Great con with a LOT of great games and great people.
More later.
Huzzah! Too Busy Having Fun To Blog
Oops meant to make time for some quick blog posts but between yacking with friends and playing 4 games in 2 days....well...
Great con with a LOT of great games and great people.
More later.
Great con with a LOT of great games and great people.
More later.
Devil May Cry 5 | Release Date, Gameplay Preview, Trailer, News, & More..
Devil May Cry 5 | Release date, Gameplay preview, Trailer, News, & more..
Devil May Cry 5 is turning out to be one of the great game from Capcom in the principal quarter of 2019, and it's set to highlight new and old characters alike. Going about as a continuation that fans have been holding up a long time to play, Dante and Nero return close by newcomer V, the last of which we've just observed a little bother of up to this point.
It feels so fulfilling to have capcom's badass child back and all prepared to kick some ass. So here Pro-GamersArena has compiled everything you need to know about DMC 5 including all the latest gameplay, news, trailers, and more...
Quick facts:
- Release date: 8 March 2019
- Developer: Capcom
- Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
Devil May Cry 5: Release Date
Capcom has affirmed that Devil May Cry 5 will release for PS4, Xbox One and PC on March 8, 2018. This is an entirely bustling quarter of 2019 as DMC 5 will contend with different blockbusters like the Resident Evil 2 Remake, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Anthem, and more. Devil May Cry 5: Trailers
We've compiled two of the most recent trailers for Devil May Cry 5 beneath. The latest trailer from Tokyo Games Show uncovers V as the third playable character and a broad take a gander at how Dante plays both in investigation and battle. He can part his bike into two swords and murder evil presences with them, which is pretty F**king cool.
Somewhere else in the trailer simply above, we can see the third playable character, referred to just as 'V'. There's valuable little to go ahead about this newcomer at the present time, however we do realize that we'll be playing as him for specific segments of the game, and we'll additionally have the capacity to pick which character we need to play as in a few segments of Devil May Cry 5.
Gameplay Preview:
Devil May Cry 5 is an immediate continuation of the fourth part that knows precisely what it's doing as far as story, style and being a total rebel.
So the demo starts as Nero and colleague/tricky specialist Nico walk around a crushed Redgrave City on board a corroded old van with 'Devil May Cry' disdained over the side in splendid, fluorescent neon. It's obvious from an initial couple of moments that DMC is back, and it's prepared to let you know it.
Subsequent to dropping you off, Nero is tossed straight into some renegade activity. London has been crushed, with evil spirit going crazy among the nearly non-existent, post-Brexit populace. Clearly, being evil presences, they focus on Nero like a flash, which means it's the ideal opportunity for a battle. This is the place you get the chance to see Devil May Cry 5's most inventive new highlights: Devil Breaker.
This is Nero's arm and can be separated and modified to your loving with a variety of gnarly powers. Squeezing the circle catch evokes a little punch, yet holding it is a totally extraordinary story. When you will do as such, Nero throws an appallingly hard left hook before his arm heaved forward a consistent light emission that managed silly measures of harm.
Obviously, Nero's Red Queen (Sword) and Blue Rose (Revolver) make a merited return and have additionally been skilled a shocking update that enables his character to pop simply more. They're massive and satisfying to use, and show that Devil May Cry 5 is expecting to make battle feel weightier and more noteworthy than past sessions. Sending demons back to the profundities they originated from is an impact, particularly when they look so awful.
The boss fight that finished the demo was with Goliath. Obviously, he was a transcending behemoth that any consistent individual would run and escape. Nero, in the entirety of his astuteness, chose to experiment with his comic drama hacks and estrange the devil. The fight itself partook, to begin with, on the top of a building, at that point inside the building lastly in a gigantic open square. The progressions were consistent and striking as Goliath made short work of anything around him.
So, How's It?
Devil May Cry 5 is a wonderful return for the outrageous action series, displaying all the vital trademarks while pushing the limits of what we anticipate from it.
So subsequent to viewing the gameplay, it's simply tingling to kill a cluster of evil spirits, however we should hold up until 8 March 2018 to accept the rules as a portion of the world's most noteworthy devil hunters.
Movie Reviews: Thor: Ragnorak, Justice League, Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets, Victoria And Abdul
See all my movie reviews.
Thor: Ragnarok: This movie has received heaps of praise, and much of it is for the very things that I hated most about it. And I basically hated this movie.
First off, the plot (spoilers, as if): there isn't one. Thor has to escape from something, then he and Loki get lectured at by their dying immortal father, then their sister shows up and breaks Thor's hammer, then Thor gets caught in some arena, has to fight Hulk for some reason - which is pointless, since they are both indestructible and anyway we all know they won't die. Then they escape, and then Asgard blows up and Thor and the rest of the cast is in a spaceship.
It's not a plot, it's a series of disconnected comedy and battle sequences, with zero tension and not a single character worth a damn. Every hero is going to survive, and even if they don't, there is not a whit of emotional interest if seeing them survive or not (and if they are killed, they'll probably just get resurrected again in the next movie). Hela is so unbeatable, that every fighting scene she was in was a complete waste of screen time: everyone else is beaten, whoop-dy do. Why bother filming it? Loki, the one person who at least had some interesting character in his other movies, is now useless window dressing with almost no character at all. There is only one memorable scene in the movie, and it's the only scene in which Loki displays his old trickster character. It lasts for 30 seconds, and then we're back to an endless blank nothing of emotional involvement.
I honestly don't remember a single line of dialogue outside of "We work together!" and the scene I mentioned above. Was the movie funny? I cracked a smile three times. Admittedly, if I had not seen the trailers, I would have cracked a smile four times. The acting is mostly adequate but unremarkable, and the sets, visuals, directing, and so forth are adequate and unremarkable. There is one pretty scene which would have been enjoyable if it wasn't basically a copy of the scene we saw a few months ago in Wonder Woman. Four cracked smiles are not enough to sustain a movie. There is no tension, and there is nothing and no one to root for. There is no bigger message to learn. There is no real reason for this movie to exist.
There is no explanation as to how Thor's hammer is so easily broken. Thor rips out a hammer shaped piece of plumbing that causes as much damage as his original hammer. Huh? Even after smashing into the Hulk and vice versa, the hammer shows not a single piece of wear. Banner falls hundreds of feet onto a solid surface - without turning into the Hulk - and, rather than dying, the scene is played for laughs (he is unscathed, of course). Thor must have lived for thousands of years, yet he doesn't remember that he is the freaking God of thunder and lightning until he cries like a baby because he does not have his hammer to play with - what a puny god. Any one of these was just freaking insane. But mostly, who cares??? The movie is a bunch of unfunny attempts at insult and slapstick humor and Attack of the Clones levels of emotional dialogue. It's like Deadpool, only I hated Deadpool more because Deadpool was also immoral and visceral, which made me feel sullied. This movie was merely a pathetic waste of time.
Justice League: DC comics follows up a series of boring, gritty, dark, mumbling slugfests - followed by the excellent Wonder Woman - with a return to boring, gritty, dark, mumbling, slugfest. They never learn.
If there was more than 90 seconds of daylight in the movie, I must have missed them. The origin stories are cookie cutter and uninteresting, the characters are one dimensional, at best, and no one has a relationship or seems to care about anyone or anything other than being cool. With the exception of Amy Adams, who has nothing to do but be Superman's girlfriend.
Ezra Miller's Flash takes the role played by Spider-man in the Marvel movies: wisecracking and boyish, but hardly relatable. Gal Gadot continues to be superhuman, but all she gets to do is bash people and make a few encouraging remarks. Henry Cavill as Superman managed to use his tiny screen time to exude a little more personality than the others. The bad guy, the other heroes, and the mcguffin were forgettable.
As were the action scenes. Look, guys, good fight scenes are not ones where lots of people get bashed repeatedly until one of them finally bashes harder and wins, while everyone else walked away un-scarred. Good battle scenes are ones where the bashing is kept in context and a story continues to unfold. Where victory is not finally bashing a lot harder, but where humanity is exhibited, emotional connections are made or rebuffed, and entirely new things come into play (for example, see The Dark Knight). You recent superhero film makers just don't seem to get it; I mean, you make lots of money, so I guess you're fine. But your movies are emotionless shells. They are no better than episodes of superhero TV shows.
Please: give me stories and characters, not beams of light, wisecracks, things going smash, and guys in suits posing. Lots and lots of posing.
This movie was, at least, not terrible or fatally flawed, so it earns its place among the watchable but forgettable of superhero movies.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets: This flawed, beautiful movie was incredibly creative and generally fun. It has a simple Avatar-like theme of some peaceful creatures, some big bad bosses, cute creatures, and mystery. It also has two cute main characters who look like they are barely out of their teens (Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne). Unfortunately, while they act well, there is not a smidgen of chemistry or fun between them. A major subplot hangs around their emotional relationship, written by someone who has no clue how to write relationships. So, although the characters are not exactly one-dimensional, they are not engaging.
The move is still fun, since the main plot - who is attacking the floating spaceship and why? - works fine. It is so inventive and fresh, you kind of wish that whomever is behind the visuals and the bestiary would have been working for the Star Wars production team. A visual feast full of surprises, directed and shot well.
Victoria and Abdul: This flat biopic introduces a topic but doesn't do much with it. Apparently, Queen Victoria spent some of the end of her life in the presence of some Muslim Indian man who was plucked out of India to perform a meaningless ceremony for her, but whom she came to think of as a teacher, despite his occasionally hiding or omitting certain aspects of the truth from her. Everyone around her hates him because he is Indian, not to mention that he is taking time and attention away from things she should be doing.
Judi Dench is a treasure, of course, but Abdul (Ali Fazal) and everyone else puts in fine performances. Costumes and cinematography are adequate. But it's not really much of a story, and the story that there is is not developed properly. For example, the movie introduces a Chekhov gun by having Abdul tell Victoria about a mango early on in the movie. In the middle of the movie, someone brings her a mango, but it is rotten. I'm not an expert filmmaker, but even I know that somewhere near the end of the movie there needs to be another mango. Either Victoria finally gets to eat a ripe one before she dies, or Abdul returns to India and reflects on a mango tree, thinking of Victoria, or something. But no. We never hear of mangoes again; the thread is simply forgotten.
Other interesting story elements were hiding in the screenplay, but they also never made it out. Victoria and Abdul walk and talk, everyone else threatens them (both), and then it's all over. The main characters' changing feelings towards each other are presented, but not well. I was left feeling hollow.
Thor: Ragnarok: This movie has received heaps of praise, and much of it is for the very things that I hated most about it. And I basically hated this movie.
First off, the plot (spoilers, as if): there isn't one. Thor has to escape from something, then he and Loki get lectured at by their dying immortal father, then their sister shows up and breaks Thor's hammer, then Thor gets caught in some arena, has to fight Hulk for some reason - which is pointless, since they are both indestructible and anyway we all know they won't die. Then they escape, and then Asgard blows up and Thor and the rest of the cast is in a spaceship.
It's not a plot, it's a series of disconnected comedy and battle sequences, with zero tension and not a single character worth a damn. Every hero is going to survive, and even if they don't, there is not a whit of emotional interest if seeing them survive or not (and if they are killed, they'll probably just get resurrected again in the next movie). Hela is so unbeatable, that every fighting scene she was in was a complete waste of screen time: everyone else is beaten, whoop-dy do. Why bother filming it? Loki, the one person who at least had some interesting character in his other movies, is now useless window dressing with almost no character at all. There is only one memorable scene in the movie, and it's the only scene in which Loki displays his old trickster character. It lasts for 30 seconds, and then we're back to an endless blank nothing of emotional involvement.
I honestly don't remember a single line of dialogue outside of "We work together!" and the scene I mentioned above. Was the movie funny? I cracked a smile three times. Admittedly, if I had not seen the trailers, I would have cracked a smile four times. The acting is mostly adequate but unremarkable, and the sets, visuals, directing, and so forth are adequate and unremarkable. There is one pretty scene which would have been enjoyable if it wasn't basically a copy of the scene we saw a few months ago in Wonder Woman. Four cracked smiles are not enough to sustain a movie. There is no tension, and there is nothing and no one to root for. There is no bigger message to learn. There is no real reason for this movie to exist.
There is no explanation as to how Thor's hammer is so easily broken. Thor rips out a hammer shaped piece of plumbing that causes as much damage as his original hammer. Huh? Even after smashing into the Hulk and vice versa, the hammer shows not a single piece of wear. Banner falls hundreds of feet onto a solid surface - without turning into the Hulk - and, rather than dying, the scene is played for laughs (he is unscathed, of course). Thor must have lived for thousands of years, yet he doesn't remember that he is the freaking God of thunder and lightning until he cries like a baby because he does not have his hammer to play with - what a puny god. Any one of these was just freaking insane. But mostly, who cares??? The movie is a bunch of unfunny attempts at insult and slapstick humor and Attack of the Clones levels of emotional dialogue. It's like Deadpool, only I hated Deadpool more because Deadpool was also immoral and visceral, which made me feel sullied. This movie was merely a pathetic waste of time.
Justice League: DC comics follows up a series of boring, gritty, dark, mumbling slugfests - followed by the excellent Wonder Woman - with a return to boring, gritty, dark, mumbling, slugfest. They never learn.
If there was more than 90 seconds of daylight in the movie, I must have missed them. The origin stories are cookie cutter and uninteresting, the characters are one dimensional, at best, and no one has a relationship or seems to care about anyone or anything other than being cool. With the exception of Amy Adams, who has nothing to do but be Superman's girlfriend.
Ezra Miller's Flash takes the role played by Spider-man in the Marvel movies: wisecracking and boyish, but hardly relatable. Gal Gadot continues to be superhuman, but all she gets to do is bash people and make a few encouraging remarks. Henry Cavill as Superman managed to use his tiny screen time to exude a little more personality than the others. The bad guy, the other heroes, and the mcguffin were forgettable.
As were the action scenes. Look, guys, good fight scenes are not ones where lots of people get bashed repeatedly until one of them finally bashes harder and wins, while everyone else walked away un-scarred. Good battle scenes are ones where the bashing is kept in context and a story continues to unfold. Where victory is not finally bashing a lot harder, but where humanity is exhibited, emotional connections are made or rebuffed, and entirely new things come into play (for example, see The Dark Knight). You recent superhero film makers just don't seem to get it; I mean, you make lots of money, so I guess you're fine. But your movies are emotionless shells. They are no better than episodes of superhero TV shows.
Please: give me stories and characters, not beams of light, wisecracks, things going smash, and guys in suits posing. Lots and lots of posing.
This movie was, at least, not terrible or fatally flawed, so it earns its place among the watchable but forgettable of superhero movies.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets: This flawed, beautiful movie was incredibly creative and generally fun. It has a simple Avatar-like theme of some peaceful creatures, some big bad bosses, cute creatures, and mystery. It also has two cute main characters who look like they are barely out of their teens (Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne). Unfortunately, while they act well, there is not a smidgen of chemistry or fun between them. A major subplot hangs around their emotional relationship, written by someone who has no clue how to write relationships. So, although the characters are not exactly one-dimensional, they are not engaging.
The move is still fun, since the main plot - who is attacking the floating spaceship and why? - works fine. It is so inventive and fresh, you kind of wish that whomever is behind the visuals and the bestiary would have been working for the Star Wars production team. A visual feast full of surprises, directed and shot well.
Victoria and Abdul: This flat biopic introduces a topic but doesn't do much with it. Apparently, Queen Victoria spent some of the end of her life in the presence of some Muslim Indian man who was plucked out of India to perform a meaningless ceremony for her, but whom she came to think of as a teacher, despite his occasionally hiding or omitting certain aspects of the truth from her. Everyone around her hates him because he is Indian, not to mention that he is taking time and attention away from things she should be doing.
Judi Dench is a treasure, of course, but Abdul (Ali Fazal) and everyone else puts in fine performances. Costumes and cinematography are adequate. But it's not really much of a story, and the story that there is is not developed properly. For example, the movie introduces a Chekhov gun by having Abdul tell Victoria about a mango early on in the movie. In the middle of the movie, someone brings her a mango, but it is rotten. I'm not an expert filmmaker, but even I know that somewhere near the end of the movie there needs to be another mango. Either Victoria finally gets to eat a ripe one before she dies, or Abdul returns to India and reflects on a mango tree, thinking of Victoria, or something. But no. We never hear of mangoes again; the thread is simply forgotten.
Other interesting story elements were hiding in the screenplay, but they also never made it out. Victoria and Abdul walk and talk, everyone else threatens them (both), and then it's all over. The main characters' changing feelings towards each other are presented, but not well. I was left feeling hollow.
DE: Tips And Tricks On Movement
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| Archon School is the best School. |
I'm going to be traveling on business soon so I want to get this one out to you guys ASAP. This is a quick article on some tips and tricks when it comes to vehicle-heavy play. As you can see in a lot of my lists, it has a lot to do with vehicles. However, in order for DE players to get the most out of their vehicles and the units inside them, you have to be very careful in how you play them.
Dark Eldar vehicles are powerful because they have Fly and great movement, however, they are fragile and if you use them incorrectly, they will die like bitches and so will your dudes. If you're going to die, you better kill a lot of shit to make your death worthwhile.
Before we begin, here are some useful terms for you to remember:
Falling Back
Units starting the Movement phase
within 1" of an enemy unit can either
remain stationary or Fall Back. If you
choose to Fall Back, the unit must end its
move more than 1" away from all enemy
units. If a unit Falls Back, it cannot
Advance (see below), or charge (pg 182)
later that turn. A unit that Falls Back
also cannot shoot later that turn unless it
can FLY.
Open-topped: Models embarked on this model can attack
in their Shooting phase. Measure the range and draw line
of sight from any point on this model. When they do so,
any restrictions or modifiers that apply to this model also
apply to its passengers; for example, the passengers cannot
shoot if this model has Fallen Back in the same turn,
cannot shoot (except with Pistols) if this model is within
1" of an enemy unit, and so on. Note that the passengers
cannot shoot if this model Falls Back, even though the
Raider itself can.
Hovering: Instead of measuring distance and ranges to and
from this model's base, measure to and from this model's
hull or base (whichever is closer).
Airborne: This model cannot charge, can only be
charged by units that can FLY , and can only attack or be
attacked in the Fight phase by units that can FLY.
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| Look at this threat range man. |
OK, now we're ready to begin. First, I want you to look at this picture for at least 5 minutes. Look at the measuring tape, and then bask in the glory that is DE movement and threat range. You get out of the vehicle by measuring from the hull (including the tip of that Shock Prow) for 3". You move 7" with your Warriors and 8" with your Wyches. You then have roughly 1" because you measure to the edge of your 25mm base, so you have a total movement hull to edge of base of 11". You then have a Rapid Fire range of 12", your Blasters reach out to 18", and the rest of your shit that matters literally hits from a mile away. Just with Rapid Fire Splinters mean you have a total threat of a little over 23" out of a transport when you measure from the base. This is why Obsidian Rose is so worth it to me, because it extends the threat range of this bullshit even further.
Before we continue, I want to say that if you're playing with Warriors in a gunboat, you want to stay in that gunboat as long as possible. This is because the Raider is Open-topped and you can get much more mileage out of it with better durability (T5 10W 4+/5++/6+++) than shooting at paper armor Warriors out in the open. You have much greater threat range inside a Raider as well, since the damn thing can move 14" and you can still Rapid Fire out of it measuring from the hull. That means you have a threat range of 26" of threat, which is a few inches greater than your Warriors walking on foot. Yes, you heard that right, your Warriors move almost as fast as your Raiders. Let it sink it good and long.
So why get out? Because your Archon's aura doesn't work while you're inside the Raider. It only works when you're outside which is why it's very worthwhile to sometimes unload all of your shit within 3" of your Raider (so they can quickly jump back in next round), get within 6" of that sweet ass bubble of the Archon, and then unload like crazy. It's like having Flayed Skull's re-roll 1s for all of your weapons. If you have Writ of the Living Muse while using Black Heart, here's all those crazy re-roll 1s to Wound as well. However, if you don't need the re-rolls, just sit in the Raider for as long as possible because even if the Raider is engaged, you can still disembark from it and not count as Fallen Back for your Warriors. You just have to get out first before your Raider Falls Back.
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| Get out, get buff, shoot, get scooped. |
This is what I mean when I say get out, get the bonus from the Archon, and reap the whirlwind. You're still within 3" of your Raider so you can taxi back in next movement and your Archon is still in range because 6" from base to base is actually ridiculously long. The biggest thing I want you to take away from this picture is that I angled the camera downwards deliberately here. Your Warriors can fire from beneath your Raider because Line of Sight is a real thing (model's point of view). Sure, they can probably only see something in front of them, but LoS is one of those things I will bring up time and time again with Dark Eldar. LoS really matters for them because denying damage while doing damage is the key hallmark of the faction.
Another subtle tip from this example is that the Archon has 2 units in front of him before he can be shot at if your opponent doesn't have any flyers of their own. Be very wary when there are flyers on the map because they can zoom across the battlefield and eat you alive if you're not careful. Those damn Hemlocks of mine have claimed so many careless generals' lives.
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| Weapon ranges are important. |
There is a lot going on in this picture so I'm going to try to explain piecemeal. The first thing I want you guys to look at is the range and coherency of the models. Note that all my units in the front drawing red are in Rapid Fire of that unit of Wraithguard while the most valuable damage weapons, the Blasters, are in the back marked yellow. The reason why I chose to show this off is that when you pull models, you can pull the extra rifles from the front to possibly deny a charge, and to preserve your longer ranged weapons whenever possible. As a shooty army, you should preserve as much damage whenever you can, however you can.
The second thing I want to show here is the placement of the Raider in front of the Wraithguard. Yes, I know they're WG and they shoot like crazy, but pretend they aren't for a second and I'm just using them as models. The Raider is long, a little over 7" and acts as a perfect defensive obstacle for units that want to charge your paper armor duders in the back. By putting a Raider in front of them, you form an artificial wall for your opponents to go around. Therefore, you prolong the charge distance of your enemies and keep your Warriors alive another round (possibly). Sometimes, this means you have to make sacrifices. For Dark Eldar, I strongly encourage you to employ such tactics because, for us, it's any means to the end. It's both fluffy and is perfectly applicable in-game.
Here's where Fly comes in handy. If you have units inside the Raider, once you Fall Back with the Raider, they cannot shoot. What you do here instead is: Disembark your Warriors out of the Raider first and then Fall Back with your Raider so they can both shoot. You just need to be mindful that you're more than 1" away from the enemy when you get out. If your Warriors are caught in the open and are now in melee, they can't Fall Back and shoot (not conventionally at least). Try and avoid this at all costs. Your Raider, however, has the Fly rule and can Fall Back and shoot. This is why if they don't kill the Raider, they won't stop it from firing on them. The same applies to our Ravagers as well.
 |
| Now you're in range, now you're not. |
Next picture is just more salt to injury. Let's pretend those WG don't auto-hit the Razorwing and therefore will murder him. Instead, let's treat them like TH/SS Terminators or something. They see a juicy target, or rather, multiple juicy targets to charge. Hmm, that Raider is 9" away, and those Warriors are a little under 12 so it's not impossible. Oh boy, here comes a flyer 1" away. Yup, I just increased the charge distance of those Terminators to barely possible on the Raider and not possible at all on the Warriors. It gets even sadder because if you declare the charge because you're not careful and account for the distance traveled, I can still Overwatch even if you fail. This is the advantage of the Airborne special rule that flyers have. Unless that unit has Fly, you should do this and make your opponent really upset.
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| MSU is wonderful when used correctly. |
OK, this little picture shows you the value of having multiple units in a Raider. The above there is 2 units of 5 Warriors (2x5 config) with Blasters in a single Raider. Everything is in Rapid Fire range and the Blasters are slightly in the back (like they should be). Red and blue symbolizes the first movement action I take, then the second, and yellow presents where the Raider goes everyone disembarks so I can scoop up blue squad next round if they're still around. Always have an exit strategy and a follow-up plan. Too many times I see players just do what's in the moment and not plan ahead. This is not how Dark Eldar plays because misplays or stupidity can literally end the game for us. You have to be methodical, cunning and smart with how you play the game. Now that my plan is laid out, I lay into my targets with firepower.
MSU is an abbreviation for Multiple Small Units. This has been around forever and I've played way too many years of DE, High Elves, Dark Elves and other MSU-based armies to understand the value of it. For Dark Eldar, this has some great uses because it allows you to do shit like the above picture.
Here are some of the other benefits of having 2x5:
- Can split up squad as and when needed
- Same number of Blasters as 10-man units
- Can double up on PGLs or other sergeant weapons
- Less vulnerable to Ld
- Can build Brigades fast, but you also fill slots quick
The biggest boon is your ability to split up: Your opponent has to shoot one squad to death instead of 2 so he can oversaturate fire and potentially waste shots. This is mainly because when you declare targets, you have to declare where all your shots are going and from which guns before you roll dice. This means if you really want a squad dead, you have to commit. Not that it takes a lot to kill off DE infantry units in the open, but being frugal on shots or some lucky 6+++ saves means that a sole Blaster dealing S8 AP-4 D6 damage is going to go around shooting you in the dick.
Likewise, if you spread wide enough, he now has 2 targets to charge instead of 1. Look at the distance between the two units above. He's definitely going to commit to one side if he wants a good chance, and even if he charges one squad, that's still another Blaster that's free to shoot and not in Fall Back mode.
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| It all comes together to make your opponents' life miserable. |
We're almost done guys, hang in there. Look at this example above: I placed the Archon within buff range of both units while placing two Raiders there to form the Great Wall of bad decisions. They obviously cannot go around to assault my dudes because that's an impossible charge. They can't fire on the Archon because there are multiple units in front of him. The only logical target there is the Raiders, and if they charge into them, Raiders are wide enough (almost 3") to stop any follow-up Consolidation prize in the Warriors in the front. The only thing they can do is Consolidate into the other Raider, in which case I'll Fly away and shoot him with my entire army next turn.
Now imagine I had about 4 more squads of Warriors in the back there by my Archons ready to go too. That is a lot of units now ready to follow-up, amplified damage via the Archon's bubble, and ready to lay waste to the units who over-extended and are now in Rapid Fire range of a lot more guns. This is an instance where charging the enemy is actually bait because it draws them in closer to the kill. What looks like suicidal Raiders at first are now very worth it because you might have traded an 85-point Raider that is now fodder, with 225 points of key damage dealers. That is a huge points swing in your favor.
Great, now you're playing like Dark Eldar, or in fact, any Eldar: There is a reason why you think you're superior to all your enemies and have this outrageous arrogance around you. You want to force as many decisions for your opponent as possible because the more decision trees you construct, the more paths there are to failure. Shore this up with baits, feints, LoS, cover, outranging, and movement shenanigans, and you're one step closer to becoming a better Eldar player.
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| Be mindful of your opponents' most potent weapons and their range. |
We're going to take a brief moment here and explore what it means to charge the right way and charge the wrong way. This is because we have to be constantly reminded me of our opponents' weapon ranges and what that means for our more fragile units.
What I'm going to attempt to do here is to charge my Raider first so I can tie up those units so my lightly armored Wyches can get in there unhindered and do their thing without having to worry about Overwatch. This is very important for all Dark Eldar players unless you're playing Coven; in which case you probably don't give a fuck because T6 4++ FNP 4W Grots are balanced units.
For example, the Wraithguard up there all have 8" D-Scythes. They will eat me alive if I charge in there while I'm in range of all their weapons. Likewise, picture a unit of 10-man Space Marines with Meltaguns in there as well. This is where your knowledge of weapon ranges come into play. You know the range of the Meltagun (12", 6" melta range) and you know where the meltas are located. Great, now don't be within their melta range and position your Raider so that you outrange his greatest chance to hurt you. Bolters aren't shit compared to a lucky melta shot.
 |
| This is how you do it. |
Vroom, 14" of movement later, now we're talking: Look at the position of the Raider here after I relocated. Now, only ONE of the FIVE Wraithguard with D-Scythes have range onto my Raider. If I'm feeling extra cheeky, I can be at 8.1" away from him so he can't OW me at all (if you're out of range, you can't declare OW). But then again, my charge will be a little longer, so there's a risk vs. reward scenario there. However, I want to mention that my Wyches are positioned the same way, concaved a little because now only 2 of the WG can hit the closest Wyches vs. everyone else who was conveniently placed 8.1" away. I will pull from the back, of course, allowing my closer Wyches to get the charge and bring the rest of the girls in. If I'm running a 2x5 squad of Wyches, the principle here still stands. To min-max, you move the Wyches in a checkerboard formation so both squads have the same chances to get in. Remember again; measure twice, move once. That is the Dark Eldar way.
Alright guys, this should be good for now. Of course, there are a bunch more tricks that I know, but I think these are the main ones that'll help get you stated. Keep in mind that I'll be more sporadic in the next week when it comes to posting!
Download Diablo III Eternal Collection For SWITCH
Download Diablo III Eternal Collection For SWITCH
NSP | ENG |
Raise Some Hell
Ages ago, angels and demons birthed your world in a forbidden union. Now they've come to claim it. Stand tall among Sanctuary's meek and wicked to battle walking corpses, horrifying cultists, fallen seraphs, and the Lords of Hell. When the High Heavens and the Burning Hells war, humanity must be its own salvation.
Unholy Trinity
The Diablo III game, the Reaper of Souls expansion, and the Rise of the Necromancer pack are all part of the Eternal Collection: 7 classes, 5 acts, and seasons' worth of demon-smashing.
Nintendo Switch™ Exclusives
Discover pieces of Zelda's world in Sanctuary. The Eternal Collection on Switch™ includes the Cucco companion pet, a Triforce portrait frame, and an exclusive transmogrification set that will let your heroes sport Ganondorf's iconic armor. You'll also receive unique cosmetic wings.
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NSP GAME Diablo III Eternal Collection :
Download-Part-8
GAME SIZE: 14 GB
Download-Part-8
GAME SIZE: 14 GB
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Grubby Old Grenzers
Grenzer regts 16 and 17
So, June quickly draws to a close, not a bad month in the world of Austrians, despite a crippling work schedule (Sir Elton John and Lady Ga-Ga being demanding souls), nonetheless, I got over 90 figures whacked off. This included finishing the second 48 of Grenzer. This means I now have 96 of these critters, all with green facings. Subsquently I can use them either as 2 x 48 man units or as 3 x 32's which is some nice flexibility. Eventually I will add another 2 x 48, so will be able to field 4 x 48 or 6 x 32!
32 man Grenze units are pretty weak in ITGM, which seems accurate.They fight and morale as militia - i.e only plus 1 for morale but they do fire as if they are veteran. So 48's can be a bit pokey in the right circumstances (sat in a village is always a favourite) They are still a bit hopeless in woods though (move as militia) which doesn't seem quite right. I might need to think about this.
Front Rank officer throwing his weight around with his slimmer Connoissuer squaddies
I'm going back on track with painting line infantry next, this will be the seventh German btn, probably with pale grey facings. The first batch have just been undercoated and are awaiting the old Army Painter treatment.
After six months of not buying (m)any Napoleonic figures my purchasing gland has been getting twitchy. I've been checking out the Sash and Sabre range- I've got some samples on order from Old Glory UK, command for both line and grenadiers. Even if they are not quite what I'm after I'm sure they can be shoe'd into a unit somewhere. I'm over halfway with the line infantry, and will wind up with 16 btns of Germs and Hungarians....but it doesn't seem QUITE enough...so maybe a division of the S&S chaps would round off my army nicely. We'll see.
FR command, Connoiseur and Elite make up the rest
The other Company I've been looking at are Alban. While I like their infantry a lot, I don't think they will fit very well with the massed Elite units, which is a shame. However, the hussars they make look fabulous, and I don't think a cavalry unit will present the same asthetic problems. I don't have any Hussar figures yet at all (that may change very rapidly) but Austrians really should have plenty. I'd like to wind up with 3 units, and I might make them 48 man regts.
3 x 32 or 2 x 48...the choice is mine
Saddened to hear of the death of Paddy Griffith, I re-read his "Forwards into battle" recently. A fairly seminal work IMHO, one of those books that upset a few folk because it challenged the way they LIKED to think warfare was conducted, and arrived at conclusions which weren't cosy with their view. Part of what good historian should do.
Free Counter
MIND ALONE: An Experimental Mobile Game
1.Introduction
Mind Alone (2017/2018) is an experimental mobile game that I created in a partnership with Sioux, a Brazilian gaming publisher (it'll be launched in February). The main mechanics is puzzle-based (ADAMS, 2014) and most part of the gaming interface is built using alphabetical characters, only. Narrative is the main feature in this case and puzzle mechanics create the perfect blend for the gameplay. The main idea of the game is to follow the notion that "story, dialogue, character profiles, etc., should all be created in a way that add to the design of the gameplay" (INCE, 2006, p.36).
Based with slight modifications on the "High Concept Document" proposed by Adams and Rollings (2009, p.63), in this brief paper we aim to discuss some main features from Mind Alone's game designing process, its business model conception, and how an experimental mobile game can be used to promote a gaming studio and become an example for game designing classes.
It is important to highlight that the "High Concept Document" (HCD) is an interesting exercise of "elevator pitch"; in other words: the document must be brief, objective, take no more than 10 minutes to read, and contain the essential features from the game. This kind of document is a good tool for game designers to register ideas for further consulting, and to explain ideas to studios/publishers/gaming companies.
Below we present the main features from Mind Alone described in the HCD format.
2.Mind Alone's High Concept Document
Name of the game: Mind Alone
Team: Vicente Martin Mastrocola (game design, sound design, information architecture); Gabriel Romano (user experience, Unity programming); Guilherme Camargo (business model; planning strategy).
Publisher: Sioux
Country and year: Brazil (São Paulo), 2017/2018
Game summary: Mind Alone is a non-competitive single-player game based on plot/story-related. The player embodies the role of a character trapped in his own mind. It is impossible to say if they are dreaming, lying in a coma or dead. To reach the answer for this mystery, the player must solve a series of puzzles; each puzzle is a memory that brings hints of what happened. The memories start in the character's childhood and advance until actual days. The player must solve all the puzzles to reach the surface of the conscience. Mind Alone is an authorial game and does not demand special licenses.
Gaming references: The Witness (Thekla Inc., 2016); Dark Room (Doublespeak Games, 2013); Lifeline (Three Minute Games, 2016). Games with a focus in narrative features and a clear invitation to players become "co-creators" of the plot.
Player's motivation: the character needs help to wake up from the prison of their mind, in which they are confined in an infinite loop of disconnected memories. Players must solve the puzzles, which have different difficulty levels, to reach the surface of conscience.
Keywords: puzzle game; mystery; terror; enigma; mobile, transmedia; immersive; narrative
Target audience: 16+ year-old players, fans of puzzle/enigmas, escape the room games, and horror/terror literature.
Highlights: game 95% created using only alphabetical characters with interesting artistic interface. Freeware. Some puzzles offer transmediatic features inviting players to explore blogs and sites. Fast. Dual language: Portuguese and English.
Platform: mobile game developed for iOS and Android systems (created with Unity programming).
Game designing goals: through dark/mysterious narrative and puzzle-based gameplay, offers the players an experience of immersion, fear and tension. Generates thought-provoking puzzles with a simple interface.
Music and sound design: dark ambient soundtrack with incidental sounds (doors opening, moans, screams, piano notes, etc.). Some sounding references come from projects like Lustmord, Robert Rich and Zoät·Aon.
Business model: freeware. The goal of the game is to participate in game designing contests, festivals and gaming fairs to promote Sioux studio. As a freeware game, another goal is to use Mind Alone in game designing classes.
Mechanics examples: Mind Alone uses various smartphone features to constitute its gameplay. There are puzzles that use touch screen, assembly of elements, movement of the device (through accelerometer and gyroscope) and puzzles with textual responses. Below, we can analyze some puzzle wireframes with mechanics:
Puzzle example 1:
Solution: turn the smartphone to 90o to move the words from the shelf to the ground.
Puzzle example 2:
Solution: touch the dots in order to create a star pattern. If the player does not touch in the right sequence, the lines will disappear.
Puzzle example 3:
Solution: the player must search and touch the word "ON" in the middle of the characters. The screen will become white and the next puzzle will appear.
Puzzle example 4:
Solution: this puzzle is a transmedia enigma; the answer is outside of the game. Players must access the URL https://imoldforthis.blogspot.com.br/ to verify the image of some trees and type the answer in the blank field.
3.Final thoughts
Despite being a free mobile game, Mind Alone is one important tool for Sioux studio to present its work and participate in game designing contests and gaming fairs. The game is also a case to be used in the classroom and to discuss how to create independent experimental/artistic games, and to digress on how the gaming industry is plural in this sense. The strategy of distributing a free game could guarantee other profits like posts in specialized gaming websites, discussions in academic articles, and prizes in gaming contests etc.
Following the thoughts of Fullerton et al. (2008, p.15-16), Mind Alone used one very synthetic game design process based on stages: 1) conceptual stage: to define the game's theme; 2) brainstorm stage: to think how the theme will materialize on the gaming interface; 3) Physical prototype/pre-prototype stage: to create a fast pre-visualization of the game using paper, pen and simple components; 4) Layout stage: to establish the initial concepts of the interface; 5) Digital prototype and test stage: with the previous mechanics and first layouts, it is possible to develop a simple version to be played on browser or in smartphones. In this stage, it is possible to start the beta-testing sessions; 6) Production stage: the feedbacks from the digital prototype beta-test sessions are the main information to produce the final version of the game; 7) Evaluation stage: to make the final tests to assure it is error-free; 8) Launching stage: to put the game available for download in mobile platforms (Android and iOS). It is important to highlight that, during this whole process, the game is documented using specific files (like the "High Concept Document" discussed previously).
By discussing the creative process and the business model structuration of Mind Alone, we hope to demonstrate how strong is the relationship between players and gaming companies in the contemporary digital gaming ecosystem. We claim it is of utmost importance to use a methodological process, even for small productions. We can see the importance of working with a consistent methodology and it is possible to imagine the iterative process applied in bigger projects. We hope we can contribute to the field of gaming studies and that this paper earns future developments and inspire new relevant discussions.
The Brazilian gaming market, as an emergent market, reveals itself as a privileged ambient to observe these game design processes. We welcome the opportunity to present this relevant discussion as a means of contributing to the on-going efforts in exploring the gaming market in contemporary culture.
References:
ADAMS, Ernest. Fundamentals of puzzle and casual game design. San Francisco: Pearson, 2014.
ADAMS, Ernest; ROLLINGS, Andrew. Fundamentals of game design. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009.
FULLERTON, Tracy, et al. Game design workshop: a playcentric approach to creating innovative games. Burlington: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2008.
INCE, Steve. Writing for video games. London: A & C Black Publishers Limited, 2006.
Mind Alone (2017/2018) is an experimental mobile game that I created in a partnership with Sioux, a Brazilian gaming publisher (it'll be launched in February). The main mechanics is puzzle-based (ADAMS, 2014) and most part of the gaming interface is built using alphabetical characters, only. Narrative is the main feature in this case and puzzle mechanics create the perfect blend for the gameplay. The main idea of the game is to follow the notion that "story, dialogue, character profiles, etc., should all be created in a way that add to the design of the gameplay" (INCE, 2006, p.36).
Based with slight modifications on the "High Concept Document" proposed by Adams and Rollings (2009, p.63), in this brief paper we aim to discuss some main features from Mind Alone's game designing process, its business model conception, and how an experimental mobile game can be used to promote a gaming studio and become an example for game designing classes.
It is important to highlight that the "High Concept Document" (HCD) is an interesting exercise of "elevator pitch"; in other words: the document must be brief, objective, take no more than 10 minutes to read, and contain the essential features from the game. This kind of document is a good tool for game designers to register ideas for further consulting, and to explain ideas to studios/publishers/gaming companies.
Below we present the main features from Mind Alone described in the HCD format.
2.Mind Alone's High Concept Document
Name of the game: Mind Alone
Team: Vicente Martin Mastrocola (game design, sound design, information architecture); Gabriel Romano (user experience, Unity programming); Guilherme Camargo (business model; planning strategy).
Publisher: Sioux
Country and year: Brazil (São Paulo), 2017/2018
Game summary: Mind Alone is a non-competitive single-player game based on plot/story-related. The player embodies the role of a character trapped in his own mind. It is impossible to say if they are dreaming, lying in a coma or dead. To reach the answer for this mystery, the player must solve a series of puzzles; each puzzle is a memory that brings hints of what happened. The memories start in the character's childhood and advance until actual days. The player must solve all the puzzles to reach the surface of the conscience. Mind Alone is an authorial game and does not demand special licenses.
Gaming references: The Witness (Thekla Inc., 2016); Dark Room (Doublespeak Games, 2013); Lifeline (Three Minute Games, 2016). Games with a focus in narrative features and a clear invitation to players become "co-creators" of the plot.
Player's motivation: the character needs help to wake up from the prison of their mind, in which they are confined in an infinite loop of disconnected memories. Players must solve the puzzles, which have different difficulty levels, to reach the surface of conscience.
Keywords: puzzle game; mystery; terror; enigma; mobile, transmedia; immersive; narrative
Target audience: 16+ year-old players, fans of puzzle/enigmas, escape the room games, and horror/terror literature.
Highlights: game 95% created using only alphabetical characters with interesting artistic interface. Freeware. Some puzzles offer transmediatic features inviting players to explore blogs and sites. Fast. Dual language: Portuguese and English.
Platform: mobile game developed for iOS and Android systems (created with Unity programming).
Game designing goals: through dark/mysterious narrative and puzzle-based gameplay, offers the players an experience of immersion, fear and tension. Generates thought-provoking puzzles with a simple interface.
Music and sound design: dark ambient soundtrack with incidental sounds (doors opening, moans, screams, piano notes, etc.). Some sounding references come from projects like Lustmord, Robert Rich and Zoät·Aon.
Business model: freeware. The goal of the game is to participate in game designing contests, festivals and gaming fairs to promote Sioux studio. As a freeware game, another goal is to use Mind Alone in game designing classes.
Mechanics examples: Mind Alone uses various smartphone features to constitute its gameplay. There are puzzles that use touch screen, assembly of elements, movement of the device (through accelerometer and gyroscope) and puzzles with textual responses. Below, we can analyze some puzzle wireframes with mechanics:
Puzzle example 1:
Solution: turn the smartphone to 90o to move the words from the shelf to the ground.
Solution: touch the dots in order to create a star pattern. If the player does not touch in the right sequence, the lines will disappear.
Puzzle example 3:
Solution: the player must search and touch the word "ON" in the middle of the characters. The screen will become white and the next puzzle will appear.
Puzzle example 4:
Solution: this puzzle is a transmedia enigma; the answer is outside of the game. Players must access the URL https://imoldforthis.blogspot.com.br/ to verify the image of some trees and type the answer in the blank field.
3.Final thoughts
Despite being a free mobile game, Mind Alone is one important tool for Sioux studio to present its work and participate in game designing contests and gaming fairs. The game is also a case to be used in the classroom and to discuss how to create independent experimental/artistic games, and to digress on how the gaming industry is plural in this sense. The strategy of distributing a free game could guarantee other profits like posts in specialized gaming websites, discussions in academic articles, and prizes in gaming contests etc.
Following the thoughts of Fullerton et al. (2008, p.15-16), Mind Alone used one very synthetic game design process based on stages: 1) conceptual stage: to define the game's theme; 2) brainstorm stage: to think how the theme will materialize on the gaming interface; 3) Physical prototype/pre-prototype stage: to create a fast pre-visualization of the game using paper, pen and simple components; 4) Layout stage: to establish the initial concepts of the interface; 5) Digital prototype and test stage: with the previous mechanics and first layouts, it is possible to develop a simple version to be played on browser or in smartphones. In this stage, it is possible to start the beta-testing sessions; 6) Production stage: the feedbacks from the digital prototype beta-test sessions are the main information to produce the final version of the game; 7) Evaluation stage: to make the final tests to assure it is error-free; 8) Launching stage: to put the game available for download in mobile platforms (Android and iOS). It is important to highlight that, during this whole process, the game is documented using specific files (like the "High Concept Document" discussed previously).
By discussing the creative process and the business model structuration of Mind Alone, we hope to demonstrate how strong is the relationship between players and gaming companies in the contemporary digital gaming ecosystem. We claim it is of utmost importance to use a methodological process, even for small productions. We can see the importance of working with a consistent methodology and it is possible to imagine the iterative process applied in bigger projects. We hope we can contribute to the field of gaming studies and that this paper earns future developments and inspire new relevant discussions.
The Brazilian gaming market, as an emergent market, reveals itself as a privileged ambient to observe these game design processes. We welcome the opportunity to present this relevant discussion as a means of contributing to the on-going efforts in exploring the gaming market in contemporary culture.
References:
ADAMS, Ernest. Fundamentals of puzzle and casual game design. San Francisco: Pearson, 2014.
ADAMS, Ernest; ROLLINGS, Andrew. Fundamentals of game design. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009.
FULLERTON, Tracy, et al. Game design workshop: a playcentric approach to creating innovative games. Burlington: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2008.
INCE, Steve. Writing for video games. London: A & C Black Publishers Limited, 2006.
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