Thursday, June 30, 2016

CONvergence 2016: Day One

The big fan convention in Minnesota is CONvergence, and the 2016 iteration of the convention is this weekend. I've attended it reliably, as that's where I can often run into people I know that otherwise would not be seen. A few years back, I began volunteering as a panelist. I did so again this year, putting me on six panels.

However, CONvergence is also SJW-converged, and I am no SocJus death cultist. To guard against possible incidents, I decided to record the panels that I sat on if I would be with suspected or known cultists. Eventually I'll put it up at my YouTube channel, but for now I've got them at Vocaroo. Each recording is 60 minutes, but be warned that this is raw audio taken from my cellphone. Audio ain't the best quality. Panels run long, so not exactly everything is captured, but 90% of it is easily. I'll add the description of each panel I sat on below, along with my comments for you to consider.

I operate under a "Let them start shit" policy, so I'm not instigating; let them cross the line, and then decide how to respond is how I go. Furthermore, I expect little blowback at the panel itself. Being that SJWs are cowards, I expect backbiting to come after the fact via Twitter (or other social media) and I have no doubt this will bear out.

Old Enough to Vote

Coming of age stories are common in genre fiction. What does it mean to become an adult, both in fiction and in reality?

I sat on this panel with four others: Camille Griep (confirmed SJW), Joan Marie Verba (dunno), Lee Blauersouth (confirmed), and Renata Fiora (dunno). As this panel went on, I found confirmation of something I'd seen previously at Vox Day's main blog as well as those of a few of the Dread Ilk: that the SJWs believed their purpose for writing was to advance the Narrative above all else. Above serving their audience. Above good craftsmanship. Above making viable commercial product. Above EVERYTHING. That is Convergence, folks. That is what it means, and what it does; it seizes control of another entity and repurposes it as another vector to Spread The Love. SJWs are memetic zombies, and Convergence is Infection.

Note that the panel was, for the most part, sounded like the sort of boring and redundant stuff you get at panels in fan conventions until you get the SocJus tells. The virtue-signalling is brief, but not artfully concealed, and that's largely due to CONvergence being a "safe space" for SJWs. I chose to emphasize that you, the creator, are the shot-caller and not the SJWs seeking to browbeat compliance into your brainmeats- and so you don't have to "include" or "diversify" or "represent" a GOD-DAMNED THING!. Your work, your rules, your way. Embrace that. These cultists use any platform to mindfuck you into compliance that they can; you heard it right there.

Game Design: The Ultimate Fan Fiction?

Many games are developed around popular books, films and television series. How do designers immerse themselves in universes others have created, and how do they bring something new to the table?

This time I'm with two confirmed SJWs--Cam Banks and Monica Valentinelli--along with one who isn't (Bob Johnson) and one I suspect is (Mark Redacted). This panel, being that it focused on game design and didn't get far afield with culture war bullshit, turned out to be a decent enough experience. The pros (also the SJWs) stayed in their expertise, and I did mine, etc., etc. so there was no real virtue-signalling to be had (and therefore little to push back against) and I wish my experiences were always no worse than this. Bullet dodged again.

Car Wars: Autodueling in RPG and Video Gaming

Vehicular combat has been featured in SF stories by such authors as Harlan Ellison and Alan Dean Foster, and has been a feature of in RPG games (e.g. Car Wars) and video games. How and why did the popularity of autodueling games change with the times?

I declined to record this one. Craig Finseth is a decent old-timer (and did not show), as is Perrin Klump, and Jeremy Stomberg is a social lib who signals because that's what his friends do (and thus is okay). That, and we're talking about Car Wars and its influence on gaming and fiction. Hard to fuck that up, and we didn't. Also, getting a free copy of the new Classic game was fantastic (and smart of Steve Jackson Games to hook up the audience). This was the fun experience I prefer out of being a panelist.

Other Thoughts

This year they started doing the "preferred pronouns" bullshit, as well as the "all gender bathroom" nonsense. While the latter really did not seem to be taken seriously by the members in practice--the Men's Room remained for men, and vice-versa--that the convention further converged the policies to conform to blatantly discivic and disgenic frauds made clear that the convention sees spreading the SocJus memetic disease as above all other concerns. This is not good for a fan organization founded to celebrate genre fiction fandom in all media. Some hypocrisy is bound to occur, and when I find it I'll note it.

On a more personal note, I found that folks who had met me previously--but were not friends or acquaintances of any length--failed to remember me. Folks who had tangled with me online did not connect the name on the panel entry to whom they've dealt with online; I went unnoticed, and I found this due to an incuriosity on their part coupled with a bubble that fostered significant confirmation bias. I did not ping their radars, so they cared not who I was, and it made dealing with them easier.

I didn't bother with Opening Ceremonies. It'll be on the official YouTube channel soon enough, so I can watch at my leisure. Same with skipping entire panel blocks; nothing interested me, and I wasn't there to stir shit. So I took my time eating dinner, or tracking down Scott Lynch to sign my copy of The Republic of Thieves (and apparently my doppleganger hasn't died yet) I'm communicating from home this year, and I don't have control of the car, so I'm out by 11pm each night this year- and I'm not wanting to come at all on Sunday, which is not a good sign.

And tomorrow? The riskiest of the panels is to be done.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

My Life as a Gamer: Death to LFR!

Why Does LFR Still Exist? Today we discuss why we think LFR is no longer relevant to the raiding scene. Drop a like if you enjoyed!

Looking For Raid is FUCKING CANCER!

If it weren't necessary for speedy Valor farming, I would not ever touch this cancerous shithole. (Yes, that's why Valor wasn't added to Normal, Heroic, or Mythic modes for ANY Draenor raids; it was to compel raiders to do LFR and thus improve LFR participation metrics so the devs could justify raiding to the moneybags, instead of sticking a gun to their heads and say "Cut the check or get terminated" like how it should be done.)

I've heard all of the excuses. Bullshit, all of them. Normal is sufficiently easy for anyone who isn't a wanker or a retard to run it, beat it, and get the gear. Sure, you have to actually abide by mechanics and perform as a team, but you should be used to actually Gittin' Gud by now if you're a true gamer. Unless it's just after the weekly reset, LFR is a reliable shitshow of stupidity, incompetence, and retards and best avoided. The lack of ANY qualification other than Item Level hurts bad; it should have been Proving Grounds: Gold.

(And yes, there are players who cannot pass Proving Grounds: Silver in order to queue for Draenor Heroics. That's how shit a lot of them are. Removing that requirement in Legion is going to be disastrous.)

The Fatboss boys lay out a very good argument for killing LFR now, and I'll back it so long as it means LFR goes. Normal Mode is sufficient, and putting a Proving Ground requirement on it to boot guarantees that the worst get culled. (No, you're not entitled to be there; paying the sub fee doesn't entitle you to anything but logging into the game.)

What it comes down to is that LFR is detrimental to the game as a whole, so cutting out LFR goes a long way to improving the game. Punt the suck players; they have no business raiding anyway. Can't commit to the schedule? Too bad- you're not entitled to raid. Can't meet standards? Too bad- you're not entitled to raid. Raiding is intended to be exclusive. LFR is what happens when cultists screeching about "inclusivity" get their way. Fuck that. Kick it to the curb, and make World of Warcraft great again.

My Life in Fandom: Ready For A Long Holiday Weekend

I'm ready for CONvergence 2016. I'm ready to have a long weekend of fun, as I have for many years now, in a spirit best summarized by the picture below, because this convention deserves the fullness of that spirit good and hard.

Black Knight

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

My Life in Fandom: Diversity Is Bullshit

One of the folks I follow on Twitter posted a link to some SocJus cultist in tabletop RPGs (one of those fake geek girls whining and nagging about "diversity" and other bullshit), and then had a great one-two follow-up. Enjoy the brutality.

Point #2 in this article is easily summarized: "Just white dudes? I cannot imagine, in a role-playing game, not playing a character who does not look like the white dudes in the artwork, therefore my mentally and morally incompetent ass must reject it because Diversity."

ARE YOU FUCKING RETARDED?!

I've had enough about this "diversity" bullshit in ALL things, but most particular in ALL fandom. "Oh noes, there isn't enough One Eyed, One Eared Flying Purple People Eaters in this game/film/comic/company/show/ass-fucking therefore Racist and Sexist and All The Badness Is You. Change it to be what I want OR I SHALL DESTROY YOU WITH SELF-RIGHTEOUS FIRE!"

There are few more reliable tells outing themselves as a SocJus cultist (and, therefore, either a fake or a traitor) than someone whining about "diversity" and "representation" in a fandom. You're not entitled to be here, fucktard. You want to play as a woman? Write "Female" on the sheet. Want to play as some other race? Write that instead of "White" or "Caucasian" on the fucking sheet. Be what you want at the table, since it DOES NOT FUCKING MATTER what's in the book.

But no, you cultists can't even be honest about why you're harping like nagging, sagging cunts filled with more bitterness than burnt liver about this "diversity". Because you don't care about diversity. You care about control, and every fucking property you seize control of turns into yet another avenue to push your Narrative Warfare cultism campaign upon the rest of us. You just want another fucking way to brainwash people into joining your death cult. Fuck. You.

Fortunately, for we who love tabletop RPGs, we are not constrained technologically. We can easily transfer and use older, pre-converged games should we care to bother. We can, and do, strip out the SJW nonsense out of published material on the regular; we also can, and do, only buy used for print and freely pass DRM-free ebooks just to deny you any revenue that we can. But that's not the big Fuck You. That's inherent to the medium itself: The game only exists at the individual table.

So when you whine about "diversity", what you're telling us is that you're a fake or a sellout unable to imagine being anything other than what you're fantasy of yourself says that you are. You're telling us that you're unwilling to do what it takes to become a true gamer, that you will not Git Gud, and because you suck so hard you demand that we accommodate you. No, we don't. We don't have to do Jack Fucking Shit.

(And this goes for all other fandoms. You want in on our scene? Fuck your "diversity" bullshit. Just enjoy the fucking this as it is.)

Narrative Warfare: Stop Listening to Polls. They Mean NOTHING!

Stop falling for the usual story. Media polls don't matter, internal pols do. And you'll never see those. Therefore, stop paying attention to polls, especially when they constantly show Clinton being ahead of DT.

Mainstream media lies. Polls are one of the ways they lie. They cook the polls, then they take the cooked results and massage it further so the reports on the polls do nothing but advance the Narrative- and in this Presidential cycle, the Narrative is meant to pull Hillary into the White House. Trump bad, Hillary good. That's their intended slant in all reporting.

Trump knows this. That's why he's treating the media as he has, demonstrating his contempt for them while showing us that we don't need them, and that's a big reason for why it will take an assassination to stop him from beating Hillary in November. (Election fraud? Hillary may want it, but her side isn't yet suicidal so they won't go for it.)

Monday, June 27, 2016

The First World War: Suffrage, Blood, and Shame

The truth about the suffragettes, women's and men's voting rights. All the stuff feminists don't want you to know about.

One of the best videos I've ever seen on YouTube. Made by Thorium. He hadn't uploaded anything in like 7 months then poof, channel deleted!

A century after the commencement of the First World War, and it is high time that it be revisited in all its glory AND in ALL its horror, for the consequences of that ghastly waste of live and wealth still wreak bloody havoc here and now. One of them is the White Feather campaign and its exploitation of men for the ends of female suffrage. While there are far larger villains at play in making and driving the war, the smaller ones are no less deserving of recognition and condemnation.

Those without skin in the game always end up ruining whatever they run, and such it is here; it is this thing that, foremost in common men's minds, resonated to our current day. Be those villain men or women, rich or poor, of whatever creed professed, or of whatever nation, if it isn't their flesh to be flayed should they fail then they care not whose does. This is why I remain doubtful in the need for a state, by whatever name (e.g. corporations), because such cancers crop up in those institutions.

Sunday, June 26, 2016

On Success: The Need for an Abundant Mindset

If you’re an entrepreneur, you get paid to be a creator. But here’s the thing... you can’t create from a depleted mental state. To build your business and make an impact, you need to invest in your mindset - here's how to create an abundant mindset...

I've mentioned Jeff Walker previously, when I started writing posts on this topic some time ago. He's one of those honest guys who are in the business of selling success to people, and I would be remiss if he doesn't include some self-shilling in this video (and plenty more in the video description. (More on this below.)

The thing I want you to talk away here is that people who succeed have a fundamental difference in how they perceive the world around them, and this difference is what "Abundant Mindset" summarizes. That label is good enough in terms of accuracy, because it gets you thinking in those terms, and one of the intended effects is that you start thinking in terms of how you can cooperate with others for mutual benefit. Why? Because you stop thinking in terms of being afraid of the approval of others- socially, economically, politically. SJW Point-and-Shreek swarming attacks become meaningless, and you instead look to do what you want confident that you'll find out how to make it happen because you know how to cooperate with others.

In short, you become Based. But to become Based, one also have to be firmly fixed in the real. Fantasyland will lead to a bad end.

This means a lot of changes. You cut out anyone and everyone who's going to keep you down. You cut out the things you use to self-medicate, one by one, until you've completed that transition. You take care of yourself first (cutting out pathological altruism), you take your own bullshit to the toliet and flush it (cut out wrong beliefs and bad habits), you make your fucking peace as you go so you don't get in your own way, and you come to believe in the you that believes in yourself. (ROW! ROW! FIGHT THE POWAH!)

So, we're not talking about material abundance. We're talking emotional and spiritual abundance. In short, we're talking about the confidence and maturity of a full-fledged Alpha or Sigma (to use Vox Day's terms) and how they come to perceive the reality of the world as well as how to deal with it. Taking charge of the situation, knowing what you can do and how you can make use of it to best effect, knowing what you want and how you can go about getting it- that's Abundance Mindset.

It's one part attitude, one part skillset, and one part faith (and, even for those who do not profess so, ultimately faith in God to show the way) due to a humility that one cannot do it all oneself- and so believing that asking for help when truly necessary will be answered as required.

I no longer care why I'm in the room. I only care that I'm with peers. I no longer care why someone hears me. I care only that I'm heard and heeded. To that end, the only thing I seek is Truth, and my only enemy is Evil itself.

(Note: Jeff's shilling for a movie he got interviewed for. I watched it while I wrote this post to ensure that it was what I expected. Don't worry folks, you won't miss anything if you never see it, but if you do I'd pay attention to the narrative structure of the stories told. They follow a Redemption Narrative model, which is a deliberate decision on the makers' part. Don't drop your discernment, folks.)

Saturday, June 25, 2016

A Preview of President Trump

"America First!", that declaration of sovereignty and self-interest, seems so obvious at first thought. Yet, after a generation or more of this Globalism poison, Trump's declaration of this principle for rational nation-state governance seems like a revelation from God Allmighty. This one declaration, coupled with his hammering on Hillary's blatant disregard for national security and the lives of Americans in and out of government, is a powerful and devastating speech. Trump's looking very Presidential here, and he if keeps on like this he'll win.

This is the press conference Trump did at his golf course in Scotland just after the Brexit vote. Look at how Trump's handling this press crowd, and how the press at this conference treat Trump. This is a far more respectful back-and-forth than he gets in the United States, and again Trump took a far more Presidential demeanor here. He's answering the questions with Rhetoric, clearly going for persuasive responses aimed at having his current supporters point others to him saying "See? He's your man." It's very similar to how John F. Kennedy handle this phase of the campaign, and I think it will work.

One thing that's consistent is that Trump displays an ease and confidence that Hillary lacks. He's got mastery over these things, from being a public speaker, to handling the press, to dealing with policy matters, etc. and that sort of mastery cannot be faked. While the media in the UK is no less political than in the US (as they are wings of the same globalist Establishment), that they decided to avoid trying to trap him during this press conference says a lot about the opinion of him there at that moment.

The Establishment wants Hillary, but she's unable to win without fixing the game. Trump's more than able to win, and what we've seen in these two videos is what we're going to get after he wins the Presidency in November and gets sworn in next January. I said it before, and I'll say it again: what we're seeing is a repeat of Ronald Reagan in 1980. Get ready, world. It'll be morning in America again soon.

Friday, June 24, 2016

Legion Hype: A Pair of Developer Q&As

Below I've embedded two recent Question & Answer sessions by one of the World of Warcraft developers, regarding the Legion expansion. One of them is a more general discussion with one of the leads, and the other focuses on the overhaul of Professions. I'm not going to comment on them here. Watch the videos. They'll have all that you're out to know, and no further commentary by me will add value to that.

Praise Gaben! The 2016 Steam Summer Sale Is Here!

Wallets and bank accounts are screaming in terror, for the Steam Summer Sale has returned!

Yes, this is a big deal, even if you're not that thrilled with Steam and prefer a competitor such as GOG. Steam is the dominant PC gaming platform for a reason. Massive discounts on popular and well-regarded titles, both AAA and Indie. I've got quite the Wishlist there, and I'm looking to knock quite a few items off before its over.

The discounts are insane. Some are as great at 90% off, and not to obscure crap. The Witcher 2 is 85% off. Sniper Elite 3 is 80% off. Go to the Steam Store and browse, folks. You will find SOMETHING that you want, don't have, and are willing to pay for to get via Steam. Count on it.

If you want a challenge, do this: go get a $20 (US) Steam Card. Add that to your Steam account. That's your budget. Now, see how many top-tier games you can get and not go over that limit of $20. Go on, try it. You'll be surprised what you can get for that little right now, and it's on until 10 am Pacific Time on July 4th.

I'm going to get me plenty of RPGs, side-scrolling brawlers, and a few shooty games.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

A Blow For Nationalism Struck

To my friends, my cousins, and my allies across the pond in the United Kingdom: Congratulations on Leave's victory.

To my friends, my cousins, and my allies on the Continent: Follow your British neighbors- Leave the European Union.

To my friends, my cousins, and my allies here at home in the United States: Time to do OUR part, and Make America Great Again.

Death to Slavery and Death to Globalism!

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Legion Hype: Choosing What Class to Play

When a MMORPG launches an expansion, what happens is that a new version of that game launches. The industry acknowledges this, and so do the users. Current and returning players take that opportunity to review what character they want to play when they go into the new expansion, and I have done this for Legion. Preach Gaming put out a video that I'm in agreement with, so I'll embed it below before I go on.

Remember, while Preach is talking about this as a raider, there's pertinent points for all players to take away from this:

  • Your Specialization is NOT your Class. You are a Warrior, NOT a Protection Warrior. Be prepared to fulfill ANY role your Class can do.
  • Play the Class that best aligns with what you are willing to do in the game, not what polls highest.
  • Being a good team member means you get more shots at getting what you want done. Being a doormat does not. There is a difference.
  • Be Fucking Prepared. Go outside the game itself to get all the info you need to succeed. Do what you can in the game to be ready for your team.

So, there you are. Go follow Preach on YouTube if you want more of what he has to offer, and I'll see you in the Broken Isles.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Narrative Warfare: Working As Intended - The Media, SocJus, and Election Violence

Paul Joseph Watson nails what's going on in this short video, embedded below:

Let's review the Three Laws of Social Justice Warriors:

  1. Social Justice Warriors Always Lie.
  2. Social Justice Warriors Always Double-Down.
  3. Social Justice Warriors Always Project.

The mainstream media establishment in the United States, and throughout the West, is dominated by the SocJus cult and its fellow travelers in the Regressive Left, abetted by the Cuckservatives who are the token opposition. They claim to present the facts and other relevant information you, the common man, need to know to function in your day-to-day life. They don't. Their real job is to sell you on their cultural paradigm, and then reinforce that indoctrination, something that's been known to their own class (and their paymasters) for generations. They, literally, manufacture consent by lying to you in very specific ways on a frequent basis.

What Watson shows in his video is exactly how this plays out, using a current and relevant example, in real time. The MSM wants Hillary as President. They are willing and able to discriminate for her and against ALL of her opponents, not just Trump, and they do so brazenly knowing the following:

  • It is NOT illegal to be so biased in their coverage.
  • They can outright lie and suffer no lasting consequences of substance. (Brian Williams is back on the air, and will make his way back to the Anchor's Desk at the Nightly News in due time.)
  • So long as they don't anger any billionaries, even Defamation (the one thing they are liable for) is not an issue because few can afford to press such a case.
  • They had, until recently, an utter monopoly on the flow of information and thus control over the Narrative.
  • They know that not only are most people unfamiliar with proper logical argumentation (i.e. Dialectic), but that most people cannot and do not think that way, so they focus on manipulating the feels via Rhetoric instead.

And so we see endless covering for Hillary and equally relentless hits on whomever of her opponents seems best to hit that day, using journalism as a cover for public relations campaigns. (This, of course, is why many "journalists" sneer at journalism ethics; they're really Public Relations operatives.)

This is why assassination attempts against Donald Trump get but cursory attention, while the released DNC files get buried. This is why the rhetoric aimed at violence towards Trump gets excused, and then flipped as further rhetoric via victim-blaming him for those incidents. (That, by the way, is known as the "DARVO" technique.) That's why they lie about Trump's campaign finances, while ignoring all the illegal and unethical laundering Bill & Hillary do to make and grow their fortune. They want their (wo)man in office, and they're using the system that they created to get it done. This is NOT an aberration. This is NOT individual corruption or incompetence. This is institutional, and it's meant to be this way- and it has since its inception a century now.

Working As Intended.

Monday, June 20, 2016

Gary & Dave Tinkered Their Way to Success.

Having the privilege of knowing people who were there when Dungeons & Dragons has changed how I see the early editions of the game, as well as not-D&D RPGs of the same era, and greatly informed my current opinion on game design as a skillset. (And no, the FleshMech crowd at The Gaming Den aren't where I'm going.)

It is clear now that Michael Monard's summary of "We made up some shit we thought was fun." was the way things worked. They iterated their way to what D&D would become. You can do that for your game, especially the early iterations; make something, play it, see what works and fix what is not working. Rely on spot-rulings over written rules, and provide only enough mechanics to cover what can't be spot-ruled reliably.

We see this in the game's introduction of what is now the Core Four classes. Fighter was first, as befits a wargame derivative. We now see that Magic-User was second and Cleric was third. Thief came with the first supplement, and wasn't in the original set of Original D&D. When you consider the tinker-style iteration going on, this makes sense.

Fighters wear any armor and use any weapon or shield. Clerics trade some of that for the Val Helsing suite (Turn Undead, Healing & Blessing spells, etc.). Magic-Users trade almost all of it for Real Ultimate Power (if you live long enough). Thieves trade some of it to become Stealth Gods (eventually). Defining other classes in terms of how they differ from the Fighter (which is our baseline) works just fine, especially in hobbyist tinker-mode game design. So it will be in other mechanic designs; pick a baseline and make other choices deviations from that.

Specific things follow a similar pattern. Originally, all Hit Dice were 1d6 and all weapons did 1d6; this was itself an iterative shift from the wargame where a model had one Hit and did one Hit, and Heroes had and did more. Spells are similar in their development, with the Fireball from the previous post being a notable example.

Don't worry about fucking it up. Worry about finding the breaks, figuring out how it broke, and fix that. Later, rinse, repeat until you get what you're after. Make it work, then make it work as intended, and only after it's reliably working as intended do you bother making it pretty.

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Narrative Warfare: Convergence is Fucking Retarded

We know that Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc. actively police what is said on their networks. We know that they do so with a clear political bias. Nevermind if it is legal or not. Nevermind if it is moral or not. First, and foremost, it's fucking retarded business policy and on that point alone it should end, permanently.

The reason is simple: so long as there is no interference in the operations of the users, the providers can take the position that they merely provide access to the medium and therefore have no liability for anything that goes on therein. This form of neutrality is what we demanded out of radio, television, and film distribution. It's why, for a long time, we had a clear demarcation between those who make the stuff that goes out and those who run and maintain the means to do so.

This is why the known trend of these entities to engage in politically-motivated and biased censorship is not just wrong, but stupid and bad for business. Maintaining a strict neutrality policy, insisting only on removing that which is disruptive to the physical operation of the network, in the way that one removes bandits from roads and pirates from sea lanes because they clog up the network and impede its operation. That is all Google (et. al.) should bother with- and in sensible management, would.

Irrational management policy is the sign that fools and entryists have seized power and converged the organization to the entryists' ends. Fortunately, even Google is disposable, expendable, and fungible. The solution is to fung it, so you can expend it, and then dispose of it in favor of a superior alternative.

Saturday, June 18, 2016

My Life as a Gamer: The Original Wizard is Gone

The man who played the first "Magic-User" in Dungeons & Dragons (and created the class, as I see it), a man by the name of Pete Gaylord, died on the 8th of this month at the age of 73. I heard about this from one of my acquaintances, Michael Monard, at this RPG Site thread. He and another user, going by "chirine ba kal", shared a few stories.

For the rest of us, this one is one to pay attention to:

Yes, he did affect the magic-user class; he basically created it, by being the first one out of the gate. Everybody sat around and said, "all right, if you are 'the wizard', what do wizards do?" Pete modeled himself on Radagast the Brown, and added in things as they became needed in the game.

Pete: "I throw a fireball."
Dave: "You do what?"
Pete: "I throw a fireball. It's what wizards do."
Dave: "Oh. Okay. Roll to see if you hit."

So, yes, some of his spells are still with us today. Fireballs. Staffs. Talking to animals. I'll have a look in the notes that I have; I think there's more in First Fantasy Campaign.

That? That's organic game design. Iterating your way to creating something that other people will want to buy and enjoy, and having fun all the way there as you goof your way to success. I had no idea who Mr. Gaylord was until I saw that obituary, but nonetheless I've felt the impact of his contributions for the whole of my life, and I am grateful for his part in this hobby that I love and adore. Godspeed, Mr. Gaylord, and may you enjoy all the best gaming in Heaven.

Friday, June 17, 2016

Sargon of Akkad on The Young Turks & Cultural Relativism

Sargon of Akkad released a video recently on Islam, the West, and the reality of cultural value versus the bullshit we're given daily. Since he's quite capable of explaining himself, I'll let him do so.

Islamic cultures are inferior to Western cultures, by the numbers.

Note Sargon's take here. He identifies specific individuals within the Muslim world who are, in themselves, people that aren't wholly out of line with Civilization and then shows that they are grossly outnumbered by their brothers- that what we're told is abnormal is actually normal. Then, using data to show it, he points out that Islam produces human living conditions that we in Civilization right regard as barbaric and inferior.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

It's About Terrorism, Not Guns

Utterly ridiculous, but sadly predictable. Now Jeh Johnson is saying gun control is a matter of homeland (national) security and something has to be done that doesn't infringe on the 2nd amendment *AS INTERPRETED BY THE SUPREME COURT. We could ask Scalia what he thinks about that, but he's dead. Others are calling for a complete repeal of the 2nd Amendment, while still others are calling for everyone who buys a gun to have to go to a doctor to be declared mentally fit. All that on top of a renewed push for the "no-fly no-buy" loophole legislation, which, considering the guy supposedly worked for a top DHS contractor, he was vetted more than most people to buy guns by the very agency that claims it is securing the homeland! So tell me again... how would the "no fly no buy" list have magically prevented Orlando? Answer: it wouldn't have.

Fuck me. It's cult thinking writ large. It's a handful of malicious actors using a far larger body of true believing fools to gain power. Due Process? What's that? Inalienable rights? What? Fucking liars, thieves, frauds and traitors- the lot of them.

And yes, when you push for public policies that demonstrably give aid and comfort to the enemies of the nation and the country, that's sedition on its face and it's treason when you're also a citizen. Gun Control is Treason. Truthstream Media here has the right of it, and if this goes on then the ultra-nationalist coup becomes inevitable and the second American Civil War enters our history. They apparently want it. I don't, but I'll deal with it should it come.

What we have here is Narrative Warfare. The violation of Due Process, the weaponization of the medical system, and fraud on such a scope and scale that I'm astounded at the audacity of it. What we've got is a Terrorism problem. We need to be armed and armed well, as individuals, to deal with it when and where it occurs- and every last fucking government response shows that they CANNOT protect us as they claim, even if they want to (and they don't).

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

God of War: The Power of Fatherhood

I hang out with Oliver and the rest of the Goof Troop on a regular basis. We watched the E3 conferences together, so when this demo reel for the new God of War roll we paid attention. Being that many of us either are raising children, work with them, or otherwise pay attention to the realities of raising children, when we saw Kratos with that boy we took notice. I'll let Oliver take it from here.

First: Give Oliver a follow on Twitter. (And say Hello when you do.) He's a good guy like that, and humble to boot. Knows his stuff.

Now, there's something else I picked up on (and I was not alone): the boy's characterization. Kratos's son is very much what a normal boy is. He wants to play and not do drudge work. He's happy, and cheery, and doesn't want to harm things that don't pose a threat to him or his. He wants his father's approval, thinks highly of him, and love him (and his mother) dearly. He's innocent, and recognizing that fact--along with that he is the son of a god-slayer--means that all the things that any father worth a damn has to do for his son (as Oliver points out) matter even more here. Being the son of a legendary and notorious hero and god-slayer makes you a target for his enemies, and Kratos will not always be there to protect him.

Kratos knows that, sooner or later, his son must fend for himself- and do so in a world filled with gods and monsters who hate and fear Kratos. He knows that his boy may be required to fend for himself well before most ordinary boys do, and do so against far more powerful threats than most ordinary boys need ever consider. He doesn't know how much time he has, so he's got to get this boy ready as soon as he can. Yet, in doing so, he knows what has to happen to harden a boy into a man. He knows how loving and caring his son is, how his boy really doesn't want to harm others, so he wisely decides to focus on the truth: that men have to do it, but only when necessary. That he does so in so brilliant a move as helping the boy do the mercy-kill on the stag they hunted is a powerful moment, one that his son will never forget.

That moment is transformative. That moment is what we call "initiatory", because it is the first time this boy did what will become routine for him, and in doing this he learned by direct experience what is required of him when he grows up. Any culture worth a damn recognizes that these moments are necessary, and therefore finds a way to structure them to produce the desired results reliably. What we saw here is the raw, emergent form and not the ritualized and formalized form we're often told to think of initiation rites. For boys, this is critical for proper development into men, and that means men need to be fathers to guide their sons through this process.

To see this depicted, and depicted as the good and necessary thing that it is, in a AAA videogame title is a big deal- and a display that rejects the SocJus cult's poisonous dogma that hates the power that fathers and fatherhood possess to build and maintain healthy cultures in all the races of Man. For that, I am grateful to the team behind this new God of War game. Now, I just hope that the gameplay also delivers.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Nintendo at E3 2016: This Cures Insomnia

Nintendo did not eat its Wheaties this morning. They had no energy. They were boring, stilted, and lifeless. If you were battling sleep deprivation or insomnia this presentation would solve that right quick. Yeah, sure, new Pokemon and Legend of Zelda and blah-blah-zzzzz.

I'll check YouTube later for videos concerning what I care about from Nintendo. (The new Zelda game does have something interesting to it.) But I ain't sitting through the livestream. I'd rather farm Tomes of Chaos for my Death Knight's Legendary Ring in the ass-cancer that is Looking For Raid on the live World of Warcraft servers.

Monday, June 13, 2016

The E3 2016 Conferences & My Thoughts

Okay, as of this post I've watched the EA conference, the Bethesda conference, the Microsoft conference, the PC Gaming show, and the Ubisoft conference. Sony's in under three hours and one more tomorrow; I'll edit the former in later and do a follow-up tomorrow for the latter.

  • EA sucked so hard that it could vacuum every grain of sand from the Empty Quarter in seconds. Bland, nothing of note, lots of sportsball bullshit, and World War 1. Meh.
  • Bethesda sucked less. Fallout stuff. More Fallout stuff. Dishonored 2 gets gameplay demo and release date. Elder Scrolls console players get what PC has had for years.
  • Microsoft had a new console, a revised console, Windows 10 fuckery, lots of stuff we saw last year, and other shoot-self-in-foot stuff.
  • PC Gaming: Dawn of War 3 and a lot of other stuff I don't care about.
  • Ubisoft: Lots of stuff we saw last year. Some new stuff. The AC movie took too much time. Plenty of gameplay video and release dates. Sucked least so far.

Out of all the stuff I saw, all things VR bore me to death. Sports games bore me. Don't care about them. The pirate MMO, We Are Happy, Dawn of War 3, For Honor, and Dishonored 2 so far look like my thing. I expect Dead Riding 4, Halo Wars 2, and State of Decay 2 (which would be far more interesting WITHOUT the zombies) to be popular with the folks I hang out with online.

Sony delivered. They brought their A-game. They opened right. They announced Resident Evil VII. A COD game that may be fun after the first week. The next Lego Star Wars game we all knew was coming. Crash Fucking Bandicoot. Kojima teased his new game. The Last Guardian finally gets a release date. Some bad beats (indie shit, another zombie shooter likely built using the same tech as The Last of Us). The VR tie-ins, meh. But, overall, they win the event this year. Nintendo doesn't have a chance.

Sunday, June 12, 2016

My Life as a Gamer: The Iconic Ones Are Most Playable

I'll post something about the start of the E3 2016 conferences after the Bethesda conference this evening. Until then, something almost completely different.

High Centurion Tommork

The armored warrior pictured here is a NPC from World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor by the name of Tommork. He defected from the decaying empire of Ogres known as the Gorian Empire, which the Alliance & Horde finished off during their war against the Iron Horde, and came to become part of the personal bodygyard of one of the generals of the Alliance and Horde armies (i.e. your character). He has his origins, as most of his sort do, in the gladitorial games. That gave me an idea.

Palladium's fantasy RPG has both playable Ogres and a Gladiator character class. Building up to a character like this is a worthy campaign goal, and Draenor is a setting that is actually quite friendly to Palladium's ruleset. (You'll have to move homebrew and hybridize, but it IS doable.) A D&D/Pathfinder version is also viable, especially under some editions. (As for more obscure games, TORG can do this easily. Earthdawn may be doable.)

So, when I find a table suitable for it, I'm rolling a character of this sort and playing Ogre Gladiator. Seek out challenging opponents, be they men or monsters, and sword them into submission (or death). Adventuring suits that motivation just fine, makes it easy to provide playable scenarios, and creates an iconic character that's not hard to relate to. Also, this character concept allows me to play the fucking game and dispense with the frustrated novelist/actor bullshit. (This is something far too many people who get paid making this stuff forget, and slip said bullshit into their product instead. Then they wonder why they get shit on for unplayable content.)

So, let's nail this down: The iconic archetypes are most playable. Stick to those and you cannot lose.

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Geek Gab Gabs On!

Look, it's Geek Gab. If you're not on to this podcast, which really is a handful of dudes talking geeky stuff for a half-hour via Google Hangout, sub to the channel on YouTube (or via Soundcloud) and to Daddy Warpig on Facebook or Twitter. Enjoy the show for what it is, and maybe you too--as I have--will be on the show sometime in the future. This is the sort of happy geek podcast we all can get behind.

Legion Hype: The Pre-Expansion Event Approaches

Bellular Gaming did a video about the upcoming, and imminent, in-game event that will precede the launch of World of Warcraft: Legion. This event will come with the pre-expansion patch to the game that will bring all of the new and revised game mechanics, content, etc. into the game (and then lock most of it behind the paywall that Legion's purchase actually is).

The takeaway from this video is that, if you were intrigued enough by Legion to buy into the game or return to the game, this is when you should hand over the sheckles and play. In addition to the gear, which is reason enough for those who otherwise would be farming Tanaan Jungle for a few more weeks, this is the time because it gives you a few weeks to get acquainted with the new state of the game and decide which character you want to take first into Legion's new content in the Broken Isles. Your fellow players will thank you for knowing how to play your character competently, so seize this opportunity to git gud.

Expect this testing on the Beta realms to do much of the heavy lifting, and then get on the Public Test Realm for a bigger test to ensure that stuff works as intended under the huge stress of player populations before finally going live. If you have multiple character at the current cap, then this will keep you busy until Demon Hunter Early Access hits (assuming that you bought in). Follow channels like Bellular's if you want more good stuff like this.

Friday, June 10, 2016

My Life as a Gamer: The Tells That They Aren't Engaged

Sounds like a reasonable, sensible thing, right?

Malone!
WRONG!

For some God-awful reason, getting players to focus on the situation at-hand and be ready for when their turn comes around might as well be herding cats. Over 30 years, and I can count the people who are ready to go when their turn comes up on one fucking hand, and I'll have digits left over.

It is a known issue that most players tune out of a tabletop RPG's goings-on when they are not immediately and directly involved or concerned, and getting them to do so without a full-scale breakdown and rebuild of their psychology (as is done in Boot Camp, or worse) is a Pyrrhic deed at best.

It's a matter of engagement. Quite simply, they have to be involved from start to finish on things of direct and immediate relevance to them and their characters. Game Masters who don't lay on and keep up that pressure get this disengagement problem, compounded by the idea that this is more of a social time than a focused group activity because we do it for entertainment (and, because it's not a sport, doesn't get the same respect for task focus and group responsibility that sports do despite requiring the same).

There is something about tabletop RPGs that gets folks to forget that they require the same focused attention that tabletop wargames and boardgames do, and I notice that individual campaigns that look like wargames on the table don't have this problem as often. That, in the short term, is the real solution: less bullshit, more proper game procedure and obvious tools thereof at hand. Break out the maps, the miniatures, and the charts. Take the play-acting, plot-anxiety, and other frustrated actor/writer bullshit out behind the shed and beat it to death with a rusty lead pipe.

Remember the Feedback Loop. That's how you bring and keep the pressure on the players. "What do you do?" should be coming out of your mouth hundreds of times per hour, and it should because it forces players back into focusing on what's going on at the table. Fuck the storytelling nonsense; you're running a GAME. The game is a test of the players' skill, a challenge to overcome the obstacles before them and achieve their objectives. If they aren't engaged, then they aren't challenged- and that, buddy-boy, is entirely on you. They came to play a fucking game. GIVE THEM A FUCKING GAME!

The solution is to keep the pressure on them by playing your part of the game properly. DO THE WORK.

My Life as a Shooter: The Savage 11 Scout Rifle

Yep, back on about Scout Rifles, and no I'm still not talking about Destiny's wrong take on the concept. My last post talked about alternatives to the basic scout rifle concept. What I have below is a video review for one of the commercial scout rifles, and the one I'm most keen to pick up. This is the newest commercial offering available, as of this post, and it about nails Col. Cooper's specifications for what a scout rifle should be. For those thinking the scope mounting is off, that's in-spec; scopes are meant to be mounted forward of the receiver so you can use it with both eyes open.

Fun Gun Reviews Presents: Savage 11 308 Scout Rifle. The Shooting Legend Jeff Cooper brought to life the Scout Rifle concept. Quick to deploy yet long range capability, the Scout rifle is great for Hunting, Self Defense and Survival Situations. The Savage 11 Scout is a solid option for his design

Yes, I want one. Just saying so now. Birthday is in October. Just sayin'.

I do love the Scout Rifle as a concept. Having this, and the two I mentioned in the previous post on this topic, would round out my go-to contemporary rifles (that aren't semi-automatic) just fine. As the sort of rifle you'd want every household to have one (at least) of, this Savage model works just fine. The price (as noted in the video) is not out of line for what you get; you'll need to buy the sling and scope separately, and I'd advise at least one spare factory magazine so you can properly use this rifle in a defensive capacity. (Remember: "Jack-of-all-trades" does require basic competency.)

(Oh, and follow Sootch on YouTube. He reliably produces videos like this. Great channel.)

Of the commercial offerings, I recommend this Savage over the Ruger Gunsite. Hell, I'd recommend this over all other commercial scouts; this is the best yet out-of-the-box Everyman Rifle that the Scout Rifle is meant to be according to Jeff Cooper. You can take this damn near everywhere in the world (that you can get the ammo) and do just fine in hunting or defensive roles. Yes, specialists will beat you; that's fine- Working As Intended. I place a great value on things that Just Fucking Work, so out-of-the-box utility matters to me; this rifle has it in spades. Sling, scope, spare mags, ammo. Done. Hook me up.

Thursday, June 9, 2016

BaconBits Presents: The Man Who Would Be President

Roy Baron wants a true 3rd party and he also want...to be President. Daddy Warpig, Professor F. and I will be asking him about his bid to be the most powerful man in the world, live at 8. Don't forget to check out baconbitsshow.com for original articles after the show.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Kraut & Tea Presents: Islamic Insanity Ep1: The Genocide Rally

YouTube user Kraut & Tea began a new video series about the reality of Islamic nations in Europe, and this video focuses on a resolution by the German Parliament to condemn the Armenian Genocide, and how the Turkish community lost their shit over it.

The response from the Turkish government is exactly the same freak-out that SocJus cultists do on a daily basis. Which means that the same remedies apply because the same processes are at work. They lied, they double-down, and they projected. The Shieves clip nailed down the fact that they do think alike, and therefore act alike, from reactions to responses (and remedies thereto). Congratulations, morons! You've made SJWs Always Lie more relevant than ever with your incompetence.

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Narrative Warfare: The Signals That Reveal Your Hypocrisy

One thing I can't unsee is virtue-signalling, and how it contributes to the degeneracy of a nation's culture. What is this? Well, this excerpt from Mike Cernovich's blog sums it up nicely:

Virtue signaling as status signaling.

A quick primer on status signals.

Did you know people can tell how much you’re worth and what your education level is based on how you look? We apes are constantly sending off signals of our social status. You can look at a man and tell if he’s an alpha or beta. You can look at his watch to place him inside an income bracket.

Indeed, I am able to spot online frauds easily based on the status signals they send off. Self-proclaimed ballers talked about shopping for a Michael Kors watch. Baller don’t buy that brand. People earning $60,000 to $80,000 do. (Those in higher income brackets would buy a Rolex, or if they wanted to send off another status signal, a Patek Philippe.)

A quick primer on virtue signals.

Virtue signaling is a form of status signaling. When you say the right things, you signal to others that you belong to the right social class.

When you say things like, “I hate racism,” you are sending a message to the left. “I’m a good boy. I’m not like those flyover state red necks. Please let me remain part of your club.”

Why are conservative pundits (and most everyone else who writes) terrified of being called racist, sexist, homophobic, or some other type of bigot? It’s not because they’d lose their jobs or readers. After all, the media insults the readers of National Review all day. Readers would not revolt if the mainstream media accused an NRO blogger of racism. As Trump’s rise has shown, readers would love the conservative pundits even more.

Conservatives are caught in a status game, and the left controls this game. SJWs control the highest status publications like the New York Times, and liberals run the New York Publishing houses.

(Disclosure: The underlining above is mine, in lieu of fucking with the font size, as is the italics; the rest is his.)

This is a subset of a larger known phenonemon, explained in this Reddit comment from a thread at /r/rpg (which you can find here):

(The original poster said: "When I first played D&D the DM was running another game at the same time. He said the game I was in was more of a dungeon crawl, while the other game was more about serious roleplaying.")

(This is where the comment, by user Reddit4Play, begins.) Well, let me tell you. Every player there, myself included, was suddenly in favor of "serious roleplaying," and wanted little to do with "a dungeon crawl". And yet, today, I think dungeon crawls are more fun, and I'm pretty sure I did all along without knowing it. This sounds just like your problem, so what happened?

This experience is actually rooted in a psychological effect that was discovered by Howard Moskowitz. He used it to create the concept of horizontal product segmentation (e.g. cherry Pepsi, vanilla Pepsi, etc. instead of just regular Pepsi) that is ubiquitous in food products today. However, it's the effect itself that we care about.

What Howard found in his research was that if, for example, you asked people what kind of coffee they thought was best they'd say something like "dark, rich, hearty roast." And yet, when you provided them with weak, milky coffee and dark, strong coffee, around 75% of people rated the weak, milky coffee as better.

The exact same effect is visible in people's Netflix queues: tons of people have had Citizen Kane in their Netflix queue literally for years alongside dozens of other classic films and dramas, but every time they watch Netflix they watch Arrow or 21 Jump Street or something. Additionally, the number of people who claim to like strong, robust beer flavors absolutely does not explain the success of weak American lite beers. And so on and so on.

The key to this effect is that, when prompted for the thing they like best, people will display that they like the thing their culture tells them is the cool thing - the thing the connoisseur likes, and that the cultural critic endorses - because subconsciously they want to fit in. But when it comes time to actually use a product and have an experience with it, they'll pick the one they personally enjoy every time. This explains why Starbucks is so successful despite selling weak coffee in a world where most people will tell you they like dark coffee (and the same goes for the beer industry). It explains why people have classic dramas on their Netflix queue while watching comedies and TV procedurals. It explains why everyone playing with me almost a decade ago suddenly was really into "serious roleplaying".

And, most importantly, it explains why your players tell you they enjoy serious roleplaying and then... mostly don't. For them it's probably something they do as a change of pace, and not actually their preferred method of play.

(Disclosure: The link above is in the linked comment. Italics are mine.)

So, what does this mean? Most of you say one thing, while doing another; that's hypocrisy, making you a hypocrite. Why do you do this? For the reasons explained: to maintain or increase your social status, signalling via what you say (verbal and otherwise) to others that you conform to whatever the Narrative is about that thing. You do this to avoid being ostracized, and therefore getting access to things you believe (falsly) you can't do without cut off.

From the most petty of things (such as saying you want some hipster bullshit style of tabletop RPG, but actually doing the style that built the medium up from nothing into the major cultural influence it remains today), to those most serious (saying you're against the war to win votes, and then waging wars left and right once in office), you folks do this- and you may not even be aware of it, it's that ingrained.

Hypocrisy is a form of lying, and lying is theft of the truth. Stealing the truth contributes to social degeneracy by eroding the integrity of the information you get from others, information you rely upon to perform as best you can to fulfill your obligations and pursue your objectives. It's commonplace because its acceptance allows people to avoid the lawful consequences of their stupidity, when suffering them would instead be far more effective in stamping out the stupidity (and the baleful effects it has) upon people.

The remedy is simple: to be honest with yourself in the most ruthless manner possible. In short, OWN THAT SHIT! It's what you really believe, what you really want, how you really are. Fair or foul, owning that shit is far superior to lying to yourself about it because it does remove a critical weakness that others who want to use and consume you would otherwise wield against you.

You can't own Mike Cernovich. He's ruthlessly honest with himself. You can't own Vox Day. He's ruthlessly honestly with himself. Because they are that honest with themselves, they can be honest with others--with you--because they don't give a fuck about your status-dancing and social-shaming shit. This plays into their anti-fragility, and their ability to fail faster; they can just act on reality as it is and not suffer through bullshit dogma filters that fuck with their ability to be effective. Couple that with alternative routes to secure resources they require, alternatives that others can't fuck with because they don't jump on command, and they present a threat to such a sick society as yours which is obsessed with signalling. Conquer your fear, be honest with yourself, and you'll find a way to be great again in ways that matter.

Monday, June 6, 2016

My Life as a Gamer: Coming Back to BattleTech

Last year, I came home to Car Wars. This year, it's BattleTech.

I credit Razorfist for reigniting that desire to play, and so I recently went online to see what's new and different about the classic tabletop game of lumbering tin cans with guns. I am pleased that the core rules are exactly as I remembered then, so that means all I'd have to learn are the optional rules- and I can take or leave those at my leisure (and pleasure). I expect that the Aerospace Fighter rules (AeroTech) will also be as I remember them, leaving me to learn only the Warship and etc. rules.

As for the tabletop RPG, the last edition I had any familiarity was the one with this as the cover:

Mechwarrior Tabletop RPG 2nd Edition

So yeah, I've got some learning to do there, now that the current edition is A Time of War. I have no actual materials at this time, so I'm lacking the means to play and have no manuals to reference, but that's really about it. As I found with Car Wars, all I lacked was the tools. I fully expect that whem I get them, I'll get my groove back in moments and it will feel like it did 20 years ago when I played on Saturdays either at The Source or at Phoenix Games.

And these days, I have the option to play online- and I don't mean that MMO. Razorfist is right: BattleTech is due for a revival.

My Life as a Shooter: The Henry Pump-Action Rimfire Rifle

You don't see pump-action rifles much these days. They were once a popular repeating action choice in the late 19th and early 20th century, but as the bolt-action and semi-automatic actions achieved dominance (for superior utility over the pump-action) they went away. Now, aside from those made to make a mockery of stupid anti-gun regulations, you only see them in replicas. This Henry model is in that replica mode of recreation of an otherwise obsolete technology.

Sootch here gives a full review of Henry's offering, with his commentary on his experience with it. What he emphasizes here is not only the quality of the construction, but also the sheer fun of having this chambered in the classic critter-gitter .22 Long Rifle cartridge. If you're in a place that fucks with your ability to get or keep a semi-auto like the Marlin 795 or the Ruger 10/22, you value aesthetics, and you don't want a bolt-action or lever-action, consider ones of these for your collection. Hell, I have a Marlin 925 and I want one of these. An afternoon with my friends punching holes in paper or ringing steel with rimfire rifles is great social time.

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Razorfist Ruins Some Clanners' Day

A while back I put up a post about a YouTube user known as "Razorfist" talking about BattleTech. With a new PC game in the works, I thought it a good idea to show some of the old stuff in action, and Razorfist is again on the blog to do that.

The below video is from a May 11th, 2016 livestream on YouTube. In addition, if you like, there are plenty of Mechwarrior Online YouTube channels as well as livestream channels at Twitch. Furthermore, HyperRPG has regular BattleTech and Shadowrun content (despite them being somewhat SJW-converged; they ARE based in Seattle). If you want more BattleTech, Mechwarrior, etc., you can find it easily enough.

He's right about the Mechwarrior videogames being rather good adaptations of the tabletop wargame, and I fully expect Harebrained Schemes new BattleTech game to be no less faithful. The Q&A that Harebrained have done indicates that they have a good head on their shoulders; they're focusing on the core game first, with possible expansions later on if the initial release is successful.

That's good, because if any fun old science fiction game deserves a renaissance, it's BattleTech. Excuse me while I bring my Crusader out from storage. It's been a long time, and she needs a shakedown cruise.

Saturday, June 4, 2016

"The Consequences of German Guilt" by Kraut & Tea

Sargon of Akkad went on holiday to Spain this week, so he'd had guests upload videos to his channel so the content keeps flowing. This video is by a YouTube user known as Kraut & Tea, who is like Sargon in his concerns and topics (albeit with a German vs. an English perspective). The description below is enough to get the point across:

The effect of the Holocaust on modern Germany.

Well, that's a new channel in my subscription feed. Well done, K&T.

I'll add the following to what he said: the common people do not accept that which is not direct and immediate in its impact upon them as being relevant to their lives. "Time heals all wounds." is the flip side to "It is the Doom of Men that they forget.", and you do not get one without the other; the injury done fades with time.

Now, couple that with the known phenomenon--seen in the video--that these Social Justice cultists are actually making the very thing they claim to oppose happen, and you now can see how the lessons of the past can fail to be applied to the present. The people of the present seen no signs--nothing clear, direct, or immediate--that the thing they've been told is a problem exists, so they forget about it. With vigilance lax, they fail to pay attention and so miss the tells that the problem returns. Then shit goes wrong, and they wonder why they got into this mess.

Historians cope with despair for many reasons, and willful ignorance is the worst of the lot. Con men prefer those who want to be fooled.

Friday, June 3, 2016

San Jose Gave Trump the Election

At Trump's rally in San Jose, California a riot broke out. Anti-Trump rioters attacked and did harm, even injury, to supporters who were not inside the event's location. I heard about it first over Twitter, which I'll get to in a moment, but first the reactions. Scott Adams was the man who first explained how and why Trump would be where he is now, and Mike Cernovich is certainly a supporter, but neither were all-in for him until now.

And this is the money quote, the one that will resonate forward on multiple levels.

Why? Because the media Establishment is in the tank for Hillary and will do whatever Narrative Warfare fraud is required to cover for her while damaging Trump. They are NOT neutral. They are NOT dispassionate. They are NOT giving you everything you need to know. Without men like Cernovich seeking out direct contact with these people, passing on videos of things that actually happened, we'd never know what really went on and a lot of might even buy the bullshit that Trump's at fault.

Instead, we know that the San Jose Police Department--on orders from the Major and the Chief--stood by and did NOTHING. (Which, for those insisting that the police are there to protect you, is proof once again that you're wrong; they exist to enforce the law and nothing more.)

We know now that the mainstream media refused to properly cover the events until shamed into it by social media postings going viral. (This too is the repetition of a known pattern of behavior.) Even now, some refuse to do so; they too are being called to account online, and one's already been suspended for making his employer look bad. (Yes, that's another Cernovich scalp.) It's not all bad news, and it's not largely because folks like you are using the tools at hand to tell it like it directly to the rest of us.

Oh, and this riot? Predicted well before the fact:

Take care out there, folks.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Legion Hype: Preach Gaming's Fucking Fantastic Complete Fury Warrior Presentation

My main character in World of Warcraft is a Fury Warrior, so this specialization is most important to me. Preach's commentary comes from lengthy hands-on actual play experience in the Alpha and the Beta. This means that he's sometimes at odds with the theorycrafters, as what the latter deems optimal doesn't play well in the field whereas Preach comes up with shit that's field-tested and thus proven to work. If Finalboss is the finely-engineered and fitted safari rifle, then Preach is the trench gun or coach gun that goes and goes and gets shit done.

(Time passes...)

I went to bed after posting the above. Since then Preach put up a gameplay video. This does NOT reflect today's changes from the latest Beta client patch, so take it with some salt, but here it is anyway. Enjoy.

My Life as a Gamer: That End-of-Expansion Lull

The content cycle for World of Warcraft has a predictable up-and-down to it. Right now we're in the pre-expansion lull, where all of the big things are done in the current content expansion and we're waiting for the pre-patch event to lead into the next such expansion. Thanks to the streaming community, we get to see what's in the Beta well before the fact (either by watching their streams or the videos posted to YouTube), so the sensible among us are using this time to get ready.

For me, this means cleaning out the clutter in the banks of my characters. It means finishing up the last rounds of Legendary Quest work on the last alternate characters, leveling sub-capped characters up so they're in a position to move immediately into the new content, and working that Auction House as best you can to help build up the warchest once more in anticipation of the needs of the new content.

For a lot of people, especially high-end raiders and PVP players, this also means reducing their playtime on Live in favor of Beta (if they have access) or some other option. The release of Overwatch hit just at the right time, therefore, to keep these players on the Blizzard reservation and not messing with non-Blizzard games. (A lot of World of Warcraft players do Hearthstone, Diablo 3, Heroes of the Storm, or Starcraft 2 on the side to play when they want a break from Azeroth.) Some stay in the world, but swap media and get into the comics, novels, and now the movie. Blizzard is very keen to keep its audience on the reservation, getting revenue one way or another, at all times.

It's a good time to take a break, and many do. Me? I've got paid game time through January, so I'm making use of it to get ready for Legion.

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Hillary's Nomination Woes

I would not be so pleased. Hillary Clinton is a well-connected white-collar criminal, and she knows well the cultures of the various units of the Federal Government. So long as she remains within the informal lines of behavior therein, has stroke in the party leadership, and keeps the media allies happy, she's not going to go where she belongs: a maximum-security prison, for life, without parole.

So, I'm looking for reports and other signs that she's losing that support or has transgressed those informal norms.

As I was saying.

Looks like, as with 2008, Hillary's done goofed and fucked herself- again. Hillary's media allies are prominent, but not brilliant, so reports like this are worth noting as signs that she's in trouble. Look for some procedural fuckery between now and the Democrat convention out of her camp, and look for counter-fuckery from Sanders' side to blunt that shit. I still expect Hillary to steal the nomination, but in doing so she'll ensure her defeat in the general to Trump.