OMG!!! I'm a winnar again!

When I decided to check the GE Website at my friend's place, I saw that there's a 4th batch of winners of the e-card challenge. I checked it out and this is what I saw:

Week 4's Ecard Champion, VinyardIII Family from Vivaldi serversent a total of 428 ecards in this final instalment of the Ecard Challenge! The runner up, Henrich from Pachelbel server sent 105 ecards while the second runner up, Mena from Carracci server sent out 26 ecards. IMPORTANT: Winners with missing addresses and contact numbers will be disqualified.

Seeing my name on that contest prompted me to scream "Oh My God!!!" I can't believe it! I won another contest! Yay! I'll be having Red Packets/Ang Pao for me to treasure and give out soon with money inside it! :P

The time I sent e-cards was at Valentines Day and I decided to send a lot of cards to family and friends. Since I got to the office real early that day, I took the chance to check out my contacts in my Yahoo! Messenger and send out e-cards. I made sure that my sisters and parents were also going to get e-cards from me. I even sent one to an officemate when she arrived at office as well. My intentions were just to send e-cards during Valentines since I was thinking I didn't have a chance against the other winners during that time. Seeing this result really lit my face up and I am fortunate in winning another event.

Thanks to IAH Games for the contests and the prizes you provide! I've already updated my info so I can be qualified to receive my Red Packets/Ang Pao anytime soon. May sGE last long for the years to come, even with all the bots and RMT'ers running rampant.

Woot! I'm a winnar!

Wow! I can't believe I won the "Love, Me" forum contest! DeSanggria informed me through an SMS message while I kept my phone away for work. I was so happy to be able to win a contest (again) in GE. When I had some time to go online in the web version of Yahoo! Messenger (during work), the Reclusion Family gave their congratulations to me as well.

In case you want to see my winning entry, here's the link to it! When I decided to tally how many Le Blanc Armors were given, it seems the Fighter wins by six families (including me!). The Elementalist Le Blanc follows by five families (including me again!) and tying at 3rd place would be the Scout, Musketeer and Wizard Le Blanc armors by three families. Looks like the Fighters And Elementalists are really popular.

Yay! The only problem is... I need to get reach level 100 before I can wear them! :D Well, better work on another achievement to post on the bottom! :P

A preview on a future post!

Here's what I can share with you right now!



To give you a hint on the future post, it has to do something with work! :D

Takhisis Faction Tourney Feb 2008 PicSpam!!!

Let the pics say louder than words! 56K WARNING! Access at your own risk!

Not bad for the decorations, lah?


People getting ready for another fight!


This is a hold up! Give us your goods!


Fear the White Grim Reaper!


Another fiasco before a fight...


Tell me... Is it me or do I see a lady with four boobs?


Is it me or does this guy dig bondage?


Looks like the day is done!

Want more pics? Visit my Multiply Album!

Me? At Veteran? Come on!

It has come to my attention that someone mistook me as a Veteran. Why? A player checked my profile and saw that my Family Level is at 17. When I told him my highest level was 79, he didn't believe me. To substantiate this, I told him that I have 30 characters in my family plus the fact that I'm in a Level 52 Faction that granted the +3 Family Level boost. He immediately apologized for his wrong assumption but I forgave him. This "incident" prompted me to ask a friend what's the usual Family Level for Veterans. He told me that it was around 14 - 16 and it may include being with a faction that grants the additional Family Level boost. Taking this into consideration, I am thankful to reach such a family level without reaching Veteran (and belonging to a faction that has the boost). As of now, I have 31 characters (I recently added a Male Scout because I got the Korean Costume due to the large influx of Bok-Jo-Ris I have acquired!) and a base Family Level of 14. Apply +3 to that and you get 17. Wow... 17%+ HP and 7%+ ATK. Hey hey hey! Don't assume that I'm a Vet because of my current situation right now. I'll be a vet soon... Maybe in two months time?

Allow me to give you, the reader, a lecture on the level systems here so you can tell the difference between Character Level, Stance Level and Family Level.

Character Level:
This is the level of the character that is in your party. The major factor of a character's level is the ability for him/her to be able use weapons, armor, accessories and costumes as long as the character meets the level requirements. Level 1 characters start off with 200 SP but it increases per 20 SP every five levels. At every level, a character's HP increases slightly as well. To increase a character's level, you have to gain EXP by defeating the monsters and/or use EXP cards. In the Player-Kill (PK) servers, there is a danger to lose EXP and therefore get demoted to a lower level. The maximum limit right now is Level 100 but you can reach as high as Level 120 by purchasing Veteran Scrolls (to reach the Level 110 Limit) and Expert Scrolls (to reach the Level 120 Limit).

Stance Level:
This is the level of a character's stance. The major factor of the stance level is the ability to use skills related to the stance once reaching certain levels. You also earn points per level to increase the skills related to the stance. All stances have a level limit of 25. When learning new stance via Stance Books (purchased from Master Room), there are some stances that have level requirements in either Character or Stance or even both.

Family Level:
Now, I haven't gotten solid info but I'll do my best to share what I can about this. Family Level dictates on how much the total experience that all your family members (including the ones in the barracks) have. I noticed that this increased when I add new characters with levels starting beyond 44. Family Level plays an important role in the game as it allows you to be privileged to vote during the elections, make a faction of your own, enter into player-killing mode (in the Cervantes, Vivaldi and Caravaggio servers) and gain bonuses. Bonuses, I say? Well, you gain an HP Bonus by percent depending on your Family Level. Once reaching Family Level 11, you get +1% ATK Bonus and it adds up per Family Level. To give you a gist on how this works, here's something I can think up:

Family Level 1: +1% HP Bonus
Family Level 2: +2% HP Bonus
Family Level 3: +3% HP Bonus
Family Level 4: +4% HP Bonus
Family Level 5: +5% HP Bonus
Family Level 6: +6% HP Bonus
Family Level 7: +7% HP Bonus
Family Level 8: +8% HP Bonus
Family Level 9: +9% HP Bonus
Family Level 10: +10% HP Bonus

Family Level 11: +11% HP Bonus and +1% ATK Bonus
Family Level 12: +12% HP Bonus and +2% ATK Bonus
Family Level 13: +13% HP Bonus and +3% ATK Bonus
Family Level 14: +14% HP Bonus and +4% ATK Bonus
Family Level 15: +15% HP Bonus and +5% ATK Bonus
Family Level 16: +16% HP Bonus and +6% ATK Bonus
Family Level 17: +17% HP Bonus and +7% ATK Bonus

So far, there is no limit that I know of. If there is anyone knowledgeable about this system, please let me know what I can provide here! Wow. Looks like I was able to get that off my chest. Wait for more posts, alright?

Hey... Isn't it way too early or way too late for Halloween?

The 2nd GE Bloggers' Meet!

Shucks! I still don't have a camera but it was a great experience to meet some familiar faces, along with new ones! :P

I was able to catch up with the Bloggers' meet past 4PM. It was really nice to see the Reclusion Brothers, NineMoons, DeSanggria, Sigrid, Deniva and Fiksdotter! I was also an honor to finally meet Reimaru, Ligaya, Artaxerxes (Fiksdotter's bro) and Mitchin. Looks like they covered a lot of issues but the only issues I have is that GIC I tried claim but it's still not being processed! :( What I'm talking about is that free in-game that was promised when you subscribe to the Update Text Service of Granado Espada. The free in-game item would be 5 Progressive Health-fillers and 5 Progressive Soul-fillers but after topping up the code the Leonardo Expresso guy doesn't seem to be giving it to me! :(

Anyhoo, happy did happen during the event. Photoshoots, discussions of the FFA and how underexposed GE is in the Philippines. I better find a way not just to promote the game but also things related to Granado Espada (events and such) For my part, there's something I've been doing at work as a call center agent. Since I'm in a team, I took the liberty of making something to "spice" up our team board. I'll get to that on the next post.

Back to the topic, it was really nice to meet some new faces. This bloggers' meeting turned out to be better than the first because we grew! Yes! We indeed grew! I hope we can encourage not just Filipinos but other Granado Espada or Sword of the New World players to blog their experiences. I am really disappointed that blogspotting got dropped without a warning. I just hope new bloggers can take this chance to shine on the spotlight and be part of the community as well.

Well, that's all I gotta say for now. I hope we can do this again soon! Have fun! :D

Fantazzztic! It's a winner!

All that effort really paid off! Being the voice actor for Reclusion's Le Blanc was worth my time! Why? It's the winner for the Intel Scene and Heard week of the Fantazzztic Film Awards! I feel so happy to be part of a prize-winning entry! Woah! I can't stop using the exclamation point! I just can't stop to show how happy am I to know such news!

My biggest thanks for the Reclusion Family for recognizing my talent and putting it to good use. I am also thankful that they accepted my review as a constructive criticism for them to improve. I hope I'll be available in future because I also have to focus on my work! :P

In unrelated news, I have four new additions to my family! That's Clara (Angie), Chixun (Feng Ling), Klahan (Irawan) and Beaumont (Andre). Yes! The star of Le Blanc is finally part of my family! Also, my Angie is sponsored by Reclusion for my efforts in being their major voice actor. I seemed to have to noticed that getting Bok-Jo-Ris is easier before the maintenance. Well, at least I have the Male Fighter Korean Costume and a Rat Hat! :P I'll make sure to post pics!

I'll go ask Reclusion if it's alright if I can disclose some info regarding about this flick. Of course, I'd like to share my experiences on being part of the project as well! :P



That's what the main team looks like now. Pretty neat, huh?

It's the day of hearts...

Well, the only thing I did for this occassion was to enter the "Love, Me" event but there are other events going on as well. It's maintenance day as well, so no EXP gain for now. I'm making this entry at my workplace right now in a place where they allow us to access sites unrelated to our business.

I wanted to send out more e-cards right now but looks like I'm limited to sending it out to families and some relatives (and maybe some friends!).

Looks like we've got some new stuff coming up from IAH Games as well! Not only we'll be experiencing 20% discounts on the new costumes but we'll also have a Valentines In-Game event with the Lunar New Year event still on going! The Fortune Master is gone but she entrusted the Lunar New Year (the one with Bok-Jo-Ri) event to the Event Support Soldier. The Event Support Soldier is also handling the Valentines In-Game event as well. More details? Read it!

As for the Victorian Valentines event this Saturday, I have to politely decline the opportunity because I don't know how to get a ride to the event itself. I can wait for next year, right? I jst hope I can spare an hour to appear for the 2nd GE Philippines Bloggers' Meet! :P

In an unrelated topic, I wanna know who's gonna win the Intel Scene and Heard week and the "Love, Me" contest! :P I can't take the suspense anymore!

My entry to the "Love, Me" contest

Since I got a GE e-card from DeSanggria, I took it as a chance to join the "Love, Me" event. Since the entries were mostly screenshots, poems, machinima and comics, I decided to film myself saying thank you to DeSanggria for being a friend. Also, I did an added bonus on that video! If you want to see the bonus, watch the video all the way.

I felt so sleepy when I arrived from work this early morning but I needed to upload this vid before it's too late. Thank goodness I made the reply just in time and I'll just have to wait and see on what will happen next! :P

Enjoy the video right now. If you'll excuse me, I need to prepare for work even if I'm still a little groggy from waking up!

Le Blanc: Discovering Andre Janzur (4 of 4)

Andrew indeed won the competition and is now appointed as the fashion consultant for this year! But wait! Something happened! What is it? Find out in the final part (not chapter! This whole movie is actually 32 minutes long!) of this flick!


Alright, Lastinka was the declared the winner of the event but she gave Andrew the pot of flowers. Looks like the audio is weak again. I'll make a discussion on that part. Moving on, the scene on where Andrew gets attacked is great. Nice dramatic soundtrack to show his persistence in staying alive and the intro was cute too (taking advantage of the "ride" in Bahia Island). Just one suggestion for this scene: make the screen flash red when Andrew finally dies.

The final scene of the movie had a weak audio. Again, I will discuss that later. Of course, it doesn't stop at the credits! After the credits, we are treated to an epilogue that wasn't in the script! This was an unexpected turn but at least it reinforced the fact how Andrew Janzur came to be!

Now... Time for the overall review!

The common problem I notice here is the audio. Although my voice files have clarity in it, it seems the music always overpowers the spoken dialogue. My advice right now is to control the volume of the background music and try to notch up the soft-spoken lines (like Lastinka's scene with Andres right after Andrew gets killed). The effects were really surprising and creative in using as well. There are many details that needs improvement like Andrew and Lastinka getting the blow of the Gay Lingo Elementalists, the two protagonists facing the levitating-wizard-in-a-bear-suit monster and more.

If I were to rate this in a scale of 10 (being the highest), I'd say that it would be...

8.5

Many improvements can be done in this movie but the substance is what keeps this movie very enjoyable. This also gives many viewers the idea who Andre Janzur is. Although I have his character card (and not adding him yet), I am surprised on how I was able to deliver the character himself. Filipinos may entirely enjoy this but this has potential to appeal not just to the players, but also to audiences outside of the game and around the world. May lack a little something here and there but this flick is definitely worth your time!

That's it, folks! Discuss the movie here! Oh wait, fellow bloggers have also covered up this flick too!

NineMoons: Notes before maintenance
NineMoons: Talkin' 'bout the man in white: "Le Blanc"!
Reclusion: Le Blanc - Discovering Andre Janzur
Fiksdotter: Intel “Scene and Heard” Week: Le Blanc (White)
DeSanggria: Fantazztique!: Zeh FFA entry of dreamzz & fantazziezz

Enjoy the flick and I hope it wins the Fantazzztic Film Awards!

Le Blanc: Discovering Andre Janzur (3 of 4)

The showdown between Andrew (with Lastinka) and Las Passion is on the way! Who will prevail? Find out by watching this part now!



We left off when the levitating-wizard-in-a-bear-costume monster unleashed its "Bear Bomber" attack upon our hero and heroine. If you want to read about my view for this scene, check out the previous entry.

On the next scene, where La Passion comments how ridiculous it is for Andrew to acquire the Mahgorp Fur, was really well executed for La Passion to be an antagonist. I have nothing much to say for the following scenes and let's skip straight to where Andrew, Lastinka and La Passion are exchanging wits. I'd say La Passion took quite a while for him to finish his "White... Fat... Carbonara!" line.

Moving on, the pageant scene was okay. Too bad they didn't move the models but I understand they would run and that's not what you see on the runway. However, since they held it at Bahia, they should have taken advantage of making the elementalists' walk but of course their idle poses would make them look ridiculous. If only there was a way to make all your characters walk in non-combat zones... Is it possible? Here's my proof!



Continuing on, I noticed that the director used the full file of one of the bureaucrat's lines. Since I'm the voice actor, let explain why there are three lines. Since me and the director live in different places, live recording isn't that possible. In order to make sure the director won't have to ask for repeat recordings, I repeated every line assigned to me at least three times. Why three times? It's because each "version" has different stresses in each sentence. You learn this during English classes and get the chance to practice this when you're attending Call Center Training. Recalling this really gave me a chance to improve my English!

Back on the topic, it seems that the applause sound effect causes the voice to muffle a bit. Must be some feature in the video editing software of the director. The "Nooooooo!!!" part of La Passion wasn't that audible enough plus it didn't have anything of great disappointment. At this part, you should know who won! :D

We're 3/4 done! I'll finish it by tomorrow and my overall/summarized review also be part of the last installment of this review! Hope you're still watching!

Le Blanc: Discovering Andre Janzur (2 of 4)

Let's go, mga Mudra! Let's make walalachaka-what?!?!? Boy, that part was sure amusing! :P Anyhoo, let's continue on...



The part where we left off is when Andrew narrated about Lastinka, being chased almost everywhere. When Ms. DeSanggria offered her talent for one particular scene, I was curious on what part was it. According from Reclusion, she portrayed as the female elementalists wearing the Robes of Fire, Ice and Wind speaking in Filipino Gay Lingo (here's what I can pull up so far). If you ask me, it sounded like a total foreign language that I'm not aware of! Too bad, it would be better if Andrew and Lastinka got surprised of the three elementalists who reacted on what Andrew earlier commented about their clothes. Also, the execution of the part where Andrew and Lastinka got hit by the magic spell.

I am impressed that Fiksdotter's character as La Passion. Meeting La Passion is the best scene that this part has to offer. The big bodyguards where also good as well as they sounded like brainless buffoons but loyal to their master.

For the pre-fight scene between our hero (and heroine) and the levitating-wizard-in-a-bear-costume monster, the execution of the "Eeeek!!!" wasn't good. I was surprised when you made the battle into a ATB-style. I was shocked when the director made the monster sound like a Pokémon. I decided to bear with this spoof, since I was in a mix of laughing and "what in blazes?" sort of thing. If the director wanted to spoof it better, he should have included the numbers coming out. Want a reference? Check this out.



The review is half done! Just wait for more!

Le Blanc: Discovering Andre Janzur (1 of 4)

Looks like it's done! Even though I'm already working (taking in calls and attempting to make sales), I still did a favor (really big one) for my good friend Reclusion. That favor would be doing voice overs for their movie, Le Blanc. Don't worry, because I'll be putting the low-resolution version here since it's already available. Okay, to set your expectations, I'll be making a review of this entry even though I am a voice actor. Of course, I want to see the end product to see if my talents were put into good use. Since there are four parts of the YouTube version, I'll review each part so I can focus on what specific detail I will be reviewing about. Oh yes, I will be doing separate entries for the readers to be able to focus on what to talk about. To start off, here's part 1:



Looks like we started off with a news report on Andre's "Dreamz and Fantazzies" collection. I enjoyed this part. I am amazed how the director pulled it off. He really thought out of the box for this. For the intro, it was really funny because he had to burn all those dolls to oblivion! :P For the backstory, it was funny in a way but since we lacked VO's for it, I can't seem to fully grasp that part.

Getting into the part of selling Cabosse, I gotta say it was kinda messy when Andrew and Andres were beating and arguing each other out. It was too noisy for me to make out some of the lines. It was also... bland. During the "fight scene," Andres just sounded like he was talking normally rather than stressing his point. I have to admit that I didn't expect the scene to be like this. Although I sounded I was already arguing with Andres, it didn't fit well because I didn't talk like I was in a fist fight. But then again, I hope there's a chance to improve this one!

I have nothing to say after that part because I felt satisfied of my delivery of Andrew lamenting about the day and meeting Lastinka for the first time.

That's all for part one. Expect the other three parts soon! :D