Video Gaming Changes

It occurs to me that, in the long interval since I last talked about video games here, a lot is different.  I thought that I'd mention something about that, in case anyone cares.
Hearthstone is still my go-to alt+tab option, but I've also found myself playing Heroes of the Storm more than Team Fortress 2.  That said, if I ever get into the Overwatch beta, then that might replace both of those. 
I don't think that I've touched Minecraft in over a year.   I've got nothing against in, but I've got limited time each day, and I don't want to risk getting sucked in like I can so easily do; weekends, when I would have enough time, are when I like to get out of the house, so those are often out, too. 
I've been trying to replay some older games, but I'm surprised at how long sessions of those can be, too. 

Misc. Video Game Updates

As you probably know from a previous update, I've been focused on Pokémon X lately.  However, I haven't dropped other games completely.  Here's the latest on stuff: 

• Pokémon:  I'm about to beat the 2nd gym.  
• Team Fortress 2:  This year's Halloween map is actually pretty good.  I like that each person gets his own gift, when they spawn.  It's been a bit crashy, but I think that today's update fixed that.
• Minecraft:  FYI, I've gotten my boss addicted to Minecraft.  That said, I've been too busy w/ Pokémon X to play!  FWIW, he's tried the new Thaumcraft 4 for Minecraft release candidate 1.7.x, and it's apparently unnecessarily hard, including a new creeping evil force thing and recipes that are sometimes literally impossible to solve.  I think that I'll hold off on updating, not because I want to avoid it, but rather because I'm still doing a lot of exploring in Thaumcraft 3.
• Kongregate:  I've just been checking dailies & getting badges of the day.  The latter seem largely scary-themed these last few days.
• Miscellaneous betas:  Well, I can't talk much about most, & I haven't been playing them much due to Pokémon X.  

So, to summarize:  Pokémon X.

TF2: The Polynerf Update

On July 10th, 2013, Valve finally managed to release an objectively bad update for Team Fortress 2.  They completely and utterly nerfed the so-called Polycount Sets, as well as several other, minor sets.  There was no attempt at compensation made for this:  Each polycount set had its benefit replaced with a cosmetic effect:  leaving a "calling card" on one's victims, except for the Saharan Spy, who got a rather odd-looking sand whirlwind effect with his taunts. 
I am particularly disappointed with the removal of the headshot immunity from the Croc-O-Style Kit, especially since the ability to perform headshots was not granted to the Sydney Sleeper.  The set was completely fair as it stood:  A sniper wearing Ol' Snaggletooth could be immune to headshots, but only if he also bore the Sydney Sleeper as his rifle, removing his own ability to perform them.  (Darwin's Danger Shield and the Bushwacka were also required, which only lends more credence to the notion that they were balanced.) 
I suppose that I'm particularly miffed about this because I spent ages accumulating what my calculations show was the equivalent of 73 weapons to craft the damn hat, only to have its benefit completely removed shortly after I got it. 

Regarding Mann vs. Machine

In an attempt at getting some recreation in, I've played some Team Fortress 2 in the past week or so, which I haven't done in several months.  I took the opportunity to try the new "Mann vs. Machine" format, which pits players cooperatively against a bunch of bots.  Being the fan of cooperative play that I am, I figured that I'd give it a shot.
That said, there wasn't much of anywhere to go for TF2 as far as cooperation is concerned.  Being a team game (hence the name), it's already fairly cooperative.  While the opponents weren't manned by humans, there were a lot of them, and they seemed to have more hit points - especially the gigantic ones that can apparently come along.  Also, weirdly, there seems to be a limit of 6 players on the defending (read: human) team.
There's also an upgrade system, whereby one's weapons - and even one's class itself - can be temporarily upgraded with money found around the map.  It's entirely necessary to survive the tougher waves, which at least removes repetitiveness from a long map.
There is one thing that's just really odd, though:  There's no full health/ammo cabinet in spawn.

Goodbye LEGO Universe, Hello Again Minecraft

So, I gave up Minecraft for NaNoWriMo, and then I stayed away from it up until now because LEGO Universe was ending in just two months.  Well, those two months are up.  I tried connecting to the servers, but couldn't, with text explaining why.  So now I can get back to Minecraft (and also TF2).  I think that the biggest challenge will be remembering what I was going to do.  I remember what I was planning overall, but I'm not sure at what step I was.  For instance, I was working on a runway, but I went over to my other base.  I may have been planning to work on my dry dock.  There's only one thing that I know for sure:  I need more iron!

On NaNoWriMo 2011

Well, NaNoWriMo is nearly over, and unless some sort of miracle happens, I'm not finishing my novel on time.  I'm still going to write with what moments I have, but 50,000 words it won't be.
Still, it's not the end of the world or anything.  The whole point of this is that it's essentially practice.  I've learned some things, though, that should help next year.  I think that the main one is that I should make a much more detailed outline before the month begins.
Before NaNoWriMo began, I set Steam to not start on boot-up, and I turned it off.  That meant no TF2 for me, among other things.  So, I've missed several weeks' worth of item drops, but I don't feel worse for wear about it.  In fact, I'm considering leaving it off through December, too, especially considering that I'll be using December and January to play the very last of LEGO Universe, which is sadly ending. It'll also help me to avoid the annual temptation to buy XMas-related stuff (i.e., winter keys for festive crates, or whatever).
Meanwhile, I just need an idea for next year's novel....

The Half-Zatoichi is Kind of Meh

So, recently (like 2-3 weeks ago?) Team Fortress 2 got another update with more new weapons to find/craft/buy. It was part of a promotion for some game, such that anyone who pre-ordered that game automatically got the weapons in question for free, guaranteed. (And I think that they might have had nice names or levels or something.) Anyway, there's a bunch of East Asian-style stuff in there, and one's a katana called the Half-Zatoichi. It's a bit like the Pain Train in that it's a melee weapon usable by the Demoman and the Soldier (so far the only pair of classes to share weapons). As always, it's got benefits and drawbacks compared to the standard melee weapons (a shovel for the Soldier, and a rum bottle for the Demoman).
The drawback is that, once it's pulled out, it can't be put away unless and until one gets a kill with it (or one dies, resetting back to the primary weapon). The benefit is that, whenever one gets a kill with it (which makes it bloody, indicating that it can be sheathed), one is restored back to full health. To me, this is kind of meh. Probably one of the things that makes it less than appealing is that, if one sheathes the Half-Zatoichi, then pulls it out again in the same life, the blood's gone and one has to get a kill again to put it away again. It's not terrible on a Demoman equipped with the Chargin' Targe, but it's pretty rough on a Soldier, whose only advantage is his higher health. Equalizer, please!

I'm at that Awkward Point in TF2...

I'm at that awkward point in Team Fortress 2 where I have one of every weapon, but not the Poly Count hats or the resources to make them. (Well, strictly speaking, I don't have the Degreaser, but I'm not terribly worried about it.) For those who aren't familiar w/ TF2's item drop system, there are certain "Poly Count" sets for some classes, which are a combination of some weapons and a hat. The weapons can be found via the random drop system, but the hats never drop, so they have to be bought or made. The weapons can be bought or made, too, but buying them costs real money, and by the time that one has enough waste material to make them, one has probably already found them. The hats can be made with the crafting system, too, but this takes vast quantities of weapons to do. (For reference, a hat costs at least 3 Refined Metal to make, each of which costs 3 Reclaimed Metal, each of which costs 3 Scrap Metal, each of which costs 2 weapons, giving an effective price of >54 weapons to make a hat.)
If it weren't for the Poly Count sets, then I'd have no reason to even be thinking about hats prior to this point. But, of course, Valve is quite clever about this. The hats do nothing by themselves, but those that are part of Poly Count sets allow someone w/ a complete set to get some kind of bonus! (For example, Ol' Snaggletooth does nothing alone, but as part of The Croc-o-Style Kit, prevents headshots.)
So, the excitement of getting a new weapon is basically gone, replaced with the excitement of getting ANY weapon, since said weapon can be turned into scrap.
Well, on the bright side, TF2's crafting system means that nothing is truly wasted. Even when I've got all of the useful hats, I can still make all of the decorative ones. XD

On TF2 and the Ghastlier Gibus

So, I play a bit of Team Fortress 2 from time to time, and it's got some significant differences from Team Fortress Classic. I won't go into the details here, but suffice it to say that there are some MMORPG elements, including an item drop system and customizable equipment loadouts. Among these are hats, most of which have no in-game effect other than their looks. One of these is the Ghastlier Gibus.
Acquiring the Ghastlier Gibus is a bit different, in that it's easier to get than most hats. (Most have to be purchased, uncrated, received as a gift or in trade, or crafted by combining 27+ other items.) There's an achievement called "Ghastly Gibus Grab", which is obtained by dominating (killing a bunch of times w/o being killed back) someone who is wearing the Ghastlier Gibus, and the reward is the Ghastlier Gibus.
The item isn't class-specific (TF2 has the same 9 classes as TFC), so it can be equipped to any class loadout, and it's not limited to just 1, either. Thus, I've equipped all 9 of my classes with it. Why? Well, for one, I don't have any better hat items (just the defaults), but moreover, it generates more Ghastlier Gibuses (Ghastlier Gibi?), since folks who kill me a lot can get the achievement, if they don't already have it, and thus get the hat. It's not a zero-sum game: The hats are unlimited, as they exist entirely virtually. Thus, I'm maximizing the production of value. After all, not only do my assassins get hats, but if they then wear them, and get dominated in TF2 by people who don't already have the achievement, then they spread the hats, and so on.
Note: I just uncrated 2 class-specific hats, so only 7 of my 9 classes are wearing the Ghastlier Gibus at the moment, but still....