So I travel pretty extensively. In my 27 years of life I have set foot outside of an airport in 38 of the 50 states in my beloved USA, as well as traveled to Canada, Mexico, the Virgin Islands, and been on boats in three oceans. I have family in Alaksa, Arizona, Wyoming, Geogria, Massechussets, California, Colorado, Utah, and Idaho.
I would argue despite my lack of international credentials that I am more well traveled then the average American. And to get around, I usually fly. In my youth I enjoyed the ritual of flying. Sometimes it was a hassle to get up at 5:30 to make a 7 am flight, but it was always a positive experience. At least until 19 crazy Saudis decided to take piloting lesions in the middle of their international flights.
For the past decade now, the experience of air travel has degenerated to an experience that for many people around the world has shifted to a very negative experience. This can be divided firmly into two categories, the first being that Airlines, in their cost cutting measures, are taking away from the service and comfort of their customers. The second is governments, particularly the American government, is intentionally suspending the liberties of Passengers for the sake of the illusion of security, as they respond to the LAST threat that has hit air travel, rather then attempt to be proactive.
There have been two news items that recently have made air travel such a tremendous pain in the ass that I am on the verge of refusing to fly until such restrictions are lifted. The first and most humorous was that actor/director Kevin Smith (known for his View Askew films like Clerks) was kicked off a plane because he was too fat. His girth was unable to fit in a seat according to a flight attendant (which is a misnomer these days, because they really do not do anything). Never mind that Smith, who is a self proclaimed “fat ass” bought two southwest seats cause it was cheaper then flying first class elsewhere. Never mind that he was forced to give up one of those seats so a person on stand bye could make the flight. Because Smith could not fit his waist inside a seat 17.5 inches in width, he was booted and given 100 bucks for his trouble. (Never mind the cost of the two tickets was probably close to a thousand dollars.)
The second story is that the Transportation security agency, in an effort to deter and prevent incidents like Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s attempted bombing of a Christmas day flight over Detroit, is going to begin swabbing the hands of random passengers to detect explosive residue, thus adding another 15 minutes of security screenings that mean nothing, and that the flying public is expected to accept and “deal with” for the illusion of safety.
The first story I have little to fear from, since I am a man of average girth. I do have to say though those tiny seats that are on airplanes are uncomfortable as hell though. About the only full blown seat that I have seen on a passenger ferrying vehicle that is smaller then a typical airline seat is a device in Kia SUV’s that advertise that they seat seven people (the seats in those case are ten inches wide in the back, and the front has bench seats for three people). It is a greater symptom that Airlines are forgetting that their passengers are paying customers. With the advent of “strategic partnerships” between airlines and the mergers of others though, there is no competition that can take place between them, and the competition that does take place is in Cost cutting being extended to the passenger, thus removing frills all the way down to beverage service. No airline is willing to try and be upscale. No one is willing to advertise themselves like Makers Mark advertises the Bourbon. “It tastes expensive ... and is.”
I want to see a mainstream Airline that is unapologetic about their prices, because they let you check bags without an extra fee, give you a blanket and pillow without you asking and offers seats the size normally found in Caddilacs. If someone knows of such an airline that serves the whole nation, please let me know.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
It is not often that my education has an ability to intermix with my favorite hobby, Battletech. But some news popped up recently that has allowed it to happen. Strait from the horses mouth.
Long and short, the small business that runs and develops the Battletech line has exploded in growth beyond their wildest imaginations. But demand exceeding supply was not the only issue, there was also a hiccup in finance and it was one of the business owners fault.
This has lead to a lot of doom and gloom from the tabletop gamer community in general, but what surprises me is how the fans of catalyst propeties specifically have behaved. Shadowrun fans have been flapping around like chickens with their heads cut off.
My Fellow Battletech fans however seem to be taking a much more chill approach to this whole thing. Given that the revival of the two games were a mere 3 years apart, I can only hypothesize why one fan group is being Chicken Little while the other is Dali Lhamma.
Businesses large and small run into cash flow issues all the time. They can sometimes destroy perfectly solvent companies who rely far too much on receivables to carry the day. Other times they can be mere hiccups in a companies history, and be that tumble that leads to a brighter future. Given the success alluded to in the very beginning of the press release I am prompted to believe that Catalyst will be able to go forward despite this, to a brighter future ahead.
Sure many fans will cry fiat, or fanboyisim. But I look at it this way. Unless someone breaks into my house and burns my Battletech books and melts down my miniatures, no one is going to stop me playing the game. So I can afford to have faith. If Catalyst fails, I will continue to play, and with no new product to tell me what is going on in the universe, I will make it up, or use existing products to create and weave my stories. And that will be enough for me.
Long and short, the small business that runs and develops the Battletech line has exploded in growth beyond their wildest imaginations. But demand exceeding supply was not the only issue, there was also a hiccup in finance and it was one of the business owners fault.
This has lead to a lot of doom and gloom from the tabletop gamer community in general, but what surprises me is how the fans of catalyst propeties specifically have behaved. Shadowrun fans have been flapping around like chickens with their heads cut off.
My Fellow Battletech fans however seem to be taking a much more chill approach to this whole thing. Given that the revival of the two games were a mere 3 years apart, I can only hypothesize why one fan group is being Chicken Little while the other is Dali Lhamma.
Businesses large and small run into cash flow issues all the time. They can sometimes destroy perfectly solvent companies who rely far too much on receivables to carry the day. Other times they can be mere hiccups in a companies history, and be that tumble that leads to a brighter future. Given the success alluded to in the very beginning of the press release I am prompted to believe that Catalyst will be able to go forward despite this, to a brighter future ahead.
Sure many fans will cry fiat, or fanboyisim. But I look at it this way. Unless someone breaks into my house and burns my Battletech books and melts down my miniatures, no one is going to stop me playing the game. So I can afford to have faith. If Catalyst fails, I will continue to play, and with no new product to tell me what is going on in the universe, I will make it up, or use existing products to create and weave my stories. And that will be enough for me.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Birthday reflections
Well just in time for March, your Arbiter has reached his twenty-seventh birthday. I spent my actually birthday in the throws of the Flu. To say I felt like I got hit by a truck would imply the impact was brief, but very painful. I felt like I got hit by a Truck, drug underneath the wheel well and pulled across a stretch of 30 some odd miles of Arizona highway…
The following Saturday I felt better enough (I was still coughing up a storm) to have a bunch of friends over to watch “Dark Side of the Rainbow.” For those that do not know, this is the bizarre phenomena that if one plays the movie “The Wizard of Oz” muted with Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” album on a CD player, the two Sync up in such a way that you end up with a rather convincing music video.
For the most part it is bullshit. The Wizard of Oz is three times as long as the Dark Side of the Moon, and being something of a media buff, I can see glaring holes in the theory. That said, there is a lot of times in the experience, particularly in pure instrumental moments where it does become quite beautiful, and OCCASIONALLY the lips sync to the lyrics. It was great fun, even for an over-analyzed coincidence.
Turning 27 has led me to examine my life, I figure get it out there in advance of the big 3-0. no serious internal reflection, don’t worry. I prefer to marvel at what I have beheld in the world. From 1983 to 2010 we went from the Apple LISA to the iPad, the Nintendo Entertainment System to the Wii, the Pinto to the Prius… wait that was a bad example.
The point was I was born in an era where I did not just witness quantum leaps forward in such a short time, I LIVED them. I was born to an era where Computers always existed in my house, humanity in space was semi common, and rock and roll was mainstream. The idea of these things being novel to my parents is just as bizarre to me as the concept of the Internet, Cellular Phones, and hybrid cars being “typical” things for my son.
Eventually some one is going to be saying “I have journeyed through the darkness between the most distant stars. I have beheld the births of negative-suns and borne witness to the entropy of entire realities....” That is the path that human beings have set themselves on, and it blows my fucking mind.
My best guess is that I got another 43 years left on this rock, and I am NOT marking down the days. I plan on making good each one I have left. So as a toast to everyone, Here’s to another ROCKING year!
The following Saturday I felt better enough (I was still coughing up a storm) to have a bunch of friends over to watch “Dark Side of the Rainbow.” For those that do not know, this is the bizarre phenomena that if one plays the movie “The Wizard of Oz” muted with Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” album on a CD player, the two Sync up in such a way that you end up with a rather convincing music video.
For the most part it is bullshit. The Wizard of Oz is three times as long as the Dark Side of the Moon, and being something of a media buff, I can see glaring holes in the theory. That said, there is a lot of times in the experience, particularly in pure instrumental moments where it does become quite beautiful, and OCCASIONALLY the lips sync to the lyrics. It was great fun, even for an over-analyzed coincidence.
Turning 27 has led me to examine my life, I figure get it out there in advance of the big 3-0. no serious internal reflection, don’t worry. I prefer to marvel at what I have beheld in the world. From 1983 to 2010 we went from the Apple LISA to the iPad, the Nintendo Entertainment System to the Wii, the Pinto to the Prius… wait that was a bad example.
The point was I was born in an era where I did not just witness quantum leaps forward in such a short time, I LIVED them. I was born to an era where Computers always existed in my house, humanity in space was semi common, and rock and roll was mainstream. The idea of these things being novel to my parents is just as bizarre to me as the concept of the Internet, Cellular Phones, and hybrid cars being “typical” things for my son.
Eventually some one is going to be saying “I have journeyed through the darkness between the most distant stars. I have beheld the births of negative-suns and borne witness to the entropy of entire realities....” That is the path that human beings have set themselves on, and it blows my fucking mind.
My best guess is that I got another 43 years left on this rock, and I am NOT marking down the days. I plan on making good each one I have left. So as a toast to everyone, Here’s to another ROCKING year!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
People Who Ruin it for everyone
So there is a Rule hear on Arbitration. I wait one month after a major disaster before I talk about how I like to jerk off to the body count. okay I do not actually do that, but in a very Carlin-esque way I love watching disasters. I work in an industry (life insurance) where death is a fact of life, and can even be seen as the cost of doing business. so when I watch a city disappear because most of the homes were not built to any sort of safety regulation, and in regions explicitly flagged off from development because they were not safe to build on, I admit I laugh.
Seeing one of the poorest countries on the planet almost literally collapse to non existence in terms of governance, and exist as a pseudo anarchy has been fascinating. The fact that it HAS turned into a survival of the fittest scenario and WORKED indicates that sometimes we just need to leave other peoples problems alone.
lets face it the relief effort in Haiti, has been another colossal failure. Medicine is not getting to proper people, language barriers (Creole is not French UN Peacekeepers!) are causing hostility, and a society who used to revere the dead to the point of graves being more elaborate then homes, are no kicking as many people into deep holes as possible and trying to move on.
there is no greater example of people failing to help however, then the story of ten Baptist-Christian Missionaries from Idaho. In this case, ten people have tried to take about 30 children they declared orphans across Haiti's border to the Dominican Republic for eventual adoption by American families. they now sit in a half demolished prison cell awaiting child trafficking charges
the problem of course was, some of these kids were not orphans. Yes there were some parents who gave away their children in hopes for a better life, some other children where, on a fundamental level, kidnapped from parents.
as a result of this case, many of the life saving medivacs that have taken children from hati to nearby Miami, Florida or aboard hospital ships like the USS Comfort have ground to a stand still.there is a mountain of paperwork that is supposed to be done when a child is to be removed from Haitian soil. in the immediate aftermath of the Earthquake, a lot of that paperwork (by necessity) was waived in favor of saving lives. in light of this however, what is left of Haitian law enforcement is spent on making sure NO CHILDREN leave Haitian soil.
when one listens to the stories of these ten missionaries, you get the sense that they had no idea what the hell they were doing. It almost sounds like ten idiots with no sense of protocol or sense were closing their eyes and letting their God point them where they should go and what they should do. I am all for making it up as I go along, but that usually applies for things like dinner menus.
the end result however is that yet again we have a group of religious nut jobs, who by their actions have made life hard on the rest of the world. like any Islamic Terrorist their choices are costing lives every day, and making a government paranoid and over protective of its people.
for 100,000 years human beings have used the Gods and Demons we worship for whatever reason as a good excuse for doing anything. and it has erupted into wars, changes in a nations governance, persecution of minorities, and abuse of our fellow man.
I am not saying that human beings must reject religion, far from it. What I do think we as a species need to do though is stop accepting religion as an acceptable argument to justify ANYTHING. We need to have a higher standard, a higher and more universal rulebook that applies not to the spiritual world, but the physical one. with something like 5 major religions and over 50 sects combined therein, too of "God's Laws" intersect each other.
"God told me to take this children and provide a better life for them!"
Thats great, the world wide rule book says that you need to make sure, along with one of our state department reps, that these kids are actually orphans, here is a ton of paper work to fill out, in the mean time this hospital needs triage nurses, so the other nine of you follow me."
Seeing one of the poorest countries on the planet almost literally collapse to non existence in terms of governance, and exist as a pseudo anarchy has been fascinating. The fact that it HAS turned into a survival of the fittest scenario and WORKED indicates that sometimes we just need to leave other peoples problems alone.
lets face it the relief effort in Haiti, has been another colossal failure. Medicine is not getting to proper people, language barriers (Creole is not French UN Peacekeepers!) are causing hostility, and a society who used to revere the dead to the point of graves being more elaborate then homes, are no kicking as many people into deep holes as possible and trying to move on.
there is no greater example of people failing to help however, then the story of ten Baptist-Christian Missionaries from Idaho. In this case, ten people have tried to take about 30 children they declared orphans across Haiti's border to the Dominican Republic for eventual adoption by American families. they now sit in a half demolished prison cell awaiting child trafficking charges
the problem of course was, some of these kids were not orphans. Yes there were some parents who gave away their children in hopes for a better life, some other children where, on a fundamental level, kidnapped from parents.
as a result of this case, many of the life saving medivacs that have taken children from hati to nearby Miami, Florida or aboard hospital ships like the USS Comfort have ground to a stand still.there is a mountain of paperwork that is supposed to be done when a child is to be removed from Haitian soil. in the immediate aftermath of the Earthquake, a lot of that paperwork (by necessity) was waived in favor of saving lives. in light of this however, what is left of Haitian law enforcement is spent on making sure NO CHILDREN leave Haitian soil.
when one listens to the stories of these ten missionaries, you get the sense that they had no idea what the hell they were doing. It almost sounds like ten idiots with no sense of protocol or sense were closing their eyes and letting their God point them where they should go and what they should do. I am all for making it up as I go along, but that usually applies for things like dinner menus.
the end result however is that yet again we have a group of religious nut jobs, who by their actions have made life hard on the rest of the world. like any Islamic Terrorist their choices are costing lives every day, and making a government paranoid and over protective of its people.
for 100,000 years human beings have used the Gods and Demons we worship for whatever reason as a good excuse for doing anything. and it has erupted into wars, changes in a nations governance, persecution of minorities, and abuse of our fellow man.
I am not saying that human beings must reject religion, far from it. What I do think we as a species need to do though is stop accepting religion as an acceptable argument to justify ANYTHING. We need to have a higher standard, a higher and more universal rulebook that applies not to the spiritual world, but the physical one. with something like 5 major religions and over 50 sects combined therein, too of "God's Laws" intersect each other.
"God told me to take this children and provide a better life for them!"
Thats great, the world wide rule book says that you need to make sure, along with one of our state department reps, that these kids are actually orphans, here is a ton of paper work to fill out, in the mean time this hospital needs triage nurses, so the other nine of you follow me."
Monday, January 4, 2010
Happy New Year
Happy New Year folks, hope it has been fun and fruitful for you all. 2009 has been one of those years that has been, for me at least, one of the best ever, and yet one of the most frustrating. as I stare down the barrel of finishing my 27th lap around our local star, I figured I would just give you a list of the best and worst things that I experienced this past year.
The Best
Best Video Game- Batman Arkham Asylum. Seriously, lets take the 1994 cartoon voice cast, and appkly it to a Christopher Nolan movie! WINNER
Best Movie- G.I.J.O.E. The Rise of Cobra. My childhood was not raped.
Best Television series- Throwdown with Bobby Flay, or as I like to call it, Bobby Flay can not win
Best Book- The Spectre Series by a woman named Pheadra Weldon.
Best Nostalgic Moment- watching Die Hard and Die Hard 2 Back to back the week of Christmas with my wife.
Best Moment to completely change my mind about how things are- the birth of my son, and how children are demons
Best “New Person”- Brent Evans, the Catalyst Game Labs Art Director. Thanks for the Interview!
Best Old Friend- Chris Wrenn, whom I fancied as an apprentice, but has become my equal
Best dumb thing I ever heard- “Yeah I needed the thicken the broth up so I added water.”
Best smart thing I ever heard- “live like a dog, if it can not be eaten or humped, piss on it and walk away”
Best guest on a TV Show- Jessi Combs on Mythbusters. Sexy like Karri, but with a blow torch and a touch of immature enthusiasm
Best Vulgarity “Fuck-tard” Fourth year running
Best Meal cooked by Me- Thanksgiving Prime Rib
Best Meal cooked by someone else- an “Australian Meat Pie” for my birthday.
The Worst
Worst Video game- that I played? Sacred 2, had all the promise of Baulders gate, but lacked the side by side multiplayer.
Worst Movie- Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (why did we need this movie again?)
Worst book- Twilight religion and morality subtly wrapped in a romance novel unintentionally portraying a bevy of abusive relationships
Worst Television Show- Stargate Universe. It took ten episodes to even get me to WANT to watch more of it.
Worst Nostalgic moment- December 31st 2009- buying a device that could play old NES games, and fighting like a son-of-a-bitch to get mega man 3 to work… (it’s the only one with problems though)
Worst Moment that completely confirmed the way things are- Dude trying to blow up a plane of Christmas day. Air Port Security is pointless bullshit!
Worst New Person- Kate Only known you a year but you seen to always want to hang out but find lame excuses not too.
Worst old friend- Pamela. Sorry babe, but you seem to be ready to drop people you say are important to you at the slightest shift in wind.
Worst Dumb thing I ever heard- “Barac Obama is not a Citizen of the United States”
Worst Smart thing I ever heard (as in I did not like it, but I had to agree with it)- Some people want us to grow a pair between our legs and shout at the top of our lungs that global warming is fake, and this is where we have a confession. We don’t know. We know the earth is in fact getting warmer, but despite a crack research team we can not confidently say that mankind is directly responsible for it, or whether or not it is reversible. (Penn Jillete, from Bullshit Season 6)
Worst Guest on a TV Show- Joquinn Phoenix on David Letterman
Worst Vulgarity- Socialist, or Nazi (seriously that the best you got)
Worst Meal cooked by me- a seriously lame attempt at stir fry in april
Worst Meal I had cooked by someone else- Jenny’s home made French dip au jus…
The Best
Best Video Game- Batman Arkham Asylum. Seriously, lets take the 1994 cartoon voice cast, and appkly it to a Christopher Nolan movie! WINNER
Best Movie- G.I.J.O.E. The Rise of Cobra. My childhood was not raped.
Best Television series- Throwdown with Bobby Flay, or as I like to call it, Bobby Flay can not win
Best Book- The Spectre Series by a woman named Pheadra Weldon.
Best Nostalgic Moment- watching Die Hard and Die Hard 2 Back to back the week of Christmas with my wife.
Best Moment to completely change my mind about how things are- the birth of my son, and how children are demons
Best “New Person”- Brent Evans, the Catalyst Game Labs Art Director. Thanks for the Interview!
Best Old Friend- Chris Wrenn, whom I fancied as an apprentice, but has become my equal
Best dumb thing I ever heard- “Yeah I needed the thicken the broth up so I added water.”
Best smart thing I ever heard- “live like a dog, if it can not be eaten or humped, piss on it and walk away”
Best guest on a TV Show- Jessi Combs on Mythbusters. Sexy like Karri, but with a blow torch and a touch of immature enthusiasm
Best Vulgarity “Fuck-tard” Fourth year running
Best Meal cooked by Me- Thanksgiving Prime Rib
Best Meal cooked by someone else- an “Australian Meat Pie” for my birthday.
The Worst
Worst Video game- that I played? Sacred 2, had all the promise of Baulders gate, but lacked the side by side multiplayer.
Worst Movie- Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (why did we need this movie again?)
Worst book- Twilight religion and morality subtly wrapped in a romance novel unintentionally portraying a bevy of abusive relationships
Worst Television Show- Stargate Universe. It took ten episodes to even get me to WANT to watch more of it.
Worst Nostalgic moment- December 31st 2009- buying a device that could play old NES games, and fighting like a son-of-a-bitch to get mega man 3 to work… (it’s the only one with problems though)
Worst Moment that completely confirmed the way things are- Dude trying to blow up a plane of Christmas day. Air Port Security is pointless bullshit!
Worst New Person- Kate Only known you a year but you seen to always want to hang out but find lame excuses not too.
Worst old friend- Pamela. Sorry babe, but you seem to be ready to drop people you say are important to you at the slightest shift in wind.
Worst Dumb thing I ever heard- “Barac Obama is not a Citizen of the United States”
Worst Smart thing I ever heard (as in I did not like it, but I had to agree with it)- Some people want us to grow a pair between our legs and shout at the top of our lungs that global warming is fake, and this is where we have a confession. We don’t know. We know the earth is in fact getting warmer, but despite a crack research team we can not confidently say that mankind is directly responsible for it, or whether or not it is reversible. (Penn Jillete, from Bullshit Season 6)
Worst Guest on a TV Show- Joquinn Phoenix on David Letterman
Worst Vulgarity- Socialist, or Nazi (seriously that the best you got)
Worst Meal cooked by me- a seriously lame attempt at stir fry in april
Worst Meal I had cooked by someone else- Jenny’s home made French dip au jus…
Monday, November 9, 2009
Nerds Excluding Nerds
*authors note* I plan on making a you tube video of this script, but I wanted to get it out there first
So there is a debate raging on in the Battletech community currently, and it is one that seems to pop up every once in a while. Should Battletech be considered a What You See Is What You Get style miniatures game?
The reason this debate has popped up again is three fold. First off the introductory box released a little over two years ago by Catalyst Game Labs contained 24 plastic Mech Miniatures. These Mechs were not made of the best quality materiels but provided a decent visual aid for new players to build interest in the game beyond the box set. There are now mutterings of a Clan Expansion box set to be released hopefully sometime in the next year, that will include more plastic minis.
Secondly Catalyst is working with a second Miniatures company, along with Iron Wind Metals to release relatively inexpensive, High-quality plastic miniatures. These minis are suppoused to be of even beter quality then those of Games Workshops Warhammer and 40K lines.
Finally Battletech is experiencing a resurgence in popularity. Between people brought in from the Now Defunct Wizkids Mechwarrior Game, and converts from War Machine and Warhammer 40K, the Battletech player base has increased substantially over the past four or so years.
All of these are contributing to an ever popular demand to make it so that when playing Battletech on the table top, the minis you play with on the table are the Mechs you are actually using. But will this become the official way Battletech tournaments are played?
Before I begin my editorial on this subject I would like to say that catalyst has already officially spoken on the matter. At the beginning of every major rule book they state that the use of Proxies in their game, is not only allowed, but encouraged. While to some this means using any mini for any Mech, many catalyst have taken it a step further by suggesting coins, bottle caps, and even scraps of Post Its for game play purposes.
So really, the debate is moot and we should all give it up, and delay by an infinitesimal amount, the eventual heat death of the universe.
I on the other hand, wish to be a loudmouthed prick, and speak my mind about the practicality of Battletech as a WYSIWYG game.
What You See Is What You Get is a common practice in many table top war games. These range from the Warhammer universe, known for its players strict adherence to the WYSIWYG policy as it is for the expense involved in the game. There is Warmachine and hoards where Proxies are possible but not practical, and then we have a few games like Catan where WYSWIG is necessary but also not an issue thanks to the materials provided in the game.
Battletech however is inherently different. Like other games, the forces you can deploy are inherently fluid, and can even be determined randomly. There is also a hypothetical ideal in the universe that every faction involved has access to any and all war materiels that ever existed in the universe, provided you are willing to spend the right amount of in game money. That means that each nation has access to at least 500 different BattleMechs and over 2000 configurations alone. When we get into tanks, aircraft, space craft, and infantry the combinations literally get to numerous to count.
This makes Battletech unique in that it does not force a player to commit to one nation or faction in order to play. Unlike Warhammer 40K where it would cost a fortune to multi task, or Flames of War, were personal history and nostalgia, along with a love of flavor permit a person to commit to one nation or force, Battletech not only allows but ENCOURAGES the player to play as a nation one game, and then another nation the next.
The kicker is that most of the machines available in Battletech lack serious stylistic distinction. with that in mind, how can you even be certain that your lance fits the flavor of the Magistracy of Canopus, or the Free Rasalhauge Republic . The current bad guy of the Battletech Universe, if there ever was such a thing as a bad guy, the Word of Blake, not only have their own special war materiel, but they also use and abuse war materiel from every corner of the galaxy, even the Clans, who keep a pretty tight rein on their war machines.
The second issue I want you to consider is economics. Again I have to refer to Games Workshops properties in this case. A typical basic unit of soliders, like the Space Marine Tactical Squad, will cost you 35 dollars and buy you ten models. If we go to Iron Wind metals website, we find that the same amount of money will by you anywhere from 2 to 5 models depending on what you purchase. While a typical Battletech game is four Mechs on four Mechs, thus making this price point not a problem, it does not change the fact that you, under a WYSIWYG game would be forced to use those same four Mechs over and over. Then what happens if you want to use two of the same Mech in a game but do not have two of that Mechs miniature? Suddenly a game that is well designed for players on a budget becomes really expensive really fast, all because of the demands of a few nerds that do not care about thier credit score.
Now a Typical WYSIWYG player’s response is “man up, you are supporting the game.” I tend to hear this mostly from Games Workshop converts. This is where I want to point out that that statement is only half right. Battletech is produced, on a very real basis, by two separate companies. Catalyst game labs produces the rules, art, and fiction for the universe. A second company Iron Wind Metals, produces the Metal Miniatures for the game. Now I am a fan of both companies… But I would argue you support the GAME more by purchasing Catalysts books and rules then Ironwinds Minis. In either case Catalyst makes money from the purchase of either, thanks to License agreements, but the “man up” argument deserves a counter
After a 1100 dollar a month mortgage payment nearly 400 in associated bills (gas power water) and 200 in groceries, I have around 200 dollars a month in “free” cash, and on occasion that has to go towards things like buying clothes for my wife, son and myself, or fixing a car, house etc. I also have other hobbies like Video games and movies to feed, and a credit card I need to pay off. Sometimes “supporting the game” is a secondary concern.
It should also come to light that you are only really supporting the game if you buy from your game store or from Iron Wind directly if you buy minis. Purchasing from ebay, particularly older or out of date miniatures, usually means that Catalyst (or its predecessors FASA or Fanpro) already got their money out of it and you are lining a third parties pocket. Compund that with the fact that catalyst makes its money from the Game Books, and only gets a small residual from Miniatures sales, THAT argument is false out the gate.
Another piece to consider is a small bit of technology in the Battletech universe called Omni-Tech. First introduce by the Clans in 1991, Omni-Mechs, and later Omni-Tanks, and Omni-fighters (and to a limited extent Omni Battle Armor) gives a war machine completely modular capability, permitting a the same machine to be outfitted one way, and then over night be deployed with an entirely different load out the next day, much like how an F-15 can be equipped as a light bomber on one sortie, then an Air Superiority fighter the next. Under this prevalent technology, some players would either have to have upwards of nine copies of a single Mech to cover every different configuration of an Omni-Mech, and then need to do it twice or three times in case they want to field more then one of those Mechs.
As well there are variations of non OmniMechs that are done in factory (or sometimes jerry rigged in the field) are you going to force me to SHOW you that that Hammerhands mini is in fact the 5D as opposed to the 3D model? WYSWIG Gamers usually will bend about this and say “only so far as the base chassis.” But I call that a cop out to promote their ideology. But then the problem is compounded by another issue. There are many miniatures that have been out of production for years, sometimes over a decade. There are also several other designs that have been taken out of production, so that purchasing new means having to pay a premium.
Well what if I wish to play with one of these designs? Am I shit out of luck because I was not into the miniatures side of the hobby back then? If you allow me to sub, lets say a Dervish mini to represent an Apollo, then the whole WYSIWYG argument goes out the window to demanding that you play with miniatures only instead of paperboard cutouts, and that is another debate all together.
If all of these concerns were not enough, I have a practical matter for you. Battletech Minis are both fragile and heavy. I have lost count how often I have had to glue on the same damned arm to a Berserker mini of mine. Figuring out how to store and transport minis is a pain in the ass and carries its own expense with it. I for example have literally more Mechs then I have items to hold them in. Some are languishing in foam lined cardboard boxes as a result. I am not proud, but I have run out of materials to put them in. In a WYSIWYG play environment, the problem becomes compounded because I will need to haul it all to location A, in case I want to play a particular Mech on a last second whim.
For me the bottom line in the WYSIWYG debate is simple. We have a side of the Battletech player community who wants to show off their toys, and compare them to other peoples. It is part of the imaginary ownership that players and fan of any universe claim when they adhere to their random form of nerdness, and their desire to be offended that others do not take it seriously. The next step from WYSIWYG will be players demanding that other players claim ownership of a particular faction in the universe (where there are over 50 recorded factions alone), and then after that would be claiming and painting all of your minis in a particular military unit within the faction. While the argument is incumbent on the slippery slope fallacy, I would like to think I had already addressed well and good the ridiculousness of the issue at hand in order to indulge in it.
My personal take on the whole issue is this. Nothing supports a game better then playing it. That means butts in seats, dice in hand. Whether it is with miniatures, cardstock cut outs, or bottle caps and bobby pins I don’t care. Battletech is a game designed to be as simple or as complicated as you wish, so there is no real sense in trying to be exclusionary when someone wants to play the game with you, but has not shown the same kind of commitment you have. You could be missing out on making a good friend, or at the least a hell of a challenging game.
So there is a debate raging on in the Battletech community currently, and it is one that seems to pop up every once in a while. Should Battletech be considered a What You See Is What You Get style miniatures game?
The reason this debate has popped up again is three fold. First off the introductory box released a little over two years ago by Catalyst Game Labs contained 24 plastic Mech Miniatures. These Mechs were not made of the best quality materiels but provided a decent visual aid for new players to build interest in the game beyond the box set. There are now mutterings of a Clan Expansion box set to be released hopefully sometime in the next year, that will include more plastic minis.
Secondly Catalyst is working with a second Miniatures company, along with Iron Wind Metals to release relatively inexpensive, High-quality plastic miniatures. These minis are suppoused to be of even beter quality then those of Games Workshops Warhammer and 40K lines.
Finally Battletech is experiencing a resurgence in popularity. Between people brought in from the Now Defunct Wizkids Mechwarrior Game, and converts from War Machine and Warhammer 40K, the Battletech player base has increased substantially over the past four or so years.
All of these are contributing to an ever popular demand to make it so that when playing Battletech on the table top, the minis you play with on the table are the Mechs you are actually using. But will this become the official way Battletech tournaments are played?
Before I begin my editorial on this subject I would like to say that catalyst has already officially spoken on the matter. At the beginning of every major rule book they state that the use of Proxies in their game, is not only allowed, but encouraged. While to some this means using any mini for any Mech, many catalyst have taken it a step further by suggesting coins, bottle caps, and even scraps of Post Its for game play purposes.
So really, the debate is moot and we should all give it up, and delay by an infinitesimal amount, the eventual heat death of the universe.
I on the other hand, wish to be a loudmouthed prick, and speak my mind about the practicality of Battletech as a WYSIWYG game.
What You See Is What You Get is a common practice in many table top war games. These range from the Warhammer universe, known for its players strict adherence to the WYSIWYG policy as it is for the expense involved in the game. There is Warmachine and hoards where Proxies are possible but not practical, and then we have a few games like Catan where WYSWIG is necessary but also not an issue thanks to the materials provided in the game.
Battletech however is inherently different. Like other games, the forces you can deploy are inherently fluid, and can even be determined randomly. There is also a hypothetical ideal in the universe that every faction involved has access to any and all war materiels that ever existed in the universe, provided you are willing to spend the right amount of in game money. That means that each nation has access to at least 500 different BattleMechs and over 2000 configurations alone. When we get into tanks, aircraft, space craft, and infantry the combinations literally get to numerous to count.
This makes Battletech unique in that it does not force a player to commit to one nation or faction in order to play. Unlike Warhammer 40K where it would cost a fortune to multi task, or Flames of War, were personal history and nostalgia, along with a love of flavor permit a person to commit to one nation or force, Battletech not only allows but ENCOURAGES the player to play as a nation one game, and then another nation the next.
The kicker is that most of the machines available in Battletech lack serious stylistic distinction. with that in mind, how can you even be certain that your lance fits the flavor of the Magistracy of Canopus, or the Free Rasalhauge Republic . The current bad guy of the Battletech Universe, if there ever was such a thing as a bad guy, the Word of Blake, not only have their own special war materiel, but they also use and abuse war materiel from every corner of the galaxy, even the Clans, who keep a pretty tight rein on their war machines.
The second issue I want you to consider is economics. Again I have to refer to Games Workshops properties in this case. A typical basic unit of soliders, like the Space Marine Tactical Squad, will cost you 35 dollars and buy you ten models. If we go to Iron Wind metals website, we find that the same amount of money will by you anywhere from 2 to 5 models depending on what you purchase. While a typical Battletech game is four Mechs on four Mechs, thus making this price point not a problem, it does not change the fact that you, under a WYSIWYG game would be forced to use those same four Mechs over and over. Then what happens if you want to use two of the same Mech in a game but do not have two of that Mechs miniature? Suddenly a game that is well designed for players on a budget becomes really expensive really fast, all because of the demands of a few nerds that do not care about thier credit score.
Now a Typical WYSIWYG player’s response is “man up, you are supporting the game.” I tend to hear this mostly from Games Workshop converts. This is where I want to point out that that statement is only half right. Battletech is produced, on a very real basis, by two separate companies. Catalyst game labs produces the rules, art, and fiction for the universe. A second company Iron Wind Metals, produces the Metal Miniatures for the game. Now I am a fan of both companies… But I would argue you support the GAME more by purchasing Catalysts books and rules then Ironwinds Minis. In either case Catalyst makes money from the purchase of either, thanks to License agreements, but the “man up” argument deserves a counter
After a 1100 dollar a month mortgage payment nearly 400 in associated bills (gas power water) and 200 in groceries, I have around 200 dollars a month in “free” cash, and on occasion that has to go towards things like buying clothes for my wife, son and myself, or fixing a car, house etc. I also have other hobbies like Video games and movies to feed, and a credit card I need to pay off. Sometimes “supporting the game” is a secondary concern.
It should also come to light that you are only really supporting the game if you buy from your game store or from Iron Wind directly if you buy minis. Purchasing from ebay, particularly older or out of date miniatures, usually means that Catalyst (or its predecessors FASA or Fanpro) already got their money out of it and you are lining a third parties pocket. Compund that with the fact that catalyst makes its money from the Game Books, and only gets a small residual from Miniatures sales, THAT argument is false out the gate.
Another piece to consider is a small bit of technology in the Battletech universe called Omni-Tech. First introduce by the Clans in 1991, Omni-Mechs, and later Omni-Tanks, and Omni-fighters (and to a limited extent Omni Battle Armor) gives a war machine completely modular capability, permitting a the same machine to be outfitted one way, and then over night be deployed with an entirely different load out the next day, much like how an F-15 can be equipped as a light bomber on one sortie, then an Air Superiority fighter the next. Under this prevalent technology, some players would either have to have upwards of nine copies of a single Mech to cover every different configuration of an Omni-Mech, and then need to do it twice or three times in case they want to field more then one of those Mechs.
As well there are variations of non OmniMechs that are done in factory (or sometimes jerry rigged in the field) are you going to force me to SHOW you that that Hammerhands mini is in fact the 5D as opposed to the 3D model? WYSWIG Gamers usually will bend about this and say “only so far as the base chassis.” But I call that a cop out to promote their ideology. But then the problem is compounded by another issue. There are many miniatures that have been out of production for years, sometimes over a decade. There are also several other designs that have been taken out of production, so that purchasing new means having to pay a premium.
Well what if I wish to play with one of these designs? Am I shit out of luck because I was not into the miniatures side of the hobby back then? If you allow me to sub, lets say a Dervish mini to represent an Apollo, then the whole WYSIWYG argument goes out the window to demanding that you play with miniatures only instead of paperboard cutouts, and that is another debate all together.
If all of these concerns were not enough, I have a practical matter for you. Battletech Minis are both fragile and heavy. I have lost count how often I have had to glue on the same damned arm to a Berserker mini of mine. Figuring out how to store and transport minis is a pain in the ass and carries its own expense with it. I for example have literally more Mechs then I have items to hold them in. Some are languishing in foam lined cardboard boxes as a result. I am not proud, but I have run out of materials to put them in. In a WYSIWYG play environment, the problem becomes compounded because I will need to haul it all to location A, in case I want to play a particular Mech on a last second whim.
For me the bottom line in the WYSIWYG debate is simple. We have a side of the Battletech player community who wants to show off their toys, and compare them to other peoples. It is part of the imaginary ownership that players and fan of any universe claim when they adhere to their random form of nerdness, and their desire to be offended that others do not take it seriously. The next step from WYSIWYG will be players demanding that other players claim ownership of a particular faction in the universe (where there are over 50 recorded factions alone), and then after that would be claiming and painting all of your minis in a particular military unit within the faction. While the argument is incumbent on the slippery slope fallacy, I would like to think I had already addressed well and good the ridiculousness of the issue at hand in order to indulge in it.
My personal take on the whole issue is this. Nothing supports a game better then playing it. That means butts in seats, dice in hand. Whether it is with miniatures, cardstock cut outs, or bottle caps and bobby pins I don’t care. Battletech is a game designed to be as simple or as complicated as you wish, so there is no real sense in trying to be exclusionary when someone wants to play the game with you, but has not shown the same kind of commitment you have. You could be missing out on making a good friend, or at the least a hell of a challenging game.
Friday, October 23, 2009
BRUTAL LEGEND
I have been an avid video gamer since I was about 3 years old. I have previously waxed poetic about the fact that my childhood doctor prescribed a Nintendo to develop my fine motor skills, which were sub par in my youth. 23 years of solid video gaming under my belt I feel I have some chops to speak my mind about games.
Recently a man widely regarded as a Genuis of Video game writing name Tim Schaffer released a product called Brutal Legend. With Umlats over the U to show that the game does not mess around. The story revolves around a Rhoadie for a Punk/Metal/Pop fusion band who wishes to be part of a world where the metal was much more pure.
“You mean like the Seventies?”
“No man. Even earlier, like the early Seventies”
Anyway a stage accident occurs and stuff happens where he is transported to a mystical land that seems to be made off nothing but Motorhead, Black Sabbath, Metallica and Megatdeath Albums. Plot commences and it is good.
The game was met with a lot of anticipation, and the sales are through the roof. Voice acting provided by Jack Black, Tim Curry, Kyle Glass and Jennifer Hale are supplemented with the likes of such legends as Lemmy Kilmeister, Rob Halford, Lita Ford, and Ozzy mother fuckin Osborne. The script is excellent, even if the writing is suitable for a cheesy fantasy animated film.
What has gotten the game the most flak, after drowning out the religious nut-jobs who object to profanity and music in any form, is the game play. While nominally a third person adventure and exploration game, in order to advance the storyline you have to commit to these Real Time Strategy “Stage Battles” a portion of the game that was very well hidden from the press until review copies were sent out. Even I will admit that it is a tedious and overwhelmingly dull aspect of the entire game, BUT I am also a gamer who can ignore crappy game play if the story is good.
And this is the first game since Full Throttle that Tim Schaffer has done with a well thought out and excellent story (yes, I know about Psychonaughts, It did not do anything for me.) it is like the criticisms of the Halo series, who all have generic and mediocre game play, but make up for it in writing and music.
And I thin that is what is not connecting to gamers. The medium of video games has matured, and as a result we can now have complex and compelling stories that reach beyond “Thank you Mario, but our princess is in another castle.”
There are games out there where you can be good or evil, anti heros are praised , and in one series case (overlord) you ARE the bad guy. Some of the worst games of all time, like Bullet Witch, have had stories that compelled me to complete them, and some of the most repetive games ever, like Assassin’s Creed, milk those with certain educations and hobbies for all they are worth.
To often the gamer community is willing to label the title of “bad game” to something that plays poorly, or deviates from its predisesscors. Mario Brothers 2, Zelda 2, and Castlevania 2 all deviated from their predecessors, and had poor gameplay, but the so affected the mythos by their storylines that they provide certain Staples to their series.
Mario 2 brought the Shyguys, Birdo, and Mini games to their series. Casltevania 2 allowed for open world play, RPG elements, and Equipment menus that Dracula X and Rondo of Blood would not have existed without. Zelda 2 complete altered the mythology of the Zelda Series by introducing the idea of the Triforce as a Triple Entity, as well as permitting a completely bizarre timeline.
Critics need to back off the game play element and look at video games as a media experience. While once in a while we will get the next gen equivalent of Dr Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, I think more and more often we will have hidden treasures like the Duck Tales on the NES, B.O.B or Zombies Ate My Neighbors on the SNES, or just about every Capcom made fighter on the Dreamcast.
Recently a man widely regarded as a Genuis of Video game writing name Tim Schaffer released a product called Brutal Legend. With Umlats over the U to show that the game does not mess around. The story revolves around a Rhoadie for a Punk/Metal/Pop fusion band who wishes to be part of a world where the metal was much more pure.
“You mean like the Seventies?”
“No man. Even earlier, like the early Seventies”
Anyway a stage accident occurs and stuff happens where he is transported to a mystical land that seems to be made off nothing but Motorhead, Black Sabbath, Metallica and Megatdeath Albums. Plot commences and it is good.
The game was met with a lot of anticipation, and the sales are through the roof. Voice acting provided by Jack Black, Tim Curry, Kyle Glass and Jennifer Hale are supplemented with the likes of such legends as Lemmy Kilmeister, Rob Halford, Lita Ford, and Ozzy mother fuckin Osborne. The script is excellent, even if the writing is suitable for a cheesy fantasy animated film.
What has gotten the game the most flak, after drowning out the religious nut-jobs who object to profanity and music in any form, is the game play. While nominally a third person adventure and exploration game, in order to advance the storyline you have to commit to these Real Time Strategy “Stage Battles” a portion of the game that was very well hidden from the press until review copies were sent out. Even I will admit that it is a tedious and overwhelmingly dull aspect of the entire game, BUT I am also a gamer who can ignore crappy game play if the story is good.
And this is the first game since Full Throttle that Tim Schaffer has done with a well thought out and excellent story (yes, I know about Psychonaughts, It did not do anything for me.) it is like the criticisms of the Halo series, who all have generic and mediocre game play, but make up for it in writing and music.
And I thin that is what is not connecting to gamers. The medium of video games has matured, and as a result we can now have complex and compelling stories that reach beyond “Thank you Mario, but our princess is in another castle.”
There are games out there where you can be good or evil, anti heros are praised , and in one series case (overlord) you ARE the bad guy. Some of the worst games of all time, like Bullet Witch, have had stories that compelled me to complete them, and some of the most repetive games ever, like Assassin’s Creed, milk those with certain educations and hobbies for all they are worth.
To often the gamer community is willing to label the title of “bad game” to something that plays poorly, or deviates from its predisesscors. Mario Brothers 2, Zelda 2, and Castlevania 2 all deviated from their predecessors, and had poor gameplay, but the so affected the mythos by their storylines that they provide certain Staples to their series.
Mario 2 brought the Shyguys, Birdo, and Mini games to their series. Casltevania 2 allowed for open world play, RPG elements, and Equipment menus that Dracula X and Rondo of Blood would not have existed without. Zelda 2 complete altered the mythology of the Zelda Series by introducing the idea of the Triforce as a Triple Entity, as well as permitting a completely bizarre timeline.
Critics need to back off the game play element and look at video games as a media experience. While once in a while we will get the next gen equivalent of Dr Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, I think more and more often we will have hidden treasures like the Duck Tales on the NES, B.O.B or Zombies Ate My Neighbors on the SNES, or just about every Capcom made fighter on the Dreamcast.
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