Shields Down

The ARG

2011-07-23T13:37:00.005+01:00

Well the ARG event is complete, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. But you may be asking what is an ARG and how it may have involved you and Shields Down. Well, let me explain.

ARG

ARG stands for Alternate Reality Game, an event where you, the player, participate and affect a story based on your actions or ideas. In this version I based it on the highly successful ValveARG, (it's end result was releasing Portal 2 earlier in the week). I wanted to try this on a small scale (seeing as the ValveARG was MASSIVE!)

Why

Two reasons.

Generate Hype - Shields Down had been offline for a while and my fear was if I flicked the 'on' switch, no one would notice. I wanted to generate some hype, some chatter around the site returning.

Interest - I loved being part of the ValueARG, and I wanted to try one out myself. It looked fun, and I thought "why not" and "when would there be a better opportunity?"

The Plan

The initial plan was to send a large, encoded message, partitioned to many players based on their activity on Shields Down, IRC chat and activity on Core Exiles. Decoding and placing the fragments in the right order would have produced a CE related spam message, but with a hidden embedded URL. The url would have taken you to the "he/is/safe" website.

These messages would have been sent to players and staff alike - I didn't even tell the staff this event was happening! (Apart from Coops; he kindly gave permission to use Core Exiles as the host for the event)

*The next step has been removed from this post as I think it's a great idea, and I might use it again in the future - Sorry!*

Finally, the mech battles. A couple of core mechs to start a timer, followed by more mechs to quicken the timer.

What Actually Happened

With advise from some close friends, I decided to test the water before jumping straight into it.

And am I thankful that I heeded the advise of others.

In the end I decided to encode a small phrase containing some key words - specifically about a Phoenix. If successful I would have reverted to the original plan. If not, I would modified it.

The first few hours didn't go well. Some players were concerned it was a hacker, taking control of my SDLottery account, trying to scam other players. Other players didn't know what to do, so deleted them without reading the message. It got to a point where the Core Exiles staff took administrative action on the account, resetting the account's password and limiting my access. I realised my errors too late, and thought this event was lost.

But, the following morning, I found players had started posting on the forums about it - decoding & putting different fragments together. Successfully, you got the quote, so I continued the ARG. I changed the scenario though, skipping the next step, claiming the password was the quote's author (Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra). In IRC, I placed a link to the he/is/safe link.

The event went well after this: 6 major mech battles over the weekend started a clock, followed by many minor ones to quicken the clock. As you hopefully saw, the clock was the time remaining until the site came back online, reducing after each minor mech was destroyed.

What I learnt

A heck of a lot. Almost too much to put in a blog post, but a couple of key points:

Build up a background story. I instantly went into an ARG with 1 line giving a background - and that made players concerned and confused. I think building up a story will ease them in, or realise a game is being played
Be ready for anything. An ARG is directed by you, the players. The creator may have a plan and may even have players following it, but others will see things that aren't there. This isn't a bad thing - I found a couple of routes they saw that I didn't, so coded them in as I liked them.
Confusion by other players. I couldn't customise the mechs names any more then the next person, so if someone else used a mech prefix of SD, others may think it's part of the ARG when it isn't.
Monitor and intervening - I was monitoring the chat and the forums, seeing where you were looking and going with the ARG, but there were many times that I wanted to intervene and steer you to my path/plan. But, doing so would make me a director, preventing you from being a player of the ARG. Most the time I was developing on your ideas and thoughts, realising any plan I had was useless. I did make one, major intervention though - when the CE staff got involved in regards to the hacking suggestions. Apart from that, this ARG was created by all of you!

The Conclusion

Overall, I would classify this as a success. The beginning was iffy, and I'm confident that if I went for the original plan to begin with it would have been a complete failure. I'm happy that you found the pattern and worked together to combat the mechs. I learnt a lot from this, and I personally really enjoyed expanding the story based on your actions.

I'm already planning the next ARG, but I'll leave it to you to find it when it starts.

The Recovery

2011-07-23T13:31:00.006+01:00

I realised last week that I wasn't progressing as much as I wanted on my new framework, and with each passing day I was delaying my relaunch. After a long coffee I decided that the delays weren't fair on you, the players, the community who want the site back. As such, I changed my goal:

Get the old Shields Down back online and re-secured, and then work on the framework.

So, that's what I did, and that's what happened. It's the same site as before but with each query being checked and going through a vigorous query checker before being executed. I am confident the attacks that happened will not affect the site again.

I've updated some of the schematics, but some of the very new schematics caused my script to collapse. I'm reworking the issue and will update you when the remaining are updated.

Apart from there is one change. You might notice a new tab above. You might want to check it out - especially if you are going to be actively involved in the Stomp The Staff weekend on the weekend of the 29th July 2011!

Take care,

Robinb.

Alert: Virus Outbreak - Starbase 70 (Derren)

2011-05-19T13:25:00.001+01:00

This just in from the ISN Twitter feed:

Deadly virus found infection captains on Starbase 70 in the Derren system of the Furnace Galaxy. Dozens infected!! More later.

More news as and when it comes in.

Resolutions...

2010-10-16T20:22:00.003+01:00

I have a strong feeling that 10 months, 16 days ago I made a resolution to care and promote Shields Down to the best of my abilities. Sufficed to say I didn't even get close to this. There are reasons why and excuses, but at the same time I look back at the past 10 months and I think 'I could have done more'.

Saying that, I'm not going to promise that I will update it. Don't get me wrong, I will try, but I have new work projects that need to take priority, often leaving me at my desk until the wee hours of the night.

The site will remain alive, I've got no doubts about that. I'm also keeping eyes on the latest developments in Core Exiles, and noticed a HUGE number of new schematics have become available. I will attempt to get them on here as soon as I can :)

I will apologise to all of my users, it must be hard and frustrating not knowing when an update will happen or if the information is up to date, but feel free to kick me on an email if I seem to be failing on my task to update this site.

If anyone has anything they want to see on the site which they could use please email me or catch me in chat.

Robinb.

PS, What's the penalty for breaking a new years resolution?

Deposits Online

2010-04-26T22:27:00.001+01:00

Deposits are back online.

New Schematics & The Truth...

2010-04-14T21:26:00.004+01:00

As some of you will know, a whole bunch of new schematics have been created in Core Exiles. Seeing as such a major change was put into play, I stopped working on my new site and decided to concentrate on getting my schematic pages updated. Through blood, sweat and tears, it has been done.

The one downside is the categoriser that identifies the schematics and places them into a group was edited for my new web page and is incompatible with the old site. This means the majority of the new schematics are in a group called 'Unknown'. I will slowly make my way through them one at a time, but please be patient whilst this is done. The new web site will add a community theme, allowing you to suggest if a schematic belongs in another group (or even shared between groups). In the mean time might I suggest searching for a schematic in the top right section of the site?

I'm talking a lot about my new site - but unfortunately I don't have much to show you at the moment. If your interested, I'm building up a new framework first before adding the skin and colours. Because of this all you would see is an unusable dump of debugging information (unless you're a geek like me...). For that I apologise but please follow this blog if you want to be kept up to date. I'm also on Twitter (shieldsdown).

On another note, my current method of placing these news articles onto my site is about to change - currently I'm using Blogger and transferring the files across to here, but due to a system change this is not going to be possible(1st May). I should have a new system in place by then, but I would recommend following my Twitter account to be updated on this just in case its delayed.

Finally, I know I have been away and neglected this site far worse that it & any of you deserve. The fact that even in such a huge absence you are still here, reading this post, looking at my schematics pages and still giving positive feedback on it, makes me realise I really don't deserve you lot. Truthfully, I honestly thought I had left it so bad that none of you would be here, that it would be a throw away job when the domain name expired. You guys are amazing, and thank you all for still being here.

I forgot how much I enjoyed coding for my site, I forgot how fun it was to produce useful, meaningful tools that will help players develop and expand their knowledge and use of Core Exiles. I hope this continues for a long time, and that Shields Down will be with you all the way.

Thanks again all,

Rb

Shields Down

PS I have changed my mail's spam filter (I got very concerned that I have not had an email for a a year and a bit). Appears the old filter was feeding them into a blackhole never to be seen again. My new filter is producing emails that I need to answer which were previously spammed out, but good news is the contacts page is back online. Please feel free to contact me.

Expect Disruption - Complete

2010-04-14T19:34:00.003+01:00

Hi all,

I'm about to launch a serious update to the Shields Down schematics pages. Unfortunately this update could potentially cause disruption to the user crafters page, players resources may go missing or be reallocated. I will attempt to keep the disruption to a minimum, but if you are working on any major projects (with manually entered values) I would seriously consider postponing the use of the tool until this upgrade has been completed.

I have backups of all the relevant databases so if something does go wrong, give me a shout and I'll restore it for you.

I'll keep you updated and let you know when the update has been completed.

This is the note to say the relevant pages have been updated and you can use the site normally again. Thanks :)

Outage fixed

2010-04-14T19:08:00.001+01:00

Account creations should be back online - drop me an email if this is not the case.

Outage - Account Creation

2010-04-14T10:33:00.002+01:00

All,

I am currently working on a new blog post but this is marked as important.

It appears attempting to crate a new account is currently causing a 'CRITICAL ERROR' and to contact an admin. Unfortunately the admin is currently away from his desk, but will be able to look at this problem in the evening (GMT).

Further news to follow along with a new, more detailed blog post.

Robinb

Emails

2009-01-20T12:39:00.002Z

Hey all,

Apart from my mail box is being spammed beyond belief, some of the 'correct' mail is being filtered out. Unfortunatly this was instantly deleted. I am not sure how long this has gone on for, but it would explain the recent downturn in emails.

I am setting up a new system for my emails, once online you will be able to contact me again.

For now, if you need/want to get in touch, please reply to this blog post. The Contact Us page will be modified soon to incorporate the changes.

Appologies, if anyone has sent an email recently, either PM me (Robinb) in the forums. Otherwise, i will get the new contact screen opterational as soonas I can.

Cheers,

Shields Down

Updated Schematics

2008-12-21T23:20:00.001Z

Call it an early Christmas present - the Schematics & resources pages have been updated to the latest possible version I could find. If you knew how long I have been wanting to do this for, you probably wouldn't be anywhere close.

I am calling this the first step in a long journey. The site is knackered, old, creasing at the seams, but still it stands. And if your reading this, then its still in use - so Thank You!

So apart from long time promises from months back, all I can say is I am still here, I am getting back on track, and if there is one thing I seriously promise, when I relaunch this site, it will come with more goodies then you can shake a stick at!

For now, in case I don't post again, Happy Christmas from the SD team, may Santa et al. bring everything you have ever dreamed of!

Take care,

Robinb
Shields Down
http://twitter.com/shieldsdown for all the latest as it happens!

Been busy...

2008-12-07T13:23:00.000Z

You may have noticed, the sites not a little outdated? All hell broke recently, and I am still working through the backlog, but I am managing and soon be back on my feet.

All in all, I will be doing a complete re-launch of the site when its back up to date, and with some exciting new features!

More soon, don't want to give it all away now :)

Rb

Tad Busy...

2008-09-23T12:30:00.001+01:00

Hey all,

Been a tad busy, work is taking most my time at the moment, so I know there are a lot of things out of date, outstanding and such. It should be settling down soon, and will be re-coding again.

I didn't cater that I would be out of action for 2 hours a day for driving... 2 years ago I was able to do work on the train - last I checked there is no device that would allow me to code whilst driving :( There are rumors of a direct train line from my home town to my place of work - although they have been talking about it for the past 4 years, I ain't expecting anything to happen this side of the century. Currently, it would take 1h50m to get from home to work on train, and then another set back. Great for coding times, but not great for relaxing - also I would be riding close to the last train. Joys!...

I got some other news, but I will post it later.

Take care,

robinb

My Bad...

2008-08-16T11:41:00.000+01:00

Hey all,

Currently in Starbucks near my local town. Plan was to take my laptop
and do some work out here whilst I wait for someone to finish work.
Foolishly fotgot to pack it, stupid me. So, no updates his morning,
just a little insight as I am bored out of my mind.

Let's start with planning, something to wet your tastebuds. It's no
secret I have not been about much, and the time I have been about I
had hardware failures - all fixed now, moved away from an svn server
and running it on my localhost. If/when my personal server comes back
online I'll use it as a backup rather then the main content machine.
So, what is planned? First I have a reverification of all existing
content: some of it I'd missing, wrong or currupt. Any help on that
would be awarded :) (HINT)

Next is for new content. I have something I am calling a "secret game"
in construction. Basically you pay ingame credits for a board, and
weekly using a secret calculation it works out how many points you get
for that board. It can edit elements, rotate pieces etc. It's "secret"
as you don't know how the score is worked out. Prizes weekly, monthly
and special occasions. You don't have to wait for the work out to
play, single player will be available. More soon.

Second is one that's already created, but needs tweaking- Slot
machine! Last time my so played it, SD won 1 billion credits in 24
hours. Good news for me, but unfair for you lot. Some tweaking needed
me thinks.

Third, incorporating a new game to Shields Down. If you have a game
(large, small etc) let me know by posting a comment below (click title
to get to comment screen). It will have all the same games in,with
help tools And looking towards inter game trading!! Should be fun.

Forth, Market alerts. If you are after something, and someone puts it
on the pm at a price you are looking for, you will get an email about
it! Simple, plain and maybe your shouting about th GBM - if someone
gas a large request for 10,000 of something, but if want 10 this tool
should help.

Fifth, signiture tools for forums. I am in discussions with Core
Exiles and Transporter Tycoon to see if I can obtain a players
statistics (with the players permission), creating a dynamic pup
signiture so you can add it to core exiles fouls, transported forums
or any others you want. Facebook, myspace, the list goes on.

Sixth, newsletters. You may have noticed that in your settings you get
automatically added to tne mailing list. To keep it all legal,
everyone will be emailed to confirm you want to be added. Anyone who
doesn't will have to change that setting. Newsletter will include
important information, latest news and compertitions. I would strongly
advise signing up for it, the first compettition will be a very big
one!!

Right, wasted an hour and a half in starbucks, almost time to pick
people up. Again, sorry to people with withdraw requests, they will be
done when I get home.

Tell you one thing though, I love this iPhone. Amazing what a small
device can do
Take care all,

Robinb on iPhone, so forgive the mistakes!!

so many things... so little time

2008-08-13T13:24:00.000+01:00

Hey all,

Been a tad bit busy recently with a holiday, new job, new car, selling an old car, killing a wasps next and having an operation on my wizdom teeth, all in a very short time.

With that happening, strange things have been happening to Shields Down, - I got a clump of emails in one day dating back 14 days+ (and I check it regularly). likewise, a bot has got access to my email address which is causing havok on my mail filters. I'm processing them all, so anyone who has sent an email i will be in contact with. Meanwhile, I am in the process of creating an intellegent system to filter spam and real messages, should have it operational soon.

There are a lot of withdraw requests (and i see the main lottery was won - well done :) ) - again I have only just been notified so I will sort that out soon.

I am trying to find more hours in the day, and I will find a schedule I can work to. In the mean time the site is not dead, I am not dead and will be back in action soon.

Call this period an 'extended unscheduled' holiday - I'm sure you understand.

Take care all - I'll update soon.

Rb

And back, but backlogged

2008-07-10T13:54:00.000+01:00

Hey all, back from my holidays today - been unpacking and getting everything back to how it was before I went away.

Having some severe PC problems at the moment, ranging from random reboots to hal.dll failures. Its strange how a PC can break from being off-line for a fortnight, might be its way of telling me not to go away again!

I have a backlog of emails, and with the Pc problems its slow process of getting them actioned and replied. I am running through them, so please expect a reply in the next few days, if not today.

Right, I am needing to run into town to get a compressed air canister, and a XP recovery CD - one thing I hate about commercial PC's is it only comes with there recovery CD's - no good if you want to get into the XP recovery console. Joys.

Hopefully be fixed soon - Might get a new PSU whilst I am at it - the random reboots are at the same time that the fans loose a bit of power. Chucked on some loggers, see if it is a faulty PSU that's causing the problems.

Back soon,

Rb

Holiday!

2008-06-19T19:49:00.000+01:00

I'm outta here - on holiday for 14 days. Sorry for the lack of updates, been doing some projects on the side for multiple people and ended up so I didn't have much time to get Shields Down Updates.

I will get more done when I am back, most the projects are complete now. The navigator is 95% complete - setting it so you can go 'via' a place (maybe places if you want - let me know on the comments be clicking the title above)

Until then, have fun, take care, and I will be back back in a forghtnight!!

Rb

In Updates

2008-06-02T21:13:00.000+01:00

Hey all, All my exams are now finished, so apart from celebrating I am now coding my site back to right :D

So, this post is going to be updated this week with everything fixed. There will also be an email shot to everyone (that has not opted out from the users options) with these fixes, as some are classified as critical and high.

Casino: Scratchcards are now back in stock. If you were affected by the shortage, please let me know and I will look into it
ItemDetails: Problems detected in Iexplore. Still working on an solution. - expansion: Going to change from a total JS solution to AJAX.

More to add soon. Keep an eye out as this is going to update rather then a new post created each time.

Cheers,

Rb

Still here

2008-05-30T20:22:00.001+01:00

Its been a while since my last post (if anyone does read this that is). My exams are almost complete, in fact I only have the one on Monday left. Afterwards its spanners, nails and a sledge hammer to get this site back to fully working conditions. So, please bare with me whilst I sort everything out :)

Week starting Monday, you won't know what's hits you when I'm finished!

Take care all!

Rb

Engineering items are history!

2008-05-20T11:57:00.000+01:00

All,

If you have not heard the news, then I suggest heading to the forums double time. Engineering items have been abolished, leaving crafting wide open again. Anyone who wants to experiment in this area, now is the time!

In relation, Shields Down has already started removing and verifying the schematics for engineering items. There are also a few new schematics that would be interested. This blog post will be updated as development progresses.

Cheers,

Rb

Fully Intergrated!

2008-05-03T13:58:00.000+01:00

The schematic pages and the crafters user page have been integrated with the engineering items and are highlighted yellow :)

This has been extended to the tree being coloured :)

Hope it helps - I am going to enjoy the sun now and hopefully create a BBQ!

Rb

Updated Again!

2008-05-02T03:31:00.000+01:00

See, told you I would be doing more when the dissertation was completed. Have a look at the Schematic Pages to see what I have done.

Engineering Items have been incorporated with thanks to Wolfje for the spreadsheet which this data is based on. Engineering items are highlighted yellow in the components section, whilst derbies are highlighted yellow in the resources section. Also added a whole list of components required for a schematic - thought it would be useful :)

I am confident it is 100% correct as of this post time, but if you see any mistakes please let me know.

This also means that if you find one of these, you can search to see what it belongs to. Working on a better buying pages, more info as I have any :)

Take care all! All comments welcome - I am a coder, not a designer. If I don't get any feedback nothings going to change!

Robinb

Workin :)

2008-05-01T02:01:00.000+01:00

Hey all,

Been working through some of the suggestions players have been sending in - a small job I completed was the re-design of the Trees for schematic building. This is shown on the Crafters Schematics page and the User Crafters Page. If any problems crop up, let me know :)

The engineering items are almost done, but I knew I would not have had the time to complete it today.

More Soon!

Rb

Doctor.. the backbone.. its.. its... [edit]

2008-04-17T22:59:00.000+01:00

Yea, backbones being rejected.. with the recent additions of VP, the backbone is no longer valid for the site.

Its not as serious as before... but its on the same lines...

On the flip side, I have 11,100 words done on my min. 10,000 word dissertation, so its soon to be finished.

As soon as its done, it is the first thing on my list. Promise.

Right, back to the Design stage.......

Robinb

_________
Decided to edit this post rather then create a new one. Don't ask why, just thought it would be easier.
Update to the schematics - finally got around to adding the Engineering items into the schematics. That was the easy part. The hard part is getting the debris integrated so its separate from the components, but is still as important. I am probably going to get another drop section for engineering items, but that needs more coding. As someone with a large stick is poking me every time I look away from my dissertation, its not easy... (he went for a coffee, giving me time to do this!)

So, at the moment the engineering items are classified as Resources. This is so it appears on all the schematics so you know how much you need. I will keep you up to date on the engineering items.

Right, being poked again... guess its back to work for the 40th day in a row. Man I miss socialising :(

Rb

My time is short

2008-04-16T12:02:00.000+01:00

Dissertation. All I have to say really, a 10,000 word dissertation that is taking up all my time, and stopping me from doing the things I love - coding. Although the dissertation required an application (notice the past tense), the technical document to follow is a PITA. Woo for me.

I do have plans for getting the crafting section back under control. I know there have been a lot of changes that I have not posted, and as such use it with caution for now. As soon as its updated, I wil be screaming and shouting about it here and on the forums.

So, watch this space, and the CE forums. More info soon :)

Robinb

Last time I create a Back Bone!

2008-03-18T17:17:00.000Z

Urg, who would have known creating a new backbone for Shields Down would have been so time-consuming! Goes to show that I really should code for exansion, and not for static like I did 5-6 odd years ago. My previous table was hidious, and didn't contain half the player market items that were available, and every time it detected there was an 'unknown item', I had to manually insert it. Worse then that, I decided to have a compound key - one for the category, and one for the type (so I could order it better). Lets just say that I am never going down that road again.

So, what have I done for the past month? Well, a new table layout meaning that the Player Market is now working and up to date, giving what items people are selling, and at what price. There is also a history page and graphs to show the history and average the items sells at. Its worth a look to see how much you should sell an item for.

It also means I can now 'detach' the user accounts. Before an account was so tied into the PHP, that even if I created a new column part of the site would crash! So, now, happily, I can expand faster, easier, and also better then before.

Just a heads up, I will be on holiday starting Thursday -> tba, so all withdrawal requests will be held.

Well, I know it doesn't look like I have done much to the surface, but a lot has been done to the spine. I hope you will see the benefits sooner then later :)

Cheers,

Rb
Shields Down

New Resources!!

2008-03-05T17:17:00.000Z

As announced by the ISN, new ores have been discovered that will shake up the way that settlements are built. Already blueprints have changed, and crafters everywhere are flocking to get their hands on these valuable ores.

Shields Down has taken the lead, with updating its database with the new ores, and intergrated them with the schematics and where they are used. Have a look at the Settlement All schematic to see how many are required in the building of a whole settlement.

Otherwise, you can click on the new ores that are displayed to see where they are used, and in what quantity.

Myself, I might be creating a service of rare ore sales, so watch this step.

Have fun with the new ores all!!

Rb

Shields Down

NEW FEATURE! Item Details

2008-02-25T13:20:00.000Z

Players,

We all know what the CEDR is a good little tool in game. It gives the basic information on all the items, along with some of the required information for players. See, this is good, but it can be better. And once again, Shields Down goes that extra step just for you.

Introducing the Item Details page. Not only does it have more information on the pages, but it also able to sort depending on the header that you want it to! Want to know the most damaging weapon? The least energy consuming cargo expander? Its all there, and more. Head on over to the tools tab, or click this link to be taken there instantly.

More information will be added at a later stage, but I am currently in the process of integrating this new data into the rest of Shields Down. As you may have noticed, and with my previous post, most the items are not displaying on the Player Market. This is the first stage to getting them listed. The only problem is that the old data and old table layout was referenced in all the major pages. Needless to say, this means re-coding all of those pages, and its not going well at the moment.

More updates as I get them!

Rb

Footnote: Just read Ctrl Alt Del and it split my sides in laughter. Worth a look!

Player Market...

2008-02-22T15:31:00.000Z

Some of you may have noticed that most the items on the Player Market are not displaying on the lists, even after the update. Since there have been hundreds of new weapons, shields, etc added, its going to take some time to organise them. Without doing a complete facelift of the workings of it, I am afraid all I can ask is to wait it out, and I will post as soon as I have more details.

By the way, what do people think of Blogger in Shields Down? You can add comments to each news post - follow the link above and say whatever you want :)

Cheers all,

Rb

TakeOff!!!

2008-02-21T17:22:00.000Z

Its official - Core Exiles is back and ready for action!

Interested? Core Exiles is the new game that Shields Down is based on. More Here

Want to know the history of this change? Click Here

If you want a new account - please sign up again for the site. Sorry the previous accounts have been deleted, and there is no way to recover them.

Welcome back

Edit: Accounts have now been deleted.

Accounts soon to go :(

2008-02-20T23:07:00.006Z

Its a hard thought, been about for 5 years. I have tables containing over 1 million rows, gathering data since that first day. Well, with a re-haul of the site, I have decided its time to clean it up.

Due to this, All Previous Shields Down Accounts will be deleted.

No need to panic, please feel free to re-register. As and when news will become available, I will post it here.

There is a reason second why I did this, and this will be posted here in the very near future!

Until then, I do apologise, and please re-register if you are still interested in the site and its services!

Rb

Linkin Park Digi Pack (29/1) Arrived!

2008-02-06T18:07:00.000Z

Finally. Just received the Digi pack for the Tuesdays edition of the Linkin Park O2 arena show. Sounds blimmin amazing! Just wish I went now :( I could pretend to rock out in my room, put the music to the red line, and see how many minutes to midnight I can last until the police are called..... Now that's an idea!

Well, got all my exams out the way. Got the last piece of coursework complete. So, overall, in a good state. Tidying my room at the moment, and then working on my final year project. Should be good!

My first result - and the one that caused me to miss the concert. 75% :D so thats another step to getting a decent grade. Was it worth it? Still playing in my mind. Listening to the concert... I have no idea.

The content of the digi pack was a little disappointing. All the songs are on there that were done - thats cool. You got 2 digital albums, so thats cool again. No movie though. I honestly thought there was going to be a video of them - ah well. For however much it was, its like buying the album again.

In the desperation of seeing Linkin Park live, I did a text to Textperts, see if there was any back info. No chance - nothing scheduled, nothing released. They advised me to set up an email alert with TicketMaster - so I have done. My main email account, the one band.

Ah well, at least the exam went well. I just don't want to compare the fun levels of them both...

Rb

In The End - it doesn't really matter... does it?

2008-01-24T23:04:00.000Z

Call me selfish. Call me greedy. Call me whatever you want after this - doesn't change the fact of what has happened.

I had Linkin Park Standing Tickets for Tuesday - O2 Arena - my favourite band, my favourite place, my favoutite area. Like a dream come true when I caught them before the Tuesday's concert was announced. Purchased them without a doubt of hesitiation, and I was excited.

But, I am a uni student. I have Finals exams in a 4 week period around that. I carried on, didn't cancel them with the risk that an exam could make me not go. I would have been ok if the exam on wed.morning, or tues.evening. Actually know I could not go for a fact.

But what happens when the exam is on the Tuesday Morning, and Wednesday Evening?

I could take the exam, head to london for the day, and be back on Wednesday in time for the exam. Nice, quick, easy. That was, until I thought about it too much.

You see, these exams are hard - Fuzzy Logics and Database Systems. Revision wasn't going well, and in the end, I decided that I would need to revise, or if I went, I would be knackered for the Wednesday exam. Put all of it together, and I decided I couldn't risk it. I sold them, face value, and they are now out of my possession.

I was told never look back on things you might regret. Only thing is, I can't stop thinking I could have gone. All the arguments, all the risk, and I am beginning to think I chose the wrong path. The deciding point for me selling them, thinking about it again, was that I would presume that they would tour England again. This time when I am in real work, or even better, during a week where I have nothing that I am needed for.

I guess I am doubting that they will return. They have been a great band, and I can't see them splitting up. Its.. well.. When are they going to return? Next year? 2 years time? Will they disappear under new record signings?

Will I ever see them live?

If I knew I could not go - I would not be thinking this. The fact that I could have gone is killing me.

But still, its only a concert. The tickets are gone. In the end, it doesn't really matter. Just hope I can actually nail these exams to prove to myself that I could not have gone.

Like I say, call me selfish. Call me spoilt. A lot of people who wanted to go didn't get tickets, I was lucky enough to get some in time.

Robinb

Shields Down First Post

2008-01-18T17:38:00.001Z

The first post to separate the post from the general overview with relevant information.