Benie's Games Blog

Now this is a game I thought I would never play again. Yet somehow it managed to pull me in. But at the same time, I haven’t been playing it as much as I was earlier in the week.
So anyway, I reviewed this game almost four years ago, calling it out for not being a true single player game.
Now I look back at myself and wonder.. what the fuck was I thinking? I only assumed this was a single player game. It can indeed be played solo, but it’s more intended to play with others (especially with some of the later missions).
I also called it out for having a respawn penalty.. punishing the player for failing by having a finite number of respawns. When I hit the limit, I was told I would either have to wait or pay up to restore all of those chances.
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Last year, I played it again after finding out that respawn punishment system was greatly improved; no longer the way it was, but having a finite respawn system based on the mission. You can respawn five times before the mission fails, but you can get back in and have another five attempts.
Failing a mission is quite brutal IMO. Everything but ranking up your warframe, weapon, and companion.. is lost. So, you can safely say “all of that effort was wasted”. Personally, I wish it would give you a ‘at least you tried’ thing (instead of taking away all of that effort).
But, I also see why people would be all “that’s what happens in life, sometimes you lose it all,” encouraging teamwork to prevent another failure.
Moving on… I got further in the game (finally completing what I assumed was the single player campaign). Then… things started getting annoying– reused level assets for these ‘missions’. Felt very cheap (even though I kept forgetting this is a free to play game). Began to wonder why it’s so damn popular (even more popular than GTA5). But it’s just like Wurm. It’s tailored to a specific audience. An audience I often find myself trapped in, and wish I could forget about ever coming here.

Fast forward to last week. I see Kovo and a few others playing this game that I haven’t touched in a long time. Want to play with him, but since Sony is an ass and won’t allow crossplay (neither will Micro$oft for the XBox), I’m forced to make a new account for my computer.
If you would like to friend me (you don’t have to), my name ingame is ‘Benie7601’. With that said (and what I said at the beginning of this post), I’ve reached a point I’m playing it less.
Though I really like the game (managed to get all the way to Saturn, with the help of random players), I feel… OK, I know I’m not playing this thing the way I need to.
The basics, I know all quite well. I know that you do missions to rank up your warframe & weapons. I now know that you got to keep building new ones and leveling them up (in order to raise your Affinity (Warframe’s version of XP), in order to raise your Mastery rank).
What I don’t know, are specific mods/frames to be aiming for. I’ve been using the game’s auto-equip for every weapon I get. And now learning that this system should only be used in the very early parts of the game… so that sucks.
I’ve been trying to follow this guide, who keeps mentioning to get the ‘Hex’ shotgun when hitting Mastery Rank 4 (even though I prefer rifles). Yet he hasn’t posted the build he uses.
One thing that’s semi-bugs me, is you’re seen as a ‘new player’ even after you complete the star chart. How is that possible, when I’m getting my ass kicked in Saturn (even from doing an Extermination mission, a mission that is hard to fail at)?
If you know the basics of the game that got you this far, you shouldn’t be labeled as a new player anymore (but as an intermediate player). You can’t just go from ‘new player’ to ‘skilled player’ once you’ve reached the final planet in the star chart. There has to be something in-between.
Another thing, modding should be an intermediate player thing (as well as learning how Polarity works.. which I still fully haven’t yet). I get how it makes a mod less expensive (in the number of slot capacity it takes), but that’s as far as I know. I don’t know what type of polarity I need (for a particular slot), and there’s no ‘undo button’ (for what I read about it).
See, I don’t think all the time a mod with a squiggly line is going to be in the second slot.
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Then the guy in the video, mentions about farming lots of rare mods from the Void, especially what are known as ‘Corrupted’ mods. And you can only get these (if they drop at all) from doing very special missions that require one of four keys, called ‘Dragon Keys’.
But it comes with a major snag… you have to join a clan (and join their Clan Dojo) in order to get the blueprints for said keys.
Now I’ve been quite alright in joining PUGs for doing certain missions, they’ve been quite awesome to me (especially how they don’t bitch about my DPS). …But this forced clan BS, is where I draw the line.
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There might still be a way to get the keys without a clan, though. But the last time I tried this (entering an existing Clan Dojo), was trying to get the Archwing Launcher blueprint.
When trying to access the menu to get the blueprint, the window auto-closed on me. Since then, it felt to me that this was a clan-only thing (yet didn’t want to tell me for some unknown reason).
Friend of mine who was with me at the time, was able to get said blueprint. But he’s in another clan. So, it’s not hard to do the math, that clan membership is forced in order to get these ‘exclusive’ blueprints. Especially when I made this thread, and only one person responded with “this happens to me as well”. There’s been zero responses since then in my attempts to look for some kind of workaround.
I am not joining a clan, just for this. Clans should be optional, just like nearly everything else in this game.

Though another route I can take (since I also refuse to pay for Platinum to get these rare mods), is making my own Clan Dojo (using this video series as a guide), and then eventually be able to get the blueprints myself. However I’m not sure if said series is still viable to rely on, as it’s been over a year since it was made (if any updates since then made it easier or harder to do things).
But, assuming the Dojo building requirements haven’t been changed that much, I’m going to use it for my words below.
Unlike WoW, I don’t need to get ten people to make my own solo guild (or clan in this game). All I do is simply create a clan and name it. Boom. Done.
But to get access to your Dojo (or even access to a Dojo of a clan you just joined), you must craft a Clan Key. But if you think that making this key is quite cheap, you’re not wrong. For it’s the cheapest thing you’re going to need…
Because if you want your own Dojo, you’re going to need lots of Forma. And depending on how simple or complex you want to make your private Dojo, you’re going to need to do a lot of grinding for multiple Forma blueprints (as said blueprint isn’t reusable).
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Each room you wish to construct (including things like the Trading Post) requires one Forma. But… if you want to be efficient with your time (which I don’t see why you wouldn’t), then make one room after a Forma is crafted, then wait another day to get another Forma (and repeat until all rooms are created).
Finally, you’ll need to focus on how much Energy is available to your Dojo. Most corridors take -3 energy, and most rooms take -5. Building a Reactor gives +25 energy, but you got to be smart with your energy pool, as you might run into an issue where you can’t even make a reactor. Thankfully you can destroy rooms, and you’ll get all of your resources (including the Forma used to build the room) back.

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But even with the super helpful guides, I feel this game isn’t for me and uninstalled it. Said guides just couldn’t pull me back in. The damage is done. I only see endless, repetitive grinding to get better mods. I prefer cookie cutter builds over RNG. That’s just the way I was raised from the gaming tit.
But don’t get me wrong… there’s several things I actually loved about this game;
-The fluid movement system, and how it encourages you to master it.
-How it makes the player feel like a badass (even when low ranked).
-The look from the interior of the orbiter. It’s quite beautiful.
-Joining a PUG (or even duo’ing a mission with a random) is a hell of a lot more friendly than it is in other multiplayer games. Not once did I feel intimidated, or feeling like I was being carried by the group. The reactions were quite friendly, and I love that.
-Missions feel challenging.
..And that’s about it.

Besides knowing I’ll have to go through hell and back to get the required mods I would had needed for future builds, the fact this shit wasn’t taught to me ingame makes it worse. Now I understand most gamers feel that ‘hand holding’ limits their creativity. But when it comes to new players, hand holding is the only way to steer a player in the right direction.
And of course it should be made completely optional. A simple checkmark to turn off helpful hints at the early part of the game, is all that would be needed.
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Finally, I wish this thing that you absolutely have to be part of a clan in order to get key blueprints, in order to get rare mods, in order to survive longer in the game.. was removed (or at least limit the good shit to clans only).. keys can be carried solo, and should be allowed to buy the blueprints solo.
Now I completely understand that joining a clan isn’t that big of a deal, but I have standards. 😛

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I might come back to this game at a later date, I might not. I want to see some positive changes for new players before I do (that is if they care for new people playing their game).
But, you know what stings the most about this? Kovo and his friends are still playing (and enjoying) the game. I keep hoping they’ll look at me and feel they should try something else, but.. nah.

I’m in the process of putting my tree up, of how many times I’ve done this to keep what’s left of a ‘family’ tradition in my house alive, I’ve lost count.

I’m also writing to announce, that I’m not going to participate in the final Impalong of Wurm for 2018.
The reasoning, I actually wish (in a sense) that it was a health concern.. but hell, from what I went through with the LunaLong, it might as well be one. Though I enjoyed my time there, there’s one single reason why that you couldn’t make me go, even if you offered me a gold coin ingame.
A single.. champagne-drinking dragon is that reason. I didn’t mind all the “I wish I could bring CD here” talk. I honestly didn’t care if she brought her main there or not.
That was until when I was having issues dealing with one of Enki’s tough spawns. It was assisting with a champ spider. Even though I was at max focus, I only had a 3% chance to hit the upper body.
When I said this, she had the nerve to say “mmm wish CD was here to fight”.
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*clears throat* Ok, to be clear, she never directly said “oh Dragonhead, poor thing. Step aside and let a real dragon warrior handle this.” But it certainly felt like it. Almost like, was being told that I’m “lucky” her main isn’t here to show me off.
Then with only 20 seconds ’till the LunaLong ended, I decide to ask if her main would be at the Shrimpalong. The answer was yes, with a sprinkle of how she’s going to one of the staff members.
Me;

There are so many things I would rather do, than watch this spectacle of embarrassment happen infront of me. My dragon pride can only take so much.
Just glad I found this out before attending the Shrimpalong. Because, having to come to her incase I need the fucking forge refueled or something, would had definitely turned into a ‘Fuck This Shit I’m Out‘ moment.

Posted about six hours since this post went live, has MBS News (one of the server news channels), claims that the MRT Server is facing a “possible shutdown” by January of 2020.
The reasons could be simply that Frumple has had enough shit from the drama. With him threatening to shut down the server to restore order, I don’t think this is the case.

Now I had some theories (before I actually watched the news) that A: He’s getting bored with Minecraft. Or B: Because Java’s going to be discontinued in 2020 (which could lead to the death of the Java-based Minecraft client, forcing a move to the Windows 10 version).
But it turns out, neither of these were true. Instead, the real reasoning is because he feels he won’t be able to afford it through 2020. He also feels that RL issues that were never disclosed before, could possibly get in the way.
As for ones who wish to donate, Frumple has clearly stated that these are not needed: for simply logging into the server and having a positive communication with the community, is all he wants.
Finally, he doesn’t want anyone to take over the finances, unless they can guarantee him that they have what it takes to take the reins.

So take this news as you will. For the ones that are still active, I’m sure this a complete shock. But for people that have lost interest in the server (like myself), it’s a bit surprising it’s lasted this long.
That server has outlived the Best Boi community, and shows no sign of stopping anytime soon.

With the NEXALong and LunaLong now behind me, I can focus on other news. I have five gaming news stories to discuss, with all of them happening while I was helping with those two community events.

Java discontinuing (for users) in 2020, the future of Wurm?
First and foremost, I updated Java while I was at the NEXALong, and noticed a message about future releases.
This page is what I’ll be referencing. If you’re a user, Java will no longer be distributed to you by 2020. And this begs the question… what’s going to happen to Wurm (or even Minecraft)? Because it states, to reconsider using something else by then. And since the original code made by Notch and Rolf was done in Java, it would be a very, very hard thing to redo the code for another engine.
Will this be the death of Wurm? Only time will tell. Though maybe I’m not reading the page right, and Wurm would be fine.

Questionable E:D 4.0 changes
In other news, there was a tweet posted on November 15th (Day 4 of the LunaLong) by an Ambassador Surreth, featuring a forum post by FDev of an ‘exciting’ change coming to the upcoming 4.0 (Elite Dangerous Beyond – Chapter Four) release, which is currently in open beta for all CMDRs to check out.
This feature is known as ‘Thargoid Incursion States’. Where some (not all) systems will go under attack by Thargoids, and it’s up to CMDRs to thwart off their attack. But if they fail, a BGS will happen where the system will become an ‘incursion state’. This will damage all stations in that system, and cause stronger Thargoid ships to show up.
While never actually stating that these ‘incursion states’ (and these ‘Thargoid Conflict Sites’) would be optional or not, post #7 from a ‘sensai25’ said “At last Thargoids will be in the game and everyone will have to face them.”
Never once did I remember that nearly everything in E:D is optional. So there’s no way they’ll actually force people who aren’t even battle-ready (and more made for exploration).
The only thing that worries me is this thing about “an incursion site will stay active infinitely until dealt with”.
Will this mark the end of the bubble, making Sol the only safe zone?

VRChat switching Unity versions, good or bad?
Posted a day after the debatable E:D news (November 16th), the VRChat devs have announced in a tweet, that they will be moving to ‘Unity 2017.4.15f1 RTS‘ “within the next couple of weeks” prior to the next patch of the game.
Read here to see why they decided to go for this instead of the 2018 releases, and especially if you’re a creator.. how the transition could be painless.
I’m personally looking forward to new fixes to the code (such as memory leak fixes in some worlds).

‘Best Boi 2.0’ released, and why it’s important
If you’ve been playing VRChat for a good amount of time, you’ve probably seen a Best Boi or two. But a newer version had begun to make itself known since last month. Based off of the Dutchie model, and designed by.. shockingly two people I didn’t expect to work together (but I’m glad they did). The smug bastard, and the winner of the Best Boi design show (Kev Dee). I mentioned this before, that I would be looking forward to doing a V2 of BenieTheDragon Boi.
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And now, it’s available! …Unfortunately, the file is only available on a select few Discord servers. But if it’s ever made public (such as VRCMods), I will link it here.
I thankfully have managed to grab a copy, and plan to recreate Red Boi and BenieTheDragon Boi.
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Also, there’s confirmed reports the Best Boi Phoenix server (and Discord) will be shutting down soon. Reasoning is Charms losing interest in the Best Boi’s. This leaves very little of what communities were created from the closing of the official Best Boi community.
But with the 2.0 model released, you can keep the Best Boi’s alive in your heart. Never let it die.

ASTRONEER 1.0 release coming February 2019, devs say
Final news of this blog post. SES devs have released two videos (linked below);
Astroneer – 1.0 Release Date Announcement
SES Q&A: Repacking, Release Date & Price Increase
I would advise to watch the first video, then the Q&A. The update seems quite interesting, especially being able to repack your base to move somewhere else.

And that’s all the news that had happened while was in Wurm. Quite a lot, I know. Wow.

Currently writing from back home in DTH. I was planning to head to Hermit Isle and relax there, but given how far of a distance that is (and how risky it’ll be to bring B2 there), decided to head back. I was also planning to stop by Dragonshearts’ deed and see if it’s changed. But, too risky.

So, the final day of the LunaLong went as expected: I stood idly waiting for something to do. A few late-comers actually showed up, and I was able to imp one final thing.
Wondered if I should leave after dinner, but I stayed. Wondered if I should leave after my snack time, but I stayed.
Good thing I did. One final Enki attack, and Dracaa doing a mini firework display to serve as the closing ceremony. Was about to leave, when she said that she had something for all of us. Hopped off the wagon and walked over, and was given.. a rare bee smoker! WOW!! SWEET! Thanks Dracaa! 😀 I will definitely accept your gift!
Aroma also had things she offered (during the past two days). Such as high WoA mats to help me imp. But one odd thing was she gave me a 2H sword and a bassinet helm.
Why would I need a 2H sword, when I have a huge axe? Do appreciate it’s 85 QL, but I don’t really need it. It has Frostband being its only enchant.
Mmmm. I’ll just stick it in a container and let it rot. As for the extra bassinet helm, that would be handy once I need my current one re-imped.

Pulled away from the deed and back on the highway heading back to Wismar (where my boat is near).
To say goodbye to an impalong.. any impalong, is painful. And as I said with the Friend-A-Long, it took me awhile to get over it. This one is no different. But at least the Shrimpalong isn’t too far away.
However, I’ll make an exception for the NEXALong, which is now the winner of being the worst impalong I’ve ever been to (worse than the Exo impalong). The activities were fun, and so was the drunk time.. but it didn’t make up for the confusing layout and only having four forges. It was an absolute mess.

The LunaLong, is a tough one to judge. Though it had good amenities, and friendly staff, I would had liked to see more activities to even come close to the Friend-A-Long. Dracaa did explain the reasoning behind it (being RL issues), and says next year would be better. The fact I got to meet Emoo, was huge.
I also learned that Dracaa actually did research, to base her impalong off of the Shrimpalong (asking Shrimpiie lots of questions). That’s pretty awesome to know.
But, I finally made a decision on where to place it in the list. And so, this is the current standing (of every impalong I’ve been to since I came back to Wurm in 2015);

1st: Indy Impalong (Ind, 2015)
2nd: Friend-A-Long (Pri, 2018)
3rd: Glasshollow Impalong (Xan, 2017)
4th: ‘LunaLong’ (Xan, 2018)
5th: Blackmoor Christmas Impalong (Ind, 2016)
6th: Exo Impalong (Exo, 2017)
7th: NEXALong (Xan, 2018)

3rd and 4th place are currently battling eachother. They are so close it’s ridiculous.
But currently, the Glasshollow Impalong is in 3rd place due to this is where I was able to finally give back from all the times I had my stuff imped.

The next impalong is two weeks and five days away. We’ll see how that one stacks up to the list. I will definitely bring Uma for it.
Yet I’m not sure if I’m going to go. Might pass it by, in favor of just staying home. Two reasons as to why. #1, what I mentioned with the Glasshollow Impalong (how my mining skill is 50 and not 80). It would be a waste of time getting BS up any higher.
And #2… someone I don’t want to see for the rest of my life is going to be there… a certain champagne-drinking dragon, mentioned she’s part of the staff.
*pukes in mouth* ..Mother of God.

Little did anyone know, the LunaLong would be the last impalong I would ever attend for a very, very long time due to my failing interest in the game.