A Wondering Star

For the past few years, my unsettled emotional roaming has been constant. Never really pitching up for too long in case I get jumped and attacked. Roaming the Days Gone environment echoes me wondering under the stars.

Next stop Daytona Beach.

DAYS GONE – Leaving stuff under the bed.

Perfectly exonerated

The first few moments out of jail are amazing.  Your senses are heightened and you look towards the Sun like it’s the only thing that actually matters.  Everyone around you is in slow motion and you can hear birds sing.

Afterwards, you wonder how you actually got here, how you put yourself in danger and what things lead to this point…where is Moment Zero? The actual point in time, the decisions that set up a series of horrendous events that led to your incarceration.

My PS4 GamePlay is down to 4 hours max a week so I’m now a casual gamer unable to commit to long Raids or Farming sessions. Amazingly enough, I’m still picking up rare, exotic gear pieces and just accepted an invitation to an Elite clan.

Finding that good loot – Tom Clancy’s The Division® 2

Forgone conclusion

To the victim, an outcome can come as a total surprise. To the perpetrator is a calculated formula with a predicted outcome.

  • Take ANY number
  • Times it by 3
  • Add 45
  • Double it
  • Divide by 6
  • Minus the orginal number
  • = guaranteed outcome
December 25th 2017 Daytona Beach (destination not reached)

Classified Healer class

Combat Medic is probably the most satisfying role for me on multiplayer titles. A powerful medic makes a difference and in many situations, on The Division it is almost impossible to thrive without a high-level medic on the team.

For new players the safety net of being revived makes the healer class an instant friend. The real life comparison to a knowledgeable InfoSec Pro is interesting as not many organisations wing it without at least one specialist being accountable.

 

A little Bump and Grind

I’ve spent the past few days in the game reward loop earning points on Tom Clancy’s The Division Global Event.  It’s an excellent way to keep gamers playing with the hope of finding loot and rewards.

I ended up aiming for 50 mixed caches as my goal at the end of GE which should increase my chances of getting something special.  My cache opening ceremony will probably take 20-30 minutes just to re-organise the inventory.

Here’s what on the Wishlist

AlphaBridge Classified    Holster
Striker Classified        Gloves and Holster
Lone Star Classified      Mask, Knee Pads and Holster
D3-FNC Classified         Holster
Reclaimer Classified      Gloves and Knee Pads

This is absolute gibberish to non-Division gamers and like all acronyms and industry talk, it inadvertently divides people.  I could actually meet a Division player and have a full decent genuine conversation dispute the demographic or real-life profile.  Words like grind, face tanking, exotics and caches mean a totally different thing here.

This is what makes a game successful, I don’t see nothing wrong with a little Bump and Grind.

Tom Clancy’s The Division – Rush for loot

1st day of exercise for 50 days….feels good though.

Solo runs

My love for single player games continues; this skillset is particularly fruitful in a real-life Person versus Environment (PvE) situation. This morning I arrive at Gatwick Airport knowing I had just one hour to get to the terminal gate.

Navigating major airport terminals during summer holidays is challenging if you don’t anticipate the delays and have a countermeasure in mind. Also, any Network specialist will tell you that the last ‘hop’ is often the most problematic.

Airport terminal log – target Gate arrival time 11:20

10:30 arrive at Gatwick by train
10:40 arrive at terminal monorail shuttle 
transfer (Primary service)
Delay 1 - (Service failure)Terminal train 
out of service transferred to slow buses.
10:45 arrive at terminal
10:50 Checked-in luggage (I don’t normally do this)
10:55 Arrive at security check
Delay 2 - (Slow Service) Carry-on luggage 
selected for ‘random’ check
11:05 Cleared to proceed to gateway
Delay 3 - Gate allocated at 15 mins walk 
11:10 Arrive at Gate sweating and panting
11:30 Actually boarding plane
Delay 4 - Sitting on runway 
waiting for flight slot
12:14 Flight actually takes off

Flight departure scheduled for 11:55 and there no compensation or anything I can do about it except bitch and blog.

Tom Clancy’s The Division – the downside of Server side gaming

Hazards and delays avoided
Heavy or cumbersome hand luggage 
Travel document misplaced 
Gadgets misplaced 
Fast steady pace walk pass all NPCs 
(In real life - families, groups,tourists, 
airport staff walking the opposite way and 
folk who arrived early)
Shopping queues 
No window shopping 
No phone calls
No App checking
No SMS or VoIP 
No other players
...single player runs are definitely faster

Mission accomplished – Side effects

Elevated blood pressure 
Massive adrenaline surge
No time to think
No last minute detours
Hight chance of verbal conflict

Countermeasure

Arrive 2 hours ahead of time. 
(Problem: 4 out 5 EasyJet flights delayed)

ABSOLVER – Time to relax

Chaos can raise its head rapidly. Are you prepared?

Winter version is similar with the added bonus of being able to use your coat to conceal a second carry-on bag avoiding the additional fee….whoops, did I say that out loud.