No, not “boo!” as in a scare…  But “boo!” as in disappointment and/or disapproval.

This evening’s festivities were a complete wash.  We made it to the AC, and the fireworks were not rained out, but the folks I was supposed to meet there to show Terri around the place were not present.  I guess they decided not to work this weekend or something…

So I didn’t get to show Terri around the AC at all.  We waited around for a couple awkward hours…  Then watched a fairly decent fireworks display…  And now we’re home.

Wow…  The announcement over Diablo III is only about a week old and people are already complaining.  Apparently that 20-minute gameplay video looks to happy and bright and cheerful for some people, so they’re petitioning to get the color scheme changed to something more like Diablo I or II.

Just…  Wow…  A single 20-minute video…  It shows about 10 minutes inside a single dungeon, and 10 minutes outside in a single wilderness area…  And they’re ready to burn people at the stake for turning Diablo III into Hello Kitty.

Now, if  you really put some actual thought into it you’d realize that their complaints are based on some very selective memories.  Diablo I was dark and dingy largely because of hardware limitations at the time.  We didn’t have the technology to do fancy spell-effects or realistic shadows or anything.  Lighting effects were very simple and limited.  Color palettes were likewise limited to a few hundred or a few thousand colors - something like the 24-bit with alpha channel that we have today was simply impossible.

Diablo II actually featured some very bright scenery.  The deserts around Lut Gholein were downright blinding.  The jungles around Kurast were lush and green.  The snowy mountains around Horrogath were full of gleaming blue ice and white snow.  The game was certainly not muddy and brown throughout.

And, while Diablo III’s gameplay teaser certainly looked more vivid and vibrant, I don’t think I would ever call it bright or happy.  Everything was more sharply defined.  Everything was clear.  The fountains of blood looked like blood, and not reddish mud.  The swarms of locusts devouring the monsters looked like swarms of locusts, and not a collection of greenish pixels.  Light sources cast actual light, complete with moving shadows, rather than simply reducing the darkness in an area.

To be honest, I suspect the problem is not so much with the color scheme, as the fact that the gameply video clearly shows a change in gameplay mechanics.  The Barbarian is seen dashing around, hacking and slashing, hopping around, mowing through a huge horde of enemies…rather than slowly hacking away at one or two large foes…  The Witch Doctor is an entirely new class never seen before…  It looks like there’s more storytelling going on…  The loot looks completely and totally different…

All of which implies that these folks who’ve been playing Diablo II for the last eight years will not be able to hop right in and be as uber as they are used to.  They’ll have to learn new strategies and techniques.  They’ll have to find new gear.  They’ll have to find their way through new dungeons and wildernesses.  And there’s a concern hidden in this petition that the game might be too different from Diablo II.  And they may not like the game, or may not be as good at it.

I didn’t do much yesterday…  Certainly not much to celebrate Independance Day.

I slept in late…  Played EVE for a while…  Played WoW for a while…

I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that I was not at work, and that I really didn’t have anything that needed to be done.

I ran some more missions on Ephemeriis, finished up the intial 10-mission tutorial arc.  Along the way I lost my first ship, but ultimately wound up with a better ship.  I did some more mining on Olvel, I’m up to about 7 million ISK, and I’ve been slowly training towards a Retriever.

I’ve finally come to the conclusion that I need to get out of Todaki.  Yeah, I know, you’d think that would have occured to me sooner, wouldn’t you?  But I have, so far, been able to make plenty of money without leaving the newb zone.  No pirates, little competition, plenty of ore.  But that seems to be changing lately.  Prices are going down and there are more people out mining the belts.  I’m going to have to find some other place to do my mining.

The only problem is that I have absolutely no idea where to go.  I’ve been taking a look around…  Checking prices on the market screen…  Looking at player populations…  And I honestly have absolutely no idea where to go.  Obviously I’ll just wind up trying a few different places at random to see how things work out…  But once again, like when I was looking for a new agent, that 5,000 system starmap is simply intimidating.

But, today, we’re going to do something vaguely celebratory.

I’m fairly certain I’ve mentioned the AC on here before…  Big, creepy resort out in the mountains that we support.  They put on a fireworks display every year for the 4th and we’ve been trying to get out there to see it for years.  But every time we get out there it winds up being cancelled or delayed or rescheduled or something.  So, despite the fact that we’ve driven all the way out there more than once, we’ve never seen the fireworks.

Additionally, this year I’ve got a visitor’s pass to the club itself - which means Terri will finally get to look around inside and see some of the creepy places I’ve told her about.  I’m not completely certain that we’ll be allowed up on the 4th floor…  That’s where the really creepy stuff has happened…  But I’m going to see what I can do.

It should be a very fun evening, to say the least.  I’m certainly looking forward to it.

I know I’ll probably get burned at the stake for saying this…  Or at least flagged as unpatriotic…  But I’ve never really gotten terribly excited about the 4th.

Sure, the fireworks can be fun.  It’s always nice to see the sparkly explosions.  And there’s usually some additional festivities…  Parades, music, concessions, whatever…  And it gets me a day off from work, which is always nice…

I suppose I’m probably glad that the United States of America declared their independance from Brittain back in the day…  The world would obviously be a very different place today if we hadn’t.  But I’m not convinced that the US of A has been a terribly positive force in the world.  Sure, everyone has their highs and their lows…  But it seems to me that America hasn’t really lived up to the ideals of freedom and liberty set forth in our constitution.

Especially lately, with W at the helm.  Our civil liberties have been disappearing left and right…  We invaded Iraq without a declaration of war, and without a good reason…  We completely dropped the ball in Afghanistan…  The federal government also did a lousy job of responding to Katrina…  We’ve got folks locked away in Guantanamo for years without even bringing charges against them…  We’re listening in on our own citizens without a warrant…  Our economy is in shambles…  The quality of public education is plummeting…  Now we need official documents in order to travel within our own borders…

I don’t think I could really say that I’m genuinely proud to be an American these days.

Which isn’t to say that I think any other nation out there is doing a whole hell of a lot better than we are.  They’ve all got issues of various types and sizes.  But I think a lot of them out there are doing a lot less harm than good…  And I’m not sure if the United States can say that these days.

Last night I was playing with my new character again in EVE - Ephemeriis.  I picked up a mission that reminded me a lot of the one that nearly got me killed on Olvel.  The one with a stasis tower, and lots of bad guys to kill, and a leader guy to assassinate.

On Olvel, I first attempted the mission in a Bantam, and had to abort it.  I just plain could not kill them.  I came back in my Cormorant and was able to deal with most of the bad guys ok, but a couple of them still gave me trouble and I had to go purchase a missile launcher.  On Olvel, that mission was pretty challenging.

On Ephemeriis, it was pretty easy - despite the fact that I’m still in my newb ship.  I haven’t even finished all the tutorial missions and I’m still in my Ibis, but I was able to complete that mission just fine.

Obviously I’ve gotten some different rewards from some other missions…  Instead of getting mining lasers I’ve received weaponry.  And I’m sure there’s some difference in the mission structure and the ship specs and whatnot just because of my race/occupation.  But I think the biggest factor is simply the skills I’ve got on Ephemeriis, as opposed to the skills I’ve got on Olvel.

Olvel is trained largely in mining and refining.  I’ve got plenty of skills that let me use mining lasers, process ore, build stuff…  But precious few skills actually aimed at combat.

Ephemeriis on the other hand, even though I haven’t actually trained him in anything, has plenty of combat skills.  Lots of ability with weaponry and whatnot.  And it makes a huge difference.  My turrets track faster, I can get a lock on enemies sooner, and my weapons seem to hit harder.