Weekend Review: Sept 8th & 9th

Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!

Mark of the Ninja 
On Friday Mark of the Ninja silently released to Xbox Live. With what seemed like little fanfare from Microsoft (their latest dash is terrible). Thankfully ever game news site I follow fell in love with it. A 20 minute demo later and I was cramming credits into my account. I like stealth games a lot, but many titles get lost in the weeds when stealth becomes hard to convey. MotN sticks to it's guns. It has fantastic visual cues and offers up enough tweaks to the game play from start to finish that it remains interesting. Oh and it has a good story too. Game of the year contender for me and only $15.

Locke & Key: Clockworks
I devoured the first four trades of Locke & Key when I finally got around to reading it earlier this year. Then I fell off for some reason. I went back to the well this weekend and loved the continuation of the story. It wraps up this fall with the final arc and that has me really excited and already a little depressed it will be over.

Stop Podcasting Yourself
When My Brother, My Brother and Me made the jump to the Maximum Fun family of podcast I was introduced to a grip of new shows. Most everyone has been great, but the one I've enjoyed the most is Stop Podcasting Yourself. The host are two stand ups who live in Vancouver and bring on a different guest every week (pretty standard format). They revel in silly humor and constantly make each other and their guest laugh. They have lots of great guest, but I'd suggest going back in the archive and scoping up ever Paul F Tompkins episode.

40k Painting
I picked up my brushes again early last week and finally started up on my Sons of Medusa army. Which has been on my hobby table untouched for six months. The catalyst for my return was a game my three year old refers to as "Dice Game". We set up five marines each on his Lego table and take turns moving them around the battlefield. We resolve conflicts with d6 rolls and I get him to count up both dice and tell me who won. It is a lot of fun as is, but I am already thinking of modifications to the system. Letter identification for combat advantage and setting up Lego cover.

Weekend Review: July 21st & 22nd

Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!

Tour de France
I returned to the tour this year not expecting much after three years away. I ended up getting hooked. It motivated my desire to recover and return to my bike and there were some really exciting stages. It ended on Sunday and I am bummed about that, but am hoping for good coverage of the Olympic cycling events in a little more than a week.

Strava
During the tour coverage there seemed to be a Strava ad every 10 minutes. Enough so that I downloaded the running and cycling apps. I had been laid up with a bum knee for most of the event though. When I finally got out to run last weekend I used Strava instead of Nike+. Strava did not have the audio pace/time updates I like so much with Nike and the screen went dark on my arm band. Preventing me from seeing the pace/time as well. I don't have a bike computer installed however. So with nothing to compare too, I booted Strava on Sunday for a morning ride in the country. I heart data and there was plenty of it. It only consumed 25% battery in 2 hours and it seemed pretty accurate when compared to the other riders I was with. Two thumbs up for the cycling app. A get Nike+ if you're considering the running app.

UFC 149
Boring! Crowd booing is not always the best indicator of how a fight is going, but is this case it was for me. I'm not a fan of Dominic Cruz, but it looked like he could beat Faber and Barao when the belts are unified. The only saving grace was Matt Riddle's standing arm triangle to trip submission. Pretty rad!

Warhammer 40K Dawn of War II Retribution
Not to make you think the weekend was a total sport-o-fest, I picked up Dawn of War 2: Retribution during the Summer Steam sale. I had already played through the original game and the first expansion and loved them. Retribution adds new factions and more single player story lines. So far so good. The 40k video games have everything I thing I want out of actually playing tabletop 40k except for the painting. Now if there was just a turn based mod, I'd be in gamer heaven.

DnD Next
It had been forever since we last played DnD 4e . When the DnD Next play test was released in the end of May I desperately wanted to try it out. June was a wash and then we finally got a group together Saturday night. As DM I had to build all of the story hooks and background and WotC provided the dungeon and all the bits to fill it. It was a fun time regardless of the game system, but specifically the new rule set was fun too. Combat rounds were quick and the encounters felt deadly. Two my my major complaints of 4e. There is still plenty to tweak and balance, but it feels like a good start for now.

Adventures in Mini Painting

The last time I mentioned D&D I also mentioned that we were playing with minis. Well, we weren't actually playing minis until the second game night. The first time we played Mehtul and I were mini-less and I think one of us was playing as piece of Chex mix. While tasty, it was not as cool as it could have been. So the two of us hit up the local gaming shop to find minis to represent our characters. Below is the "priest" mini from Reaper that I picked to represent Mirado, my human cleric. He looks a little grizzled, carries a mace/holy symbol and isn't wearing to much metal based armor. Perfect!

Not one to settle when it comes to the nerdy arts, I started thinking about painting options the day I bought Mirado. I already had a bunch of supplies from my failed 40k army just sitting around anyway, so I might as well put them to use. I started by priming just the mini and then decided it needed a better base. So I jacked a 40k base from my box oh parts, glued and then green stuffed to make everything level.

Primed, based and greenstuffed.

Before painting I went back and primed over the base and green (not pictured)

My workstation/coffee table post painting

Mirado (front)

Mirado (back)

Mirado (close)

There is still a lot of room for improvement on this mini and my painting skills in general. I was on a self imposed deadline of four days, so I could have Mirado ready for tonight's D&D game. The face is a little lifeless and the cloak needs more highlights. The flocking on the base is a crushed up rock from my yard and could use a little static grass to really pop. I could go on, trust me. I will most likely go back to this mini and work on the details at a later date.

Resources used:
Reaper Miniatures
Americana Acrylics
Painting Clinic
Mike Kan's Painting Guides

Hunt for the Plants of Dawn

Plants Vs. Zombies
More zombie based media to talk about, this week it's in the form of a video game. PvZ is another Pop Cap developed game in a long line of PoP Cap games that have stolen my heart (see: Peggle, Bejeweled and others). It is simply put another tower defense game, that would be doing it a disservice though. There are additions that take the same formula that worked for Starcraft maps and Desktop Tower Defense and ups the fun.

The players house is under attack by zombies so in order to defend your home you place deadly plants in your yard. The sheer variety of foliage available changes the game play up every two or three levels. The only resource to grow more plants is sunlight, which either falls from the sky or is home grown. The amount of sun generating plants your create versus the space for actual defense makes for a fun balance. The demo alone has at least two hours of game play in it and the game sells for $20, which is a steal by my account.

Hunt for Gollum
I have not discussed it here yet, but my newest hobby is video editing and more specifically video special effects. I'll have a whole post on the topic Thursday, but for now I will talk about a fan film that has inspired me to go even deeper into my new found past time. The Hunt for Gollum is on par with most a B movie in terms of production value and acting. It was done on a budget of $4,500 and with a volunteer cast and crew of 160. The story of the film is inspired by a few pages in the first Lord of the Rings book in which Gandalf tells Frodo the story of the hunt and capture of Gollum (post ring). It takes those few pages and draws them out to follow Aragorn as he hunts down Gollum to bring him in to be interegated. The special effects are a real stand out and really drive home the idea that you are not just watching a fan film. Watch this one for sure, it is free and worth viewing.

Dawn of War 2
My obsession with minis since childhood has been mentioned here before and by extension I became fixated with 4ok back in college. My 40k love has not worked out to date, but I can live vicariously through video games based on the franchise. The same company that created Company of Heroes started their unit based RTS engine with a 40k game called Dawn of War. I didn't have the computer to play the first game when it came out, but I did have an up to date rig when COH hit store shelves and played the pants off of it. So when DoW2 was announced I planned my newest computer upgrade to coincide with it's release.

DoW2 is the next iteration of the game play built by CoH and DoW1. The foundation Relic is building with squad based RTS game play is really fun to play. You actually get invested in the characters they have crafted, which seems to be the holy grail for single player RTS campaigns. Your characters levels, items and personalities are persistent between missions. The mission structure is linear for the main plot, but you can take optional missions and the main story in any order you like. The optional missions are actually fun, doling out defense and attack stages that feel meaningful to the overall campaign. There is no base building to speak of which makes the game almost feel like a group based RPG, which is a nice change.

Oh Yeah, Football is Back

Autumn brings cool weather, my birthday, the best holidays, apple picking and football. Football means a reason to watch Sports Center, baseball is boring and they don't cover hockey any more. Football means fantasy leagues and pick em' pools. Football means there is always something to do on Sunday. Football means traveling up to Pittsburgh to see the boys in black and gold take the field.

This year I was less than prepared to be in football mode. One second it was hot as hell, my mind was other things and then football was here. After a Sunday of watching games, checking my fantasy teams and two Monday night games forth coming I am in full on football mode now. Bring on the tailgating, beers and foam fingers. Well actually no don't bring on a lot of that stuff, I am still a social recluse when it comes to all things. I might crack a beer, but it will be in the privacy of my own home with the drapes drawn.

WoW it's WoW
Nothing too exciting to report. I started doing 2v2 with Luke and we are both learning a lot. I'm still attending and looting gear from 10 man raids. Finally, I've decided to get WoW rich before the expansion drops (Novemberish), so I got some pointers from a friend, installed a few mods and started picking flowers between BG ques. My goal is 10k by November 1st.

40k, the Pedo Hobby?
I ventured out in the rain Saturday morning to pick up my Assault On Black Reach kit from my local Games Workshop. Admittedly I knew the weekend was probably a bad time to go. Teenage boys play 40k and teenage boys don't have school on the weekends. So walking into the retail store to a standing room only mix of teenage boys and man children made me ashamed to be interested in the hobby. Not so ashamed that I couldn't pick up some more brushes, paints and preorder the new space marines codex. I'm still intent on building, painting and playing a full army, but my resolve to go into the story on weekends has been dissolved.

Greens No More

My baby shaman with the new car smell is starting to grow up. Between honor grinding and ten man raid content I have amassed a decent set of healing gear. As of last night I exchanged my final piece of green gear with a purple, Cord of the Ring->Guardian's Ringmail Girdle. First that was a huge upgrade and second I can no longer be mocked for wearing a horrible pun. I still have a cloth helm that needs to be replaced, but it is nice to shift my focus to rings and trinkets.

Just shy of ten months to the date of Zul'Aman's release and my first and only trip to the 2.3 dungeon, I went back in to full clear it this weekend. Granted I was with seasoned vets this time and they were carrying me for the most part, but it was nice to see the instance in its entirety. Even nicer were the 23 badges I picked up and monster healing shield. Hopefully I proved my worth to the nine other guild members who took a chance on me and I will be invited back. Lord knows I could use the other gear that drops there.

Finally a lot of my time has been spent in battle grounds lately, think 95%. When I am not doing dailies for cash I am honor and mark farming the night away. So any break from that norm (see above) is most welcome. Last night we played ten games on our 5v5 team (appropriately nicknamed fail fives) Paper For My Daddy. We end up going 6-4 after a rocky 2-4 start. The team is essentially built to fail with me as the lone healer and two of our DPS speced for PVE. The take away for me is an opportunity to heal under real pressure. Something that doesn't happen when I am playing Xbox while farming marks.

Site Watch
After finding a good 40k community site (forums, guides, etc) I went looking for a news site and found Bell of Lost Souls. It is a great place to keep up with 40k news and rumors and has been added to my list of sites I check daily.

D is for the Dramas

Not unlike notes passed in class between teenage girls, World of Warcraft is an excellent medium for the drama. Last night the guild I currently sit on the outskirts of (I'm new) had a bout of the dramas that almost had the guild leader quit permanently. The details and dirty laundry are inconsequential and I only heard about it through third party accounts any way. Having experienced plenty of guild drama in my days as a guild officer and through countless accounts on WoW news sites, it is safe to say that it comes with the territory.

It is easy to chalk it up as the law of large numbers, not this one, but putting 10-250 people together in a group (mostly 15-30 year old males) and expecting them to gel and accomplish goals. Jealousy, greed and people who just plan don't get along are just some of the scenarios that can play out on a day to day basis. As an officer managing that many personalities can be stressing to say the least.

An interesting comparison of game genres is the juxtaposition between first person shooters and MMOs in regards to group cooperation.

1. MMOs give rewards for a large groups accomplishments to a small number of its participants. Over time the group as a whole is rewarded, but getting everyone on board for the concept of the whole before the parts can be difficult. It is a system that can harbor jealously, unhealthy competition and greed. Outside of high level sponsored FPS teams the only reward is winning and maintaining a win to loss ratio.

2. While there is a reliance on your fellow gamer in first person shooters there seems to be less emotion tied to it. Granted this is not a statement that can be made across the board given leagues like CEVO and LANs for monetary prizes. Every raid group in WoW from the lowly Kara only group to the fourth Thori'dal, the Stars' Fury Sunwell raid has to rely on each other to achieve victory. Factor in the consequence of failure being lost rewards and wasted time and you have a potential powder keg on your hands.

3. Finally the idea that there is continuity and a lack of finality in MMOs that is not present in FPSs. Week in and week out everyone is building up the same character or toon in an MMO. Over time small things can build into large drama, the concept is called gunny sacking, not this kind, this kind. FPSs leagues are usually set up in seasons, like the NFL, no prior match has any bearing on coming matches and when the season is over there is usually a period to take a break before the next season. MMOs and the guilds that play in them usually have no off button. It is a race to no finish for the life of the game.

Site Watch
I finally found a good 40k community site after slogging through tons of sites that looked like they were built in 1996. They have a ton of up to date guides and what appears to be a very large and active membership.

40k Again?

I skipped posting on Friday because I was out of town and on vacation. Crystal starts teaching at a new school this year, so Thursday we took all of her teaching materials and supplies to her new classroom. Friday we went up north to shop. IKEA was a bit of a bust, but we should have known better given we don't really need any furniture. I stopped in the Potomac Mills Games Workshop and was convinced by an employee to pre-order a 40k starter kit when I got back to Richmond, probably a mistake considering past experiences.

I am hoping this time will be different for a few reasons. I will have a rulebook so I can learn to play (L2P) at my leisure and in the comfort of my home. There is now an official GW retail store in Richmond, were before I was relying on a third party shop that was in all honesty a crappy place to build my interest. It is a board game when you boil it down to it's core, so I can probably convince my wife and brother to at least play once with me. I still have on nerd colored glasses for miniatures that will probably never go away, expect a model railroad post when I have a child.

Please don't be fooled into think I am completely retreading mistakes of the past. I still have my waders on while braving this geek river. The starter kit was a $10 pre-order and retails at $60. Probably a huge investment when I was a sophomore in college, but not going to break the bank now that I am three years removed from a ramen noodle budget. I picked up a calendar of events from the shop when I went in to give them my ten dollars, hopefully I can pick and choose events that will have like minded adult players. I say this a lot, but wish me luck.

Ex Machina
In the calm before the storm (I ordered five trades Saturday night) I went to my local comic shop Thursday to look for something to read. I walked out with Ex Machina after hearing good things about it on Fresh Ink and knowing that it was written by Brian K. Vaughan (Y). The writing is very well done, something I didn't expect given the books political nature. The art is so-so I guess, the artist uses pictures as a reference for all of the panels and occasionally the expresions on chacters faces can be a bit off putting.

Geek³

Originally posted at WNE on 07/31/07

Twice in my 25 years I have been in situations were I realized the full scale and ultimate limit of my geekdom. I looked deep into the nerdy nether and was left wanting.

Not addressing my qualifications might make this story feel a bit empty, so I'll climb that hill first. I have been playing video games for 19 years and while that may seem normal these days with the popularity of games like Halo in frats across America, my love goes deeper. Playing MMO's takes it to another level, but I read the fan fiction and spend countless hours at lore sites to boot. Building computers is a hobby now , but at one point it was an obsession. Owning action figures used to be as simple as playing with them, now I buy them as decoration. Finally, I listen to podcast, watch vidcast, read webcomics and write two blogs.

Now that I have established how deep the rabbit hole goes, let me share what is too far for me. In sixth grade I collected comics and eventually comic cards (think baseball cards, but with super heroes), when I got to seventh grade I discovered magic cards. What was not to like? I collected cards already (baseball and comic) and I liked games. The combination of the two should have been geek heaven. No such luck, I end up buying a starter deck from a kid on the bus for five dollars and then selling them back the next day. Sitting on my bed the night I essentially rented some magic cards I came to the realization that while the concept still seemed cool to me, the act of actually playing would be outside of my comfort zone.

Lesson learned. Nope, while living on shit block some eight years later I discovered Warhammer 40,000 or just "40k" if your in the know. I love miniatures, I had a brief model railroad fling in middle school and still dream of having a room in our house dedicated to the craft when I'm older. I also love a good RTS, I have played most every major RTS title available since first playing the original Warcraft demo. Again, combine the two there should be geek magic in the air...right?

I spent two weeks pouring over "40k" fan sites, reading painting tutorials and planning my army. Eventually I ordered a few kits online and picked up paints from a local shop. I would attend class during the day and come home to paint and glue the night away. When my army was nearing completion I decided to stop by for a scheduled game night at the previously mentioned store. The crowd assembled at the shop was a shock to my system. I was expecting like minded fans who had as much passion for the art as they did for the game. What I got was pimple faced kids dressed in black and forty somethings who looked like they still lived with their parents. They had rag tag armies, that were at best unpainted and at worst not even official game pieces. Short a Razorback, just substitute it with a spray painted hotwheel. Dreams crushed, I went home and boxed up my paints and unfinished army.

I have been tempted to dip my toe in "40k" pool since the opening of an official Games Workshop, but the scars are still too fresh. Twice burned by geek hobbies, I am hesitant to fly too close to the sun on wings made of circuit boards and Mt.Dew. For now I will hold up in my geek fortress (read: my house) and stick with console modding and late night video game binges.