Laptop Aid

I'm taking forever to choose the right laptop for me. My Dell Inspiron 6000 is my high school graduation gift four years ago with a mediocre 1.30 GHz, Intel Celeron M, and 1 GB RAM. That's pretty low compared to modern laptops right now, so it's about time to purchase a new laptop.

Purchasing is where I am stuck now. I do lots of multitasking so either an Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon X2 processor would suit me best. I do not care about hard drive space so anything over 80GB or higher HD is good enough. RAM will have to be around 2-3 GB of RAM. I prefer Windows XP operating system, but I highly doubt that will happen with the current laptops on sale. So Windows Vista would be fine.

I looked around and found this laptop deal that seems to be a real bargain.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4545456&Sku=A180-15610

That laptop has all that I hoped for, but if the price was around $450 I would probably consider it. So I prefer the price to be around $400-450 for my new laptop. Anyone got any useful links or suggestions on purchasing a new laptop this year? Thank you.

Gametrailer Commentary

Video Games | Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA | Japanese Features Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA
PSP - 7-02-09

0:02: SEGA~
0:17: Yosh chibi Miku is in there
0:23: No pantsu opportunity...
0:27: lol that Miku tried to insert a leek
0:31: Kissu!
0:41: Oh so gameplay is matching the according buttons on screen? Pretty simple
1:37: What?! Miku in wedding outfit?!
1:44: Space Channel 5 outfit!
1:45: Even Valkyria Chronicle outfit too?!!
1:52: Who the fack are those other two Characters?
1:56: That's nice, the new Megurine Luka is in the game
2:57: Coming out July 2nd? Can't wait to bu... download it!
3:01: Figurine comes with it? I kind of want it.

Video Games | Muscle March | Japanese Debut Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Muscle March
Wiiware - 5-26-09 Japan

0:06: >_<>

Video Games | Pangya: Fantasy Golf | E3 09: Features Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Pangya: Fantasy Golf
PSP - 6-26-09

0:02: Yeah suggestive theme... because of Kooh
0:05: They should use opening theme instead to make the trailer more exciting rather than mello starlight. I like starlight, but not for a promotion trailer like this.
0:09: You spin me right round, Arin! :D
0:27: Looking decent so far
0:36: That is a lot of Characters to play with
0:46: Morning? Does that change depending on your PSP time setting?
0:46: What's funny is that Pangya USA calls it Comet and PSP calls it Aztec. That's going to confuse even more people who are not familiar with the game
0:47: "With Exclusive PSP Content" That can be interpreted in many ways. Because there are plenty of exclusive content in the PSP game that you don't see in the PC version.
0:58: Quma using Magical Clubs lol
1:01: LOL voice mess up! Titanboo does not sound like a girl.

Testing Pangya on JTV

Once in awhile I broadcast myself playing Pangya on JustinTV. The only major problem was that if I record using Flash Media Encoder and play Pangya on one machine, it lags my game to the point where it's hard to play. It's almost like if you were recording using Fraps though the entire round. So I decided to try my old laptop and see if it can handle FME.

Not to my surprise, I can't use high quality H.264 so I have to use the low VP6 setting which hurts the quality quite a bit, but doesn't demand much CPU usage. I decided to test a full 18 hole round and see how it'll look overall.

Ice Cannon Part 1


Ice Cannon Part 2


So far I don't like the video quality at all. The audio is from my small microphone that I have near the speakers. So I may or may not broadcast because of low video quality, but we'll see. I am looking for a decent new laptop to replace my old one so I can probably use that for FME only. Preferably Intel Core 2 Duo.

As for this round that I recorded, this is how I usually play. I make minor mistakes like Hole 8 that costs me the entire round for a record chance. You can also ignore my voice in the background since I love to talk to myself, a lot. I was also on Ventrilo too, but nobody was online except one red fruit.

(I just noticed some holes were skipped on Part 2 of the video. No clue why that happened, oh well)

JPN Update (5-28-09)

Content Update
- Three new outfits for Lucia
- Vocaloid Event 2 coming soon

---

It's about time they released Lucia's western style dress that Korea had for about over a year ago. In addition, two new artwork designs that came from the artist "easycrew" will finally appear in the game. Since Lucia is an expensive girl, all of her stuff costs cookies. No surprise.

Outfit #1

Here we have a sailor suit with an unusual hair wig. I do not like the wig at all, and I much prefer the other wig that first came out. I do like her sailor outfit the best out of the other two outfits that are released. Especially now she has a new skirt that is in the shop permanently finally! There's also a bracelet on her left hand that you can barely see too.

Outfit#2

For this outfit we have the knit ribbon sweater 04 outfit. Although the ribbons has a nice touch to it, I am a little disappointed on the color texture. It's a great outfit, but the texture looks very cheap looking to me. Otherwise, it's a decent looking setup. And, I'm not going to bother with the third outfit since we've already seen that for a year.

---

Vocaloid 2nd Event

Almost exactly one year ago, they have released a Vocaloid event. They take a Vocaloid Character and pick one Pangya Character to become just like them. This event also picks one Pangya song and remixes it.

Arin will be chosen to become Megurine Luka. The song you hear in the background is nowhere♪ from Shining Sand. The content is not out yet, this is only a preview that will come out next Thursday, June 4th. Let's travel back to last year so you can see how they organzed this event before:

Updated: 5-22-08
For this setup, they transformed Kooh into Hatsune Miku along with a remix version of Shiny Days♪.


Updated: 5-19-08
On this update, they released Miku's signature leek that will be used as a... clubset. A remix version of Bunny Picnic♪ has been released too.


Updated: 6-5-08
Now we switch to a different Vocaloid Character. Erika will transform into Kagamine Rin. Then a remix version of revive♪ has been released that is done remarkably well.


Updated: 6-12-08
And finally, Ken will be Kagamine Len. The remix song is Crystal Lake♪.

Ribbon Title

Pangya KR is really serious about his death than I thought. To show your support of Former President Roh Moo-hyun, you can add a black and white ribbon on your title logo. It's pretty simple to do.


Click on the Option icon on the top right corner. Then on the bottom, click on the drop down box and select "근조리본". Well that's really about it. They didn't say how long this will be available, but I'm sure it'll be taken down on the later updates. I'll probably wear this title for awhile, and return back to my Frontier Platinum badge keke.

Roh Moo-hyun

I figured I should write something about this before more people jump to conclusion thinking this is about Season 5 or about a new course. That is not the case here. This is about an upsetting death of a South Korean President that has happened recently.

Former President Roh Moo-hyun (노무현) of South Korea, committed suicide on May 23rd after being caught up in a bribery scandal. After he left his suicide note, he jumped off a mountain cliff near his retirement home that ended his life. Mr. Roh said in his suicide note, "Many people suffered too much because of me. I would be a burden for them for the rest of my life."

The scandal and the ensuing criticism from his political enemies dealt a devastating blow to Mr. Roh. In recent weeks, several of his aides and relatives had been arrested or questioned on charges of taking bribes. Prosecutors suspected that Mr. Roh, while president, solicited a total of $6 million from a shoe manufacturer, payments that are alleged to have been made to his wife, his son and his brother’s son-in-law. Both his wife and son have been questioned by the prosecutors.

This is a very tragic moment to the people of South Korea, and he is the first South Korean president in history to have committed suicide. Not only that he is gone, but he left the weight of his innocent family members with disgrace.

He has served his term as President from 2003 ~ 2008. It is said that his death will certainly cause intense political turmoil in South Korea. And what's worse, is that I'm traveling to South Korea pretty soon... Well I'm sure it'll clear up pretty soon.


Pangya KR will replace the watermark logo to remember the President's death when you take a screenshot. This may be available for a short time before it goes back to the normal logo.

Cecilia goes roflcopter

Here's an odd glitch where you can bring out Cecilia's chopper on Ice Spa, Hole 3. I've only done this on Pangya KR, so I have not tested on other servers to see if it works. You simply stand anywhere on top of the roof, and type "ㅎㅎㅎ". It has to be typed like that in Korean. After that, use the shortcut on the top of the screen to switch to Cecilia. If you did it correctly, her roflcopter will appear. You don't need to have her earrings. Be sure before you type "ㅎㅎㅎ" that you are using a Character other than Cecilia since you need to switch to her. So if you're bored on Pangya KR, mess around with it to waste time.

Cecilia's roflcopter goes soi soi soi tche tche tche tche tche tche tche tche tche tche tche tche tche tche tche tche tche tche tche dfdfdfdfdfdfdfdfdfdfdfdfdfdfdfdfde

Event: Name that Course!

A new course is on the way that I've been discussing here and here. There's no name for this new course yet. So to make this event simple, guess the name of this course. If you get the name correct or close enough, you will win one prize of your choice:

100 Cookies on Pangya KR

or

15,000 Points on Pangya US

Submit your answer to my email address: rich@sweatdroplivegaming.com. Provide both the course name (Pick only One), and your login name so I know who you are (KR, US, or both). The contest will end as soon as the name has officially been announced. There can only be one person to win this event.

A list of the names that are emailed to me will be added here so you know which names has been mentioned already. As for the prize, the only safe way is to gift in-game items. Gifting cannot exceed over the total so it'll have to be less than or equal to 100 cookies (KR) or 15,000 points (US).

Names submitted so far:
1. Waterfall Village
2. Flower Falls
3. Pink Wiz
4. Ancestral Valley
5. Water Hills
6. Water Falls
7. Pink Hills
8. Waterfalls Valley
9. Hidden Gardens
10. Falling Waters Land
11. East Wiz
12. East Falls
13. Chronos Valley
14. Spring Wind
15. Pink Fall Valley
16. Jungle Waterfall
17. Waterfall Temple
18. Secret Waterfalls Hill
19. Dream Falls
20. Garden Falls
21. Breezy Falls
22. Sunshine Falls
23. Sacred Valley
24. Pink Waterfalls
25. Time Falls
26. Sparkling Valley
27. Zen Palace
28. Lagoon Valley
29. Sweet Mountain
30. Shangri-La
31. Misty Falls
32. Heaven Falls
33. Blue Falls
34. Ventus Falls
35. Blue Waterfalls
36. Cherry Falls
37. Waterfall Clocktemple
38. Springs Wind
39. Blooming Fields
40. Fantasy Falls
41. Sakura Village
42. Blossom Hill
43. Ancient Valley
44. East Valley
45. Breeze Hill
46. Chronos Mountain
47. Hill Falls
48. Secret Forest
49. Time River
50. Timeless River
51. Hanbok Village
52. Lagoon Hills
53. Riverfall Valley
54. Chronos Garden
55. Wind Valley
56. Sparkling Springs
57. Green Seaway
58. Clockwork Valley
59. Twin Falls
60. Dream Village
61. Hidden Valley
62. Sacred Oasis
63. Ancient Garden
64. Eternal Sakura
65. Spring Wiz
66. Pink Paradise
67. Sunset Valley
68. Mystical Waterfall
69. Falls Valley
70. Forgotten Falls
71. Paradise Rapids
72. Sakura Wiz
73. Heaven Paradise
74. Dream Water
75. Mystic Orient
76. Water Wiz
77. Shining Falls
78. Pink Falls
79. Illusion Falls
80. Mirage Valley
81. Sakura Valley
82. Aquatic Gardens
83. Peace Falls
84. Oasis Spa
85. Shining Valley
86. Aqua Valley
87. Lost Falls
88. Seaway Temple
89. Raging Rapids
90. Seaway Valley
91. Forgotten Valley
92. Lost Seaway
93. Sakura Falls
94. Pink Lagoon
95. Oriental Gear
96. Spring Garden
97. Crane Falls
98. Heaven Mountain
99. Time Waterfalls
100. Perfect Blossom View
101. Chronos Falls
102. Paradise Falls
103. Sunset Wiz
104. Pink Time
105. Cascade Valley
106. Oriental Panda
107. Waterfall Lagoon
108. Oriental Oasis
109. Little China Town
110. Wiz Falls

Submission #44: East Valley "Winner"

Black2key

JPN Waiter Dress

Here it is, the waiter dress for Nu.. Ken, Cecilia, Kaz, Ha.. Erika, and Kooh. Lucia will receive an old Gacha rare, the SSAF outfit. As for this new Gacha set, it doesn't appeal to me one bit. Ken's waiter outfit has to be the worst Gacha outfit ever for him. The black and white detail doesn't look great on him. Both Ken and Kaz comes with a nice rectangle glasses for a nice treat. Kooh is probably the best one in this set even though it shows more skin than the clothes.

But with a mediocre lineup on this set, it does have Lucia's SSAF in there. Tricky business Gamepot~

New Course Part Two

GM Rami from Pangya KR announced that a new course will definitely be coming after all. The development team is currently working on the project the best they can to bring it out hopefully soon. A summer time release would be "delight"ful~


There are lots of environments to see such as birds flying in the sky and giant waterfalls flowing down the river. The course seems to mainly focus heavily on water so perhaps we can expect maybe a moderate difficult course?


Look above the waterfall, you can see both Nuri and his caddy Pipin teeing off. In front of them lies a long river to cross~ You may have to water bounce, or suffer the consequence getting a water hazard.

There's no word yet on what the course will be called. When I get some more info on this, I'll let you guys know.

New Gacha rare already

Just when Korea received their new lottery rare this week, Japan will be releasing their new set this Thursday.

This set will be the waiter or waitress outfits for Kaz, Nuri, Hana, Cecilia, and Kooh. They will also throw in Lucia's SSAF set in there too. So a total of six rares in this set. I would laugh if they thrown in Azer in a waiter outfit if he can fit in those clothes. I like Kaz's glasses that I believe comes with the set, and the cat ears for the girls.

KR Update (5-19-09)

Pangya Season 4 Delight on Korea will be having server maintenance on May 19th from 4:00 ~ 11:00 AM. Eastern time converts to 3:00 ~ 10:00 PM on May 18th. A total of 7 hours of server downtime. Servers will officially open at 11:00 AM (10:00 PM EDT).

---

Content Update
▪ 33rd Scratch Rare = Stick Poster + Outfit

Bug Fixes
▪ ID information not stored on log-in screen
▪ Glitch on mailbox where you send gifts that costs pang
▪ Cannot redeem rings from your gift box

---

Just like Japan, you will receive a poster that you can hang on the wall, and the outfit that is on the poster design. So if you win Lucia's rare for example, you will get both the poster and the outfit. If you will like to see how the outfits looks in the game, you can visit here.

New Course?

I found two interesting pictures from a GM on Pangya Japan. I'm surprised since I figured you would hear something like this coming from Korea instead. I thought it might be from a different game, but according to the first picture, you can clearly see the OB markers that has to be related to Pangya.

You can click on the pictures for a larger view.




At first glance, this course reminds me of Pink Wind. One picture shows a large green landscape with oriental houses and the other picture displays a giant waterfall. These are all scenery though so there's no telling on how the overall course will be played out.

Nothing much has been said about these pictures at all. This is all mere speculation so don't get your hopes up yet. I don't even know if this is real or not. It could be the next course for either Season 4 or 5. I haven't thought about it until now, but Season 4 came out along with the new course Lost Seaway on February 23rd, 2008 on Korea. It may be time for a new course?

Edit (5-17):


Here's another picture from a guide book about a new course revealing on Pangya island. The language is definitely Japanese, and the right side of the picture displays waterfalls that has be related to those pictures that I posted yesterday. Just looking at the picture makes me wonder how hard that course may become.

I don't know Japanese, or how to type it to translate what the description says. Anybody out there who will be willing to translate for us?

Pangya KR Guide Opening

At last, I will be releasing my Pangya KR Guide. I feel that today is the right time to finally make this public.

I've started on this project around February of this year. There are certain days where I start updating it, and times when I put it off. The project is still incomplete, but that can be updated in the near future. So you can be sure that lots of things will be added daily until it's finally complete and up-to-date.

Take a look at the guide and you may discover things that you never knew. This guide has been made only by me, so you can imagine how hard it is for one person to do this much. Be warn that everything in the guide may be incorrect, so don't expect anything to be perfect. I also welcome feedback, and suggestions toward this guide. If so, I prefer you email to: rich@sweatdroplivegaming.com.

Note: There is also a link to this guide under the "Label Archives" to your right.

JPN Update (5-14-09)

Today, Japan will be receiving their 6th motion item for Cecilia. You can either buy the BlankFire-01/02 (59 cookie) for that gives Accuracy +1 and Spin +1, or you can buy BlankFire -03 Camo (250k pang) that gives only Accuracy +1. Just like the other pang motion items, you have to be at least a Semi-Pro E level to purchase it. Both pang and cookie version all have the same effect too. Got to give props for Japan on that one.

The effect is the same as any other motion items that I've explained before. Cecilia's new motion item came just in time for their new drop hole event where you can gain two items instead of one.



Lucia will receive her Piano outfit set that the other girls received back in Season 3. Lucia is catching up with her re-released rares and items. She is still lacking a selection of skirt outfits, but the Piano outfit has to be an entire dress like everyone else. The outfit has a nice piano layout shown on the bottom and it comes equipped with a huge white ribbon on her back. The hat has a music note on it for a nice touch, and finally the shoes with pink ties to match with the set. Overall, the outfit is pretty decent. Korea will be expected to receive this outfit pretty soon. (interesting fact: Korea has not updated their shop since last year)

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They will be releasing the Crystal Hunt event again. Gold and silver crystals will pop out randomly from the hole. Each color will be assigned to specific courses. You collect the crystal and exchange them for the event prize as shown on the picture. Some are gifted automatically, while some are being handpicked randomly and the prizes given out in a certain date. Almost like a sweepstakes.

There's another event for players who play Pangya JP in cybercafes called Tiki's campaign where you earn points that can be exchanged for quick prizes. You can check the picture for more details about it.

Both Thailand and Korea already hosted their Self-Design contest, so now it's Japan's turn. For this event players will submit one of their design for a chance to win the top 3 prizes that includes a gift certificate or free self design outfits gifted to their accounts. To encourage these players even further, all self-design outfits are marked down 10% off.

RRoD Comes

It happens when you least expect it. My friend came over yesterday and we decided to play some Guitar Hero that we both haven't played in ages. As soon as we loaded up the first song, the screen became completely frozen. No problem, I'll restart the system. Then *BAM* another one bites the dust. ♪

So I went online to see about getting my replacement for the 3rd time so far. I inputted the service number located on the back of the console and it shows that I have to pay $100 for the repairs. I got away with my previous replacements for free, but it looks like this time I may have to pay. I have another option to call them which it wouldn't hurt to try and see if I can get a replacement for free again.

If I have to pay, I won't return it immediately though. I'll do it whenever I feel in the mood to play that console again.

Pangya: Fantasy Golf US Trailer

Take your best swing on the Fantasy Fairway at the Pangya Invitational! Inter-dimensional golf on the beautiful, fantasy fairways of Pangya Island! Featuring realistic golf gameplay mechanics set in fantastical environments. Land your hole-in-one with unique customizable characters and equipment. A full storyline, multiple game modes and competitive multiplayer gameplay ensure that you never spend a day alone in the sand traps!

KEY FEATURES:
· 9 beautiful, fantasy golf courses to choose from!
· 18 playable characters with deep character customization
· Choose from thousands of outfits, accessories, clubs, balls, power items and more to further customize your characters and player stats
· Choose from Story, Single Round, License, Tournament and Network Modes
· Multiplayer Ad Hoc gameplay for up to 8 players
· Includes PSP® exclusive content

Source: http://www.tomy-usa.com/videogames.php

-----

So the trailer presentation is.. not so great compared to both Korea and Japan of course. It looks like the release date I said before may be June 26th, but other sources say it's June 30th now. So I'm going to say that it will be released at the end of June then.

I never finished the Korean version... so maybe once I get my hands on the US version, I'll broadcast the game on Justin.TV. Yeah, that sounds good.

I beg of you!

^Not an actual player, it was set up by me.

"I'm poor. Can anyone spare some pang?"

"Please let me win this round?"

There are often players who are willing to beg to strangers to get what they want. A common situation is when they create a shop full of underrated items on sale for a high price. This is an easy way to get things for free with hardly any effort. Another situation is when they ask you to lose the game on purpose for their own benefit. It's a good will to be courteous towards these people asking for help, but the question becomes: Is begging the right thing to do toward the community?

Well, it's clear to say that begging is very wrong and should be avoided at all cost. It even goes further to become an official rule to not harass or beg to other players that could ruin their enjoyment.

Now, I know it's annoying, but they must be handled properly without putting your own level below them. A simply way would be to ignore them instead of getting yourself involved to change their ways. If they become persistent, report them and let the moderators handle the rest while you go back enjoying your game. If you retaliate toward beggars negatively, you are no better than them at all. They will have to learn how to properly ask people for help without interfering towards people.

Whether they will understand it or not later on, almost anything cannot be free unless you work hard to earn it. You will have to get out there and earn it like the rest of us. If you think about it, the real world and Pangya can be very much alike.

KR Update (5-7-09)

Pangya Season 4 Delight on Korea will be having server maintenance on May 7th from 7:00 ~ 10:00 AM. Eastern time converts to 6:00 ~ 9:00 PM on May 6th. A total of 3 hours of server downtime. Servers will officially open at 10:00 AM (9:00 PM EDT).

---

Content Removal

- Cadie's Magic Box: Chestnut, Joy Candies, and Joy Chocolates (x2 XP items)
- 5th Anniversary Sale (free phoenix per day + phoenix in shop)
- 5th Anniversary Pangya Logo
- Miracle Voice Clubs in Shop
- Lucia's SSAF set removal from 32th Scratch Set

---

Be sure to grab as many x2 XP items as you can because I don't think Korea will bring another XP event for quite awhile. If you guys ever want to VS with me, just give me a shout whenever I'm available. My current level is National Pro C, and I plan to take it slow on leveling up to a new rank again.

22-years-old dude

Today I'm celebrating my Birthday. I don't have any special plans in mind, so I'll let both my friends and family decide that for me. I don't ask for any presents, but wishing me a Happy Birthday is good enough for me.