Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI (ROTK XI)

This post relates to the game Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI (ROTK XI) playable on PC, that is published by KOEI.

Basically, for PC, there is the Japanese version of ROTK XI, and the Chinese version of ROTK XI. In addition, ROTK XI game has the original version as well as the PUK version. The PUK version is actually a Power Up Kit for the original version of ROTK XI. And you can only play the PUK version after you installed the original version.

Aside from the PC version of ROTK XI, you also have the PS2 version of ROTK XI that is released in North America.

Since KOEI does not release the English translation of ROTK XI that is playable on PC, there are basically two ways to play ROTK XI on PC.

First, you can try to download the PS2 version of ROTK XI files, and then use a PS2 emulation to play the game. Or you can download the Japanese/Chinese version of ROTK XI, and then patch with the English translation patch/es in order to play the game. Either way, you end up playing ROTK XI in PC, in English language.

I won't tell you where to get the files here, but I'll tell the names of the files, and some other things, such as where to get the Japanese-English patch, and the Chinese-English patch. There are also other things involved with ROTK XI, such as the updates, editors, and such. Anyway, I hope that this little bits of information would be useful for die-hard ROTK/KOEI fans that happened to visit my blog here.

Note that I don't condone you downloading the pirated version of KOEI's games. If you are a fan, and a supporter, please buy the original version. You can then install the English patch to the original version in order to play the original ROTK XI game in English..

• In order to play the ROTK XI PUK version, you must have the original ROTK XI already installed inside your system.
  
• There is the ROTK XI original version in Traditional Chinese language for PC.
• There is the ROTK XI original version in Japanese language for PC
• There is the ROTK XI PUK version in Traditional Chinese language for PC
• There is the ROTK XI PUK version in Japanese language for PC
• There is the ROTK XI in English language for PS2
  
• You can install the Chinese-English patch on the Japanese ROTK XI, and the game will still work ok. Additionally, you can install the Japanese-English patch on the Chinese RTOK XI and the game still also work ok.

All the five ROTK XI games out in the market are playable in PC, in English language, provided you know how to play around with a few things.

The English patch for the PC is available in the following sites:

• www.kongming.net
• Cao Shang San11PK
  

At Kongming.net, there are five patch files available, namely:

• JPN-ENG Patch ver. 1.0 (4/12/06; by Huang Ding) for PC ROTK XI original
• JPN-ENG Patch ver. 1.1 (4/22/06; by Huang Ding) for PC ROTK XI original
• JPN-ENG Patch PUK ver. 1.0 (2/1/07; by EzyStyles) for PC ROTK XI PUK
  
• JPN-ENG Patch PUK ver. 1.0 (1/25/07; by therebex) for PC ROTK XI PUK
  
• CHN-ENG Patch PUK ver. 1.0 (1/24/07; Sun Gongli)
  

The better patch out of the five files available at Kongming.net, in my opinion is authored by EzyStyles. However, you must combine EzyStyles patch with the Cao Shan San 11 PK patch.

Note though that EzyStyles English patch is for the PUK version.

Aside from these patches, of course you need to have the original ROTK XI files as well as the ROTK XI PUk version in order to play the game.

There are some variations related to the original version of ROTK XI that can be downloaded from the Internet. I don't really recommend downloading through BitTorrent, because it will take forever. If you got a fast download speed, I recommend direct download instead.

The variations on the file size of the original ROTK XI depends on who is the person or persons that made the file available for downloaded (I guess). There is one that is approximately 348 MB, and it is missing some files. It is missing dialogue, missing movies, as well as some missing scenarios. However, I managed to get the missing files from elsewhere.

The PUK version of ROTK XI is approximately 586 MB

The file size of the original version of ROTK XI is approximately 348 MB, however, there are afew missing files from this corrupted version. There are missing movies, missing scenarios, as wella s missing dialogues. In addition, the ROTK XI PUK version is approximately 582 MB in size. As far as I am concerned, there are no missing files in the PUK version that can be downloaded somewhere through the internet. I found some missing files from the original version that is available in the PUK version, such as the movies, scenarios, and dialogue.

The 348 MB size of ROTK XI is playable on PC, but it is in Traditional Chinese language. This is most notable once you install the game into your system, and there is sub-folder named San11 TC. TC, of course, stands for Traditional Chinese.

The 582 MB ROTK XI that is also playable on PC, is in Japanese language. Again, in order to play the PUK version, all you need to do is just install/replace the files in the San 11 TC with the files and folders in the PUK version.

Well, that's all for now. I hope I give enough information, without giving too much. And in reverse, I hope I give as little information, without giving way too little information.

leeches that bleed us dry?

In several forums I have read, mostly those using English to communicate, I found at least one thing in common with own personal experience playing online games. Before I get to this, let me share with you what I personally feel about online games, or MMORPG.

In the past, when I play console games like Nintendo, Sega, Neo-Geo, PC-Engine (or Turbo Grafx), and Playstation, the only money I need to churn out was for the console, the extra joystick, memory card(s), and the games. Nintendo was by far the cheapest back then.

But as technology improves, so does piracy. This is where you can get real dirt cheap Playstation games in Compact Disc format for Rp. 5,000 - Rp. 7,000 (Rp or Rupiah is an Indonesian currency; USD 1 more or less equals to Rp. 9,500 at the moment).

Before the boom of the piracy business, when I was still playing Playstation in the United States, I could play hours upon hours, even months, on a single game, such as the legendary Final Fantasy VII from Squaresoft. I spent approximately USD 59.99 on the game, or Rp. 569,905 at today's currency exchange rate.

Compared to the MMORPG, I played FF VII mostly by myself. No one to converse to. No tricks and strategies to employ against other human players. No romance or drama involved, except those in my imagination. But the memory of playing FF VII stuck in my memory for years after.

Some MMORPG make it compulsory to pay a minimum monthly fee in order to play. Some of these even have a package in which a player can choose to purchase and play for a fixed number of hours, before that player has to purchase the package through a voucher.

The fixed periodical fee ranges from game to game using this pay-to-play system.

Many, however, allow players to play for free (free-to-play).

In both cases, whether it is pay-to-play or free-to-play, you got to fork out some real money to get special items only available through the Item Mall, usually accessible via the game company's website. These items are what we know as premium items.

The method of purchasing these premium items can either be via the purchase of a voucher at your nearest internet kiosk, game center, special order delivery, as well as through your handphone. By simply sms-ing the correct code and amount to purchase, and sending the message to the right number, a message will be sent to you with the ID and password for the voucher you have purchased electronically.

Factoring the fact that most online or MMORPG players in Indonesia play in the internet kiosks, also known as warnet, short for 'warung internet', I question whether it is wise financially/economically for individuals to fork out an arguably sizable amount of money for entertainment. Most of these players are still in school, ranging from the elementary/primary, to secondary/tertiary, high schoolers, to university students.

One full day of online time at an internet kiosk can cost anywhere around Rp. 7,000 to Rp. 12,000. That is more or less a 10-hour or a 12-hour package. Some internet kiosks charged a lower fee of Rp. 3,000 per hour to play online game/s. Not forgetting to also add the costs of drink and food, the bus ride.

Then we come to add the cost of purchasing the premium items, and/or the cost in case the player is playing a pay-to-play online game.

The word entertainment means exactly that, to entertain, or an act of entertaining. In the short-run, these younger players with no fixed income except those given by their parent/s do not feel the pinch nor the strain of forking out real money for the entertainment. But over a long course of time, some may began to feel that there is something wrong.

The cost or risk factors involved when an individual became hooked, immersed, or obsessed with the online games world have been discussed and argued before. The arguments may come from the intellectuals and the critics.

I read somewhere that Television or TV is the biggest contributor to laziness in North America, especially in the United States. By the time an adult reaches the age of seventy or so, as much as 11% to 13% of the adult's life has already been spent sitting in front of the box. I wonder whether that is a productive and positive way to make use of our 'life-is-precious, we-live-only-once'...?

Now as technology revolutionizes, comes the personal computers or PCs, and then enters the internet. If half of the 20th century TV is touted as the source of laziness, I horribly suspect that the first half of the 21st century online games via PC and the internet as the next best candidate to replace TV.

Whether it is psychologically or social factors, there definitely is a pattern that described the last recent years obsessions with online games.

First and foremost, online games are mainly fictions, derived out of the creators' imaginations, and then extended in the players' imaginations. The fiction world offers a dazzling array of colors, shapes, and sizes. The opportunities to visualize/imagine in carrying out feats that are in most parts scientifically and logically improbable or impossible.

But dig deeper into the human inner psyche, I am guessing that some of the following might apply:

• There is a large and possibly unquenchable desire to be recognized.
  
• There is a an insatiable need for attention.
• There is a tendency to run away from reality or realities.
• There is a desire to feel wanted, to belong, to bond, and to feel to be in a close community.
• There is a tendency to want to compete and act out 'one-is-esteemed', 'one-is-noble', 'one-is-popular', 'one-is-strong/powerful', but most importantly 'one-is-not-helpless/fragile.'
• There is a desire/need to possess.
  
• In some cases, there is also the tendency to seek a certain continuity and/or immortality.

Whatever the case or cases might be, seconds-minutes-hours-weeks-months-years count, and real lives spent real human time, or one could argue, waste time.

I personally have witnessed and seen a cousin of mine in his young twelve-thirteen years of age, spent up to twelve hours playing online games in a single stretch. Breaking only to eat, shower, and pee, and that only when forced by his mom. He could stay up to 02:30 AM.

And I, personally, have gone through that, and more. Spending up to 17 to 20 hours playing online game in a single stretch. It was this, and other experiences that would occasionally struck me in my mind that 'something is definitely not right.'

The human inside me felt that my cousin should not be doing what he has been allowed to do. Entertainment is all right, but that does not mean addicting and obsessing over it. To a certain degree, I would agree that it is better he spent hours playing online games rather than out there getting involved in criminal activities, drugs, or what-nots. But there must be a certain degree of control and discipline as well.

Control and discipline, if not evoked from within us, then, must be exacted by our closest elder kins, whether that be our older sibling, uncle and aunt, or parents. It is no surprise to see the father and mother being inconsistent with one another when dealing with their child. Mixed signals from the parents confuse and create conflict inside the child. Further, a parent or parents that ignore, or refused to acknowledge and mete out a certain degree of control and discipline upon the child, might be damaging the child's healthy growth prospect.

A possible version of the ideal and responsible system that exercises limited control, but one which may possibly create complications, would be the following:

• A registration system that compulsorily demands the user who registers to register a real ID.
• If the user that registers falls under a certain age group, then the parent or parents approval system kicks in, requiring one of the parents to register on behalf of the child by inputting his/her office/cell number, e-mail and ID.
  
• If the user falls into a certain age group, say in-between eight to sixteen, or eight to eighteen, the system would limit the online playing hours of the user to, say, three or five hours a day during the weekday, and five to eight hours during the weekend and national holidays.
  
• If the user of a certain age-group tries to logon or access the online game during a certain period of time, say anywhere from 10:00 PM to 13:00 PM, the system would bar or prohibit the user from logging-in.

If such system is enacted, would the system helps to curb or control the addiction and obsession over online games? Probably not. For human beings to change, to really change permanently a habit, character, attitude, way of thinking, the need or desire to change must come from within. If it comes from within, the change would last longer compared to if the change was enforced or forced by external factor. But prior for the inner self to stir and decide to carry out the change, usually an external factor or factors come into play to stimulate the mind, the heart, and possible the inner heart.

I am writing this not because I want to show or prove I am smart alec. I write this because somewhere inside of me, I feel a certain degree of concern/worry. Inadvertently, whether we like it or not, we as the individual and a collective of individuals help shape, define, and create our realities and our future. There are actions and consequences, and all sourced from choices, in which the individual or individuals that are the wiser, more experienced and responsible of us, can ponder and decide upon.

JamuRAN - Ran Online Private Server

After hearing a few friends mentioning about JamuRAN, I decided to give it a try. The whole process of installing the client and patches was initially confusing, especially the process of registering for an ID and password for the game. But, after a little bit of patience and persistence, I managed to have an account at JamuRAN Private Server.

Basically, the private server provides an alternative to the online gaming industry in Indonesia. It is free-to-play, and users/players do not have to fork out real world currency, in this case the Indonesian Rupiah to purchase special items from the Item Mall. This is because many if not most of all the items that are available only in the Item Mall can be purchased through the NPC.

FYI (for your information), NPC stands for Non-Playable Character.

The general language used by the players in JamuRAN is the Indonesian language. But some players are capable of conversing in English. I am not too sure about this, but it seems that there are several non-Indonesian players in the game.

There are pros and cons about JamuRAN compared to Jaspace's Ran Online. People coined Jaspace's Ran Online as RAN JS, whilst its counterpart, the private server is known simply as JR.

Ran JR the private server is mainly sponsored by LAXO Global or more appropriately PT Laxo Global Akses, an Internet Service Provider private company in Indonesia. Running a whois on www.laxo.net.id returns the following result (edited):

• inetnum: 119.2.40.0 - 119.2.47.255
• netname: LAXONET-ID
• descr: PT. LAXO GLOBAL AKSES
• descr: Internet Service Provider
• descr: Menara Era, Lt. 12A, Suite 2-4
• descr: Jl. Senen Raya no. 135 - 137
• descr: Jakarta 10410
• country: ID
• person: Robby Tarudji
• e-mail: robby@xxxx.xxx.xx
• phone: +62-021-3860255
• fax-no: +62-021-3860256
• source: APNIC

I have tried out Ran JR for about two weeks now. Glad to say that there are many aspects of the private server which I really enjoy. For one, it is easier to level up, especially from level 1 to level 258-260, from then on it becomes harder to level up because the experience gained from killing the monsters lessened.

You can literally raised your level from level 50 to level 200+ within an hour or so, provided that someone of a higher level is willing to party and assist you. The map to hunt is initially outside of the Leonair campus against the Black Crow, and then inside the Leonair campus against anything on the first floor. Remember that the enemies can stun you, so it would be useful to have the QiGong/Shaman's Revitalize skill or the Metal Body skill.

Other places to hunt to raise your levels, as well as to hunt for item drops include the following:

• Wharf Passage
• HO level 1 - level 2 - level 3
• Leonine/Leonair upper levels, including the B3
• EP3 Boss B
• EP3 30f - 50f - 90f
• EP3 Basement (must complete the level 230 Quest by killing Z1 or Crimson Swordsman)

Through Ran JR, I was also able to - for the first time of my Ran-playing-life - refined by weapons and equipments to +8 and +9. This is mainly because it is easy to find gold as well as the refining items such as Burr, Fine Burr, Protection Potion, Luxurious Protection Potion.

Another plus about RAN JR is the list of skills and character status points. The skills go all the way from level/grade 15 up to 23 (if I am not mistaken), additionally the character status points are enough to thickened your damage, dexterity, and/or Hit Points (HP).

Currently, I am most glad with my single achievement in defeating the monster boss known as the Ultimate Destroyer, reputedly at level 299. The picture below shows my character engaging Ultimate Destroyer.

Information about my character at Ran JR:

• Character name: Ichtelion
• Level: 262
• Campus: Sacred Gate
  
• Type: POW >> INT >> ATT >> ETC
  
• HP: 5103 (with mastered Genki Aura, and Fully Equipped)
• Highest recorded damage: 18,000+ (with Power Up)
• Support skills used to defeat Ultimate Destroyer: Genki Aura, Revitalize, Inspire, MP Boost, Enhanced Scroll Effect, Frenzy Attack, Magnetic Shaft/Skill Delay, Power Up
• Offensive skills used to defeat Ultimate Destroyer: Skill 237 - Grade 6, Skill 227 - Grade Master, Skill 207 - Grade Master, Skill 187 - Grade Master, Skill 177 - Grade Master, Skill 167 - Grade Master, Skill Demon Dance - Grade Master, Skill Crescent Moon Dance - Grade Master
  

regarding campuses

We all know that in Ran Online there three (plus 1) campuses, namely Sacred Gate, Phoenix Hole, and Mystic Peak (and... arguably, Leonair). This post tries to extend a little the meaning and the origin behind the name of each campus.

I originally posted this article in an Indonesian Ran Online private server forum at:

• http://jamuran.web.id/

Without much further ado, here goes... From the latinized Korean name of each campus, we have

• Sungmun = Sacred Gate
• Bonghwang = Phoenix Hole
• HA = Mystic Peak (...if you are not a Korean, have you ever wondered what HA stands for?)

The Korean language is actually easy to read, but takes some efforts to decipher the meanings. Probably due to the grammar, linguistic style, cultural influence and what-nots. Usually when you learn basic Korean language, you are introduced to the basic "ga da na ma ba sa..."

Sungmun, is actually comprised of 2 characters, namely sung (성) mun (문), derived from the Chinese language or characters, shèng (圣) mén (门). Shèng (圣) can be defined as: sage, saint, holy, sacred, emperor; whilst Mén (门) can be defined as: entrance, door, gate, sect, school, class valve, switch.

The character sung (성) is derived of three separate characters, in which the top left is an S, the top right reads EU/EO, the bottom flattened oval reads NG. The character mun (문) is derived with an M at the top that is drawn like a square/rectangle, the middle reads YU, whilst the bottom reads N.

Note that a Korean word or character never stands alone. Therefore an A or AH is written 아 with an additiona vertical oval on the left. A horizontal flattened oval at the bottom is always prounounced as an NG.

Korean word is usually comprised of at least 2 characters, such as 아 (ah). Normally a word has 3 characters, structured as top left - top right - middle bottom, or, top - middle - bottom. In certain context, a word can be comprised of 4 characters.

Bonghwang is comprised of two characters, namely Bong (봉) Hwang (황), derived from the Chinese characters Fèng (凤) Huáng (凰). In Chinese language, Fèng (凤) Huáng (凰) are rarely used individually, and when they are, usually the character Fèng (凤) is often used, because Fèng (凤) by itself is understound as Phoenix.

The Korean character Bong (봉), read from the top character as P/B, the middle character reads as an O/UO, whilst the bottom character reads as an NG. Hwang (황) itself is comprised of four characters, whereby the the top right reads as H, middle right reads as O/UO, top left reads as A, and the bottom reads as NG.

Initially, I was befuddled by the fact that the latinized Korean names of each campus were spelled out except for the Mystic Peak campus which was shortened only as HA. Then when I observed the Korean characters for the Mystic Peak campus, things became much clearer.

The first character is (현), whereby the top left is read H, top right is read YEO/YU/YO, middle bottom is read N. Therefore, it is pronounced either Hyun or Hyeon. The second character is (암), whereby the top right character reads A, but because A cannot stand by itself the vertical oval character is added on the top left hand side (아), whilst the bottom character reads M.

Thus, Mystic Peak in Korean is actually Hyun (현) Am (암). The multinational Korean company Hyundai's Hyun is also written in similar fashion, that is, (현).

In the world of Ran Online, the character Hyun (현) is derived from the Chinese character Xuán (玄), defined as: black, dark, profound, mystical, incredible. However, for the second character Am (암), I honestly cannot figure out what the Chines character is. Therefore, I give up.

If you enter the Korean character (암) into AltaVista Babel Fish, the result defines the character as Cancer. Hohohoho. Pun intended, the Mystic Peak campus, or the Hyun (현) Am (암) campus could be translated as Black Cancer, Terrible Cancer, or Incredible Cancer. :P~~ Just kidding!