The End

As my last post of 2012, I wanted to look back on my posts for the year and determine what content I would prioritize for the coming year.

2013

I thought I'd look at 2013 and see what releases I'm particularly looking foward to.

The Morning After

It's the morning after Christmas. What was your yield? What was your best find? What do you wish you got?

Happy Holiday-Thing!

To Celebrate the Apocalypse...

The Steam holiday sale has begun.

Secret World End of Days Situation Room ARG

Funcom is at it again, running a Secret World ARG that follows the standard Secret World mission structure. For existing players, it's easy to dive right in, but this ARG is open to all players -- and given Secret World's new No Subscription Fee model, new players are very well welcome to fight against the coming end of the world.

12.21.2012: The End is Nigh

NASA has explained their interpretation of the 2012 end of the world phenomena.

Mongoose Traveller Cheat Sheet

The Traveller books have always had some editing issues.  The layout leaves you flipping through the combat chapter to identify where all of the rules you're looking at are, and there is inconsistent usage of terms in the Mongoose books.  There are also a lot of things that are left unsaid.  I made a cheat sheet to walk players through combat.  The one thing I had to extrapolate was unarmed damage -- that part was left completely unexplained.  I got the damage from the creature damage chart, but I guessed (and I might be wrong) that player damage is locked at d6+Effect damage.  If it's wrong, I'm more than glad to correct it.  But for now -- a download link.

The Sin of Damnation

After my nerdgasm about the possibility of a true-to-tabletop strategy adaptation of Warhammer Fantasy, another foot drops: Space Hulk is being re-made as a digital title.  This goes to show that Games Workshop is trying to draw players in on more platforms at a time in order to increase the value of their IP.  It's working.

Kickstarter: D&D/Pathfinder Miniatures

For quite a while, I've wanted a set of miniatures with interchangeable parts that covered humans in most of the armor available in Dungeons and Dragons or other fantasy games. It's been particularly difficult to find, and cost-prohibitive, as to properly assemble models representative of adventurers (and not just soldiers), one needs to cobble together a lot of parts and spend quite a bit of money.  Kingdom Death changes that.

Warhammer Online?

One of the largest draws of Games Workshop's games is its intellectual property itself.  Within each game, dozens of factions both unique in appearance and play style compete with one another.  Each faction is richly developed, and has at this point more than twenty years of fiction tying it into a cohesive universe in which no faction is strictly "good," but is primarily vying for survival.  Each faction is nuanced to the point where you can see factions within factions, moving in directions that the core faction may not explore.  Both Fantasy and 40k have had video games attempting to capitalize on it, but while Dawn of War was largely successful, Fantasy has not had similar success.

Competing with an IP

Competing with an established IP is difficult.  Even with players generally unfamiliar with source material, a quick search on Google can net a wealth of information, effectively spoiling plot.  This leaves gamemasters with a wealth of background knowledge that could be exposed at a moment's notice, or leaves the gamemaster heading into uncharted territory in a manner that leaves the players feeling like the GM has moved too far away from the established IP.

The Problem with Modding

One of the reasons I primarily play games on the PC involves a higher level of support and customization.  The bulk of this support doesn't come from developers, though: it comes directly from players, usually in the form of modding.  Whether it's to fix a broken game or add new content, mods have become essential for playing specific games (like Skyrim), and I can't imagine the game without them.

Social Networking and Tabletop RPGs

As I run down on my 100th post, I made a decision to re-visit the 10 most visited posts I've made since I started this process back in May, and possibly add something to each of them.  In that same process, I've watched as this blog went from around 100 pageviews a month, heavily reliant on advertising I did myself via Facebook, to over 400 a month with most of the hits coming in from Google itself, while I've done little advertising.  What started out as a little experiment turned into something that was much more, and I have to say, I'm rather proud.

Hunt the Wumpus?!

Earlier in the week at Evil Avatar, I noticed a newspost that got quite a good deal of attention: Time put together a spread on the top 100 video games ever.

Generation V: Advanced Training

After looking at type charts and other various and sundry basics for the Pokemon Generation V metagame, I delved into the Smogon Pokemon Academy, looking to see what I'd need to know in order to prepare for Subway Battle Matchups.

Generation V: The Pokemon Essentials

At a friend's suggestion, I've picked up Pokemon Black 2, and have been exploring building a team in preparation for PAX East.  I've gotten about halfway into the game, and I'm already exploring what to expect once I enter the Subway for random battles, as well as what to expect at the conference itself.

Pokemon Type Charts

I've been dragged into re-trying Pokemon with Black 2's addition to the series.  While I've not yet completed enough to fully review the product (roughly halfway in), I'm liking what I'm seeing.  In order to get a handle on proper matchups, though, I've been looking repeatedly at weakness and strength charts based on type to find what is "super effective."  Hopefully they'll be helpful to more than just myself.

Fly Me Again

Traveller has been a game I've been putting a lot of attention into lately.  After the first character  I generated, I realized that I might need to make someone that was more useful to the party.

Traveller Character Generator

If you are at all mildly interested in Traveller, I found a Classic Traveler generator that will quickly throw together a character.

In other news, Shadow Warrior's out on GoG!  I have but one question.

A Caution: Amazon.com

As you enter the holiday season, and do the shopping that tends to be tied in with it, I caution you against using Amazon.com for any purchase.  Here's why.

40k Dictionary: *EQ

There are specific standards that 40k has.  Of them, there are three that particularly stand out, especially when doing math on whether a unit is good or not.

It's Official

After not being surprised at all, it's been announced:

The Old Republic will be free to play next week.

Game Fuel

What do you eat when you're marathon gaming?  Whether it's a raid, a 6 hour grind, a 8 hour D&D session, or a Desert Bus fundraiser, odds are, you've considered what would help you achieve whatever monumental task before you.  As someone who has to pull a work-related all-nighter on little notice an estimated once a month, I've put a lot of thought into this.

Landing a Piledriver

As a primarily PC gamer, I build my own machines.  While the process is one for another day, since I don't have a picture-based tutorial ready, I do feel the need to weigh in on AMD's latest release, the Piledriver CPUs they've been delaying for a year.

Disney and Star Wars

I admit, I initially winced when I heard about Disney's buyout of LucasArts. I expected it to be equivalent to the "Merchandising" scene in Spaceballs. And then I thought about it some more.

Warhammer and Zombies

I've been rather busy because of a hurricane (worked 24 hours of the past 40 hours), so enjoy a Halloween-themed link to a Warhammer 40k zombies scenario.

The Gravtrawler

The Gravtrawler, the 1km-long grav racer I mentioned in my Traveller biography, is actually something I mathed out using the Civilian Vehicles handbook.  I don't have access to the new combined handbook, so there might be something I'm missing.

Starting Skills in Mongoose Traveller

Mongoose Traveller determines your starting skills by the career you pick.  As part of my own character creation process, I looked at every career in MGT.  Here, I'm posting a list of careers, including source book and skill, for your convenience.

Fly Me To the Moon

Earlier in the week, I discussed the use of lifepath generators.  Today, I spent a bit of time creating and exploring a lifepath via the Mongoose Traveller system.

Heresy Era Thousand Sons

While it's not the same direction I'm going with my Heresy Night Lords, I stumbled across a link Mordian7th's Heresy Era Thousand Sons on Bell of Lost Souls, and they are beautiful.  I've got a couple of images of his army after the jump.

The Lifepath

Creating depth for starting characters is a difficult task.  Characters that are anything more than their race and class/career only start forming after a few sessions are under a player's belt.  R. Talsorian's Cyberpunk 2020 aimed to change that by developing a new form of character creation -- one that developed fully a character's background before they have a career.  The lifepath adds a quick level of depth not otherwise found.

Cyberpunk 2077

You know how a few months back CD Project Red announced they'd acquired the Cyberpunk 202x license from R. Talsorian?

Breaking Cthulhu: Combat

After making a superhuman born prior to the birth of America, figuring out how to become a master of all trades, and become impervious to insanity, it's only fitting that we talk about how a Call of Cthulhu character can exploit combat.

XCOM: The Base Assault

After a climactic and harried battle with the aliens, my X-Com team unearthed a massive alien base in Siberia. I hesitated, wondering if it was the end of the game or not. After building up my air force and ensuring I was properly equipped with plasma weaponry and decent armor, I made the jump.

XCOM: The First Turn

You've just landed six X-Com soldiers on an unknown patch of land deep in the Black Forest, stepped away from your Skyranger, and can't mark out where the downed Muton UFO is. Your first-turn placement can be the difference between victory and a total loss of the six dudes in a dropship standing between aliens and the annihilation of the human species.

Kickstarter: Obsidian's Project Eternity

It's no secret that I'm a huge Obsidian fan.  I've been following them since they were Black Isle, and this particular group of developers have made some of the most memorable gaming experiences I've had.  Sure, their games are shackled with bugs resulting from rushed release windows, a lack of publisher support, and crippled after-launch support.  Kickstarter is their first outing without the problems of having a publisher on their back.

The Hobbitses and Statistics

Some wonderful person cataloged statistics on Tolkien's character and extrapolated statistical demographic information.

Easy Mk IV Space Marines

As I'm gearing up for the new Chaos codex (and the Heresy), I'm working on converting more Heresy-era Night Lords.

Custom Music in MLB12: The Show

I'm not a particularly huge sports games fan.  I buy one of each franchise I'm interested in per generation.  I happen to be dating someone who's particularly interested in baseball, and so I've put quite a bit of work into figuring out how to make the music a lot more authentic, including batter walk-on music, 7th inning stretch music, and stadium themes.

Dreadclaw Drop Pod Conversion

With the 6th Edition 40k Chaos Codex and the Horus Heresy Forgeworld line on the horizon, I've begun looking at what I need to build to play in both.  I'd found these amazing conversions a while ago, but only recently have made significant progress.

The Dreadclaw Drop Pod

The Secret World Has Petered Out

Guild Wars 2 launched at the ideal time.  The most recent MMO release was The Secret World, and Pandaria was a bit off.  The population of Secret World has steadily declined, and developers have commented that they are prepared for a Free-to-Play transition:

"...we definitely have the tools to turn The Secret World into a free-to-play game -- or even hybrid -- should we decide to do that somewhere down the line."

I love the depth in the Secret World, but I've been playing Guild Wars. What elements other than Guild Wars contributed to TSW's decline, and how can they right the ship?

My Thoughts on Mists of Pandaria

After watching a quick recap video about Mists of Pandaria, here are my impressions of the real new features of Mists of Pandaria -- not what they're advertising.

Unnamed Publishers Trying to Exploit Kickstarter

I'm taking a break of my coverage leading into Cthulhu 7.  Per Feargus Uquhart, CEO of Obsidian Studios, a publisher decided to offer boxed copies of Project Eternity in exchange for the IP, the profit, and the glory.

Breaking Character Creation

After looking at skills and sanity checks, it should be fairly apparent that Cthulhu's system isn't particularly balanced for party play in the same way that other games aspire to be.  Character Creation, the very thing that determines all of these, is also easily exploitable.  We continue our look at Cthulhu as we move forward into 7th Edition.

Kickstarter: Horror on the Orient Express

I've been ramping up for the 7th edition of Call of Cthulhu, as you've seen for the past week in my analysis articles.  I've got a handful more before I'm done, but I did want to highlight that Chaosium is creating a Cthulhu boxed campaign for 7th, out of their old module, Horror on the Orient Express.

Breaking Minds

After Monday's post working out the statistics of abusing skill checks in Call of Cthulhu, I moved on to crunching statistics on Sanity when working through scenarios -- specifically, the odds of not going either temporarily or permanently insane during a scenario.  While Education is the most important stat at generation, Power seems to be the most helpful statistic afterward.

Breaking Cthulhu's Skill System

Call of Cthulhu (and Delta Green) has a rather unique skill system. While d% challenges are fairly common among role-playing games, Cthulhu has a unique system of skill improvement. Each time you succeed at a check, you mark a box next to the skill name, and have a chance of improving that skill by rolling over your skill value on a d%. If you succeed, you get a die roll to determine how far your skill improves. As someone running a game, I like to learn how to break a system in order to let me better design scenarios to keep things balanced. Here's how Cthulhu 6th is ruined.

Reacting to the Market

Over the past few years, Games Workshop has struggled as two major phenomena have undermined their business model.  Both have spawned from the fact that Games Workshop does not provide all options for a kit in the kit itself, and does not provide models for everything in their rich background or even in the codices.  They've slowly maneuvered themselves to lessen the impact of both, but will it be quick enough?

Replaying X-Com

The next title I'm excited about isn't coming around for another month -- XCOM: ENEMY UNKNOWN. While I wait, I've been fiddling with playing the original (called XCOM: UFO DEFENSE in America). Thanks to a clever post on the Steam forums, I was quickly on my way, with a number of tweaks and improvements that I wish had made it into the original game.

How to Spot a Botter

Over the past two weeks, I've noticed specific repetitive patterns of peculiar players in Guild Wars that aren't particularly involved in the game world.  Because GW2 bots are not particularly advanced at this point, they're rather easy to notice.  Here's how.

MMO 2.0: Part 2

After my analysis of what defines a generation of MMO, the question still remains: are we on the cusp of a new generation? Have the first titles of a new generation been released, or have they yet to be conceptualized?

MMO 2.0

In passing conversation, a friend recently remarked that he felt we were on the cusp of a new generation of MMO, referring to this as the beginning of MMO 2.0, beginning with Secret World and following through with Guild Wars 2. I was a bit surprised, and then I thought about it -- was he right? To define this further, we need to look at the history of the MMO.

Labor Day

It's Labor Day, and I'm stuck at work.  Here are a few things you can look forward to in the near future.  Enjoy a few games on your day off.

 
In the meantime, say goodbye to City of Heroes/Villains. Paragon studios is closing.  CoX continues to provide the best character variety and creation in the MMO biz.  I'm sad to see it shuttering.

Valve Eyes a Walled Garden

Today, Valve announced a service that would essentially let us have a say in what games actually make it to be sold on Steam.  In the long voting tradition where America allows the throngs to elect its idols, Steam's Greenlight allows us to be the final arbiter in their walled garden.

World vs World in Guild Wars 2

For years, I'd been hoping for a good world-based PvP game. Mythic promised it with Warhammer Online's Realm vs Realm (RvR), but their open-world PvP devolved into objective-swapping, an inability to play due to poor computing resource management, and an inability to play due to stacking spammable AoE and creature control.  Now, NCSOFT hits back with Guild Wars 2 in what amounts to the most polished structured open-world PvP in an MMO.

Kickstarter Feature: Planetary Annihilation

The RTS genre was one I was fascinated with for a handful of months, moving back and forth between Warcraft II and Red Alert.  Outside of those few months, though, the RTS genre was not one I particularly appreciated.  I never enjoyed the base building, and felt too much of the gameplay was wrapped up with it.  I went ape over the real time tactical gameplay of Myth and Total War, and to me, there was only one traditional RTS that could keep up -- Total Annihiliation.  With absolutely huge maps, massive battles, and utter chaos and destruction that forgets about actions-per-second and base building, I enjoyed TA quite a bit more than I have anything cut from the traditional RTS mold.

I about wet myself when I found out Uber Entertainment was making a spiritual sequel.

Beware the Black Isle

Over the past few days, Interplay put up a minimalist web site heralding the return of Black Isle Studios, in an attempt to harness the nostalgia of Baldur's Gate, Planescape, and Fallout fans after seeing the recent interest in classic CRPGs.  You might be confused -- didn't nearly every single Black Isle staffer land at one of a handful of studios that are still making games?  Your suspicion would certainly be warranted -- and, as it appears, this new "Black Isle" likely isn't what you're hoping for.

Mods to Fix Skyrim's Lackluster Presentation

As we all know by now, Bethesda makes games that can be bordering unplayable on release. After slogging through Fallout 3, Morrowind, and Oblivion, I've come to expect the fact that I have to rely on modders to make the games even remotely tolerable and to fix bugs.  I've also come to expect expansions to need serious tweaking, which is why I've not bothered with Dawnguard, and why I'm not certain all of these mods will work with Dawnguard.

3 months!

Well.  I've kept up the 3 posts a week for three whole months.

Cthulhu Cake shamelessly stolen from Kerry's Custom Cakes, and the link was thanks to a friend.

The Obsolete Endgame

The approach of a new expansion is a problematic one.  Not only do game developers have to prepare content for the hardcore players of their particular game, but they have to consider the casual person, who may not have been engaging in raids, end game dungeons, or even have completed all of the quests leading to the new expansion.  Even more problematic, there are players that have not even reached zones from the last expansion, or players returning to the fold from years before.  As Blizzard gears up to Pandaria, I look back at the Cataclysm and Lich King launches for these players.

Social Gaming

Given how many games expect us to be online at all times (from MMOs to Ubisoft titles) and the huge focus on multiplayer, I'm surprised that there's so little interest in social gaming.  There have been a number of small developments, mostly pushed by Valve, but we're well behind the curve compared to the average web user.

Et tu, Bioware?

 In a move that should surprise absolutely nobody, the nets are bustling with reports that Bioware is the next studio to be fed into the EA woodchipper.  According to Eurogamer, Dr. Greg Zeschuk has hung up the mantle at Bioware Austin, and it's to be re-branded EA Austin.  Another site speculates that Ray may not be far behind.  While I'm excited to see what the Doctors' next project would be, this news leads me to believe that Bioware is being tossed in the same woodchipper that other prominent studios found themselves in.

Digital Media

One of the pitfalls of modern television programming is the complete ignorance of the internet at the hands of most providers.  With a few networks excepted, some of the most popular shows on television are simply not available on the internet legally, or if they are, it's at significant restriction.  HBO is particularly terrible at programming in a digital age, but even the Big Bang Theory is unavailable.  It was only a matter of time, I suppose, before media companies noticed YouTube, Vimeo, and the World Wide Web as a distribution platform.

Your Battle.Net Account Has Been Compromised

I'm putting off an update to make sure you're aware of this.  In case you don't already have a physical authenticator, I urge you to get one.  Especially if you don't want to be running Black Temple while you sleep.

Maintaining a Dynasty, Part 2

In my review of Crusader Kings 2, I mentioned that the difficulty (and the uniqueness) of the game came from the fact that your own vassals and children will squabble over what is left of your empire when you kick the bucket.  Assuming you've overstretched, or you know your citizens are ready to pick up the pitchforks, here are a few things to keep in mind both before and during a crisis.

You've seen part 1.  Here's part 2, what you can do during a crisis.

Secret World Skill Preview: Rockets

Funcom mentioned it was planning new "Auxiliary Weapons" for an upcoming content patch.  After a little delving, and a tip from a friend, I've come across the first of these weapons: Rockets.  Thanks to data that they left easily accessible by the client, I've gotten access to a preview.