There will be posts

     Spent the better part of the last two days sorting out what unit animations I have just for the Chariot, Archer, and Spearman units for the Civ III rebuild.  I had completely forgotten how much work went into getting it done the first time.  I am dreading the point when I get to the air units and likely won't have the energy to do it correctly (the learned trick is to leave slots for units to be put in the right upgrade location and edit later).
     I do have one movie and about three books waiting for reviews (such as they are).  There may be one tomorrow.

Civ III - Just One Picture from the Test

     Just a screen grab from the current test.  As you can see, Pinscher is finishing up its Horse Racing Track, Monument City is producing a Factory (regular improvement that comes with the game), Pempek is close to finishing its Hockey Rink, and New Wolfe is pretty progressive with its soon-to-open Buddhist Temple.  The only unit added to the test are the improved Workers for Wraith (Wraith Engineers).  That is all of those guys standing around looking like regular Workers who figured out that nobody likes to wear overalls.

     The homeland for Wraith (though kind of the Hinterlands of it).  Lighthouse in Panakes, Opera House in Pyreses, Tennis Courts in Brooks and Noah Brandenburg, Golf Course in Katharine Isabelle (yes, named after the actress), Slaughter House in Borones, Synagogue in Monk, and a Golf Course in Moranthal.  Gormynn actually has the Waste Disposal Site (the scenario's version of a toxic waste pit). 

     Apparently people really want Buddhism (see the adviser).  Or see that Castle McNeil (the capital) is running away with a Culture score of 15,560.  It helps when the United Center, Stanley Cup, and the Olympics are all contributing.  Or just notice that it has more improvements in it than come with the regular game.

     And this is what I have been working on.  Stuff about a movie tomorrow.

Civ Building Eats Time

What kind of civilization wouldn't have its own specific house of sports worship?

     While I am sure that building a computer game from the ground up – every line of code and all that – is immeasurably more time consuming than my efforts to rebuild/surpass my Civ III  scenario.  I remember laboriously typing in the basic script for character creation programs (TMNT & Other Strangeness) or no image games (those coming straight out of some magazine that had basic code for the Commodore 64) close to twenty five years ago, and the end result was always disappointing.  Just like that kind of not-really-programming, simply getting the already created animations and pictures to work in the Civ game takes all kinds of time.
     It isn't just adding all of the units in the actual scenario.  That takes about thirty hours of work (without taking into account how long it takes to find the animations that go with each unit).  Then there is the the soul-crushing task of seeing how many errors are hidden  in the text command file for each set of animations, which results in simply watching the game crash again and again, with the saving grace of learning one error each time.  I am not even at that stage in the rebuild (though I do have most of the animations selected) because it saps the belief that anything good will ever come from all the work.
     No, I found myself with a small amount of time to be able to dedicate to adding in the improvements (buildings and such) I'm used to having in a game.  Well, actually I went well above and beyond what I used to have in the scenario.  More than 150 have been added now.
     Some of perfectly normal: Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, Trafalgar Square, Angkor Wat, Hagia Sofia, the Kremlin, and Tourism Bureaus.  Some of pretty specific to the imported civilizations: the Mithril Forge (liberally borrowed from Middle Earth), the Library at Penacles (from Richard A. Knaak's Dragonrealm books), the Uruk-Hai Birthing Chamber (straight out of the Lord of the Rings movies), and the Gengengian War College (for Gengenbach, which was slowly built in response to how Steve Genge would build his perfect civ). 

The Bomber Research Facility, which manufactures Heavy Bombers.  Why play without it?

     There are rather mundane improvements: Television Network, Adult Book Store, Baseball Stadium (build enough and you can build Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium), Football Stadium (build enough and you can build the Super Bowl), Basketball Stadium (build enough and you can make both the NCAA National Tournament and Madison Square Garden), Strip Club, Slaughter House, Hockey Rink (build enough and you can make the Stanley Cup and the United Center), Soccer Stadium (build enough and you can make the Allianz Arena, Estádio do Maracanã, Wembley Stadium, and the World Cup), Golf Course (build enough and you can make the Open Championship), Tennis Court (build enough and you can make Wimbledon), The Olympics, Plaza de Toros (bullfighting arenas, with two famous ones – the Ronda Bullring and Maestranza Bullring – also included), Sniper School, Amusement Park, Brewery, Winery, Amphitheatre, Fishery, City Park, Opera House, Prison, and so on.
     There is even an extremely offensive Wonder that the AI insists on building. 
     Anyway, each building needs to be entered into the scenario.  It has two images (one 128x128, one 32x32), both saved as pcx files in 256 colors.  If they are not in 256 colors, the game will crash.  All wonders need Splashes – images in 320x320 and still in 256 colors.  A lot of these need to be created, which is only time consuming in looking for pictures that would look good all squashed up. 
     That small amount of time I had turned into about twenty hours of adding the improvements and just as long running through a version of the scenario to make sure it will run when it comes time to actually play.  And it is at this point that any sane person would realize that much more time is being invested in the preparation to play than the actual game play. 
     Anyway, it eats time.  And it kept me from writing a real post for today.

Civ III Update – Dragonrealm

     This is mostly just pictures.  But I thought I would give an idea as to what the units that will be in the game will look like.  None are really based on Knaak's setting, but I think most will end up working.  Except for the horse they have for Darkhorse.  That just doesn't look right (but how could it?).
     I made NONE of these.  I downloaded all of them from Civfanatics.com.

The Skink Settler (Warhammer Fantasy...I think) serves as the Drake Settler.

The Skink Worker likewise stands in as the Minor Drake, which is Dragonrealm's replacement for the Worker.

Also stolen from Warhammer Frantasy, the Cold One Chariot stands in for the Drake Chariot, which replaces the Chariot.

Another Skink.  This one becomes the Drake Archer, replacing the Archer.  By this point you can tell that I am not particularly interested in original names.

Another Skink (they keep coming).  The Drake Spearman replaces the regular Spearman.  This is how it looks in Ancient Times.

After the Ancient Era, the Drake Spearman looks like this.

The above unit animated.  See him run, attack, attack again, fidget, roar in victory, and die.

This looks much better in game, but Dragonrealm can make a Dragonrider (if one can believe a dinosaur can stand-in for a dragon), and uses the Triceratops Rider unit.

Slightly more Dragonrider-y (though not an air unit in the game), the Dragonrider looks like this from the Medieval Era onward.

In the Ancient Era, the Drake Swordsman (actually a Sword Saurus) looks like this.

The Pike Saurus becomes the Drake Pikeman, which replaces Pikeman. 

 

The Red Duke replaces Medieval Infantry.

Maybe not as cool as the mace and chain wielding regular unit, but the Red Duke sells a little of the menace of a land dominated by magic-using dragons.

The Black Duke, if one ignores the gender inconsistency, makes a rather nasty Foot Knight for Dragonrealm.

The Rider from Zuu (a city-kingdom known for its excellent mounted warriors) replaces the regular Knight.  I used the Norman Knight for it.

A Skink on a dinosaur becomes the Dragon Knight.  There is a better unit to use, but it stands in for Cavalry.

A Skink with a musket (and a tiny skink) becomes the Drake Musketeer.

The Cold One Knight should have been the Dragon Knight, but it becomes the Drake Knight and replaces Cavalry.

The Blue Duke replaces the Marine.  Sure, charging up a beach against machinegun fire sure seems suicidal, but the Blue Dragon is the master of the Eastern Seas and his clan operates on both land and in the sea.

Sure, there is no Bone Dragon in the Dragonrealm, but the animation is just so cool.  The Bone Dragon is the Paratrooper for the Civ.

The Ghost Dragon serves as the animation for the Bone Dragon in the Modern Era.  It used to be used as something else, but then Tom2050 went and made more dragons available.

One of the newer dragons.  This Red Dragon is much better than the old  one (from the early 2000s).  It replaces the Tank.

This Black Dragon replaces the Main Battle Tank, the Cold War era Tank category that fills the void between the Tank and Modern Armor.  I wish he breathed poison gas, but I'm not going to argue with free.

Lord Ice, master of the Ice Dragon clan.  So, the Ice Dragon becomes the Modern Paratrooper.

The Gold Dragon will either be a King Unit (since the Dragonrealm is ruled by Emperor Gold) or their Special Forces unit.

The wholly unacceptable stand-in for Darkhorse.  But there isn't a lot of demand for the big, sleek, magical horse-like "demon" with blue eyes.  But it is a dark color and a horse, so it is the best I have.

Can't do the Dragonrealm without spellcasters.  This is the Mage, the weakest of the three stages of magic-users (equal to a Wizard).

This is used as The Lady of the Amber (Gwen Bedlam).  She becomes a class of spellcasters (the equivalent of the Archmage setting).

This Wheel of Time animation stands in for a Vraad, a race of all-powerful spellcasters.  Vraad are insanely powerful in the game; there is no range limitation on their bombardment and no other spellcasters match their might.  This is the best unit Dragonrealm receives, effectively making it their Unique Unit (UU).

I'm busy trying to get my Civ III game back together

     I was not really happy with my post for The Debt (2011).  It didn't get done when it should have and I didn't give it the time necessary to make it worth the delay.  And now I'm spending a bunch of time trying to get a game that took me seven years to be what I wanted it to be (before it was destroyed by somebody thinking that not saving the files he was instructed to save when the OS was changed on the computer) and don't have time to write a proper post.
     But Civ III is still cool.  Don't think that everything needs to be new.  Civ III rocks because it threw open the gates and let the community create material and give it away.  There was no need to charge for what people were willing to create.

     I am nowhere near having all of the units reacquired.  That is a monumental task.  Then sounds need to be added, and glitches caught and fixed (there are so many typos in the .ini files that it just hurts to try to fix them all at once).  I spent about four hours today just downloading Leader Heads and buildings.  Anyway, this is how I am wasting some time right now.

Yes, somebody made the Hall of Justice for Civ III.  I am going to use it for my Wraith Archives.

 There are also Blood Bowl arenas.  This is the Evil one.  But Blood Bowl arenas!

And, for some reason there is a statue for the Cthulu Wonder.  Make way for your own dark overlord.

I get to finally use an actual Wizard's Tower for the Wizard's Tower improvement I put in the game back in 2004. 

I haven't played a game with the Eiffel Tower as a Wonder since Civ II.  But I didn't have a Wonder Splash this cool to use.

And few things make me feel better than knowing that I will, eventually, be able to play Civ III again with the Super Veritech Fighter from Robotech as a buildable unit.

The 40K Conondrum

     Sometimes I think the video gamers  – a genre to which I do not like the label gamer applied, as I consider gaming to be: roleplaying, roleplaying, roleplaying, miniature combat games, board games, and a few select CCGs – have it right.  Most of their products can be played alone, and online play reduces the need to actually meet other people who want to play the game that interests them.  They can discuss their game in forums without ever having to hear another person's voice.
     These people need not find others who share their interest to justify the expense.
     And this is where I think GW comes in.  People play GW games..  Lots pf people, at least among the non-historical miniature war gamers.  It isn't because they have the best story.  It isn't because they have the best rules (they don't, in any of their games).  It isn't because they have the best looking minis on the market – though many do look good.  It is because other people play GW games.  With other people playing, it means that a prospective miniature war gamer knows there is a rather good chance of finding playmates.
     So what if GW products are overpriced?   The value of a game comes from the enjoyment of actually playing it – well, this is some of the enjoyment – and it doesn't matter if one can play War Machine or BattleTech more cheaply if there is no one with whom to play.  Besides, GW always offers up box sets to lure new players in whenever there is a new edition released.
     But a big part of putting together a miniature army is, well, putting it together.  There are pieces to be glued, and for the ambitious, vehicles to be constructed.  Then there is the painting.  For the supremely gifted, you may end up with something like these.

(GW) Warhammer 40K Baneblade Heavy Tank

(GW) Warhammer 40K Shadowsword Heavy Tank

See?  These look awesome.  I'd love to roll a handful of these around at my opponents in a game (and I don't even know if they are legal in the current rules set).  But these things cost about $80 each.  And most games aren't slotted for lots of heavy armor fights.  Still, if I wanted to field six Shadowswords, I'm looking at close to $500 spent before I get to putting them together and painting them.  The above pictures are professional jobs, and that would a lot more.
     So what do I do for a cheap 40K fix?  Well, for starters I don't play Warhmmer 40K.  I use the units from the game that others have converted for an old PC game called Civilization III.  Civ III remains a favorite of mine, and not just because it has provided over 5,000 hours of fun game play.  There have been a myriad – and there remain a few – of designers who create custom units for players to add to their games as they see fit.  Or the player could wait for scenarios to get finished, but the never happens.  And there, in an example of what has been available for free since 2004, I can get these.

CIV III Baneblade created by Muffins

CIV III Shadowsword created by Muffins

They move – at least in the game – and actually look like they can fight.  Sure, I have to assign sound files to them (and give them combat and production values in the game), but they look good.  Want to move ahead a couple of years?  These were available from 2007.

CIV III Vulture Gunship (created by aaglo) still shot

CIV III Vulture Gunship (created by aaglo) as it looks in-game.

CIV III Valkyrie Dropship (created by aaglo) still shot

CIV III Valkyrie Dropship (created by aaglo) as it looks in-game.

Cool, right?  You don't get to see a lot of air power in your typical 40K game.  But I could go and spend around $60 and get one Valkyrie model.  It comes in a box that looks exactly like this.

So, I can get unlimited dropships – I use them as helicopters – for free (with the catch being that all will be the same color per Civilization or Army that gets them) or I can buy them  and paint them and try to find a way to get them into a game that I know people actually play, but rarely with units such as this.
      But foot units are not neglected.  Heck, I can get nearly everything a Space Marine could want (and most of the units are wholly color specific to their assigned Civilization).  All the armor, too.  I can get super specific units like the Witch Hunters of Adeptus Soroitas Heavy Bolter Retributor.

Here she is, created by LizardmenRule! in 2010.

I can get the Sister Repentia (which I use for an entirely different unit concept).

Sister Repentia, also created by LizardmenRule! in 2010.

     I can get all kinds of Orks, too.  Not much in the way of Eldar save three hovertanks.  The BFG ships have been converted to look like naval going vessels, which I think is a plus.

The attack and death sequences of Muffins BFG Imperial Battleship, from 2005.

     So what to do?  It is more sociable to actually play with others.  But is also much more expensive.  And the rules keep changing.  I know that part of the GW experience is supposed to be this desire to treat the armies as though they figures had an intrinsic value in and of themselves.  I don't feel that way.  I like, very much so in fact, that others have gone through the pains to let me get any kind of 40K (and many Fantasy) units I want and be able to put them on the field and make them fight.
     It just isn't actual 40K.  Which is the conundrum.