Not Your Average Geeks
simland
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Homepage: http://www.shatteredcube.com
Posts by simland
30K In the Air
Jul 30th
Technology is pretty amazing. I remember when I first experienced in flight entertainment. It was amazing. Now, I will write this post and publish it all while sipping on a diet coke 30000 feet in the air.
I’m not sure exactly how they do it, but I assume they are using cell towers. I could probably figure it out by searching the internet (yea, we get everything up here!), but I’d like to see if I can get WoW to work.
<Turbulence>
The only down side to flying on the Boeing 737 or Airbus 319/320 class of planes is that they don’t have power outlets. I believe the 757 and 747 have power outlets. That would be amazing!
The reason I’m writing at the moment, is that weather in Atlanta caused around half of the flights out of LGA (Laguardia, NY) to be canceled yesterday. Some negotiations with Delta representatives got me on an 11:30am out of EWR (Newark, NJ). The upside is that I am now flying first class. I would like to add that if you are ever in Jersey City, the Westin there is a fantastic hotel. Very comfortable and fairly spacious amenities. The shower is a dual headed shower, which was also amazing.
Ok, battery life is precious on this monster of a computer. I may have to switch over to my work computer depending on how fast WoW drains the battery life.
These have been random thoughts from 30k In the Air.
Game Master Roundtable – Intro
Jul 22nd
There are two kinds of people in this world, those who build and those who play. This is the Game Master’s Roundtable; a gathering place for those of the former and those with the desire to rise above mere content ingestion.
For those unfamiliar with the role, a Game Master (a.k.a. GM, Dungeon Master, DM, referee, etc.) operates as the manager and guide for a group of players. Most often, the GM is responsible for constructing the game world and adventure that the players will experience. There are thousands of tools available to a Game Master to assist in creating these worlds. For game settings that are much more popular, there can be a plethora of pre-made content. A Game Master can use this content to alleviate some of the work required in constructing an enjoyable experience. A more experienced GM will often forgo the use of pre-made content in an effort to create a truly unique and custom tailored experience for the players.
It takes a variety of skills along with a healthy dose of time and dedication to create an enjoyable end product. While we all must ultimately figure out our own approach, it can be extremely helpful to learn from the experiences of others. Through this column, myself and other GMs will share our advice, tools, ideas and general thoughts with the hopes that something we have to offer can enrich your gaming experience.
Stay tuned each and every Thursday for more thoughts from the GM’s Roundtable.
-Sim
Penguin Mafia – Weekly Update – Season 42 Week 13
Jul 20th
The Penguin Mafia survived their match against Mons last week. This was a must win if they had any hope of promotion. That set them up for this week which was a match against a bot team. Unfortunately, as seems to be the case around any match with Mons, both the starting and backup goal keeper ended up being injured before this weeks game. That meant that once again the Penguin Mafia would have to put aside their dreams of a stadium upgrade to acquire a new goalie.
The bright side is that the PM now have 2 decent goalies, rather than one decent one and one garbage goalie.
Needless to say the match against the bot was a rout. They stood absolutely no chance and the Penguin Mafia series goal differential took another giant leap into the positive direction. Tor Ahndahl was able to cement his location as the top scorer for the series, baring some freak triple hattrick by another player in next weeks final game of the season. Luckily, there were no further injuries to result from this game.
While I was expecting to have to fight in a relegation match, it would seem that the fates have been kind. As long as the PM win next weeks match, they will be able to auto-promote. However, next weeks match is no push over. A human player has stepped in to take over the team that the PM play in the final season match. They haven’t had a significant amount of time to build a quality team, but they will certainly be more difficult than a bot based team.
The Penguin Mafia won’t count their chickens before they hatch. Expect them to play all 90 minutes. See you next week for another update. Same time, same place.
-Sim
Inception = Incredible
Jul 19th
Pancho and I, on an impulse, decided to catch Inception early (9:40am early!) Saturday morning. I have to admit that I was incredibly surprised the theater had an IMAX showing that early; and I was even more surprised at the number of people in the theater. Settled in my seat, it was time for the movie.
We showed up a bit late, meaning we missed the previews (sad face) and I think the first 5 minutes of the film. I don’t think either were super important as we were able to get up to speed very fast. Spoiler free review after the jump. More >
Well Placed Lines – The Beginning
Jul 16th
I once told a friend that he had no artistic ability. He was merely a master of well placed lines.
You could say that being analytical to such a degree has its faults…I would agree. The one thing it does benefit, is that I’m able to break anything down and make it manageable. In this example, if I want to be a better artist, put the lines in a better position. It should be that simple right?
Nope.
But should we start on this journey anyway? I say with hearty enthusiasm, “Lets!” Lets see what it takes to develop an artistic style. Let’s build our own comic. Let’s create works of great (?) art. Lets discover what it means to be “art”.
Join me and learn with me as I attempt to become a better artist and figure out what it means to develop a style.
Things you may need to follow along: Scratchpad, Pencil and Pen.
-Sim
Hattrick – Transfer Market Tips
Jul 10th
Buy Low, Sell High. Use the comparison tool provided by the website. Don’t be a douche and snipe auctions. You’re on your own with this one.
-Sim
Hattrick – Youth Leagues
Jul 9th
There are two options presented to you when it comes to youth players. You can either pay for youth scouts to drum up some random recruits into the senior team or you can start up a youth academy. If you enjoy the main game, then I would highly recommend the starting a youth academy. The youth academy provides an entire new experience very similar to the senior team and gives you control over the quality of youth players that will be available for recruitment into the senior team.
Assuming, you have now started a youth academy, you may be a bit confused about why you can not see the abilities of your youth players. Well, that my friend, is part of the fun. First thing you will want to do is find a league for your youth team. This can be a bit of a pain. I would recommend looking in the forums for open leagues, or searching for international leagues with open spots. Look for a league that has a start date sometime in the future.
Once you have a league you will want to set match orders and training types. Note that you can set 2 training types in the youth academy. The primary type gives 100% training and the secondary gives 50% training. It is typically not recommended to set both to the same training type. This results in less than 150% and you do not maximize training. You will gain insight into the abilities of your youth players through the results of matches. Your coach will give feedback and slowly reveal their nominal skill values.
Youth players have varying caps for each skill. Your scouts and coaches will slowly give you visibility to these caps. As the owner you will want to recruit players with higher caps and put the players in the correct spots that will allow them to train to their caps.
Youth academies take time, but in the end they give you more control over your team and another outlet for strategy. Stick with it and you will not be disappointed. Good luck and good recruiting!
-Sim
Hattrick – Staffing Advice
Jul 8th
So…you have clicked on staff, but have no idea who to hire or how many to hire. Hopefully, I can provide some quick guidance that will set you on the right path. Once you have a good understanding, you should feel more comfortable tweaking the setup to better suit your team. As always, make sure to read any updates from the hattrick development team, as changes to the system can influence the quality of the guidance that follows.
If you are training goal keeping, you will want 9 goalie coaches and 1 assistant coach. If you are training anything else, you will want the exact opposite; 9 assistant coaches and 1 goalie coach. If you are reading this article, do not hire an accountant. They are worthless unless deep in debt or incredibly wealthy. (I believe they are being removed in an upcoming patch.) I would recommend having 1 spokesperson and 1 physiotherapist. Only have doctors if you have injured players. I would recommend having at least 1 or 2 doctors when a player gets inured.
For all staff, there exist diminishing returns. This means that each additional staffer provides less and less results. This is why the only staff position that we want to max out is the one related to training. Every percentage bonus counts when it comes to training.
That’s all for staff. I would recommend reading any hattrick updates by the developers because there are changes on the horizon.
-Sim
The Death of James Bond
Jul 7th
According to the Mirror, a site I read for the first and last time today, the James Bond franchise is dead. Apparently, MGM is having a bit of a cash crisis due to a number of poor film development choices.
I say it’s about time! I can only hope they sell the intellectual property to someone who can do the name justice. Goldeneye was fantastic. Every bond movie after that was a complete waste of time. When money dictates artistic endeavors, you are guaranteed to end up with a formulaic product that is composed of boobs, explosions, cars and guns. All great things, but are infinitely better when weaved into a proper story.
I can honestly say, with every truthiness bone in my body, that I could write and direct a better product than what was presented starting with Tomorrow Never Dies.
Serious, MGM, I’m here waiting for your call. All I ask for is 5% of the gross. That’s pure commission. How can you pass that up?
The unfortunate collateral damage to come out of all this is the death of the in-production possible smash hit, The Hobbit.
-Sim
Hattrick – Training Types and Intensity
Jul 7th
Having a successful training program can make or break the Hattrick experience. In the next few paragraphs I’ll highlight the three main types of training and give you a suggested formation to play to your new strengths. Once you have a good understanding and have figured out what works best for you, by all means, fly little birdie – fly.
Remember, a player must play in a match for the week to gain training and depending on the training type only certain players will receive training. Make sure to utilize your friendlies to maximize your training program.
The first and most popular training type is Playmaking. This is because a dominant midfield will more often than not dictate the outcome of a match. The typical formation for playmaking training is 3-5-2. This is a very balanced formation and allows you train up to 10 players a week. Focusing on playmaking will give you the best shot at dominating the midfield. The downside to playmaking training, is that so many people do it! Purchasing trainees can be very expensive and since there is a gluttony of trained players, the selling price is often not as high as one would expect. The other potential downside is that if you are focusing on training as a source of income, you will typically never have high level playmakers and thus never really be able to compete at the highest levels.
The second most popular training type is scoring. In hattrick, offense wins games (typically). While your midfield may not be as strong, your attack ratings can make sure you capitalize on the chances you do get. The most common formation for scoring trainers, is 3-4-3. It uses the same principles as the 3-5-2, but maximizes the number of trainees gaining training for scoring. Buying trainees is a little easier than buying midfielders and you can demand a premium for well trained athletes. You will need to spend some hard earned cash to buy yourself a decent midfield if you want a chance to compete.
The third most popular training type is Defense. While it may not be as exciting as the offense based training strategies, it can be very rewarding. A defense trainer will typically play a 5-4-1. In addition, if they are playing a midfield trainer they have the option to play a counter attack strategy which can absolutely decimate the opposition. If they are playing a scoring trainer and they have powerful defenders, they can play a pressing strategy and positively shrink the opposition’s scoring chances. Similar to scoring trainers, defense trainers have no issue selling well trained players at a very decent price.
Again, make sure to use your friendlies to train as many players in a week as possible. Experiment to figure out what works for your team. Make smart moves on the transfer list and have fun! Best of luck!
-Sim