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Nick

Crusader Kings 2 ‘Holy Fury’ Expansion Released Today

November 13, 2018 by Nick Leave a Comment

At long last the latest expansion for the Strategic Medieval Life simulator Crusader Kings 2 is now available to the masses. What is undoubtedly the largest expansion to date, Holy Fury looks to integrate itself with nearly every culture, dynasty, timeline available in the game. Many of the previous expansions simply tack on their respective features, thus increasing the scope and breadth and flavor of the CK2 world. So, not owning all expansions could be considered ‘necessary’ to experience what the game can do under the hood. However, Holy Fury seeks to embed itself under all of this while also throwing in its own unique features.

Indeed. As seen from the outside looking in (I’m downloading the expansion and free base-game update as I type this), Holy Fury looks to bring Crusader Kings 2 around full circle, helping bolster what made the game unique and so dang fun to play since the very beginning. Religion now has more power and presence in the fabric of this medieval world. Dynasties and genetic traits are now more manageable and exploitable. More societies. More political motivations. More Africa. More. More. More!

With Holy Fury, nearly every culture and region now has MORE.

Back in April, Strategy Gamer posted the opinion that CK2 has lost its way; that, essentially, the expansions have watered down what made the game so special in the first place. It is a great read and wonderful food for thought. I hope to have a response post to this article, along with a review for Holy Fury within the coming days.

But until then, you’ll have to excuse me. I have a medieval eugenics program to develop.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Crusader Kings II, paradox

Weekend Gaming – The Council

November 9, 2018 by Nick Leave a Comment

Praise be to a medium that has the diverse history and abundance of flavors that games of the video variety have. One of the primary reasons I have taken up gaming as a hobby is because no matter what mood I happen to be in, no matter how awesome or plaguing a week has been, there is enough of a variety that I can load up just about anything to sync with my current mood status. Even when I don’t feel like playing anything I still end up playing something.

I’m shifting gears this weekend. Up until tonight I’ve been shuffling chits in The Operational Art of War IV or creating wildly cost-prohibitive and clunky alchemy machines in Opus Magnum. Both games require an amount of patience, dirty work, trial and error, and even more patience on top of the patience already listed – mainly a patience in oneself, which, at this juncture, I am pretty much devoid of. Let us turn to matters of a more theatrical and humanistic nature, shall we?

I don’t trust George any farther than I can throw him.

Yes. The Council is an episodic adventure, ‘choices-matter’ game taking place on a secret island during the closing years of the 18th century. You play as a young potential-initiate of a secret society populated by an elite group of individuals who represent their respective countries or territories. It is on this island that these power-players discuss and initiate matters of political and social concern. So, of course in such a core setting like this there is duplicity, power struggle, side-taking, hidden meanings, and things left unsaid in the many dialogs available. Add in some occult flavor, twinning, murders and perhaps an immortal character or two, and you’ve got a recipe for an evening of fun!

Four out of the five episodes have been released, of which I left things hanging at the beginning of episode three way back in August. I feel like immersion this weekend, folks. I feel like plugging in the gamepad, putting my feet up, and parsing the dialog trees of the powerful leaders in this time of change to determine who is on the up-and-up and who is full of duplicitous crap, discovering myself in the process. Much Existentialism. Very Talking. Wow.

What are you playing this weekend?

Filed Under: Weekend Gaming Tagged With: The Council

Thea 2: The Shattering Coming to Steam Early Access

November 7, 2018 by Nick Leave a Comment

MuHa Games announced that their newest offering Thea 2: The Shattering will be entering Steam’s Early Access later this month. Thea 2, the sequel to MuHa’s 4x/survival/card battle/uber-hybrid Thea: The Awakening, looks to expand and polish many of the aspects of its predecessor, which is welcome news.

Indeed. Thea: The Awakening performs quite the juggling act. And a beautiful, intricate act it is. Were one element out of place the entire game would collapse. The problem is that some of the ideas and systems seemed only half-baked: The night/day cycle could be even more influential; The UI could use a facelift; Greater variation in the narratives of playthroughs are needed. These examples are but slight hiccups in an otherwise wonderful and unique strategy game.

The Thea community spoke out and MuHa Games listened. Thea 2: The Shattering has learned from the shortcomings of its predecessor and is ready to take action. Some of the new features include:

* Rich, randomly generated and diverse new environments and biomes to Explore

* Battle through the vast array of creature as you Exterminate your way to victory, or simply strive to survive till sunrise.

* Build towns, widen your territories or chose to remain a nomad, as you Expand your influence in the world.

* Discover new and vast resources, collect materials and craft them into your equipment as you Exploit the many wonders of the land.

* Free DLCs

As is evident, MuHa seeks to embrace more of the elements of the 4X genre than Thea: The Awakening did. The fact that the player can build more than one settlement is exciting to see (though we all have a special place in our hearts for our beloved hamlet of Ostoya). Perhaps this means that more of the map will be less of a grind to reach and exploit.

Despite Thea 2’s leanings toward a more 4x system, I hope it doesn’t fall into the usual, dull entrapments of a typical 4x game. In other words: If I have to paint the map I will be sorely bummed out. The light of hope burns bright, though, considering that MuHa plans to expand its Slavic-influenced storylines and other RPG elements. I would be more than happy to trade conquest for narrative.

Will this hope be realised? What tweaks will MuHa makes to the card battle system? How will the storylines and dialog trees influence the progression of exploration and party management? Will campaigns come to as abrupt and blood-splattered ending and in Thea 1? Come November 30th, the story of Thea 2: The Shattering will commence.

And for those interested parties, Thea: The Awakening is available for 50% off during Steam’s midweek madness sale. I give it my unsolicited recommendation, as I have jabbered and raved about it in the past.

Filed Under: News

The Operational Art of War IV (Steam Release), Review of

November 1, 2018 by Nick Leave a Comment

Operational Warfare could be considered the median level of wargaming. In terms of scope, one could place it in between grand strategy and tactical. The scope of operational wargames is broad enough that you can command one or more armies of 10-of-thousands, while small enough that you are still concerned with the topography and tactical positioning of these groups. It is objective-based gameplay that can have a limitless variety of flavor and scenarios.

This variety is what The Operational Art of War 4 seeks to make available to the player. It utilizes an engine with an insane amount of customization and parameter-setting along with a unique, though conceptually challenging, time management system so that the power is in the community’s hands to create dozens upon dozens of historically sensitive scenarios in addition to the dozens upon dozens of scenarios that are included with the game. And now that TOAW4 is available on Steam, and therefore to potential newcomers with access to Steam Workshop, the way is open for TOAW4 to blitzkrieg its way to becoming a fixed presence in the wargaming universe.

Starting Conditions for Plei Mei, 1965

The scope of TOAW4 is what exactly gives the game its variety of settings, and it is this variety of settings that the game does so well. The strategic concern is not all-out victory of an all-out war; the scenarios instead focus on specific battles. Specific battles equates to specific dates at specific places with specific armies utilizing specific technologies to achieve specific objectives. And with a range of pre-WWI to modern day conflicts, there is no shortage of stuff to do…

One scenario puts you on the isle of Crete in 1941, pitting axis against allies – pick whichever side you want to play as (or play both!) – elite paratroopers vs. entrenched defenders. Another scenario has you flushing out guerrilla militants out of afghan mountainsides. TOAW4 even has a hypothetical directory where the player can fly off the rails of history by asking ‘what if…’.

Each scenario differs from the others in terms of size, complexity, turn length, and game length. But the creators also provide plenty of optional documentation to pore through which orients the player in historical context and the initiatives of both sides. Hindsight being 20/20, many scenarios also have scripted events that can dramatically alter the course of attaining your victory conditions.

TOAW4 is not just a matter of scope, where the ‘focus’ is dialed into on the zoom. It is also about time management. TOAW4 uses a unique turn-based system that is essentially a layered turn-based approach. These sub-rounds are slices of time, so to speak, of that particular conflict in that particular hex. Time Stamp values are then assigned to hexes in an effort to reduce gamey exploits of the turn-based system that was present in TOAW3. For example, if a fresh chit with maximum round-count enters a hex where an engagement has already occurred it suffers a penalty in rounds because it has thus entered that slice of time where the passage of time has already progressed X amount of rounds, thus, potentially postponing the attack until next turn. This, in turn, promotes logistical planning on the part of the player, considering all the factors (for there are many) that have and will contribute to a chit’s efficacy and its place in the overall war machine.

Sevastopol, 1942

Time stamps, temporal shift penalties, rounds within rounds. If it sounds menacing and engaging and god-awfully clunky, that’s because it is. Many aspects of TOAW4 require some diligence not only to learn ‘how’ but to eventually determine ‘what’.

The game’s UI isn’t exactly the most pleasing to look at and use, thus getting in the player’s way of learning the ins and outs of the complexities and inner workings. The main menus are abysmally sluggish – not exactly creating a stellar first impression to newcomers. Many of the scenario descriptions and in-game battle reports tend to be nothing more than walls of text. But, those who persist and take one’s time will learn where everything is and will learn what information and commands are important to his decision-making…

Yes. After a while I began to see the game in a whole new way. The chits display more than just stats; they become a representation of a living mass of soldiers and specialists dedicated to the cause. The topography revealed more than just movement penalties; it tells the story of the place, the hardships and sacrifice that happened there. The END TURN command is the passage of time in this particular orb of history, and with it, events and situations that can alter not just the way you play toward the objectives but to also take a step back and consider the real-life historical implications.

Indeed. TOAW4 is an incredibly nuanced and historically-detailed game. No matter the scenario, no matter the objectives, no matter which side you choose, the same flexible game systems are in place. Even more remarkable is how the Scenario Editor puts these machinations into the player’s hands. Less remarkable though is that TOAW4’s Steam Workshop integration is not yet operational; you’ll have to dig through the Matrix/Slitherine forums for user-scenarios. The game also offers a universe of customization and advanced rule-setting – catnip for all you tweakers out there.

These gripes – the clunky,unhelpful UI, the uglyass appearance, zero Workshop integration – are merely that: Short-term, fussy complaints about QOL matters that will be ironed-out over time. What is solid – what does matter – is that TOAW4 has an operational wargame-generating system in place, which is now available to a much wider audience. The game will pistol whip any player without the patience to learn and will reward engaging, exciting, detailed and varied gameplay to those who are willing to jump into the muck and get his hands dirty.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: matrix, slitherine, TOAW4, wargaming

Paradox Interactive Halloween Sale – Through Nov 1

October 25, 2018 by Nick Leave a Comment

Paradox Interactive is hosting a Halloween sale today through November 1st. The digital storefront displays a few of the ‘ghastly gems’ whose price tags are hack n’ slashed for the week. Most notably is the bevy of expansions for city sim Cities: Skylines, having recently released its latest addon ‘Cities: Skylines – Industries’. Also present are recent expansions for the other usual Paradox titles: Stellaris, Europa Universalis 4, and BATTLETECH.

Digging a little deeper into the sale we see the other usual titles ala Crusader Kings, Hearts of Iron 4, Tyranny and all of their expansions and cosmetic DLCs. Mixed in with these are more, older expansions for Cities: Skylines and Stellaris, a handfull of portrait packs, a music pack for HoI4, and lesser-known, older titles like Knights of Pen & Paper and Majesty and Ancient Space and Warlock II, and I guess Paradox has the rights to the Shadowrun games, now?

Cool… I think?

Paradox games have largely shaped who I am as a gamer, and I am still of the opinion that Crusader Kings 2 is one of the best games conceptually and the most fun to play ever in the history of histories…

…But (did you sense a ‘but’ coming?), when I take a step back and look at this sale catalog, it simply doesn’t blow my skirt up like it used to; it’s just the usual base games drowning in a sea of DLC banners mingled with newer games that, as a publisher, Paradox is putting some weight behind but simply have not taken off.

When considered singly, I do not fully bemoan all these excessive DLC titles for their games, and am not complaining that their online storefront is no more organised than a clearance bin at Walmart. It all just looks washed out and it makes me feel just as jaded towards expanding my own Paradox library.

Click the banner, and you do you.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Holiday Sale, paradox, Sale

Weekend Gaming – SOMA

July 7, 2017 by Nick Leave a Comment

SOMA is what it’s like when its done properly.

The dark, dank atmosphere and overall persistent sense of foreboding and anxiety are so well done that it is very easy to hand your psyche over to the game, to place you directly under its spell.

For the first few hours of gametime, I kept on wanting to compare it to Alien:Isolation. Both games share a few of the same user-defined tags ala “Horror”, “Sci-Fi” “Atmosphere”. And both games fulfill these same roles very, very well.

But the further I progressed in SOMA the more it diverged from Alien:Isolation.

Where Alien:Isolation is instinctive and deathly tense, SOMA takes a more cerebral approach. Where the basic premise of A:I is ‘survive. get out.’, SOMA digs in like a philosophical tick. Both games are without a doubt engaging, but SOMA possess far more lasting power than A:I.

Progress in SOMA finds the player moving deeper and deeper. Deeper in the physical sense of its oceanic setting, and deeper in the sense of its philosophical queries. It is a game whose narrative works at multiple levels of meaning. Taking a step back to ask oneself “What do you think?” has a magnitude of implications – Perhaps, maddeningly, horrifically so.

SOMA is no slim fable. Measured benchmarks in progress may answer one question but will blast open another pressure lock, flooding the player with more inquiries and dilemmas. Player engagement is nurtured by posing meaningful questions about the self, intelligence, happiness, ignorance. And the way SOMA twists these themes in and out of each other is incredible.

I look forward to completing the journey this weekend. With the way the game has presented itself thus far, I am anticipating a conclusion that will blow what I think is my mind out of the back of what I think is my skull.

What are you playing this weekend?

Filed Under: Weekend Gaming Tagged With: SOMA, Weekend Gaming

Weekend Gaming – Europa Univeralis IV

March 17, 2017 by Nick 1 Comment

Europa Universails IV continues to morph into quite the juggernaut. First released in 2013, EU4 now hosts additional content which includes nine expansion packs (with #10, ‘Mandate of Heaven’, set to be released in two weeks) and a bevy, a hoard, a throng, a cacophony of cosmetic and music DLCs.

Want a good jolt? Go to the game’s Steam page and see how much all this crap costs. Here – I’ll link it for you. Europa Universalis IV.

Luckily. Thankfully. Paradox titles often go on sale. And given the base game’s age, these discounts are often steep and attractive. And not just on Steam, either. The Humble Bundle Store often hosts developer discounts – of which I recently (like, last weekend) bought the remaining EU4 expansions that had not already owned… and played.

The tenth expansion for Europa Unviersalis IV
Indeed. I’ve been stewing on EU4 for a while. Turning it down outright during sales and other opportunities to buy at discounted price. As shocking as the summation monetary figure is in the steam link above, price was and has never really been an impediment for picking up Paradox titles – although sales are definitely a huge motivating factor, of course.

No. The timing just never felt right for me to take the Europa plunge (And, to an extent, the timing never felt right for most games this past winter season). But, I’ve crawled out of the hole. I’m feeling increasingly rejuvenated and interested in playing video games again — not just playing, but also learning how to play. What better way to experience both at the same time than with EU4?

Yes. I feel like I’ve come full circle. I feel like my hero’s journey has brought me home. It feels great to be up to my friggin eyeballs in a Paradox game. Where once all the EU4 expansions and content scared me off, I now embrace it tightly, smooshing my face in and motorboating the game’s generous offerings.

What are you motorboating this weekend?

Filed Under: Weekend Gaming Tagged With: EU4, paradox

Clinton ‘Fear’ Loomis Retires From Evil Geniuses

September 14, 2016 by Nick Leave a Comment

Evil Geniuses today issued the announcement that EG and esports veteran Clinton ‘Fear’ Loomis is retiring from the player’s hot seat. He is, however, remaining with EG as an active coach for future EG Dota2 lineups.

His retirement is effective immediately, with Fear citing his personal health as a priority. In a brief statement on EG’s website, he recognizes his accomplishments and gushes about EG and Dota. “I still have a passion for Dota and for competing,” Fear begins, “but the long term health of my arm has to come first.”

clinton-fear-loomis-eg-dota2

The sudden removal of heavy-hitters like Fear is sure to make a splash. Teammates and many redditors who Bleed Blue are bummed yet supportive. Teammate PPD said this of Fear: “Fear helped me reach my potential, and I believe he will continue to do that for players in the years to come.” Of his prospective coaching abilities redditor /u/prolepatriot thinks, “considering how much ppd and others on EG have praised fear for being a calming presence as well as helping with the drafts…i expect fear to be one of the best coaches in the scene.”

With an empty chair now in the lineup EG plans to announce its new Dota2 roster tomorrow.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Dota 2, Evil Geniuses

Weekend Gaming – Offworld Trading Company, DOOM

September 9, 2016 by Nick Leave a Comment

Mars is the Roman god of war. He is a representation of aggression and conflict. The Romans celebrated Mars for what he represents because war was a way of securing peace, even though peace was usually achieved by submission from the bloodied pulp of the empire’s foes. Meh. No matter, a means to an end. Roma Victrix, n00bs!

Mars is also a planet – Our neighbor, in fact. Howdy-ho neighborino! The planet earned its namesake because of its reddish hue as seen from Earth’s surface. Blood, being red, is also seen splattered all over Earth’s surface during the throes of war. Therefore, the Romans figured, let us name that red dot in the sky after our god of blood splatters and glory.

mars-orbital-photo-edit

Mars, it just so happens, is also the setting for two of the games I plan on playing this weekend – both of which share pretty much the same types of cutthroat, purposeful aggression as our Roman friends enacted while under the gaze of their reddish god.

Offworld Trading Company (Mohawk Games)

I was all over this game last week, hell-bent to git gud, or, at least, to understand. And I do understand. I really do. It’s a bloody good game, deserving of every shred of critical praise it receives. I haven’t even touched the campaign, focusing instead on skirmishes and working up the cajones to dabble in free-for-all multiplayer mode — perhaps this weekend.

In order to improve my gameplay I started off at a measured pace, pausing prodigiously during skirmishes and learning from my mistakes. I made a habit after every game to learn from one single error that I made. But my desire to improve quickly exceeded my ability and I hit a wall. I started repeating the same fatal mistakes such as overlooking my fuel consumption, not reacting to the market, trying too hard to influence the market, not building enough power generators, building too many power generators, etc. etc. etc. Matches would stretch on and on only to see my company ultimately bought up. And so, I tilted.

At the onset of this week I decided to side-step from OTC – to regroup, as it were. Still, watch some Zultar commentaries, and think about my own mistakes. But overall, to turn my attention to another completely different game that takes place, at least initially, upon the same martian surface as this cut-throat economic strategy game.

DOOM (id Software)

I cannot recall the last time I gamed from the couch. I didn’t even know that I missed it. I also didn’t even know how badly I needed DOOM in my life right now. The planets are aligned.

DOOM is just straight up fun. It is agreeable in so many ways. Everything the game does seems to flush you into another rumble with a swarm of demons. And the more you move, the better time you’ll have. It is so propuslive. The fighting is fluid. In fact, I would say the fighting almost has a tactical quality to it with how easy it is to toggle weapons and cater upgrades. And the glory kills! What a wonderful design decision to force close encounters as a primary source of replenishment. And the fact that you can target a specific glory kill animation is so completely pointless yet so necessary…

Indeed. The fighting is fun, yes. But I am also so impressed with how the entire experience is composed. I am reminded of Metalocalypse with its propensity towards ironic/hyperbolic use of violence and gore and heavy mothereffin metal… but it is still so completely, genuinely badass. DOOM walks that fine line. So much so that glory killing a demon by ripping out his heart and shoving it down his throat is equal parts hilarious and practical. Bravo.

So, yeah… I’ll be hanging out on Mars this weekend. I’ll be sure to send a postcard splattered with blood and minerals.

What are you playing this weekend?

I hope your weekend goes better than his. <3
I hope your weekend goes better than his.

Filed Under: Weekend Gaming Tagged With: Doom, Offworld Trading Company

Weekend Gaming – Offworld Trading Company

September 2, 2016 by Nick Leave a Comment

Offworld Trading Company is weird.

No. I take that back. Offworld Trading Company is in fact quite elegant. A description worthy of even more celebration when you consider what the game does: It completely redraws what a RTS can be. An approach this new, working so well the way that it does, takes a little bit of time to get onboarded – for me, at least.

No. OTC is not the weird one. I’m the weird one.

I’m still learning the ropes. I’m taking the task of learning this game in measured paces, and this process has generated an unusual matrix of emotions. Indeed. Never before has a game made me feel so self-powered and competent yet so dadgum blockheaded. Although, I trust that practice will help chisel my blockhead into something less grotesque and stupid looking…

Offworld Trading Company Screen Shot

Yes. The skill ceiling in the game seems to be so very high. N00b mistakes are common but so very valuable. Every game I learn something new, one golden nugget of truth that I can carry with me into the next skirmish. These nuggets can be little things like figuring out how to toggle auto-sell – all the way up to big things like overbuilding with complete and utter oversight to energy costs.

Little things. Big things. And everything inbetween. Learning how to play Offworld Trading Company has never been frustrating; it’s always been fun, enlightening, and with a healthy dose of DERP! mixed in. It is rarely about how to do something, but when…When, when, when! Freaking, WHEN!? This is a testament to how well-designed OTC is. I dig it.

What are you playing this weekend?

Filed Under: Weekend Gaming Tagged With: Offworld Trading Company

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