Ripe for parody

Ever notice most Traveller characters are in their late 30s/mid 40s and mortgaged to the hilt for something they may not even need?

The "Gallant Hawk" Class Courier

It's a work in progress and my first stab at pseudo schematic/profile drawing. It's supposed to be a water borne dedicated courier vessel (for traveller).

Ivanez artsy

A recent rendition of Ivanez in a less stifling format.

Done in Gimp.

Map! - Alan

Rather than string this out into several posts, I'll condense this to one.

Alan was a game world for another DnD campaign that, unsurprisingly enough, never got off the ground. Despite this, the map for it was one of the more educational and rewarding experiences in my RPG map making hobby.

It started simply enough with a bit of whimsy, a generic RPG map tool, and some post editing in Gimp. It also started with area of "Afhoven".

It was functional- but unsatisfying. It provided a game world with enough scope to last the length of any RPG campaign I tend to run or be in. At the time it was all I really cared to do. There was a great deal of background information that needed to be sorted out before I could consider a more time consuming map. Even more daunting than the work load of a nicer map was my cynical pessimism regarding wether or not the campaign would even start.

However the time came when I started producing some player material... a loose map of what the locals would know of (as opposed to the exact locations of some hidden away villages in the jungle).

That map was this:


I rather liked it. It was preliminarily done free hand 'tracing' of the old map in Gimp with a loose use of filters and tools to simplify some of the process of screwing up the map.

However, when passed out to one of the players, the response was quick and unsubtle. "This is it? This is the whole world?". No, I thought, not at all. This is only what the locals know of and by extension, only what you know.

Troubled by this, and motivated by a desire to put everything to proper form, I went ahead and mapped out the whole continent of Alan.


Every mountain, line, and color on this map was hand done in Gimp. I'm a sucker for bright Final Fantasy style maps and I think I mostly nailed it in this one (aside a ghostly white that pervades the image). It also took a gawd awful amount of time to complete. There were other trial and error maps that have been forever lost to data entropy. Suffice it to say, this map was something of a learning process.

Astute readers will notice that the jungles to the south east changed. It was something of a adventure in itself that I was hoping the players would explore. That is, they'd think something was there judging by the old map, but end up sailing to oblivion. Sounds like a great adventure to me.

Unfortunately despite putting all this work into the map, it occurred to me that only I and my wife would ever see it. I just spent countless time building a map no one will ever use beyond myself. But I had fun. So taking that as a win, I more or less realized that I think I like making the maps more than I like actually running the game.

Go figure.

Map! - Ivanez #3

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This is actually the third iteration of Ivanez. This time rendered out into a full sector as opposed to a tiny subsector. I was still playing with how to render detail without being gaudy and in some respects this incomplete map does this.

However the limitations of the machine I was on at the time made working with the monstrous file an exercise of self inflicted torture. A comment by my brother Kenny mentioned the need to narrow down and bring out the detail rather than dilute the campaign map. That it is far more preferable to work with a well crafted and detailed campaign map than one so immense as to loose the scope of the players. And I agreed, thus dropping this project mid stream to work on bringing a fine resolution to an other wise astronomically broad canvas.

This was done in Gimp. Allot of copy/pasting was done for the frame work, but would have eventually been filled in.

Map! - Ivanez #1

(Click for Big)

This is the first digital iteration of the Ivanez map as woeful as it is. I used a generic RPG mapping program to render it. So disgusted with it, it made me delve into the nuances of mapping and the utilities used there in.

I eventually settled on using Gimp as it gave me the flexibility to do whatever I wanted.

Map! - Ivanez #2

(Click for Big)

It occurred to me that it is hard to gauge the value of the Ivanez map without knowing a little of it's evolution. Contained here is the second iteration of that map (with the earlier post being the fourth rendition). None of the Ivanez maps, aside from the last iteration and the first "Ivanez" post, was released to the players. You might notice little changes in the map make up between iterations.

It was done in Gimp and, aside from generating the hexmap, it was done entirely by hand.

It was also a move in the right direction. But ultimately I was dissatisfied with it. Although it clued in the spectral information of the planetary host stars, it did little to actually inform the players.

Map! - Icathia

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Another map for a DnD campaign that never got off the ground. The concept revolved around the awakening of a sleeping formless trans dimensional god. The players were to be the animated avatars of that god of whom would form and act in accordance with their actions. The sole goal of the campaign was to spread the word of that entity (of which the players would decide). The players only really knew the name of their creator, "Orcas". (It's a homage to a beloved dead bubbletip anemone named "Oscar".)

I had in mind that even though the players were "human" in a natural form, it was only because it was the easiest and most common form for the diety Orcas to imitate. There was to be several favors and items that could be found and won that would have changed their abilities and form (wings... fur... horns... fire breathing... etc).

Again the idea being that by the end of the campaign, they would represent a Final Fantasy style esper more than anything else. But alas for reasons beyond the campaign concept, it never got rolling (I'm actually still interested in running it).

I even shared the map with a co worker of whom was very familiar with first edition DnD and I integrated some of his ideas into the mythos and history of the world.

On a technical note this map represents a significant leap forward in my map making skills. This map took all of maybe an hour or two to build. Made in Gimp, it relies heavily on creative filter use.

In general I like the map in terms of creation time and the colors (I'm a sucker for the Final Fantasy map style coloring).

Map! - Ivanez #4

(Click for Big)

I must admit, one of the things about RPGs that I love is something that I did not notice until recently. I love making maps. I like organizing data and telling stories with as finite a space as possible. It's an extension of miniature painting for me; in which my time spent painting a face, uniform, or even weathering the model renders me time to imagine the faux being a background. To that end this map is a distillation of that.

I've never been too satisfied with canned Traveller maps or the user ones floating around the internet. They end with a mere UWP score and a hex value. They say nothing of the world, the solar system, or make much attempt at using the rich canvas that a map provides. It is frequently left as an excersize of the mind. And while that is good, it's also so incredibly vague to be nearly useless. From a player standpoint, of which I was most concerned, a mere UWP never states any finer details that one might be able to plan upon.

And though my map doesn't help too much with some of the vagueness that a simple UWP score is, it atleast fleshs out an otherwise generic sector map.

This map was made in Gimp and was done almost entirely free handed (with a mouse).

On a side note, I originally posted this over on Citizens of the Imperium. After searching for a good Traveller map to look over and imitate I discovered that the map apparently has since found itself on a couple other forums and blogs that I never went too (with nearly universal praise).

I'm incredibly flattered by that.

Great Gaming: Music

My last post mentioned the failing point of the Final Fantasy franchise. But one thing it doesn't particularly mention is one of the things that it does well; that is music. I can't recall a Final Fantasy game that didn't have a great orchestrated track to associate it with. Every time they manage to make a sound track worthy of a separate purchase from the game itself. And this is something that I think allot of game producers need to pay attention to because it's something that can make or break even a cheesy plot line.

Take for instance the Metal Gear franchise. Almost everyone I know can hum out the main themes from the original but can't even recall how the others sounded. The story lines are just as goofy from the first to the others (ok, perhaps the sequels were a bit more insane) and yet the game is generally cherished as being great.

This follows for allot of other games too. StarFox managed a great set of theme tracks to back up some solid game play. It plays to the SNES's strengths. It's fast. It's fun. And it sounds great. F-Zero milked every bit of audio oomph from the resources they had. Which considering the technical hurdles of just making a racing game such as it was, is something of an anomaly. In recent releases, Fallout 3 has a rousing set of tunes that goes way beyond just setting the tone of the game... The opening theme in particular becomes more powerful as the scope of the main quest is completed. Portal's end tune manages to be expository and catchy. It plays with the credits and is the only music in the game.

On the other hand there are plenty of games that are awful because the soundtrack didn't get much attention. Skies of Arcadia felt particularly cookie cutterish and generically animu because, despite the novel setting, it didn't try hard to set itself apart from the RPG pack. Even Zone of the Enders was a great, albiet short, game that could have been far more impactful if the sound track didn't sound like it was asleep at the wheel. The shrieking chorus in the Chrome Hounds design screens drives my wife insane which by extension forces a reevaluation of the game's 'entertainment factor'.

I suppose I should revist this idea some time later after some more thought because I might be confusing memorable games with fun ones. As Dues Ex was great but I can scarcely remember a tune from it and I largely remember Skies of Arcadia because I forced myself through it telling myself that the game was supposed to be fun. Or atleast, I wanted to believe that it was (it wasn't). It could of had the London Philharmonic backing it up and I still don't think I would have cared. I'd probably of just bought the sound track and shut off the Game Cube.
But on the other hand, I managed through the awful bits of Star Ocean: The Second Story because the music lent the game charm above and beyond what the rest of the game was able to muster. Which is the root of the point I suppose.

Music helps our imagination fill in the shortcomings of the game by rousing our emotions.

Case in point, imagine if the rousing symphonic score of John William's sound track to Star Wars was replaced with something culturally relevent like samplings of the "Bee Gees" and the "Jackson 5".

I can already hear "In The Navy" by YMCA.

Battleship Final Fantasy

"What both fans and the developers of Final Fantasy have misunderstood is that no one enjoys this plot for itself. In its own right, the plot of FFIV is idiotic. It just seems good because we mistake the fun of playing a varied game for delight in a winding narrative. FFIV has such risible convolutions because these betrayals and deaths and family ties justify the constant rotation of the party roster. They vary gameplay. It's one thing to face down challenges with a Dark Knight and a Dragoon; it's something quite different with a Paladin, two kid magicians and an old wizard. The plot serves merely to explain why the player has one set of options rather than another."

The Escapist

I couldn't have said it better. It's an endemic problem of all jRPGs for the last decade or so.

Robotech: Shadow Chronicles

"Suprisingly Good"

After meandering the price menus in X3: Terran Conflict for what I imagined was hour 87, I needed to supplement the entertainment X3 was poorly providing.
Often in these situations of half awareness I tend to filter through anime that I've been neglecting for one reason or another. These titles, played in background to other activities, tend to be of the likes that are enjoyable if bothersome and painful to watch with keen awareness (Yu-Yu Hakusho and Dragon Ball come immediately to mind).

Some months ago I picked up "Shadow Chronicles" fully aware that it, like many of Harmony Gold's abortions, may very well suck. My blind fanboyism would have nothing of it at the store register though. Despite my gleeful disposition toward my new purchase I still couldn't force myself to watch it. So without the painfully slow moments of X3, it would have continued to collect dust.

I should thank Egosoft for making such a fun/boring game. Shadow Chronicles was surprisingly good. Enough so that after about 20 minutes of the movie, I shut the game off and watched the movie proper... from the beginning. I didn't mind revisiting what I just saw because it was just that entertaining.

Starting with brief recap of the Robotech timeline the movie quickly moves into the hallmarks of the series with roaring capital ship duels and the veritech fighters doing what they do best (missiles, lasers, turning into collectable toys, etc...). It manages direct continuity by taking place during the last episode of the series and moving forward, seamlessly integrating the events of the returning SDF fleet with the future events from the movie and even detailing some of the behind the scenes action. In more subtle gestures of continuity some of the crew members can be heard humming MinMay's old tunes. Skull squadron is still around and kicking, if somewhat different. Even some of the color changes from the original series and suspicious plot holes are addressed (or reprised, depending on context).

The production quality, aside from some few CG scenes, is spectacular. Lines are delivered convincingly and really show to the suprisingly high profile voice talents selected for the film. Even the orchestrated music manages to maintain the high quality of the rest of the film without dipping in to anything generically "Japanese", aside from a few anime - or sci fi in general - cliches.

Of which is of note, "Shadow Chronicles" isn't Japanese at all really. It was made in Korea with direction from Harmony Gold here in the 'States. It's something that really comes out in terms of tone and direction.

Though the last acts of the film really feel like a pitch toward an animated series (it apparently is), the rest of the film is top notch and highly recommended if you liked the original series or mecha anime in general.

Most Awesome

Though a proper (non-internet cache) picture may be forth coming, this is something that I have to impress upon because of the sheer volume of awesome that it is. Jessica went to Japan on company business for the duration of last week. That was fine with me. It left me feeling a little bit more lonely than I would have otherwise thought, but it was fine nonetheless.

And without even hinting at it, and taking me largely by surprise, she brought back these three gems that makes her superior to your girlfriend/wife/significant other/etc.



I mean. Holy cow.
Mouth agape and overcome with a sort of emotion that I recall having when I still believed in Santa Clause, I must of stood completely transfixed for almost 10 minutes.

Seriously, Jessica is more awesome than anything else. You can't have her. She's mine.