The Christmas of Too Much

I’ve noticed something interesting about my toddlers come Christmas time.  At least at their age, more presents isn’t necessarily better.  They only have the attention span for the more recently opened gift, not to mention that the excitement level tends to take a nose dive after gift three or four.  So this year we’ve decided to focus on one big gift for each of them with a couple smaller ones to give them later.  That way they can just devote all their attention to one present and enjoy that to its fullest instead of pushing it aside for the next thing.

I feel like I’m in the midst of a “Too Much Christmas” this year.  I’m not complaining, but dang if all of the launches, expansions, patches, conversions, and special events are keeping me hopping.  I’m actually looking forward to December this year more for its quiet than anything else.  I need time to enjoy the gifts I’ve opened, briefly sampled, and then had to temporarily set aside for the next one.

This week offers three big presents for me, one right after the other.  Tomorrow is RIFT: Storm Legion’s launch day, which is probably my most anticipated expansion release this year.  It’s got so much to do that even if RIFT was my only MMO, I would have my hands full with it way into 2013.  Our guild is growing every day as returning players hop back on and fill the chat window up with excited conversations.  Personally, I think that the player housing that’s coming with this expansion will be its break-through feature.  It’s certainly one of the most robust systems we’ve seen in a modern MMO, and I’ve heard more than a few people whisper that it might exceed EQII’s system — if not this week, then some day.

The next present is SWTOR’s F2P transition, which I believe is this Thursday.  That works out well for me, since my one month subscription is almost up and I can just downshift into F2P.  If you’ve been thinking about going back and are anticipating getting some of the new store currency that BioWare’s promised, it’s important to note that you’re not getting Cartel Coin one unless you’re subscribed at the point of F2P launch (or so I understand from BioWare’s latest post).  It seems like this detail could be overlooked by many and has the potential to sour many returning players’ attitudes, so FYI:

“We are literally granting millions of dollars worth of Complimentary Cartel Coins as part of this program. But you’ll only receive a grant of Complimentary Cartel Coins if you’re an active subscriber when the Free-to-Play option goes live!”

I’ve seen a few players on the forums remark that BioWare hasn’t made this condition as prominent as it should be, and I agree.

Finally, Guild Wars 2 is releasing its second content update, Lost Shores.  I’m not as excited about this, mostly because I haven’t heard much that interests me.  New enemy, new area, some pvp stuff… okay.  It could be great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not pushing my happy buttons (which are located between my third and fourth dorsal fins).  I’ll keep an open mind, though!

Beyond this, I’m most excited for TSW’s next update, because chainsaws.  I need a chainsaw in my life.  And I need to put in a couple of hefty sessions to finish out Egypt.