Gone, But Not Forgotten

Finally, I'm back.

Ahh... It's good to be back. I was gone WAY too long, but it can't be helped. Important work that needs handling, and also the fact that it started near the end of May.

Been working on the clock for way too many hours, and having too little hours for rest. I'd even consider staying in at my workplace because the moment I'd reach back home, I'll only have 2 hours... yes, TWO HOURS of free time before knocking off to bed... and that's only like 4 hours of sleep, not counting the 2 free hours... not to mention working on the weekends.

From May all the way to September. Some work streak...

But now the important ones are coming to an end, as of today... which is Friday, right over here now.

Been gone too long... It's been like what, 5 months plus already since the last post? Damn.

Now that the bitching is out of the way, let's get down to the blog updates.

Off the bat I'm gonna be referring to some of the stuff I've written in the last post. The April's Fools video from World Of Tanks will sadly not be available. Sure, I have the World Of Tanks replay of it, but it's outdated 'cause of all the updates. The other World Of Tanks videos? Well, since I've been gone for 5 months now, I'll have to get right back to playing the game to get some replays.

Hope I remember how to play this game...

Last I checked, I still have the Metal Saga bulk videos... all 6 folders of them, and each folder has 6 videos each lasting about roughly 30 minutes. Yes, THAT much of Metal Saga stuff I'm currently having right now.

I do have one more World Of Tanks video saved for editing/processing. It's a WZ-111 replay, and I was supposed to upload it to YouTube as the 4th and final one for that tank. Then, was supposed to make a post about the tank with all 4 videos inside it... but then came the damn works...

Here's hoping no more of that shizz happening at work, but that definitely won't be true, though. Important/tough work periods come and go here.

But since I'm free from that burden, I might as well make use of the time I have before another one starts. Now, I no longer have to consider staying in at work everyday and weekends are finally back!

So yes, this update is to just tell you guys that I'm not dead, just been extremely busy. I'll be uploading the last WZ-111 video to YouTube and then y'all can expect another post coming up this weekend.

*sigh of relief* It's finally good to be back, folks.

-Panzer Fist-

April Quick Update

Don't have a lot of time here, so I'll make this brief.

Haven't updated the blog for awhile 'cause work got up to me again, barely enough free hours to spend recording and editing videos... 'cause need the other 5 hours to sleep. Not much sleep, but what is around here, huh...

At least it's not another two weeks and two days for a post to appear.

What to expect this month: two videos on April's Fool Day, some World Of Tanks replays and Metal Saga bulk videos to upload... and to post the Metal Saga Adventures parts here... whenever I get the time to do it, of course.

Alright, that's the quick update for tonight. Yes, it's 1:44am here... so I really have to get going. Catch y'all next post!

-Panzer Fist-

Two Weeks N' Two Days

My, how fast the days goes by.

Looks like I've been gone for about 16 days... and of course, there's a reason for it.

Holidays! But it's only for a week, the other week was just an extra I decided to add in myself. lol

So, this means the Metal Saga Adventures will be back up? Both yes and no.

"Yes" as in it will be up. "No" as in not constantly.

While I was gone, World Of Tanks had released the 9.14 Update. This update revamps the physics of the tanks to a more "realistic" feel and you can now use a so-called 'handbrake' (Spacebar Default) to immediately stop your tank or to perform slick drifts and quick maneuvers.

The update also changed almost all of the sound in-game to make tanks' engines sound better, for example. Gun sounds have also been replaced with more powerful ones, so now they don't sound very lackluster. Bigger caliber guns will have thunderous roars while smaller ones will vary... but still sound good.

Those are the main course of the update. There's still more, of course.

Small stuff like updated minimap to have the view range circles similar to XVM and the long awaited HD-modeled IS-6 that tons of people are waiting for. It now looks more like an IS-4 now... and it might be just me, but the front turret of the IS-6 seems to be more easy to penetrate then ever for some reason.

Had some fun with the new update. Even got some replays that shows how they perform. The WZ-111 was apparently on sale, so I decided to grab 'em and also topped up on some gold... It's been quite some time since I've last played World Of Tanks.

It's a good tank. Faster than the 112 in speed and fire rate (just a bit) and also the 120mm side armor. Only problem with the tank is the pike-nose design on the front.

One of these days, I'll be getting the WZ-111 1-4 for that "fast" IS-7 feel. I'm going down the Maus and IS-4 route, so it's a good tank to keep around.

Huh... now that I noticed, I have the 112, 113 and now the WZ-111. Collection? Might as well.

Now, back to Metal Saga. The last one that I've posted on stopped at part 3 of the playthrough. But if you think you don't like waiting, I've already uploaded a bunch of the playthrough to my YouTube channel... I think the last I've uploaded was part 15.

So yeah... tons to catch up on for that one. Yikes.

Truth to be told, I actually have plenty more of the Metal Saga Playthrough videos saved on my computer.

Let's see here... about another 33 parts saved here. Hmm... this might take awhile.

The best part about all this: I'm still adding more and more, 'cause I'm not finished with the game... yet.

But why still post them here when it's on YouTube already, you say? Well, it's called "Metal Saga Adventures" for a reason. It's just the playthrough video with some backstory placed in it. Oh, and don't forget about the pictures.

And also sometimes the occasional sidetracking of the whole thing just to explain some real world tank counterparts and history.

Sorry, I'm a tank freak... just in case you didn't notice.

So yeah... even when enjoying my holidays, I was still getting video materials for upcoming posts.

I plan to do a slightly different post in the future. The post will just be me discussing certain tank stuff. It'll probably be very boring, but I feel it needs to be done. It's not that serious, but it's something that I've been very concerned about.

And when will all this will happen? Well, you definitely don't have to wait another 16 days for it to appear, though... whichever is the one's gonna be first, that is. So with that, I will bid y'all adieu for now... and will catch ya on the next post!

-Panzer Fist-

Metal Saga Adventures 2

In this post, it will include 2... yes, TWO videos. Both part 2 and 3 of the Metal Saga Playthrough.

Why two videos? Well, I didn't take that much screenshots in these clips. Let's see... I took only four pictures in between parts 2 and 3.

Sorry, got too deep into the game that all of my focus was on Metal Saga itself.

So without any other stuff to declare, I give you part 2 of the Metal Saga Playthrough.

Continuing from the last MS Adventures, we proceed to the Hunter's Office to get our very first bounty reward. Not quite an amount... it's more like pocket money's worth of reward. Then it's time to leave the Junkyard and onward to Newfolk!

But then, we got messages... messages from Gary's dad and Scarlet. She gave us some newbie tips that can be very helpful for a person who's new to Metal Saga.

One of the few tips she sent.

After fighting our way through some sunflowers that shoot missiles and other assorted weird... stuff, we finally reached Newfolk. Nice place, with peaceful music playing.

And of course we met Nikolai, the "mechanic god".

Too bad we can't take him along, though. Repairing vehicles will be a breeze for him. Instead, we can ask his daughter, Misha or son, Kiriya to tag along. They are still learning the mechanic ways, but they know enough to keep the vehicles in tip-top shape.

I went with Kiriya on this one. He's the "active/aggressive" mechanic while Misha is more of a "support/passive" mechanic. Originally the classic go-to mechanic for every game I start out.

Time to get a vehicle for him!

But there are certain moments where I picked Misha instead. It's just personal preference, anyways.

And then there's part 3 of the playthrough...

Sadly, there's only ONE screenshot taken during this playthrough... It's a picure of the Mosquito "tank" [or more specifically, tankette] just before I went to claim ownership of it.

Found in the parking lot.

Found a Demag for Kiriya first before I went to get the Mosquito. The halftrack's a good vehicle, but it's quite similar to the Buggy. The Mosquito however, is more of a tiny tank. Even though you can place a cannon on one to make it look more like a tank, I prefer this vehicle to have a missile pod instead.

Now, some tank history: the Demag is based of the german WWII halftracks, the Sd.Kfz. 250. It's not really the 251 version as that one was created by the Hanomag company, hence then it's called the Demag in the game as the Demag company made the lighter version, the 250.

Sd.Kfz. 250 [Demag Built]

Sd.Kfz. 251 [Hanomag Built]

Some links to both the Demag and Hanomag halftrack info page below... and yes, I know... Wikipedia...

Sd.Kfz. 250 [Demag Built]

Sd.Kfz. 251 [Hanomag Built]

Renamed it to Hanomag instead, as it's more accurate. The vehicle in the game is given a big gun and tons of armor tiles, thus it's no longer a "light vehicle". Looks like I've forgotten to place quotes for the Demag's name in the game... Looks better as "Hanomag" instead.

As for the Mosquito, it was renamed to the Wiesel 1A1. The tank is pretty much the same... although I do not know why it was nicknamed Mosquito in the game.

Maybe because it's quick, small and it stings you and you don't see it coming? Could be.

Here's a link to the Wiesel 1's info... below.

Wiesel AWC

This was supposed to be renamed to Wiesel AT [Anti-Tank] but it just doesn't feel right. The reason I wanted the cannon replaced because I wanted at least one vehicle using the SE [Special Equipment] weapon. The first few vehicles you find have the Main Gun slot, y'know... cannons.

The closest Wiesel 1 with a missile pod [TOW]

Of course, I did get around to changing it to equip SE weapons, but that's all in another part of the playthrough.... much, much later that is.

Technically, the Buggy was not supposed to have a Main Gun, but instead a missile pod. It makes more sense as I have yet to see actual photos of buggies with tank cannons... they only carry missile pods or recoiless rifles as of now.

There was a picture of a Wiesel 1 with a supposed "turret", but that's not a cannon... it's only a large-caliber machinegun.

Notice the turret, but the gun seems small.

I guess I'm going off topic right now, seems like I've talked more about the real life counterparts rather than the game itself. But, more will come in the next Metal Saga Adventures update!

-Panzer Fist-

Old, but Gold - Metal Saga Adventures 1

Truly one of the most satisfying games that I've played in my life.

And here it is: Metal Saga. Or by it's full title: Metal Saga - Chains Of Sandstorm.

Japanese Logo. English version only has "Metal Saga".

It's an okay JRPG, but it has a surprise: you can drive and collect tanks! Oh, and some occasional armored vehicles too. Made in 2005, I've first played this game back in 2007. Found this game out of curiosity so I decided to play it.

It reminds me of Super Mario RPG since they are both JRPGs, and Super Mario RPG was one of the first types of RPGs I've ever played in my life. Good times with that game...

I've lost count how many replays I've had with Metal Saga, but I definitely know that it's above ten times. There's just so much to discover... plus this game is not really known to people, so it wasn't really noticed. I also did not have a computer in the earlier years, so I have to resort to taking notes.

Still have 'em somewhere... just waiting to  be found...

So now, let's get to the game. I've decided to make a playthrough of it... don't know if I will stop right at the end of the game or continue after it, though. Will have tons of pictures and parts of videos placed.

Each part will be roughly 30 minutes long. I tried to record past 40 minutes but the game craps up and crashes after that. So this is the longest I can record for each part of the playthrough. No facecams, voice overs and stuff like that, it's just pure gameplay.

So, without further delays, here's the first part of the Metal Saga playthrough. Enjoy.

The game starts out with the usual title screen, and has two options:

English Metal Saga version.

Started a new game and had to place a name. Decided to put 'em as "Gary". Then came the situation to be a hunter or a mechanic...

Believe it or not, the other option leads to an ending.

Gone with the obvious route... And of course, the mother [Nina] was not quite happy about it.

Obviously, the father.

Y'know what they say: like father, like son. Following in our father's footsteps to be a great hunter.

Then we met his friend, McKinley outside of our home.

He thought the main character was the father...

...for a while, at least.

And so, we begin our adventure... or preparation. Went to the Hunter's Office since Nina wanted us to go there first. Mother's knows best.

Once inside, someone talked to Gary. Not sure who this person is, but she know him. Gave him a little tip about a vehicle somwhere in the mountain of junk right behind his town... and she doesn't need it as she's doing fine without a vehicle.

Hmm... did she put it there for us? I wonder...

She didn't say where, so likely we'll never see her again.

She takes her leave soon after that, and told him that they might meet up again sometime... So now I went around town to see the other characters... and preparing to go to the Junk Mountain for my first vehicle, until I met this boy who gave me a tip [not really].

It's like he wants me to get it.

And we're off to Junk Mountain! Guess what Gary found around the hills...

It's the "stowed" vehicle the girl told us.

It's a buggy! It seems to have a gun on it's side... definitely set up by the girl in the Hunter's Office for us [for whatever reason].

 Halfway through the mountain of fighting knives strapped to bikes and fuel tanks with spider legs, we met a fellow hunter. Gave us some hints that there was a cannon somewhere around this area, but he hasn't found a vehicle yet for it.

A free cannon... just waiting for Gary.

He must be blind to be able to miss the buggy back at the hill.

On the way to the buggy, we found another vehicle! But...

Yeah, what he said.

It looks like a Tiger I. Rusted to hell... won't be moving anytime soon.

After some long walks and eradicating some Junk Zombies with guns, we managed to reach to the buggy. Awesome...

The vehicle... just an arm's reach away...

Not really big with naming stuff... sorry.

Wandered around and found a locked safe... Unlocked it and got some gold!

PIN number doesn't change at all.

Fought my way through some monsters until I reached the outlaw of the Junk Mountain, Trash Heap. Some guy outside said that we have to be roughly level 4 [or was it 3?] to survive a battle with him.

Eh... we have a vehicle. No problemo! Let the battle begin!

Trash Heap outlaw.

The battle with it was... mediocre. But at least I don't have to go through that again. And then it's time to go back home...

And that was Part 1 of the Metal Saga playthrough. There's plenty more adventures to have, as it's just the beginning...

-Panzer Fist-

Upcoming March Posts Update

Last day of February... might as well post this quick update.

Hello guys, this is just a quick update post to tell you what ya gonna expect to see this coming March.

I'm gonna be recording and taking TONS of videos and screenshots of an old game I used to play soo long ago... Metal Saga.

In fact, it was supposed to be one of the first things I was supposed to do when I've started this blog. Didn't get around to doing it 'cause I got caught up in World Of Tanks, Armored Warfare and all that other jazz.

It might be a playthrough video, but I don't use any voice recording software or any webcams. It will just only be me playing the game, no facecam or voice overs if I actually do a playthrough.

Won't spoil anything about the game for now, so yeah... just wait till it's out.

Pictures will be plenty, too. There might be some interesting stuff that goes on that I might need to take a snap at.

On the side note, I did not end up playing Fallout 4. No updates, yet. Still have to wait quite some time for it to arrive, though.

Instead, I played Burnout Paradise. Great fun, finished the game in two days straight. Now I'm just mostly in the game for award hunting and 100% completion... if I can.

Cruising 'round in my cop car... smashin' cars up! BIG FUN.

No screenshots on it, though. It's all at Steam instead. Sorry.

Oh yeah, Armored Warfare received an update recently... not sure whether I should cover it.

I guess that pretty much sums it up, then. Metal Saga stuff, this coming March. Now if you excuse me, I have Burnout Paradise to play and Metal Saga stuff to prepare... So see ya this March!

-Panzer Fist-

A Sacrifice For a Reward

Lookey here... the first Armored Warfare post for this blog.

Lately, I've been playing more of a certain tank game Armored Warfare. Everything's been going great ever since it entered Beta, with tons of constant updates. There's even quite a lot of events going on from last year up till now... but I didn't get the chance to play most of last year's events.

One example is the Halloween event. All those rewards I've missed out on...

Most of the problems is due to the fact that internet connections back last year wasn't really up to par to play most "connection-reliant" games. Glad that's a problem of the past. All the rage from the past... Anyways, once I've got my crappy connections fixed, I've been on World Of Tanks and Armored Warfare periodically. Just the simple daily 2X wipes on both games.

Then one day, there's an interesting event over at Armored Warfare: The Grand Bear Invitational. Got excited, but then I had complications with the time it starts... because it translates to 1AM-4AM.

Yes, I'm human. That's why I need sleep.

Missed out on a great chance to earn tons of EXP and cash... Especially the EXP, though. I mean it has FIVE times multiplier during the hours the special event was on on Friday. Cash was only 2X multiplier bonus, though.

Became quite disappointed with the whole ordeal. But then came the savior... Wolfie's Gold Rush event.

Here's a post link on the event over at Armored Warfare's website below, just in case you wanna see every detail yourself.

Armored Warfare - Wolfie's Gold Rush Event

It intrigued me when I first saw the event details. Get gold! Get phat stacks of EXP 'n cash! For six days!

But there's a price to pay for it: the bonuses will only be active for three hours like the previous Grand Bear Invitational event. But now, the event has been bumped up an hour... so yes, it's 2AM-5AM for the six days for me.

Ughh... So late, and for every day of the event, too. What a pain...

But I said "fuck it, I'm doin' it anyways". Challenge accepted! "Monday's bonus, here I come!"

...but then I slept instead. Okaaay... time to check off trying to get 3000 Gold. Time to set an alarm so no further gold and bonus shall be missed.

The only way to know if the event had already started is to open the bonuses/boosters tab [the lighting icon at the right] and the EXP and cash boosters should be 400% and 100% respectively. Here's a screenshot from the game to show you what I mean.

Notice the 400% EXP and 100% cash boosts in the 'Active Boost' window.

And add that to the base game and it should be 5X EXP and 2X cash earned in every tank. I don't know whether the daily 2X EXP and 1.25X cash would stack with them, so I've only played Armored Warfare only when the event was on to maximize the bonus earned.

So did I managed to complete the rest of the five days? Yes! Downside? Tired as fuck after each day of event! WORTH IT!

But seriously though, it was tough staying awake through the whole event each day. I think I fell asleep for a few minutes during Wednesday's event...

Quite pleased with the reward I've received. 900K+ EXP and 8M+ cash... enough to get me through any tank I want easily!

Only been using the rewards to get myself the Leopard 2! Painted 'em and stuck some decals and done! One of my favored modern tanks, in my possession! I personally prefer the looks of the Leopard 2 rather than the upgraded ones... y'know, the ones with the frontal turret kit installed. But still, the upgraded Leopard 2A5 is what spark my interest in the tanks a long time ago.

This is a keeper for sure.

Not fully upgraded, yet though...

It definitely much better than the horrible Leopard 2AV Prototype. The armor is very lackluster... and it all thanks to the material the tank is made from... not to mention the lower frontal plate is pretty much paper.

I only place camouflage patterns and number decals on tanks I plan to keep forever. Makes them stick out easier in the garage and when the're gonna be here forever, might as well make 'em look good, dont'cha think?

But that's not all! Something interesting happened in one of the event days... Truly once in a lifetime experience in a game like this, so I had to take a screenie to make it last.

I wonder if this is a special move these tanks can do...

 
It's just outta nowhere too, that it happened. One moment, the tank spawned normally. The next moment it teleported upside-down like shown in the screenshot. Don't know how, but I'll take a picture of it anyways.

And that marks the end of the madness that happened during the Gold Rush event. Nothing too major, but still had some fun... even though I was struggling to stay awake 70% of the time when it was on.

I have some more pictures of the crazy bugs this game has, but I'll put 'em up next time though... as this post has gotten awfully long now. I guess I'll be going now, as I'm gonna go back to Fallout 4 soon. There's some updates that has changed the game quite a bit, and it's been some time since I've last played it.

-Panzer Fist-