Topics

1

Video Games / I Need You, Baby!

« on: April 05, 2012, 02:40:26 PM »

So I've been playing a lot more PC games since I got the new rig a few months back and I'm getting tired of playing them alone.  There are two games that I keep coming back to which would both me way more fun with friends.

Both are free-to-play, so you have no excuse.

The first is League of Legends.  It's a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) pitting two teams against each other. The game looks pretty simple, but the amount of depth is stunning. It takes strategy, tactics, and skill to be successful.  The most frustrating thing is that I mainly play pick-up games and it only takes a couple of disconnecting players or idiots to ruin a match. So, friends needed. It's a good time. I am Eye Tyrant. 

The second game is World of Tanks.  I just tried this one out.  You control one of a ton of real-world tanks and are trying to wipe out the enemy team or take their base. The gameplay shares one of the things I loved about Chromehounds: maneuvering.  Rushing into a straight up fight will often get your killed. So it's all about  teamwork and outmaneuvering your opponent. Matches only take a 6-10 minutes, usually, which makes it more bite-sized than League of Legends.  There is also clan support and if there's enough interest I'll look into that.  I am EyeTyrant there.

So, come play with me! It's free!

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Video Games / Armored Core V: The New Chromehounds?

« on: February 21, 2012, 09:30:40 PM »

I really wish FromSoftware had stuck with making Chromehounds a series instead of sticking with their older property, Armored Core.

I have never been a fan of AC due to the frentic pace of battles and difficult controls. It was only when Mollarom mentioned AC V was coming out and looked to have some Chromehounds-like multiplayer features that I took a look.

Hot damn!  Persistent war. Battles over territory, commander mode, custom squads, territory you can upgrade and outfit with turrets and the like...

So, uh, I'm sold.

I will be picking this up on 3/20 and if I can even get just a small taste that's similar to my beloved Chromehounds it will be worth it.

I'll let you know how it is. Until then, check out this video for a look at the features.

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The Podge Cast / Episode 150: Constant Denial

« on: July 24, 2011, 10:42:44 PM »

Seriously, I am not a dick.

Especially when compared to Adam, Paul, and Eric.

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Video Games / [Minecraft] Discordia

« on: June 30, 2011, 11:19:21 PM »

(Adam, I just named the world something appropriate in the title. Change it if you don't like.)

The SOP Minecraft server has been live for about a week and we're steadily building things up.  I've got my first major project done and am considering a few ideas for my next one.

Adam, I think you're the only one that can edit around spawn? Can you build a smooth way to the door. The current is unwieldly.

1.7 released today. Do not update as the server is 1.6 and will be so until Notch releases a stable version. We'll let you know when. If you already updated, let me know and I can send you the 1.6 bin. It's easy to roll back.

Here are some shots of what I've been up to:

Death Mountain Ranch: In progress


Death Mountain: Named because it reminds me of Death Mountain from Zelda II and I also died inside a lot. Effing Creepers.


Come visit beautiful Lake Tablesaw


Death Mountain Ranch as it looks now


Running Home


The Map (South of Spawn)


Labels:  1 is Spawn. 2 is Death Mountain Ranch. 3 is Lake Tablesaw

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The Podge Cast / Kingdom 2: Deep Witchwood Nine

« on: June 16, 2011, 04:09:52 PM »

I haven't posted much about the campaign so I thought I'd fix that since the new recap dropped.

As of right now we've played ten sessions, not counting character creation. The schedule has been bumpy which has caused a lot of delays. That coupled with the fact the sessions are, at best, biweekly instead of weekly like the original KTNG has changed the mood of the game. While that takes away some of the intensity and tension of the last game, I think the fiction we've created has served well in keeping us driving ahead even if the PCs have needed a nudge from time to time. The last session was totally balls-out, too. No spoilers, but big things happen.

I like starting out with three lifepaths. We've hit the point now that the characters have really started to advance skills and attributes and that made all the early struggles with low rolls worth it. Not to mention that all those failures took the game into places it never would have gone before. Rin's reputation as a bully being one of the best examples.

We were not good at writing Beliefs in KTNG. Not at all. And I wasn't rewarding near enough Artha. We've fixed that. Francis came over and made a character the other day and his Beliefs really showed how much we all had learned. As he hadn't played since the first game, he was still stuck in the original mindset, something I'm going to have to talk to him about when he shows up to play. I think he'll enjoy how it feels when Beliefs are done right. It's like everything is firing on all cylinders.

I've really enjoyed going back to the setting...and then tearing the hell out of it. It feels like a living, breathing construciton that's come from all of our efforts. Maybe because it is ours, we feel beholden to nothing and have no fear about tearing at the very foundations of what we've made only to see how we can rebuild it from the remaining pieces. Again, no spoilers, but in the 10th session the actions of the characters drastically change the world, or at least are catalyst to that change.

Anyway, it's been a blast. I'm having as much fun running it as I dd with KTNG, and that's saying something.

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The Podge Cast / TPC 142 : IN STEEEEEEREEEEO

« on: May 30, 2011, 02:33:51 AM »

A hungover Adam didn't switch it to mono. AGAIN!

Until he fixes it, enjoy sweet steeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeoooooooooooooooooooooooo!

It's like getting the double deuce!

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Media Review / John Wick's "The War"

« on: May 17, 2011, 12:04:57 AM »

The first episode of The War premiered today and I've now fully consumed it. You should check it out here.  It's a documentary about a great war in a fantasy realm.

It's a volunteer product and a free hour of entertainment. That's makes any critique difficult for me as the fact I don't have to pay for it (unless I choose to donate) outweighs what nitpicks I can level at it. Let me indulge those for a minute as it will serve to illustrate my evolving opinion. The War is done exactly like Ken Burn's "The Civil War." Not an homage, it's an exact replica.  The use of music, ambient audio, quotes, and format are exactly the same.  As I have just been rewatching Burn's epic, I was initially a little put off.  Particularly the introduction sat poorly with me. Wick tried to emulate the great narration of the first episode of The Civil War and frankly, failed. It's overly verbose and lacks the emotional punch of its source material. The introduction just tries a bit too hard to hook me.

Also, I was immediately thrown off by some of the choices made. The various accents for humans I wasn't terribly pleased with. I also don't understand why every fantasy race goes by its common name except for Dwarves, other than the fact they don't want to be called dwarves. Through the intro, I was about to give up.   But I stuck with it.

I'm glad I did.  By 20 minutes in the narrative gets much tighter, the narration itself improves, and the story sets its hooks. I was captivated by the rest of it and can't wait for the next installment. The voice acting is pretty good, overall, especially for a volunteer cast. There's only two voice actors who pulled me out of the narrative. The rest (including Rob Justice) did a very good job. Better than a lot of video games, in fact.

Bottom line is this: The War starts out shaky during the introduction but quickly picks up momentum and weight and becomes a fun watch.  I look forward to the next installment.

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Video Games / [Minecraft] Tartarus

« on: April 14, 2011, 02:15:38 AM »

Just wanted to start a thread to keep track of our plans.  Right now the Hands Brotherhood has established a mountain outpost just past The Great Desert far northwest of The Castle of Fire. We have a fairly well-defended tower and two deep mines, one of which opened into a dungeon.  The dungeon is clear, but several wings remained unexplored.

Stingray, after you logged our tower got swarmed by creepers. I kept the damage minimal and worked on making the entryway as creeper-proof as possible. We have several choke points now, but could use some more (while trying to keep the aestetic).

Stingray, I'd like to share a useful tip since we'll be delving into the same depths. When exploring a new cavern I only place torches on the right side. This makes it very easy to find my way back to the origin as I just keep all the placed torches on the left. I only break this rule if there's an area that needs lighted in order to prevent spawning. It's simple and a huge help.

Plans:
-Somehow a skeleton got into our cellar. We should deal with that and figure out how he spawned.
-I have went through a good portion of our primary mine and named the various wings to make it easier to navigate. There are still unexplored portions.
-I'd like to build a sandstone fort in the nearby desert area and, in general, spread out. We're well into the frontier but there are a lot of new players. I don't want any coming and settling too close if we can help it.
-Once we stake our full claim I want to build a road back to civilization.

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Media Review / Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

« on: March 28, 2011, 01:05:29 AM »

So everyone wants to suggest anime to get me to appreciate it. As for series, the original Full Metal Alchemist held my attention for longer than most (thanks to Adam's suggestion) but ultimately the slow pacing lost me.

Tonight there was a lot of discussion about Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which is apparently a retelling based entirely on the manga.

This?

This is good. Great pacing, snapping writing, deep mysteries, and characters I can care about. Much more enjoyable than the first FMA telling. I'm almost 10 episodes in and I am absolutely, completely hooked.

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Media Review / Kevin Smith: Too Fat for 40

« on: February 18, 2011, 01:44:58 AM »

Watched this on Netflix the other day.  Very good. I love Kevin's Q&A shows.

Perhaps the funniest part, though, is that he initially says he intends to keep his answers brief and succinct (for once) and then proceeds to spend the entire show answering the one and only question. 

That was a pretty amazing ending. 

11

Media Review / The Office: Michael Scarn and departure

« on: February 18, 2011, 01:43:01 AM »

Tonight's episode, featuring Michael's movie, had a profound change in Michael that was given little screen time.  The one thing, over the course of the entire run of the show, that Michael continually fails to do is to look through his own delusions and ego to see that people are laughing at him far more than with him. 

That changes this episode. Abruptly, really.

All of a sudden he realizes not only that his staff is laughing at him, but that's it's okay because what he's done is funny because it's so poor.  Michael has, in the past, allowed himself to be the butt of the joke but only when that was his intention...usually in order to make some peace or settle dispute. 

This should change the course of the show.  My hope is that it does. With Carell leaving this season I hope this was the first step in Michael's final arc where he learns something and matures, at least a bit, before heading off.

If it doesn't, I will be very unhappy (especially since the show is, at best, mediocre now).

12

The Podge Cast / Episode 125: Daniel Solis

« on: February 03, 2011, 02:50:50 PM »

Man, after listening to this, I'm really sorry I missed this one.  This is our best episode in a while.

Hmmm....maybe I am the drag-line.   

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Video Games / LttP: Dead Space

« on: February 02, 2011, 10:44:22 PM »

I'm very late to the party, but I finally checked out Dead Space.  I knew nothing beyond what the old trailers showed which was little beyond dismembering alien horrors in a dark space ship so color me surprised when the story turns out to be really compelling.

This game reminds me of my favorite game of all time, System Shock 2, crossed with Event Horizon with a dash of 40K.

I'm going to have to check out the newly released sequel now, too.

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Video Games / Armored Core 5 - A Chromehounds Successor?

« on: February 02, 2011, 10:41:38 PM »

Following the link from Penny Arcade today led to this.  I am cautiously excited by that but not holding my breath.  I played AC 4 and the gameplay side of things wasn't much fun. Definitely keeping an eye on both this and the new Steel Batallion.

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Iron Tyrants / Battle Reports!

« on: September 30, 2010, 12:22:38 AM »

How'd the battle go?  Tell us all about the carnage here!