;)

And hey, since I’m not going to be updating much over here on this blog, why not follow along with what I’m doing elsewhere? Here’s where else you can keep up with me when I’m not gaming here at pinktoque.com:

TheKarpiuks.com – our family blog, where we’re staying the most up-to-date lately with all that “real life” stuff going on as we prep for the geekling. We share photos, recipes, and other things of interest that our family does. Of my three blogs (ya, three!) this one is updated the most often lately.

ThePinkToque.com – my craft blog and crafting portfolio, where I keep customers of my two online stores, GEEKSOAP and The Pink Toque Shop, in the know on what’s going on business and craft-wise. I have been blogging about my geeky, crafty endeavors including knitting, scrapbooking, crochet, plush making, soap, etc. there since 2006.

Twitter! Yes, I tweet. And it will come as no surprise that I have several Twitter accounts, I’m sure. My main Twitter account is @geeksoap, named for my small geeky soapmaking business, and is full of general geekiness and gaming. I also use @thepinktoque and @thekarpiuks for my craft and personal blogs, respectively.

If I’m not hanging with you here on pinktoque.com since I’m not really gaming much, at least we can keep in touch elsewhere! Hope to see you around the Internets ;)

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Rift Headstart: Characters Created!

Just a quick update now that I’ve secured my character names on Faeblight, the PvE-RP server I chose; you’ll be able to find me in-game as Lumiya (rogue – bard) or Lyrael (cleric).

While the queue times are pretty astronomical right now to get in-game, special thanks to my husband for snagging names for me while I was still at work when things went live. I’ve been able to spend maybe 5 minutes in game total tonight, and the Rift forums are full of whining and complaining about long wait times to get in. *shrug* Not the end of the world; I was prepared for a wait on the first day of the Headstart program due to popularity and the fact that Trion announced a 1 million Trion accounts milestone in time for the release of their first MMO. At the end of the day, I’m happy I at least got the names I wanted. Besides, I have so many other things I should be doing, so overall I’m content. I’ll get a chance to play more this weekend once things settle down. I’m in no hurry!

Hope to see you in-game soon. :)

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