Move that mountain

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"Planting a garden is belief there is a tomorrow"

I closed a chapter on a deadend situation.  Took a few days to reflect and I realized had that negative opportunity went as planned then a positive opportunity would not be developing.

In life you have to know your worth, standup for your achievements, and live life the way you want not what others want from you. 

Two years ago, I was flying on a private jet with an all expenses paid trip by my company thinking this is a dream.  I want to get back to that life.  Like Frank Sinatra said "only the best". That's where I am spiritually, financially, careerwise and emotionally.   The choices I make from here on out will be the best I can make not the whatever is available. 

Broken Age 2: Act 2 and an Inspirational Quote to Big Dreamers

"Some messed up junk has been going down around here, and we'd rather sleep through it"
-Puppets from Broken Age 2

I don't have fans, I have friends.  So, I want to take this time out to thank all my friends that read my blogs and posts.  You help make the dream possible.  I once had a co-worker say, "he's living the life, and he'll wake up from that happy dream he's living into the nightmare reality that we all share".    A few years later he's probably in the same position and stuck in that same miserable job he hates, while i've gone on, lived my life and happy with where I am in life.  There will always be someone here that thinks they have a right to crush your happiness or beauty because they feel its not the reality or fairy-tale they want or live in.  I believe sometimes you have to defend your dreams, and defending the dreams are what make them special.

Now for the video game review. The first act Broken Age 2 was filled with the qualities unexplored world and inventive characters with a good sense of humor named Vella and Shay.  Shay lived in technologically advance world where he seeks a life of true courage instead of simulations and the reward of hugs from his overprotective robotic mother but his persistence saved him from a false virtual reality.  Vella lived in a primitive world where she had the unfortunate fate of being a sacrifice to a monster but her quick wit saved her from daunting situations. In Broken Age Act 2, two worlds collide and switch.

The game hit the sophomore slump.  In act one, the writing did a great job of investing in the players stories. You see how miserable their lives are, and you feel obligated to get them out. In act two, you don't feel the same emotional pull as in act one and feel like the story was thrown together at the last second.   Gamers like myself know a lot of this lack luster was due to the struggling budget developers worked with but in testament to games like Banish where one guy created the whole game with $2500, money is not an excuse for making a bad game.

In the second act, the previously explored worlds of act one are reused.  The puzzle solving is more elaborate and require you to think or travel long distance to solve.  Puzzle solving frustration carries a weigh that feels like busy work more than a challenge that adds to the difficulty of progressing through the game.

Despite this folly, the character and tone of Broken Age 2: Act 2 overshadow the setbacks the game faced.  There are more feel good and humorous moments that will have you laughing out loud.  The game is twice as long and flips the script on its head with an element of role reversal that will keep you interested.  Each character shines a new light on their new environments as they come to terms with realizing they have been lied to their whole lives about their purpose and the truth.

Overall, Broken Age 2: Act 2 crossed the finish line and made it.  Vague objectives and timed puzzle solving complicated a good and simple game. The jokes are punchy, the twist are rewarding, and the puzzle solving is satisfying in their own way.  Broken Age 2:Act 2, mades the most of every screen in the game and takes the gamer to new exciting settings and ideas.  I must admit, there are times where I felt game designers missed a good opportunity to take it to the next level of development and make a perfect game.  I can't overlook that aspect, so I give Broken Age 2: Act 2, so I give Broken Age 2: Age 2 a 9.0/10.

Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Mature Content Review

"Don't stare, I haven't grown horns. Take it as a token my good faith"

Baron 

If you came for perverted stuff, then you were fooled by the misreading the title. The Witcher series are one of the few games that you have to be over a certain age to purchase because of its mature content. This time of around, the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is less tongue and cheek and more adventure and mystery.  In the the Witcher 3, you won't see a hero with a series of events telling his path to good deeds and instant fame.  Instead, you see a story of a man that makes right and wrong choices and has to live with the consequences and losses.

Story has always been one of the Witcher series strong point.  In this latest installment to the series,the Witcher 3 doesn't disappoint. You are introduced to Geralt's closest relationships and past stories recapped.  The tone of the story is mature and grounded.  In this installment story is driven by finding your lost love instead of saving the world.

Most of the story is revolves around a world infested with monsters and your duty as witcher to rid the villages intelligent monsters like a succubus saying it acted out of self defense or a greedy demon posing as a God not killing but swindling dumb villagers out of wares.  You must choose wisely and plan your choices because often you may find your good deeds carrying a deep unexpected bad consequence.  This sense of choice and consequence carries into the quest design making each quest feel meaningful.  Simple tasks have many great stories and adventures for you to experience.

There is a strange emphasis on the sense of discovery.  Many quest only become available as you explore the world and encounter random strangers in danger or in need.  To facilitate all this exploration, Geralt has become more mobile than in any previous witcher games.  Climbing rock world, sailing a boat, traveling the countryside by horseback, swimming through underwater caves over a more tangible sense of connection to the enormous world.  Controls during some travel sequences become buggy like horse racing and deep sea diving, so thank God for the fast travel option.

Combat is challenging.  You have to adapt to the enemy.  You must observe and wait for a chance to attack an enemy or create you own opening with a parry or essential dodge.  You have five magical signs to use for combat in addition to your swordplay.  Using Aard to push enemies back or using trap signs to paralyze enemies is key to defeating an enemy.

New ultimate forms like using shield to regain heath or continuous stream of fire will aid you in overcoming challenges.  You have the usual tool such as bombs and potions to aid you as well. There is an element of preparation that will make you the more effective in combat.  You can study the monsters weaknesses in the beastology, craft better weapons and armor in order to enhance your chances of victory or mere survival.

A new addition introduced in the Witcher 3 is hunting monsters thru investigative sequences.  Adding a Sherlock Holmes element of deductive reasoning by explaining clues, studying blood trails, and using signs to allow you piece together events that lead you to the answer of what happened to a victim or where a monster is lurking. The is another playable character named Ciri that has her own set of abilities and storyline that add to the mystery of Witcher's 3 world.

Yes there are brothels and steaming S&M full frontal nude sex scenes if you play for that, but there is more to the game than that. The Witcher 3 has over 100+ hours of gameplay, themes of personal character presenting the player with choices and consequences that aren't trying to make the character a hero but a human that learns from his choices and action.  It's one of those games that make you think and wonder "what if". Being one that loves to have my brain teased I give the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt a 9.5/10

7 Days to Die, content Alpha 12.0 update announced

The answers to gamers prayers were answered. Several issues in 7 Days to Die alpha 11.4 patch will be fixed in the alpha 12.0 update. Developers promise to fix dedicated server crashes and add performance tweaks that were the root cause of many problems. Also, developers added new features that beta testers have suggested. Source of the updates come via a 7 Days to Die developer's blog named http://joelhuenink.tumblr.com/.

The first major update that I am excited about will be the craftable minibike. Also shown is a motor bike temporarily dubbed “Duke’s Hog” which will be added later. It will be upgradable with armor. You can optionally upgrade it with a storage basket, horn, and headlight. The headlight eats battery power so turn it off when you park the bike or you might end up with a dead battery.

Here is a shot at the new steel pickaxe. It’s an improvement to the iron pickaxe. Steel crafting is gated by a rare book.

The use of predator animals will also be integrated into the challenge of surviving in 7 Days to Die. The bear is the first predator that will be gamer new challenge. Instead of hacking him in like we did the other animals, we are redoing how we import animals, which will give them detailed ragdolls and collision. So head shots on animals should be possible, and leg shots to zombies is coming too.

Developers announced a major effort to overhaul the sky and here is a first look. This will also include a time setting to where you can set how long your day is, so in Alpha 12 gamers can loot until about 9 or 10 again if you want.  There is a rumor that there will be weather changes in the game, so expect to see rain affect the conditions you survive in. 

Here is a WIP sunrise we are working on as developers improve the sky and fog. They’ve recoded sky (instead of using a unity asset store sky) and fog from scratch so it works better with the horizon. Fog will be controlled by weather instead of just fixed per biome and time like before. Developers also added repair to some missing clothing items, added quality range to clothing and have the leveled loot tuned in very nice. On day 25 gamers will still be very busy looking for things and working to survive the hordes.

Other updates: new rubble system. Basically most all blocks have a high chance convert to some kind of scrapped version of themselves, like concrete turns into rubble, metal turns into scrap metal piles, and wood will turn into scrap wood.