Over the years I have spent many hours Boosting games with friends and strangers to unlock achievements. Some of those achievements have been awesome like the 40 points I got for reaching level 50 in Too Human (very underrated game!), most have been a grind fest, and then there are some that completely SUCKED like all the multi-player points I got out of Wolfenstein.
What I am realizing now though is that the game being boosted is not always the problem. Its the people I am boosting with!
I guess early on in my short career of achievement hunting I got spoiled. I teamed up with an awesome group of guys for a GSL over on x360a.org and we later went on to form our own boosting group, the Hand of Thrawn Boosting Alliance. I still keep in touch with the guys I played with but because I took an extended absence from the achievement scoring scene I have fallen waaaaay behind. I am left to boost with strangers and people I find on the forums at x360a and TrueAchievements.com as most of my buddies have already played the game I am playing.
Since coming back to point scoring I have boosted two games, Bulletstorm and Assassins Creed: Brotherhood. Both quality games but I can not say the same for the boosting partners/groups I have had. It seems that people who team up on the fly dont like to communicate, or even worse dont even have a mic! Then there is always that one guy who bails as soon as he pops his achievement and leaves the party hanging. Not to mention the chance of Microsoft getting in the way and we start having those random party drops every other 5 minutes. I am sure most of you have had these same experiences at one point or another
This past week I finally discovered the nifty feature of "Gaming Sessions" over on TrueAchievements.com. The concept seems pretty cool and tonight I finally set up my very own session to do some XP boosting in AC:Brotherhood. I had decent results tonight with it so using the "Gaming Sessions" will be my tool of choice going forward.
Right now I am focused on boosting AC:Brotherhood to unlock the Download Complete achievement (reach level 50 in MP) and the Employee of the Month (MP bonuses). I just needed to vent a little bit of boosting frustration in this blog. Though TA raised my hopes a little tonight I may have to change my choice of games to titles with all/mostly offline achievements.
.jpg)
Showing posts with label GSL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GSL. Show all posts
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Monday, April 13, 2009
GSL AAR
What an amazing 8 weeks of gaming! The gaming event known as the Gamer Score League has come to an end. No more latenights, no more boosting games that I would never tell my friends that I played. Best of all, no My Horse and Me 2! If the GSL was one week longer it would have made its way to my door step and I would have been forced to play it...whew that was close.
The Hand of Thrawn was put together by ThrawnOmega with the intent to go out and have fun. In the weeks leading to the GSL we were called out by a few teams, L4A and Rogue Squadron. I happy to say that we crushed both those teams as we cruised to a very respectable 5th place finish (possibly 4th still awaiting word from the moderators).
My Teammates have been nothing but class acts and Id like to thank them all for all the help, games, and latenight conversation they provided.
Week 1 GSL Starting Score: 24,220
Week 8 GSL Ending Score: 42, 655
I put up 18,435 in 5 weeks of play (I rode the bench for 3 weeks). I have to give a special shoutout to Thrawn because if it wasnt for him my score would not have been possible.
Now its time to go back to regular gaming and avoiding all easy games so I have ammo for GSL VIII.
The Hand of Thrawn was put together by ThrawnOmega with the intent to go out and have fun. In the weeks leading to the GSL we were called out by a few teams, L4A and Rogue Squadron. I happy to say that we crushed both those teams as we cruised to a very respectable 5th place finish (possibly 4th still awaiting word from the moderators).
My Teammates have been nothing but class acts and Id like to thank them all for all the help, games, and latenight conversation they provided.
Week 1 GSL Starting Score: 24,220
Week 8 GSL Ending Score: 42, 655
I put up 18,435 in 5 weeks of play (I rode the bench for 3 weeks). I have to give a special shoutout to Thrawn because if it wasnt for him my score would not have been possible.
Now its time to go back to regular gaming and avoiding all easy games so I have ammo for GSL VIII.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
AAR GSL Week 6
Week 6 GSL Starting Score: 37145
Week 6 GSL Ending Score: 40475
Week 6 GSL Points Scored: 3330
Hand of Thrawn Current Rank: 5th
What was supposed to be a big gain for me after two weeks on the bench turned out to be just an average week. 3,330 points put up for week 6. Respectable but lacking imo. Wednesday and Thursday nights continue to be a struggle as I only get in four hours of gaming on those nights after working 11 hour days.
Saturday was probably my most frustrating day in this whole GSL. It started when my copy of NBA Live 08 would not load all the way for me. I would get ready to start my game and at the loading screen right before tip off I would get the "unable to read disc" error. So I jumped in my pimp ride and went down the street to my local game store and had them buff it out. While I was waiting for my game I was happy to see that the rental place next door had a copy of Wrestlemania Legends available to rent. My Team has been telling me how there is an easy 600 pts in this game so as you can imagine I was stoked to find a copy. Im standing in line for a few minutes behind then get to the counter. I hand over the case to my prized GSL game only to find out that they had mistakenly put the case out for display and they had no copies for rent. Talk about a huge let down.
Good news though is that Im now less then 10k away for from 2009 goal of 50k. Looks like Ill have to tweak it again but not sure what to yet.
Week 6 GSL Ending Score: 40475
Week 6 GSL Points Scored: 3330
Hand of Thrawn Current Rank: 5th
What was supposed to be a big gain for me after two weeks on the bench turned out to be just an average week. 3,330 points put up for week 6. Respectable but lacking imo. Wednesday and Thursday nights continue to be a struggle as I only get in four hours of gaming on those nights after working 11 hour days.
Saturday was probably my most frustrating day in this whole GSL. It started when my copy of NBA Live 08 would not load all the way for me. I would get ready to start my game and at the loading screen right before tip off I would get the "unable to read disc" error. So I jumped in my pimp ride and went down the street to my local game store and had them buff it out. While I was waiting for my game I was happy to see that the rental place next door had a copy of Wrestlemania Legends available to rent. My Team has been telling me how there is an easy 600 pts in this game so as you can imagine I was stoked to find a copy. Im standing in line for a few minutes behind then get to the counter. I hand over the case to my prized GSL game only to find out that they had mistakenly put the case out for display and they had no copies for rent. Talk about a huge let down.
Good news though is that Im now less then 10k away for from 2009 goal of 50k. Looks like Ill have to tweak it again but not sure what to yet.
Monday, March 16, 2009
AAR GSL Week 4
No score update for me as I rode the bench this past week.
Hand of Thrawn Current Rank: 5th
The week off aloud me to catch my breath and watch my team take care of things. We are still in 5th place but the Young Guns gained some serious ground on us. We hold a very slim lead on them but we should be able to pull away in this next week.
Im on the bench again for Week 5 so Ill be continuing to try and support my teammates and try to pre-load some points as well.
In other GSL news there is a very tight race for fist place. KOTOR and Team Short Bus were battling out with the lead going back and forth over the week. Of course I had to get my bag of popcorn as some more drama unfolded.
Hand of Thrawn Current Rank: 5th
The week off aloud me to catch my breath and watch my team take care of things. We are still in 5th place but the Young Guns gained some serious ground on us. We hold a very slim lead on them but we should be able to pull away in this next week.
Im on the bench again for Week 5 so Ill be continuing to try and support my teammates and try to pre-load some points as well.
In other GSL news there is a very tight race for fist place. KOTOR and Team Short Bus were battling out with the lead going back and forth over the week. Of course I had to get my bag of popcorn as some more drama unfolded.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
AAR GSL Week 3
Week 3 GSL Starting Score: 34265
Week 3 GSL Ending Score: 36510
Week 3 GSL Points Scored: 2245
Hand of Thrawn Current Rank: 5th
What was to be a promising week for me turned out to be another dissapointing one. Between work and getting sick on Thursday night I did my best to make to put down as many points as possible.
On the bright side of things this was probably one of the most enjoyable weeks of gaming. Reason being was the amount of time spent playing with friends mixed in with GSL drama. Big shout out goes to Derek1337, my teammate that helped me finish up Lord of the Rings Conquest (what an awful game). The real highlight was listening to Bl4CK SiLv4's all night gaming session as he approached the 100k mark. Congrats again bro on the milestone.
In league news The Hand of Thrawn moved into 5th place this week. There is still a large gap between us and the 4th place team, The Sinster Six, but I have confidence that my team will close on them in the next week.
Week 3 GSL Ending Score: 36510
Week 3 GSL Points Scored: 2245
Hand of Thrawn Current Rank: 5th
What was to be a promising week for me turned out to be another dissapointing one. Between work and getting sick on Thursday night I did my best to make to put down as many points as possible.
On the bright side of things this was probably one of the most enjoyable weeks of gaming. Reason being was the amount of time spent playing with friends mixed in with GSL drama. Big shout out goes to Derek1337, my teammate that helped me finish up Lord of the Rings Conquest (what an awful game). The real highlight was listening to Bl4CK SiLv4's all night gaming session as he approached the 100k mark. Congrats again bro on the milestone.
In league news The Hand of Thrawn moved into 5th place this week. There is still a large gap between us and the 4th place team, The Sinster Six, but I have confidence that my team will close on them in the next week.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
AAR GSL Week 2
Week 2 GSL Starting Score: 30745
Week 2 GSL Ending Score: 33985
Week 2 GSL Points Scored: 3240
Hand of Thrawn Current Rank: 6th
What a disappointing week for me. My goal had been to drop four thousand points this week but I failed to do so.
Eragon, single handily ruined my GSL week. This game was so horrible and boring that I fell asleep on three different occasions playing it, and we all know there is no sleeping in a GSL. It is projected as a 5-10hour game but probably took me longer. The only bright spot was that I did 1k it so I will never have to insult my 360 again by loading up this horrible game.
The game I did enjoy this week was Cars. My Son is a big Cars fan so playing with him watching and cheering me on (or yelling at me when I lost) was a enjoyable experience. The game was rather fun and with the help of the youtube videos I was able to 1k this game also. For the record it took me one hour to find all the postcards.
Im in the lineup for week 3 of the GSL so I plan on making up for some of the lost ground from this past week. I need to hit my local stores and load up on some more ammo. As a team we did fairly well as Bishop x360a and BL4CK SiLv4 led the charge which aloud us to secure the 6th spot in the league. We have a small mountain to climb to break into the top 5 but it is a doable. We just have to remember its a Marathon, not a sprint.
Week 2 GSL Ending Score: 33985
Week 2 GSL Points Scored: 3240
Hand of Thrawn Current Rank: 6th
What a disappointing week for me. My goal had been to drop four thousand points this week but I failed to do so.
Eragon, single handily ruined my GSL week. This game was so horrible and boring that I fell asleep on three different occasions playing it, and we all know there is no sleeping in a GSL. It is projected as a 5-10hour game but probably took me longer. The only bright spot was that I did 1k it so I will never have to insult my 360 again by loading up this horrible game.
The game I did enjoy this week was Cars. My Son is a big Cars fan so playing with him watching and cheering me on (or yelling at me when I lost) was a enjoyable experience. The game was rather fun and with the help of the youtube videos I was able to 1k this game also. For the record it took me one hour to find all the postcards.
Im in the lineup for week 3 of the GSL so I plan on making up for some of the lost ground from this past week. I need to hit my local stores and load up on some more ammo. As a team we did fairly well as Bishop x360a and BL4CK SiLv4 led the charge which aloud us to secure the 6th spot in the league. We have a small mountain to climb to break into the top 5 but it is a doable. We just have to remember its a Marathon, not a sprint.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
AAR GSL Week 1
What is an AAR?
An After Action Review (AAR) is a review of training that allows soldiers, leaders, and units to discover for themselves what happened during the training and why. It is also used to solicit ideas on how the training could have been performed better. AARs are not critiques because they do not determine success or failure; rather, AARs are professional discussions of training events. Leaders and evaluators avoid lecturing participants on what went wrong. They use AARs to tell a story about what was planned, what happened during the training, why it happened, and what could have been done differently to improve performance. ~~Army Field Manual 25-101 Battle Focused Training
Week 1 GSL Starting Score: 24220
Week 1 GSL Ending Score: 30695
Week 1 GSL Points Scored: 6475
Hand of Thrawn Current Rank: 7th
With this being my first Gamer Score League I went into the week not really knowing what to expect. I felt I had strong showing for my first week but consistency and endurance will be the key to success.
Planning: I had my weekly plan laid out well in advance which was a huge benefit. Going forward I will continue to do this and discussing my plan with my Team Captain, ThrawnOmega, and my fellow Teammates, DarkTharen, Bishop x360a, BL4ACK SiLv4, and Derek1337
Execution: I played a total of 9 games, completing 3 of them. NCAA March Maddness 07 was my greatest challenge, as I grew very frustrated with the All-American settings achievements. So much so that this game will probably stay at 960gs on my card for a long time. Areas for improvement would be on the researching of the achievement guides before playing the game. I found myself having to pause my game more frequently then I would have liked to look at guides over at x360a.org.
My Week 2 plan is already set and will use the next few days to refine it and strategize with my Team as we make our move up the ranks.
An After Action Review (AAR) is a review of training that allows soldiers, leaders, and units to discover for themselves what happened during the training and why. It is also used to solicit ideas on how the training could have been performed better. AARs are not critiques because they do not determine success or failure; rather, AARs are professional discussions of training events. Leaders and evaluators avoid lecturing participants on what went wrong. They use AARs to tell a story about what was planned, what happened during the training, why it happened, and what could have been done differently to improve performance. ~~Army Field Manual 25-101 Battle Focused Training
Week 1 GSL Starting Score: 24220
Week 1 GSL Ending Score: 30695
Week 1 GSL Points Scored: 6475
Hand of Thrawn Current Rank: 7th
With this being my first Gamer Score League I went into the week not really knowing what to expect. I felt I had strong showing for my first week but consistency and endurance will be the key to success.
Planning: I had my weekly plan laid out well in advance which was a huge benefit. Going forward I will continue to do this and discussing my plan with my Team Captain, ThrawnOmega, and my fellow Teammates, DarkTharen, Bishop x360a, BL4ACK SiLv4, and Derek1337
Execution: I played a total of 9 games, completing 3 of them. NCAA March Maddness 07 was my greatest challenge, as I grew very frustrated with the All-American settings achievements. So much so that this game will probably stay at 960gs on my card for a long time. Areas for improvement would be on the researching of the achievement guides before playing the game. I found myself having to pause my game more frequently then I would have liked to look at guides over at x360a.org.
My Week 2 plan is already set and will use the next few days to refine it and strategize with my Team as we make our move up the ranks.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Hurry Up and Wait
Hurry up and wait. The phrase that every new soldier in the US Army becomes familiar with within their first weeks of service.
Hurry up and get to where you need to be. Wait for additional orders.
Never did I think this phrase would relate to my hobby of gaming, but in fact that is exactly what I have been doing for the last two weeks as we inch closer to the launch of GSL VII.
Hurry Up: I have a spread sheet of the games I plan on playing during the GSL. Over the last few weeks I have been hitting the local video game stores, websites, and friends for games that I can buy, borrow, or trade that are on my spreadsheet. With my growing collection I have begun working out the roster of games and what order to play them. I have put my Wifey on notice that any discussion, arguement, agreement we have during the GSL can not be held against me as I will be so focused on unlocking achievement that I probably will not realize she is talking.
Wait: Is it start time yet? Not playing my 360 and unlocking achievements is driving me crazy. I find myself sitting through a episodes of Grey's Anatomy with the Wifey just to keep me away from playing. Waiting. I can only browse through the x360a forums so many times a day, spamming the refresh button to keep me from playing. Waiting. My week 1 roster of games is set, but Ill probably go through it 20 more times before the GSL starts. Waiting.......
Hurry up and get to where you need to be. Wait for additional orders.
Never did I think this phrase would relate to my hobby of gaming, but in fact that is exactly what I have been doing for the last two weeks as we inch closer to the launch of GSL VII.
Hurry Up: I have a spread sheet of the games I plan on playing during the GSL. Over the last few weeks I have been hitting the local video game stores, websites, and friends for games that I can buy, borrow, or trade that are on my spreadsheet. With my growing collection I have begun working out the roster of games and what order to play them. I have put my Wifey on notice that any discussion, arguement, agreement we have during the GSL can not be held against me as I will be so focused on unlocking achievement that I probably will not realize she is talking.
Wait: Is it start time yet? Not playing my 360 and unlocking achievements is driving me crazy. I find myself sitting through a episodes of Grey's Anatomy with the Wifey just to keep me away from playing. Waiting. I can only browse through the x360a forums so many times a day, spamming the refresh button to keep me from playing. Waiting. My week 1 roster of games is set, but Ill probably go through it 20 more times before the GSL starts. Waiting.......
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)