Game Review: Homescapes

 

 By Bixyl Shuftan

 

I've been continuing to play various games, not just on the computer, but also my smartphone. One that's got my attention a little more than others is Homescapes.

The game starts off with Austin the butler going to his parents' house for vacation. He hasn't been there in a while, and to his surprise finds the place is a mess, in a state of disrepair and clutter. His aging parents simply aren't able to keep it up like they used to. Much worse from Austin's point of view, they plan to sell it. So he resolves to start fixing things up, starting with the living room where they relax and watch TV, as well as greet guests.

You get various tasks to do before you can progress in the story and building of the house. You can keep track of how many you have. Doing things from replacing items, fixing things, making phone calls, etc. costs action  You get them by completing puzzle games. 

Early on the puzzles are simple. You knock out so many pieces of the same color by lining them up in three in a row or so, in squares of four, or an L shape three wide and long. 

But as time goes on, the puzzles get more complex and harder. Fortunately you also get some tricks up your sleeve. Knocking out four in a row will get you a rocket piece that blasts everything in a row either up to down or left to right. Knocking out a square of four gets you a paper airplane which when touched or moved will fly to something that needs taken care of and remove it. An L will get you a bomb which blows up things within a few spaces. Knocking out five in a row will get you a disco ball which will either zap every color piece you move it on, or make duplicates of a power item next to it that you move it over and fire them off, which can make for a spectacular fireworks show. 

Different combinations of power pieces will produce different results. Some can help you quite a bit as the puzzles increase in difficulty. After a while, successfully solving puzzles will get you the "Cat's Gift," three items to help you out. But losing one will cause you to lose them and need to start winning to get them back. 

And after solving a puzzle, Austin will give you his congratulations. Harder puzzles will give more rewards. This included one star, coins, and energy points for side adventures (more on those later). When you've gathered enough coins, you can use them to buy five more turns if you run out of them in trying to solve a puzzle. 

As time goes on, the progress you make will add up and the house will slowly transform, looking less and less run down and more of a better place to live in. 

Besides fixing up the house, there's the side adventures in which Austin and his friends and family wind up in. At the time this article is being done, the current one is a pirate adventure. 

Easter had Austin's friend Katherine teaming up with the Easter Bunny to clear the butler's name after he was framed for stealing the Queen of Hearts' jeweled egg.

In these side adventures, you spend energy points to progress. Along he way, you can get perks that can help you with the game puzzle, and if you complete the adventure you get a special decoration for the house. 

 

 Eventually, you finally finish fixing the living room and Austin's parents change their minds about selling the house. But it's a big house and there's many more rooms, and yard areas, to fix up. There's also a story to go along with each new area, for instance with fixing the kitchen comes Austin's mother entering a baking competition. 

 

Homescapes can be played both on the PC and some smartphones.  

 

This is a game that will take you a while to finish. And perhaps inspire some of you to finally get to that household project you've been procrastinating on. 

Bixyl Shuftan

VR Chat Opens Avatar Marketplace

 

 By Bixyl Shuftan

 

When the Newser took a look at VR Chat in 2018, people could get a number of free avatars there, but if you were a content creator looking to make money, there was no simple way to sell avatars to other players there as at the time unlike places such as Second Life there was no inworld economy. This changed in December 2023 when Paid Subscriptions were added to help the "over half a million" content creators get paid for their work. It is powered by Tilia, which still helps process Second Life's buying and selling of Linden dollars for real-life currency. This inworld economy allowed for inworld avatar stores to be made, but people had to find them to access them.

But in May, this changed when it was announced VR Chat was developing an Avatar Marketplace.

 Identity is a big part of VRChat – and that means finding an avatar that fits you. Yet, that can be a bit of a pain, especially if you aren’t adept with Unity, or if you don’t feel like visiting hundreds of worlds to try to find something that fits.

 (click here if the video does not load)

 

But what if you didn’t have to do any of that – what if you could simply find something that works for you from inside VRChat? What if you could browse through a ton of easily accessible options, all organized by category? What if you could do so while supporting avatar creators, ensuring they have the means to keep making the fits you love?

Well, you’ll be able to shortly – the Avatar Marketplace is coming

To find the avatar marketplace, a VR Chat user goes to their menu and to the "Avatars" section where the marketplace is located. One can browse it and "search for published avatars, and see their details."

VRChat is listed as having over 66 thousand steady players. Tubefilter commented that fans of furry avatars would likely make up many of the marketplace's customers. Road to VR stated some of the avatars would be branded ones, such as ones from games.

 

Sources: VR Chat, Business Wire, Road to VR, Tubefilter, PC Gamer

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Conflict of Nations, As Kazakhstan

 

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

A few years ago, I did a review on the game Call of War. Soon after, I would give it's sister game "Conflict of Nations" a try.  Gameplay is much the same, build units in city, improve cities through buildings, research technology for better infantry, tanks, planes, helicopters, ships, missiles, and other units, etc. Nukes are devastating, but can be countered. But like before, be prepared to spend some gold currency if you want to win, and free players can be hard pressed against "wallet warriors."

 

Of the scenarios, there are several. There's the European war scenario, there's the American theater in which players fight over a fractured North America. There are scenarios in which the action takes place four times more than realtime, and then there's the zombie fights in which all players have a mutual enemy: the infected. And there are global map games in which players can pick any country on the map.

After playing a few games, I gave the global scenario a try. I looked over the available list of nations, and I noticed among them was Kazakhstan. This wasn't an ideal country in the game. There's no access to the ocean. The cities are a bit far apart. For most Americans, it's best known as the home country of the character "Borat." But those know know me recall my sense of humor can sometimes spark some interesting ideas. So I started a game, and after making a few army units made a declaration or war against a small computer-controlled neighbor, Kyrgyzstan.

I also decided to make an announcement in the news feed. Most of the bulletins there are reports of declarations of war and the results of battles. But players can make them as well. In previous games, they were often warnings against other players or trollish remarks. But I made up a press release ...

 

Hello, is Borat, Minister of Information of glorious nation of Kazakhstan. 

Today, our great leader make decision to restore order to unstable neighbor Kyrgyzstan. Our glorious troops are marching into their city to the cheers of local peoples.

 

*image of ragtag-looking soldiers, some with patches on their uniforms and dents in their helmets, making their way into a city, occasionally stopping as the people up front check the map, scratching their heads as the locals ignore or boo them*

 

Great glory to Kazakhstan!

 

I would do the same with Uzbekistan, and message my neighbors saying I wasn't looking to start any fights. Eventually, I began noticing some player-controlled units had stopped moving. I messaged them to make sure they had gone inactive. And once I was sure the player was gone, I would make my move. In these games typically a lot of countries go inactive as players give up after a difficult fight or having gone to bed or work log back in to see much of their land is overrun.

Hello, is Borat, is Minister of information of great nation of Kazakhstan. 

Today, our great leader ordered our glorious forces into (country) due to it's government collapsing after disappearance of leader. No truth to rumor we have anything to do with disappearance. 

Local forces are laying down arms after negotiations.

 

*image of Kazak troops turning around and running away from a well-defended building*

 

Great glory to Kazakhstan!

By this time, I had researched the ability to make tanks.

 

To those who think of challenging our mighty nation, beware! For our brave soldiers are backed up by mighty, state of art tanks!

 

*image of a somewhat antiquated T-55 with rust spots on it's paint job, lumbering forward, the tank tread breaking and it has to stop.*

 

Great glory to Kazakstan!

 

And was producing fighter jets. They could only damage ground targets a little, but they were great for scouting around.

 

Our most glorious army is matched by a most glorious air force. Behold our jets which will rain death from above on our enemies and will defeat any enemy planes!

 

*image of an outdated MiG-21, with a faded paint job, it's underpowered engine sputtering as it makes it's way down a runway, barely clearing the trees at the end*

 

Great glory to Kazakstan!

 

 To my surprise, among the countries going inactive early on, though after the mass resignation a few days in the game was Russia. This was a challenge and an opportunity, and I sent in a number of units to take over as much of the country as I could. 

 

It is with sorrow that we announce collapse of government of Russia. We are moving forces in before neighbors hostile to Russian brothers do so, so we create an autonomous area under our protection. Already there are reports of Russian soldiers joyously joining our cause. 

*image of Kazak troops turning around and running away from a well-defended building with a Russian flag*

 

Great glory to Kazakstan!

 

I managed to get the bulk of Russian territory, most of Siberia and much of European Russia including Moscow. But China got Vladivostok and bordering countries got some Russian cities including Ukraine getting Rostov, denying me a port. But I had other targets of opportunity, and was moving into Afghanistan, then Pakistan.

 

Our most glorious forces are moving south into Afghanistan in order to deal with most dastardly terrorists threatening our glorious nation and many others. We have recently captured video footage from terrorist training camp.

 

*image of a scruffy middle-aged man in Afghan garb and a turban before a small crowd of similarly dressed younger men*

 

"All right students, step number one, put on the vest" *the man takes a vest with it's insides stuffed with dynamite, with a wire attached to a rod with a red button on the top, then puts it on, holding the rod*

 

"Step number two, find a place with a number of infidels. Step number three, press the button."

 

*the man presses the button, followed by a huge explosion that knocks the camera to the ground. When the smoke clears, the crooked camera shows an empty pair of shoes where the man used to be, followed by a turban falling down*

 

Great glory to Khazakstan!

 

I do remember I was able to avoid fighting with Turkey and Iran. I don't remember how the fight with India started. It was also about this time I got into an alliance with Japan and Indonesia.  

Today, our most glorious nation signed pact with two most intelligent countries. The signing was followed by a performance by artists of our most glorious culture.

 

*image of a woman in an ethnic dress on stage singing very much off key, whom when finished walks aside as acrobats also in ethnic costume leap and flip over various farm animals to a confused audience of several diplomats*

 

Great glory to Khazakstan!

 

Indonesia took Malaysia, and Burma, and we ended up splitting India, with the Kazaks taking the larger share. We eyed China cautiously, but I don't remember any big incident. Lacking a port, my response was to build up my airplanes, helicopters, and easily transportable infantry, as well as factories, recruiting centers, and infrastructure.

 

Our glorious army is backed by a strong population, Here at our recruiting center, we see numbers of eager patriots signing up.

 

*image of several scruffy men lined up at a recruiting center, one looking to the camera*

 

"Actually, we were drafted. We're just here to turn in our papers."

 

Great glory to Khazakstan!

 

 

Our most glorious army and air force has mighty weapons. But mighty weapons need mighty factories. Behold our recently expanded arms factory!

 

*image of a very sooty brick building, with cracks in the older part and the newer part having uneven layers of bricks and an open double door showing some very rusty machinery inside*

 

Great glory to Khazakstan!

 

Then the player behind Ukraine attacked. My producing large numbers of planes and helicopters paid off as his few fighters were brushed aside and the attacking units were pummeled. This was followed by a counterattack which took the once-Russian city of Rostov. When cities change hands, infrastructure is usually damaged. But the port was intact. I quickly repaired it, and fast-tracked the building of a cruiser. I now had a navy.

Our most glorious army and most glorious air force is now joined by most glorious navy. Behold our mighty battleship!

 

*image of a Kirov-class cruiser with a worn and rusty paint job, the ship clearly having seen better days*

 

Great glory to Khazakstan!

 

The player behind Ukraine quit in the middle of the fight, either because he didn't expect a hard counterattack. Or maybe it was the forces from Romania. I can't remember if they were moving up before or after he quit. But in any event we ended up splinting Ukraine him getting Kiev. 

 

I forget exactly when, but someone sent a few spies at me. When one was caught, I made light of it.

 

Our most glorious nation was the target of most dastardly spy campaign. Here, we have footage of arrested spy confessing to crimes.

 

*image of a man in uniform standing over a harmless-looking young man wearing jeans and a t-shirt sitting on a stool*

 

"I tell you it's all a mistake! I'm just a tourist who got lost and - "

 

"We know you spy. You will confess, or we go third degree."

 

"I don't know anything, I swear!"

 

"Very well." *the official gets a tape player and presses a button*

 

"I loooovvvveee yooouuuu, yoooouuuu loooovvveee mmmmeeeee ...."

 

"WAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!! I'll talk! I'll talk! I'll taaaalllllk!! Anything but that!"

 

Great glory to Khazakstan!

 

And I responded by sending a few spies his way. 

 

While our glorious nation can beat any force against us, we can always use intelligence. So we send spies to unfriendly dastardly country. 

*image of a man in a trenchcoat, with noseglasses over his face*

 

"Hello. I am friendly tourist of friendly nation. Not spy from Kazakstan. Where is government building?"

 

Great glory to Khazakstan!

 

The first response to the spying got some chuckles, one player saying, "Hahaha! Bixyl is the soul of this game!"

 

Time went on. The leader of our alliance ended up tossing out Indonesia as Australia wanted to join. I kept close tabs on Indonesia, and asked the others to remain on friendly terms with them. But eventually the player quit, letting me know ahead of time and moving his units away from my territory and toward China and Australia.

 

It is sad that we report the collapse of most glorious government of Indonesia. Our forces our moving in before hostile neighbors do, so we establish autonomous zone.

 

Our glorious soldiers are meeting enthusiastic crowds as they enter cities.

 

*image of angry crowds throwing garbage at army transport trucks*

 

Great glory to Khazakstan!

 

From what I recall, a tiff started with China. So I was sending some assistance with planes and some ground forces. Then the Romanian player attacked, and he had help from the USA player who dropped nukes on a few of my cities.

 

We are sad to report nuclear reactor has exploded. Was not nuclear missile attack.

 

*image of a mushroom cloud going up*

 

We soon clean area and rebuild.

 

Great glory to Kazakhstan!

 

I fell back, managing to keep Rostov, but cruise missiles kept targeting the city, damaging the port and halting further ship construction. Thankfully I quickly developed anti-missile technology, and soon had ABM batteries over my best cities. I was able to slowly rebuild my factories, and the rate I was producing units.

Eventually, I got the city of Rostov producing ships again, and was able to push the Romanian player back, taking Kiev, and the rest of Ukraine. Then was going into Romania and the Balkans. My teammates were pressing against China, taking Indochina and going into China itself. I even managed an invasion of the USA's occupied territories in South America. Our point total got higher and higher.

 

Then the game announced it was over. Our faction had won, and I had the highest point total in the game!

 

It was time for one more bulletin.

 

Hello, is Borat, is Minister of Information of most glorious Kazakhstan.

 

Today, it is announced that negotiations have result in peace around world. All major countries order their men stop fighting. The Great War is over! Kazakhstan is strongest of all winning nations with most glorious empire ...

 

This just in. Great Leader announce formation of Kazak Commonwealth, with territories granted self rule, starting with countries who cooperate with Kazakhstan. Great Leader announce elections year from now, will not be running. 

 

Oh is sad. New leader mean new information minister. I Borat be looking for new job.

 

Great glory to Kazakhstan!

 

I would play a few more games of Conflict of Nations. But none would match the fun I had with this game I was prepared to lose as playing a second rate nation with a wacky minister of information, and ended up on the winning team.

 

Good gaming to you!

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Game Review: Dreamlight Valley

 

 By Bixyl Shuftan

My SL wife Charlee recently gifted me a game that for many here will bring back memories: Dreamlight Valley. Produced by Gameloft in cooperation with Disney and Pixar, this cozy game allows you to interact with many of their characters from recent films to cartoons your parents saw. 

Explore a world filled with the magic of Disney as you discover rich stories and build the perfect neighborhood alongside Disney and Pixar heroes and villains in this new life-sim adventure game. Welcome to Disney Dreamlight Valley.

Disney Dreamlight Valley is a hybrid between a life-sim and an adventure game rich with quests, exploration, and engaging activities featuring Disney and Pixar friends, both old and new.

Starting a new game, you chose your character's appearance, male or female, hair color and style, etc. Then comes the introduction in which you go on vacation to a place in the country you haven't been since you were a child. You lie down and let your thoughts drift, then you feel yourself falling. And the next thing you know, you're in some place with purple thorns all over, and some wizard in a blue robe is trying to zap them without any luck. You recognize him as the Disney character Merlin, and the two of you have a talk, in which he explains the situation. The place is called Dreamlight Valley, and while it was once an idealic place, but for some time has been under "The Forgetting" in which these purple thorns, called Night Thorns, began choking off the memories of it's inhabitants. Most eventually fled or disappeared, but Merlin, Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Scrooge McDuck remained, not giving up. 

Merlin suggests that perhaps you might have some magical power over them. You try, and you're able to magically make one vanish. As you make more go away, you find they often leave coins, seeds, or dreamlight shards behind. Merlin will then tell you to go after the royal tools, a pickaxe, a shovel, a watering can, and a fishing rod. Merlin will also suggest you stay at the small house not claimed by anyone. 

Having gotten the tools, your task is to restore the valley. This means making contact with the other three characters and helping them out, such as helping Scrooge fix his store and Goofy fix his stall, both of which Scrooge's construction service will charge you. You'll also need to get rid of the larger thorns blocking the way to the castle. There, you find a number of characters have retreated to their worlds. You can unblock the portals to them one at a time, go through, and convince them to return to the village. This usually means setting up a house which you'll need Scrooge's help to build. 

Characters have a "friendship" level which goes up as you interact with them from talking to playing games, and doing "friendship quests" which appear after the character levels. You also assign a kind of task to each, gardening, mining, fishing, etc. which will boost the output when you do this activity when you hang out with them. Quests, friendship ones, and others you get by coming across objects or a place, can also reveal a new character or give you something useful. 

 

Various critters inhabit the Valley, each place having different kinds such as rabbits and squirrels. By giving them food they like, you can eventually tame one and keep it as a companion. 

There's also various orbs of power you need to place in their respective pillars starting with the Orb of Friendship in the village's Peaceful Meadow. While quest objectives, they certainly give the impression of progress in restoring the Valley. Doing various tasks will cause your Dreamlight level to go up. You'll need it to unlock more areas of the Valley such as Dazzle Beach, which get you access to more things, some of which you'll eventually need.

As time goes on, the village will start to get a number of people living there as a result of your efforts. It can be a challenge to fit in the houses, and other buildings. But it's also fun to see the various characters interact with one another. Some characters such as Donald Duck are full of chuckles. Cooking is a part of many quests, so you may want to bring Remmy of Ratatoiulle back to the village early on.

Dreamlight Valley has two expansions. In "A Rift in Time," you head to Eternity Isle after Jafar messages you for help, asking you for your help. You find a new Royal Tool, the hourglass, which has the ability to pull some objects to you. But as you can probably guess, Jafar's intentions aren't quite what he's been telling you. The other expansion is "Storybook Vale," in which a land of myths and fairy tales has been torn apart by Malificent and Hades and needs you to restore it. With the new tool, the Royal Net, you capture snippets to help the Lorekeeper restore the various stories. 

While the game is single player, one can invite others to their realm. You can't take care of quests while in multiplayer, though you can still gather objects. This includes one that appears at no other time in the game. Players can also browse the boutique store of their host and get any clothes they designed. 

There's also cosmetic content which you can purchase.

Dreamlight Valley is available on Steam for $39.99 US dollars. The two expansions are $29.99 each.

Bixyl Shuftan

Ark Fiction: Unhappy Thanksgiving

 

By Bixyl Shuftan

It was his first Thanksgiving here, and it was going to be just like any old day.

It was weeks ago when Fred's old life of being an IRS auditor had come to a sudden interruption, and he woke up with nothing but underwear on a beach. Nothing but some weird thingy afixed to his wrist. The second shock was that he saw a dodo waddling nearby. Then he saw dinosaurs, some plant eaters at first. But then some little guys ran up and started biting away. He punched away, but they were getting bite after bite in, and he had to run away. Thankfully he found some berries to eat to regain his energy, and after getting some wood and stone and flint began making some tools. 

Over time, he made more and better things, starting off with a straw hut, and was soon able to upgrade to wood. But he wasn't the only one on the island. While some were friendly, some weren't and it wasn't long before his wooden hut was broken into, and he got knocked out, waking up on his straw bed once again with nothing but his undies and everything of value in his storage looted. So he rebuilt, this time a place with stone walls and reinforced wooden doors. And he expanded it as time went on. There was his crafting area, with a workbench, forge, and motor and pestle for mixing narcotics, sparkpowder, gunpowder, and more. There was his preserving bin where he stored meat and berries. There were his storage cabinets with stone, wood, spare clothes and weapons, and more supplies. He'd eventually managed to tame one dino for riding, someone called it a parasaur, and captured and tamed a raptor to help him hunt. They would rest in a stable room that was part of the stone base. He'd made a bow and arrow, replaced his stone-tipped spears with an iron spar, and now had a black powder weapon, a rifled musket. His homemade cloth clothes were now leather with a chest of chittin armor. 

And so life was, okay, but not great. As boring as his old tax office job was, he missed it. Instead here he was living a life that was mostly boredom with the occasional five minutes of terror. He'd had to outrun T-Rexes a couple times. And he'd tangled with nightmarishly huge scorpions that temporarily paralyzed his raptor and he had to finish off. But it was mostly gathering wood and stone, with the occasional lucky find of metal and the strange supply drops that came down in beams of light. 

On this day that started off like so many others, he rode on his para with the raptor beside them, looking around. Then going past a group of trees, he noticed a clearing. And in the middle of it was something he couldn't believe he was seeing: a turkey! It was an honest to goodness real turkey, here on this strange island of extinct creatures! A big and fat one too, "Gobble-gobble-gobble." He couldn't believe his luck. "Oh thank goodness!" He spoke to himself, "Thanksgiving has arrived, and one turkey dinner coming up!" 

He got of his ride, signaled the raptor to wait, and he crept up to the bird. It didn't seem to notice him, "Gobble-gobble-gobble." "Perfect," he thought, as he readied his metal pike. No need to use a bullet on this oblivious bird. So he crept up to it, as it continued to peck and wander about, "Gobble-goggle-gobble." Then he thrust forward his metal point...

It felt like he stabbed a sack full of sand, the spar going in some, but not a lot. The bird squawked, but instead of running, turned to face him and trotted right at him, "Gobble-gobble-gobble." Fred was momentarily puzzled, why this bird too fat to fight was after him. But he figured it would make finishing it off that much easier. And so he thrust his spar again at it, which knocked it back a little, but it didn't seem hurt. And it came after him again, "Gobble-gobble-gobble!" 

Getting frustrated, Fred thrust the spar at the bird again, and again, and again. But he didn't seem to be hurting it much. Then once he was slow to stab at it, and the bird thrust it's big beak at his leg. "OW!! Damn!" It had cut through his leather pants and left a huge gash on his thigh. How could such a clumsy looking bird hit so hard? 

Deciding it was time to use stronger stuff, he backed up, got out his musket, loaded in a bullet, and fired. The bird was knocked back, but still didn't look hurt, and it was still coming after him, "Gobble-gobble-gobble!" He blinked, backed up some, reloaded, and fired again. Once again, the bird was knocked back, but it got back up and continued to waddle at him, "Gobble-gobble-gobble." Frustrated, he backed up again, reloaded, and fired, repeating the process several more times until he was out of ammo. The bird seemed to be bleeding a little, but it was still after him, "Gobble-gobble-gobble!" He then got out his bow, and began firing arrows. He used a couple dozen, but the bird seemed unfazed, still going after him, "Gobble-gobble-gobble!"

Amazed, he ran back over to his dinosaurs, and signaled to his raptor, "Malcom, attack!" And the quick predator leaped into action, charging at the turkey with a shriek, claws extended. It attacked fiercely, biting and clawing. And the turkey responded by using it's cruel beak, inflicting vicious wounds on the raptor. Fred was shocked. How could this turkey be beating them?! He then charged in, stabbing at the fowl once again with his pike. It was knocked back some, but continued to try and snap at the raptor. Fred stabbed again and again. Then the turkey made another lucky strike on his hip, causing him to scream as it sliced through the leather and bit deep. Backing up and noticing how bloody his raptor was, he decided it was time to retreat, signaling the raptor to follow, and ran back to his mount, getting on it, and running off, his wounded sidekick right behind them.

Some time later, they were back at the base. Fred bandaged Malcom, cursing their luck. How could that clumsy-looking bird have beat the tar out of them? It would take some time to make new bullets and arrows, and he would need to repair his pike. Maybe later on he could build a trap for the bird. If he couldn't kill it, maybe it would be useful tamed and used as a meat shield when attacking predators.

 

"Gobble-gobble-gobble!"

What the hey?

"Gobble-gobble-gobble!"

Fred opened the stable door, and there was the turkey! It had somehow followed them here, and now here it was waddling toward his base. "Gobble-gobble-gobble!"

He promptly shut the door, and locked it with a bar, "How in the blue blazes did that thing ... well, no way it can get through this! Solid wood reinforced with iron."

The turkey's gobbles got closer and closer, "Gobble-gobble-gobble!" Then came the sounds of something battering at the door, hard. Before long, he noticed the wood starting to break, "Gobble-gobble-gobble!" Then it shattered, and the bird trotted through the wreckage, "Gobble-gobble-gobble!"

"NO! Impossible!"

The bird began wadding towards him, "Gobble-gobble-gobble!" 

"Malcom! Para! Attack!!" Cornered, Fred was desperate, and ordered his two dinosaurs to fight the seemingly indestructible fowl. As they chomped and clawed at it, he would use his metal spar on it. But the bird was as tough as before, ripping away the raptor's bandages, inflicting more deep wounds, and the predator gave a death rattle and collapsed. Then it was the mount's turn, and after a few strikes from the turkey, already it showed deep wounds, Then it too collapsed. 

"Noooooo! My dinos!"

"Gobble-gobble-gobble!" The turkey was now free to focus on Fred, who jabbed at it hard with his spar. Then there was a SNAP noise, and the spar had broken in two. The turkey lunged at him, and tore off a piece of his chittin armor.  He retreated to the next room and shut the door, then headed to the workbench.

"Gobble-gobble-gobble!" The turkey then began pounding on the door. 

From the workbench, Fred got a spare spar, and some more bullets. He then went to the cabinet and got some arrows. He'd make that bird pay for killing his pets. Then the turkey smashed through the door, "Gobble-gobble-gobble!" Fred shot at it with his musket, then reloaded and did so again and again, several times. The bird was looking more hurt, with a few more wounds, but after each knockback it still kept coming. He then fired his arrows at it while keeping the workbench between himself ant the freak creature. It hammered away at the bench, until it splintered and fell apart. Fred got his spare spar and slowly retreated, trying to use other cabinets in the room as partial cover. The bird just smashed them all, the contents spilling all over the floor, then smashing and tearing them, "My stuff! No!"

Fred backed up into the last room, his sleeping quarters. Instead of shutting the door, he was trying to use the frame as a partial shield as he thrust his metal spar at it again and again, "Why don't you just die?!" The bird was looking like it was developing serious wounds, but it still kept coming, and hammering at the stone wall, causing it to crack,"Gobble-gobble-gobble!"

Finally, the stone wall shattered, and the unbelievably tough turkey stepped through, "Gobble-gobble-gobble!" This was it. No where else to run. Fred jabbed again and again at the bird. He was getting exhausted, and occasionally he would slow down and the bird would get a bite in, tearing through his leather gloves and pants, or chittin chest armor, "Ahhhhh!"

Finally, the metal pike cracked with a *SNAP*! Desperate, Fred then got his pickaxe and went after it with that. By this time, the bird looked severely wounded, bleeding and blood was dripping onto the floor. But it was still attacking, "Gobble-gobble-gobble!" And the pickaxe was a poor weapon, with the mutant bird getting in more bites than ever, "OW!" "Ahhhh!" Fred's gloves and pants were shredded, then his chitten armor shattered. He felt his arm bone go snap, and his body was racked with pain. How many more hits before this monstrosity would finally be ended?

Then the bird's cruel beak got in one good hard lunge, plunging into his gut, "WAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!" Fred fell down, all going black, the only sounds being his screams as the bird continued to peck at him, and it's neverending chatter, "Gobble-gobble-gobble!"

How humiliating. In his old life, as a tax auditor he was feared by most everyone. Corporations gave him pause. In this one, he'd killed many dinosaurs, outwitted and outran T-Rexes and other alpha predators. Only to be done in by a ...

YOU HAVE JUST BEEN KILLED BY TURKEY

The next thing Fred knew, there was the sound of the surf, and the cooing of some bird. He opened his eyes and looked around. He was back on the beach, in only his underwear. But there were no wounds on him. He was just like he was many weeks ago. 

Thinking about the state of his base, he began running back to it, keeping an eye out for any nasties. It took a while, but he got back to the site. He blinked his eyes. It was almost entirely gone, reduced to a pile of rubble with an occasional splinter or shred of leather or cloth. The monstrosity must have continued to destroy everything. He walked up to it, disheartened, then collapsed, sobbing. All his work, done over many weeks, all gone. 

"Excuse me?"

Fred, tears going down his face, looked over. There was a man, in simple cloth clothes and shoes, with a stone hatchet and axe, and a few spears. He probably had been on the island for a couple days. 

"You look like you just got here too. I haven't been around long, just a few hours. But once I saw one of those huge dinos from a distance, I figured I better get to work, and the survival course I once took helped out. Oh, I'm getting ahead of myself. My name's Melvin Jones."

"F-Fred Smith."

"Well Fred, you're going to need some energy, and I happened to have just made a big kill. I haven't made a smokehouse yet, so you might as well dig in before it spoils." The man motioned him to follow, and Fred did, not knowing what else to do and still in a bit of shock.

Before long, he could smell something cooking, something familiar. And they came to a campfire where there was something on a spit-roast over a campfire. And next to it were some feathers, turkey feathers, and a familiar-looking head. 

"I found this thing wandering about, bloody and wounded. I guess some predator attacked it, but got distracted before it could finish it off. So I put it out of it's misery. A few pokes with a spear, and that put it out of it's misery. So here we are, turkey dinner."

Fred starred. This noob had beaten the monstrosity that had destroyed everything he had. He must have been only an inch away from ending the beast, and all it took for this noob to do it was just a few blows. 

"I think we're about done." Melvin then took a cooked leg and handed it to Fred, "It's hot, so wait a little before eating. Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving."

Fred wasn't sure whether to smile or cry, "H-happy Thanksgiving."

Bixyl Shuftan

Additional pictures from arkfandom.com and Papa Sean 

Commentary: Game Company GREED

 

From Nydia Tungsten,

 

In Alpha… In Beta… Early Access… Pre Orders…

ARE ALL SCAMS!!

When I first started gaming, Alpha and Beta stage games ...
They weren’t sold.

 In fact, they invited you to play their game and sometimes even paid you to do so. In exchange, you helped them by telling them about bugs and problems. When they were sure of their product, they released it to the public.

A great example of that would be Rust and ARK,
 

 When Rust first started it was another Zombie shooter, Zombie People, Bears, etc, etc. But now not only is it a PvP but no more Zombies, but scientists. And the BUGS… wow… Brandi and I made a base in a hidden hill, well the hill wasn’t so much hidden as missing, the ground was flat but the ground cover went up like a hill, we just walked through it and we were under cover. 

 

They didn’t even allow you to build your character,  you you had to play whatever the RNG put you in, they caught a lot of flack about that, but they just didn’t care and changed nothing and was in early access for years, The devs were just too lazy, for the simple fact, they could milk the money train even harder while doing nothing.

 

 Ark Survival Evolved was early access… again… for years, and in a constant flux of change, then started only listening to one faction of players, the PvP crowd, and started throwing changes based on those whims at everyone. Instead of just letting us make changes on our servers, they instituted game-wide changes whether you liked it or not. Like… you could no longer pick up players with your large fliers, you couldn’t make large boat builds, and you could no longer add to your flier's speed all because it made it harder for the PvP’ers, then we find out more about why, through the scandals of the dev’s tribe being spanked so they game banned the ones raiding them, not just server banned but GAME BANNED acting like little children not getting their way. All this time they were in early access, too lazy to really do anything. Even allowing the game players to design and make better maps than they did. 

 

Then the time finally came and they fully released the game! We were all thrilled! For about a year. Then we heard they were releasing a remake of our beloved game, which thrilled us even more! Then we were told we would have to pay in full for the new re-release. So a lot of us decided we would just keep playing the original game for a while, until we were told they were taking all of the servers offline and if we wanted to continue to play we would HAVE to pay for the new game and new servers. And don’t even get me started on ARK 2 which hasn’t started yet. Turns out they took all the money and invested it in a failed e-car. They let everyone else do the work and then collect the money for it.

Let’s not forget the disaster and steaming pile of crap that was “Fallout 76” and a great example of why “Pre-ordering”  ANY type of game.  Fallout 76 was hit by scandal after scandal as well as a buggy game! They were almost sued into oblivion, because of all the false promises and outright lies! And there wasn’t enough RAID in the world to tame the bugs in THAT game on day one. But so many pre-ordered it, and their money was gone, and unfortunately, that is the norm, not the exception. 

 

So if you see a game you want coming out and have the chance to pre-order it… DON’T!   just wait, let the fallout hit, and wait for it to calm down and to see what it looks like after it is fixed, WHEN it is fixed. Because once they have your money they aren’t going to give back willingly.

Don’t just take my word for it, two of our other writers, Bixyl Shuftan and Xymbers Slade/Aegis Hyena have touched on this subject before as well…
https://othergrids.blogspot.com/2016/09/no-mans-sky-game-under-investigation-by.html
https://othergrids.blogspot.com/2019/02/reader-submitted-game-review-no-mans-sky.html

 

I was going to end it here but then so much more hit the fan since I started this article.

“Concord” where do I start with THAT one, who do you blame? It was a hot pile of DEI (Didn’t earn it) garbage. Again the Dev’s (Under SBI influence) didn’t care about gamers or even games, they just wanted to push an agenda. It went out for preorder it got a few, then it was released, and it sold more, but it was out for only a week before it was shut down hard. They spent over $400 million creating a game with UGLY characters it was pretty much a rip-off of the many rip-offs of “Team Fortress” but they only made maybe $40 million. Yeah, PlayStation took a bath on that one. Just because they couldn’t stick to what they knew, making fun to play games and NOT indoctrination games
The best way you can influence the games made is with your wallet, I would urge all of you to stop pre-ordering, and just buy once it is out. Let the decent YouTubers get advanced copies and do play-throughs and form your opinion THEN decide if you want it. 

SBI tried so hard to get this shut down. https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44858017-Sweet-Baby-Inc-detected/ Now you have to ask yourself “Why?” Why try and shut something down that shows your work unless you know it is wrong and you are ashamed of it?

Another site to help you is https://deidetected.com/games 

Let's get back to what's important with games… HAVING FUN!

Then we have pure scams, they create something pretty, take your money, and disappear without even making a finished game. And it is not as rare as one would think.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jopYqx4WKw&ab_channel=AsmongoldTV
 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsNsC9EMla0&ab_channel=LegacyKillaHD 

There are some good examples, AGAIN that could all be avoided but just being patient a few months, giving it a chance to be released, and working any bugs out before actually buying it.
Yeah, I get it, you want to be the first kid on the block to get one, but those days of getting something good straight away are over. 

Now, once you find a company doing it right like this one here https://store.steampowered.com/app/2827230/Wild_Assault/ 

They are in alpha right now, so you apply to play, and if you are lucky, you get in and play it, as they make notes as well as you. The reason you are there is to help them before it is fully released. I plan on getting that one, but I am not pre-ordering. 

Takes a deep breath and steps down from her soap box.

Sorry to preach, but let me end with this: Games should be an element of relaxation in your life, not a source of stress. So, let's all get back to what games should be: enjoyable.  

So, until next time GOOD GAMING TO YOU! 

Nydia Tungsten

 

 Other Grids MMOs and Games

So That's What You've Been Playing: Planet Crafter, Girl Genius, Palia

 

 By Bixyl Shuftan

Yours truly has been busy, both in real life and Second Life. Still, I have a little time for gaming. Over the past several months, I've been on a few. So here's a short mention of each. Oh, and trying out each of them is for free, one you won't need to pay for if you want to go for longer.

 

The Planet Crafter

 

In most space games, you blow things up and create a lot of destruction. So here's one in which you build something: creating a habitable world from a hostile one. Welcome to Planet Crafter.

In the game, you play the part of a man convicted of crimes offered a pardon if you get a hostile world terraformed to the point it can support life. But it won't be easy. Your small air tank won't allow you to step far from your craft without an infusion of oxygen, you only have a small amount of food and water on board, and your small crafting machine can only build a few items from local metal and ice. 

You can build a few basic heaters and drills to help heat and thicken the air, and windmills and solar panels to power them. As the planet begins to slowly change, more building options are unlocked. And you're going to need them, especially food growers. Exploring offers plenty of rewards, more supplies such as food, rare minerals, blueprints, and more. But don't forget to keep an eye on your air supply, and it's a good idea to keep at least one or two oxygen bottles just in case you make a wrong turn somewhere and can't get to a building of yours in time. 

Planet Crafter is available for sale on Steam. It's recommended you download the demo first. It ends when you reach your first goal. But by then you'll have decided whether or not this is a game for you. Personally, I feel it has a great theme, and an adequate challnge.

For now, the game is single player. 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1284190/The_Planet_Crafter/

 Girl Genius: Adventures in Castle Heterodyne

 

 Some readers will recall the online comic "Girl Genius," a steampunk-themed (or "gaslamp fantasy" as it's artists and writers Phil and Kaja Foglio call it) tale of the adventures of Agatha Heterodyne, a once ordinary girl who discovers she's a "spark," or mad scientist. Good news for it's fans, there's now a game based on the tale, or rather the part in which Agatha enters and tries to restore Castle Heterodyne. While reading the comic isn't necessary to play the game, it does make it more interesting. 

 

The game starts with Agatha, the character you control, having just entered the castle, impersonating one of the numerous people sentenced to the place. Unfortunately, the mechanical mind behind it is even madder than some of your relatives (which is saying a lot). Your first step is to get a tool to help you out, and you soon have your trusty wrench. You've also brought one of your creations, a trusty dingbot, to get into places you can't reach yourself.

 

You go about avoiding the castle's traps, and solving puzzles. You're soon build a bench to create more tools, such as a means to cross chasms, and a coffee machine to help you recover lost health. And your journey brings you into contact with characters readers of the comic will recognize, some helpful, others trying to stop you.

Like with Planet Crafter, the game has a free demo that allows you to try before you buy. It ends just after Agatha's first big challenge to defeat the castle's mechanical minions. But you can be assured this is only the beginning. 

Girl Genius: Adventures in Castle Heterodyne is single player, as there can only be one Agatha, as that one impostor is soon about to find out.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1789370/Girl_Genius_Adventures_In_Castle_Heterodyne/

 Palia

 

Palia is one of a new genre of MMOs, the "cozy MMO." While in other multiplayer games fighting is either a big part of the action or the big thing, and you can easily get yourself hurt or killed, this isn't the case here. Palia is a game with no player death, and you proceed more or less at your own pace.

 

Players play the part of one of a number of humans, who for some reason have been appearing around the world of Palia after supposedly being gone for thousands of years, for reasons not yet known. The player appears at a temple, and after being greeted by one of the local Majiri is shown to Kilima Village, which has been integrating other humans. The player is given a plot of land to build a home and garden, and various villagers provide some simple tools and a few words about them. 

As time goes on, you'll improve your relations with the various villagers, some who are more happy and curious to see you than others, as well as improving your various skills which range from foraging to cooking and even bug-catching. You can sell what you gather at the general store, though some people will also take certain items off your hands. And you can also improve your home from the tent you initially get. 

You'll also be going on quests, some to help out your neighbors. Others are to explore the runs of nearby structures to try and find out what happened to the humans of the old world so long ago. You'll find various clues, which eventually get the attention of people from outside and bringing in a new character interested in what's going on. 

But the game is very much an MMO. You can make friends with other gamers, and request items (to keep people from advancing too quickly, you can only request things you've had at least once). Showing off what you've done with your house is also part of the game, and you can vote on how other houses look, as well as putting up yours to be voted on. There are also occasional festivals in the game, in which you get tickets based in part on how well you did and part on how well everyone else did. Oh, and the "flow trees" that you'll need for better wood, they take at least two people to chop down. Fortunately people in public chat point out where they are, as well as nodes for pallium ore.

You can also customize your character, and house. But certain modifications such as player pets can only be done through real-life money purchases, which is how the game makers get their money. There's also games of "Hot Pot" you can play with other players.

 

 (trailer for the game)

Palia is available on both Steam, and Epic Games.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2707930/Palia/

 

Want a more detailed review of one of these games, or want to see more? Let us at the Newser know.

Bixyl Shuftan