The State Of Things – June 2021

Haven’t blogged much in the last few weeks as had a bit of a detour and with that, I also took the time to chill which is always good too. But a few weeks back I had to do some traveling for work which is a routine thing. Around that time I had just started making the effort to load all my music CDs and Movie CD Collection onto my Media Drive on my Desktop PC. When I built my PC which was mainly built for gaming, I had installed several extra drives of SSD’s and a large HD drive for Media Storage of several TB’s. Media drive being separate from my Windows Drive which is just exclusively Windows only. I was also backing up everything, Music & Movies I had on my iTunes account onto that Media Drive as well. With all the downloading it was going to take a while at around the clock downloading on my cable internet for maybe two weeks.

I had to travel for work and so I left my PC on to chug along at all the queued downloading via my iTunes account to store it all to my Media Drive. When I returned home at the end of the week my PC was off and had no idea what had happened. Power Failure we do get from heavy winds with trees on power lines routinely so that’s a normal thing living in Pittsburgh, PA. But no idea really why the PC was off. On reboot, I got that infamous blue screen of death with a Windows error that a Windows Update had failed to properly install. And to that as well the PC was doing what seemed a continuous loop of reboots to the blue screen of death and back. It had some kind of a Windows Kernel error. Maybe Windows had updated while the PC was chugging away at the media downloads and something happened that caused a reboot or shutdown and Windows didn’t update properly. Maybe it had a power failure around that time, who knows. Regardless I had a blue screen of death issue on the PC and it would just keep looping a reboot unless I interrupted it to shut it down.

I did get it to start in safe mode, but it wouldn’t start in normal mode. Nor could I do an effective Windows Restore from a good saved date. I tried it once and I couldn’t use a further backdate as that date restore didn’t fix the issue. After a few hours of frustration and I decided to wipe out Windows!!! Wipe It and Reinstall It! That decision wasn’t too hard as my few PC Games were loaded on their separate drive as well as all other media. So just backed up my documents onto a USB and proceeded to wipe and reinstall Windows. That decision took me for a detour reinstalling Windows, reinstalling other programs, driver updates as well finishing all the media downloads that never finished which consumed almost a week. With all that happening, I just decided to chill out and not worry about gaming much. But that was all a detour. Eventually, I completed all my iTunes media download as well as manually loading a whole bunch of physical media music and movie CDs only my Media Drive as well. In the end, I backed up the music onto 100 GB USB Drive. The Movies and TV Shows took up over 1TB.

But Windows Kernel errors on an update that messed up threw a wrench into the thing and sent me on a detour. Gaming and Blogging were on a hiatus for a while.

VALHEIM

On The Plains. Sea Base in the distance on the Ocean.

Got back into the game and roamed The Plains for some adventure exploring with all the adventures you can have roaming about there in and out of camps.

Fun times! Found myself also in need of both Silver and Iron and so was back to the Snow Mountain and the Swamp for some mining for upgrading things. Not too much of a hurry to really go anywhere in Valheim as pretty much at the end of the game without having killed the last boss but sitting on the trophies. It’s little by little just improving things around the new ocean pyramid base. I’ve enjoyed my time in Valheim and still do. Everyone who plays the game is patiently waiting for the big update, myself included. But I try to spend at least an hour every few days at least to keep things going so I remember what I was doing in-game to keep things moving along in some way. Even if it’s just farming the Turnips, Carrots, and the Barley planted on The Plains.

FINAL FANTASY 14

Ishgard – Heavensward

I started getting back into FF14 after the detour of playing Valheim. It’s always tough for me mentally to juggle playing multiple games. I started playing FF14 almost exactly 6 months to the date of today on December 23rd last year. So I’ve been continuously subbed to the game since. I had started the free trial and on day two of the trial was enjoying it enough that I converted it to a real game account with a subscription and full game access.

Ul’dah City

When Valheim launched in early February this year It also hit my radar as a kind of game I liked and wanted to try out. I tend to like strategy and simulation-based games as well as MMORPG games. So I bought and played Valheim and have enjoyed it and look forward to the future big game update. However, it was also time to return to FF14 on my adventure with my lvl 61 Paladin. In the detour of playing lots of Valheim for a few months, I had forgotten quite a bit how to play my Paladin in FF14. As well I was MSQ locked with one singular quest to complete that was also a dungeon in Heavensward. It was hard to just jump back into the game forgetting how to play my Job Paladin and jump into a dungeon.

So logged in over a few days and just practiced on the target dummy outside the city in Ul’dah and practiced my Paladin rotations until I remember what each spell/talent did and how to use them. Did some Levequests to just get back into the swing of things and fighting stuff. I was MSQ locked in having to complete The Avery Dungeon in Heavensward. I had felt I best be prepared. So I did.

Completed “The Avery” dungeon and MSQ’s and moved on, all of which was a great story. I’ve really enjoyed my time in Heavensward and Ishgard even with the break-in between playing Valheim last few months. Breaks are good in gaming.

A Great Story Line this was in continuation after The Avery dungeon was completed.

Today I completed the actual MSQ for “Heavensward” at lvl 64 and that was just a mind-blowing doozy what happened there. It was the completing story quest for the Heavensward expansion.

The Mission Quest – “Heavensward”.

That was one epic story that blew my mind! And though the entire arc is yet not done, there is a series of MSQ quests I’m sure to complete before my journey into Stormblood as I feel I’m close with the lvl 60 MSQ’s.

Heavensward – You threatening me Bro!

No one who threatens this warrior ever lives long to tell about it! Say I’m Sorry……

Heavensward – The Singularity Reactor

Your gonna be real sorry after this battle with me and my friends! No one threatens The Warrior of Light and his friends!

Heavensward – Complete

You could have said you were sorry. Sucks to be you! The end of this epic dungeon, journey and story is just about at an end for Heavensward.

Looking Ahead

As I look down the road for my gaming and fun times, come August I expect to try out New World when it launches. I have been anticipating playing that new game since last year and have bought the game already as well before it launches. There may be other games to try in the latter half of 2021 but so far that’s the new game much anticipated on my horizon.

Screenshots: The Pyramid Ocean Base!

It was so much work on this build and it’s not even fully done. Mostly though. At best all the exterior work is all done! A little landscaping planting some Pine and Fir trees, grass on the tiny patch of land to cap things off. I didn’t realize how tall Pine Trees actually grew until I planted a few and they grew next to the pyramid base. The build is really high, but the Pine Trees grow even higher. Dang! All the planted trees didn’t grow though as I planted over twice as much for a little landscaping on the island.

I never set out to build a lighthouse, but It’s like a lighthouse in the ocean all lit up. It has way more lights than any lighthouse too.

The new base has never looked better. It seems more lively now than ever.

Enjoying a brief relaxing moment on the new stone deck with the patio fire.

It seems like a good idea to add on an extension to the island out front to just relax outdoors and enjoy a nice big fire by the ocean. Was aiming for a little Gazebo, but sitting back and enjoying some mead around a great fire on the ocean is just cool too so great.

Oh Eikthyr, you never looked more lovely hanging right there!

I’ve now got Eikthyr hanging above the front entrance to the base. He died quickly from just 6 Frost Arrows.

Outside the front entrance.

You can see both the Plains just across the sea and the Black Forest in the distance.

This was the first version framing of the 1st Floor Throne Room while I was still figuring it out.

This photo was taken back when I had completed the framing of the build. No other rooms on the 1st floor, just one big room, and huge hallways all around the outside of it. I hadn’t figured out what I wanted to do as yet for the interior. As well the overhead floors 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th floors were still all wooden from framing the build.

The redesigned Throne Room.

It’s smaller. It’s longer in length but less in width. As the entire 1st floor was sectioned to make room for a Kitchen, Workshop, Storage Room, Armor Room, and some other room I haven’t thought of as yet. It’s still a work in progress in this room. The Braziers do enough to generate light and lots of smoke as well as the Fire buff. I placed 2 hearths on both sides of the central pillar for a fireplace. Yet, I didn’t realize that the hanging Braziers can generate all that much fire on their own as well. But they look nice. Some Mead Kegs in the back corners of the room for Throne Room celebrations. The entire 2nd, 3rd,5th floors are now solid stone flooring. The 4th floor was previously done earlier as a test to see if it held. Now all the floors are completed as stone floors.

Throne View.

A view of the Throne. Haven’t yet had time to hand up Trophies as yet on the hanging points. Work in progress for interior decorating.

A view from the front inside the entrance. Two new small rooms on both my right and left.

In sectioning of the 1st floor and reducing the huge hallway size, some new rooms were created for other uses. But all entrances from three sides of the build all have a major hallway leading to the Throne Room.

The outer perimeter of the 1st-floor hallway is now smaller but still wide enough.

The first-floor outer hallway stretch around three-quarters of the entire perimeter of the 1st floor. There is a Portal on three corners of the 1st floor and will be at three entrances though you can also walk behind it and go out the entrance to outside.

The Kitchen Room is right next to the Throne Room and has a window to Throne Room.

The kitchen room still a works in progress and not yet fully done. But it has the making of a kitchen and the fireplace and prep table is there. Straight ahead is the new Storage Room that is also a work in progress. It is the bigger of the new sectioned area on the floor.

The New Workshop.

Probably the most important place I guess on the floor. The new Workshop occupies an entire corner of the pyramid of the first floor on the outer perimeter of the central Throne Room. I was able to fit the Workbenches and Forge both in the room. So it’s fairly easy to reach everything with not too much moving around. It was amazing that in converting the floor overhead to stone that the new Blaster Furnance just made the fit as there is absolutely no more room left for overhead clearance. Luckily it was placed there before I redid the floors overhead and had to angle it so the smoke from it vented through the side beams of the structure. It’s now a nice working space.

Heading out the hallway to the rear of the base to the Boat Docks. Workshop room coming up on the right and the spare room on left. That Portal goes to the now old base.

It’s still all much work in progress. But it’s now a livable and workable space at the base. It will always be constant work in progress regardless. With so much time spent building, I’m just itching to get back out to really explore the world.

New Island Base Improvements

The element of weather can create some really iconic snapshots.

There is just so much to do with the new base build project as well as the gathering materials. Project Improvement continues, slowly. I decided while thinking and considering all the things to do was to just create a boat dock for the boats. Something simple for now as was busy enough with the base build as it was. There really isn’t much land for space around the new island base as it covers most of the existing island already. At the back of the base, I decided to add on a dock to house the longship. It would seem a bit tidier as well. I can now say there is a dock! Closer to the intended area of the workshop area for future cargo offloading of materials intended for the workshop.  While I was snapping a photo the weather was storming. Really do like the picturesque photo on account of the weather.

Built a simple dock for the Longboats at the back. The “Plains” always in clear sight.

Have added a lot of lights all inside the base build. Amazing how much time that can take seemingly simple a thing. Might need to add some more exterior lights all around so it lights up the area a bit more. A lighthouse in a way the new base is as well considering it’s in the ocean. More stuff to do I guess. Progress is slow going with such a huge base build. Everything to do takes time and then more time changing your mind to something else.

The Portal Room is done and humming.

At the old base, I had so many portals, over 20+. Many to most the outposts I frequented in some way. I hardly ever take down or rename a portal once it’s set up. I just make new ones usually. Spent quite a bit of time, moving most of the used portals from the old base to the new island base and up to the 4th Floor which is the Portal Room.

The New Portal Room on the 4th Floor.

There are now 17 portals that have been moved there. Still, 4 lesser use portals remain at the old base and that’s ok as they can remain there for travel when needed to lesser areas. At the old base which was originally a large old abandoned village which I had repaired and made into a base. Four of the small houses I fixed up all housed different portals to various Outposts regions. I could easily remember which house has which portals to where. Now not so easy when I port into the Portal Room to know which ones go exactly to where though they have the same names. A bit of spatial orientation at play. However, four of them go to previous boss locations and those are easy to figure as they are on the very outside ledge of the room.

This room just glows when your presence is detected close as causes all the portals to glow.

The new Portal Room just hums when you’re in the room as your always in close proximity to an active portal, which causes them to always glow and ready to go. There is only one way in and out off this floor and that’s also via a portal. It’s slowly feeling more lively around the new island base.

Need More Iron!

Testing Overhead Stone Flooring/Roofing. It Holds!

Really, like LOTS of it to say the least. All just to form a kinda mesh network with the Wood Iron Poles for trying to replace the overhead flooring with stable stone flooring. The wood Iron pole beams connected all the way back to the ground allow any stone touching it to hold securely to a foundation piece to the ground. As well it allows another stone piece connected touching to be attached though that stone piece will be much less stable. You can place the wood Iron poles inside the stone pieces also, and it works great to hide the wood iron pole. But, that’s just more playing around to get all that hidden from sight. With the limited reserves of Iron, I was able to partially complete an upper floor that houses the Portal Room.

When I started this building project and did the boat trip from the other main base to this location I was sure I counted over 10 full stacks of Iron on hand. All of that has been used up on just reinforcing all the foundation stone pillars mostly as well as in this load flooring support. But this shows it doable to convert the floors to all stone which would be a huge task and needing lots and lots of Iron.

With all the foundation support all the way up, the very apex of the pyramid seems stable.

One of the things I had noticed was that weather does not affect the angular 26 Deg and 45 Deg Wooden Beams, but it does affect all other wooden pieces for weathering. It does not affect anything specially made from Fine Wood. Fortunately, most of the wooden pieces in the build are all wooden beams for the entire structure’s support and not affected by the weather. However, the outer flooring on each floor is most affected by the weather as with the open-air design that part of the floor gets rained on. Some other floor tiles as well. Converting all those floors to stone will solve that problem and make it far less an issue.

Testing a patch of roof covering.

So I tried a bit going into debug mode to fly up to test adding some roof shading to see how that would look on one side of the top of the structure. Trying to reach that high up on the outside of the pyramid structure OSHA would consider a safety hazard for falling from extremely very high. Already had two recordable site accident to speak of from falling. So was easier to do it in debug mode and to get the pieces to snap closely in place. I have to say after testing covering a patch of the roof, I really don’t like the look of it as compared to all the other angular beams. So will have to remove it.

As I put the finishing touches on the build, I’m realizing I’m needing a lot of certain things. The initial project build took a massive amount of both Wood and Stone. That resulted in chopping down lots of forest and mining rocks at the same time. Now I’m needing a lot of Fine Wood for all the decorative effects. Needing lots of Copper to add all the lamp lighting between the floors. I have a massive amount of Resin on hand for lighting so that’s no issue as always happily killing the Greydwarfs when out and about.

Things are slowly coming to life. Looks more Viking-like.

But Iron seems right now the thing I will need quite a lot of to help convert all the other floors to stone with stability support. Just when you thought all those dark days in the Swamp was over. I do things legit, so that means actually hunting for Crypts and mining for Scrap Iron will be in the immediate future…. again. Adventuring in Valheim is fun, yet the fact that you can also build things in the game adds a whole different kind of content to just enjoy being creative with.

Finishing New Island Mega Base

New Island Pyramid Mega Base.

It’s not done, but it’s far closer to being built than it has ever been. Vikings may not have exactly lived in Pyramids, but they have a love of triangular things so I’ve read. Managed to put in 5 usable floors. It’s an open-air Pyramid. Thus all the wooden beams and side facing patterns. All the other floors other than the first floor are wooden and that means some parts get exposed to the weather and get weathered, unfortunately. I would have liked to make all the floors stone but still keep it open air. But that’s an ass-ton of stones to get as well need a crapton of iron to then reinforce all the floors to build them and it’s tricky to do as well. So wooden floor for now. I can maybe change that later and when the Valheim Devs add new tools to the game for building in the coming future updates. But will see.

 

Spent a good many hours today working on the base structure and in between constantly wiping away meadow forest for all the piles of wood needed. Some stones as well but far less than the much-needed wood. Moved a lot of Iron bars from the current main base to the Island and complete adding Iron reinforced beam support to all the stone pillars for the structural support.

Adding the 2nd and 3rd floors.

Added some more stone pillars for structure reinforcement to replace the core stone pillar supports. Then added in and completed the 2nd, 3rd floors. The 4th floor was already completed. At the end of the day added in a smaller 5th floor. Adding in the flooring though time-consuming was far less time-consuming than replicating the pattern on the side face of the structure as well as getting wooded beams to snap together in correct alignment.

 

Something is really off here about this wooden beam pattern.

After working at doing the wooden beam pattern for two sides of the structure I realize that the pattern was off and just not adding up evenly. It was just obvious something was off. So made the change and completed one on the other side experimenting with some changes. It worked out. But then had to go back and redo two of the face sides of the structure. At times some of the beams just wouldn’t snap properly so lots of playing around to get the wooden beams to line up properly after putting several together in a row.

Ahh looks much better. But so time-consuming to fix.

Took a lot of time but eventually got the entire structure wooden beamed on all sides. That’s with quite a many rounds of logging in the meadows for lots and lots of wood. As things looked good I added in a 5th floor. I might as well anyway as was working at the very top of the structure fixing the side face wooden beams. That top floor was a bit large and decided to split it into another floor for some later use. Playing the game and doing all the regular things can be exhausting at times. But spending hours at building something, anything in Valheim can be just as equally exhausting after several hours at it.

The structure looks like it’s coming together though. Still a lot of work to do, but I think most of the hard parts are done with getting the pyramid structure framed, floored, and built. I would have liked all the floor stone. But that’s a long trip to the Swamp to mine a whole lot of Scrap Iron to make Iron reinforced wood beam support and I’m just not quite up to that yet at this point. Still, I’d love to make as many of the upper floor’s stone at some point as the plan. The base foundation is all stone already.

Things are far from done. But I’m liking look of the way things are shaping up with the new base structure.

Still, a lot needs to be done on the island. Some landscaping, a whole new Boat Dock, or a few. A whole Portal room on the Pyramid upper floor. Much yet to be done. But I think most of the hard work is done. Well, maybe until I decide to rip out a whole upper wooden floor to make it all stone blocks for flooring with Wood Iron beam reinforcement. That keeps bugging me ongoing. But will see how that goes. Still a work in progress this build.