You want me to show you tough… I’ll show you tough.

The following items are to be released on the 9th of this month.

New Mounts! – For EQ, the Jade Hydra Saddle or Onyx Hydra Saddle summons a two-headed monster that’s bound to become a favorite. Horse mounts make a dramatic return in EQII, as the Fiery Horse whistle and Frost Horse Whistle summon two amazing creatures.

Hot Wearables! – The Cloak of Quick Repair is a raiding player’s best friend. Every 24 hours it will repair your broken equipment.

Where Did That Dragon Come From?!?! – EQ  players get one of the coolest pieces of loot in the form of an illusion that turns you into a floating dragon!

The Combine Set – EQ  players get an amazing new ornamentation set.

Oh my god… daddy! What a shame. 0:08 & 0:48 for the best parts.

In celebration of the holidays and the release of the Mayong 51/50 server, Sony announced 51% bonus experience across all servers.

51% increased XP begins at 11:00 AM PDT on Thursday July 2 and ends at 9:00 AM PDT Monday July 6th.

Arnold Schwarzeneggar in some Japanese commercials…

Got all of my autographed prints and photos framed today at Michaels. Luckily these were standard sizes, and the guy didn’t charge for popping them in. One print however, from Larry Elmore, was an inch shy and has to have a custom frame made. Should be done within a week.

I was surfing for remixes of the main theme for Deus Ex when I came across a video on YouTube promoting this mod that updates the graphics engine, allowing an amazingly improved rendering of the entire game. More information is available here. Below is the video I saw.

This is the main theme in live orchestration.

After dealing with enough drama and random bullshit in the alliance, I decided to quit the game and abandon all of my towns but my best, and notify a few of it’s coords so they can farm it out. It was a fun stretch, but damn, people are just fucking stupid.

Well things went a lot smoother today. Already having a badge you were able to walk right in. I looked a bit more throughout the vendor shops and talked with a few EQ devs. In the middle of the room was a booth for Larry Elmore, a VIP whom did covers for EverQuest expansions as well as numerous other fantasy titles such as Might and Magic. I talked with him a bit after browsing his collection off his website on my phone. Really an awesome guy, and hopefully he’ll be able to make me some custom large prints when he gets home. I also made it in time for the book signing, which was awesome. Upon leaving, I ran into another artist whom did some portraits of EQ characters, notably Firiona Vie and Antonia Bayle. I purchased a 24×36 of Firona and 20×30 of Antonia, both signed.

I left to bring my things home and decided later on to come back, around 2000, in time for the birthday bash and party. Smedley made his general announcements of launching the 51/50 server Mayong, which I was able to hop on and play, since Fan Faire attendants got a head start, as well as giving out the latest EverQuest and EverQuest II expansions to all attendees for free. The new and sixteenth expansion for EverQuest is called Underfoot, and will deal with Brell Serilis realm. It’s a network of tunnels with the center being a giant ball of magma, “the heart” of the operation. For EverQuest II, they’ll also be raising the level cap by 10 in the new expansion Sentinel’s Fate due out sometime first quarter of next year. The expansion will explore Odus and the lore lines of the Kerran and Erudites… Erud’s Crossing anyone?

As for all the biggest announcements, I think they have been made. I’m still interested in seeing the silent auction and all what will be given out.

Been an interesting afternoon. I arrived at the Paris hotel around 1545, and walked through the common area downstairs to Bally’s. Once there, I saw a giant snake like line wrapping around from the far distance; the SoE Fan Faire line. I will admit at first it looked intimidating, but after realizing your selection of people were either morbidly obese or skinny, I knew the wait wouldn’t be nearly as long. Once you finally passed the first door into the second room, you wait in yet another line until you approach the main counter where you present your ID and get your badge. Once you’ve your badge, you’re home free… you can walk anywhere in and out of the grand ballroom. Today was only an early registration and badge pick up, as well as late night gaming for those who signed up, so nothing special is happening. They had an Info Desk in the middle of the room where they handed out free shirts in a bag with more free shit and promos. Tomorrow will be fun though, as they have a book signing for the EverQuest 10th Anniversary Collector’s Edition and their silent auction begins. I’m hoping to take a stab at the giant EverQuest timeline banner.

I feel bad for anyone who attended for anything other than EverQuest… there is hardly anything happening for them, even EverQuest II doesn’t have nearly as much.

Take it easy Mike.