Don't Starve: Shipwreck Tips and Tricks

I didn't have a chance to play Don't Starve: Reign of Giants DLC, so this expansion was an interesting new adventure for me to dive into for my free weekend.

First of all Don't Starve: Shipwreck is for the hardcore survivalist gamers only. Aside from the obvious of being stuck on an island alone, there are some new features that worthy of your investment.  There are 100s of new items, recipes, resources, and enemies. My favorite new feature is the ability to travel from island to island in a boat or raft. You can fish, use nets, and traps while on the boat.

Each new season brings longer nights and shorter days, mixed with adverse weather like hurricane winds and rainy weather that affect your health and sanity. Being wet or cold can seriously decrease your sanity meter, and you will start random fires or start to see shadow creatures that will try to kill you. Learning which shelters and outfits to wear will improve your survival rate.

In previous versions of Don't Starve, food and building resources limitations were the greatest challenge.  Now that you can get in a boat and sail to a better opportunity, that's the least of your concerns.  The biggest challenging feature of Don't Starve: Shipwreck is maintaining your sanity and not getting poisoned.

In order to survive here are the best two tips.  In order to maintain your sanity, here is a good tip. Make a crock-pot. Then find a jungle tree grove, and chop down the tallest tree in order to get a banana bushel.  Once the stormy weather starts, collect the hail that drops.  Add a bushel of bananas, two pieces of ice/hail, and a stick into the crock-pot.  Your new recipe should grant you a banana Popsicle which will restore your health, food meter, and give you 30 sanity.Also, in order to take on the poisonous creatures and tree guards, instead of making the wood armor, find the recipe for the seashell armor which is invincible.

Thank me later, lol.  With the right tools and resources you can over come any challenges.  I'm glad I can help my fellow video game hobbiest.

7 Days to Die - Alpha 13 Released

Well the fun pimps finally released

7 Days to Die "Alpha 13"!

Here are some of the features and resources:

• New Zombies, High-Res Zombies and Animals – We have 5 new base male and 3 new base female high res zombies, a new high res nurse, a new high res frozen lumberjack, and a new hd crawler. Basically all zombies are high res now and the apocalypse never looked so sexy! If that wasn’t enough we’ve added a new Screamer Zombie that investigates world heat map locations that are too hot based on noise, smells and activity so the spider zombie has returned to a normal zombie in the spawning mix. We’ve also added zombie bears to the game be very careful with these guys they will fuck you and your fort up. Last of all we’ve added chickens to the game for another source of meat, feathers and eggs their finger licking good.
• Motion Capture Zombie Animations – We’ve integrated a complete set of new motion capture animations for the zombies that are root motion driven. Meaning they are anchored to the world and their animations drive their motion and speed. The set includes per region pain animations, jumps, attacks, bites, dramatic deaths and a new death to ragdoll animation transition system. There are several variants of walk and run including fit, fat, convulsions, strong and crawl as well as a custom spider zombie moving on all 4s set.
• Zombie Dismemberment System – We’ve added a brand new cutting edge dismemberment system. The system allows players under the right weapon conditions to lop-off with a melee weapon or shoot off with a firearm a zombie’s limb at the elbow, shoulder, knee or hip and take off their heads. Zombies keep coming until their head is taken off or the damage given meets the required damage threshold. Damage to zombie arms/legs cannot kill the zombie, only direct damage to head/chest can kill it now.
• Dynamic Limping and Crippling System – In-conjunction with the new dismemberment system we’ve added a new dynamic limping and crippling. You can attack a zombie legs and their walk can change from normal to a hobbled walk and if you damage them enough they fall to the ground and become a crawling zombie. Spiked traps, landmines, pipe bombs, landmines and fire damage also interact with this system with similar results.
• Knockdown Combat System – We also added a new knockdown combat system that allows player to knock down zombies into prone or kneeling stunned states and deal more damage during these states. With this change health of all zombies have been adjusted up. When a zombie is in the prone stunned state players deal 3X damage and while in the kneeling stunned state deal 2X damage. The system tracks accumulative damage to an upper body knockdown pool for prone knockdown and accumulative damage to a lower body knockdown pool for the kneeling knockdown. For each knockdown pool the damage is accumulative and must reach 0 in a limited time for a knockdown to occur as there is a constant refill rate.

We like it Cold, Hot and Wet! Extreme Weather Survival System

• World Temperature – The world has a global temperature in Fahrenheit Degrees and is displayed in the new map under map stats and can also be seen by hitting F8 in debug mode only. This world temperature fluctuates per biome, per time of day, and gets colder the higher you are and warmer the lower you are. Wind speed can also impact the temperature which is also shown in the map screen maps stats section.
• Player Temperature – The player has a core temperature in Fahrenheit degrees which is the world temperature +/- how it feels to the player and is displayed in the new character menu in the player stats section next to the thermometer icon.This can also be seen by hitting F8 in debug mode only. When the player gets too cold a snowflake buff displays in the lower right corner of the screen with the players core temperature next to it warning the player of his current status. When the player gets too hot a sun buff displays in the lower right corner of the screen with the players core temperature next to it warning the player of his current status. These buffs can also be seen and examined in the new active buffs panel in the new character screen.
• Player Wetness – The player can get wet by moving through water volumes in the world or by being exposed to rain or snow overtime. The more the player submerges himself in water or the longer he is exposed to rain or snow the higher the wetness % goes up to 100%. When the player gets wet an umbrella buff displays in the lower right corner of the screen with the players wetness % next to it warning the player of his current status.
• Temperature and Wetness Defense – All clothing has a positive or negative insulation degree value which can be seen by left clicking an item and examining it which displays the stats in a new Item info window above the backpack. Most items have a positive insulation defense value but a few are special and have a negative value for hot weather survival. Some clothing have a waterproof defense % which can be seen by left clicking an item and examining it which displays the stats in a new Item info window above the backpack with full item stats. A players total summed Insulation and Waterproof values can be seen in the new character screen in the upper left of the character window next to the thermometer and umbrella icons.

• Temperature Modifiers
  • Wearing clothing that has a negative insulation value will cool down the player and is desirable for hot weather survival. F.E. the cowboy hat keeps the player cooler in the desert.
  • Wearing clothing that has a positive insulation value will warm the player and is desirable for cold weather survival.
  • Getting wet by moving through lakes, rain, or snow will make the player wet and colder when he’s cold and cool the player down when he’s hot.
  • Activity that uses stamina, like running or swinging a pickaxe, will warm up the player.
  • Standing near a campfire or forge that is burning will warm up the player.
  • All clothing will have a waterproof % capping how wet the player can get.
  • Going indoors will warm you when you’re cold and cool you when you are hot.
  • Exposure to direct sunlight will warm, and shade will cool, the player.
  • Some foods and drinks have temporary core temp warming or cooling properties. F.E. drinking coffee warms you while water and goldenrod tea will cool you.
  • Wind speed can also cool the player down and will be seen in the new map screen under map stats.

Harvest and Universal Block Upgrade System

• Harvest System – We’ve overhauled block health so everything in the world from a wood wall to a deer carcass has a health and when attacked decreases and adds resources into the player’s inventory automatically showing both added and dropped inventory changes with a GUI informational pop-out on the bottom right corner! The system is global giving the player the right feedback and additionally allows the player to yield bonus items when using the right tool for the right job. For Example using a wrench to take apart a car or air conditioner or using a knife to harvest a deer can yield special bonus items or larger yields. The system also communicates resources removed or needed when attempting to repair or upgrade blocks. Note: With the introduction of harvest and crafting list we have had to majorly change the amount of resources the player receives from wood, stone, metal, clay basically everything and the costs for crafting them so a lot of rebalance has gone into this.
• Universal Block Upgrading – We’ve added a universal block upgrading system. With it nearly every block in the game can be upgraded if the player has a construction class tool such as a Stone Ax, Wrench, Claw Hammer or Nail gun and the right resources such as wood or scrap iron on his person. The game knows what a blocks core materials are to start with such as wood or brick and takes it to the next higher tier in the games overall upgrade hierarchy. This allows players to take over locations easier and save them the trouble of tediously tearing out a block to upgrade it unless it’s part of a new floorplan design. Not to worry we have maintained our old building system so you can still build and the old way. This includes every door, window, most full size wall blocks, roofing blocks and more.
• Block Upgrade Hierarchy – So the overall upgrade system hierarchy is listed below including 1 meter blocks, stairs, roofs, poles, windows and doors. Building has never been more fun!
  • Wood blocks upgrades to reinforced wood blocks by right clicking with a repair tool and using wood resource
  • Reinforced wood blocks upgrade to metal reinforced wood by right clicking with a repair tool and using scrap iron.
  • Metal reinforced wood blocks upgrade to a scrap iron blocks by right clicking with a repair tool and using scrap iron.
  • Scrap iron blocks upgrade to a reinforced scrap iron blocks by right clicking with a repair tool and using scrap iron.
  • Reinforced scrap iron blocks upgrade to a reinforced concrete block by right clicking with a repair tool and using concrete mix.
  • Reinforced concrete walls upgrade to steel walls by right clicking with a repair tool and using forged steel.

Brand New GUI with added functionality and Skill System

• New Inventory controls – Ok before you get on our case about changing inventory controls please try it and give it a chance. Your muscle memory will fight you at first but after you get use to the new controls we think you’ll like it. We had to change them to allow item inspection and actions to be done from a static window. So here are the new controls:
  • [Left Click] to inspect an item, recipe or active effect
  • [Left Click] hold and drag to take a stack
  • [Left Click] to drop or swap a stack
  • [Right Click] hold and drag to take a half stack
  • [Right Click] to drop one item at a time

• New Clean GUI Design Framework – The first thing you’ll notice is the minimalistic new clean design. The minimalistic design is more immersive improving flow and conveying needed information better displaying it all in one large page not sub-pages under sub menus. Even veteran players will appreciate the new flow and ease of use. Our team members have even commented that they find themselves crafting items they never knew existed. The system will allow us to iterate much faster and add new stations quicker and provide a great framework for mod support. In the video options we’ve added UI background and UI foreground opacity with defaults of 50% for background and 100% for foreground which can be tweaked to your liking. Note: there are some minor issues and elements to be grouped with this.
• Paging System – We have integrated a new global player inventory paging system accessed by hitting the ‘Tab’ key. The new paging navigation system is located at the top center of the screen and clicking on the icons switches between crafting, character, map, skills, players, and creative screens. The old short cuts still exist ‘m’ key for map, ‘I’ key for the scoreboard which is now the player’s screen, ‘U’ for the creative and new ones ‘B’ for character screen and lastly ‘N’ for skills all of which can be rebound to your liking.
• Item info window – We have added an item info window that appears on every screen that the players backpack does right above it. With it you can read descriptions and stats for every item, recipe, skill or buff in the game and where applicable perform actions taking the place of the old right click menu. Note: We have done a first pass on descriptions buffs and skills all have descriptions and most items you can loot, or make have them except for some of the misc. décor type items.

• Crafting System – The new crafting system can be accessed by hitting the ‘Tab’ key or the crafting icon in the new paging system header. The crafting system has been overhauled with a large generous recipe window on the left which includes a favorite’s button, search and page scrolling. We’ve also added a brand new info window over the backpack which allows item description information to be displayed with a left click. The info window also shows available actions per item such as scrap, drop or equip. When you click on a recipe the info window changes to a crafting window which displays in a table format the recipes required items, names, amounts needed and the amounts you have. In the crafting window action panel you can increment the amount you want up or down or hit the max count button and simply hit craft. The crafted items will go into the crafting queue under the recipe window with a timer and will dump into your backpack when they are done. Up to 4 recipes can be queued at once. You can cancel queued items by clicking on them. Inventory management has been changed to left click to view an item info, left click and drag to take an item , right click and drag to split a stack, right click to drop one item at a time and shift left click to move a stack between spaces.

• Character System – The new character system can be accessed by clicking on the character icon in the new paging system header. The new system offers a generous new larger character window to see your character better than ever playing a cool animation with no sub-page clicking to see what you need. On the upper left of the character window you can see your characters total clothing defensive values displayed. We have streamlined these defensive clothing attributes into 7 core groups including: Concussive defense % by the hammer icon, puncture defense % by the knife icon, fire defense % by the fire icon, radiation defense % by the nuclear icon, insulation defense temperature by the thermometer icon, water defense % by the umbrella icon and clothing weight % by the weight icon. Worn clothing can also be individually inspected showing stats in the new info window. We’ve also added a new player stats window with many valuable player stats and a new buff window where active buffs can be viewed and inspected for more information.

• Map System – The new map screen features everything the old one did and so much more including a full 3 kilometer zoom out. It can still be accessed by ‘M’ shortcut or by clicking on the map icon on the new paging system header. On the top left you’ll notice a new map stats window which displays time and day, outside temp, wind speed and your elevation. The central map window top bar has a row of buttons where you can see your player’s current position, show it on the map, see your bedrolls position and show it on the map, see your cursors position and remove your quick waypoints. When you right click on the map you can set a quick waypoint or save a waypoint picking an icon for it and naming it which adds it into the new waypoint window on the top right. In this waypoint window you can click on a waypoint in the list and in the button bar track it on your compass, show it on your map, remove it from your saved waypoints or share it with allies or everyone on the server. These shared waypoints will go out to others who will receive them in the new waypoint invites window on the lower right. Here you can add the waypoint to your waypoint list, show it on the map or remove it. Who needs google maps with a system like this?

The Rise of Tomb Raider - Female gamers must play this

"I wish this pain wasn't so familiar. Like looking an old enemy in the eye. It wants to take me down. It wants me to lie just down and die. I won't.  I can't!"
- Lara Croft, the Rise of Tomb Raider

For any fan of Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider series, we had our share of ups and downs with the franchise. Well for the first time, we can say Tomb Raider isn't over-hyped.The Rise of Tomb Raider is a dark horse.

Analyst said it made the mistake of coming out on the same day as Fallout 4, but The Rise of Tomb Raider stays on it's own two feet and holds its ground with the best of them.  The reasoning being, this game is exactly what you expect.

I tell you from the start that Lara really has it bad this game.  Every 10 minutes structures are literally collapsing around her, attacks by bears, and salvage thugs that come at her with all they got will keep your heart racing. The timed actions sequences ensure you stay moving, and enemies will have you scared to move until you have a real strategy to take them on. I know you're thinking that i'm drinking the kool-aid, but this is really a good game.  It's large, has a skill tree and level up system, plot driven missions, and a lot of action that keep you active and excited to stay invested.  Now, here is the good and bad analysis.

Let's get the bad news out early.  The Rise of Tomb Raider does not have much replay ability and the game is linear where you have to complete the current mission unlike Fallout 4 where you can explore the open-world and get to the main storyline when you feel like. The storyline is progressed by a mix of flashbacks for the plot and goals you set to learn the truth of a mystery that made her dad crazy.

Now here are the positives.  First of all, this is a game about a survivor.  The Rise of Tomb Raider has a purpose, and make you feel like Lara  Croft has a vital role to play in order for you to finish the game.  The days of Lara being eye candy are gone.  She isn't bouncing around in a spaghetti strapped t-shirt and daisy dukes any more. Lara is clever, self-aware, dark, gritty, and hungry.  Each level is filled with well thought out traps, puzzles, mysteries to solve, and personal challenges to overcome.  You have to think to survive and completing the game is a given.

I swear, this game will make you think about how you approach your obstacles and have you second guessing on whether you are doing the right thing.  Fighting enemies isn't limited to a gun battle anymore.  There are elements of stealth and hand to hand combat that are designed well to make you feel like someone who doesn't have a lot strength for combat but compensates with her brain.  Lara's fist fights with enemies get real graphic and rewarding.  From gathering herbs to heal yourself, to upgrading a homemade bow to take on a giant bear, you really use nature to survive with barely anything.  With hidden treasures, alternative paths and fast paced gameplay, I always felt like I was missing something.

Honestly, surviving against zombies and bandits in 7 days to die or Ark really drained me.  Learning secrets, history, and testing my limits in the game made The Rise of Tomb Raider the most fun game that i have played in a while.    It's definitely worth playing and a treat for fans that always knew a good Tomb Raider game was possible.

It's a great game that overcome the negatives people associated with the Tomb Raider franchise.  Lara Croft showed strength, intelligence, leadership, the ability to make tough decisions, and kick butt when needed. It's cool when hardwork doesn't go unnoticed. The good resume is all here: solid story, good graphics, innovative combat, quality AI, and well designed gameplay from start to finish.  I'm not one to give a game a perfect score, but  The Rise of Tomb Raider comes close.

Fallout 4- Best Perks Tips in the Game Ever!

Well let's try something new.  Instead of doing a mass upload of game reviews, I am going to focus on one game and give a real detailed evaluation or analysis of what I like and dislike about the game. Also, i will give away Easter Eggs you may miss and tips that will help you early on.

This time, I will blog about one of my favorite game series Fallout.  After nearly half a decade, the real Fallout 4 is released.  I know some think Fallout New Vegas was the Fallout 4, but no it was not. New Vegas is an expansion of Fallout 3 with the same storyline/timeline happening on the west coast.
Fallout is more of a prequel, that happens 200 years after the actual war that caused the wasteland we know so well.  This time you can choose to be a former military man or woman with a new born son named Shaun.  After the nuclear fallout happens, your family takes safety in fallout shelter.

I'm not too far in the story, so i can't speak about everything. Instead of surviving in the fallout shelter, you get frozen an time capsule.  This was a change of pace and very suspicious to me from the start.  At some point in timeline, you awaken to find your spouse getting murdered and Shaun kidnapped by an institute scientist and mercenary named Kellogg.  Looking for Shaun and getting revenge for the murder of your spouse are what starts your journey in the new fallout wasteland.

Like every Fallout game, you will encounter raiders, mutated animals, and needy NPC's that want to give you missions they can't do themself for some reason, lol.  The missions are purpose driven with a build around what features they want to show you what the game has to offer.

Bethesda capitalized on the survival crafting trend, and they created a pioneering crafting challenge for you operating base. In earlier Fallout games, you would carry around a bunch of junk and sell it for a few dollars.  Now...for the first time in Fallout, everything in the game is useful.  You can break down spoons, boxes, radios, etc...in order to modify weapon or armor, and craft furniture, power options, buildings.

The best perks to get between level 1-10 that will help you survive and take advantage of the game:

1.Scrapper - Waste not, want not! You can salvage uncommon components like screws, aluminum, and copper when scrapping weapons and armor,
2. Local Leader - As the ruler everyone turns to, you are able to establish supply lines between your workshop settlements., You can build stores and workstations at workshop settlements
3. Medic - Is there a doctor in the house? Stimpaks restore 40% of lost Health, and RadAway removes 40% of radiation.
4. Hacker - Knowledge of cutting-edge computer encryption allows you to hack Advanced terminals
5. Locksmith - Your nimble fingers allow you to pick advanced locks.

7 Days to Die Alpha 13: All Dramatically Improvements and Updates

The release for Alpha 13 is almost near.  The fun pimps spoiled us with an update or new alpha every 5 weeks, so this long wait really is having gamers wondering what have they been doing that could take this long.  Here is a sneak peak of what to expect in 7 Days to Die: Alpha 13.

Hit Points, and Cars, and new Guns

Tracing all of 7 Days to Die 12.5 alphas history of hit points, before, all blocks had 10 hit points and then we used a hardness to say how hard it was. In the end it was really just a bunch of math that made it difficult to balance the game and also made it impossible for us to really display a health bar for blocks. Now each block shows a hit point value as you harvest it, and you can see how effective your tools are and the impact low stamina has on damage too, feedback that was always invisible before. Plus you will get a feeling for what blocks are the strongest in the game because well, stats are awesome.

Cars are now harvest-able. Rather than blowing up you can mine them and get metal. But if you are smart, you will use a wrench and disassemble the car to get all kinds of cool parts, like short metal pipes, springs (now required to make a blunderbuss), cloth, small engines, batteries, radiators and more. You can still loot them too, but the loot isn’t guaranteed like before, since you can harvest them, and now that they aren’t entities (eating collisoin and server cpu).

Speaking of the blunderbuss, its now the most powerful shotgun in the game, followed by the sawed off, and then the long barrel pump. Of course range and reload time make a big difference, but for up close one shots, the blunderbuss is king. Also, a badass home made looking rocket launcher is being introduced in the alpha 13 update. I hope it makes a better impact than the explosive arrows.  All the arrows did was blow holes in the ground and attract the annoying spider zombies that would scream and unleash a flood of zombie hordes.

A welcomed additional feature will be flooded basements! Now, underwater exploration in looting is added as well. Instead of water destroying anything in its path, water only floods over items realistically. Under water exploration could be dangerous though, you never know what you might find.

They added dismemberment of limbs.  You can dynamically cripple enemies by shooting or cutting off a limb in combat.  You can continue to cut pieces off even if they're more dead...well completely dead we are fighting zombies, lol.

Melee will be an worthwhile investment in Alpha 13. Here is the first look of the new machete. Looks like a machete will be useful when dealing with the modifications and animations made to the improved zombies. 

As seen in other games like ARK cold weather survival will present a new challenge. The entire world has a global temperature and then each biome has a modifier, as well as time of day, wind, sunny or cloudy all influence the perceived temperature.

Each clothing item in the game has an insulation value which can be positive or negative. Fire warms you up as well and running raises your core temperature. Running raises your core temperature, drinking coffee warms you up as well.

In order to cope with the cold weather survival system clothing has been upgraded with stats that will play a factor in conducting heat and improving defense.  The starter gear will be the same plant fiber armor we have seen in prior games.

Here is a look at the new leather duster coat. I’m really excited about the new coats and armors. Shown here is the leather armor, denim pants, leather duster, cowboy hat and a blue plaid shirt.

Abandon houses are redesigned and serve as a better survivalist haven than in prior alphas. Abandon houses won’t have any zombies near them, but hardly any loot either, and far from secure. But if your cold and desperate and willing to put some elbow grease into it, it might make a place you can stay at for a night or two. 

You can upgrade everything: floors, doors, walls and window to the steel level.  On the right side of the screen you will see the upgrade cost and materials needed for upgrading. You can take an dilapidated home and upgrade it to something livable or a complete steel fallout shelter.

Other cool new additions are garbage piles make random noises when you walk over them.  It doesn't seem interesting now, but when you are exploring and a zombie is trying to sneak up on you...that random noise will be very useful to you.

Harriet Tubman Wins Vote to be on $20 bill

Via cbsnews:

Women on 20s, a group that has been campaigning to replace Jackson with a woman has chosen Harriet Tubman, the 19th century abolitionist who escaped slavery and led other slaves to freedom via the ‘Underground Railroad.’

The group tallied more than 600,000 online votes over the last few months, narrowing a long list to 4 finalists: Tubman, the late first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, whose act of defiance sparked the Montgomery bus boycotts of the 60s, and Wilma Mankiller, the first female chief of the Cherokee nation. Tubman was announced the winner Tuesday.

Women on 20s now plans to petition the White House. Their goal is to have a new twenty dollar bill in circulation by the year 2020 — the 100th anniversary of a woman’s right to vote.

“Our paper bills are like pocket monuments to great figures in our history,” said Executive Director Susan Ades Stone in a statement e-mailed to the Washington Post. “Our work won’t be done until we’re holding a Harriet $20 bill in our hands in time for the centennial of women’s suffrage in 2020.”

As for whether the White House will be on board, U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios told Fortune Magazine last April, “We’re engaging in a collaborative process to move the discussion forward.” She said Treasury Secretary Jack Lewis oversees currency design.

Dead or Alive 5: Last Round Halloween DLC

I hope you all appreciate all the hard woke I had to go through to get pics of every costume in the DOA 5: Last Round Halloween DLC.  Here is your fan service gamers: 

Thats all y'all get for free.  Hit that subscribe button for bonus content.  Happy Halloween and thank you all.  I love you fans and readers.