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Aug. 6th, 2008 08:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hkrSo I haven't really been updating this thing that much. Mostly it's because I don't usually have the attention span to type out a long entry anymore.
Not much has been going on. I found a new job a few months ago, co-running the kitchen at a new fair trade cafe in town. The pay kinda sucks but the atmosphere is great, as well as the food. So I'll stick with it for a while.
Our upstairs neighbor have been great so far, at least from the "guys living downstairs" angle as we haven't really gotten to know him yet. But since he isn't shouting at the TV or his girlfriend all day every day like the previous neighbors, and he hasn't complained about me playing Rock Band too loud, he's okay in my book. We've been invited to his housewarming party next week so I'll learn a bit more then.
Speaking of Rock Band, the game has made me really want to get a drum kit of my own. Of course, I really can't have a real kit in an apartment, so the next best thing is an electronic kit. Which just so happens to be what a company called ION is putting out for Rock Band 2. A real electric drum kit that happens to work with RB/RB2. I have it on pre-order. We'll see what I think about it in a few months.
I went back to the demon known as FFXI for a few months while I was out of a job and managed to take a character to 75 and finish a ton of missions. I still haven't beaten CoP or ToAU or the last to missions of Zilart yet, but I think I'm satisfied with what I accomplished. Time to put the character in stasis until I get the urge to play again.
It's also a great change from only four years ago. I was actually able to look for and find work while playing, as opposed to letting it take over my life. And I'm stopping my play as my own decision, instead of the whole running out of money thing.
I also just started playing Soul Calibur 4. While I can't say I wasted my money, the fact that the game plays exactly the same as SC2 makes the game a bit boring for me. Even Tekken 4 and 5 vastly improved gameplay from Tekken 3. But at least it will tide me over until Street Fighter 4.
The one advantage of SC4, and most fighting games is that I can just play them for 10 minutes and feel like I got what I wanted from the game. FFXI is the only game now where I can spend hours on it. Any other game and I'm looking for something else to do right away.
I say most fighting games because Super Smash Brothers Brawl is an utter disappointment. While I have always sucked at the smash games, SSBB just frustrates me on so many levels. The camera still does that horrible zoom in and out thing that I've hated since the original (Though to be fair there's really no other way to do it). The time requirements to unlock over half of the entire character list is long, and the best way to do it, Subspace Emissary, is one of the worst "games" I have ever played.
My warhammer painting has stalled out for the moment it seems. I'm trying to force myself to paint what I already have assembled + primed, but none of what I have is appealing to me right now. High Elves are pretty boring to paint, even if they are fun to play against. As for my skaven army, once you realize you need to paint about 150 clanrats/slaves, you start to wonder what made you choose this crazy hoard army in the first place.
My friend anthony is flying out from Detroit to stay with us for a week. It should be fun.
Not much has been going on. I found a new job a few months ago, co-running the kitchen at a new fair trade cafe in town. The pay kinda sucks but the atmosphere is great, as well as the food. So I'll stick with it for a while.
Our upstairs neighbor have been great so far, at least from the "guys living downstairs" angle as we haven't really gotten to know him yet. But since he isn't shouting at the TV or his girlfriend all day every day like the previous neighbors, and he hasn't complained about me playing Rock Band too loud, he's okay in my book. We've been invited to his housewarming party next week so I'll learn a bit more then.
Speaking of Rock Band, the game has made me really want to get a drum kit of my own. Of course, I really can't have a real kit in an apartment, so the next best thing is an electronic kit. Which just so happens to be what a company called ION is putting out for Rock Band 2. A real electric drum kit that happens to work with RB/RB2. I have it on pre-order. We'll see what I think about it in a few months.
I went back to the demon known as FFXI for a few months while I was out of a job and managed to take a character to 75 and finish a ton of missions. I still haven't beaten CoP or ToAU or the last to missions of Zilart yet, but I think I'm satisfied with what I accomplished. Time to put the character in stasis until I get the urge to play again.
It's also a great change from only four years ago. I was actually able to look for and find work while playing, as opposed to letting it take over my life. And I'm stopping my play as my own decision, instead of the whole running out of money thing.
I also just started playing Soul Calibur 4. While I can't say I wasted my money, the fact that the game plays exactly the same as SC2 makes the game a bit boring for me. Even Tekken 4 and 5 vastly improved gameplay from Tekken 3. But at least it will tide me over until Street Fighter 4.
The one advantage of SC4, and most fighting games is that I can just play them for 10 minutes and feel like I got what I wanted from the game. FFXI is the only game now where I can spend hours on it. Any other game and I'm looking for something else to do right away.
I say most fighting games because Super Smash Brothers Brawl is an utter disappointment. While I have always sucked at the smash games, SSBB just frustrates me on so many levels. The camera still does that horrible zoom in and out thing that I've hated since the original (Though to be fair there's really no other way to do it). The time requirements to unlock over half of the entire character list is long, and the best way to do it, Subspace Emissary, is one of the worst "games" I have ever played.
My warhammer painting has stalled out for the moment it seems. I'm trying to force myself to paint what I already have assembled + primed, but none of what I have is appealing to me right now. High Elves are pretty boring to paint, even if they are fun to play against. As for my skaven army, once you realize you need to paint about 150 clanrats/slaves, you start to wonder what made you choose this crazy hoard army in the first place.
My friend anthony is flying out from Detroit to stay with us for a week. It should be fun.
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-06 10:28 pm (UTC)For a real drumkit... I'm not sure on how to silence cymbals, but the drums are easy. They make mufflers, basically a rubber pad that sits on top of the drum, and those will deaden all your toms and snare. For the kick, tighten the beater head all the way, then loosen the bottom head off as loose as you can get it. Effectively silences the kick, useful trick when using drum triggers.
I'll ask my metal drummer friend how to silence the cymbals. I know it can and is done, or there would be no way parents would endure the cacophony of letting their kids learn drums.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-06 11:29 pm (UTC)One of the reasons I'm investing in the ION kit is because it automatically works with rock band. So I'll have the premium controller for the only game I've really enjoyed in the last four years.
Also RB2 comes with an extensive "drum trainer" that basically teaches drum fills and patterns. While it may not be as good as a real teacher, it can at least show me if I want to invest even more into this.
The actual kit itself isn't too bad as far as electronic kits go.
http://drumrocker.com/products/index.php
(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-07 06:54 am (UTC)The limitations with electronic pads is the fact that a hit is not guaranteed to be a hit. Even the highest quality Roland or Yamaha pads quite often either drop beats or double beat, enough to frustrate the heck out of a drummer. You'll notice that Peart, or Rick Allen from Def Leppard, do not do anything complicated on their pads, as there is no guarantee that the pads can handle complex maneuvers. In Peart's case, I noticed it on the drum solo on R30, and in Allen's case you can hear the difference between Pyromania and Hysteria - Pyromania was much more complex, while Hysteria was much simpler, if with much more punch. Not to say that they're bad, but they're best as an addition to a normal kit.
In your case, this is a sexy and excellent option (and apparently RB is much better than I thought). Works both as a RB controller, and with a control module works as an electronic kit. Plus, much cheaper than even the cheapest basic kit, and the skills you gain this this will be immediately transferable.
However, my friend did have one qualm to pass along. He worries that you may get too adapted to having visual cues via RB, and may find it exceptionally difficult to translate to purely auditory and tactile cues. YMMV, but do keep this in mind.