Doc_Northwood

Blast you: you shouldn't make the villains who read your stories cry.

Beautifully written. Exquisite.

It's good to see you all back, and I hope you had a marvelous holiday season. 2007 gave us a great set of releases, and I can hardly wait to see what 2008 brings.

They were both utterly marvelous. Night Prayers was beautifully creepy, and psychologically disturbing. Yum.

I loved the drumming in Time to Start. Then again, I can't think of a video from Samuraiko Productions I haven't liked.

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Just FYI, while it's a help, the City Vault isn't the best way to check if a name is available on a server as characters who haven't been active in over 90 days won't show.

The check name feature at character select is a much better way to check names.

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Very true. I just meant a cursory check. Something not showing up in the Vault doesn't mean it's not taken, but it's a good first step if you're on a computer that doesn't have the game installed.

Then again, outside of the work environment, why would anyone want to use a computer that doesn't have the game installed?

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Is this Vince D'Amelio?

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I'm afraid I don't know, but one of the devs or community leads may well be able to answer that for you.

I caught the shot because I liked his smile, which is much the same reason I caught the shot of the mysterious "lady in blue" earlier in the thread.

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It looks like you had both pretty dim restaurant-type lighting, which will always give you grief, and a pretty crowded environment, which limits your movement opportunities. You're still doing pretty well.

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Thank you. You're spot-on about the lighting and the environment, by the way. It was somewhat dim and exceptionally crowded, but the energy was palpable, and even when things got crazy, everyone kept smiling. Heh. Unfortunately, they kept moving, as well.

As to setting up a small press area, that's a marvelous idea. I don't think it would've worked in this situation due to space constraints, but it's definitely something to look into next time.

Still, even though the images do need a bit more work, it was worth every minute and every muscle ache. I still can't beleive how much excitement and buzz there was with people cycling from area to area. Heh. I also can't count the number of times I got kidney-poked by a pool cue when I didn't move quickly enough. *laugh* And yes, there were a few times I forgot that I was there to report on the event, and wound up focusing on the delight of meeting the people who've created such marvelous worlds of imagination. All in all, photographic concerns notwithstanding, I think it was the perfect venue for the event.

Nipping back to the topic of photography for a moment, though, I do have a couple of soft flood lamps that were once used to light a pastel and oil studio. I may have to consider driving to these events instead of flying, as then I wouldn't be quite so limited in the amount of equipment I can take. Hmmm ...

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I must ask this, who is the foxy lady in the blue shirt in this picture?

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You'd be rather put out if I sad "an attendee," wouldn't you? Yes. I thought you would.

Actually, I didn't catch her name. That was taken during one of the whooping and hollering spells, sorry.

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Some tips for the photographer ...

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Those are all excellent points, and I'll do my best to try to set up the shots more carefully during the next event. I can't guarantee anything, obviously, but I'll do what I can.

I appreciate the suggestions!

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So from the NCSoft Q&A all character names, server location and costumes are displayed via the vault regardless of the in-game settings?

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From what I was led to understand, yes. At least that's how it was explained to me.

As far as I can see -- and this is my take on it, not the official word -- it's a two-fold application. It allows you to showcase your creations (while controlling the private information people have access to), but it also allows individuals thinking of creating (x) character the opportunity to see if it already exists on a given server. It's also a marvelous way to track down friends ... and keep track of mortal enemies.

It was a definite pleasure covering the event, and I'll be at as many more as I can possibly manage.

"I'm not just a reporter, I'm also a player."