Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Evilgeddon Spooky Max (shooter)

Evilgeddon Spooky Max by FirebeastStudio is a shooter game. The player controls a character within a fixed location, shooting baddies that invade the area. There are various weapons to pick up and use, and there are boss fights. The weapons and the player's attributes can be upgraded.
They are many but I have a gun. So unfair for them.
Evilgeddon Spooky Max is a third-person shooter and that is where it is very good at. There are other elements in the game but those are icing on the cake that is its main gameplay. The game's simplicity makes it highly addictive as it entices the player to try 'just one more wave'.

The game drops the player in a location with baddies coming in from the edges of the map. The player is expected to shoot them before they harm him/her. Weapons are dropped occasionally, which the player may store for later use. Each weapon has limited ammunition so some inventory management is necessary.

Health and gold are also dropped during the battle. Health keeps the player alive while gold may be used to upgrade the effectiveness of weapons.
Burning fun!
Upgrading weapons is a necessity. Early weapons have very limited ammunition and are prone to miss, even the Flamethrower. Upgrading the weapon's accuracy to full guarantees a hit each time. Also, each weapon has available to be bought a specialty upgrade such as larger blast radius or allowing the player to walk normally while holding the weapon.

Yes, some weapons are heavy and would make the player walk slowly while wielded.

In addition, the player may be upgraded with various bonuses such as faster movement speed or more health. These require skill points, which are available from completing achievements and leveling up. Leveling up is achieved directly through the completion of objectives rather than mindless shooting. There are objectives such as killing a certain number of a certain type of baddie or using a certain weapon a certain number of times. Completing all objectives are necessary to level the player to the level limit.

It should be noted that the core gameplay of shooting baddies is so enjoyable that time passes very fast. As such, the player can be upgraded to a respectable level with a decent armory with ease.

However, there is not much of a story in the game, just some dialog before boss fights. Well, that would just interrupt the baddie-shooting fun-time after all.
Boss fight!
There is a survival mode after completing the game for those who wish to concentrate on the main gameplay of shooting baddies. This mode brings endless waves of baddies with the occasional boss thrown in. And later, there will be more than one boss simultaneously. Fun!

On the technical side, the game does tend to tax the processor. When there are many objects on the screen, the game is likely to slow down, especially on older computers.

In summary, Evilgeddon Spooky Max is a shooter and it excels very well at it. Time passes very quickly when the player is engaged in simple shooting fun and because of that, the game may seem short. That is until one looks at the time to find that it is already the past midnight or the early hours of the morning. Other aspects of the game, the upgrades, the objectives and the story are secondary to its core fun.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Wartune: Farewell Level 39

I have just reached level 40.
Level 40
Characters at level 40 gain access to mounts, new equipment, a new slot for an astral, some stats and a skill point, along with a few new stuff with the troops in the Barracks. Then there is the higher-level tech available in the Academy and more gold collected at the Town Hall and Gold Refinery. Because of all these improvements, it is most satisfying to beat a level 40+ character with a level 39 character. I am going to miss that.

Also, I am going to miss not being the underdog in the under-40 Battlegrounds.

And miss being underestimated in Guild Battles when I did not have a mount.

So, level 39, it has been fun but children have to grow up. You will be missed.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Wartune: World Boss Ultimate Survival

This article details progress in my quest to get a screenshot of my character surviving an ultimate attack from a World Boss.

If the player survives a number of attacks from the World Boss, the latter will pull out an ultimate move which does damage four times, each with over 1M of damage.
Ragnoch has a part-time job in a kitchen as a blender.
That screenshot above is with my Illusion astral at 5%. The astral only activated on the first attack. To survive the ultimate, the astral has to activate four times consecutively.

I wonder if I will ever complete my quest.

Update 25 November 2012:
Yesterday, I caught this screenshot:
Shockingly Bad Breath!
Still a long way from capturing the screenshot I want.
---

Update 26 November 2012:
At this rate, I wonder if I shall succeed on the 28th. One can still dream.
Disappointment...
My Illusion astral is still at 5%.
---

Buddy Rush: Thanksgiving Event 2012

Buddy Rush has a Thanksgiving Event from 23 to 25 November 2012 where Sweet Halloween Candies are given out everyday. No candy was given out during Halloween. I wonder if the manufacturer shipped the candies late or something. Or well, better late than never.
Sweet Bat Candy
The Max HP boost from the Sweet Bat Candy is applied after HP is filled. Therefore, characters will have slightly less than maximum HP after the first consumption of the candy. There does not seem to be the same problem with MP, which is restored to the new maximum (unless they forgot to increase Max MP :p).
Sweet Skeleton Candy
Note that the Sweet Skeleton Candy does not give MP Regen to support skill-spamming goodness.
Sweet Pumpkin Candy
Time to go share the candy with SD-91.
A little late for trick-or-treating.
SD-91 would rather eat Burning Worrier.
SD-91 likes crunchy food.
Burning Worrier tries to fight his way out of SD-91's mouth.
SD-91 leaves a gift for playing.
A pointy hat for next Halloween.

Buddy Rush: Contents

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

The Grinns Tale: Fuzzlehorn Eats Junk (0.6.17)

With Update 0.6.17, the Fuzzlehorn can now eat junk to produce items.
Fuzzlehorn can be fed.
I found a use for all those Ornate Boxes I have been looting.
Let's see what I get out of these.
Here is the result (look at the loot on the right of the screen):
One Metal Bundle!?
After that, the Fuzzlehorn needs some time to go over his/her meal.
No, the process cannot be sped up by rallying Grinns.
The Fuzzlehorn is available under the Build menu for 49 Pramins. I got mine when it was 35 Pramins long time ago.

I have tried and received:
(Update 0.6.17)

40 Wooden Boxes -> 1 Wood Bundle
40 Ornate Boxes -> 1 Metal Bundle (as in the screenshots above) 
4 Adventure Goggles -> 2 Scrapper Caps
10 Broken Maces -> Lots of Rusty Screws, and I mean a lot! Way more than 10.
10 Broken Maces -> 50 Rusty Screws
10 Fur Pelt -> Old Scarf (1?)
3 Really Healthy Potion -> 1 Vibrant Potion
10 Crude Wings -> 1 Healthy Potion
150 Rusty Screws -> 1 Metal Bundle
10 Ancient Bills -> 1 Healty Potion
10 Pearl Necklaces -> 1 Revive Potion
150 Smashed Goggles -> 1 Metal Bundle (I'm beginning to see a pattern here. Do you?)
10 Wyvern Skulls -> 1 Healing Potion

10 Sacks of Something -> 1 Antidote
10 Swamp Buffalo Antlers -> 1 Healing Potion
10 Swamp Turnips _> 1 Healing Potion
150 Used Arrows -> 1 Metal Bundle

10 Old Pendant -> many Rusty Screws
150 Old Brooms -> 1 Wood Bundle

(Updated 28 November 2012)

The Grinns Tale: Contents

Buddy Rush: November 2012 Attendance Reward

This month's 20-day attendance reward is a turkey!
Looks like the developers were in a Thanksgiving mood.
Turkey gives Def +2% when worn (not eaten!).
Turkey gives Def +2%
I can't see Hungry Betty Junior with the Turkey.
Maybe she ate it.
It looks better on Ready Nagne since he already has food on his hat.
Ready Nagne with Turkey.
Let's go deliver some food.
Food delivery service!
Buddy Rush: Contents

Monday, November 19, 2012

The Grinns Tale: Refined Sets, Tier 3 (0.6.16)

Recently, there was an event where Tier 2 equipment were guaranteed to be Refined. With Refined Tier 2 equipment, it is easier to craft Refined Tier 3 equipment. I took the opportunity to get updated screenshots of a few Tier 3 sets.
Beefy Brawler Set (0.6.16)
The Beefy Brawler Set has a little more Attack and Health. However, it does not get Ricochet II.
Stealthy Sneak Set (0.6.16)
The Stealthy Sneak Set has a little more Attack and Speed.
Mature Marksman Set (0.6.16)
The Mature Marksman Set has more Attack and gains First Attack II.

The Grinns Tale: Contents

Friday, November 16, 2012

The Grinns Tale: Refined Sets, Tier 2 (0.6.16)

Recently, there was an event where all Tier 2 equipment created were Refined. I took the opportunity to get the latest information on Tier 2 sets. The old stats from the set from long ago can be found here.

Looks like the Elite Explorer Set has more Defense now.
Elite Explorer Set (0.6.16)
I managed to complete the Hardened Hunter Set, despite the Shiny Rubies required. Back in the old days, Shiny Rubies were almost only available from gifts - they cannot be looted from baddies.
Hardened Hunter Set (0.6.16)
The Faithful Friar Set has been renamed the Faithful Tuck Set.
Faithful Tuck Set (0.6.16)
The Madder Scientist now has more Attack compared to before.
Madder Scientist Set (0.6.16)
The Dangerous Dragoon Set has more Defense and Speed and comes with Regen II.
Dangerous Dragoon Set (0.6.16)
I forgot to make a Barbearian Fur so I could not complete the Berserk Barbearian Set. Also, despite the fact that the Dark Knight Set is Tier 2, the equipment I created in that set did not turn up Refined.

Update 17 November 2012:
I found that I did have a Refined Barbearian Fur. So here is the Berserk Barbearian Set, which now has a Defense bonus:
Berserk Barbearian Set (0.6.16)
 
The Grinns Tale: Contents

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Buddy Rush: Oblinium Set (1.7.2)

My buddy disboima sent me the screenshots for the Oblinium Set. Each of the four pieces of this set can be looted from the treasure chest after beating SD-91's Raid. According to him, it took him 53 attempts to complete the set.

Update 14 March 2013:
Oblinium Set's requirement has been changed to Diamond Level 1.
***
Oblinium Claw
Oblinium Eye
Oblinium Fang
Oblinium Tower
The complete set gives the following bonuses:
Att+293
Def+29
HP+112
HP Regen+0%
MP+120
MP Regen+12%
Critical+9%
Evade+6%
Stun+4%
Hit Speed+6%
Skill Pow+129.5%
Skill CoolTime-6.6sec


It looks like a good set to equip on characters who spam skills. The high Att and Skill Pow allows lots of damage to be dealt with skills. MP Regen and Skill CoolTime allows skills to be used more often. As added bonuses, a good amount of MP and Critical are included.

Update 26 November 2012:
I have finally completed an Oblinium Set. I have decided to have Silver-eyed Bullseye try it out since he spams skills.
Stats go up more when the set is refined!
I have included the Rags of Genzir the Storm to cover the Oblinium Set's deficiencies in HP Regen and Def. The rags also provide a nice boost to HP and Skill Pow.

I also equipped a Turtle Shell (red) for the variety of bonuses it gives. Skill Pow and Skill CoolTime helps with skill-spamming. Hit Speed helps with Silver-eyed Bullseye's regular attack when he wants to save MP. Stun is a nice effect to add to the many arrows that Silver-eyed Bullseye will shoot. Evade is, uh, a little extra luck-based defense.

Buddy Rush: Contents

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Buddy Rush: Ancient Bow Set (1.7.2)

Ac recently sent these screenshots of the Ancient Bow Set:
Ancient Bow
Ring of 100 Men
The Ancient Bow may be bought from the shop for 1.7M bugs. Ac found the Ring of 100 Men after a mission in the treasure chest that requires stamina potions to open.

Update 15 June 2013:
Just caught this screenshot in the Chapter 12 Doppelia Mission, 'Another Myself in Me':
Doppelia, Another Myself in Me (1.8.2)

Buddy Rush: Contents

Friday, November 9, 2012

Wartune: World Boss Queue

This was a rare sight that I thought I'd share it here.
Waiting our turns.
Players are actually forming a queue to fight the World Boss Bloodfang.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Buddy Rush: Raid Mode, SD-91

The major addition of the Mini-wave of October 2012 was the introduction of a new Raid Boss, SD-91 for characters of Diamond Level 5. The Raid is against an Eastern-style mecha-Betty in, ironically, the Western theme of Questern. SD-91 is a difficult opponent since it has high Att and Def.
With the right team, 15.0M is not much.
There are three Devilins guarding the path to the Raid arena. These baddies are considered mini-bosses so Silver-eyed Bullseye's 'One Shot One Kill' is not effective against them.
SD-91's front door guards.
Unlike previous Raid Bosses, SD-91 has two possible introductory scenes. If the scene with the Artillery Strike is chosen, the area of effect is long enough to leave a field of fire right at the feet of the buddies. To avoid this, do not approach him directly in the first try.
 
The Raid arena has five gem slots arranged in a cross pattern. Quite often, a purple gem will emerge from one of the slots. If the main character collects a gem, any one of the following bonuses or penalties may be activated:
* Attack Power up
* Defense up
* Defense Down
* Speed Down
* HP Regen
* MP Regen
* Wake up!! Buddy!

'Wake up!! Buddy!' brings KO-ed buddies back into the Raid. It seems to appear more often in SD-91's Raid compared to previous raids, probably because of the high difficulty.

There are also totems that appear once in a while in the game. These look like small pillars and may be activated by touch. The main character may run to a totem to activate it, causing any of the following damage effects:
* a fiery yellow cloud that does damage to targets in a large area.
* a frost field with snowflakes that slows (Wizz's Freeze).
* an expanding white cloud effect that does damage to targets in a large area (Flow's Earthquaker).
* spinning blades (Aikilu's Blade Typoon).

The totems appear quite often and SD-91 may also activate a totem to damage the buddies.
A purple gem above a gem slot at the back.
SD-91 has high Att and Def. Unless he is Cursed (available from Corrupt Botherella or Cynical Arpu, buy now!), attacks will do little damage to it. In addition to that, SD-91 is immune to Stun. However, it is still vulnerable to interrupts.

SD-91 is physically smaller in size compared to most Raid Bosses. This makes it easier to select a different target behind the Raid Boss. It also makes it easier to spot the Curse symbol on the Raid Boss.

Update 24 November 2012:
SD-91 is NOT totally immune to Stun. It merely has instant Stun recovery. What this means is that Stun can be used to cancel SD-91's special skills.
---
SD-91 dodges a Lotus Blossom.
SD-91 has three special skills. It pulls off the skills quite quickly so there usually is no time to run.

The first skill is, what shall be called here, a Gun Barrage, which fires bullets in a fan-shaped area in front of it. It looks impressive but not very dangerous.

The second skill is unofficially called an Artillery Strike where bombs are dropped in a cross pattern. Sometimes, fewer lines of bombs are dropped. Each bomb will create a field of fire on the ground. Unless special steps are taken to reduce damage (see below), the fire can burn down HP fast.

The third skill is a Double Tailsweep where SD-91 will sweep its tail twice to damage buddies close by. This move is quite slow but each sweep does lots of damage if SD-91 has its full Att. And there is a chance that this skill will cause Stun. Although the Mini-wave reduced the Stun duration for buddies, skills may still be canceled when hit by Stun.
After an Artillery Strike.
Unlike the previous Raids, the extras in SD-91's Raid only appear when summoned by the Raid Boss. There are two entrances for the extras at the front and another two at the back of the arena. The extras are little versions of SD-91 with lots of HP. However, they are not considered bosses, so Silver-eyed Bullseye may have fun with 'One Shot One Kill'.

Extras may release red and/or blue orbs when KOed to replenish the buddies' HP and/or MP.
Which is the real SD-91?
SD-91 will not summon extras until it has lost almost third of its HP. This means that there will be no convenient supply of HP and MP during the early part of the Raid. Once the Raid Boss' HP reaches the 2/3 threshold, it will summon a large wave of extras.

SD-91 will be protected by a red circle during this wave and will be invulnerable until all extras are defeated. After that, SD-91 will summon waves of 2 extras shortly after a previous wave is defeated. SD-91 will not be invulnerable this time.

After the large wave of extras is summoned, on subsequent tries (after timeout or main character KO), SD-91 will summon the large wave of extras early in the raid.

When SD-91's HP reaches around one third, it will again summon a large wave of extras. After this happens, 4 extras are summoned in subsequent waves instead of 2.
SD-91 is invulnerable during a major wave.
By now, it should be clear that Curse is an important weapon against SD-91 since it reduces Att and Def. Corrupt Botherella and Cynical Arpu can cause Curse, so either of them should be brought for the Raid. In addition, Corrupt Botherella can summon Wolfgang, whose bite attack may interrupt.

Steps should also be taken to mitigate damage. Curse reduces SD-91's Att. Kind Healury and Nice Vivich can heal. Kind Healury's 'I Hate Getting Hurt' can prevent a lot of damage. Nice Vivich's Sanctuary also provides a Def boost to buddies in the area. Nice Vivich's Lotus Slap may interrupt SD-91's attack.

AI-controlled Kind Healury is notorious for being lazy to cast 'I Hate Getting Hurt'. Thus, it may be a good idea to bring Burning Worrier along as he is good at attracting the attention of baddies and surviving long enough to convince Kind Healury to be kind.

Damage-dealers should be brought along. Silver-eyed Bullseye and Light Skully can do lots of damage. If the main character is Burning Worrier, Mockery may be used to lure SD-91 closer to Silver-eyed Bullseye and/or Light Skully so their special skills will do more damage. Kind Healury's 'Arch Angelus' allows her to do lots of damage. However, it drains her MP very fast.

Despite its range armaments, SD-91 is a melee boss. Light Skully can use 'Don't Move' to prevent SD-91 from moving. After that, Burning Worrier can cast Mockery to attract SD-91's attention. Burning Worrier can then wander off elsewhere to do something else like hunt extras or collect gems. SD-91 will do nothing since it cannot chase Burning Worrier. The Raid Boss will not even use its special skills.

Nice Vivich's Aum boosts Skill Pow and Kind Healury can boost Att. These abilities help do more damage. Powerful Aikilu and her Roar will be helpful to boost Att too.

Silver-eyed Bullseye's 'Eyes of Boorseye' provides a constant Att aura. Light Skully's 'Keen Attack' provides a constant Critical aura. There are other buddies with useful auras. Though the bonuses are small, since 5 characters are allowed in a Raid, the effectiveness of auras is relatively greater.

Special consideration should also be taken to defeat the extras in this Raid, especially since SD-91 is invulnerable during a large summoning. Also, extras provide red and blue orbs. Buddies with great area effect damage skills is good. Silver-eyed Bullseye's 'One Shot One Kill' enables him to KO extras fast despite their high HP.

Finally, there is the loot, the main reason for Raid.
Nagne was here.
The following is the loot I received from the treasure chest after defeating SD-91. The number after is the number of tries.
Magical Bamboo Hat (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3
Ginseng Juice (blue) - 5
Golden Dress (green!?) - 2 (Yes, 2 - used scrolls for this.)
Shiny Boots (blue) - 4
Oblinium Fang (purple!) - 4
Enlarging Elixir (blue) - 5
Magical Bamboo Hat (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 4
Red Gem (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3
Magical Bamboo Hat (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3 (Nagne stole all the loot!)
Shiny Boots (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 4
Oblinium Claw (purple!) - 4
Red Gem (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3
Golden Dress (green!?) - 5
Rainbow Umbrella (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3
Red Gem (green!?) - 4
Oblinium Claw (purple!) - 4
Oblinium Fang (purple!) - 3 (Another!?)
All-use MacGyver Knife (green!?) - 5
Feather Shoulder Armor (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3 (Notice there are no reds yet.)
Red Lipstick (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3

Red Lipstick (green!?) - 4
Oblinium Eye (purple!) - 4
Hat of Wisdom (blue) - 3
Feather Shoulder Armor (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3 (Nov 23-25 3rd Epic Item Harvest, Epic Drop Rate x2)
Golden Dress (green!?) - 5 (Nov 23-25 3rd Epic Item Harvest, Epic Drop Rate x2)

Ginseng Juice (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3 (Nov 23-25 3rd Epic Item Harvest, Epic Drop Rate x2)
Enlarging Elixir (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3 (Nov 23-25 3rd Epic Item Harvest, Epic Drop Rate x2)
Sharp Fruit Knife (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 6 (Nov 23-25 3rd Epic Item Harvest, Epic Drop Rate x2)
Oblinium Tower (purple!) - 3 (Completed Oblinium set! 25 November 2012, 29 tries.)(Nov 23-25 3rd Epic Item Harvest, Epic Drop Rate x2)

Magical Bamboo Hat (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3
Red Gem (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3
Sharpshooter's Crossbow (red) - 3 (The first red!)
Magical Bamboo Hat (red) - 3 (Nagne!!!)
Golden Bullet (green!?) - 3

(Updated 3? December 2012)

The following is the loot I have received after the Daily Quest mini-wave of the Eighth Wave:
Sharp Fruit Knife (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3
(nothing) - 4 (Inventory full, oops!)
Feather Shoulder Armor (red) - 3
All-use MacGyver Knife (blue) - 3
Magical Bamboo Hat (red) - 3
Oblinium Eye (purple!) - 3

Magical Bamboo Hat (blue) - 2 (Nagne sure was here a lot!)
Shiny Boots (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3
Shiny Boots (green!?) - 3
Oblinium Claw (purple!) - 2
Rainbow Umbrella (blue) - 2
Red Gem (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3

(Updated 3 February 2013)


The following is the loot I have received after the Ninth Wave:
Shiny Boots (blue) - 2
Sharp Fruit Knife (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
Enlarging Elixir (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1
Golden Dress (green!?) - 2
Red Gem (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
Rainbow Umbrella (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3
Feather Shoulder Armor (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
Sharp Fruit Knife (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
Golden Dress (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1!
Golden Dress (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1!
Red Gem (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
All-use MacGyver Knife (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2 (Mar 1-3 2nd Anniversary Epic Chance Event, x2 Epic Drop)
Oblinium Eye (purple!) - 1! (Mar 1-3 2nd Anniversary Epic Chance Event, x2 Epic Drop)
Sharp Fruit Knife! (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1!
Ginseng Juice (green!?) - 1!
Oblinium Fang (purple!) - 1!
Oblinium Eye (purple!) - 1!

Golden Dress (blue) - 2
All-use MacGyver Knife (blue) - 2
Oblinium Claw (purple!) - 1!

(Updated 9 March 2013)

The following is the loot I have received after the Challenge Mode mini-wave of the Ninth Wave:
Magical Bamboo Hat (green!?) - 1 (Nagne!!!)
Golden Dress (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1!
Red Lipstick (green!?) - 2
Enlarging Elixir (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1
Burning Sword (red) - 1
Red Gem (green!?) - 3
Red Gem (green!?) - 1
Shiny Boots (blue) - 1

Magical Bamboo Hat (red) - 2
Red Lipstick (green!?) - 1
(Updated 28 April 2013)


Buddy Rush: Contents
SD-91 hunts birds for breakfast!