Month: October 2010

The Puppy Chronicles, Day 2 (puppy post)

Posted on by Nimgimli

Never fear, this’ll probably be my last ‘daily’ puppy post. Tomorrow I’m back at work and we need to settle into a routine. I’m still working on that balance thing… I haven’t found time to touch a game all weekend. The horror!

Anyway, last night was a good night. Lola got into her crate without too much fuss, whined once at lights-out but then slept through until morning. I got up before she did, in fact (at about 6:45).

Her big challenge today was the guinea pigs. Today was cage-cleaning day. When we do cages the girls, Mimi and Mona, get to romp around in their ‘playpen’ — an open topped temporary cage that we put on the floor. It gets them out of the way and they love their floor time as they chase each other back and forth.

Today Lola was in the room. We’d taken her for a good long walk ahead of time so she was tuckered out and she was just lounging on her bed chewing on one of those vile bully sticks. Angela sat next to her holding her leash just in case (we keep a short leash on her most of the time so she’s used to it). She gave the girls a stare once or twice but a quick correction broke her focus. After a few minutes she totally ignored the girls, and they her. So it was a big Win for everyone.

We’re getting the bathroom stuff down pretty well. I went out to do some shopping and while I was gone Angela was in the bedroom with Lola with a baby gate up so she couldn’t go wreak havoc in case Angela fell asleep (we’re both semi-sleep deprived). Lola started fussing at her. Angela would correct her and she’d stop for a few minutes then come get Angela’s attention again. Finally Angela got the message and took her outside where it was clear she needed to do her business. So that was good news; Lola knew that she had to go out and let Angela know about it.

Food is a problem still. She’s eating but not as much as I’d like. We feed her three times a day and when we first put the food down she’ll gulp a few mouthfuls and then either distract herself with a toy, or flop down and go to sleep. She’s slept a LOT today; I think her big few days are catching up to her. I know they’re catching up to us!

Tomorrow I’m back to work and Angela starts the hard job of teaching Lola to be alone without fussing. I’m not sure how she’s going to do it… how do you correct a dog that wants you back in the apartment without giving her what she wants?

Things are good though..anxiety is dropping for everyone, Lola is a total sweetheart who’s part of our ‘pack’ and the guinea pigs are no longer freaked out with her being around. I think we’re on the right track, at least!

The Puppy Chronicles, Day 1 (puppy post)

Posted on by Nimgimli

So here we are in the evening of our first full day of puppy ownership. I have the tiniest inkling of what parents must go through when they bring home their first newborn, I think. At least in terms of sleep deprivation! LOL

Bedtime last night wasn’t really awful. We put Lola’s crate in our bedroom so she could see us, and enticed her into her crate by putting her toys in there and sitting around it with her for a while. She was SO TIRED she was swaying from side to side and finally we closed the door and got into bed. She whined and let out one howl but Angela corrected her and that was that.

Unfortunately I have problems sleeping under the best of conditions and even though Lola didn’t make another sound I laid awake, tense and waiting for her to start to howl or something. I need to let go of some of my worrying and anxiety.

We’d set the alarm for 7 but at 6 Lola did give a kind of shout. We figured she really needed to go to the bathroom (she hadn’t since she’d left PA at this point) so Angela got up and took her out. Of course we brought the dog home right in the middle of a cold snap. I tried to get back to sleep but couldn’t.

Eventually they came back and I got up and let Angela sleep some more.

Aside from the sleep deprivation things are going fairly well. This afternoon she finally started going to the bathroom (I’d been getting worried). We read that we shouldn’t give her the run of the house when we first brought her home. Problem is, our apartment is a big open living room/dining room area which is where the front door is, then the 2 bedrooms. We wanted her crate in our bedroom (living in an apartment means we can’t just put her in a crate and let her cry herself to sleep the first few nights…the neighbors would [rightfully] complain) so we couldn’t block her out of there, and we spend so much time in the office (bedroom #2) that blocking her from there would mean we’d never see her. So we’ve opted to only let her in certain rooms when we’re with her.

I’m not sure there’s not a dark side to that, though. So now she doesn’t have run of the house, which is good, but she’s also NEVER alone, which is bad. As soon as she finds herself alone even for a few minutes, she starts to whine. So we need to put a stop to that sooner rather than later, but I might dump it on poor Angela since she can train her to be alone (with all the whining and howling that goes with it) during the work week when there are fewer neighbors around.

I went to Petsmart and spent *another* $200 on dog stuff. Sheesh.

I did get a couple of beds. A small one that’s now sitting between our computers in the office where Lola likes to flop when we’re in here, and another big one that I put in the living room next to the TV. Tonight we had a normal dinner and we put her on this big bed and there she stayed while we ate. It doesn’t seem to occur to her to beg for food and we’re going to see that it never does [*knock on wood*]. OK what I mean is that we have a pact never to feed her from our plates.

Anyway that felt like a win. We ate at a regular pace (last night’s dinner and today’s lunch were both bolted down while we had her alone somewhere in the house) and she conked out and slept peacefully.

Here’s a new flash.. dogs are messy. I’m a bit OCD about being clean but Lola is breaking me of that pretty quickly. That’s probably not a bad thing. She’s allowed on the couch when invited, and this is her watching TV. Sort of.

I’ve spend more time outside today that I have in the last 6 months, I bet. And I’ve talked to more of my neighbors than I have in the 5 years I’ve been living here.

We got her added to the lease so now she’s “legit” and not an illegal tenant. 🙂

She’s still pretty exhausted and isn’t eating with the enthusiasm I’d expect. She eats, and drinks plenty, but she doesn’t empty her food bowl when we feed her. So we’re watching that and training her to eat when she gets fed rather than ‘grazing’ all day (easier to predict when she needs to go out to go to the bathroom that way).

So far she’s been extremely good natured and affectionate. She’s a lot of work but worth it, and hopefully if we do our job right we’ll get her (and us) into routines that’ll make things easier.

Next steps will be about finding balance. I have jobs to do and I’m falling way behind on tech news and stuff. I can’t spend all day every day playing with this sweet puppy!

Lola comes home (puppy post)

Posted on by Nimgimli

Well like any proud new pet owner I’m going to bore you with puppy posts. I’ll be sure to put (puppy post) in the titles so you can easily skip them if you aren’t interested.

So Lola came home with us tonight. Aside from some concerns with my aging car (I was scared to death we were going to break down 4 hours from home with a puppy in a crate in the back of the truck) it was a good trip.

She came from the Hope For Hannah rescue in Bartonsville, PA. (Who is Hannah? See the video at the bottom of this post.) We really didn’t know what we were getting into, but Suzi who runs the place is wonderful. She brings dogs up from the shelter of a friend of hers in West Virginia, and a ‘batch’ of dogs had arrived last night. When we got there today there were 6 or 7 dogs, and 1 very fat cat, and 5-6 people in the house that consists of the rescue’s office. Chaos, right? Nope, not at all. The energy level of all these dogs was awesome.

In fact as we drove up Lola was just arriving so we got to see her being ‘introduced to the pack’ and it was like watching The Dog Whisperer. The other dogs smelled her butt and licked her face and approved of her and that was that. Tiny Lola and big old Hannah were having a grand old time playing but it was all very nice play. No one was getting over-excited. No accidents for the 90 minutes or so we were there.

Part of the adoption agreement says that if for some reason you can’t keep the dog you adopt, you have to return the animal to Hope For Hannah rather than just passing it off to a friend or dumping it at a local shelter. I was really happy to see that Suzi was that concerned for her dogs.

She went over everything we needed to know, what shots Lola needs when and all that. It was a great experience. She asks for a $100 ‘spayed deposit’ check that she’ll destroy or return once we send her confirmation that Lola has been spayed (she’s too little yet). And she made a point of giving me the paperwork so I can write-off the adoption fee, which is technically a donation because Hope for Hannah is a certified non-profit organization. She made sure we had her cell phone number and insisted we call anytime up to midnight if we had any questions or concerns.

I can’t say enough good about Suzi and this rescue… First rate.

So, once the paperwork was done and questions all answered, Angela, Lola and I walked out and we got her settled in the crate in the back of the truck. She was an angel for the 5-6 hour trip home. We stopped a few times so she could stretch her legs and in case she had to pee, and she was alert and curious but not frantic. Most of the trip home she slept (she’s had a big day) and a few times she howled a single ‘correction’ put an end to it.

So now she’s home and settling in. She’s adorable, sweet and clearly very smart. She already sits at the door before we go out…she knows the human leaves first. Suzi’s friend must be a Dog Whisperer fan and started teaching her already.

She’s curious, but not fixated on, the guinea pigs. Mostly she’s just surprised when she hears noise coming from their cages (she’s too little to see into them). So far she’s been playing with a few toys we got her and seems reasonably settled.

Of course, we’ll see what happens when bed time comes around and she’s the only dog. We’ve put her crate in our bedroom so at least she’ll have us for company.

It’s going to be a huge adjustment for us but I think we both fell in love the minute we laid eyes on her.

Pics soon!

Here’s Hannah, along with some sappy music. We met Hannah; she ROCKS and she doesn’t need anyone’s pity anymore…she’s a sweet, happy girl now.

I guess gaming has “arrived”

Posted on by Nimgimli

[Update: I realized this morning that I didn’t make clear that I’m talking about coverage in places other than gaming news sites. Clearly this *is* major news within the gaming industry, but I was referring to sites that don’t cover games as a primary focus, yet they were still covering this story.]

I was astounded at the number of words that were generated today after the news broke that Electronic Arts was purchasing iOS game publisher Chillingo.

I mean, here’s a company that publishes (they aren’t developers) $2 iPhone games and it seemed like every tech blog covered the story. It wasn’t even that big a purchase ($19 million).

I guess part of the coverage stemmed from so many blogs getting the story wrong initially, referring to Chillingo as the developer of Angry Birds. Roxio, Rovio [Ha! Even I can’t get it right, thanks to Scopique for pointing out my error.] the outfit who actually developed Angry Birds, which was self-published on Android, was understandably annoyed and spent the day doing damage control and trying to get things set to right.

Granted Chillingo does seem to have an eye for promising properties (they also published ZeptoLab’s Cut the Rope on iOS) but still, just a few years ago this purchase would’ve barely warranted a mention in tech news. And it isn’t like it was just a slow news day today, what with Apple’s “Back to Mac” yawnfest event.

So a few years ago, tiny coverage. Today, big but inaccurate coverage. Maybe a few years in the future gaming will warrant big, accurate coverage.

Gone digital

Posted on by Nimgimli

I’m a pretty loud advocate of e-books, as my twitter friends know. I often find myself advocating for e-books as a platform. But even I hadn’t realized out whole-heartedly I’d embraced digital content until last weekend.

Angela and I had taken a few days of to tackle The Closet… our office has a closet running the full width of one wall (the office is intended to be the master bedroom in this apartment) and it was over-flowing with junk. So we dragged it all out and I had 5 (!) milk-crates full of old magazines. I set them aside to go through later.

And so last weekend I found myself surrounded by stacks of old magazines: everything from issues of Realms of Fantasy from the early 90s, to Cardplayer Magazine from back when I played online … err, the spammers will invade if I say it, but y’know that gambling game that’s played online, to Linux Journals, MIT Technology Reviews from 2000-2003, Wired, Armchair General… just tons and tons of magazines.

A lot of them went right into the dumpster. Reading about the state of the art of Linux from 2003 just isn’t a good use of time, and I no longer play cards seriously enough to read a magazine about it.

But the Technology Reviews and the Wireds had some interesting content; interviews with current tech giants who were up-and-comers back then, or ‘prediction’ pieces that were so far off the mark as to be kind of charming. I knew I’d never get through them by ‘flipping through’ so I decided to check out each issue’s Table of Contents and see if there was anything worth reading.

At first this was kind of fun, but I quickly found it incredibly frustrating. Paper magazines, it turns out, SUCK. First you have to *find* the table of contents which in Wired, particularly, can be 10 pages or more in. Then you find an article you want to read and it’s on page 152. While you try to find page 152 7-8 ‘blow-in’ subscription cards land in your lap. The magazine insists in flopping open to various advertisements printed on thicker paper than the rest of the mag. Other times you find yourself flipping through 10-15 pages of “Advertising Section” or other un-numbered pages. When you finally do find page 152, your read it and page 153 & 154 and then the article is continued on page 185 and you have to start your search all over again.

Bah! I got more and more particular in what I felt was worth reading until most of the issues I was just chucking in the bin. My beloved Realms of Fantasy excepted… those are just so retro and awesome I had to keep them. 🙂

What I found curious about the whole episode is that if I’d gone through this process 8 months ago I wouldn’t have thought twice about the format of paper magazines. But since April I’ve been doing 99% of my ‘magazine’ reading on the iPad. In some cases I buy digital issues of a mag (Wired, New Yorker) and in other cases I just read the articles on a website. And now that I have a great edition of the New York Times on the iPad, I’ll go back to reading the Sunday paper and magazine section (digitally).

I don’t have many print magazine subscriptions left at this point, and I don’t expect I’ll ever subscribe to another one. I knew I’d embraced e-books, but until now I hadn’t realized how strongly I’d embraced e-magazines. I mean, I still have all my stacks and shelves and boxes of print books…I’m not going to toss those. But print magazines…they’ve become a relic of another age, in my eyes, and fit only for recycling.

Chainmail appears (FF XIV)

Posted on by Nimgimli

One of the fun (for me anyway) things about getting in at the start of an MMO with a player-based economy is watching the economy advance.

For the first week or so of FF XIV everyone was wearing their starter gear (which can serve you well for quite some time). Then as the crafters got better at their, uh, crafts, that started to change. First you saw bandanas and various hats and masks. Then you saw an influx of cowls, giving FF XIV an Assassin’s Creed vibe for a while.

The other day I noticed fighting-types had begun to wear plate helms with their leather or cloth armor.

And last night I noticed chainmail for the first time. Now I missed a couple days of play due to being busy, so I probably missed the gradual adoption of it, but, particularly with those hulking Roegadyn, the sparkle and shimmer of a coat of chainmail was hard not to notice.

So far, at least, gear in FF XIV isn’t fantastical like it is in some MMOs. But the game looks so good that even something as ‘basic’ as a suit of chainmail just seems magical the first time you see it. There’s so much detail to the world…it’s just jaw dropping at times.

Of course, dumbass me forgot to take any screenshots!!! LOL

I bought Crysta (FF XIV)

Posted on by Nimgimli

Well, yesterday I took the plunge and used PayPal to buy 2000 Crysta to pay for my FF XIV account with. For those playing along at home, that’s $20 worth. It still bugs me that if I cancel after that month I’ll have left-over credit, but it doesn’t bug me enough that I’m not going to play, and I’m more comfortable with buying Crysta via PayPal then I am with signing up my credit card to that ClickandBuy system. Plus this way if I get distracted and stop playing I won’t auto-renew since I won’t have enough Crysta.

The expected hate has arrived in spades and I’m trying my best to avoid it. A lot of it is coming for common garden variety trolls, but even thoughtful people seem unable to parse the idea that there are people who are genuinely enjoying FF XIV. People whose opinions I usually respect, like Justin Olivetti (you may know him as Sypster) are jumping on the anti-FFXIV bandwagon, saying I’m getting the feeling people are defending a really bad game in FF14 because it’s Final Fantasy — would they put up with this elsewhere? (via Twitter).

People said the same thing about LOTRO when it launched: that only reason people liked it was because they were Tolkien fans.

So these people (the trolls I mean) who don’t like the game take every opportunity they can to mock it or trash it, of course. It’s as if the existence of a game they don’t like offends them in some way.

Maybe FF XIV is a really bad game for Justin. That doesn’t mean it’s a really bad game for everyone. I’m having fun and it doesn’t have anything to do with it being Final Fantasy. I’ve finished exactly 1 FF game in my life (X) and I didn’t like FF XI much at all. What I do like about it is the freedom it gives you. You can be any class, and you can (slowly) respec at will; so far the only real limits have had to do with inventory capacity.

Does it have some horribly broken parts? Absolutely. Virtually every MMO launches with something broken. FF XIV maybe more than most games; if you’re looking for polish then give it some time before trying it. Actually I strongly urge almost everyone to wait until there’s a free trial to give it a shot anyway. Most modern MMO players aren’t going to like it because it is very different in a lot of ways.

But it also has something that’s pretty rare these days: a rich crafting system and player-driven economy. If you love your monsters to be loot pi�atas you’re going to be *miserable* in FF XIV. Virtually everything is player-crafted. Seriously. So if you want to made a grey leather item (a leathercrafter skill), you need grey leather, right? To make grey leather you combine a sheepskin (combat drop), some willow chips (carpentry, comes from a willow log obtained by a botanist) for tanning, and grey leather dye. To get grey leather dye (alchemy) you combine linseed oil with some slate-grey bugs (yech) that you may find while mining. You get the linseed oil by harvesting flax (botany).

If that process sounds appealing to you, then you might be a FF XIV candidate. This kind of stuff tickles the hell out of me. It’ll drive most casual MMO players batshit crazy. You can do all of those steps yourself if you want to level all the jobs, or you can trade/buy sub-components from other players. Some sub-components can be purchased from NPCs, but most of them can only be obtained via player-crafting. Sadly one of the horribly broken systems is buying and selling, so a lot of dealing is done the old fashioned way…by talking to other players *gasp!* There’s a first pass at a revamp of the bazaar system coming soon but I suspect they’re going to need more than one before they’re done.

If you aren’t interested in crafting, then again, this is probably not your game. There’s such a heavy emphasis on crafting that you’d be missing more than half the game if you didn’t partake.

Y’know what else is funny? Remember everyone screaming bloody hell about the fatigue system? No one who is playing is complaining about that now, because it’s almost impossible to hit the limits. Ditto insta-travel. The teleport system uses “anima” which regenerates over time, another fact people were freaked about before launch. Well it turns out you start with 100 anima and short ‘ports use 4, so you could do 25 short-distance teleports in a row before running out. I don’t know why you’d want to do that.

I don’t know if longer teleports cost more; I assume they do but I’m not sure how much. No one seems to be complaining that they’re running out of anima, though.

I’ve been playing with a controller lately, which is a godsend given that Minecraft borked my shoulder (I have an on-again, off-again problem with my left shoulder…maybe bursitis or something). It’s a very comfortable game to play.

Anyway, I played last night until about 2 am and was up at 8 am to play more; I can’t remember the last time an MMO hooked me like that. Today I finally did the big road trip to the other starting cities to tag the stones there so I can teleport around. There’s a ferry ride along the way that was just stunning (though I’m sure I’ll never take it again since it did take about 5 minutes). I don’t know if it’s always like this, but when I took it night had fallen and there was wild thunder and lightning storm; some of the best weather I’ve ever seen in a game. When Limsa Lominsa finally loomed out of the darkness looking like some ancient broken volcano, lightning forking down around it, it literally gave me chills.

So yeah, I love this game. I might hit a road block and lose interest next month, this afternoon or in two years. Who knows? But for now I’m enjoying myself and am contemplating a second account for two-boxing. I’m really looking forward to seeing what improvements and additions Square-Enix adds over the coming months and years.

Oh, one last thing…for all the hate, the game seems to be plenty populated. At least the Besaid server is. So I’m not the only one enjoying myself.

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Puppy Scams

Posted on by Nimgimli

I’ve been talking about a puppy scam email on twitter… but 140 characters just wasn’t enough.

We responded to an ad in the local online classifieds, someone saying they had English Bulldog puppies looking for a home. Here’s the response we got, with a bunch of *adorable* puppy pics attached.

Anyway if you read this, aside from the mangled English, there are other ‘tells’: cut and paste errors, referring to different numbers of dogs at different times, and the time pressure element (48 hours). Maybe I’m just a paranoid jerk and this is all legit, but I trust my instincts enough to not contact these people further.

It should be noted that shelters are asking $300-$550 as adoption fees for mixed breed dogs, so $120 for AKC bulldog puppies is way too good to believe in the first place.

I should also note that a bit of Googling reveals that classified ad puppy scams are a known problem.

Here’s the email, unedited:
==============================================

am very glad on your interest towards my lovely English bulldog puppies well these puppies are now available and ready to be a family companion or your best friend, they are called KELLY LOLO and NINA (Male pups) and CINDY LILI and SANDRA (Female pups), they are outstanding AKC male and female registered puppies from multi-championship bloodlines with an awesome pedigree.
They are all AKC registered and vet checked and they are full of natural beauty and will all make very good house companions.I am giving them out for adoption only to a good pet loving and caring home because i do not want them to suffer. They are medically well and they are very friendly with kids,adults and other house pets .
The reason i am giving them out is that i moved into a new apartment where pets are not allowed and I have been given a 48 hours notice to get rid of them ..It is really painful though and i need a new home that will provide KELLY LOLO NINA CINDY LILI and SANDRA a best of care they need and to provide them with their necessities that’s why I’ve been looking for a good pet loving and caring home for them that will provide them with all the love i want them to experience.I will like you to promise me that you will provide my little cute babies with all their needs and show them all the love they need..My babies are very sensitive and i will like to tell you a little about them:-
.
KELLY LOLO and NINA……. are absolutely adorable babies, who who are only 2.3 lbs at 11
weeks old. Estimated adult structure 7.8 lbs. baby doll face, with tiny ears. She is tiny for breeding or showing but absolutely gorgeous. She has been home raised with lots of TLC and pre-spoiled for her new home and is very friendly.there are excellent example of an extreme lovely babies.She is already willing to go to her new pets loving and caring home.
:-there are house/Potty Trained.
:-there eat 2 times daily and at afternoons she drinks Milk .
:-there are socialized with kids and other house hold pets .
:-there likes to be carried a lot and be spoiled.
:-there likes to be kissed ..
:-there are 12 Weeks old and weighs 3 lbs

CINDY LILI and SANDRA ……… there are absolutely adorable puppies, there are all female puppies and has
tiny ears, there are 7.8 lbs at 12 weeks.Estimated adult structure
9.9 lbs. baby doll face, with tiny ears,excellent silk coats and
already have personality plus and very playful!!He is cute for
breeding, but gorgeous and He has been home raised and is just so cute and is willing to go to a new home which is caring and loving.
:-He is house/potty trained
:-He eats 2 times a day and drinks milk at noon.
:-He is socialized.
:-He’s also a portable baby.
:-He feels shy when carried.
:-He also likes to be kissed.
:-He is 12 weeks old and weighs 3.5ib
I will like to have the information so that i can be clearly convinced that you will provide a good and lovely home for these babies.So Please i will like to know the following from you to see if my babies will be in good arms
1: Whats your full names and where are you located?
2: Are you Married?
3: Do you have kids.If yes, do they love puppies?
4: Do you have a yard that they can play in?
5: Are you a breeder?Or a Pet Lover?
6: How soon do you need them and will you care for them?
7: Which of them do you need?
Would it be possible for you send me monthly pictures so i can know how they are doing in their new home.Sorry for asking such questions but i am just trying to look a good and loving home for my babies.They are very dedicated to what we may ask them and they understand basic commands such as sit,stand etc.They enjoy retrieving toys, but mostly loves the attention of the family. With little training they will follow more commands since they are very willing to learn. Please if you know that you will take good care of the puppies i will be glad to read from you.All you just need to do is to take good care of them and they will be yours for ever and will make good house companions and will bring love to your family.You can contact me via email Each puppy will cost you $120 for it’s transfer of ownership documents from my names to your names so if you want both puppies, it shall cost you $240 for both.. Also that’s all you shall be spending to get the puppies. I have attached some photos so let me know what you think about them. Waiting to read from you soon and may GOD bless you.
Thanks and greetings from Mary family
=============================================

If…you become naked (FF XIV)

Posted on by Nimgimli

There’s a Beatles reference that’ll fly over most of your heads, but anyway…

So all my armor and clothing are “broken” but I’m too damned stubborn to go to an NPC for repairs! I’ve stripped down as far as I’m comfortable doing, but in terms of actual protection I’m totally naked even if I still have on an undershirt and pants.

So this weekend I’ve focused my time on Botany (to harvest fibers) and Weaving & Leathercrafting. My short term goal is to be able to repair my starter gear.

That’s turning out much easier with my cloth-based gear. “Hempen cloth” comes, ultimately, from Moko Grass which I’ve found plenty of. I just only now realized it was the base ingredient for hempen yarn.

So tonight my goal is to repair my hempen undershirt which has a durability of 1 (out of something like 10,000!!) right now.

I did make my first bit of gear: A straw hat!

Leatherworking is turning out to be more difficult. I have a bunch of sheep skins (quest rewards from local levequests) but to turn them into sheep leather I need willow chips. So far I haven’t logged any willow. I’m not yet sure if I’m chopping the wrong trees or if I just need to level up botany some more. I also found those bizarre little mushroom men sometimes drop willow logs so I’ve been attacking them as I run back and forth, but so far no joy.

So that’s how things stand now. Jack-of-all-trades, master of none. Inventory is now a big problem… while in theory you can play every class with one character I’m finding inventory spaces could limit that. You have 80 slots, plus you can get a retainer for another 80, but tools count towards inventory when you aren’t using them. So when I grab my sword to fight, my 14 (so far) tools are considered inventory items. Then you start collecting things and you get a moko grass and a moko grass+1 and a moko grass+2 etc etc.

Anyway I’m maxed out on inventory and need to head back to Gridania to contact my retainer and offload some of this junk onto her. And I haven’t touched any combat class but Gladiator, nor Culinarian or Alchemist.

And when I start wearing meaningful armor and need different sets for different classes? Sheesh, I wonder if I can get a 2nd retainer to hold my stuff!?