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Monthly Archives: July 2017

Let’s Play Tropico 4: Part II

Turns out the campaign is a bunch of fairly short scenarios… about 5 minutes into the second session of the first one I won. Oops. Unfortunately all my screenshots of #2 (How to Mine Fish) mysteriously disappeared. I blame the rebels. So this means we’ll skip right on to mission 3. Interestingly any traits you pick slowly improve over the course of the game, so I’m keeping my Professor background, but switching my Rise to Power to Hotel Corporate Buyout since it’s got a tourism bonus. Likewise I’m switching my Entrepreneurial trait to Sociable for the tourism bonus.

 

So the island has an active volcano. One can only hope that will lead to FUN! later. In the meantime, the island only has the most basic infrastructure, however since the goal is going to be to make a tourist trap we’ll keep our cargo dock on the other side of the island from the touristy area. The little bay in the upper right is nice and sheltered and has an interesting rock formation and should make the perfect tourist destination.

 

 

 

 

I’ve started with a tourist dock (much nicer than the cargo dock on the other side of the island, and a few bungalows. I’ve also built a road from the historic downtown. Obviously we’ll want to get a hotel in shortly, and some other entertainment, but for now this should be enough to entice a select few to come to Cara Libro and spread the word of this idyllic island with it’s quaint charms.

<Time Passes> And a few months later the wharf and a couple of bungalows are finished. Due to poor planning, the hotel has been finished well ahead of schedule while 3 of the bungalows still are little more than foundations. Unfortunately the pub has become a local favorite and will probably need to be entirely revamped if we want to make it presentable to the more high class clientele we’d like to to attract to the island. The job of El Presidente is never done. Also still under construction is a garage to allow for easier transport between Paradiso district (hey, my marketer isn’t the most original) and the Historic District. In retrospect we should probably have built the garage first to enable faster travel for our construction workers.

Soon we’ll have a beautiful vacation spot with the tourists flocking here in droves. I’ve talked to my advisers and we’ve decided to focus on the wealthier demographic. To that end we’ve started construction of a five star Spa and a Fancy Marina which you can see the foundations of below.

MtC 3: Arals Thatira

Arals Thatira

While many in the cult have become enraptured with Seanan‘s silver supplements, Arals instead opted for the healing Power of the Atom. It’s more likely that it is the beneficence of Slaanesh that has kept him alive than a misreading of some Dark Age lore books. Arals isn’t concerned with other’s doubt, and not being the brightest he sees no issues with worshiping both Slaanesh and the Atom. It is a little unfortunate that the hideous orange tan, and slight glow makes him a bit of a target, but it is a testament to some ruinous power that despite this he still has not been struck down.

Arals claims is knife was licked clean by a Keeper of Secrets in the aftermath of a raid, but everyone who was at that battle was otherwise occupied in the post battle orgy to corroborate his story.

Why pay once when you can buy it twice?

So I’ve got Amazon Prime which is nice and all for videos, except SOOOO many of the shows on there the latest season must be purchased to watch. Maybe I’ve just been spoiled by Netflix, or maybe it’s being used to getting stuff from the library for free, but I just can’t stomach paying twice for something, especially if it’s digital both times. I guess it falls into the same boat for me as Hulu’s “Ad Free” tier having some shows that still have ads. Sure, I get that they have contracts on those shows and the alternative would be to make those shows unavailable which isn’t really a good either.

And of course it’s all the more painful when after spending 10 minutes flipping around trying to figure out what I want to watch it turns out the thing I’ve selected isn’t available (well… it is available for an additional $29.99 or whatever). I’m already paying $8+ a year for your service. I do kind of wish there was an option to only show me what’s available. Maybe I should stick to just buying physical copies (hey, I can still watch ’em when the internet’s out!) and borrowing stuff from the library. It’d certainly be cheaper.

Keeper of Secrets #6

So last week’s keeper (from Creature Caster) is assembled:

And my Keeper problem might be worse than I thought. I complete forgot I’d backed Toughest Girls in the Galaxy 2. Well it came today, in addition to a ton of other beautiful miniatures is The Avatar of Shaah. Over 40 pieces of finely detailed resin. I spent about two hours working on it and only got a little over halfway through trimming the flash off (admittedly I was watching Game of Thrones so was a little distracted) but still, this is definitely one of the more complex kits I’ve assembled. Aside from on the legs the mold lines are nearly invisible… And the most obvious offenders are on the back of the legs, so I might paint them like stockings with a seam at the back…  Once I get them painted I’ll have to start giving them names as well. Eldritch emissaries of Slaanesh are people too right?

In addition to the Avatar of Shaah I also picked up some harpies to possibly use as

Slaaneshii Furies. That said I’m also thinking about converting them to be more Raptors or Warp Talons… I think they’d be pretty good Warp Talon stand-ins. That said there is also any hope that Emperor’s Children and Slaanesh Daemons will be getting some love soon. GW is just releasing a Start Collecting Slaaneshii Daemon’s box for Age of Sigmar and there’ve been rumours of a revised Fulgrim for quite a while now. And basically all three other ruinous powers have received love; it’s certainly Slaanesh’s turn if anyone’s.

Hobby advice: Before you paint

Before painting a model, there are a few things you can do to increase the durability of your paint job and ensure your masterpiece isn’t ruined by banging around in a box with other minis or being dropped on the floor or mishandled by an opponent with greasy hands (and some things to do afterwards). However by far the most important aspect is priming your model. You’ll have folks tell you it’s not important, or to just brush on your base coat. If you’re going to always handle your models with utmost care and only keep them on the shelf that’s fine. If on the other hand, you plan to actually play your game of choice then your models are going to see use and abuse. They’ll tip over, get dropped, get stuff dropped on them, get handled, and bump into things. A good start can ensure your terrific or terrible paint job will last for years!

The first step is to wash your models… now with most GW plastic you can pretty safely skip this step. However it doesn’t hurt (aside from taking a bit of time to dry) and many other models, especially resin (including Forge World resin) this step is essential. Most of the time warm soapy water and a very light scrubbing with an old toothbrush is sufficient. Rinse and let dry, and you’re good to go.

The second step is to prime your models. If you’re painting a display model, then aside from basing coating it, this step isn’t that important… I’m going to assume you don’t want your models to chip, and you want your base coat to be able to go on in just one or two thin coats. There are a wide variety of paint on primers, and those all you really have to do is stick to the “multiple thin coats” adage and you’ll be fine. Another option is using an airbrush, which can work better than rattle cans, but for most of Spray primer is both economical and efficient, so I’m going to go into detail on how to get the best result when spray priming.

  • Never spray (primer OR varnish) if the humidity is over 55%. You might be able to get away with it as high as 65% but do a single test model (or a piece of sprue) and make sure… 50% or less and you should be safe. If it’s raining or snowing, don’t even bother. If you have access to a climate controlled area (garage w/ AC for example) you have a lot more leeway since Air Conditioning will draw a lot of the moisture out of the air. If you’re not positive, test on some sprue to make sure.
  • If the temperature outside (or where ever you are spraying) is warmer than inside, soak your spray can in warm water for about 5-10 minutes beforehand. Also if you haven’t used the can in a while, shake, soak, shake can make a big difference. I generally soak then spray every time.
  • Shake that can! Shake it good. For about 1-2 minutes. I’m serious, you think you’ve shaken the can enough, you haven’t. Shake it up and down. Swirl the can so the agitator rolls around the bottom. Hold the can upside and do the same thing. Any shaking that you do before the agitator starts rattling doesn’t count. If you are going to soak the can in warm water, shake before AND after the soak.
  • Start and stop spraying NOT aimed at your models. The initial and final bit of spray can clump up. I also usually do a test spray into the air to make sure it’s coming out smooth. If the spray seems clumpy or stringy or weird go check the weather, or if it’s a new can check your return policy.
  • Spray from about 8-16″ away. You might have to get a bit closer if it’s windy, but better to be too far away and have to do two coats.
  • Speaking of which go for light coats…. Always better to do 2-3 coats then one way too thick coat that you can’t undo without stripping.

Let’s Play Tropico 4.

The view from my helicopter as we make final approach to my new island home.

Who doesn’t want to rule a Tropical Island? I’ve played a few of the earlier versions so it shouldn’t be too hard… I’ve picked a custom avatar, a Professor put into power via a “velvet revolution” who is a hardworking entrepreneur with administrative experience.

Farms

I started off with a few farms. Two producing corn, and a Papaya farm for variety, plus a couple (not pictured here) Tobacco farms to make some money. now I just have wait for my loyal subjects to build them all.

The Church, Clinc and pub are all vital to infrastructure.

Downtown I’ve constructed a Church, Clinic and Pub… As well as a Museum near the palace. Hopefully these should make the people happier.

With minimal infrastructure surely I’m missing something. The Police Station and Ministry are now finished and a High School has been commissioned. The marketplace should help feed my people, but I need some better housing. Even with two tenement buildings, I’ve still got a small shanty town building up behind the police station.

And everyone loves me! Nation El President is awesome day is a huge success. And don’t believe anyone who says otherwise.

MtC 2: Gurand Hetrix

Gurand Hetrix

Gurand Hetrix joined K&RAFB many years ago. Like many others he’s adopted Seanan’s colloidal silver supplemental diet leading to a rather weird skin color. Fairly early in his career he earned a mark of favor from Slaanesh which has left his skin far to sensitive to wear a shirt or armor so now he trusts in Slaanesh to protect him.

A couple of months ago he lost for the third time at Karoake night and is now been forcibly prohibited from singing, but this hasn’t dissuaded him from his devotion.

Keeper of Secrets #5

Keeper of Secrets needs a bath (most resin models do!) Click to Embiggen.

I might have a problem. No, GW has a problem. If they would release some new Slaanesh Daemons or Emperor’s Children models I’d give them my money. However they haven’t, and probably won’t for the near term future, so in my desire to expand my Slaaneshii army I end up turning to third party models. This, my 5th Keeper of Secrets, just arrived today. I was exceedingly pleased with the Creature Caster Spider Demon (the first of the 3 KoS I kickstarted, and the last to arrive) so when my friend Rick told me they’d made a new Demon I couldn’t resist picking up the Lady of Corruption. She’s a bit smaller so might be better as a Daemon Princess, though I don’t know how well Khaslillie would deal with competition.

If you are interested in alternate Keeper of Secrets models, I also highly recommend the Pleasure Demon from Mierce Miniatures. I also have two Lords of Lust from Titan-Forge. They are really much too small to be a good Keeper of Secrets, and they might be a bit big for a Herald. That said, the Banshees of Lust make excellent alternate Daemonettes, especially if you don’t like the aesthetic of the new models and can’t get your hands on any of the Diaz one.

Review: Trickster

Latest Kickstarter arrival is Trickster… A trick taking game, except generally you want to have as few cards as possible instead of as many. There are 8 colors, and each game you pick 7 heroes (there are nearly two dozen different heroes to choose from). Each trick one person picks a card to lead with, and the second player (called the Trickster) picks a card to follow with, which sets the rule for that trick. If they pick the same color, the rest of the cards have to match color. If they pick the same hero, cards have to match that hero, if they pick neither, then no card can match color or hero of a previously played card.

If you can’t play a hero the trick is over, you bust (taking all the cards into your tableau) and start the next trick.

The really interesting thing about the game is each hero has a special ability that lets you change up the game. Many of them involve manipulating tableaus (the cards you have in play, that count against you at the end of the round), hands, the trash, deck or even the pot (the cards currently being played).

I’ve only played a few games and it definitely feels like there is  a ton of depth, but it also feels like the game that works best at 5 or 6 players. With four players it flows pretty well, but at 3 it definitely felt forced.

Let’s play … Something

Click for more FUN options

So what would make a good Let’s Play? I could do Dwarf Fortress; It’s been a while and I wouldn’t mind some FUN! I’ve got X-com 2, but I’ve barely scratched the surface… That said a clueless ironman run could be entertaining… Though it’d probably end up getting all of my friends killed before I get the chance to included them all. Another possibility is Rimworld, which is kind of like Dwarf Fortress, but in space, and more firmly 2d.

Some outliers:

  • Tropico 4 (I’ve played the first few, but haven’t tried this version yet)
  • Cities: Skylines (this could be interesting if I can find a nice map of bburg, or import one?)
  • Banished (somewhere between Cities and Dwarf Fort)
  • Massive Chalice (the “genetics/bloodline” nature of this game makes me kind of uncomfortable)

Alternatively instead of Let’s Play I could do Choose Your Own Post and either start a new adventure, or revive the stories where they stalled out. I’m also open to other suggestions if you’ve got ’em.