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GeekNights 080923 - PAX '08: Part 3

AprecheApreche
edited September 2008 in GeekNights
Tonight on GeekNights we wrap up our PAX coverage and talk about the happenings of Sunday. In the news we talk about what we're playing lately, and World of Warcraft adds Bejeweled.

Scott's Thing - The Arts of Contest
Rym's Thing - DTMV and DT NES Ending
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Comments

  • WalkerWalker
    I've been meaning to ask you guys if you've played Rome: Total War. It's an RTS, but all the unit building is regulated to a sort of civ-lite overhead map. The actual real time battles focus solely on strategy and unit tactics. Unit positioning, elevation, troop moral, weather, and several other such variables are taken heavily into account. It's design almost completely eliminates the "I can click faster than you" element of other RTS games. Even the sheer number of units (sometimes numbering in the thousands) makes the battles fairly entertaining on it's own.

    I have been told that Medieval: Total War is better than Rome, but my computer cannot run it so I can't really vouch for it.
  • GreatTeacherMacRossGreatTeacherMacRoss
    I've been meaning to ask you guys if you've played Rome: Total War. It's an RTS, but all the unit building is regulated to a sort of civ-lite overhead map. The actual real time battles focus solely on strategy and unit tactics. Unit positioning, elevation, troop moral, weather, and several other such variables are taken heavily into account. It's design almost completely eliminates the "I can click faster than you" element of other RTS games. Even the sheer number of units (sometimes numbering in the thousands) makes the battles fairly entertaining on it's own.

    I have been told that Medieval: Total War is better than Rome, but my computer cannot run it so I can't really vouch for it.
    Medieval: Total War II is fantastic. Aside from a pretty complex city-management system, the battles can get humongous. Additionally, unlike in Rome: Total War, there are tons of individual unit model variations within groups of soldiers, so no clone armies.
  • MrRobotoMrRoboto
    edited September 2008
    Y watched the movie and played the game (and won it with no game genie) on the NES.
    Post edited by MrRoboto on
  • RochelleRochelle
    edited September 2008
    Jeremy is the name of my boyfriend and Chris is the parkour guy. ^_~ (It's actually ok that you don't remember his name, because there are a few people from my posse that refer to him as Ro's Boyfriend.)

    Also, I think it would be awesome to take over Gameworks for after PAX.

    Right now, I'm planning to come to Otakon & East Coast PAX, hopefully I can convince more of my friends to come along so we hang out and game.

    Great episode, however you forgot to mention the old European couple that came up to us while we were playing Carcassonne. They were pretty cool.
    Post edited by Rochelle on
  • Li_AkahiLi_Akahi
    Right now, I'm planning to come to Otakon & East Coast PAX, hopefully I can convince more of my friends to come along so we hang out and game.
    Just remember that if they don't come with you, you will have people on the east coast willing to hang out with you.
  • RochelleRochelle
    Just remember that if they don't come with you, you will have people on the east coast willing to hang out with you.
    I understand that, but I was also thinking of a East Coast/West Coast showdown of board gaming and versus gaming of epic proportions! :P
  • MrRobotoMrRoboto
    For all you Pax goers that DON'T live in the area, how much money did you end up spending? (I'm really aiming for it next year)
  • RymRym
    For all you Pax goers that DON'T live in the area, how much money did you end up spending?
    Hmm... $500 or so for plane tickets. Another $320 for a hotel room. $50 or so to cover car service/cabs/misc transportation. Some $50/day for food and drink.

    That's all, really. There wasn't much of anything to buy like at an anime convention.
  • MrRobotoMrRoboto
    And the tickets for the con?
  • AprecheApreche
    And the tickets for the con?
    Who pays for tickets? Become awesome and get in free.
  • RochelleRochelle
    And the tickets for the con?
    $40-$50 depending on when you register.
  • MrRobotoMrRoboto
    I was actually thinking that its quite easy and cheap to get a radio license down here, I can probably go as press for a radio station down here.
  • BobblunBobblun
    My brother received Dick Tracy for the NES as a birthday gift. I played it for 3 hours and died a hundred times, that game was impossible. I gave it to a freind who has beaten every game he has ever played up until then. He called me a week later and told me that if I didn't come and take this devil game away he would set it on fire and bury it in his backyard.
  • GauntletWizardGauntletWizard
    So, one thing you guys keep saying is that PAX is one-whateverth of the population of Seattle, which, much as I like the idea, is untrue. PAX registration numbers are turnstile counts, measured in person-days. Each day you attend the con, you count as one person; There's only ~1/3 that number of people in the convention center at any one time.

    Sorry to burst your bubble :P
  • ColdguyColdguy
    edited September 2008
    I know the DT movie....I own it on VHS! Also I have beaten DT on the NES, the key is to kill the snipers at the beginning and then to use the select menu to USE THE HEART ITEMS. Sorry, it is a decent game but since no one has the manual they don't know about it. Just some advice.
    Post edited by Coldguy on
  • RymRym
    So, one thing you guys keep saying is that PAX is one-whateverth of the population of Seattle, which, much as I like the idea, is untrue. PAX registration numbers are turnstile counts, measured in person-days. Each day you attend the con, you count as one person; There's only ~1/3 that number of people in the convention center at any one time.
    Pre-registrations, which are clearly not turnstyle counts, numbered 45,000. The total attendance was reported as 58,500. This is also clearly not a turnstyle number. Were that the case, it would mean that the vast majority of pre-registered attendees only attended a single day of the con. Furthermore, having been both to PAX and to Otakon, the latter having an actual count of around 25,000, I can safely say that PAX was more than twice as big.

    So, unless you have some evidence or a citation, I'm going to assume that you're wrong.
  • PaulathonPaulathon
    Before you do a D&D 4E episode, you guys really should listen to some of the PA/PVP podcasts where they play through an adventure. I've listened to them all a few times, just because those guys are fucking hilarious - especially when you add Scott Kurtz - and I could listen to them open their mail and still laugh. They provide a good indicator of what the game would be like to play through, and I was NOT sold; you're totally right on with your first impressions. The podcast is entertaining just for the banter and the comedic timing, not D&D.
  • CHOIS CHOIS CHOISCHOIS CHOIS CHOIS
    The reason why people probably aren't joining the forums, is because you're, (SCRYM), such Grammar Nazis.

    I hope that's good enough grammar for you in my sentence above. I spent like 5 mins on it!
  • RochelleRochelle
    The reason why people probably aren't joining the forums, is because you're, (SCRYM), such Grammar Nazis.
    Why would we want people that don't know how to convey their ideas properly here? They said in the podcast that grammar, intelligence, and non-annoying-ness is strictly enforced. People who can't abide by those rules are not welcome here. They would rather weed out those people and have nothing but awesome people here.
  • SymmetrySymmetry
    Well, I for one am certainly enjoying my 4th Ed game of D&D right now. Its not a good conflict resolution based narrativist game because, of course, its a good task resolution based gamist game. May I suggest that if you're going to be trying to criticize D&D and pimp indie games you read some of the essays about game design over at The Forge? Particularly "System Does Matter" which pretty much started the whole indie revolution, and "Gamism: Step On Up" if you're going to be criticizing games like D&D 4th ed.

    Also, if you're going to proclaim Narrativism as the One True Way and dismiss everything else as badwrongfun you really ought to play some hardcore narrativist games as well as Burning Wheel, which still embraces many of the same assumptions as D&D. Dogs in the Vineyard as well as My Life With Master are both really good games that are very focused on providing the sort of experience you two seem to value most in gaming.

    Please forgive any mistakes in grammar. Me and this bottle of champagne are celebrating my getting a job at Lincoln Labs with the radar targeting group. Soon I'll be a dog of the military, with a security clearance and everything.
  • ErynEryn
    edited September 2008
    The reason why people probably aren't joining the forums, is because that you're, (SCRYM), are such Grammar Nazis.

    I hope that's good enough grammar for you in my sentence above. I spent like 5 mins on it!
    And yet you still made it wonky somehow. Inserting random commas does not equal proper grammar. Also, you had some redundancy going there; the reason is already the why.

    Ironically enough, your second-to-last sentence was perfectly fine. :) Your last one was acceptable in a colloquial sense, though I would have written out the entire word "minutes", personally.

    In general, I recommend checking out Grammar Girl if you really want help improving your grammar. It's a really neat, friendly site and podcast. ^_^
    Post edited by Eryn on
  • SailSail
    edited September 2008
    Someone's been the butt of every insult lately...
    Post edited by Sail on
  • MankoonMankoon
    It's almost painful to watch.
  • Li_AkahiLi_Akahi
    Practically everyone on this forum has been the butt of many insults before and because of equal opportunity, we have to insult everyone in the same brutal fashion. It just happens to be Unedumacated's turn.
  • StarfoxStarfox
    edited September 2008
    Kurtz? D&D? The horror, the horror!
    Post edited by Starfox on
  • ColdfireSergeColdfireSerge
    edited September 2008
    I too enjoyed listening to the exploits of Acquisitions Incorporated. It still didn't make me want to go out and buy/play 4th Ed. I must add in that lately I've been unable to Game at all recently because my friends and I are getting too busy with jobs and school to schedule a time for it recently.

    RE: Changes to your view of how cons can be run. I am so stoked for this segment. If it hadn't come up, I was prepared to write you guys an email asking about this very point. I'm staff for a local con and I've already brought up some changes amongst the heads for next year based on the PAX episodes. As with many cons, the cosplay line is a killer and I can see a few (dozen) bags of pipe cleaners coming in handy.
    Post edited by ColdfireSerge on
  • Luke BurrageLuke Burrage
    Before you do a D&D; 4E episode, you guys really should listen to some of thePA/PVPpodcasts where they play through an adventure. I've listened to them all a few times, just because those guys are fucking hilarious - especially when you add Scott Kurtz - and I could listen to them open their mail and still laugh. They provide a good indicator of what the game would be like to play through, and I was NOT sold; you're totally right on with your first impressions. The podcast is entertaining just for the banter and the comedic timing, not D&D.;
    I listened to all of these podcasts too, and found them very entertaining. "Zombie rape is a minor action..." and other quotes were real fun. My opinion on the game, as far as I could tell from listening to it being played, is that it completely lacked any strategy or depth. Every situation was "Roll initiative" and then plug away at the bad guys until they were all dead. There was no discussing tactics in advance, nor any communication between the players during combat on how best to win. I've played D&D; a total of one time in my life, for one evening, and I can't remember swinging a sword more than once or twice. It was about discovering the world and negotiating with each other and non-player characters. I guess we had a good DM that time, who knew what we would find fun. I agree that 4th edition is pretty much 4th addition... keep adding combat until you might as well use a computer and mouse.
  • RochelleRochelle
    I've been thinking a lot about PAX 2009 already, and I've been coming up with some really cool ideas of what I can make and bring next year for anyone from the FRC forums that will be attending. I'll keep it a secret for now, but hopefully more people from here will attend so we can meet and hang out.
  • BobblunBobblun
    In general, I recommend checking outGrammar Girlif you really want help improving your grammar. It's a really neat, friendly site and podcast. ^_^
    Though Grammar Girl may be a legitimate alternative, I find reading a book is the best method for improving ones grammar.
  • ......
    Finally listened to the show today, haven't finished it, but Rym, concerning Steam and not being able to play any game. The VAC servers were screwed up, and at one point failed completely and thus the preprogrammed precaution for when the servers are down activated, what you saw was Steams DRM at work. Or at least, that's my educated guess from my experiences.

    As for Dick Tracy. Whassat? A sad face, never heard about that show before, but it looks hilarious.
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