Saturday, March 28, 2020

Stonne 1940 Big CoC Weekend Part 1


This has been in the pipeline for a few months now, the first public Big CoC public weekend at the WHC. In this first post I'll give some idea of the thought process (sic) behind the game and then I'll give you the scenarios and how the game played out...oh, and there will be a few pics.
Warlord and Crusader French
Mark Freeth was very keen to get an early war 1940 scenario together, initially we toyed with the idea of running a weekend with 2 games running side by side, one containing French and the other BEF taking on the invading Germans. While this was certainly achievable, it involved a few more logistical headaches concerning turning the games around, plus simply having to focus on 2 games at once rather than one. So, in the end we plumped for a single set of scenarios with just the French and Germans.
A small problem with running Big CoC games is that the scenarios are somewhat dependant on the number of players attending, and given the nature of the WHC the numbers can vary, Some players book months in advance, but often people will book relatively late so the scenario needed to be capable of being tweaked to fit this in. The nuts and bolts of the game don't alter that much, the idea being that each player will command an infantry (or armour) platoon, then the force as a whole has a degree of support which is then dished out. On the whole this is not a problem, but for quite a while we were looking at having six players (fine, 3 on 3) then suddenly the numbers went up to seven. My initial reaction was one of mild horror because it meant balancing the game for a three versus four. However, when I started looking at the way the Stonne game might play out, the imbalance of 3 platoons  against 4 became more and more attractive.


A little Panhard 178. It bogged in the ditch......
The battle at Stonne took place over 4 days commencing on 15th May 1940, with the Germans having the Grossdeutschland motorised infantry regiment, and elements of the 10.PzD (Panzer-Regiment 8)
They were encountering in these scenarios the 3e DIM (Division d'Infanterie Motorisée), supported by 3e DCr (Division Cuirassée)
Looking at the platoon lists for CoC the 1940 German infantry platoons are enormous. Each platoon contains 2 senior leaders and a 50mm mortar team plus 4 x 10 man sections, for a total of 44 men.
The French platoons are a similar size, with 2 platoon leaders (1 senior, 1 junior) a VB rifle grenade team of a junior leader with 4 men. plus 3 sections of 11 for a total of 40 men. 

So if we had seven players, with 3 on the German side and 4 for the French it wouldn't be too bad. 1 player a side would be playing a tank platoon anyway, so it would be 2 German infantry platoons against 3 French, however that is actually 8 German sections opposed to 9 French, making it less unbalanced than first appears. A little extra tweaking by making the Germans "superior regulars" meaning they treat rolls on their command dice of a single six also as a 5, giving them more CoC dice pips during the game, plus increasing the size of their panzer II platoon to a whopping 5 vehicles would compensate for the additional French numbers. Additionally, each German platoon would start with a full Chain of Command Dice. 


Poilus advance, CharB in support 
So I worked on that basis, and prepared everything with 7 players in mind, Then of course Mark called and said " I've got an 8th player"......So the superior regular, and the extra CoC dice went out of the window, and the Panzer platoon was cut from 5 down to 4, and the Germans went up to 3 infantry platoons to make it 4 a side. Also the Germans would not have a significant advantage in support points when they were attacking, while the french would.

 Even after this we had another couple of guys wanting to sign up, but at that late stage we sadly had to say no, and stick with 8, as I think a single game with 5 a side is really stretching it for this rule set - not saying its not possible, but I think the game might suffer.
So that is the format we ended up going with, having said that I'm pretty sure the scenarios will work fine with seven (or 5 for that matter) players if the Germans are bumped up a bit to cater for uneven forces.



Panzerjeager I supports Black Tree and Warlord infantry

The other aspect of the games that numbers have an impact on is the size of the table used for each scenario. The recommendation for Big CoC is that the table size should be the same as for normal CoC (6' x 4')  with an additional foot width per additional infantry platoon added - you add nothing for the armour.
Well, The main table at the WHC is 24' long by 6' deep, and so we already play on a depth of 6' which I prefer over 4'. The patrol phase gets forces into action quickly enough anyway, and having the extra depth gives players a bit more room without slowing things down.
Just adding 2 feet per platoon gives us a width of 8' x 6 " which is fine, but the centres' terrain boards are 3' each so it is convenient to go for a slightly larger width of 9'. a bit more room both on the table and for player comfort. That meant that it wasn't too tricky to divide up the table into 3 sections - 9' at each end and then utilise the central 6' and 3' of one of the other sections to give us 3 x 6' x 9' areas.

The point of all this meant I could set up the entire table beforehand, and players go from game to game  with no great interruptions in order to maximise playing time. Also I think it looks good!






Stonne from west to east: Game 1 at the far end, game 2 in the foreground, game 3 in the centre. The Germans are advancing from the north, the French, the south.

I also planned to have a 4th scenario, which would have meant re-setting the terrain at one end of the table- it would have been that which was fought over in game 2 so we could do it while game 3 was in progress giving plenty of time. As it turned out, we didn't get in 4 games over the weekend, a bit of a shame but, sometimes CoC games can be like that, some go faster than others.
The table was made up simply from having a look at Google Earth, backed up with some excellent maps in Prieser's "Blitzkrieg Legend"- to  get the overall topography. Generally the village hasn't changed enormously since 1940, although it was rebuilt there has been no development sprawl, The critical points haven't changed, in terms of the woods, the road layout, and the extent of the village.Being able to get down at street view is an amazing resource, it shows just how winding and steep the only road the Germans had to approach the village from the north was, as it approaches the Butte De Stonne at the Eastern end of the village, and how despite it appearing very flat on the map, the countryside to the west and south actually has quite a lot of small undulations, the view south from the village is somewhat restricted. At the eastern end of the village the countryside is more wooded and broken, with the road becoming sunken before it winds down back on itself down the steep wooded slope to the north of the village (off- table)

Map showing the initial German attack on Stonne, May 15 at 0800. Influenced by Eric Denis' work. (wikipedia)
Given the nature of playing 3 or possibly 4 games over a weekend in a campaign format with 8 CoC novices I thought that the first scenario should probably be a bit gentle in order to ease them into it, and allow them to possibly make a few mistakes without getting horribly punished. I also wanted to keep it relatively simple.
Given the nature of the fighting in Stonne (the village apparently changed hands 17 times in 3 days), it lent itself to a relatively straightforward narrative: i.e. Attack and counterattack- So I decided to make the first game an attack/defence scenario with the Germans on the offensive at the eastern end of the table, the second game was to be another attack/defence with the French on the offensive at the western end of the table. Game 3 was to be in the central area of the table with the Germans attacking in an "attack on an objective" scenario.
I planned a 4th scenario which was to be played out on new terrain to the east of Stonne and that would have been the French conducting a flank attack. However, time sadly ran out. I'm sure we will do it one day.


The View from east to west, the broken ground of the Butte De Stonne in the foreground

The scene was set:
8 players, hopefully 4 games, Germans versus French at Stonne, one of the iconic battles of the campaign.
What were the salient features of the battle? The Germans had crossed the Meuse a couple of days earlier and were trying to exploit that relatively fragile bridgehead, the French had rapidly managed to assemble a counter attack force. The massif of which Stonne is a small part doesn't readily show up on a map, but have a look at Google Earth and you can see just how important it was for both sides. The village itself is rather innocuous, just a farming village with two roads entering from the south, however, it is the terrain to the north which both sides were focused on. There is a single road which leads out of Stonne to the north, this snakes down the hillside along a steep wooded slope before reaching the more gentle plain. The entire northern side of Stonne is covered in thick fir trees which extend down the steep slope- there is nowhere in the village itself (other than the "Butte de Stonne") which has a view to the north. However, if you hold the town and can establish OP's in this wooded hillside you have a magnificent vista stretching out 4 or 5 kilometres and more to the north, the German bridgeheads, and the routes they will take as they expand. Subsequently this tiny Ardennes village became vitally important.   


French section enters central Stonne

The Popularity Of Vivi


I was looking over a subreddit within the JRPG community thank showed the results of a poll of the most popular JRPG characters of all time.

In the results of that poll Vivi ranks as number 2. second to a character from a game I haven't played yet (Breath of Fire iv). Vivi is the highest rated FF character.

I found this really interesting. Vivi is definitely one of my favourite characters also, and I think it is for exactly the same reason. He is one of the only JRPG characters who shares us genuine anxieties and worries about death. He allows himself to actually sit with and dwell upon the mysteries reality of life coming to an end, he has an interiority that the gamer can relate to, but perhaps would never vocalise, would never admit to being able to relate to,

As Catholics, members of the one true Church, with the entire truth about reality, we want to help poor Vivi realise what awaits him after death, what awaits all those who have failed to be regenerated by grace, and all those who have been regenerated, those few who have persevered to the end as friends of God.

There was a beautiful comment on the review of FF9 by a reader-

"Vivis ending is also very sad. I wanted to go into the game and tell him all about Jesus."

That is certainly true, because the best the game can offer the reader is continuing existence through your offspring, having meaningful friendships while you are alive, living on in other people's memories..... basically the kind of stuff you get in humanist funerals.

What Our Lord and saviour offer is the full truth, heaven or hell and for eternity.

I am glad Vivi is the most popular character because it shows that there are so many individuals who, deep down, are worried about the eternal truths, they are worried about death, they are worried about who they really are and what purpose they are made for.

This is fantastic, it shows there are people who are preparing themselves to hear the Good News. Because Jesus Christ's message can only reach those who have got this degree of interiority, who aren't just chasing after pleasures but are genuinely seeking meaning, answers to the biggest questions. Vivi embodies that. Vivi doesn't get the answers, but we have them.

Y2K: THE GAME


The year is 1999. A new century is upon us and the new story to scare the masses is the Millennium Bug. Computers will stop working. Electricity will shut down. Mass hysteria! Someone had to capitalise on all of this. Step in Interplay with their prescient point-and-click adventure Y2K: The Game.

Read more »

Monday, March 23, 2020

Press Release: Robot Fight Club - KICKSTARTER LAUNCHING 10Th MARCH 2020

Robot Fight Club
A game of card-fueled customisable combat where schoolkids in a retro-futuristic setting repurpose abandoned robots and launch a thrilling new combat sport.

KICKSTARTER LAUNCHING 10th MARCH 2020
Needy Cat Games, the game design team behind titles like Hellboy: the Board Game, Blitz Bowl, Devil May Cry: the Bloody Palace and Adeptus Titanicus, is excited to announce its first solo project: Robot Fight Club! The game will be hitting Kickstarter on the 10th of March, and we are mecha excited! (Sorry.) 

The game is set in a retro-futuristic world where a group of schoolkids have snuck into an abandoned robotics academy, and started up a secret fighting league with a bunch of renovated robots. Robot Fight Club is a two-player arena combat game which offers fast-paced, action-packed gameplay that rewards strategic thinking, forward planning and a healthy dose of risk taking. 

A session of play starts with both players choosing a character and building a team of two robots, each equipped with a range of system upgrades. Each of the six robots available in the core game has its own unique set of capabilities and control cards, and with 36 upgrade cards available, no two teams will be the same! With their teams built, players take to the arena, trying to win the best of three bouts and be crowned the champion. Bouts usually last 15-20 minutes, so a full play session can be completed in around an hour. 

The action during a bout features grid movement and simultaneous action selection, with players choosing from their limited (and ever-dwindling!) Control Decks to move around the arena, bring their systems online and deal some damage to the other team. You each have two robots in the arena but can only activate one at a time, and as your deck starts running low you'll have to decide whether to Reset, sacrificing a round of play to reclaim your discarded cards. 

Damaged robots drop scrap tokens into the arena, where they can be collected by either side. They act as a currency in the game – but do you spend them on rule-bending Innovation Cards during the bout, or save them for the post-bout refit where you can buy and install new upgrades? 

There's a whole heap of gameplay in the core game, but the After School Special and Extra Credit expansions add more robots and upgrades, arena hazards, support for three and four player games, and much more. 

"Robot Fight Club is a really special project for us. First up, it's our first indie game – we're doing this for ourselves for once! More importantly it brings together a lot of things we love to see in board games: a fun setting, a bevy of interesting decisions and a bunch of robots beating the oil out of each other. What's not to love?" – James M. Hewitt, game designer

So come and join the club. Fight for thrills, fight for glory, but most of all, fight for fun – because robot fighting is awesome!

Robot Fight Club is the first game published independently by Needy Cat Games and has been designed by James M Hewitt (Hellboy: The Board Game, Devil May Cry: The Bloody Palace, Blitz Bowl, Adeptus Titanicus, Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower, Gorechosen) and Sophie Williams (Hellboy: The Board Game, The League of Infamy, Bonefields: Ancient Grudges). 

About Needy Cat Games
Needy Cat Games is a small board game design studio run by James M Hewitt and Sophie Williams, based in Nottingham, UK. They've been designing games under the Needy Cat name since 2017 but James previously worked as a game designer for Games Workshop, where he worked on a number of bestselling titles. And yes, they do have a very needy cat. His name is Helo, and he is the worst. 

Key details and links
Number of Players: 2 (Expansion pack allows for 3 and 4 player games)
Time Required: 60-90 minutes.

Friday, March 20, 2020

G Fuel Alternative (Monday Musings 83)

When I saw one of my friends stream, she mentioned that she was drinking G Fuel, and felt that it gave her very smooth energy, and no crashes after the effects wore off. She felt too jittery on the other energy drinks. Intrigued, I looked into G Fuel.

The ingredients aren't harmful because of the low dosages, but I hate the Sucralose and Acesulfame after taste, which G Fuel contains, and further, G Fuel is rather expensive at $35.99 for 40 servings, approximately $1 per serving, so I thought I can find a healthier and more cost-effective alternative to G Fuel.

After doing research, I found that the most effective way to improve energy and mental alertness is the tried and true, boring and effortful healthy ways such as:
  1. Going to bed and getting up at the same time, i.e. good consistent sleep - most people need 8 hours
  2. Exercising around 30 minutes between 55 to 85% (60% makes the most sense) of your max heart rate, at least 3 times/week, calculator here.
  3. Fruits and vegetables - at least 5 servings - and whole grains
  4. Reduce stress through meditation, problem-solving, and so forth
  5. Smokers, QUIT!
  6. Limit alcohol use 
  7. Diaphragmatic breathing
  8. Hydrate
  9. Avoid sugars
However, there are going to be days when we can't get the 8 hours of solid sleep, eat nutritious foods, exercise, and smokers may slip due to increased stress and anxiety in their lives, and so on.

As streamers, should we then engage in performance drinks and pills, of which G Fuel is the most recently hyped, as marketing states that it was created by professional gamers? 

Reviewing the ingredients of G Fuel, the first part lists vitamins and minerals. However, it's much more cost-effective to take a generic multivitamin which is dirt cheap, and even free with some insurance plans. 

Even so, almost all research studies note that multivitamins don't really improve upon things and I recall my chemistry professor saying that multivitamins only lead to "expensive urine". So, unless you're literally not eating and at risk of scurvy, there's no need for multivitamins.

But, if you want to replicate G Fuel, you can take a cost-effective multivitamin for the first part of the ingredients.

The next ingredient of G-Fuel is the energy complex which consists of 140 to 150 mg of caffeine. Jet-alert caffeine at 100 mg is dirt cheap at $9.95 for 240 pills here at Amazon! You can take 1 and a half tablets (total 150 mg) for fraction of the G Fuel costs.

G-Fuel's other energy complex ingredients include, in addition to caffeine, Taurine, L-Citrulline Malate, Glucoronolactone, and N-Acetyl-Carnitine HCL. All these ingredients, including caffeine, are merely 1.7 grams.

Merely 1.7 grams, because to obtain the stimulating effects of Citrulline, you need on average 3 to 6 grams of L-Citrulline and 8 grams of Citrulline Malate! That's a lot! However, G-Fuel's concentration of Citrulline is well below the dosage needed for its effects (total of all ingredients at 1.7 grams).

Supplemental dosage of Glucoronolactone are between 500 to 3000 mg, so to be conservative, that's 0.5 grams minimum for this ingredient to be effective. Please note that G Fuel does not say how many mgs are included in their drinks, so I'm assuming they don't want to advertise the sub supplemental dosages. I'm assuming it'll be less than 0.5 grams.

Finally, N-Acetyl-Carnitine's recommended dosage to gain effects is 1500 to 2000 mg, and up to 4000 mg for depression.

Taking all these ingredients and breaking them down, the energy complex as to why G Fuel works is pure and simple Caffeine 140 to 150 mg. Again, Jet-alert is the cheaper and healthier alternative (i.e. no artificial sugars).

What can be said of the energy complex, the same can be said of G Fuel's focus complex. Again, total listed of the focus complex is a mere 1.2 grams. Like the energy complex, there's no breakdown of dosage of each ingredient in the focus complex. The ingredients here include L-Tyrosine, Choline Bitartrate, and ATP. ATP degrades through the digestion system, so ingesting ATP gets you nothing.

As for Choline Bitartrate, this study shows no acute benefits in healthy, young human adults - since we're using G Fuel for those immediate, acute effects, Choline Bitartrate does not appear to help in that situation. 

L-Tyrosine may be the only ingredient in G Fuel's energy complex that may have effects, even so L-Tyrosine had mixed results in reducing stress and improving focus. Some research showed benefits from taking L-Tyrosine, but at 500 to 2000 mg, but because there's no breakdown in G Fuel label, it's unclear if there's at least 500 mg of this ingredient in G Fuel, which I suspect is not the case. Again the total listed of all three ingredients is a mere 1.2 grams, and there's no breakdown for each ingredient!

Lastly, G Fuel notes the antioxidant complex, consisting of various fruit and vegetable powders and extracts, and given how many are listed, these might be in such small amounts that they don't have any effect. Indeed, they don't list how much of these powders are in the drink.

Let's pretend that G Fuel's combination does add up to having some antioxidant effects. You can quickly consume orange juice, or shove a handful of grapes or blueberries before stream, and have the same, or even higher antioxidant effects with less effort. No need to waste money and spend effort mixing your G Fuel powder and water!

Even so, the fact that G Fuel doesn't list how much powder and extract they use, most likely there's no antioxidant effects.

Therefore, after breaking down these ingredients, it appears that the effects of G Fuel on focus and mental energy are due to caffeine 150 mg and questionable multivitamin (per research studies). Again, you can get these extremely cheap or even free (multivitamin through insurance).

You may ask why my friend didn't feel jittery on G Fuel compared to other energy drinks? I'm suspecting it's because other energy drinks often include Guarana. G Fuel does not contain Guarana, and the other ingredients listed in G Fuel are such low dosages that you won't feel the effects except for caffeine. The combination of Guarana and caffeine in many energy drinks can make you feel jittery. I think in my case, it also caused heart racing.

The tried and true method in the above numbered list is the best way to improve energy and focus. However, if there's a day that you'll be streaming when you couldn't incorporate these healthy but boring strats, and you found G Fuel helpful, taking caffeine at 100 to 150 mg and a multivitamin will work the same. Not only that, this alternative is not only significantly cheaper than G Fuel, but healthier (no artificial sweeteners).

Conclusion: G Fuel is making a lot of money by brilliantly marketing popular Twitch streamers and professional gamers. However, you can get the same effects by taking cheap caffeine tablets (or drinking your favorite coffee beverage!) and any multivitamin. More effective yet, incorporate healthy life style changes. Don't believe the hype and save your dollars!

Thursday, March 19, 2020

A Trainer's Resolve

The sky began to darken as I made my way back into Viridian City after defeating Wolf on Route 22. There was still time to push on through Viridian Forest to Pewter City, but it looked like the weather was going to take a turn for the worse. I had my eyes on the sky as I made my way toward the Pokémon Center to get treatment for Kiwi, so I didn't notice that I'd picked up a new follower. He had been watching me since I came back into town, but I barely noticed him. It wasn't until I came out of the Pokémon Center and saw him leaning casually against a light post that I really noticed him. His hair was messy, and his arms were crossed against his chest. He was younger than me, but he didn't carry himself that way. When he saw that I finally noticed him, he pushed off the light post and walked up to me confidently.
"I saw you fight," he announced.
"Yeah? Are you a trainer?" I asked.
"Yeah. Are you?" he asked. His words had a bit of venom in them.
"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked.
"You aren't serious at all, man. I can tell. You wouldn't stand a chance against a real trainer like me." He was cocky, not unlike Wolf.
"Is that a challenge?" I asked.
He laughed at me. "Oh, no. I'm being sincere. You need to get serious before you can take on someone like me." I rolled my eyes and began walking away from him. I had swallowed enough attitude already that day. He quickly followed after me. "Hey, I'm not trying to offend you," he assured me, though his tone wasn't as convincing. "I just can't stand to see casual jokers like you walking around calling themselves Pokémon trainers. Sure, there are bug catching kids who are out having some fun, but then there's real training. Your friend back there on Route 22 said he was going to challenge the Indigo League. What about you? What are you doing?"
"I've been training," I said. "Real training. What do you know about it?"
"Are you going to take the Gym Leader Challenge? Are you going to face the League? What? I'm serious. Why are you here?" He was persistent.
"I am going to start a Pokémon Sanctuary," I reluctantly said, hoping it would be enough for him to leave me alone.
"Oh, like a Pokémon Safari?" he asked. He seemed genuinely interested which was a departure from my encounter with Wolf.
"Similar, I guess. I want to create a natural habitat for as many Pokémon I can and provide a safe place for them to live and interact with humans in a natural environment. You wouldn't catch them. You'd go there to understand them better. Maybe to study them in a safe environment, or just to understand yourself and your relationship with Pokémon better. You know?"
"My grandfather would love a place like that," he said with a snicker. "So you're what? Playing at training?"
"No. Not at all. It's important to me to understand Pokémon, so it's important for me to be a trainer. I'm traveling Kanto to catch, record and study as much as I am here to train and battle. Why do you care?" I suddenly stopped to ask him.
"I told you. I can't stand seeing trainers like you. You looked so pathetic out there against that other guy. Yeah, you won, but you looked like a chump. You gotta get serious," he announced. "If you want respect in Kanto, you gotta take your training seriously." He flashed a couple of badges he had pinned to his backpack. "You earn these and people will know you're serious. Maybe some day I'll see you up on the Indigo Plateau." He laughed as if that thought amused him, but I sensed he wasn't mocking me this time. He was genuinely enjoying a thought of us battling it out in the big league matches on the plateau.
"What do you think I should do?" I asked rhetorically.
"You need to figure out what Pokémon training means to you. Stop thinking about your Sanctuary, or whatever, for a minute. Maybe that will happen, or maybe it won't, but right now you need to figure out what kind of trainer you are and what your Pokémon mean to you." He ran his fingers through his messy, brown hair and nodded to the building across from us. "Look at that place. What a disgrace." We'd stopped just near the Viridian Pokémon Gym. "If I ran that place, it would be open all day every day, so trainers could come and train or challenge the gym. That's what it means to me. I'm ready to train, to fight, to win all day and every day. The guy who runs this place is a coward. The League should kick him out and give this gym to someone who actually cares." I could only nod in reluctant agreement. "Look, I just wanted to pull you aside and tell you if youI  are gonna face guys like that or guys like me, you better get serious about it. You're only going to get yourself or your Pokémon hurt if you don't and that really pisses me off."
"I'll think about what you said," I offered. He seemed to take that answer as the best he could get and nodded a gruff approval.
"Good. Maybe someday when you're ready we'll have a real battle. Smell ya later." He laughed at me and walked off.
I rolled my eyes behind his back. What did this kid know about me? Even still, his words stuck with me for a long time.

Rain drizzled down the leaves of Viridian Forest, methodically finding their way down to the ground where I was making my way. The dense forest was dark and gloomy even on the best of days. As a result it was full of bug Pokémon, including the newest addition to my small team. I was lucky to run into a Caterpie with my last remaining Pokéball. I was told by the Pokédex that they were quite rare that time of year. As a result, I named him Lucky. I ran into a handful of bug-catching kids who wanted to battle and throughout these few fights I could only think about what that kid in Viridian City had said to me.
Was I any different from these kids who were mostly playing at Pokémon training? Did I have what it takes to stand face to face against real dangers in the wild? Could I some day challenge the very best trainers in Kanto with confidence? In the wake of my battle with Wolf earlier that morning, and the unsettling conversation with a pushy little trainer outside Viridian Gym, it's fair to say that my trek through Viridian Forest changed me. It was where I decided exactly what kind of Pokémon trainer I was going to be, and how I would achieve my goals as a trainer and future preservationist of Pokémon.
I decided as I made my way onward to Pewter City that if I expected my Pokémon not to fail me, then I could not fail them. I decided that if I were going to build a safe place for Pokémon to live and interact with each other and with humans, I needed to build a safe space for them on my team. I needed to understand their strengths and their weaknesses. Unlike Wolf who was content to just laugh as his Pokémon fainted, laugh as he traded away a tiny fraction of his disposable credits to me, I would not accept fainting as a part of training. I made the decision that my Pokémon would never be pushed to the point of  breaking. If I ever failed them, even once, I would let them go. I would find them a better home, or release them back into their habitats to live out their days naturally. As I passed through Viridian Forest, I emerged from my own cocoon with a newfound purpose and seriousness. I had decided exactly what it meant to me to be a trainer and hopefully someday the owner of the world's first successful Pokémon Sanctuary.

Current Team:

The Usual Result Of A Decision To Focus

Yes, it was time to focus on getting my 40mm Homecast French Revolution forces ready. Despite the bitter cold and damp I sallied forth to the woodshed and fired up the smelter. In a short time I had a selection of heads and bodies for the project along with a head of unusable castings due to the poor conditions, and a handful of goblins and wargs.

Wait, what?


Yup. Well, I mean I had the mould but hadn't used it and...well what harm could it do to cast them. Not like I was going to paint  them and then get a 25mm Medieval/Fantasy game going? Right?

https://gatheringofhosts.blogspot.com/2020/01/fighting-for-hearth-and-home.html

Yeah OK, not really a surprise then.

Up Next??  Why are you asking me?!? 

Video Store Golden Age With Greg!

In this episode I talk with Greg aka SoulBlazer from the SNES Podcast and the Playstation Power Podcast. He helped establish NES game rentals in the video store that his mother managed in the 80s and 90s. It's a fun interview and I hope that you enjoy it. As always, I thank you for listening.

The photo used as the artwork was found on Roger Ebert's web site without a photographer credit. Please don't sue.

Monday, March 16, 2020

Press Release: Robot Fight Club - KICKSTARTER LAUNCHING 10Th MARCH 2020

Robot Fight Club
A game of card-fueled customisable combat where schoolkids in a retro-futuristic setting repurpose abandoned robots and launch a thrilling new combat sport.

KICKSTARTER LAUNCHING 10th MARCH 2020
Needy Cat Games, the game design team behind titles like Hellboy: the Board Game, Blitz Bowl, Devil May Cry: the Bloody Palace and Adeptus Titanicus, is excited to announce its first solo project: Robot Fight Club! The game will be hitting Kickstarter on the 10th of March, and we are mecha excited! (Sorry.) 

The game is set in a retro-futuristic world where a group of schoolkids have snuck into an abandoned robotics academy, and started up a secret fighting league with a bunch of renovated robots. Robot Fight Club is a two-player arena combat game which offers fast-paced, action-packed gameplay that rewards strategic thinking, forward planning and a healthy dose of risk taking. 

A session of play starts with both players choosing a character and building a team of two robots, each equipped with a range of system upgrades. Each of the six robots available in the core game has its own unique set of capabilities and control cards, and with 36 upgrade cards available, no two teams will be the same! With their teams built, players take to the arena, trying to win the best of three bouts and be crowned the champion. Bouts usually last 15-20 minutes, so a full play session can be completed in around an hour. 

The action during a bout features grid movement and simultaneous action selection, with players choosing from their limited (and ever-dwindling!) Control Decks to move around the arena, bring their systems online and deal some damage to the other team. You each have two robots in the arena but can only activate one at a time, and as your deck starts running low you'll have to decide whether to Reset, sacrificing a round of play to reclaim your discarded cards. 

Damaged robots drop scrap tokens into the arena, where they can be collected by either side. They act as a currency in the game – but do you spend them on rule-bending Innovation Cards during the bout, or save them for the post-bout refit where you can buy and install new upgrades? 

There's a whole heap of gameplay in the core game, but the After School Special and Extra Credit expansions add more robots and upgrades, arena hazards, support for three and four player games, and much more. 

"Robot Fight Club is a really special project for us. First up, it's our first indie game – we're doing this for ourselves for once! More importantly it brings together a lot of things we love to see in board games: a fun setting, a bevy of interesting decisions and a bunch of robots beating the oil out of each other. What's not to love?" – James M. Hewitt, game designer

So come and join the club. Fight for thrills, fight for glory, but most of all, fight for fun – because robot fighting is awesome!

Robot Fight Club is the first game published independently by Needy Cat Games and has been designed by James M Hewitt (Hellboy: The Board Game, Devil May Cry: The Bloody Palace, Blitz Bowl, Adeptus Titanicus, Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower, Gorechosen) and Sophie Williams (Hellboy: The Board Game, The League of Infamy, Bonefields: Ancient Grudges). 

About Needy Cat Games
Needy Cat Games is a small board game design studio run by James M Hewitt and Sophie Williams, based in Nottingham, UK. They've been designing games under the Needy Cat name since 2017 but James previously worked as a game designer for Games Workshop, where he worked on a number of bestselling titles. And yes, they do have a very needy cat. His name is Helo, and he is the worst. 

Key details and links
Number of Players: 2 (Expansion pack allows for 3 and 4 player games)
Time Required: 60-90 minutes.

Sunday, March 15, 2020

Improving Island Shaping For Map Generation

One of my goals for 2019 is to improve my existing pages. This week I improved the island map section of my noise-based map generation page.

Island map generation: you figure it out

I had offered lots of options: additive vs multiplicative, Euclidean vs Manhattan distance, and three mysterious parameters named a, b, c. It was simple for me to offer lots of options. The problem with lots of options is that there's a large "possibility space" to explore. You may or may not find something you like.

Based on feedback from readers, I decided to rewrite this section. I stepped back and thought about why we're adding and multiplying. What is the goal? How does it work?

  1. Push the edges of the map down into water. I need to decrease elevations near the edges.
  2. Push the middle of the map up onto land. I need to increase elevations near the middle.

The main idea is to start with noise-based elevation and reshape it into what we want. The noise-based elevation fits into a box , and we reshape the box into something like . The contents of the box, whatever terrain had been generated, will get pushed up and down when the box is changed.

I rewrote the entire section of the page to explain this idea, and I ended up removing the interactive diagram.

Island map generation: explain the main ideas

Related: Why Minimal Guidance During Instruction Does Not Work says that experts can use the interactive exploration to navigate the possibility space because they have already built up the intuition to know where to go. Novices on the other hand learn better with guidance.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Suzy Cube Update: Wish List, Pre-Registration And Release Date!

#SuzyCube #gamedev #indiedev #madewithunity @NoodlecakeGames 
I promised you all a big update mid-week, well here is a HUGE update! Suzy Cube is now available to Wish List on Steam and Pre-Register on Google Play!
Read more »

Machine Vision, GANs, And Deep Reinforcement Learning LiveLessons, 2Nd Edition - CoderProg

Machine Vision, GANs, and Deep Reinforcement Learning LiveLessons, 2nd Edition

Blast From My Purple Past


A confluence of events has deemed The Islands of Purple-Haunted Putrescence worthy of two new reviews... even if it has been 6 years since I birthed it.

I remember fondly my time writing, running, and witnessing peoples' reactions to that book.  Without further ado, you can listen to the 2 part podcast here.  Dan Davenport, GMshoe, has a text review here.

Want to go straight to the PDF?  Here you go.  But if you prefer the b/w softcover, I recommend buying it on Amazon.

That campaign setting hexcrawl paved the way for Cha'alt, so for that alone I'm happy to see it mentioned on the internet.

If anyone has a purple islands story they'd like to share, I'd love to read it.  Comment below!

Thanks,

VS

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

1005, Stargunner!

Thank you to everyone for your patience waiting for this Stargunner episode. Of course, the research was all done the week before the episode was due out, then I got sick that weekend. So the lesson here is that procrastination is good. I have a lot of the research done for Infiltrate, so that will be out the week after Thanksgiving, and that will be the last game of the year. So if you have feedback for Infiltrate, please send it to 2600gamebygame@gmail.com by end of day November 25th.

I would like to thank everyone who donated to my Extra Life campaign as well as those of you who watched the live streams that I did. I raised $1500 for the Children's Hospital of Philadephia thanks to all of you. I got an email from Extra Life saying that I was in the top 30 earners for the hospital, which is great! I plan on doing it again next year, but I will be doing the two days in one weekend. I had fun playing the games, but I got a little frustrated towards the end of the second weekend. Sinistar is an extremely difficult game but I love it so much, for some reason.

Thank you all so much for watching, listening, and donating. I hope that all my American friends have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Please donate to my Extra Life campaign!
Sean's Extra Life page
Andrew's Extra Life page
Rick's Extra Life page
Bryce's Extra Life page
Marc's Extra Life page
Stargunner on Random Terrain
Alex Leavens interview by Dan Gutman, Video Game Players magazine 11/83
Stargunner on Atari Protos
Video Game Update newsletter February 1983
Arcade Express newsletter January 3 1983
Arcade USA Atari Remote Control Joysticks

Casualty Report - Spectral Vanguard (XCOM Files)

PFC Adegoke & PFC Zaytseva
It is with great regret to inform you that on the morning of March 14, 2015, Private First Class Olufemi Adegoke of Nigeria and Private First Class Vera Zaytseva were killed in the line of duty while operating in Lille, France under the direct orders of XCOM command. It cannot be overstated that as a result of their sacrifices, the operation was a complete success and many civilian lives were saved. The alien abductions being conducted in Lille were completely thwarted by the classified operation that began around 1100 local time. It was the first mission for both soldiers since their participation in the XCOM project here at Cheyenne Mountain.

Over the course of the operation, six insurgents including PFC Adegoke and PFC Zaytseva were air dropped on to an overpass in Lille where a total of nine aliens - classified as sectoids - were conducting an abduction operation on the local work force. The mission was led by XCOM veteran, Specialist Shinji Kobayashi, an expert grenadier and engineer with two prior successful missions since the war began on March 1. His second-in-command that day was Specialist Julio Brito with one prior successful mission in his portfolio. Other members of the hand-picked team include PFC Felipe Andrade from Peru and PFC Riya Nalawangsa from Malaysia.


Detailed Operation Breakdown

Soldiers touched down on the construction site of a large overpass at approximately 1114 on March 14, 2015. SPC Brito made first contact with the enemy, reporting three sectoid aliens conducting abduction activities within the construction site. The team took up defensive positions along their end of the overpass. PFC Adegoke landed the first hits on the aliens, killing one sectoid as it moved through his line of sight. The team leader, SPC Kobayashi, took out a second sectoid with an anti-personnel grenade, as well as flanking the third sectoid and killing it with shots from his assault rifle.

Adegoke's First Killing Shot Fired
Around 1120 that morning, SPC Brito climbed atop a small service vehicle to get a better vantage on the area of operations. He spotted three more sectoid aliens abducting workers on a bus nearby. It was during this encounter that PFC Vaytseva was shot and killed while advancing on the alien position. Reports indicate that PFC Nalawangsa was especially disturbed by this and refused to move into position. SPC Kobayashi took point with SPC Brito moving up alongside him into advanced positions to counter the threat of panic overtaking their squad. Inspiring some confidence with his men, SPC Kobayashi killed his third sectoid on the mission with a decisive shot from his assault rifle. PFC Adegoke fired from somewhere behind SPC Kobayashi resulting in a second confirmed kill.

Kobayashi & Brito Advance on Vaytseva's Killers
SPC Brito advanced farther along the overpass and at approximately 1122 encountered the third and final wave of sectoids, huddled for cover on the back of a flatbed truck. SPC Brito was able to flush them out of hiding with a high explosive grenade that destroyed most of their cover. SPC Brito was then able to kill one of the wounded sectoids with a shot from his shotgun as it rushed for cover nearby SPC Brito's position. At 1123, PFC Adegoke closed enough distance to throw an anti-personnel grenade on the remaining, wounded aliens' location. Unfortunately, his ambitious assault fell short of its intended target, and Adegoke was left exposed to an unlucky shot that ended his life.

PFC Adegoke is killed instantly during his final heroic assault.
PFC Nalawangsa continued to panic as her teammates died around her. PFC Andrade left her alone to move up the right side of the overpass and earn a flanking shot at the wounded sectoids, killing one. Prior to this shot, he had stayed close to PFC Nalawangsa hoping to calm her down and get her back into action. This decision put him in a good position to surprise the aliens from a new angle and force them to move into better cover.

PFC Andrade makes a critical shot from the right.

As a result of PFC Andrade's flanking attacks, SPC Brito was able to kill one of the remaining sectoids with a close range shot alongside the bus, and SPC Kobayashi secured the construction site by taking landing the final shots with his assault rifle on the only remaining, wounded sectoid. There was no farther fighting in Lille that day and the survivors of Kobayashi's team were safely extracted by 1130. The science team followed up to retrieve any usable alien materials on site.


Aftermath of Operation Spectral Vanguard

The tragic loss of PFC Vaytseva resulted in a total loss of confidence in the XCOM mission from her home nation of Russia. As a result, Russia completely capitulated to the alien invaders and rumors have begun to surface that Russian military are aiding in the abduction of Russian civilians for alien experimentation. Our intelligence cannot confirm or deny these reports, yet, but it remains possible that the entire country is now at the mercy of the invaders. The XCOM project remains committed to protecting the rest of the world from a similar fate, and is equally committed to protecting the lives of the soldiers under its command. Intelligence officers are currently exploring avenues of breaking through the closed Russian borders in an attempt to counter-act the alien occupation, but so far there is not enough intel to take any conclusive actions.

A short investigation was conducted to review the actions and decisions of team leader, Specialist Shinji Kobayashi, following the deaths of two of his junior soldiers while under his command. It was concluded that his actions on the morning of March 14 were not only appropriate, but tactically necessary. The deaths of his team members was not a result of poor leadership or lack of tactical command. Furthermore, his display of valor when taking up a forward position to make up for the loss of PFC Vaytseva, and to encourage PFC Nalawangsa to not submit to her fears have earned him consideration for promotion to Lance Corporal along with future leadership positions within XCOM.

XCOM HQ has petitioned the governing council to replace these recruits with suitable cantidates as soon as possible, but as of this time no new recruits have arrived on site to replace the losses sustained during "Spectral Vanguard."

  • Official Report Filed on PFC Olufemi Adegoke and Vera Zaytseva, dated 3/18/2015




XCOM Report - March 14, 2015 - "Spectral Vanguard"

SPC Shinji Kobayashi (Japan) - Squad Leader
  • Confirmed Kills: 4 (Sectoid)
  • Total CK: 9 (8 Sectoid, 1 Drone)
  • Earned Promotion

SPC Julio Brito (Brazil)
  • Confirmed Kills: 2 (Sectoid) 
  • Total CK: 6 (Sectoid)

PFC Felipe Andrade (Peru)
  • Confirmed Kills: 1 (Sectoid)

PFC Riya Nalawangsa (Malaysia)
  • Confirmed Kills: 0

PFC Olufemi Adegoke (Nigeria) 
  • Confirmed Kills: 2 (Sectoid)
  • Status: Killed in Action
  • Earned Posthumous Promotion (Specialist)

PFC Vera Zaytseva (Russia)
  • Confirmed Kills: 0
  • Status: Killed in Action