Posted in 7 Days to Die, Gaming

Blaugust Dev Appreciation Week: The Fun Pimps

Posted on by Aywren Sojourner

I never thought I’d use the word “Pimp” in a title of a blog post, but there you are. I love this team and what they do, so I’m pimpin’ their name right now… (Oh… that was awful… I’ll see myself out.)

The Fun Pimps is the development team behind the zombie survival crafting game, 7 Days to Die. If you look at my archives, you’ll see that I first reviewed 7D2D back in July of 2014… and this is a game that the Posse still enthusiastically plays today (we were playing it last weekend, in fact)! I have over 700 hours put into this game, which makes it my most-played Steam game ever.

Even though it’s still wading through various stages of alpha, we are awaiting the next big patch drop eagerly. Jeeps and gyro-copters!! Woot!

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So who are the Fun Pimps? Based on their website:

The Fun Pimps A.K.A. TFP are a small dedicated group of highly experienced Game and Software developers with a passion to make games that both our team and gamers really want to play. Our goal is to create a lasting gaming experience you can’t get anywhere else. It’s more than a game it’s a labor of love!

Our team grew from humble beginnings making mods for games and those roots have taken seed. But we haven’t forgotten where we came from and the importance of growing a strong vision with the support and passion of the people we’re making the game for. The average 7 Days to Die Team member has over 14 years of experience in Game and Software Development working with or for many top companies.

We’re too experienced to call indie but still small enough to do the innovative and sometimes risky things that AAA studios are afraid to try. So if you’re with us buckle your seat belts survivors, grab your pickaxe, compass and knapsack and let’s start kicking some Zombie ass and making some cool ass MacGyver shit!

Can confirm this is accurate.

Sometimes TFP take some flack for being a slower dev team to push updates. But to their credit, the game they’re working on is already huge and extremely complex. When they do release, they drop a HUGE amount of new content. In fact, every patch has made it like a brand new game each time.

Yes, this means you have to start your game over for big patches. But you know what? Even after over 700 hours in this game, the Posse never complains about starting over. With the random gen system, each new game is always vastly different. It’s just as engaging to wipe the slate clean as it is to have a nice fortified base and move into exploration mode further into the game cycle.

There’s so many complexities that even after all this time, the game continues to surprise us in devious and delightful ways. Due to that, I can absolutely be patient for the next content drop without complaint. It just makes it all the more delicious when we get it.

I don’t know if Joel and the team will ever see my thanks, but this is my appreciation post for a darn fine game that’s brought us more enjoyment, ripped down walls and jump-scares than I could have ever anticipated. Keep on pimpin!

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Posted in FFXIV, Gaming, MMORPGs

Blaugust Dev Appreciation Week: Thank You FFXIV Team

Posted on by Aywren Sojourner

This week at Blaugust is Dev Appreciation Week. And since I’ve been straying all over the place with my topics so far, I decided to pull together a quick post that’s on-theme today.

As a creator myself, and a member of a software development team IRL, the developers of the games I play tend to stay up front in my mind. I marvel at the skill and originality they possess, and try to be gentle when things don’t always live up to expectations.

A Final Fantasy Fan

It’s not a secret that I’m a Final Fantasy fan. My first JRPG as a pre-teen was Final Fantasy 1 on the NES, and my first RPG love was Final Fantasy 2/4j on the SNES. I still appreciate the old skool games much more than those that came after FFIX.  I never could quite get into the shift into more sci-fi, J-Pop or modern themes that newer FF games take the series to.

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There was even a chunk of time when I was quite angry at S/E for what I perceived as milking the series — especially my most loved game FFIV. I felt really betrayed when the release of the 3D version added parts to the story that weren’t in original canon, which directly effected fan projects I’d been working on for 15-some years at that point. Then, add to it a very mediocre “sequel,” which I still haven’t played and refuse to knowledge exists.

Yep, I’m a FFIV nerd.

A Fan Reborn

When FFXIV first launched, I ignored it. I was in a Boycott All Things S/E mindset at the time. And probably deep into playing GW2 or whatever my choice of MMOs was. It was hardly a blip on my radar, except to hear from media now and then how terrible it was.

I did catch wind that the game was shutting down. I heard that it was being re-worked. And none of that really phased me at the time. I had no idea how incredible a story it would become and how FFXIV would eventually become the center of my gaming when A Realm Reborn launched.

Shortly after ARR came to be, I started hearing GOOD things about it. Really, really good things about it. So much that they’d stopped selling the game temporarily to let the poor servers catch up with the demand.

I was having a falling out with the direction GW2 was going at the time, and feeling down about the state of my MMO gaming. And even though I was still annoyed with S/E as a company, my curiosity got the better of me, and I picked up FFXIV as soon as they made it available for digital download again.

As an oldskool FF fan, I was almost instantly hooked. Some people knock the slowness of the game and the story in the beginning (which I understand), but for me, this is exactly the change of pace I needed after my frustrations with GW2. Then, to see so many Final Fantasy references all balled up into a package that was undeniably created with love…

FFXIV did something I didn’t think was possible. It made me a Final Fantasy fan again. 

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My first Moon Kitty, rolled back in September 2013.

This, I thought, is a REAL Final Fantasy game. THIS is the kind of fantasy and story experience I’d been missing for so many years. It was exactly the right game at the right time, and while I don’t always agree with all the choices the team makes, I found myself quickly becoming loyal to Yoshi-P and his team of miracle workers.

My Deep Thanks to FFXIV

Five years later, I’m still subbed and still playing. I’ve been to a Fan Fest where I was able to meet members of the dev team and express my gratitude in person. I’ve met so many people through Eorzea, some which have extended into what I consider RL friendships.

I’ve run a successful Free Company that’s helped to link together people from all across the world. And even after giving that to new leadership, I continue to meet people through RP endeavors as I start on a new path in the game I once only tried out of pure curiosity.

The game taught me to (mostly) overcome my crippling fear of grouping.

It taught me my first raids.

It taught me that I wasn’t as terrible a player as I feared I would be… that I didn’t wipe parties when I grouped (like I was scared I would)… that I had value… and that I could bring people together and teach them in turn. I can’t express how much this game has pushed me to develop beyond my social and gaming comfort zone.

It may sound crazy to say, but $15 a month is cheap for that kind of personal development. I owe the team so much more than that (throw in a few server transfers and Fantasia fees, am I right?)

Game development can be a thankless job sometimes, so I wish there was some way I could tell them how much Eorzea and their creations have meant to me, and will continue to mean. Maybe somewhere through this big wide Internet, my good vibes will trickle their way.

It always blows my mind how The Rising anniversary event usually is THEM thanking US! Looking forward to this year’s event and many more beyond!

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Posted in FFXIV, Gaming, MMORPGs

FFXIV: Tales from the Jump Puzzle – With Bennett Foddy

Posted on by Aywren Sojourner

On the first day of the Moonfire Faire, the fact that there is a jump puzzle to the event became a reality. Then, people came to know that there’s an easy version, which is all you need to complete the event, and a much, much harder version. The harder version doesn’t give you anything but bragging rights, and yet, so many people set out to defeat it.

During early afternoon, server shout chat in the zone began to draw connections between the feeling this jump puzzle gave someone and the game Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy.

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Now if you’ve never played the game or watched someone on YouTube play it, please take a moment to watch any normal playthrough (not speed run) of Getting Over It. Doesn’t matter which, they usually all end up the same. Lots and lots of bad language. 🙂

Anyhow, throughout the game, as you fail and lose progress, Bennett Foddy offers “motivational” quotes and commentary in voice overs. Most of these are actually empowering quotes, but in the middle of suffering and failure, they feel more like a passive-aggressive jab at you (which is probably the intention).

So, when Mateus chat turned into Bennett Foddy quotes for the new jump puzzle and various parodies of, I knew I needed to start hitting the screenshot button.

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In closing, some Bennett Foddy motivation for your Wednesday here:

Posted in FFXIV, Gaming, MMORPGs

FFXIV: Moonfire Faire 2018

Posted on by Aywren Sojourner

Here we are, when it seems almost everyone else is talking about the launch of the WoW expansion, and I’m just chilling in the new FFXIV event — this year’s Moonfire Faire. There’s a lot of positive vibes coming off this event as far as I’ve seen. Or maybe it’s because the change to a larger, RP server really ramps up the community excitement way beyond what I’m used to seeing.

Shout chat was non-stop yesterday (for better or worse), and I saw everything from fat chocobo parades to floating people bridges (which I took part in). The bridge didn’t quite make it to the second island, but it got pretty long in the end!

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This year’s reward was a nice set of cosmetic beach wear, complete with sunglasses. I thought it looked good for both male and female characters, and I went through the event on all of my characters to snag a set for each of them.

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BUT… before you could reap the rewards, you had to face the challenge of the Eorzean Nimble Warrior… which I’ve been told is a parody of American Ninja Warrior (?) I have no idea. I’ve never even seen the show, so the joke went way over my head until Amoon told me why it was so funny.

Basically, the whole thing is a bit of a jump puzzle. First, a horizontal one…

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…and then a vertical one…

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Once you hit the checkpoint at the mid-way area in the tower, that’s all that’s required to get your rewards. It’s honestly not that hard of a jump puzzle as long as you take your time and don’t overshoot it.

However, the jump puzzle continues upward beyond that with a difficulty I’ve heard rivals Kugane tower. It’s not required for anything, just there if you want to try it. I don’t even know that there’s really a reward…

When night rolls around, the fireworks start in each city. These will likely continue on through The Rising anniversary event later on this month. It’s so hard to believe that this means I’ve been playing this game for almost five years! I remember the first Moonfire Faire, which was happening back when I was a completely new player, even.

Overall, looking back at the choice I made to hand off our FC and make a change in gaming environment, I’m not regretting it. Mateus can get a little more excitable in shout chat, and has its share of trollish behavior, but that kind of stuff can be turned off or avoided. Our Cross-World Linkshell has done well to keep in touch with people on our previous server. I’ve made more than enough RP contacts to be busy for a long time.

Our tiny friends-only FC on Mateus reached Rank 6 over the weekend, which means once I have the funds, I’ll be hunting/camping a house for us soon. We’ll see how that turns out!

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Posted in FFXIV, Gaming, MMORPGs

FFXIV: The Hunt Continues

Posted on by Aywren Sojourner

Last week, I wrote about unlocking the Monster Hunter World collaboration event in FFXIV. It wasn’t until this weekend that we actually got to sit down and fight the Rathalos trial, however.

Despite somewhat wanting the mount, I only ran the Normal mode once. It was enough to kinda form an opinion on the fight itself, which was a blend of battle mechanics you’d see in Monster Hunter imitated the best that FFXIV could.

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Overall, the Normal mode trail isn’t terribly hard. It does require you to be level 70 and to have completed Stormblood to play it. I think it also requires you to have at least ilvl 320 gear. This is more than enough to get the job done, IMHO.

I know the EX version is much more challenging than this, seeing they cut the party number in half and limit the number of potions you can use. Also, the party has a shared 3-death penalty. If you reach that max number, the fight is over.

Mostly, this fight is about moving and spacial awareness. Rathalos often faces someone and charges at them without any ground telegraphs or warnings. The same for the tail swipe mechanic. So you have to keep an eye on boss body language.

In the second half of the battle, healers can’t heal you anymore and it’ll be up to you to use the Potion mechanic. You only have 10 of them, so you have to choose when you need them wisely. Healers can still rez you, however.

The issue I had with this part of the fight is that it was often difficult to see what the boss was doing and which way he was facing when he went into flying mode. I play FFXIV boss battles zoomed all the way out most of the time, but the nature of the small arena for this trial and the boss being in the air just wasn’t a good combination for my camera angles.

If I got struck, it was often because I just couldn’t see very well. This is a problem I have when fighting Famfrit in the Lighthouse, too. Whoever thought it was a great idea to put a spinning mechanic like Tsunami at the TOP of a tall boss was just mean!

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Aside from the little design complaint, which I’m sure gets easier to deal with the more familiar you are with the battle, it’s a solid fight with some nice rewards. The Palico minion was the main prize I was after in the end, though there are housing items, music, a Poogie minion, a set of armor, and of course the mount to earn.

Since the fight isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, I may just wait until it becomes easier content to find a farm party for the mount. I’m not really in a huge rush for it, and I’ll have more than enough to do with the Moonfire Faire opening today… so much glamour for so many alts! 🙂

One more shot of the Palico, who is every bit the minion I hoped he’d be!

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Posted in FFXIV, Gaming, MMORPGs

FFXIV: The Hunt Begins

Posted on by Aywren Sojourner

The Monster Hunter crossover in FFXIV launched this week and the community in general has been going nuts over that cute little Palico up there. The minion was the one thing I really, really wanted out of the event, so thankfully, he’s not too hard to get.

While I’ve unlocked the trial last night, I have yet to run it. I was waiting for friends to be ready to run it with me, so that probably means tonight, if all goes well. But in the meantime, just look at the cuteness… especially the Miqo’te dialogue interaction!

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The vibes I’m getting from this event is that it’s been warmly welcomed. The EX drops a mount and tokens (in case you’re not lucky enough to get a mount drop), but it doesn’t sound like the chance at the mount is too hard to get. Once you’ve mastered the fight.

This might be one EX I actually try to do. I’ve seen the mount in person, and it looks pretty awesome. Since it’s a 4-man, it might not be too difficult to rope a group of friends into farming it together to share the drops.

I’ve been advised to practice normal mode first, though! I’ll let you know how it goes!

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Posted in FFXIV, Gaming, MMORPGs

FFXIV: Updated Character Cards

Posted on by Aywren Sojourner

Since so much has changed between all of my characters in the past month, I decided it was high time to redo all of my FFXIV character cards. Not only have I moved most of my characters to a new server, and to new Free Company, but some of them ended up re-named, fantasia-ed and re-purposed for my RP story blog.

Also, for the first time ever, I’ve included my RP alts in the character lineup as well! I still have a long way to go on a lot of these characters, even to just get them where I want them for my storyline.

I’ve also ignored my poor little non-RP alts, like Tai and Ben. I think once I get all my crafting squared away on my main, I’ll have more time to sink into some of these other characters.

If you’d like to make your own character cards, head over to the site here!