Greetings friends!
Ok so following on from yesterday's post, I realised today that there are a few things that I left off. So without too much ado, let's get into the meat!
Encounters, Turns, Rounds, & Belief
So as with many RPGs, combat plays a big part of Code Black. A single situation from where Combat starts, and Combat ends is called an Encounter.
An Encounter is comprised of a number of Rounds.
A Round is comprised of a number of Turns.
A Turn is all the Actions and Reactions for a single character.
***EXAMPLE OF PLAY***
Remember our example from yesterday? With Bonney and her team vs the Shadow Jacks? Let's use that again.
Turns are determined by each character's Initiative Stat. Those with the highest Initiative basically go first (it's a little more complicated than that, but that's fine for now).
The team has been ambushed by 3 Shadow Jacks. One of them is right up in Bonney's face.
Bonney has the highest Initiative, so she goes first. Her Belief Pool (BP) is 10.
Bonney backs away quickly, this costs her 2BP taking her total to 8.
The Shadow Jack in front of her Reacts to this action by shooting her as she backs away. He deals 2 Shadow Damage. This takes her BP down to 6, with 2 of the lost unable to regenerate for now.
Bonney then casts the Miracle Exorcism for 2, her party member Nirvan, a Hydan funnels into her cast. Nirvan has a BP of 14, so he uses 4 to increase Bonney's cast by +2 taking her total to 4. Exorcism's damage is double against Shadow Agents, and this kills the Shadow Jack.
One of the other Shadow Jacks react to this by shooting Bonney again. This time it deals only 1 damage taking her to 3BP, of which 3 can't be regenerated.
Bonney ends her turn.
Now it is Nirvan's turn thanks to channel king 4 belief now has 10BP left.
Nirvan charges into melee with one of the nearest Shadow Jacks. The Jack in question reacts by trying to punch Nirvan in melee. This misses and for 1BP Nirvan's superior melee stat does a whopping 4 damage to the Shadow Jack. Nirvan currently has (14 -4 for channel, -2 for charge, -1 for his follow up melee) 7BP and he follows up by casting his miracle of Flurry of Fury for 4BP leaving him with 3BP left, where he spins around with his glaive and causes a tremendous amount of damage. Flurry of Fury can not have a melee follow up, but it can be Reacted to. This deals enough damage to kill the Shadow Jack, to which the 3rd Shadow Jack Reacts to the miracle cast and shoots Nirvan in the face. The shot lands him square in the forehead and takes him down to 0BP and Nirvan is booted from Mantic Space.
It is now the turn of the last surviving Shadow Jack.
NPCs don't have a BP, only a Health Pool, and they can React for free. The counter is that they can only perform 1 Action in their turn.
The Shadow Jack aims his weapon at Bonney and pulls the trigger. The shot hits her in the shoulder and she spins to the ground on 1BP. At this amount, she doesn't want to React as doing so would boot her from Mantic Space.
The Round ends, and Bonney recovers what she can from her BP (she took 5 Shadow Damage, meaning of her 10 total she regenerates 5).
She has the initiative, she knows that she needs to deal with the Shadow Jack in one go, any more Shadow Damage and she is going to be starved of Belief. She pumps 4BP into Exorcism and blasts the Shadow Jack into oblivion.
The Encounter has ended
***SOME EXPLANATIONS***
- Ok so 2BP for a charge and quick back away? Why?
There's 3 types of movement.
1). Casual 1BP - You walk casually somewhere.
2). Urgent 2BP - You are moving quickly
3). Miracle Based - Super Speed, Flight, etc.
- Next, 1BP to respond to a melee attack?
Ok this is something I'm just playing with at the moment. No idea where I'm going, but I want to use the 'persistent melee' of Override. Not sure how it should work truth be told, but I just used 1BP as a number.
- What happened to Nirvan after being Booted? He was out! He rolls for injury (did the disconnect fry his brain or what not) and he can't reconnect until the next game unless a surviving player is able to reach a Stabilising Beacon to pull him back in. These are locations within Mantic Space which can be operated by players (Jacks) to make a note in the fabric of Mantic Space, so when a Jack reconnects, they are pulled to the Becon (think of it as like a static respawner).
- What happened to Bonney after the encounter?
Luckily Shadow Agents (the minions of the Shadow) are rare, and when encountered are normally in the form of small fang-toothed dogs or bugs. Shadow Jacks (other users who have been corrupted by the Shadow) are rarer still, so these two were not only unlucky to encounter 3 at once, but super lucky to survive.
Her Mission was to eradicate the Shadow Agents from the area, and thankfully that did it. She can now safely disconnect from Mantic Space, and in doing so cast off her Shadow-Taint that prevented her from refreshing her BP to full.
- Why can NPCs react for free but PCs need to pay BP to do so? Quite simply, it's a thing of balance and challenge. Players will tend to have higher Initiative than NPCs (remember, they are the 1%) and this stops a party of players alpha striking the NPCs. Plus it makes it easier to remember who has done what. The trade off is that in their own turn, the NPC can only do 1 thing such as move or shoot.
What's Next?
Missions & Agendas
Ok, so we've already seen an example of a Mission. In the above case it was to eradicate all Shadow Agents from an area.
Missions are tasks that are set by the Code Black governing body. They can be anything from escorting a person of interest to a certain location, snuffing out a terrorist hiding in Mantic Space, or even stopping the Shadow from gaining ground in the Human Sector.
Missions can take multiple game sessions to play out, but most should be complete within a couple of hours.
When completed they reward the players with a generous amount of rewards (Notoriety?) to allow them to purchase better stats, better equipment, new miracles etc.
Completed Missions have the best rewards.
***
In comparison to Missions, Agendas are applicable only to the player they are assigned to.
Unlike Missions, Agendas do not come from Code Black, but from your affiliated organisation such as UEF, Red Claw etc.
Agendas are always resolved at the end of a game session. If a Mission is due to take 3 sessions to play out (3 days) then each player gets a new Agenda every session.
Agendas are randomly allocated from a deck of cards with multiples of each Agenda. At the end of each session the players hand their Agendas back to the GM one at a time, and the GM reveals if it is successful or not. The GM does not reveal what the Agenda is however, that is 100% at the discretion of the player.
In our example, Nirvan who was associated with the Accord Wraiths was assigned the Agenda 'Olive Branch'. His Agenda was to promote good relations with organisation's who are opposed to his. Bonney was a Reaver Raider, and her survival meant Nirvan achieved his Agenda.
Bonney's Agenda however was 'Back Stab'. This Agenda required the rival organisation's to hers to be booted from Mantic Space. Which is exactly what happened to Nirvan.
All that is revealed is that they both achieved their Agendas, and Nirvan was none-the-wiser, that had he survived the Encounter, Bonney was ready to literally shoot him in the back of his head.
***
So there we go!
I hope you are interested in what I've done so far. I particularly like the Agendas, and I think the Belief Pool idea has legs, it's just no where ready yet.
Until next time, stay safe, and be excellent to each other!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Tuesday, 10 May 2016
Monday, 9 May 2016
First Law: Override - CODE BLACK
Greetings friends!
A bit of a meander today.
Some of you may remember that last year I tossed around the idea of Code Black, the Pen & Paper RPG set in the First Law: Override universe's Mantic Space.
Well since then I've been brewing on a few ideas.
Note: Some of you may have received an email from me already about a planned Round Table Skype chat I want to host. A lot of these ideas will be coming up in that chat. If you have not received anything from me but you would like to be involved with this project, let me know!
***
Setting:
Those who know me know that I write things from a setting first, with rules to follow.
The setting of Code Black is as follows:
Technomantic (Mantic) Space. A version of cyber space that connects across the entire Outer Fringe including such notable places such as Krata-Prime, The Bastion, and Honos.
Mantic Space is a virtual world where a user connects via a physical connection (jacked in) through a neural interface. It is a place where it's laws are fluid. Determined only by what people believe and expect.
If there is a strong enough belief in something, it exists within Mantic Space. However there are certain things that does not exist. The 99% of users (Jacks) have absolutely no special abilities within Mantic Space. Despite the idea that 'superpowers' are awesome, the vast majority of people lack the genuine self belief or imagination to make it a reality.
You however have that self belief, you can imagine what it would be like to fly, to create tools and weapons out of thin air, or to sculpt Mantic Space to your own whim. You are the 1%.
In recent times, certain locations have begun to disappear, replaced by a total lack of substance. A shadow of it's own existence. Any Jacks who were present when the location 'Shadowed', being left in the real world as brain dead vegetables, unable to move or speak. But very recently, the avatars of these Jacks have begun to appear across Mantic Space. Where these Shadow-Jacks appear, it is only a matter of time before the whole area is Shadowed.
To combat this threat, both the Accord and Reavers have formed a coalition, a group to operate within Mantic Space and try to deal with the Shadow before it removes Mantic Space out of existence all together. This group consists of those who are the most sensitive to Mantic Space, they are the 1%. Their very existence is considered a galactic secret. They are Code Black.
***
***
Rules:
So when it comes to rules, I'm a little light on the ground. I want to simulate the basic combat rules of Override (Attack Dice vs Defence Dice), it will be using d10s a P&P standard) but it's primary resource mechanic is not Utility & Interact Actions.
Instead Code Black is using a shared resource with health. Currently it's called Belief (subject to change).
So a character has a set amount of belief, let's say we have Bonney the Kid, she's an elite hacker in the real world with a real affinity for Mantic Space.
Bonney's Belief is 10.
Belief, like I said before is both a resource and a health. To perform an action requires a certain amount of belief. Let's say for example, it takes 2 Belief to shoot a gun.
So Bonney is being attacked by a Shadow Jack, she pulls out her pistol and tries to shoot it. This means that regardless of outcome she only has 8 Belief left.
In our example the Shadow Jack shoots Bonney, it has caused 2 Damage to her. Bonney now only has 6 Belief left.
Bonney didn't expect the Shadow Jack to have a ranged attack, so she has to deal with it before it's too late. Bonney thrusts put her palm, a stream of bright white light emanating and piercing the darkness of the Shadow Jack, peeling away it's shadow and causing it to collapse on the floor. Bonney has used her Exorcism ability, a special power that does an extreme amount of damage to Shadows. Like all Mantic Powers, Exorcism has a Fluid Cost. The more Belief you pump into the ability, the better chance of succeeding it has. Bonney really wants this to succeed so she uses 5 Belief, meaning that Bonney only has 1 more. She can do nothing else for the remainder of the turn.
***
Another example would be that Bonney casts Exorcism, but it fails to pierce the veil of the Shadow Jack. It reacts by shooting her again. Her Belief has been reduced to Zero and she is booted out of Mantic Space (kind of like being dead, but depending on what has happened, (burned out [delayed reconnect/respawn], brain-fried [requires aid from party members], or cardiac arrest [dead]) Bonney may be back soon.
***
In our third and final example, Bonney is casting Exorcism, but she isn't sure if it is going to succeed, plus she doesn't want to die if it fails, so she only directs 2 Belief into the ability.
Bonney isn't alone however, in her team there's Johnny and Billy. Johnny and Billy also want to see Bonney succeed, so they funnel their belief into her cast, 4 Each. When funnelling (using yours to boost someone else) for every 2 Belief, it adds 1 Belief to the Cast (rounded down, so no benefit for using 3 over 2). Bonney now has cast 2+2+2 Belief into the cast, meaning Exorcism is now charged to 6Belief!
Using Funnel, players are able to band together to perform acts of true magnitude, but in doing so are reducing their Belief as a whole, leaving themselves open to reaction or surprise attacks.
***
And that is the basics of the game so far.
Now currently you might be thinking "what about imagination?" Currently you are talking about special powers that would presumably be listed in a book. What if we wanted to do something that isn't listed? This is where the GM comes in, a factor that could never ever be matched in a normal (GM Less) game.
Let's say you want to do something simple but isn't available at the moment in the games, or to your character? (Using Exorcism to blast away at a non-Shadow NPC for example) fine! You cast the same, but reduce your target number by 50% making it more difficult, and this is a minor change. In short there are 3 types: Minor Change, Major Change (75% reduction), and Discovery (something that is not based on modding an existing ability) (75% reduction, and failure causes instant Booting).
Obviously there are certain limitations, you can't make anything 'insta-kill' or anything else that counts as 'auto win the current situation'. This is purely for game mechanic reasons. If the objective is to eradicate all Shadow Jacks within a certain district, you can't just cast a supernova to instantly kill all Shadow Jacks in that district.
***
So there we have it. The basics of Code Black.
Any thoughts?
Once again, if you want in on the round table discussion/sound board, just let me know via the comments, email richi@firstlawoverride.com or Twitter @doctorloxley or @FLOverride
Until next time, stay safe and be excellent to each other!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
A bit of a meander today.
Some of you may remember that last year I tossed around the idea of Code Black, the Pen & Paper RPG set in the First Law: Override universe's Mantic Space.
Well since then I've been brewing on a few ideas.
Note: Some of you may have received an email from me already about a planned Round Table Skype chat I want to host. A lot of these ideas will be coming up in that chat. If you have not received anything from me but you would like to be involved with this project, let me know!
***
Setting:
Those who know me know that I write things from a setting first, with rules to follow.
The setting of Code Black is as follows:
Technomantic (Mantic) Space. A version of cyber space that connects across the entire Outer Fringe including such notable places such as Krata-Prime, The Bastion, and Honos.
Mantic Space is a virtual world where a user connects via a physical connection (jacked in) through a neural interface. It is a place where it's laws are fluid. Determined only by what people believe and expect.
If there is a strong enough belief in something, it exists within Mantic Space. However there are certain things that does not exist. The 99% of users (Jacks) have absolutely no special abilities within Mantic Space. Despite the idea that 'superpowers' are awesome, the vast majority of people lack the genuine self belief or imagination to make it a reality.
You however have that self belief, you can imagine what it would be like to fly, to create tools and weapons out of thin air, or to sculpt Mantic Space to your own whim. You are the 1%.
In recent times, certain locations have begun to disappear, replaced by a total lack of substance. A shadow of it's own existence. Any Jacks who were present when the location 'Shadowed', being left in the real world as brain dead vegetables, unable to move or speak. But very recently, the avatars of these Jacks have begun to appear across Mantic Space. Where these Shadow-Jacks appear, it is only a matter of time before the whole area is Shadowed.
To combat this threat, both the Accord and Reavers have formed a coalition, a group to operate within Mantic Space and try to deal with the Shadow before it removes Mantic Space out of existence all together. This group consists of those who are the most sensitive to Mantic Space, they are the 1%. Their very existence is considered a galactic secret. They are Code Black.
***
***
Rules:
So when it comes to rules, I'm a little light on the ground. I want to simulate the basic combat rules of Override (Attack Dice vs Defence Dice), it will be using d10s a P&P standard) but it's primary resource mechanic is not Utility & Interact Actions.
Instead Code Black is using a shared resource with health. Currently it's called Belief (subject to change).
So a character has a set amount of belief, let's say we have Bonney the Kid, she's an elite hacker in the real world with a real affinity for Mantic Space.
Bonney's Belief is 10.
Belief, like I said before is both a resource and a health. To perform an action requires a certain amount of belief. Let's say for example, it takes 2 Belief to shoot a gun.
So Bonney is being attacked by a Shadow Jack, she pulls out her pistol and tries to shoot it. This means that regardless of outcome she only has 8 Belief left.
In our example the Shadow Jack shoots Bonney, it has caused 2 Damage to her. Bonney now only has 6 Belief left.
Bonney didn't expect the Shadow Jack to have a ranged attack, so she has to deal with it before it's too late. Bonney thrusts put her palm, a stream of bright white light emanating and piercing the darkness of the Shadow Jack, peeling away it's shadow and causing it to collapse on the floor. Bonney has used her Exorcism ability, a special power that does an extreme amount of damage to Shadows. Like all Mantic Powers, Exorcism has a Fluid Cost. The more Belief you pump into the ability, the better chance of succeeding it has. Bonney really wants this to succeed so she uses 5 Belief, meaning that Bonney only has 1 more. She can do nothing else for the remainder of the turn.
***
Another example would be that Bonney casts Exorcism, but it fails to pierce the veil of the Shadow Jack. It reacts by shooting her again. Her Belief has been reduced to Zero and she is booted out of Mantic Space (kind of like being dead, but depending on what has happened, (burned out [delayed reconnect/respawn], brain-fried [requires aid from party members], or cardiac arrest [dead]) Bonney may be back soon.
***
In our third and final example, Bonney is casting Exorcism, but she isn't sure if it is going to succeed, plus she doesn't want to die if it fails, so she only directs 2 Belief into the ability.
Bonney isn't alone however, in her team there's Johnny and Billy. Johnny and Billy also want to see Bonney succeed, so they funnel their belief into her cast, 4 Each. When funnelling (using yours to boost someone else) for every 2 Belief, it adds 1 Belief to the Cast (rounded down, so no benefit for using 3 over 2). Bonney now has cast 2+2+2 Belief into the cast, meaning Exorcism is now charged to 6Belief!
Using Funnel, players are able to band together to perform acts of true magnitude, but in doing so are reducing their Belief as a whole, leaving themselves open to reaction or surprise attacks.
***
And that is the basics of the game so far.
Now currently you might be thinking "what about imagination?" Currently you are talking about special powers that would presumably be listed in a book. What if we wanted to do something that isn't listed? This is where the GM comes in, a factor that could never ever be matched in a normal (GM Less) game.
Let's say you want to do something simple but isn't available at the moment in the games, or to your character? (Using Exorcism to blast away at a non-Shadow NPC for example) fine! You cast the same, but reduce your target number by 50% making it more difficult, and this is a minor change. In short there are 3 types: Minor Change, Major Change (75% reduction), and Discovery (something that is not based on modding an existing ability) (75% reduction, and failure causes instant Booting).
Obviously there are certain limitations, you can't make anything 'insta-kill' or anything else that counts as 'auto win the current situation'. This is purely for game mechanic reasons. If the objective is to eradicate all Shadow Jacks within a certain district, you can't just cast a supernova to instantly kill all Shadow Jacks in that district.
***
So there we have it. The basics of Code Black.
Any thoughts?
Once again, if you want in on the round table discussion/sound board, just let me know via the comments, email richi@firstlawoverride.com or Twitter @doctorloxley or @FLOverride
Until next time, stay safe and be excellent to each other!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Wednesday, 4 May 2016
Looking in a Mirror (Dark Souls 3)
Greetings friends!
So the past week has been most confusing for me as I've been playing Dark Souls 3, staying up far later than I should as I add to my current 30+hr playthrough knowing I'm not even halfway through.
But this is skipping to the end.
Let's just step back a bit and see how we got here...
***
This all started the weekend of Salute. I was aware of the Souls Kickstarter coming out from Steamforged and my Twitter feed was overflowing with talk about the latest version of the Souls franchise being released.
On the Sunday evening, as part of our traditional chicken dinner, the wife and I sat down to watch some YouTube namely Jacksfilms and Piewdiepie. One episode consisted of Felix playing Dark Souls 3 (Cathedral of the Deep area to be exact) and I caught myself asking:
Straight away I was pretty captivated by it. The gameplay was smooth and fluid, the graphics not terrible, and I began to understand the point of the game, but it wasn't truly clear just yet...
The more I played, the more captivated I became with the game.
I read a couple of articles, and found some interesting information. How #3 of the franchise is supposed to be a 'best of' as it were, how they utilised mechanics from the Demon Souls, Dark Souls and even Bloodborne franchises, most importantly it was supposed to be easier than the previous versions.
Seems like an ideal thing for me, so I dropped the cash for a Day One copy to snag up the exclusive soundtrack and got playing.
***
What a ride!
I can't even begin to count the number of times I've died playing this game, but I learned something very early on. The game itself isn't broken. Every time I died either from a fireball in the face to being slashed to bits by an almost inta-kill boss combo, it wasn't because the game was being beardy, but because I hadn't done something (or had done something) that allowed me to die. The way to progress was not to panic and mash buttons, but to stay cool-headed, learn and reapply whatever I was doing wrong.
- Or to summon help from another player in order to bounce agro around.
***
I need to say at this point, that coop is a wonderful part of this game. The moment you are joined by another player, the enemies get stronger to compensate, however I was reminded regularly of my game First Law: Override and our pursuit rule. How a character can only face one way at a time, even with the fastest of reflexes, they can only face one direction, so while you are the target, and you're parrying, blocking and dodging for survival, your coop partner can get in behind and smash their face in. Both players working as a team to bring that bastard down!
***
But now, when I look at myself in the mirror, I don't recognise myself.
This isn't me!
Others have claimed that a videogamer is defined by adversary, that we thrive on defeat and challenge, but that's not me. I like to be told a story, that I can experience and enjoy.
I'm not alone here. It's for this reason games such as 'walking simulators' and story driven adventure games such as the Tell-Tale series exist. It's why I almost exclusively play on easy-mode (less there's a challenge involved, like when I first played Half-Life with the challenge of completing it in a single weekend on normal difficulty - which I did with ease).
In essence, I don't like dying.
It breaks my immersion and pretty much ruins the story to me.
In fact a lot of the time, combat is seen as an obstacle in the way of story. In other words, yes I was a place-holding player in Fighting Fantasy books.
But here I am, playing a game where death is a necessary mechanic, where challenge is something that is celebrated as a critical part of the game.
I'll never start using the 'Git Gud' mantra of the Souls series in a serious way, and I will never see it as some benchmark of a 'Good' player. But it's something that I have been extremely enjoying.
So what's to come?
Well tonight I'm going to try revisiting an older zone of the game and trying my hand at an optional boss. I tried him before and he handed me my ass. Now I'm 15 levels higher, and with hope it'll be his ass that I hand to him!
***
Until next time, stay safe, and be excellent to each other!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
So the past week has been most confusing for me as I've been playing Dark Souls 3, staying up far later than I should as I add to my current 30+hr playthrough knowing I'm not even halfway through.
But this is skipping to the end.
Let's just step back a bit and see how we got here...
***
This all started the weekend of Salute. I was aware of the Souls Kickstarter coming out from Steamforged and my Twitter feed was overflowing with talk about the latest version of the Souls franchise being released.
On the Sunday evening, as part of our traditional chicken dinner, the wife and I sat down to watch some YouTube namely Jacksfilms and Piewdiepie. One episode consisted of Felix playing Dark Souls 3 (Cathedral of the Deep area to be exact) and I caught myself asking:
What's the big deal? Seriously!?! Where's the fun in dying every 5 seconds to a bog standard mob?so I thought I'd put my money where my mouth was and try a copy of Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition.
Straight away I was pretty captivated by it. The gameplay was smooth and fluid, the graphics not terrible, and I began to understand the point of the game, but it wasn't truly clear just yet...
The more I played, the more captivated I became with the game.
I read a couple of articles, and found some interesting information. How #3 of the franchise is supposed to be a 'best of' as it were, how they utilised mechanics from the Demon Souls, Dark Souls and even Bloodborne franchises, most importantly it was supposed to be easier than the previous versions.
Seems like an ideal thing for me, so I dropped the cash for a Day One copy to snag up the exclusive soundtrack and got playing.
***
What a ride!
I can't even begin to count the number of times I've died playing this game, but I learned something very early on. The game itself isn't broken. Every time I died either from a fireball in the face to being slashed to bits by an almost inta-kill boss combo, it wasn't because the game was being beardy, but because I hadn't done something (or had done something) that allowed me to die. The way to progress was not to panic and mash buttons, but to stay cool-headed, learn and reapply whatever I was doing wrong.
- Or to summon help from another player in order to bounce agro around.
***
I need to say at this point, that coop is a wonderful part of this game. The moment you are joined by another player, the enemies get stronger to compensate, however I was reminded regularly of my game First Law: Override and our pursuit rule. How a character can only face one way at a time, even with the fastest of reflexes, they can only face one direction, so while you are the target, and you're parrying, blocking and dodging for survival, your coop partner can get in behind and smash their face in. Both players working as a team to bring that bastard down!
***
But now, when I look at myself in the mirror, I don't recognise myself.
This isn't me!
Others have claimed that a videogamer is defined by adversary, that we thrive on defeat and challenge, but that's not me. I like to be told a story, that I can experience and enjoy.
I'm not alone here. It's for this reason games such as 'walking simulators' and story driven adventure games such as the Tell-Tale series exist. It's why I almost exclusively play on easy-mode (less there's a challenge involved, like when I first played Half-Life with the challenge of completing it in a single weekend on normal difficulty - which I did with ease).
In essence, I don't like dying.
It breaks my immersion and pretty much ruins the story to me.
In fact a lot of the time, combat is seen as an obstacle in the way of story. In other words, yes I was a place-holding player in Fighting Fantasy books.
But here I am, playing a game where death is a necessary mechanic, where challenge is something that is celebrated as a critical part of the game.
I'll never start using the 'Git Gud' mantra of the Souls series in a serious way, and I will never see it as some benchmark of a 'Good' player. But it's something that I have been extremely enjoying.
So what's to come?
Well tonight I'm going to try revisiting an older zone of the game and trying my hand at an optional boss. I tried him before and he handed me my ass. Now I'm 15 levels higher, and with hope it'll be his ass that I hand to him!
***
Until next time, stay safe, and be excellent to each other!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Friday, 29 April 2016
What a ride it's been - Moonstone, DarkSouls3 & other updates
Greetings friends!
Yes I know it's been a while since I posted anything, giving you all about a 2 or so week gap of no information.
I know what you're thinking: "how will we know what is going on in your life if you don't share ever minute detail?"
- I mean that's how social media works, right?
No? Anyway...
I wanted to give you all a quick update. To tell you that much like GLADoS I am very much still alive!
I've also been on a bit of a holiday myself. My todo list is huge. Need to update the live copy of Override, print and build some Moonstone terrain and get all the play materials ready for that. But for the past few weeks, I've done almost nothing!
I spent a few days in London with @tehtri where we sampled the best that Camden had to offer.
I spent many hours lazing in front of the TV.
I ate a lot of different types of chicken.
I went to Salute where I got to meet a lot of great people.
I pledged to the Mythos Kickstarter campaign.
I also built and assembled yet more Moonstone proxies.
Now I have the following Dominion Troupe:
Seasick Steve, Boulder, Swiggarty Swooty.
Crusty, Grub, McBoom, Mortician, Viscous Midget.
El Capitano, Beaky Bobby
Then I had fun creating a starter troupe for the Commonwealth!
The Librarian/Quack, Gutchgot, Flintlock.
Gertrude the Faerie Hunter, Eric(a) the Squire.
Baron Van Fancyhat
These were 'finished' on Wednesday with last touches and photos yesterday.
Now by 'finished' I mean 'not bare materials'. In their current form I'm happy to use them as model pieces, but will be giving a full paint job over the next few weeks.
I've also been spending far too many hours playing Dark Souls 3 on my PC. After downing about 5 bosses, I had to delete my save file as it appeared to be caught up with the recent 'corruption' sweeps, so I've had to start from scratch, but it is very very interesting to see how it plays a second time around.
You see, once you have very quickly been told the basics in movement and combat, you are thrown against your first boss. A weird knight dude who seems to infected by the Ouroboros virus from ResEvil. At this point in the game you have no way in upgrading your character. You can't buy any new armour or weapons and you can't visit a trainer to increase your stats. All of this requires access to a Bonfire, and the first Bonfire is (you guessed it) gated behind this first boss.
So the first time I played this boss, I must have fought him going on 15-30 times. Over and over dying repeatedly until I learned every move he did, what every animation looked like. So when it came to him taking a single step forward I instinctively knew exactly what he was going to do, and the angle he was going to do it, so that when the damaging blow landed, I wouldn't be there but instead at a nearby flank ready to 'stabby-stabby' him.
Roll on another 10 hours of game time, almost 2 weeks in real time, and I'm back there fighting this boss again. He's smacked me around, but I'm on my first attempt still. My health potion is empty, and he's on 1/4 health.
I've slung my shield onto my back allowing me to grip my long sword with 2 hands for stronger damage and we're dancing around each other. With one arm he swings his polearm towards my right side, with a massive snake like arm he swings in from the left. From both sides I have incoming damage, but I saw it coming - the recognisable stance that designates this bosses twin-swing attack. I know that if I'm caught in the middle I'll be dead for sure, but I'm not standing still waiting for the attack to come, I've dived forward, in a single roll dodging under his polearm and landing on my feet at his now exposed left flank. I grab my sword tight and stabby-stabby he has but a sliver of health left, before he rights himself and slams his snake-arm ontop of me. I have already rolled, but just a bit too late and my health is cut to a sliver itself. I know that whoever gets the next hit in wins. I dodge forward and lunge, my thrust piercing his armour. He falls while I stand triumphant, the upgrade hub awaiting me ahead.
So yeah... I'm loving this game!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Yes I know it's been a while since I posted anything, giving you all about a 2 or so week gap of no information.
I know what you're thinking: "how will we know what is going on in your life if you don't share ever minute detail?"
- I mean that's how social media works, right?
Jason Voorhees has made himself a sandwich and is gearing up for Summer Vacation!
No? Anyway...
I wanted to give you all a quick update. To tell you that much like GLADoS I am very much still alive!
I've also been on a bit of a holiday myself. My todo list is huge. Need to update the live copy of Override, print and build some Moonstone terrain and get all the play materials ready for that. But for the past few weeks, I've done almost nothing!
I spent a few days in London with @tehtri where we sampled the best that Camden had to offer.
I spent many hours lazing in front of the TV.
I ate a lot of different types of chicken.
I went to Salute where I got to meet a lot of great people.
I pledged to the Mythos Kickstarter campaign.
I also built and assembled yet more Moonstone proxies.
Now I have the following Dominion Troupe:
Crusty, Grub, McBoom, Mortician, Viscous Midget.
El Capitano, Beaky Bobby
Then I had fun creating a starter troupe for the Commonwealth!
Gertrude the Faerie Hunter, Eric(a) the Squire.
Baron Van Fancyhat
These were 'finished' on Wednesday with last touches and photos yesterday.
Now by 'finished' I mean 'not bare materials'. In their current form I'm happy to use them as model pieces, but will be giving a full paint job over the next few weeks.
I've also been spending far too many hours playing Dark Souls 3 on my PC. After downing about 5 bosses, I had to delete my save file as it appeared to be caught up with the recent 'corruption' sweeps, so I've had to start from scratch, but it is very very interesting to see how it plays a second time around.
You see, once you have very quickly been told the basics in movement and combat, you are thrown against your first boss. A weird knight dude who seems to infected by the Ouroboros virus from ResEvil. At this point in the game you have no way in upgrading your character. You can't buy any new armour or weapons and you can't visit a trainer to increase your stats. All of this requires access to a Bonfire, and the first Bonfire is (you guessed it) gated behind this first boss.
So the first time I played this boss, I must have fought him going on 15-30 times. Over and over dying repeatedly until I learned every move he did, what every animation looked like. So when it came to him taking a single step forward I instinctively knew exactly what he was going to do, and the angle he was going to do it, so that when the damaging blow landed, I wouldn't be there but instead at a nearby flank ready to 'stabby-stabby' him.
Roll on another 10 hours of game time, almost 2 weeks in real time, and I'm back there fighting this boss again. He's smacked me around, but I'm on my first attempt still. My health potion is empty, and he's on 1/4 health.
I've slung my shield onto my back allowing me to grip my long sword with 2 hands for stronger damage and we're dancing around each other. With one arm he swings his polearm towards my right side, with a massive snake like arm he swings in from the left. From both sides I have incoming damage, but I saw it coming - the recognisable stance that designates this bosses twin-swing attack. I know that if I'm caught in the middle I'll be dead for sure, but I'm not standing still waiting for the attack to come, I've dived forward, in a single roll dodging under his polearm and landing on my feet at his now exposed left flank. I grab my sword tight and stabby-stabby he has but a sliver of health left, before he rights himself and slams his snake-arm ontop of me. I have already rolled, but just a bit too late and my health is cut to a sliver itself. I know that whoever gets the next hit in wins. I dodge forward and lunge, my thrust piercing his armour. He falls while I stand triumphant, the upgrade hub awaiting me ahead.
So yeah... I'm loving this game!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Wednesday, 13 April 2016
DaffCon: How'd it go?
Greetings friends!
So for the past few weeks I've been freaking out over DaffCon, a U.K. Based gaming convention organised by a long term acquaintance of mine, Mr Mike Marshall of Malifools/Fools Daily fame.
Well DaffCon has been and gone, and wow! What a ride!
For starters, let's cover the venue: Firestorm Games in Cardiff.
This place is awesome! It is BIG, well lit, a good amount of stock, lots of gaming tables, a relaxing sofa area, a kitchen and a bar! What more could you want at a venue?
The staff there were friendly and welcoming, and I really have nothing bad to say about the place.
On to Day 1.
On Day 1 I was bricking it. This was the day when we would reveal the game en-mass to the world. In the next 8 hours players from across the UK and beyond would get to sit down, try the game out and turn to us and say "meh, it's alright".
But that's not what happened.
Our first game was against long time friend Will. Will has been following the blog for some time, so he knew of the game, but not much else.
Well, he enjoyed it. During his game, a member from another game's development team (I believe it was Paranoid Miniatures) came over and Tom demoed to him. He also enjoyed the game!
Here we were, 1 demo each under our belt, and the people were enjoying the game.
I wanted to SQUEE and jump for joy! But rather than that, we grabbed more people, and ran more demos.
The feedback began to flood in: "it's like Infinity, but with good rules", "it's simple to pick up but I can see there's lots of combos you can create", "I can use a giant robot mech? Gimmes!"
The day came to a conclusion with me providing a demo for another Richard who at the end of the demo handed me his business card, told me that he owned a small online games retailer and that this is exactly the sort of game he would like to sell. I believe the exact phrase used was that it "could be the scifi equivalent of FrostGrave".
Well you can imagine how that made me feel. I wanted to hug the guy!
- As an aside, I am now exploring the possibility of moving a production up, and seeing just how viable it would be to get the game printed in a small sellable format.
******
Following Day 1, we went back to my friends, had some dinner and talked about Moonstone.
We were exhausted, but strangely enough, talking Moonstone used up a whole different side of the brain to First Law, so it was actually relaxing to do. Needless to say, we quickly crashed out until the next morning.
******
Day 2 began.
We had moved ourselves from where we were before into a more prominent position. A decision that did exactly as we hoped and allowed people to stop off while walking past, have a look, a chat and a demo if they had time.
One thing that amazed me, out of all the people who we asked - only 1 of them said no to a demo, and that was because they were literally in the middle of a tournament who was coming back from the loo but had stopped because our bright yellow Exo-Suits had caught their eye.
We had some great demos, really good ones, with one in particular that stood out, Gaz from Paranoid Miniatures. He's their fluff writer, so was really interested in our world, the how and the why, and after his demo we sat for between 30mins and an hour chatting, discussing and making suggestions. One suggestion in particular we are going to bring in, and with hope we can do it for Book 1, but it adds additional complexity, and may need to be moved into Book 2. Only field testing will prove either way.
After another 8+ hours of demos we finally packed up and left DaffCon until next year, before going back to Tom's, eating and going to bed far too early and crashing out for about 12 hours.
So to everyone who had a demo with us, thank you all!
To those who I got to chat with, in particular Carl who gave me advice on using pictures of miniatures in a game, and all the people I really wanted to give demos to, or get demos from, but just couldn't get away from the table myself:
Thank you!
I now know that the game demos well, and that we can give a demo without too much problem.
And onto the photos! (I wish I had taken more)
Tom & I standing proudly with our product in hand. This was near the end of Day 2. Which might explain why we look so damned tired.
Wraiths vs Raiders on Day 1
Wraiths vs Raiders on Day 2. The greater variety in heights gave for a more enjoyable game for sure.
UEF vs Red Claw. Notice the careful placement of terrain as to knock out all long fire lanes.
Tom gives a UEF vs Red Claw demo to Gaz from Paranoid Miniatures.
******
So, with hindsight is there anything I'd have done differently?
For starters, beginning in the prominent position would have driven foot traffic from day 1, however starting off in a slightly more hidden position allowed us to ease into it.
I'd have loved to have produced some banner standees to grab attention. Maybe I can do that for next time,
Other than that, I genuinely think we did a stellar job! We demoed our ass off, pressed flesh and made some good contacts.
The models and terrain looked good, showing off exactly how viable a variety of terrain is in the game, and the book and counters were well received.
Looking forward, we're doing more work on the book, and it is with great hope that next year, rather than just running demos, we'll be hosting a tournament.
******
Until next time, stay safe and be excellent to each other!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
So for the past few weeks I've been freaking out over DaffCon, a U.K. Based gaming convention organised by a long term acquaintance of mine, Mr Mike Marshall of Malifools/Fools Daily fame.
Well DaffCon has been and gone, and wow! What a ride!
For starters, let's cover the venue: Firestorm Games in Cardiff.
This place is awesome! It is BIG, well lit, a good amount of stock, lots of gaming tables, a relaxing sofa area, a kitchen and a bar! What more could you want at a venue?
The staff there were friendly and welcoming, and I really have nothing bad to say about the place.
On to Day 1.
On Day 1 I was bricking it. This was the day when we would reveal the game en-mass to the world. In the next 8 hours players from across the UK and beyond would get to sit down, try the game out and turn to us and say "meh, it's alright".
But that's not what happened.
Our first game was against long time friend Will. Will has been following the blog for some time, so he knew of the game, but not much else.
Well, he enjoyed it. During his game, a member from another game's development team (I believe it was Paranoid Miniatures) came over and Tom demoed to him. He also enjoyed the game!
Here we were, 1 demo each under our belt, and the people were enjoying the game.
I wanted to SQUEE and jump for joy! But rather than that, we grabbed more people, and ran more demos.
The feedback began to flood in: "it's like Infinity, but with good rules", "it's simple to pick up but I can see there's lots of combos you can create", "I can use a giant robot mech? Gimmes!"
The day came to a conclusion with me providing a demo for another Richard who at the end of the demo handed me his business card, told me that he owned a small online games retailer and that this is exactly the sort of game he would like to sell. I believe the exact phrase used was that it "could be the scifi equivalent of FrostGrave".
Well you can imagine how that made me feel. I wanted to hug the guy!
- As an aside, I am now exploring the possibility of moving a production up, and seeing just how viable it would be to get the game printed in a small sellable format.
******
Following Day 1, we went back to my friends, had some dinner and talked about Moonstone.
We were exhausted, but strangely enough, talking Moonstone used up a whole different side of the brain to First Law, so it was actually relaxing to do. Needless to say, we quickly crashed out until the next morning.
******
Day 2 began.
We had moved ourselves from where we were before into a more prominent position. A decision that did exactly as we hoped and allowed people to stop off while walking past, have a look, a chat and a demo if they had time.
One thing that amazed me, out of all the people who we asked - only 1 of them said no to a demo, and that was because they were literally in the middle of a tournament who was coming back from the loo but had stopped because our bright yellow Exo-Suits had caught their eye.
We had some great demos, really good ones, with one in particular that stood out, Gaz from Paranoid Miniatures. He's their fluff writer, so was really interested in our world, the how and the why, and after his demo we sat for between 30mins and an hour chatting, discussing and making suggestions. One suggestion in particular we are going to bring in, and with hope we can do it for Book 1, but it adds additional complexity, and may need to be moved into Book 2. Only field testing will prove either way.
After another 8+ hours of demos we finally packed up and left DaffCon until next year, before going back to Tom's, eating and going to bed far too early and crashing out for about 12 hours.
So to everyone who had a demo with us, thank you all!
To those who I got to chat with, in particular Carl who gave me advice on using pictures of miniatures in a game, and all the people I really wanted to give demos to, or get demos from, but just couldn't get away from the table myself:
Thank you!
I now know that the game demos well, and that we can give a demo without too much problem.
And onto the photos! (I wish I had taken more)
Tom & I standing proudly with our product in hand. This was near the end of Day 2. Which might explain why we look so damned tired.
Wraiths vs Raiders on Day 1
Wraiths vs Raiders on Day 2. The greater variety in heights gave for a more enjoyable game for sure.
UEF vs Red Claw. Notice the careful placement of terrain as to knock out all long fire lanes.
Tom gives a UEF vs Red Claw demo to Gaz from Paranoid Miniatures.
******
So, with hindsight is there anything I'd have done differently?
For starters, beginning in the prominent position would have driven foot traffic from day 1, however starting off in a slightly more hidden position allowed us to ease into it.
I'd have loved to have produced some banner standees to grab attention. Maybe I can do that for next time,
Other than that, I genuinely think we did a stellar job! We demoed our ass off, pressed flesh and made some good contacts.
The models and terrain looked good, showing off exactly how viable a variety of terrain is in the game, and the book and counters were well received.
Looking forward, we're doing more work on the book, and it is with great hope that next year, rather than just running demos, we'll be hosting a tournament.
******
Until next time, stay safe and be excellent to each other!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Wednesday, 6 April 2016
A Long Hard Road to DaffCon
Greetings friends!
So yesterday was the final day of preparation where I finally declared myself done in preparing for the multi-day gaming event in Cardiff, DaffCon.
They say that being a good artist is knowing when to put your paintbrush down and walk away. Now I would never describe myself as a good artist, but that is it for me. My paintbrush has been put down and I am walking away, or should I say - packing away.
There's still a lot I would love to do, including applying more detail to my Red Claw and Exo-Suits, but I have to draw the line somewhere, and having models that are instead 'tabletop' (or depending on who you talk to, 'high-tabletop') is fine for now. I can always go back in the future and add more details, but for now, we're done.
***
It feels really strange saying that - done. I've been preparing for this, for months. Pretty much ever since DaffCon was announced.
Since day 1, DaffCon was a sort of 'soft launch' day for me. A series of days where with hope, a number that reaches double figures, will have a look at the game and try out the rules.
I remember a good number of years ago, the head developer of Cryptic games (responsible for such games as Champions Online and StarTrek Online) stated: "You're game is only as good as it's state at launch". This is a statement which has clung to me for years since. And it is very true. People judge your product based on first impressions, and most of the time that is made at launch.
If DaffCon is our great unveiling, and it is at this event where we will be ultimately judged, then it is at DaffCon we could either make it or break it.
If everyone who plays a demo, loves it, and tells two friends to do so, and then they tell two friends, who tell two friends, etc then before you know it you have a viral sensation which may flash in the pan, or may stick around.
If however everyone who plays it instead walks away feeling unenthused, then they tell two friends, who tell two friends, etc. Before you know it you have a massive black mark on your brand which is hard to come back from.
This is why everything has had to be top of the line. The book has to look great, it has to be visually appealing, it has to read well, it has to grab people. We need good looking business cards so that people are inclined to take them away, and remember that game they saw. We need to have terrain and models that draw people in, to ask "what's that game? The one using a mixture of Infinity, DeadZone, and TerrainClips?"
So far, I think we're pulling it off. But of course I would say that. The real test comes from those on the day. And it's terrifying.
But enough of that. Tomorrow's travelling day, where I'll be grabbing my stuff, train and tubing down to Victoria and then taking a coach to Wales. So time to say "see you later" to the family, and try to keep cool. Even if my tummy does feel like it wants to turn inside out and explode!
Until next time, stay safe and be excellent to each other!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
So yesterday was the final day of preparation where I finally declared myself done in preparing for the multi-day gaming event in Cardiff, DaffCon.
They say that being a good artist is knowing when to put your paintbrush down and walk away. Now I would never describe myself as a good artist, but that is it for me. My paintbrush has been put down and I am walking away, or should I say - packing away.
There's still a lot I would love to do, including applying more detail to my Red Claw and Exo-Suits, but I have to draw the line somewhere, and having models that are instead 'tabletop' (or depending on who you talk to, 'high-tabletop') is fine for now. I can always go back in the future and add more details, but for now, we're done.
***
It feels really strange saying that - done. I've been preparing for this, for months. Pretty much ever since DaffCon was announced.
Since day 1, DaffCon was a sort of 'soft launch' day for me. A series of days where with hope, a number that reaches double figures, will have a look at the game and try out the rules.
I remember a good number of years ago, the head developer of Cryptic games (responsible for such games as Champions Online and StarTrek Online) stated: "You're game is only as good as it's state at launch". This is a statement which has clung to me for years since. And it is very true. People judge your product based on first impressions, and most of the time that is made at launch.
If DaffCon is our great unveiling, and it is at this event where we will be ultimately judged, then it is at DaffCon we could either make it or break it.
If everyone who plays a demo, loves it, and tells two friends to do so, and then they tell two friends, who tell two friends, etc then before you know it you have a viral sensation which may flash in the pan, or may stick around.
If however everyone who plays it instead walks away feeling unenthused, then they tell two friends, who tell two friends, etc. Before you know it you have a massive black mark on your brand which is hard to come back from.
This is why everything has had to be top of the line. The book has to look great, it has to be visually appealing, it has to read well, it has to grab people. We need good looking business cards so that people are inclined to take them away, and remember that game they saw. We need to have terrain and models that draw people in, to ask "what's that game? The one using a mixture of Infinity, DeadZone, and TerrainClips?"
So far, I think we're pulling it off. But of course I would say that. The real test comes from those on the day. And it's terrifying.
But enough of that. Tomorrow's travelling day, where I'll be grabbing my stuff, train and tubing down to Victoria and then taking a coach to Wales. So time to say "see you later" to the family, and try to keep cool. Even if my tummy does feel like it wants to turn inside out and explode!
Until next time, stay safe and be excellent to each other!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Friday, 1 April 2016
Less Than A Week To Go! #DaffCon
Greetings friends!
So things have been quiet on my front as I have dealt with the last remnants of sickness, whilst also trying to finalise the last bits of stuff for DaffCon next week.
So where are we now?
Well as I said before, the book is ready, tshirts done, demo forces painted - still need to varnish them, but want to one more pass before I fully 100% sign them off. Gaming aids complete, today I printed off blank rosters and cheat-sheets which I'll be laminating tonight (if I can find my old lamination sheets, if not I'll be buying some tomorrow), terrain has been semi fixed. I was having a really hard time getting my original plan to work. Will probably try once more to make sure the sides are fully glued, while trying to get the 'roof pegs' idea to work. Then there's the Exo-Suits who are about 2-3 nights away from completion.
So plans:
Tonight: Laminate & Terrain
Then Exo-Suits, and all done!
Oh and of course, brick it between now and Friday when I find out if everything was just a big waste of time or not.
I sure hope not.
Until next time, stay safe and be excellent to each other!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
So things have been quiet on my front as I have dealt with the last remnants of sickness, whilst also trying to finalise the last bits of stuff for DaffCon next week.
So where are we now?
Well as I said before, the book is ready, tshirts done, demo forces painted - still need to varnish them, but want to one more pass before I fully 100% sign them off. Gaming aids complete, today I printed off blank rosters and cheat-sheets which I'll be laminating tonight (if I can find my old lamination sheets, if not I'll be buying some tomorrow), terrain has been semi fixed. I was having a really hard time getting my original plan to work. Will probably try once more to make sure the sides are fully glued, while trying to get the 'roof pegs' idea to work. Then there's the Exo-Suits who are about 2-3 nights away from completion.
So plans:
Tonight: Laminate & Terrain
Then Exo-Suits, and all done!
Oh and of course, brick it between now and Friday when I find out if everything was just a big waste of time or not.
I sure hope not.
Until next time, stay safe and be excellent to each other!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
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