Alteil Disconnections

One of the most disappointing aspects of Alteil gaming would be the random disconnections that happen when players are having a match. Below is a typical scenario of an Alteil disconnection.

As you can see, I was clearly ahead of my opponent in terms of field control. So this match should have been a win for me. But because of Alteil disconnections, I ended up losing this match, lower RP, and an ended winning streak.

Reasons for a disconnection have been attributed to a player's browser, his computer, or his ISP. I have re-installed Flash several times, tried different browsers, and the disconnections only seem to happen when I am on the Alteil website. So I really don't think the problem is happening because of my computer or my ISP.

The only time a disconnection during a match is acceptable should be during the website's maintenance. Players have suggested several solutions to this problem on the forums. Some suggestions are prone to player abuse (say the match is not counted for the losing player), but I specifically like the suggestion of a reconnect button. Websites like Yahoo Games allow players to reconnect in timer-based matches like Chess. So as long as the timer has not run down to zero, a player has a chance to reconnect to that same match. So if Alteil incorporates one, a player should have roughly about 5 minutes maximum time to reconnect.

Yahoo Games are also made using Flash so I don't understand why Alteil developers seem to have a difficult time implementing this despite the disconnection issue being present until now. I have been playing Alteil for 3 years now and I have been getting disconnected in random matches since my first year. Perhaps this feature presents too much trouble with very little gains for Alteil management. But they should also see it as an opportunity to show that they hear their players concerns and are doing something about it.

Addendum:

An alternative to having a reconnect button is to add logic to the game which analyzes which Player was ahead and awards the win to that player. There are several factors that could be analyzed.

• Which player had the lower remaining time during the time of the disconnection
• Which player had more units on the field during the time of the disconnection
• Which player had more LP (life points) during the time of the disconnection
• Which player had more SP during the time of the disconnection
• Which player had more cards in their deck during the time of the disconnection

Based on these questions, it should be easier to piece which player deserves the win during a disconnected game.

I still don't know if there is a flaw in Flash that allows gamers to force the opponent to get disconnected. If there is, no one would share it since they have an advantage in having that secret. But if the developers are made aware of this exploit, perhaps a fairer playground could be created in the future. 

Error 718

Sometimes, while trying to establish an internet connection, I get the following error window.

I am not really sure what causes it. There are days when after a few tries, the connection is established while there are also times when I try for several minutes, and even restart my modem, and it still doesn't work. So I blow off some steam, (since calling my ISP is seldom productive), and when I get back after a few hours, seems as though everything is working perfectly fine.

Tried to do a bit of online research on Error 718 and here are some things I've found out about it.

• It can be caused by using either a wrong user name or password or both
• It can be caused by an expired ISP account
• It can be caused by poor line quality

And out of all the above reasons, only the last one seems to fit my scenario. I don't have to re-input the username or password whenever I connect to the internet. I pay my bills on time so I'm not expecting an expired account. So how do I deal with poor line quality.

My ISP says that as long as they can establish a connection, they have done their part. And browsing speed appears to be within expected service levels. I guess some problems are not really important and should just be ignored.

How about you? Have you had some success with an Error 718 issue? How did you solve it? Share your experience and hopefully, others may benefit from it.

Can I Use Luminate and Adsense Together?

Based on the FAQs on Luminate's website, it seems you can. You can also read on the FAQs by going to http://www.luminate.com/faq/

Finishing Mass Effect 3

***Warning: Possible Spoilers***

After purchasing Mass Effect 3 about a month ago, I have finally been able to finish it. (No, I don't usually play games 24 hours straight so I'm not the type of player who will finish a 40 hour RPG in 2 days). I plan on going through it several more times to explore the alternative endings. And out of the PS3 games that I have played this year, ME3 has my nomination for Game of the Year.

While others might say that ME3 offers less than what ME2 had to offer, I say less is more. Less playable number of characters, true, but ask yourself this. Out of 10 options, and with only 2 slots in your party, you usually play either your favorite support characters or those you've built up in terms of level. In ME3, your choice of party members has been trimmed down to about 5. (6 if you make the right choices and 7 if you download from DLC, which is so uncool BTW and perhaps my only annoyance with this game. When I purchase a game, I expect to have everything in it). And still out of those 5 possible party members, you'll usually just play your favorite 2 or 3. Still wish there was a playable Geth or Ninja type character though.

I am pleased with the story and with the side quests. And even if some of the characters from ME2 are no longer playable, it is nice to know that they are still an integral part of this story. If ME3 is the last Mass Effect game, it is a fitting ending, tragic (since a lot of your characters die and the mass relay network is destroyed) but fitting.

While there are ways to avoid the deaths of major characters, I feel that if Shepherd were to die in the end, it is only right. All of them deserve to be remembered as heroes. It is also strange but kind of funny if Joker and Trainer were to be the Adam and Eve on that new planet they crashed into in the end. Wonder how EDI will mix with those two, and also weird since EDI was in my party during the final battle. (She should have died along with Shepherd and my other party member or I shouldn't have included her in the last mission for the story to make sense).

This game is way better than FF XIII - 2 in terms of replay value and even in terms of content. And a lot of the loose ends in ME2 and perhaps even ME1 (although I still haven't played ME1) are explained in this final chapter. (If there were to be an ME4, they should come up with a new set of characters).

So if you want a game set in a Star Trek / Star Wars type universe with great artwork and story line, pick up ME3. It is well worth it.

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Alteil: Deep Squid

Believe it or not, Deep Squid is one part of Alteil's Set 1 cards. I bet its previous stats and skills were mediocre. I don't even really remember any of these anymore, except I think, and I may be wrong, it was originally a level 4 card. But now,  it is good to see some old cards getting some playing time in the Folrart Arena after being buffed. Let's take a look at the new and improved Deep Squid (DS), shall we?

So now, DS is a level 6 card with high HP and Agility, and a decent ATK and RNG. Pluck from the Surface is a really cool start skill, making DS comparable to Belus, a 4-star card. Sure, there's the requirement that DS be all alone on your field. And if you're packing returns, as long as you can keep the unit match ups at 1-vs-1 or even 2-vs-1, you can maintain the upper hand.

With the release of Falkow EX 10, DS has been used in Gardia / EX Rubia decks. Tentacle Slap works nicely with Gardia and Rubia's minor damage dealing abilities. Being able to pinpoint 20 damage twice makes short work of a rush deck in most cases.

I've also seen a Big Blue deck working in DS. Whatever Lightning Wyvern leaves in play can be pretty much wiped off by DS, and the high HP helps it survive Lightning Wyvern's penalty. Some variants also have  Storm Wizardess, (another great 2-star card), who's engaging open skill works great against character based decks. And the three-peat direct damage of 20 will work well with DS's pinpointing.

Getting a complete set of DS might be tough though unless they make it the Card of the Week or you are willing to give up 60 point cards, the equivalent of a 5-star card. And I think I recycled my set months ago for an EX event which I now regret. This just goes to show that it may be prudent to keep some of your completed card sets in tack. You never know if the people behind Alteil will buff that specific set of cards.

Perhaps Alteil staff should also consider "re-printing" the old cards into the new sets, with better artwork too. Instead of the cartoony version of DS, they could place a realistic / life-like rendition. This was something Magic Player's appreciated with every release of an N-th edition of the basic set. Die hard player's would buy new packs to get copies of cards they already had, if it had better artwork. Great artwork can sometimes revitalize a card game. Good artists is something that seems to be lacking with Alteil's current sets. I know that we have the seasonal art change, but if you could allow players the chance to always keep the art, that would be great too. Just my two cents worth.

Alteil: Sunday Afternoon Bringer Nerfed

Continuing an April Fools' Day tradition, Alteil released a new card for Gowen called Sunday Afternoon Bringer, shortened henceforth as SAB. SAB has been dubbed as "the perfect card", (although to me, the perfect card would be a card with an Open skill stating you win or opponent gets 0 LP, and you could play it for 0 SP, and perhaps they would release this card in 2013's April Fool's). Let's take a look at his skills and stats.

SAB reminds me a lot of the original Bringer before he was nerfed twice. SAB does not have the agility penalty of the current Bringer and is able to deal 40 damage instead of the current Bringer's 30 damage Open skill. Both Bringers still have the Gowen level penalty.

If Alteil gives you an opportunity to have 25 copies of SAB in your file, would you take it? He is useless as a Soul Skill, so I would still probably place only about 3 copies of him in my file. Until Alteil makes multiple copies available, I'll never really know the optimal number of SABs in a deck. It could be a cool joke though... how many SABs does it take to fix a light bulb.

I've crunched a bunch of numbers on "You'll Win Anyway" and you can check it out below.

Old ATK	Enemy Level	ATK Level Buff	New ATK
41	0	135	176
41	1	120	161
41	2	105	146
41	3	90	131
41	4	75	116
41	5	60	101
41	6	45	86
41	7	30	71
41	8	15	56
41	9	0	41

The current Bringer is usually used to take down big cards like Star Dragon or Joachim. SAB is still decent up to level 5 cards, but tends to be weaker for level 6 and above cards.

Overall, I think that SAB is still a cool card and would probably play him in a regular file if I had 3 copies of him. It is a good card for gowen players starting out with Alteil so if you're one, I hope you were able to get him since he was only available as a give-away for one day. (But I think we might see him as a promo card for future packs or boxes).

Update: Post April Fool's Sunday Afternoon Bringer Nerf

Below is an image of SAB after it was nerfed.

The Open skill now has an activation cost of 30 SP. So even if they buffed the damage to 999, you'll probably have a difficult time generating enough SP to pull it off.

"You'll Win Anyway" has also been nerfed to 2 SP instead of just 1 SP activation. And now, instead of being fully healed, SAB only heals 20 HP.

Here's the new updated attack table.

Old ATK	Enemy Level	ATK Level Buff	New ATK
20	0	90	110
20	1	80	100
20	2	70	90
20	3	60	80
20	4	50	70
20	5	40	60
20	6	30	50
20	7	20	40
20	8	10	30
20	9	0	20

His stats have also been downgraded to simply 50 HP and 20 ATK. He only costs 3 SP to put into play though.

Looks like this card is pretty useless now.

bomomo.com

While reading about HTML 5, I happened to land on a site called bomomo.com. Here's a sample drawing that I was able to accomplish on that site.

If you have time, perhaps you can also play around with that site and come up with your own artistic expression. Have fun!!!