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2019: Nippon and Beyond
6 years ago
Time for the annual-ish update of what I'm doing and where I am. Ready, set....
Life & Living Arrangements
10 years. I am approaching the 10 year mark on my career in the US Air Force. It's been a wild decade of living and learning to be a functional adult. All of which will be punctuated with my time here in Tokyo, Japan, of all places... I went from spending all my time rooted largely in one place, to moving to another country, traveling internationally on a nearly monthly basis!
Just as I've begun feeling comfortable living in such a massive city, it already appears my tour here is coming to an end. I will miss Japan dearly. And the place I'm slated to go next is none other than the familiar Florida I'd just left. I'm moving back to the Melbourne, Florida area later this year!
Gaming
I primarily PC game in recent times. By no means does this mean I avoid consoles, however. I play a hefty amount of Nintendo Switch and PS4 as well.
My current rig:
Specs:
Core i7 6700k @ 4.4 GHz
ROG Maximus VIII Hero Mobo
Kingston HyperX Savage 16GB DDR4 RAM @ 2400 MHz
NVidia GTX 2080Ti
1TB+ SSD/2TB HDD
Win7 Forever
Just a handy note for anyone skimming through titles I have recently played, if I didn't specify a username it is OrangeBlueZ, such as with most the titles on Steam.
Some titles I frequently play as of this time:
Elder Scrolls Online
Yes, I caved in the face of a hunger for lore and ES goodness, and so I jumped off the ESO hate train to give it a firsthand look. If you play solely for Skyrim levels of immersion, you might be disappointed, but go in with low expectations and you might find yourself pleasantly surprised. I initially went in looking to get into black marsh and check out my species' homeland, and found myself craving more by the end of it. Now I'm loose all over Tamriel, seeing all sorts of exotic locations while having a great time adventuring and socializing with awesome people in the process. I primarily play nowadays for the deep and strategic PvP scene.
The game is Buy2play, and with a sub you have access to any and all otherwise purchasable DLC zones for the subscription period. Any of you who were dubious by the initial reception and find yourself in the same place as I was, spend a few bucks and give it a shot. You might find yourself surprised with everything the game has to offer. Summerset Island and Vardenfell were major DLC chapters with an ES game's worth of story each, and we have more Khajiit and dragons coming right around the corner with the upcoming Elsweyr DLC this summer!
Monster Hunter World
Anyone who knows me knows I love Monster Hunter just as much as Elder Scrolls, and I have played basically entry of the series to date. Monster Hunter World is THE game to get if you've ever liked the past games or have been looking into trying it for the first time! Capcom has done an outstanding job giving the game the level of graphical and mechanical polish it needed to break out of the Japanese Audience and take off as a smash hit worldwide. I have played the game since launch extensively on the Playstation 4 and in addition have since slayed my way to the top of the PC food chain as well! If you ever want a seasoned hunting vet or someone to help show a fledgling hunter the ropes, I am your guy! PSN/Steam: OrangeBlueZ
Iceborne is coming later this year, G-rank and tons of new content await! Max hype!!
GreatSword Master Race representing >:3
Warframe
Warframe was a game I was dubious on joining years ago, but has since continued to pull me back whenever there are major content drops. It is a third person co-op shooter with loot and randomly generated levels with a wide variety of gamemodes and playstyles. Half the game is based around extremely robust character and weapon customization, from aesthetics to modifying virtually any aspect of your gear and weapons. To me is a free-to-play Destiny-esque loot grindy shooter but with so much more content. The devs are active with the community and significant content additions happen regularly, as often as weekly. The game is absolutely gorgeous on full graphics, I might add!
I go by Lizard_Magic there, as OrangeBlueZ was taken in a rare turn of events.
Sekiro
Shinobi dark souls. I still have yet to beat it with the brutal, uncompromising difficulty that was promised of a FromSoftware game. It hurts so good! Seriously though, this game features some of the greatest swordplay dynamics of any game ever made.
Risk of Rain 2
Roguelike Survival Shooter with randomized loot, enemies, and nearly endless replayability! This game is a 3D adaptation to its 2D predecessor! It only started early access a few days ago, but is incredibly smooth and nearly as addicting for as early and incomplete as it is thus far! Play it with friends!
VR - HTC Vive Pro
VRCHAT
Yeah, just like many others I showed up among the meme boom over the holidays to satisfy my curiosity. Having a VR headset improved the experience considerably. Now with privacy and friends only instances the fervor has died down quite a bit. I managed to make several friends within the furry and anime communities that thrive there. It feels, well, a lot like Second Life, only with no transactions to make within game. The engine feels familiar, but the models, scaling, and built in mechanics feel fresher. Everything is community generated, and its all free. You don't even need VR to play it! I will add that being able to headpat cute anime girls and hug waifus and furries alike in the realm of VR is magical~! Desktop users are missing out!
BeatSaber
Lightsabers, slashing to music, guitar hero style? Mods? Custom Tracks? It's great! Nuff said!
GORN/Sword & Sorcery
Ultra-violent gladiatorial arena combat sandboxes? Check and check!
SUPERHOT VR
SUPER. HOT. Time only moves when you do! A staple for VR parties and matrix enthusiasts everywhere.
TO THE TOP
Ridiculous climbing simulator with absolutely insane amounts of creativity and content. Competitive modes. Ever want to get or defeat vertigo? This is the game to do it!
Life & Living Arrangements
10 years. I am approaching the 10 year mark on my career in the US Air Force. It's been a wild decade of living and learning to be a functional adult. All of which will be punctuated with my time here in Tokyo, Japan, of all places... I went from spending all my time rooted largely in one place, to moving to another country, traveling internationally on a nearly monthly basis!
Just as I've begun feeling comfortable living in such a massive city, it already appears my tour here is coming to an end. I will miss Japan dearly. And the place I'm slated to go next is none other than the familiar Florida I'd just left. I'm moving back to the Melbourne, Florida area later this year!
Gaming
I primarily PC game in recent times. By no means does this mean I avoid consoles, however. I play a hefty amount of Nintendo Switch and PS4 as well.
My current rig:
Specs:
Core i7 6700k @ 4.4 GHz
ROG Maximus VIII Hero Mobo
Kingston HyperX Savage 16GB DDR4 RAM @ 2400 MHz
NVidia GTX 2080Ti
1TB+ SSD/2TB HDD
Win7 Forever
Just a handy note for anyone skimming through titles I have recently played, if I didn't specify a username it is OrangeBlueZ, such as with most the titles on Steam.
Some titles I frequently play as of this time:
Elder Scrolls Online
Yes, I caved in the face of a hunger for lore and ES goodness, and so I jumped off the ESO hate train to give it a firsthand look. If you play solely for Skyrim levels of immersion, you might be disappointed, but go in with low expectations and you might find yourself pleasantly surprised. I initially went in looking to get into black marsh and check out my species' homeland, and found myself craving more by the end of it. Now I'm loose all over Tamriel, seeing all sorts of exotic locations while having a great time adventuring and socializing with awesome people in the process. I primarily play nowadays for the deep and strategic PvP scene.
The game is Buy2play, and with a sub you have access to any and all otherwise purchasable DLC zones for the subscription period. Any of you who were dubious by the initial reception and find yourself in the same place as I was, spend a few bucks and give it a shot. You might find yourself surprised with everything the game has to offer. Summerset Island and Vardenfell were major DLC chapters with an ES game's worth of story each, and we have more Khajiit and dragons coming right around the corner with the upcoming Elsweyr DLC this summer!
Monster Hunter World
Anyone who knows me knows I love Monster Hunter just as much as Elder Scrolls, and I have played basically entry of the series to date. Monster Hunter World is THE game to get if you've ever liked the past games or have been looking into trying it for the first time! Capcom has done an outstanding job giving the game the level of graphical and mechanical polish it needed to break out of the Japanese Audience and take off as a smash hit worldwide. I have played the game since launch extensively on the Playstation 4 and in addition have since slayed my way to the top of the PC food chain as well! If you ever want a seasoned hunting vet or someone to help show a fledgling hunter the ropes, I am your guy! PSN/Steam: OrangeBlueZ
Iceborne is coming later this year, G-rank and tons of new content await! Max hype!!
GreatSword Master Race representing >:3
Warframe
Warframe was a game I was dubious on joining years ago, but has since continued to pull me back whenever there are major content drops. It is a third person co-op shooter with loot and randomly generated levels with a wide variety of gamemodes and playstyles. Half the game is based around extremely robust character and weapon customization, from aesthetics to modifying virtually any aspect of your gear and weapons. To me is a free-to-play Destiny-esque loot grindy shooter but with so much more content. The devs are active with the community and significant content additions happen regularly, as often as weekly. The game is absolutely gorgeous on full graphics, I might add!
I go by Lizard_Magic there, as OrangeBlueZ was taken in a rare turn of events.
Sekiro
Shinobi dark souls. I still have yet to beat it with the brutal, uncompromising difficulty that was promised of a FromSoftware game. It hurts so good! Seriously though, this game features some of the greatest swordplay dynamics of any game ever made.
Risk of Rain 2
Roguelike Survival Shooter with randomized loot, enemies, and nearly endless replayability! This game is a 3D adaptation to its 2D predecessor! It only started early access a few days ago, but is incredibly smooth and nearly as addicting for as early and incomplete as it is thus far! Play it with friends!
VR - HTC Vive Pro
VRCHAT
Yeah, just like many others I showed up among the meme boom over the holidays to satisfy my curiosity. Having a VR headset improved the experience considerably. Now with privacy and friends only instances the fervor has died down quite a bit. I managed to make several friends within the furry and anime communities that thrive there. It feels, well, a lot like Second Life, only with no transactions to make within game. The engine feels familiar, but the models, scaling, and built in mechanics feel fresher. Everything is community generated, and its all free. You don't even need VR to play it! I will add that being able to headpat cute anime girls and hug waifus and furries alike in the realm of VR is magical~! Desktop users are missing out!
BeatSaber
Lightsabers, slashing to music, guitar hero style? Mods? Custom Tracks? It's great! Nuff said!
GORN/Sword & Sorcery
Ultra-violent gladiatorial arena combat sandboxes? Check and check!
SUPERHOT VR
SUPER. HOT. Time only moves when you do! A staple for VR parties and matrix enthusiasts everywhere.
TO THE TOP
Ridiculous climbing simulator with absolutely insane amounts of creativity and content. Competitive modes. Ever want to get or defeat vertigo? This is the game to do it!
Best wishes!
Still, I look forward to whatever you may have coming up for you in the near future man! Hopefully things will still remain upwards for ya and stay on the upside! :3
It honestly feels like it went by so fast after like the first year or two. Weird too that I'm halfway to retirement. Time in general is such a strange thing, haha.
Thanks for the well wishes! One of these days we'll have to catch up on life and all that~! :3
And yeah, I’ve got a telegram if you use that at all! Sounds like we’ve got so much ground to cover here. XP
Any particular food from Japan that you're going to miss when you move back to the states?
At any rate safe travels and godspeed as always!
There is so much food I am going to miss! Okonomiyaki, fresh ramen, non-americanized chinese food (Dandan noodles and szechuan pepper in general), and Japanese style curry. Not to mention those amazing 100 yen pancakes they sell at 7/11... Oh, and surprisingly even the American pizza chain restaurants out here are crazy and incredible compared to stateside. Toppings, crusts... Ahhhh!
So nice hearing from you! I appreciate the well wishes and extend the same back to you~! Need to catch up properly one of these days. c:
But yes, thank you and absolutely! You know you're always more than welcome to hit me up whenever!