Not Your Average Geeks
Video Games
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
Classics on the go with PSP homebrew
Jul 16th
I have a confession to make. I’ve never played through such classics as Super Mario World, Earthbound, Super Metroid, Super Mario RPG, A Link to the Past, or ANY Final Fantasy. You can pretty much add any 8-bit or 16-bit games to that list as well.
Now, it’s not all my fault. My parents refused to buy me videogames of any sort, so the first console I actually owned as a pawn shop purchased PSX sometime in late highschool. My early forays into gaming were limited to hand-me-downs from my uncle, things like Dark Forces, Steel Panthers, and Wolfenstein.
PSP with necessary accessories, Pandora battery and memory stick
Enter the Sony PSP. I’ve had my eye on getting one for a while, not really to play PSP games, but to emulate the classics I missed out on as a kid. I scrounged up a $30 PSP with a broken disc drive (I’ll be running everything from the memory stick so the drive won’t matter) from our local Craigslist this weekend, and set to work installing a custom firmware to allow the use of homebrew like emulators. Between 8-bit, 16-bit, ScummVM, and MAME I’ll have my work cut out for me!
Emulating the classics also means I can use savestates, which will overcome one other gripe I’ve had with playing these games in their original form, the need to play them all the way through in one sitting.
Installing a custom firmware on most fat or slim PSPs is fairly easy. The PSP 3000 and PSP Go are a slightly different story, and as I don’t have any experience with them, I won’t go into it here. If you want to know if your PSP can be hacked, check here.
While we’re talking zombies
Jul 13th
How about a zombie-filled, free MMO that only takes a couple of minutes a day to play? I’m talking about Urban Dead, the brainchild of web-developer and game designer Kevan Davis. In Urban Dead, one can play as a survivor, a zombie, or both, all within the sprawling suburb of Malton, which has been under quarantine for five years now following an outbreak.
I first played Urban Dead shortly after it went live five years ago. At that time, the options for your character were fairly basic, but today there are expanded character roles and possibilities (detailed here).
Those that wish to fight the outbreak can play as humans, barricaded inside buildings, reviving zombies, or just run around mowing them down without mercy. Zombie players can get a variety of upgrades to help them spread the infection, and break into barricaded buildings to get at the juicy meatbags inside.
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
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
Hattrick – Overview
Jul 6th
Hattrick provides the experience of owning and running a team of professional futbol (soccer to us Yanks) players without the requirement of a lifetime of dedication and the ire of disappointed fans. The game provides an outlet for your needs to dabble in strategy. Every decision within the game is made with regard to an overall strategy.
When you first sign up, you are handed a team that is in shambles and in desperate need of human guidance. (Teams are created to fill out all empty positions within the divisional structure. These teams are run by “bots” unless owned by a human team. You will rarely see a “bot” team in any division except the lowest. As such, when you join, you are handed one of these bot teams.) The game developers have created an excellent tutorial that rewards you with in game money for completing tasks that highlight key components of the game. I would absolutely recommend completing these tasks. With your new funds you can perform a number of actions: hire a new coach, sign new players, expand your stadium, hire staff members, start a youth team or recruit youth players.
Your team will exist within a series that in turn exists within a division. The series is a group of 8 teams, including your own team. You will play each team twice over the course of the season. The series leader will either be “auto-promoted” to the next higher division or play in a “play-off” match to fight for the chance to move up. The loser will go through a similar process, except they will be fighting to not be relegated to the next lowest division.
As the owner, you instruct the team to train in a certain skill set. Overtime, if you maintain an effective training program, your players will develop into very competent athletes. Your players will become more valuable and perform at a higher caliber during matches. Most teams construct their game time strategy and off season plans around their training goals.
Once you have your team together and your training strategy figured out, the world of hattrick is yours to conquer. It’s up to you to guide your team to success or failure. It’s a great community and wonderful outlet for the strategy Nerd in all of us.
Plus, it’s free!
I hope to see you in the Hattrick universe. If you are there, look up the “Penguin Mafia” and I’ll be happy to give you advice.
-Sim
Start your weekend off right will a little Super Contra Bros. Or maybe some Megamario.
Jun 25th
Jay Pavlina from Exploding Rabbit has released an updated version of his Super Mario Bros. Crossover game, which adds a few new characters. I now have a prayer in hell of beating SMB, as long as I can use the scattergun from Contra.
Character select screen
Play the game at http://supermariobroscrossover.com/