Category: Video Game

But starting today you’ll see one post a week. See if I can maintain something of a schedule.

I cleared Pokemon: Omega Ruby and I really like it. I like it so much more than X/Y. I eagerly await the New Gameboy 3DS XL though i’m saddened they’re shutting down Nintendo Club even when I never used the service. I can’t say much about Pokemon that hasn’t been said in other places. I’m a fan of the series and I’m about as devoted as I get.

Notably I feel the 3D component isn’t overused ‘because they can’ since this is the second game featuring it. Though I will point out that it feels like the system has a hard time coping with some scenes in 3D and something I look forward to testing with the New Gameboy.

Comments closed

I relish strategy games that find a way to simplify their nuances without losing flavor. GalCiv had me after the first minute as do most games with a similar point-and-click design.

That doesn’t mean I don’t long for the deep SciFi games, planet busting and star crushing like what you see in Distant Worlds or Space Empires.

SpaceCom leans fully closer to GalCiv in nature and design while deviating slightly. You’re presented with a node map of stars/planets you will want to invade for inhabitation or obliterate to limit possible conquest. Each planet has only a few options for build and the game is built on a rock/paper/scissor approach. You have a customary short list of Battle Station, Kinetic shields and troops. Then you have the fleets: Battle Fleets counter other space-born ships, Invasion fleets conquer planets and Siege fleets destroy planets/structures.

Games vary in length and I’ve been able to clear some of the campaign levels in 15-20 minutes and I can see where other games might take hours as you vie for control of key systems.

Delightfully, it’s up for relatively cheap at $15 via Steam. It’s worth checking out a couple of videos, there’s nothing going on you can’t see in the first few minutes.

http://spacecom-game.com/

Comments closed

Elite: Dangerous has it’s teeth in me. It’s only into the second of three beta phases and with possibly much more beta to go and yet I want to play. Even though I know it’s all getting wiped out down the road I want to spend my hours drifting in space and hunting wanted criminals or moving cargo.

It’s such a pretty game, one of those games you play in the dark and let the subtle colours of space catch your eye.

I’ll post a video of some space-navigating in early November and possibly after launch. It’s worth watching some videos, everything you see is navigated by hand from someone using a keyboard or controller/joystick. No autopilot, no “click here to orbit” or “press x to dodge”. And it’s better for it. Few other games capture the cockpit sandbox experience quite like this. And better yet, it’s not even done yet. Frontier Developments, the team behind Elite: Dangerous have a litany of ideas that will go into the game well after launch.

I’d love to see some of you in space with me. Contact me and let me know if you’ll be there.

http://www.elitedangerous.com/

Comments closed

I hadn’t noticed, time flies when you’re not watching. Spacecom released on September 17th, so I find I might have a busier weekend than previously expected.

I’ll talk more about it and see about including screenshots or art of some nature later this week. Stay tuned!

Comments closed

A quick passing through various sites caught my eye and because I’m not content to just keep some thoughts to myself I shall leave you with some tidbits.

Spacecom is a game of space tactical combat. But on a scale of empire management akin to Chess.

It’s got a simple design and when it releases I’ll talk more about it. For the time being you might check it out.

http://spacecom-game.com/

Comments closed

For little over a year I ran a private Minecraft server for myself and some friends. It was fun, we had some great times, some quiet nights punctuated by “GAH! Damn Creeper!” and a lot of searching. Operating at around 10 players on and off it went well until the release of Landmark sorta eroded my limited playerbase.

I’m not interested in vetting new people so while I could certainly advertise and raise the playerbase significantly I don’t feel that’s my best option at the moment. Hosting is cheap so I’m taking the opportunity to play with some Mod Packs and see what I can change the experience into.

Of the time spent as an admin I learned one important lesson. Don’t give people Op status. I feel I lost a couple people to rapid burnout when they sudden had access to all the tools and toys. Minecraft is a game of survival, discovery and adventure and by granting my players godlike status I shortened the progression and trivialized the challenge.

Minecraft isn’t a hard game in the first place, where the only measure of status comes from proving your cleverness in design or your dedication to large structures. Some projects thrive on people with Creative Mode because they’re pursuing a specific goal. The players over on the Game of Thrones server, WesterosCraft, are rebuilding a whole world. When they’re done, i’m not sure, but I know you don’t approach an idea like that with merely Survival Mode.

For my little friends/family server I think I did myself and them the greatest disservice by granting such unlimited power. Lesson learned.

I have the server up and I still play while I toy with mod packs and wait to see what new ideas come out of Mojang. Sometimes you might find me there, deep in the dark or tending my farm.

C’est la vie.

Comments closed