How's everyone doing? Thread - Bundeals

I realize I've been inactive in this group for quite some time, haven't really been doing much of anything actually, just wondering how everyone's doing now, forums seem a little quiet.

I no longer work at the Husky gas station I got pissed off and quit, I now work at Canadian Tire in the Sports department, and it's strange, while I enjoy my job I seem to be depressed more lately.

Been playing Magic the Gathering again (actual cards not online), curious if anyone else on here plays, I'm always up for getting feedback on my deck builds/ideas.

I've been playing games and watching movies mostly, maybe when I get the time I'll get back to writing recommendations again, so yeah, how is everyone?

It's good to see you back melcator. ^^

I've been reasonably well, not too much new going on.
I know roxo is doing fine, we play Guild Wars 2 together, Gardakan plays too but on a different server from roxo and myself.
Roxo and I are on the Northern Shiverpeaks server, in case you have any interest in joining us.
We are waiting for the guesting ability to be implemented into the game so we can all play together regardless of server.
I see Gardakan's name pop up on steam every so often so I know he isn't dead.

As for magic, I've played in the past.
I haven't played the physical game for a long while but I play magic 2012 periodically.
There isn't as much depth to it as the physical game, since you can't build your own deck but it's a lot lighter on the pocketbook.
The game has plenty of pre-built decks that you can alter to a limited degree, I find that it scratches my MTG itch whenever it happens to crop up.
It has a multi-player option and I sometimes play it together with an rl friend.
Cards are an expensive habit, as long as I can play the game when I want to, I'd rather save the booster pack money for more indie bundles. ^^

As you said, the group has been pretty quiet for a while.
Roxo pops in periodically to add some new info but has focused more on the steam group recently just because there hasn't been much of anybody here to benefit from the information.
We are both hoping this group gets more active again.
I look in on both groups every couple of days to get new deal info, until this group gets back into full swing you should probably do the same.
Not everything makes it over here from the steam group at the moment.

What all happened that made you quit your job?
Is your new job making you feel depressed or is that just something happening in general after you switched?

I was about ready to either deck my boss or deck a customer, so I left my 2-weeks notice, I freaked out at a customer who irritated me when it was something minor, can't even remember what, so too much stress I guess. The customer didn't even call in and complain so I got away with a good reference and he told me he'd hire me back.

I'd love to say that I love my current job, but that's just what I tell myself, I'm content with my current job, so really, I don't know why I lie to myself. I get along great with the management team, everyone in my department and I have no problems with anyone in any other department so far. I get stuck with all the heavy work, but I'm the only guy in the department and while I may not be in good shape, I'm not a small person and I can take the heavy work, and I don't mind it because I'm losing weight.

Life just feels like it's going nowhere, I keep trying to hang out with friends but I don't have many and half of them are hermits so I end up visiting my parents a lot, which turns out to be my mom more than my dad because he gets home right when I'm going to bed. I mostly just see the D&D group and we're playing magic now too. I've been single for 4 years, that's probably part of whats been bothering me and I really have zero social skills to make new firends let alone get a date with someone who isn't an idiot. So I guess what's really bothering me isn't the fact that something happened, it's the fact that nothing is happening, but I need to work harder at changing that myself, I'm the one who decided to stay inside playing video games and watching movies all the time.

On a brighter note, putting up content here makes me feel a bit better, being active at something, and that's usually the first step in me getting off my lazy ass. I'll probably be writing a lot more reviews, I want to write one for Skyrim seeing as I've put over 200 hours into one save file, but I don't think I could make it short enough.

For Magic, I used to play semi-competetively at Friday Night Magic, but trying to keep current decks that are competetive requires a minimum of 50 bucks every time a block cycles out, and that's for one that's iffy as to how good it will do. I only play casually with friends. The one guy I play with quite often doesn't buy singles and doesn't spend a whole lot on cards so his decks have good concepts but they aren't super great decks, so I can build a 20-30 dollar deck based around an interesting concept like a Defender/Mill deck, or a decent Islandwalk deck and it still be competetive. The downside is I have more ideas than I do money lol.

I've been kinda interested in Guild Wars 2. I used to play RIFT and WoW, but I shift in and out of MMOs quite a bit, one time I bought a month of wow and played for only 3 days, so the concept of pay once really intrigues me. Next time I feel like playing an MMO I might pick it up rather than having to buy the newest WoW expansion .

I'll admit, I don't go to the steam group as often as I should, but I really don't like Steam groups for some reason, I much prefer Desura.

Job-wise it sounds like you're in a somewhat better place at least, even if it's not entirely satisfying.
It seems better to be content and maybe slightly bored than stressed and aggravated enough to potentially snap.

I can relate to a lot of what you're saying.

Someone wrote: So I guess what's really bothering me isn't the fact that something happened, it's the fact that nothing is happening

This in particular I understand rather well.
I've had some fairly significant medical issues for many years now and have largely had to sit on the side lines watching the world go by.
I more recently have had the potential opportunity to change things and have been working in that direction.

I also have a limited pool of friends and less than optimal social skills (having a low tolerance for stupidity doesn't help).
I have 2 good rl friends, though I only regularly see one of them as the other lives elsewhere these days and we haven't kept in touch.
I also count roxo among my friends as we have gotten along well anytime we have talked or played together.
Personally I'd like to be friends with you and Gardikan as well.
Gardikan though I havent seen much of, he doesn't post much and we can't play together so getting to know him hasn't gone well.

I look forward to seeing more of your reviews.
You said you didn't think you could do a short review of skyrim which is understandable from what I've heard of it.
Perhaps it would be better to take a different approach with it than the others.
If you have the time and are comfortable with it, you might consider doing a video review or a podcast on it.
Just a thought.

Magic is something I played quite a bit when I was younger, there used to be a Wizards of the Coast store within reasonable driving distance from me.
I went there for friday night magic a few times but it closed down a few years back and FNM went with it.
There has always been at least one comic shop nearby that did magic tournaments but they didn't participate in FNM, they usually just held booster drafts.
I like booster drafts since they come down to skill and not buying power but I've always wanted a casual league style format, just playing for fun and that isn't really offered around here.
I enjoy building decks and trying out new ideas but like you, I had way more ideas than money to implement them.

As for GW2, it's a fun game with a relaxed pace and an interesting story and world.
I don't know if you ever played FFXI but it feels kinda like that in the way the world and story are presented, just with much better mechanics.
The classes are all very different from one another and are fun to play.
Most of the classes can wield multiple weapons and can switch them in combat, with the class skills changing depending on the weapon held.
Since each weapon has different skills it isn't difficult to find a play-style that suits you.
The skills are class based as well, meaning that a warrior wielding a greatsword will have completely different skills from a mesmer wielding the same greatsword.

There are only 2 classes I know of that can't switch weapons in combat, engineer and elementalist but theres a reason for it.
The engineer can equip kits that change their active weapon on the fly, allowing them to have things like grenades, bombs, & flamethowers and each kit has it's own set of weapon skills.
The elementalist can attune itself to 4 different elements and can switch elements in combat giving it different skills not only for each element but also based on the weapon it is wielding. (ex. if wielding a staff and attuned to water the elementalist gets different skills than wielding a dagger while attuned to water)

It's a pretty neat and enjoyable game all around, if you want to pick it up i recommend waiting for a sale that brings it down to $40-45 or less.
There will probably be one within the next month, greenmangaming.com and amazon are good places to watch.
I had heard there is a 30% off code for GMG right now and it does appear to apply to GW2.
The code is: GMG30-DEC01-ARFC9 if you are interested.
I dont know how long it is valid for but it brings the price down to around $40.

The steam group is a good resource as it lists all the active bundles on the front page.
Sometimes there is also useful info in the discussions and comment sections.
I'm not a big fan of steam groups myself or steam in general really, mainly just because I despise DRM in any form.

Desura is a great example of digital distribution done right, no drm, easy download of the games and extra content outside of the client for backup purposes, plus stability, low resource requirements and no overbearing terms of service.
It could use a couple improvements in the way of category/sorting options for your games for an easier time keeping track of them and maybe an optional in-game overlay with a check box somewhere in the options as to whether it gets used or not but all in all I think it is a better client than steam.
I don't much like the attitude I see from some people that steam is somehow the best method of distribution and they they won't even consider buying a game if it isn't on steam.
I just don't really get that.

Hi Melcator and Eternal Grump,

I'm happy to see posts that aren't 2-3 weeks old. That's mostly what was on recently on the Bundeals' forum.
I must say that I didn't help this: I didn't post a lot while I could had. I'm still interested in video games but also in their bundles and deals but it seems that I lost a little bit the focus on it: I stopped buying every one bundle I can find. The last indie royales an indie galas didn't gave me enough interest to buy them. It's seems that I prefer now spend on one game instead of hundreds that I will not play.

Personnaly, I like to read Melcator about is life, I feel that he's honest and true. I mean we can easily puts his feeling about is life in words and on our screens. Without too much inhibitions. That kind of persons make me grow personally. I don't know you much but I would appreciate knowing you more.

That's a bit difficult for me to post a lot because I speak french (i'm a french canadian from the province Québec . Much like Georges St-Pierre and Céline Dion. LOL
Seriously, I'm not that good in english, mostly when it comes the time to do a good syntax. I might feel retarded for you sometimes. That been said, I really much enjoy being part of the forum here and the steam group. I watch them almost everyday.

I play a bit less than before since I have recently move. If you see me on Steam often it's because my 4 year old son plays to it while I'm at work. But also my 3 year old twin girls are also able to play on Steam. I have some games just for them, It's not for nothing that I am the number one player of Hot dish on Raptr!

Raptr.com

I also have a 8 month old boy. My life goes well on that part. My dynasty is achieved.... It's not for nothing that the godfather is my favorite avatar. I'm a fan of that trilogy: the only thing I must share with the mafia thing is the importance of the family but it's not going in the same direction... I'm now at the step of thinking of vasectomy...

Personnal Notes on Gaming with my kids.
I made the game Tobe's vertical adventure in coop with my son. Thanks to an indie royale. That was great. Now I try to play with him at Jamestown (one of my favorite indie game ) but he don't like this game as I like it.
I created him a character at Guild Wars 2 because I didn't want him to screw my main one. He did all the choices, he took a Norn, Guardian blond and long hair. He wanted to call him Thor but it wasn't available. He also tried Sonic but that was also already taken. He finally agreed with me to take Sthor...
Most of the time they play on FRIV.com or Disney junior sites. Playing Disneyland adventures on kinect with them is funny but only when no one is constantly walking in front of the Kinect camera. I seriously prefer playing at Wii than Kinect for that. You must understand that I'm not only playing videogames with my kids: I now master the art of: senario with the Barbie's crew, breastfeeding baby dolls, crafting hot wheel tracks, nerf sniping the kids, crafting play-doh unreconizable penis...

Finally, I still have my red globin deck in the forth/fifth edition of Magic. Those cards are in it's original pop-tarts boxes since 1996. I do still know people who restarted to play the real game. I have play on Steam but it's not exactly the same addiction. You don't have the same liberty in the selection of your cards.

That's it for now. See ya.

It's good to hear from you again Gard, it;'s been a while.

Someone wrote: The last indie royales an indie galas didn't gave me enough interest to buy them.

I can relate to this, at least as far as indie gala goes.
Indie Royale still has enough interesting stuff for me to pick it up but IG has been pretty terrible the last few times.
At most I've tossed $1 at it just to get 1 of the games that looked vaguely interesting but the quality just seems to keep going down.
For a bundle that's never really been amazing to begin with that's saying a lot.
The fact that they killed our little buying circle by not only, no longer offering happy hour consistently on every bundle but restricting happy hour (when it does happen) to those that paid over the average, has reduced the value and interest even further.

Someone wrote: Seriously, I'm not that good in english, mostly when it comes the time to do a good syntax. I might feel retarded for you sometimes.

That seems rather harsh.
I wasn't sure where you were from but I could tell english wasn't your primary language long before now, it's hardly a big deal.
From what I've seen of your posts, you explain yourself just fine and if there's ever a misunderstanding it's easy enough to ask for clarification.
I've never said anything bad about your writing and I haven't seen roxo or mel do so either for the time I've been here.
Just communicate your thoughts the best you can, It'll all work out.

Most everything after the raptr link made me laugh, it sounds like you have a lot of fun with your kids
You said your son can't quite get into jamestown, why is that?
Does he not like top down plane games or is it too difficult, or something else?
If it's an issue of difficulty, you might consider introducing him to the Raiden game series as it tends to be easier while still being a lot of fun.
"Raiden Trad" was one of my first introductions to that style of game and I've loved the series and game style ever since.
If you know how to use emulators and where to get them/roms for them, you might consider looking into the SNES version of Raiden Trad.

Since it sounds like you have an Xbox 360, an alternative option might be the more recent incarnations if the Raiden series, "Raiden IV" and "Raiden Fighters Aces".
I haven't played those ones yet but they are very well reviewed and well... they're Raiden, it's kinda hard to go wrong with those games.
The 360 incarnations are unfortunately kinda rare since they are so popular but you may be able to find a copy in a used game shop for a reasonable price.
They are available on amazon as well but are more expensive, like $30 or so as opposed to 1/2 or 1/3 of that from a used game shop if you can find it..

Someone wrote: I have play on Steam but it's not exactly the same addiction. You don't have the same liberty in the selection of your cards.

Yeah, I agree, it's not the same but it's still fun and a lot less expensive.
I do miss the deck building for sure and that's part of the reason I didn't jump on the 2013 edition.
I bought the 2012 edition last year without knowing about the lack of a deck building feature, that was a definite disappointment but I still enjoyed the solo play and the vs./co-op that I got to do with my rl friend.

It would be nice though if they took a page out of konami's Yu-Gi-Oh book and offered not only a deck builder but also an in-game shop where you can buy boosters to customize the standard decks you earn throughout the campaign.
The boosters would of course be bought with in-game credits won from playing against the npcs, maybe even from playing against other players.
I wouldn't want there to be any rmt bs, no trading real money for cards outside of what they already do with the extra decks you can buy as dlc through steam.

I'm glad to see the forum is getting some life back to it after the period of mostly dead time.
ttyl all.

Gardakan wrote: I'm happy to see posts that aren't 2-3 weeks old. That's mostly what was on recently on the Bundeals' forum.
I must say that I didn't help this: I didn't post a lot while I could had..

I honestly think we are all guilty of this, even though I hardly signed on Desura for a while there, when I did I would come straight to the forums, see that it was dead, and not take the time to post anything myself. Which is a shame really, becasuse we have a good group of people here. And hey, we've sure come a long way from when it was just four of us trying to keep Bundle Tracker's group up to date.

I got into Darksiders 2 last night, while it was obviously designed for the console, like the first one it controls very well on the PC, the changes they made I feel made the game better, instead of a few limited weapons you now have a full RPG-like inventory system, and gold to spend on items and moves instead of souls. I would have prefered if they kept the souls personally, but sometimes changes like that make the game available to a broader audience.

I do agree with the fact most indie bundles haven't been looking that great, take the winter bundle for example, "Suggested Price: $15+" is one of the lowest suggested prices I've seen, usually there's at least one big name to draw people in, this one doesn't seem to have it. They're either junk or games I already own :\ The Humble THQ Bundle was great, but I owned most of it already.

And as far as your English goes Gardakan, I haven't had a problem understanding you, and even if I did, I only know one language, I have no right to mock or insult somebody who knows two languages, nor would I unless it was a joke and the other person knew where it was coming from =P My main problem on the internet is those people that feel the need to abbreviate every second word. Maybe most of those people just don't know how to type properly, and I'm being too harsh on them, but it drives me bonkers. Besides, my Grandma is a French Canadian, lived in BC for well over 20 years and she never fully got the English language down, so I'm used to a word or sentence being weird here or there =P

I tried an older version of Duels of the Planeswalkers on the 360 and I have to agree, while it is fun, it's not the same. Magic Online seems like it's not too bad, but I had a problem with it and haven't went back to it. There are special gold bordered cards and regular cards and apparently you can't mix them in a deck. If anyone wants to take a look through my current magic decks and my ideas most of them can be found here. A lot of them are still in the idea stage and some will probably never get built. Mtgvault.com
Everyone ready for Christmas?