Lounge L33ts Episode 12: The Crater

Northern Gun meets up at The Crater, the best bar in town! Well, the ONLY bar in town, thanks to the apocalypse. Ed, aka "Drenivian" joins us, as well talk about our experiences so far with Defiance from Trion Worlds. The conversation soon turns to other topics such as MMO budgets, insider trading, and games that remind us fondly of other games.

Lounge L33ts Episode 11: The Haunted Burrow

In a retrospective of 2013's Halloween events, we take a look at Guild Wars 2's Blood and Madness, World of Warcraft's Hallows End, Anarchy Online's Uncle Pumpkinhead hunt, and Lord of the Rings Online's Haunted Burrow. Matt also goes over the Neverwinter Halloween event, but unfortunately, I was too late to grab footage of it.

Lounge L33ts Episode 9: Bastion Guild Hall

What's this? A serious discussion on the gameplay and storyline of Scarlet Blade? Well sort of...Ran shows up in his Weefleboy persona again as we discuss our favorite classes, the plot behind the warring factions, the ideas behind adult MMO's, and the affects of gold farming in general.

Lounge L33ts Episode 8: Reets Retreat - The Glass Floor Room

     For the second season premiere, we try something a little different: and improvised (kind of) RP session. Weefleboy schools us on the professions available, shows off his shiny new smurf suit, and refuses to address some intimate questions on the details of his operations. Meanwhile Pinqi wonders if he/she's chosen the right path in life, and Mad Matt shows off his gun. It's anarchy, I tells you! Anarchy Online!
    Also make sure to check out our Youtube channel!  https://www.youtube.com/user/LoungeL33ts/about

State of Blog 4/29/2013

     Hello all! I just wanted to let everyone know what was going on and the plans for the future of the blog.
     Some bad stuff went down this past winter for both my self and my friend, Randy, with whom I do the Lounge L33ts podcast. Around the end of January, my mom suffered a severe heart attack. She thought she only had the flu, even though my dad felt there was more to her symptoms. She wound up waiting three days to go to the Emergency Room (it's commonly recommended to seek aid within ninety minutes), thus more damage was done to her heart. She was in Bay Area Aurora for a few weeks, and had a triple bypass surgery that turned into a double bypass. Then she was transferred down to St. Luke's in Milwaukee and stayed there for another couple of weeks. Before all was done, her heart had gotten down to ten percent strength and there was talk of a possible transplant. However, with help from a pacemaker/defibrillator she has gotten stronger and is at home now. In fact, she has recovered so quickly that the doctors don't think she'll need a transplant anymore.
     During all this, I dropped everything thing and was planning on moving back home, but my friends and my aunt helped convince me otherwise. Madison is decent city with a lot of culture, and I have built up a support network of friends and co-workers. I have a life down here that I'm not quite so willing to give up. While I'm a little apprehensive when it comes to affording this life, I at least have steady income from a reliable job. I just need to budget better.
     And here we get to Randy's troubles. I won't go into too much detail, but Randy lost the roof over his head and has had to move in with my friend Bob and Bob's parents. He is trying to get on Social Security while at the same time working on his resume and, hopefully, job hunting.
     I have posted a brief video on the situation with the Lounge L33ts podcast here:

http://blip.tv/LoungeL33ts

We have the episode filmed, and I am currently editing it. In addition I have set up a Lounge L33ts email and Youtube account which will soon be seeing activity. I'm planning on uploading the latest episode, then going back and posting the first season episodes in between to help people get caught up. We're going to try something a little bit different: roleplaying sessions. It won't be every episode, but every now and then, we will hop on as our characters and give their point of view on what's happening within their world. There will still be regular episodes where we talk as our selves, but this will help provide a little variety.
     I'm still working on the final part for "The Way to Kumas." I was planning to have it finished quite sometime ago, but then my mom had her emergency. I want to have an ending that wraps up the situation for the characters but allows for further stories to develop off of it. My aunt has told me it's "like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, except much better." I have yet to see the newer movie, but there does seem to be some similarities. I'm planning on being able to write my next short story within a month.
     And so that's what has been going on lately. Between my mom's heart attack, possibly moving back home, and helping Randy move, the blog has been a bit empty. It's time to get back to work.

The Way to Kumas Part IV

IV.

      Glyphs could be seen running along the walls near the ceiling and the floor, glowing with the same light as that coming from the decapitated head. There were images of cattle, birds, fish, mountains, forests, and people. As well as something else. It had the body and arms and legs of a human, but the symbol was twice the size, and it was headless. This unsettling creature's image was scattered amongst the images of landscape and animals.

      Their guides traveled fast indeed for people who had never been to the place. They passed a dark corner from which came a clicking sound followed by a blast of air. Something heavy hit Growgash in the shoulder and she cried out in rage, spinning deftly with sword in hand. Before her in the gloom, large almond shaped eyes floated burning with a wild green light. The thing hissed and a skittering of many armored feet sounded as the eyes rushed forward. Her sword sliced the air before her and clattered against what felt like twin blades.

      The eyes now rose upward to where the ceiling must be. And then the boy warrior was in front of her, sword in hand. The glowing orbs dodged to the right and he took a chance to swipe at the thing, only for it to back off to the left. It seemed to size him up as he edged forward with a double grip on his blade.

      “Don't be a fool, boy,” the half orc sneered. “It's just playing with you.” The youth seemed to pay no attention. The boy was a distraction and as he hopped lightly about she considered the thing in front of them. Her mother's studies had taught her enough, that a thing with a head and and legs may not have a neck. But if it has a front, it should have a back....

       Behind them were Jaxom and the monk and his apprentice. “Monk!” she whispered harshly. “When I give the word, release the light at that thing. Blind it!” His motionless form left her with little hope as she moved around to the back of the thing. A yell came from the front as the beast lounged forward, providing the perfect opportunity for the half orc. She scrabble up the slippery scales of it's back. Blackness still surrounded them when the crunch of a mortal wound broke the stillness. Then came a “thwak” as Jaxom's sword hit against the armored hide.

      Where is that blasted priest! Even as Growgash raised her blade, she felt the beast shift beneath her. It reared, and a blaze of light flashed, illuminating the pathway behind and casting the beast in silhouette. The great sword of the half orc sliced an arc in front of her, but as the head toppled she made sure to turn away from the light. Everything plunged into darkness then and she could feel the lifelesss body of the beast sink to the ground.

      “Jaxom?” Growgash tried to peer ahead of her, where there seemed to be a figure curled up in a corner. When she touched it, there was only a sticky wetness.

      “Help...” came a spluttering gasp. It was the young mercenary huddled in a ball against the glyphs. There was no help for him now, so the half orc finished him off with a thrust of her sword. Then she turned to follow the glyphs down a steep passage. It seemed like hours, and still there was no sign of Jaxom or the priest and his ward. The fragments of other strange symbols began to appear at chest height. She knew the breaking of these letters meant the breaking of spells, especially those wards against intrusion. The broken writing became more erratic and cluttered until it covered the ceiling and floor. No one was meant to come down here, the orc warrior thought. Why so much protection? What was down here? And where were the others?

      Ahead came shouts and then a bright light illuminated the corridor. Growgash stepped through an archway into an illuminated room. Jaxom was there stumbling backward until he hit the wall behind him. He was clutching his eyes. In the center of the room was the priest, his apprentice kneeling before him. From within the sleeve of his robe, the mage pulled a sinister blade and held it under the boy's chin. Then he glared at the half orc woman.

      “The way to Kumas is paved with blood and bones!”

Let's Play Borderlands Episode 9

Surprisingly, Sledge was a lot harder this time around. When we first fought him, he went down pretty quickly with my Soldier and Matt’s Hunter. It could just be that our load outs weren’t the greatest, or that we pretty much just charged in there thinking it’s be easy again. We may have been a higher level in first playthrough, too. I did notice a lot of henchmen around Sledge that didn’t seem to be there the first time. In other words, we wind up dying…a lot. I haven’t sat down to watch this episode yet, but I’ll post if I see anything which may have caused this.

Let's Play Borderlands Episode 8

This one…This is still a pip to get through, although we had more trouble with the bandits this time rather than the skags. I also have to remember to let the tank do their job and re-release the turret in a timely manner.

Gamepadding Through The Secret World

     I've been playing The Secret World off and on for the past month, or so. Everything was going well until I reached the first combat sequence after watching my character fall unconscious outside London's Ealdwic Park. This was when things got rather difficult, and painful, fast. The shooter style combined with the hotbar commands and tab targeting put a bit of a strain on my wrist. The result is that I stopped playing, did a little research, and found the following link on the TSW forums:

http://forums.thesecretworld.com/showthread.php?t=34982

      From there, I downloaded the Xpadder program for about $10:

http://xpadder.com/

     Now I'm sure more than a few of you reading this know of other, better (free) programs and techniques for getting a gamepad to work with The Secret World. I'm also fairly positive the layout pictured isn't the most efficient. However this is my first time trying to set up a gamepad to work with a PC game, so this layout is very much a work in progress.

     What we see here is Set 1 of 3, where I try to put the most useful buttons such as main attacks, movement, tab targeting, and camera. When you first create a new layout, you can select from a list on the Xpadder website to load the image of the controller you are mapping, in this case a Logitech Gamepad F310. I made sure to register the movements of all the analog sticks and buttons with the program. I then went through and assigned key(s) from the keyboard to each button and each direction of the analog stick. The sticks can be assigned as few a 4 direction functions and up to 8, as well as defaults for W,A,S,D and the arrow keys. Clicking the little wrench will show you more options. In order to keep everything organized, I named the buttons after their function by clicking on the green “Abc” area in the Xpadder UI.

     I was able to also bind multiple keyboard functions to one button/analog direction as well. You can do this by clicking on the initial key you want to bind in the Xpadder keyboard interface, then going into the “Advanced” menu to add a second key bind. This helped in setting up the camera movement, since I could map the right click mouse button along with a direction:

     Now here comes the tricky part. Since there are a lot more keys for TSW than just the primary ones featured in Set 1, I needed to make a second Set. Once I created Set 2, I had to link it to Set 1 to be able to switch between the two. The forum post recommended using the “When Held” assignment to one of the triggers/bumpers. Instead, I played around with the “One Way Click” and “Two Way Click” options before realizing that all of these functions needed an anchor point between the sets involved. I decided to stick with the “When Held” function as it was the easiest to work with. I then went through and, still using the TSW forum post as a guide, assigned the next round of commands to Set 2:

     Finally, Set 3 focused on the basic functions of the mouse in interacting with the GUI:

 

     I plan on using this program to assign keys for Age of Conan, as well. Considering that game relies on tab targeting and directional assault on the enemy's flanks, it should come in handy. I hope this this post has been of interest.

Let's Play Borderlands Episode 5

I'm not sure I remember what we did in this episode. Did we do anything? Oh yeah that's right! We beat up some bandits and skags and find the pieces to a not so wonderful sniper rifle:

Let's Play Borderlands Episode 4

     In which Matt and I search down the memoirs of a lonely, misunderstood recoding device and have another bout with Bone Head. This time on film :D !

Let's Play Broderlands Episode 2

"Mad" Matt Winchell and I continue on to Skag Gulley. What will we find there? Treasure? Weird alien creatures? Rogue human elements? Yes!

City of Heroes Profiles: Vellum

 

“A shadow slipping from corner to corner.

A glimpse of darkness in the night.

A curious little stranger in this strange world.

Only Vellum knows his own might.”

      I've been leveling Vellum for quite a while now. He is a Dark Melee/Dark Armor Tank created in 2009, around the same time my friend Bob created the super group House of the Wayward Soul. A living shadow visiting from a distant void, Vellum fit right in with the House's theme of strange and off the wall characters. He's been raiding the fridge, “borrowing” salvage supplies, and teleporter hopping ever since.

Vellum atop a building in Steel Canyon

      Vellum was created during a time of turmoil and altitist. Restlessly, I moved from character to character, experimenting with different power sets and trying to stay alive in a city that wanted my heroes (and villains) dead. I remember the first build, a haphazard application of slots to powers I didn't need. In particular, I selected the stealth pool power, which was later overshadowed by a similar invisibility power in the Dark Armor set, making it redundant. This was in addition to a myriad of enhancements that, while they fit with the powers, didn't play well with each other. In other words, while Vellum could do damage, he couldn't hit, couldn't block, and suffered from a massive drain of endurance every time he activated his shields or threw a punch. Vellum couldn't survive, and thus, was a failure of a tank. Out of frustration, I shelved him and moved on to other characters.

      Then “Drenivian” came to the rescue. Dren, also known as “Ed Boy” or “Edward” is a real life friend of mine (as well as that of Matt, Bob, and “Namiru”), whom I first met at the University of Wisconsin Anime Club in 2003. Dren was able to walk me through a quick repec of the character and also took me and Matt through some missions to learn how to tank properly. I also started crafting Set Invention Origin enhancements to improve multiple aspects of a power at once.

      But now we get to Vellum's origin. He is a living shadow from another dimension where only two light sources exist amongst the darkness. Every now and then, these two light sources cross over each other and wipe out most of the darkness between them.

      Vellum's people have been visiting Earth and other similar planets for quite some time now. His interest is in studying human society, and where better than Paragon City? Here, he can observe humanity at its best, and its worst, as well as how humans deal with attacks by outside forces. The Rikti are invading, although what they want is yet unknown to our hero.

      Being a living shadow, Vellum can take on various shapes and forms, including a flying beast. 

He's even able to manipulate darker colors to create his near human angelic female form.

 At first he was only able to travel and explore his surroundings at night, due to the brightness of an Earth day. 

Even then, he had to be cautious about traveling through underpasses and under street lights, for fear of disappearing. There is a solution, though. Vellum has begun pouring himself into human clothing and wearing a rubber mask. He hasn't quite gotten certain aspects of the human body down, particularly eyes.

      During his travels at night, Vellum has had his share of run ins with the Clockwork, in many of their forms.

 He's also had to tough it out with Trolls, villainous societies bent on world domination, and centurions. Civilians have nothing to fear from him, although his appearance maybe strange. So if you see an odd looking man with eyes black as a void, don't be afraid. It's only Vellum, and he's just curious about you.

Let's Play Borderlands Episode 1

Matt and I begin our journey....

Borderlands Let's Play: Opening

     Last November, "Mad" Matt Winchell and I filmed a good chunk of the Zombie Island of Dr.Ned DLC for Borderlands. We were hoping to wrap up it up this summer and move on to something else. Except for one problem. A friend of mine was nice enough to build me a gaming desktop, including transferring files and programs onto the new machine. When I went to start up Borderlands, it told me the files located on the computer were newer and larger than the files in the Steam cloud storage. I decided to upload the newer files to Steam cloud and ...found all my characters had been replaced by a single level 45 Siren. Apparently my friend's files had been uploaded in place of mine, plus I was logged in on her account for Co-Op play as well. So, Matt and I have decided to start over and here is a sneak preview of the result:

Geek.Kon 2012 Links of Interest!

     Well, the time has come to start pimping out the annual Geek.Kon convention! Geek.Kon is an anime, scieince fiction, fantasy, tabletop gaming, and video gaming convention based out of Madison, WI. This year we will be on September 7-9th at the Madison Marriott West. Also, this year's theme is "Geekdom is Magic!"

     To register for day passes, go here:
    Registration Form
     To sign up to run a tabletop game (must register for day passes first):
    Tabletop Game Registration
     To register to run a panel, go here (must register for day passes first):
    Panel Registration

     We've got a few great Guests lined up as well, plus a great event known as Kon.Quest! We can't forget the contests, either:

     Fanfiction Contest

      What better way to fly the flag of your favorite fandom, than by participating in our Fanfiction contest? (Also, how's THAT for alliteration?)

Fanart Contest

     But perhaps you're  more of the visually oriented person. If so, enter our Fanart Contest!

     Other Events soon to come are the Geek.Show talent show, the AMV Contest, Karaoke, Mixer, and, of course, Rocky Horror Picture Show! I hope to see you all at the con!

Mad Matt Reviews: Giorgio Moroder's Metropolis (Romeomoon Debut)

I'm on TV! Well... bliptv that is... While he was staying over during Odyssey Con weekend, Matt thought we should check out a version of Metropolis we noticed as we skimmed through the selection on Netflix. I had noticed it before, but the whole 80's soundtrack made the thing sound too corny for me. It turns out, I really enjoyed it, especially the 80's music! This is my video debut on Mad Matt Reviews.

The Tale of Narn the Barbarian

     Narn wasn't born on the battlefield or in the pages of a pulp fantasy novel. He was born out of a few hundred lighted dots on a screen, based on a preselected image of the Diablo II Barbarian class. Through a mix of armor, weaponry, and slap dash skill point assignment, he became a killing machine... of sorts. Along with his plucky amazon sidekick, who sadly never saw the same kind of weapons upgrade and thus wound up dying repeatedly, he traveled the wild lands of Sanctuary, seeking fame and fortune. It turns out sidekicks aren't cheap to resurrect.

      Back in 2008, a girl I worked with, we'll call her “Amazon Vegan,” convinced me to buy the Diablo II Battle Chest, which, at the time, contained the original Diablo, Diablo II, and the Lord of Destruction expansion. She had everything planned out for us: I would play a “tank” and she would be the ranged fighter. It was a weekend around Easter, and I had had a particularly bad day at work. To console me, we went to VA's apartment and, with her husband looking on, installed Diablo II on my old Compaq Presario laptop.

      Now back in the early 2000's, I had seen the counter monkeys at my local comic book store play Diablo II, and it looked interesting. Unfortunately, my parents were lagging far behind when it came to home PC's, so playing the game on our computer at the time was out of the question. In fact, it just still barely ran on the laptop. That might have been due to us leeching off the local RadioShack Wi-Fi.

      This was the first time I had played a video game with the hopes of beating it on at least the normal difficulty. We had a Sega Genesis when I was young and I played a little Sonic the Hedgehog here and there. Now I was being introduced to fairly complicated RPG mechanics and character building, and it was a little bit intimidating. I had to learn to sort through loot, use gems and runes, level up my skills, repair my equipment, read a map, read a mini map, and use various hot keys. Teaming up with a level 97 electricity sorceress, we were able to make it pretty far into Nightmare mode. Then I had to quit to work on the Geek.Kon convention for the summer. It was fun while it lasted, though.

      Towards the end of my run on Diablo II, I ventured into the world of MMO's with a subscription to City ofHeroes. Like with Diablo II, I had seen some of the people at the University of Wisconsin Madison Anime Club playing it before meetings and became interested. My system was just barely able to chug through it. On top of that, I had never really played a video game that had a 3D interactive environment to it. I literally had to learn how to walk all over again using the WASD controls and the mouse.

      Soon, Narn ached to return to the battlefield. I remade him in CoH as a Willpower/Battle Axe Tank. One of the most satisfying things is slamming a battleaxe into the face of a startled Hellion. Narn is still growing in this universe, so expect to hear more of his adventures in Paragon City.

     Narn can also be found wandering the mines of the town of Torchlight, slowly uncovering the truth behind the incursion of evil there.

     And now that Diablo III is out, Narn can return to his own universe to confront the seemingly invincible Diablo once again. No matter what strange worlds he finds himself in, he'll always be there to fight against the powers of evil, even if only for the chance to gain the best sword in the game.

Odyssey Con 12: Brought a Friend

     This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending Odyssey Con 12: Apocalypse Cow. It's a Science Fiction literature and tabletop gaming convention held every year in April at the Radisson Hotel in Madison, WI. It also sports a suite converted into an animation viewing room, a consuite (with hot dogs, pizza, chips, bagels, donuts, candy, coffee, soda, and homemade miso soup), a LAN, a Dealer's Room, an Art Auction, and five panel rooms. This year's guest included Larry Niven, Steven Barnes, and Kenneth Hite.
     I first heard about Oddcon back in 2007, when the fact that it existed surfaced as I was helping plan Geek.Kon. After finishing work on my own convention, I registered for Oddcon 2008 and only then did I notice they had George R.R. Martin lined up as a guest. I've been going ever since (with the exception of 2009, when No Brand Con in Eau Claire, WI fell on the same dates).
     This year, I was able to bring a friend, "Mad" Matt Winchell. I mostly go to this convention for the panels, as the panelists are entertaining and the subject matter is engaging. I'd have to say one of my favorite panelists are Richard S. Russel who's Science Fiction movie reviews can be subscribed to by sending a blank email to: RSRSFMR-subscribe@yahoo.com. We went to his "Fantasy Films of 2012: The Year of the Superhero" on Friday night, and found out about a few films that had flown under our radar. In particular, I'd like to check out I am Number Four and "The Skin I Live In. Biutiful topped the list for best fantasy film of 2012, and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives was at the bottom. This surprised me, especially since Uncle Boonmee received such critical acclaim, so I think I'll check it out and make my own decision. The winner of the Muzzy award for worst movie of the year went to The Smurfs. I'll never forget the look on Richard's face when someone complained that they actually liked the Smurfs movie! Overall this was a fun panel with mandatory audience participation.
     Other panels we attended on Friday were: "Deconstructing Green Lantern," focusing on the less than stellar new movie; "Combat in SF" which we were late for, but seemed to mostly discuss incorporating realistic armed and unarmed combat into your writing; and "TEOTWAKI: Literature."
     There were two panels focused on the theme of The End Of The World As We Know It, one in literature and the other in mass media. This discussion focused on Truly Apocalyptic fiction, where nothing survives; the Post-Apocalyptic fiction, with some vestiges of society remaining, and Metaphorical Apocalyptic fiction, which tells of the death of certain philosophical ideas. I was particularly interested in the third category, since matters of the mind seem to intrigue me more than physical challenges. Some of the themes from this category included: death of spontaneity (Brave New World), death of idealism (The Once and Future King), death of freedom (1984), death of corporeality (Childhood's End), and the death of biology (Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep?). Sunday featured another TEOTWAKI panel, this one focused on television, movies, video games, and media other than literature.
     Saturday saw Matt help in setting up the AV for the "Moons of Barsoom" panel. It was a good thing, too, as this panel featured a slide show of past cover artwork dating from when the Edgar Rice Burroughs Barsoom series was published. Apparently, A Fighting Man of Mars has been cursed with the largest amount of poorly drawn cover art. "Are we becoming Earth-bound in media SF&F?" had panelist Janet E. Lewis demand "more weird aliens in space!" One of the other panelists, Patrick Tomlinson, pointed out that much of Sci-Fi and Fantasy seem less fluffy and more character oriented and were better for it. Although I like series like A Game of Thrones, some stories can become a little too soap opera like and begin to drag if they aren't done right. I, too, yearn for the days when aliens and spaceships dominated the large and small screens. I had forgotten how much campy fun the original Battlestar Galactica was. Looking at it now, I see the old series as almost an ersatz Star Wars Expanded Universe. "SF on TV" was another Richard S. Russel panel examining what was new, cancelled, and ongoing this year with Science Fiction television. I managed to film at least half an hour of the "Star Wars vs. Star Trek" panel which was a lot of fun. "The Hobbit after 75 yrs" was all right, but I felt it could have been a little more comprehensive. We fairly tired so we skipped out on the Guests of Honor speeches, the DJ and guest band (Sparklef*ck), and the drumming circle and headed home for the night.
     On Sunday, we attended the "D&D 5th Edition Wishlist" panel, where we compiled a list of things we'd like to see in the next edition of the Dungeons and Dragons pen and paper RPG. Rewards for diplomatically finding a way out of a situation rather than fighting, bonuses for supplemental work like crafting, and the ability to buff into gear and items were all mentioned. As was THACO. Next we stayed in the same room (Mooshenko's) for "The Muse Feels No Respect" which focused on where us creative types draw our inspiration, especially concerning copyrighted material. One of the panelists pointed out how disappointed she was that someone had retyped one of her poems word for word on their blog without asking permission. Jim Frenkel, an editor for TOR books and a favorite panelist of mine, mentioned that technically titles for books couldn't be copyrighted as long as the font and general design of the title was differed from any other books with the same title. "So, technically, you could title your book The Lord of the Rings!" Afterward, we headed to the "TEOTWAKI: Media" panel. However, in order to make it to the Geek.Kon meeting and get some dinner, we had to miss the "Game of Thrones SPOILERS" panel and Closing Ceremonies.
     In the end, I had a good time, captured quite a bit of footage, and got to see my friends, some of  who were experiencing the con for the first time have a good time. If you are ever in Madison, WI around Spring time, check out this convention. It's a smaller event (only about 400-500 attendance) compared to some of the cons I've been to which have attendance in the thousands,, but there's plenty of fun to be had.

Furnishing Your Home Through Questionable Means

The Hallway

 

     Beneath the Aegean trees near a Rhinoman village, there is a man waiting to be mugged. His wife in Stret West Bank stands outside their small dwelling, a knot tightening in her stomach. She's waiting to see where her husband has gone, and to see if some kind soul might assist her in locating him. As it is, your apartment here on Rubi-Ka is looking a bit bare, and you have some time on your hands to help a desperate woman sick with worry for her husband's well being.

      You approach the young alien looking woman. She has a rather blank, thoughtless look in her eyes. Could she be thinking of him lying dead in a ditch somewhere?

      “Have you seen my husband? His name is Pietro Molla, 

Gianna Molla, the origin of the quest.

Pietro Molla, a jerk.

I'm afraid he might have been abducted by aliens.” You stop for a second, taken aback.

      “No, I don't recall the name, so I don't think I've met him,” you reply hesitantly. She goes on to describe him, but it still doesn't ring a bell. You can see she's desperately worried, and apparently the investigators she sent earlier have dropped the case without telling her anything. It's almost as if no one cares about poor Pietro. She goes on about how bad the aliens are and how she's seen them with her own eyes.

      You try to sooth her, “I know they are bad, but I haven't heard of any abductions, though!” Her belief unwavering, she tells you she's convinced some soldiers from the government are covering up the abductions by hiding all evidence of them.

      “Who are they? You don't really think someone is trying to hide what happened to your husband?” you ask incredulously. She seems to think Omni-Tek is responsible for the cover-up and may be responsible for the disappearance of the investigators she's sent after her husband. You offer to look for her husband for her. She's hesitant to involve you, lest you disappear as well. You assert that you aren't afraid of “them.”

     “Well, I'm very greatful for your offer to help me. Please be careful!Oh, and if you find him, and bring me some evidence that he's still alive, please bring it to me, and I'll make sure you get a little something for your trouble.”

      After a long run, you find yourself approaching the husband, and skipping the pleasantries, you simply shout hey and ask him if he is Pietro Molla.

     “That's correct. What do you want?” he asks, eying you suspiciously. You tell him you've been looking all over for him. It was quite a jog to get here.

      “Oh yeah? This has, of course, nothing to do with my wife now, has it?”his suspicions seem to be growing. He tells you this is something she would try. Apparently she's living in the denial with the fact that their marriage is over. Nothing more left to do or say.

      “No, your wife didn't send me.” Smooth. All the suspicion in the world can't save him now. He chuckles nervously and, reaching into his pocket, pulls out a gold ring.

      “Oh, well, what do you want? If you're trying to mug me, I can ensure you I have no valuables. Maybe except this marriage ring. I don't need that anymore anyway.” and he hands you the ring. Smiling, you thank him for his generosity. He goes on about a great burden being lifted from his shoulders and how great it is to be free. You have your own suspicions about this man's true wealth, both concerning his character and his material possessions.

      However, you can't stop to think too long upon this. The long trek back to Gianna lies ahead.

You at least have the heart to tell the woman about her husband. Indeed, she's overwhelmed with happiness when you place the ring in her hand and tell her he is on his way back. She's going to make dinner for him, but before she goes she gives you her reward. In fact, she's so grateful, she gives you her husband's This Means couch.

This Means Corner Couch

It just barely fits through the Wampa doorway, as you drag it through the portal to join the rest in your apartment. You may sell one, or two and even get a good chunk of credits in return. You know you can get at least 75,000 for one of the bars. It's a good life, and you plan to enjoy it in a fully furnished home.

      Thus I learned how to farm up credits by selling furniture in the Sci-Fi MMO Anarchy Online. There is a tutorial for the Gianna Molla quest which you can find here: http://www.ao-universe.com/index.php?id=14&pid=25
It's quite a bit tedious, and best done between missions.  However, with the free jetpack from the 10 Year Anniversary event, it's a bit faster to get through. This is also a timed mission, but as you have over 8 hours to complete it, it can be finished with plenty of time to spare. If your looking to really shake things up in the apartment, you can apply the furniture to just about any surface including the ceiling. 

Planted ceiling with Lava Lamps

You can also buy furniture at Uncle Bazzit's in Meetmedere. Be careful not to over fill your apartment with stuff. 

The Living Room

One of many paintings bought in Borealis.

A dark corner of the Living Room.

Martial Artist's Meditation Room

Jilnas meditating while sitting in a couch.

The glowing sculpture in the Meditation Room.

The regular apartments on RK can hold up to 30 items, after which any new item placed will disappear. The Luxury Jobe apartments can hold 100. Apparently in the old days, The Luxury Jobe held 30 and the regular apartments on Jobe and Rubi-Ka could only hold 10 items. I know very few people care about the apartments in Anarchy Online, but I have found it quite a bit fun along with adding an extra dimension of immersion to the game. And who doesn't want a couple of bars to come home to?

Two Bars

Behind Two Bars