Steam Break!

The Wonderful World of Steam

Get it? STEAM break? It's a play on words, readers. Sorry I didn't do my third post last week, I was busy trading and playing TF2 all weekend, but on the bright side, I have Buds again, and who knows? I'm planning on holding onto them this time, but I can't say I wouldn't sell them for a good unusual offer. Only time will tell on how greedy I can (and generally will) be.In other news, this will be the only post of the week, to make up for the lack of the third last week. So, I figured we'd talk about Steam communities, and the beauty of joining them. 

This isn't to say you should just jump into a new group every time you get an invite, especially all of the random Russian invites that I get, which also confuses me. I always type in English, and when I use my mic speak English, so why invite me to your group when I have no idea what's going on? Its like when a guy added me on for a trade, he only spoke Korean, which also raised the question as to how he knew what I was saying in my original post on tf2tp. But, we got over it buy linking things from the TF2 wiki, pictures are a great way to break the language barrier.

I am personally a member of a few communities, although the only ones I'm active in (if you can call it that) are a bunch of trade_plaza servers that won't make my computer explode from joining. But, if you've ever randomly visited a server, and enjoyed the community, then there's a good chance that the server is hosted by a clan, or communal group. I play a lot on FTL (for teh Lulz) servers since my friend is an admin there, and the community is friendly (and cooperative) enough to generally buy a good bit of my items.

I'm not an advocate for communities on Steam, and most members will already know what I'm talking about, but some of the newer members, or people who come here for the occasional post about my dusty Xbox, or are LoL fans may not. In any case, keep an eye out for groups and communities, how do you think I got my Vintage Lo-Fi Longwave?

--Santa

Oh, and we hit 2,770 views as of when I posted this, thanks for all the views so fast.

Trading: Santa's A Horrible Liar

Well, maybe ‘horrible liar’ is a bit too strong for how my trading’s been going over the past few weeks since I last had a really big update about trading. For all of you, who don’t care for Mannconomics, then leave now, because we’re going to get really nerdy in the next couple minutes.

Now that we got all those peasants without hats out of here, let’s get down to business. Remember about a week or two ago when I said I was going to stop trading soon? Ha, haha hahaha.

I was lying.

When I got my new headset, something clicked to all of those people on trading servers around me. Suddenly, they all wanted my items, and no longer wanted theirs. In the last five days, I think I’ve made around 10 keys in value, which is nothing to snuff at, as far as I’m concerned. I’m going to give a breakdown on how the community is reacting in different markets, and some amazing trades that I’ve been through.

Starting out with the ‘Strange’ market, we’re seeing the rise of strange festive items. Exponentially. Turns out just about all of the major items (especially t bat, scattergun and rocket launcher) are going for at least an earbud. I can say, I never saw this coming. The crate 30 items seem to be leveling out in value, right when I buy a Strange Gunslinger, and then go sell it 1:1 for a Strange Machina, of course. In other news, the older stranges (think scattergun, rocket launcher, minigun, grenade launcher, pretty much all stock weapons) are starting to go up. Although the Pyro, Spy, and Engineer weapons haven’t started to go up just yet, I’d say it’s safe to bet that it’s only a matter of time before values start rising.

This week has also seen the impossible for promo items.

They’re dropping.

Right now, Bills are floating around 8-10 keys (some people refuse to lower those prices) and Earbuds are down to 22 keys. This may in fact be the first time in the history of Hat fortress 2 that Earbuds have dropped in price, but it doesn’t really surprise me. Max Heads are down to 2 buds, nobody seems to want the Holiday Headcase, and that’s floating somewhere between buds and max. I haven checked out the HOUWAR’s value in a while (mostly since it makes me cry every time I see how little I amount to one) but it could be that they’re dropping too. I can only hope that Unusuals start to make a comeback. Although I doubt that I’m going to sell my Orbiting Fire Texas Ten-Gallon (it’s even hotter with the brown paint I put on it) I’d like to know that if I ever feel like I need promos, they won’t cost me everything I own.

For anyone who has seen my inventory, it’s filled with around 150 weapons, 20 or so hats, 10 misc. items, metal, and many other random things since I refuse to craft items because I feel that maybe someday, I could sell my stack of 5 Southern Hospitalities. I was surprised yesterday when a guy traded me and said:

 “Show me what you’ve got.”

For normal traders, this may seem not very odd, but I advertise everything in my backpack, telling potential buyers to check my backpack (by using the control prompt “!bp pirate” in the normal trade_plaza servers that I lurk in) so people come and trade me with a recognition of something they want.

This guy wanted everything.

He asked me to put up all my normal items, so I did. I filled 19 and ½ rows with 78 items, some were non-craftable, some were newer (like a phlogstinator and sticky jumper I had) and some items were un-craftable. But I had 78 unique weapons up, no repeats. And then I got that question.

“How much for all of it?”

Seeing hat I normally sell weapons for a scrap each, that puts the value of all the items at 78 scrap, more if you count individual weapons.  78 scrap equals 8.66 refined, but I figured since the rough value was really around  4.33 refined in actual weapon value I could give him a bit of a discount.

“I can sell all this to you for 3 keys, and that’s about a 20% discount off of my normal prices for weapons.”

Turns out the guy didn’t have 3 keys, only two. After a bit of bargaining, we decided that a Strange Liberty Launcher and Ellis Cap were worth roughly a key, and about 30 seconds later, I had completed the largest trade in Team Fortress 2 history.

Although I can’t back up that it was the biggest trade in the world, I certainly feel that if not, I was at least pretty close. This is the first time in roughly 3 months that my backpack’s had less than 175 items in it. I feel kind of empty on the inside. But, profit is profit. I would have ended up crafting some of those items eventually, and selling in bulk is a lot easier than waiting a couple of weeks.

--Santa

Riot: Stop Change My AD Carries!

Did I Mention She's Got A Fairy, and Can Turn People Into Animals? That Too.

Once again we see the release of a new champion by the name of Lulu, who just so happens to be a support-AP-jungling hybrid. Maybe I’m just behind on the times, but I think Phreak would play Annie in the Jungle, so my opinion doesn’t really matter. Besides what I feel is another new champion who will soon be nerfed to the point that they will no longer be played, I found something else about this patch to be completely appalling: the weakening of lifesteal items.

Perhaps appalling is too strong of a word, perhaps ‘completely confused by’ is better.  Personally I thought the Bloodthirster (which is the main weapon that has been affected) has gone down from 12% to 10% at beginning stacks, and now give .2% lifesteal per kill, leading up to a max stacking of 20% lifesteal and no change to the overall damage. To even it up a bit, Bloodthirsters no longer drop all their stacks on death, only half. Now, I do admit that when I rolled Graves with two Bloodthirsters I got pretty gruesome, and I remember what happened when people who had skills AND good computers would use the might of two Bloodthirsters against me. Yes, it was a bad place, but that doesn’t mean… okay I give in. I’ll deal with my 40% if it means that I’ll have a chance to finally kill Caitlyn in my lane.

So maybe I started nagging too early, oh wait, what’s this? Changing to that Blue Golem Buff… regeneration down to only 1% instead of 1.5?! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

--Santa

And Now for Something Completely Different

For those of you who regularly read this blog, you may have noticed that I pretty much only write about video games, and every now and then I get bored and yell at things involving the internet.

This is about to change.

Yes, for today I'm going to do something that I have never attempted to do before. I'm going to do something so horrendously brash that I may regret it forever.

I'm going to review a product.

At this point of time, I don't have the project, but I will have it in a couple of hours, and that's when Ill use a page break to give you all the lowdown on how this thing works. Its called that Gamescon 377, made by Altec-Lansing back when it was still owned by Plantronics  still owned the company a couple years ago. About a week or so back, I had a cheap little headset that I bought from Walmart last year, it dies while talking to my team during a heated session of League of Legends. May it rest peacefully in Silicone Heaven.

So, I began my search for the newest piece of hardware immediately. It didn't take me to long to find it. The specs, and reviews seemed promising, so I bought it. Checking the UPS transit data, I saw that it was arriving today, giving me a perfect chance to yell at plenty of other perfectly nice people who unfortunately stumble onto my blog. But, if it does turn out that this is a fine headset, which is on-sale for a very reasonable price, then who knows what I can do next?

Here's the page-break, click on the article to read on for the full review.

TF Top 5

As I've said many times, TF2 is my favorite game. 

Ever.

But, I thought you might like some insight into why. 

Because it isn't ALL about hats.

Just Mostly.

To give an aspect, Valve really is one of the best, if not the best, game developers of games. Pretty much ever. Two of their games make it into my top 5, which I feel isn't an easy accomplishment, as I am a very picky player. Games I talk about all the time make it into the top 5 that even though I love, just don't make the cut.

Without any further delay:

Santa's Picks For Best Video Game.

5. Rollercoaster Tycoon 2. This may be controversial to those who like the series but, I just have one thing to say-- Six Flags.

4. Half-Life 2. Besides HL2, the only other heavy plot line game in my top 10 is Bioshock, which isn't to say that they're bad, its just to say that I prefer multiplayer games. Ironically however, nearly all the games in my top 5 are singleplayer. The man with the goatee is personally one of my all-time heroes, and with a story so compelling, I still can't wait for the sequel, but Valve speeds up for no man.

3. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. I had to think about this one for a long time. Who deserved it more? Skyrim, or Oblivion. In the end, the game with 3x the playtime won my vote. I can't be the only one who thought Skyrim just was... missing something. I hurts me to say that Skyrim isn't as good, but there's a large bit of charm withing Oblivion. The gray cowl. The gates to Oblivion. Fiercesome Mudcrabs. Everything I loved, and spent more than 1000 hours left.

2. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. The other surprise. This is the only game I have played through at least 10 times. Mr. Green Stache, Cackletta, Mario, Popple, everything in this game was so memorable and just fantastic. Its hard not to give anything less that a "perfect 10" but in the end, only one game has ever achieved that rating from me.

1. Team Fortress 2, not big surprise. By far the best. A game that shouldn't have a lore, has likely the most complicated one that Valve could make. The game thats least likely to have an economic system revolving around it, has made one. The game least likely to have hats-- oh wait, Robin Walker was the developer, that'd be impossible. The game that puts hats into other Valve games. Thats the beauty of TF2. A game that should be no more complex than a point and click team fight extravaganza has evolved into the greatest thing ever developed. Thank you Gabe Newell, Robin Walker, and Vale for making a game that has literally ensnared me for the last year with its loving, hat filled embrace.

--Santa

Single Player Extrvaganza

Let’s talk about something that is sure to get every gamers blood boiling.

Episode 3.

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, go ahead and take your leave, why are you even on this blog? This is a blog about GAMES and occasionally the INTERNET. And memes, I suppose. Everything on this blog is a joke anyway. Even the web address. Go download The Orange Box for $20 off of Steam, you’ll thank me later.

In any case, I bring this up for one reason, my brother’s insistent nagging that Valve NEEDS to release Half Life 2: Episode 3. It is their DUTY as a video game publisher to release their flagship game a new update. This got me to thinking. Half-Life was originally released in 1998 for the PC. In 2006, 8 years later, we got Half-Life 2. Over the course of a year, we got the two episodes (with Episode 2 being released on October 10^th, 2007) Here we are, 5 years later, and still not even a hint at Episode 3. Here’s my idea.

There is no Episode 3.

But, instead, there is a Half-Life 3. Think about it. Valve works on Valve time, but that does not mean that it takes them 5 years to make an episode. It took them 7 or so months to do it beforehand. I can only conclude that given the amount of time elapsed, that this can really be the only reasonable solution. But, given this, I also think it will probably take about 8 years, maybe longer, to finish HL3. Valve won’t even talk about it if it isn’t up to Gabe’s insanely high standards, and that’s what gave us Half-Life in the first place.

I have no problem with waiting for Half-Life 3 mostly because it’s one of the few game series that are single player that I will play. I like the challenge that Half-Life gives, but I know why it gives the challenge—quality control. Does this mean that I don’t hope that Half-Life comes out in a blaze of glory at E3 this year? Of course not. But, it won’t happen. Sorry guys, I think it’s possible we may hear Valve tease us this year with a smidge of the goatee that Freeman eludes us with, but it isn’t coming for another couple of years. Hang in there kiddos, we’re all hoping for the same thing.

--Santa

Flashback: FLY MY PRETTIES

All right Ladies and Gentlemen! Guess what we're talking about today!

No seriously, guess.

Oh fine, I'll tell you. Its Spore. You know, that one game where you made everything? Yeah, turns out that Spore is 4 years old now, and I think that qualifies it to be flashbacked at. Its pretty hard to find a requirement for PC games, since they never really change, just require better components to play. 

Spore is, for whatever reason, one of the few games my computer can run without crashing. Team Fortress 2, no. Sims 3, no. Minesweeper in HD, no. Sopre, yes. I remember it like the day I bought it 4 years ago. I remember playing it at my friend's house, remembering how cool it was (especially since his computer could run Minesweeper HD)  and the free feeling of creation in the air. Yes, Spore was the Minecraft before Minecraft, like Legos were the Minecraft before Minecraft, ntil they started making Minecraft Lego sets.

Spore has 5 stages, at each stage you do more customization.

1. Cell Stage- beginning design of creatures, depending on whether you eat meat or plants, you decide whether or not to be an omnivore, carnivore or herbivore.
2. Creature Stage- Main design of creature. This will be the final design of your creature. You go around killing, making allies, etc to evolve, finding genetic traits from those who you conquer.
3. Tribal Stage- Decides the traits of your race, you can be aggressive and kill the other tribes of your race, or you can choose piece through  singing. Your call.
4. Civilization Stage- Depending on your feelings towards other members of your race you end up as either Religious, Economic or Military. These are all self-explanatory. As other city-states like your own pop up, then you have to change them into your own way of thinking, to unite your planet.
5. Space Stage- The big leagues. Kill everything Pull moons out of orbits, colonize the world, accelerate the learning of races. Whatever you please.

Spore promised a bit more than I believe it could handle. It ended up being some sort of space oddesy, but never truly reached its full potential. Its just missing something, and I'm just not quite sure as to what that may be. Spore is a fantastic game, and the customization is great. I spent probably 200 hours playing it back when it was first released, but its a game I haven't gone back to since. Although its makers are Maxis, the geniuses behind the Sims series, it just isn't good enough to be called a perfect game.

--Santa

Xbox: How do You Keep Dragging Me Back?

I have to admit that over the last year, I have moved away from my Xbox. I haven't properly payed my Xbox since the beginning of the year, when I was still on my Honeymoon with Skyrim. But, I just can't seem to forget about my 3rd true gaming love. I was able to let go of the GameCube in a couple of seconds to get the Wii, I swapped the Wii for the Xbox without one tear shed, but now with my transitioning from PC from Xbox, I'm slowing down. I admit, it may have something to do with the fact that running TF2 on my computer makes the things shake with fear, but I think there's two titles that are still holding me back.

For those of you who guessed by looking at the picture, my first game should come as no shock. Halo 3 remains in my all time top 5 games, (which I will probably talk about at a later date) I played Reach, although I feel it had the same problem that Skyrim had. Skyrim was better than Oblivion in every single way Graphics, storyline, attack features. Everything was an improvement. But, the character was gone, and I no longer felt that special spark that I got from the raging at SWAT or getting Red Team on Avalanche. I missed the stupid guards who would want to attack because I wore m Gray Cowl, but if I took it off a second before they were to attack me, they'd ask me how my day was going. I miss that stupid charm.

So why am I excited for Halo 4? well, this is why. Go ahead and click the link to the pretty YouTube video, I assure you it'll get you going too. I will miss the Covenant, that's for sure, but I just can't help and feel amazed by the graphics, the overall feel of movement  that the game generates. I have personally felt that Video Games look pretty enough for the last few years, what we're going to see instead are dynamics. Improvements in movement, textures, differences in the bricks of houses, and maybe different sized trees. Maybe I'm just a bit too hopeful, but I do see a new realm beyond our current generation of games, everything can get better. Hit the page break to continue our heated discussion.

LoL + TF2: Update Central, And A Builders Plea

Not My 10 Gallon, but same effect

A lot has happened in the past week that I last made my post. I want to thank all of you who voted in the content pole. All 5 of you. All of whom selected everything. God, I love the internet. I'll just take that as a full steam ahead, and I'll just blog about whatever. Thats fine by me too, you guys had your chance to influence me.

On LoL, we've seen the release of Fiora, the addition of mana to the jungle, and another thousand changes to champions, which we've all come accustomed too. I still think that Heimerdinger deserves a change, and although I've heard rumors of him getting a re-make, like Gangplank and Jax got. I think that Heimerdinger's just too hard to play at higher ELOs (and I say this from experience, since Heimerdinger is my main) so, this is what I thought of…

Its no secret that pretty much anyone can counter Heimerdinger, so what he comes down to is team fights where he can enter a bit later when you're playing really heavy games. Heimerdinger's main abilities really lie in his turrets, and because of that, I feel that he should be given back his 3rd turret, getting a new on ever two levels (1, 3, 5) you still get the additional health at level 4 and Ur'Anium rounds at 2, but instead of AoE at level 5, you get the 3rd turret back, and instead of having the frosting slow on Heimerdinger’s ultimate, he would have AoE, along with his upgrade to his rockets and grenade. Now, this does make Heimerdinger much more viable at levels 5 and 9, whenever he gets another turret, so I suggest that his AoE scales with the upgrades to well, UPGRADE!! From like 25% to 20% to 35% AoE, this makes turret placement much more important, and if Heimerdinger could manage it, ganking would become an easier, and deadlier option. I call this the Vlad effect, after the League's own hemoplagic vampire. Anyone can really play Vlad, he isn't too hard to learn, but if you want to be good as him, it takes a large amount of timing, and skill.

I do enjoy Heimerdinger because of my countless hours as another turret builder, the Engineer, and I will now switch focus for that reason. I'm getting out of trading. I recently gave my two unusuals (A Steaming Sola Topi and a black Crocleather Clouch w/ Peace) for a Texas Ten Gallon w/ Orbiting flame. I know it’s not quite the Hotrod with Sunbeams, but I think I'm good for now. I'm going to put my money into miscellaneous items for my characters, and start opening crates. Who knows? Maybe I'll unbox a Team Captain with Sunbeams? I'd laugh myself all the way to the bank.

In any case, its nice to be back. I like taking breaks every now and then, but some interesting things have happened this week, and I can't wait to touch base with them.

--Santa