You can check out Phantasm Adventures new web presence at www.phantasmadventures.com — it will contain updated information on the game’s development both in Japan but also in the United States. 2012 will be an exciting year for both these games, so please make sure you go to them daily to find out what is happening in the game.

Bloodbath can be accessed here: Bloodbath2

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 7,600 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Goals for 2012

• Stay away from sweets and sodium foods
• Eat smaller meals

Work & Career
1. Enjoy my new 4 weeks of vacation–well earned for 15 years @ company
2. Improve knowledge of computers, networks, and printing
3. Continue to submit resumes to dream prospects
4. Look at building a stellar resume/CV
5. Make contacts with game & history professionals
6. During the numerous library trips, bone up on some books

Education & Academics
1. Get an “A” in class in 2012
2. Finish my degree (BA in History)
3. Research Master’s Degree programs
4. Settle on further college/graduate school
5. Write & Publish a historical article
5. Make contact with Mesoamerican professors and scholars
6. Read more on the subjects

Home Repairs
1. New Carpet
2. Organize Den
3. New Roof
4. When it snows, try and keep the driveway cleaner
5. Update bathroom
6. Contract a mowing service
7. Trim trees and shape the yard up

Trips & Recreation
1. Trip to Ann Arbor for a Michigan Football game
2. Trip to Traverse City
3. A summer trip to Tawas or perhaps other three-day
4. Spend two nights a month going to the library
5. Go to one game convention
6. Keep dreaming & scheming of other trips

Game Design
1. As listed above finish Phantasm Adventures
2. Write a V&V adventure
3. Continue to work on my Civilization IV mod
4. Try and self-publish a game on Lulu and re-enter the RPG industry
5. Create a website devoted to Phantasm Adventures
6. Create a website devoted to Bloodbath
7. Start to re-design a new RPG
8. Return to Podcasting

• A. Get Shalimar to 90/90
• B. Move Shannarra to Primary Account
• C. Move Wiser to Primary Account

• A. Board Games
• B. RPGs
• C. Other Computer Games

Movies
1. See more movies with my brother
2. Movies this year with my friend Alan Fish/Russ Mills
3. More movies this year with the wife.
4. Watch different kinds of things, and less repeats of the same
5. Research and watch movies involving the Inca, Maya, and Aztec

Computers & Software
1. Learn more about Windows 7
2. Get to 20,000 Tweets on Twitter
3. Less Facebook
4. Control Facebook and reduce friends to essential people
5. Read more on computers and learn more about software
6. Use computers to my benefit
7. Get a smartphone
8. Get a tablet (ipad or fire)
9. Get back to podcasting, creating a show for EQ2 and History
10. Pick up the following tools/software in 2012

• A. Multiplicity
• B. Fallout3
• C. Skyriim
• D. Civilization V

So big for 2010 was going back to school. I had talked about returning to GVSU for more than 20 years but I never did anything about it. Last year I finally made the move and signed up for two classes — Never an A student, I just wanted to complete a Bachelor’s degree. I surprised myself by getting two A-minuses. That did well for my confidence as well as my lowly GPA.

[[ I have continued my schooling for another year wracking up a splendid number of As and Bs. I did, horrifyingly, get a D+ in Statistics only to find out that afterwards that GVSU wold honor all my hard work 25 years ago that I did as an exchange student in Japan. I am only 5 classes away from graduating and will need to make some very tough decisions in the year to come on what I want to do afterward -- do I try for a Masters in History, Library Sciences, or just let it go.]]

The other big shocker to 2010 was when in July I started messing around with Civilization IV as a modder. I never thought I would be able to do that — even in my most wild imaginations, I thought at most I would tweak a few units. But six months later I have a marvelously huge mod called ExtremeMod that will be debuting its third installment here next week.

[[Still kicked around ideas for my modding, although I admit I was not as fervently creating mods as I was in 2010. I still added or tweaked mods, as I found it fun. Joe and I still spent almost every Monday playing a variation on a theme. At the moment, I am modding a guy's creation that he called Rewriting History. I am unsure what goals I would set for myself here, as I bet there will be some grand games in 2012 that I do not even know of. I hope that I will have the smarts to mod one of them.  All in all, 2011 was a huge year for modding and playing Civilization IV]]

Third, 2010 also was my 10 year wedding anniversary which Cherry and I went to Sutton’s Bay in early March and spent a wonderful week in a mansion all by ourselves — eating, swimming, and going on a ton of tours. It was a bit cold but we had so much fun!!

[[2011 wasn't especially good for family trips. Cherry and I did get to go to a Michigan Football game in Ann Arbor -- great B&B, museums, eating, and a beautiful day at the game! We had a short lived Summer vacation at the cottage in Glen Arbor marred by a sick car and family squabbling. Cherry and I also went to a GVSU game that was extremely cold as well as did several runs and walks which we trained for but mostly failed at (LOL)]]

So what will come in 2011? Who knows, as long as I keep my mind open and my creativity flowing. I have some ideas formulating now on games both RPG and computers. I am also very excited about finding out exactly how long I need to go to finish up my degree. And there is always a chance of a new position or job opening in the future.

[[Oh my did 2011 have some great opportunities for gaming and job potential. Phantasm Adventures and Bloodbath saw much needed attention, and still does. I also got the opportunity to submit an application to Sony for a Everquest 2 job and several to Osprey Publishing in Oxford England -- sadly none panned out, but it was sheer excitement in those weeks and months planning on moving either to San Diego or Oxford England]]

So without further adieu here is my predictions & goals for 2011:

Reading: I say this every year, but I just never read enough. I waste too much time on the computer and too much time playing games. Not going to put a specific page count or book count any longer, but I think it would be nice to look back on 2011 as the year I rediscovered books.

[[Keep dreaming -- once again I utterly failed at my resolution to read more. I had some very interesting magazine subscriptions and did read those but no books. I bought several books last year, but most just languish on the shelf.  I will say going back to school and having more than 6 classes in 2011, I did get to read many books for the classes.  Very exciting stuff, mostly because almost all of it was for History in one form or another.]]

Game Design: With the re-release of V&V (Villains & Vigilantes) I am proposing several new modules as well as talking to Jeff and Jack about releasing my old modules again. I am also returning to my roots and pulling out some old game designs and trying to finish my Bloodbath game this year and hopefully putting copies up for sale on Lulu (or is it hulu); of course, I could also say that about Phantasm Adventures, too. I will also be continuing to mod my Civ IV game and I would think it would be interesting if I could learn a bit of programming along the way to augment that.

[[The V&V module never materialized. I blame all of that on computer games and myself. I need to put effort back into writing games again, then just playing them. So much potential out there to write and publish great games but kept dropping the ball in 2011 in getting stuff done. I had tremendous success with Bloodbath and Phantasm Adventures (in Japan) and hope to see both of them in print again in Japan in 2012. I also did a lot of modding for Civilization IV and that was a ton of fun -- cranked out three great mods and kids even today are asking for more and bigger updates. Lagged for behind in true game design though, and once again found myself stuck behind the computer playing games rather than writing them.]]

Game Nights: I am looking forward to my weekly game night with Joe and Wade, and this year I hope to add maybe 1 person. Or better yet, it would be so fun to return to table-top RPGs somewhere and host or play a game for a couple of months.

[[Game Nights proceeded like they always have, mostly just Joe and myself. Wade did make it over a smattering number of times, but he got over more in the beginning than the end sadly. Never did add another person, nor did we get to do anything other than computer games. We had a great year of gaming, but it never really matured or developed past two guys playing the same game!]]

Career: Now that I am back to school, I want to concentrate on finishing my degree and then make the decision either to push on to a Masters or even a PHD and become a teacher. If that is not to be, then I would still like to expand my opportunities into other areas and perhaps other IT fields.

[[Did extremely well last year with school. I took 2 classes every semester and did well on all but Statistics (see above). I am so close to having my BA. Not sure what I want to do with it yet or how to proceed. I am confident then next year I will graduate or be so close that it would only be a matter of a class to graduate -- unless I decide to add a minor such as English on to my degree? See my thoughts in my upcoming 2012 Resolutions]].

Education: Like I said above, finishing my BA is critical. Though I admit I probably will not finish my BA in 2011, but more like late 2012. I would also like to take some At Home courses including a language (not a computer language but a spoken one) and perhaps just become a bit more studious.

[[Never ended up taking any courses at home, nor did I pursue any language courses.]]

Old Habits: Old habits are hard to kill, but this year I would like to move away from constantly playing MMOs and put in no more than 6 months into the games — maybe every other month.

[[Joe and I did move away from EQ2 for an extended period of time. We got to try a few more things and I did try some other games, but ultimately I am back to playing the game again. Need to put EQ2 away in February and look into doing other things.  I want to do more game design and interact with more game designers.]]

Health: Less trips to the doctor and just more exercise — If I can do that, I will be satisfied. Last year seemed like I was constantly going to the doctor and they never helped me out. In the end, I still had allot of pain and nothing to show for it except bills. Eat well, Sleep more, and exercise!!!

[[Every year I try to do the doctor thing and every year it ends in utter failure. 2011 was no exception. I wasted so much time, money, and effort and nothing came of it. I must learn just to exercise more!]]

Some other things I am looking forward to this year is possibly the release of Diablo III. If this game does come out, I want to get my hands on it and start modding it — if they allow such a thing.

[[hahaha -- never came out. Mark down another year]]

I am also perhaps looking towards the end of the year to getting a new computer with Windows 7.

[[I did get a beautiful new Dell in late 2011 and it had Windows 7 on it. Very fast and quiet, I am simply loving it more and more.]]

[[Also discovered Twitter in 2011 and added over 10,000 tweets in the year. Made some marvelous friends there and made some very good connections -- including finding the job offerings at Osprey Publishing that ultimately fell through but was simply fantastic along the way]]

I am so backwards in the phone technology that another goal this year is to get some fancy Iphone or Droid and learn how to use it. I know that seems minor, but this year I will be exceptionally tight with funds and something like this will be more of a dream than anything else.

[[Never did get a smart phone. I laugh because I am in IT but I don't have any of the fancy phones. but I truly think that if the company didn't pay for them all the guys at work wouldnt have them either!]]

Have fun!! That’s my final and most important resolution; next year when I look back on 2011 I want to smile and think of all the great fun and rewards that were made possible by exploring and having an open mind. I look forward to the surprises that this year will hold and the most marvelous thought is that I don’t even know what they could be. Even if I tried to guess, I could be so far off the mark, so I will just get on board and wait for the ride to begin (which by the way it looks around here it will be any moment)!

[[2011 had its challenges -- I had some serious car and truck problems costing thousands of dollars to repair and some VERY SCARY days driving back and forth to work. We also sadly lost one of Cherry's beloved cats and had to put it down. School was always an adventure and I had many sleepless nights worrying about class, tests, papers, and all the challenges of being a student again. My wife's husband also had surgery go awry and he is not doing well -- even as I write this I do not know if he will survive or not, but we are all praying for him.]]

[[Another great thing that happened is Joe finally got a new computer -- It sounds ludicrously easy and funny, but the guy had not bought a computer in nearly 8 years and gaming with him over the net was becoming increasingly problematic. For years...literally....years he would talk every week on getting a new computer, and then each time make an excuse not to buy one. Finally he got a decent little Dell i7 that should last him until 2020]]

Source books can be part educational but also detail the aspects of characters based on the historical period. Such books as Mayans, Saracens, Visigoths, Romans, Apache, Aborigines, Aztec, Incas, Neanderthal to name just a few.

Ideas could be endless, but backed up with significant research that even academia could put their names behind. Combine learning with fun, with IPs based on such a concept.

Basic statistics: Each character is defined by a number of statistics that value the ability of physicality, intelligence, and culture, and how the avatar interacts with the world and others around him.

Ideas for Statistics: Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Agility, Speed, Wisdom, Intelligence, Culture, Luck, Intuition.  Thinking of rolling 2d6 for each, with cultural modifiers of +/- 3 points.  A bonus of +1 per point over 9.  Thus, 10 = +1, 11 = +2, 12 = +3. Stats are also used to determine Hit Points (life), Vigor (endurance during strenuous activity and combat), skills, talents, and other utilities.

Overall physicality of any one particular character is not much better than another, perhaps 50% at best.

Specs:
i7 Quad core Intel CPU
8 gigabytes of RAM
500 gigabyte HD
1 gigabyte GT545 Nvidia video card
DVD ROM
Windows 7 64 bit
No monitor (I have one already)

The delivery date is the 12th of December. I know computers and it will take me a week to get everything balanced and loaded the way I like it. First things to get working is Civilization IV and Everquest II (followed quickly by Steam).

I will keep you updated on my progress

I will be accessing most of my content via the Netflix streaming so what should I try? Should I keep to my favorites and watch something I know will enjoy, or should I venture into new ground.

I will update this entry this week, listing all the great movies and classics that I can find on Netflix.

First movie to launch the marathon: Super 8 — a classic story of youth and aliens.  Great story with many inspiring and funny moments.

Next: Way of the Warrior — Solid but often over used story of mystical martial arts set in the 1850s of psuedo-western style America.  Great fight scenes, but sketchy story and ridiculous dialogue.

Decided to try Hellboy next. I heard it was good, but didn’t know how good.  What a great movie for sci-fi and fantasy fans. It has it all: magic, technology, multiverse, fighting, and a bit of a love story.  Great!

While fixing dinner and putting up the Christmas tree, I turned on Star Trek The Animated Series. I remember it as a boy, and it holds up surprisingly well for a cheap animated show.  If you never have watched it, take some time to watch various episodes!

Sadly the weekend is over and the Thanksgiving Sci-Fi Marathon goes into the history books.  Overall, I was very surprised at the shows I watched.  I would have liked to watched more movies, but gaming and family obligations got in the way.  Next year, I plan on having a bigger, larger, more massive marathon.

Aparioth chided his lesser brethren, a cherub whose powers were of magnitude beyond the scope of human consciousness. The small Lesser Force fluttered next to him eager to garner any glimpse at the unfolding card game. “Oh! Can I play, Aparioth? I am sure, I can turn more cards aside — I can win!” The wisp of celestial purity gibbered quickly, fluttering around the table that had no bounds, in either space or time.

“The game is far too complicated, for you young one. This is not the only purpose to turn the cards aside…to us that is a mere flip of the wrist, but to the souls linked to the manifestation its much more. A turn of a card is a life-changing course down unknown futures and changing aspects of the game a hundred if not a thousand moves ahead.”

“Oh, interesting, but let me play. I am so eager to learn,” the cherub quivered, shedding a million sparkling reflections in his excitement.

“I have an easier game than that, little one. Perhaps this game will scratch the surface of what is truly going on within Humanity,” he spread his arms out to encompass the billions of cards jostling along the surface of the table.

The cherub perked up, its thousand gossamer wings vibrated excitedly. “Please show me more of this card game, please!”

“First, I ask you what do you see here?” Aparioth asked of the lesser celestial power. The minor angelical being humbled by Aparioth’s attention gazed down on the table. The billions of cards, each the direct link to a human consciousness, quivered like a hatchling egg under the heat of a farmer’s lamp.

“I see a table, with many cards, each with a face, each moving in its own gyration. I think there is a purpose to their moves, but at first glance its a bit chaotic.” The cherub returned his gaze to the Greater Force.

“Lets try something more simple.” Aparioth smiled and pointed to the table again. “The rules are simple for you. You have but two rules to remember: first, when I pose the question you must answer immediately. Second, your answer must be the truth … nothing more.”

“Sounds easy enough!” the impish celestial stammered eager to show off his skills.

“Look now on the table; what do you see?” Aparioth pointed.

All the cards were gone, in their place was a single red cube.

“Its a red cube,” declared the cherub.

“Correct! You win! You do catch on quickly,” Smirked Aparioth. “Lets try this again. Remember the two rules; What do you see on the table?”

At the moment the cherub returned his attention to the table, the lights extinguished and the room lay in utter and complete darkness. “Wait! How can I see what’s on the table?” chirped the bewildered cherub.

“Is that your answer?” Aparioth said disapprovingly. “Remember the rules!”

“I can’t see the table, so how can I make a judgment what is there, less how can I be certain, according to the second rule of what’s the truth?

“Oh I am sorry – you lose the second match. If I agree to leave the lights on would you be willing to try again”? Aparioth spoke from the complete darkness.

“Yes, then the game is simple.”

The light returned and on the table lay the red cube, just as it was before. “See! how hard was that? Tis the red cube as the first time, and yet you failed.”

“I won’t fail this time,” the cherub clenched his teeth, blinking fervently.

“Look at the table, again, and tell me what you see?”

The cherub glared for a brief second at the Greater Force, then looked at the table. Half expecting the lights to go out again, the minor being looked upon the table and saw the red cube. “Its the red cube again, just as the other two times” The cherub proudly trumpeted.

“Pick it up and see” Aparioth chimed. The small cherub gingerly reached for the cube but found his hand passing over what he thought was a three-dimensional object, and casting a shadow on such an intricately drawn red cube that it appeared to be solid, but was naught but a drawing.

“I guess you lose again” Aparioth chided. “Perhaps this simple game is too much for you…how can you expect to play the card game, Humanity, if you can’t tell what is reality?

The cherub stomped his hundred feet, his feathers bristled, and he glowered at the Greater Force knowing he was made a fool out of the simple game….

***

The neolithic hunters sniffed the scent on the breeze. The two hunters scanned the valley below, noting the subtle play of shadows, the gentle breeze and how the wind tossed the trees and brush, and the soft light of the moon as it splashed across the trickling stream that meandered through a rough gorge and cascaded into the open grasslands beyond.

Ogar glanced at his partner, a brutish tall figure. Even in the darkness, Migar reflected his steely demeanor. Both were lean and heavily muscled. Two panthers driven by hunger and the harsh reality of an age where man was far from the top of the food chain.

“What do you smell, Migar?” Ogar grunted through thick and chapped lips. He squinted through a heavy brow, taking deep breaths through wide flared nostrils. The older man squatted down, glancing first at the trampled earth than to the younger, but no less, seasoned hunter.

“There is someone down there….” Migar turned his head back and forth, his eyes strained to see beyond the first clump of trees, “I can smell their fire but I cannot see them!” He stomped his foot, then instantly fell to his knees realizing that even that feint sound could alert game or enemies nearby.

Ogar glanced at the younger man and huffed in derision. “Quiet, fool, or we will end up on the spit of their fires!”

Migar’s eyes widened, even through his heavy brow. He had heard stories of men that ate the flesh of their own kind, but thought it was tales to scare the women and children of the tribe. He glanced over to Ogar, hoping to see a twist of sardonic smile but saw only the tough resolution of a man who was embittered through years of harsh life.

The two had been on an extended hunting trip, trying desperately to find game for their their small tribe four days journey up from the small stream they had followed down from the gorge into this broad grassland savannah.

The trip had been a failure from the start; the two neither found any game and worse had found only a few prints in the mud along the river. On the second day out they had discovered a cache of eggs from a land turtle, but that hardly filled their stomachs and they had eight to feed, two that were pregnant. Ogar had saw several large catfish, splashing in the waist deep turgid waters of the churning stream, but without pole or long spear, the two floundered in vein attempts to catch anything. In the end, they found themselves drenched, cold, and tired. That was two days ago, and still they had not seen only fleeting evidence that any beast had ever came to the waters to drink.

Ogar slowly stood up and glanced around. The land was quiet in the last moments of the day, the sun quickly setting in the west, and the insects and birds echoed their calls in those last few moments of light.

Migar Stood as well, and with a brief momentary pause, headed downstream checking the land around for prints or broken branch, signifying recent passage from man or beast. The two proceeded along the gurgling waters, glancing to the banks on either side.

As night covered the valley, Ogar motioned his companion to the high bank off to the north. “We should sleep, find a place along the stream we can watch the waters…”

Migar climbed the meager hill and started towards a small copse of stunted trees, when he froze in his tracks. His nostrils flared and his eyes went wide, he wheeled around and looked up to the far gorge wall and noticed the flicker of light emanating from a cavern.

The two hunters clung to the stretching shadows of the trees, gripping their short spears in one hand and stretching the other out, in the childish attempt to cut the air in front of them, like foils cutting the wind.

They approached the cave and took in the aroma of cooking meats. Even with their aged cunning and experience, both salivated like dogs at the smell, their stomachs clenching and groaning like whipped curs. Migar checked his spearhead, pressing his thumb on its tip till blood dripped across the stone flaked edge. Ogar stalked closer, bent on stealing the meat or whatever else he could grab.

As both approached the entrance, two horrific shadows arose from the opposite side of the cavern wall. Fanned by the flickering flames, the ghastly shadows danced a macabre of death foretelling certain doom to whoever entered.

The gigantic shadows mocked anyone foolish enough to broach the cavern entrance, long stretched out claws, misshapen heads and grotesque bulbous bodies filled the cavern walls.

The two hunters looked at each other, then fled as fast as their legs could propel them across the landscape, hitting the water with such force that their first three steps danced across the water’s surface having the illusion of the pair running on water. The hunters swam to the opposite shore and ran until they collapsed in pure exhaustion, feeling lucky to survive the encounter with the pair of man-eating beasts.

From the cave’s entrance the two young children peered out of the cave, giggling to themselves before returning to the fire, making their shadows dance higher and higher along the cave walls.

“You two do make frightening monsters,” chided their pregnant mother shooing the children to their sleeping mats.

***

Ratook awoke from his nap. He had been very tired from his adventures last night. It was almost like a dream the way he seemingly moved from one creature to the next. He was urged on by some invisible hand, some force. His need for slaughter and complete disregard for personal safety seemed remiss as the blood from each poor creature wetted his blade.

The mighty orc ranger stood on shaky legs, flexing his arms until he felt life surge through them again. He checked his gear, and all seemed in place. The woodsman often found himself awaking in the most strangest of places, and often thought that perhaps he had some strange disease that caused him to suddenly and without provocation fall and succumb to a deep sleep.

Several times he awoke in the middle of the road, and other times he found himself deep within the bowels of the earth. Even with greater alarm, he recounted times where as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, monsters bent on slaying him, or worse, eating him, tore at his flesh.

Scanning the surroundings, the orc knew there was something he had to do. It was an urge and tinkling of a feeling more than anything he could put his finger on. He looked to his left and down the dusty path there was a centralized mail box.

He trotted over to it, which was another strange thing that bewildered Ratook is that why he often had to jog to places. The world was very beautiful and full of things he would like to admire, but he had no patience for walking, and often ran to every place in the world.

At the mail box, he opened it up and looked inside. Their was a slew of mail and packages there, and found two pieces of mail addressed to him. It was awfully tricky of those plucky little gnomes to build these mail cabinets that looked so small on the outside, yet large enough to hold a dead dragon on the inside. “Hmmmmm, one of these days I am going to have to cut me open a gnome and see if there is more inside a gnome than on the outside,” Ratook laughed as he tore open the envelopes that had his name on it.

One was from his good buddy Pidge. Well you know, thinking of it, he never actually met the tiny green goblin, but could visualize the little guy as if he had known him his entire life. for some odd reason the little green wizard had a preponderance to send him money. Not that Ratook would turn him down, but he often wondered why this little guy, that he never met, would continually send him large amounts of coin ….

—

“Hey, what are you playing?” Queried Phil as he walked into my study.

I turned around to see my good friend approach and lean into my monitor. He looked at the game, at Ratook — my character, and then at me. “Wow! Thats very graphic. I can’t believe they can make games so realistic today. Can I play?”

“The game is a bit more complicated than just pressing keys, Phil. There is allot to know about the game…” I trailed off looking at him with a be smirked smile.

“Ohh, please….” Phil whined faking a horrible, childish tantrum..

“I tell you what, why not start with something a bit easier. Look over there and figure that out?” I said busily directing Ratook to open another letter and pocketing the platinum that was sent.

“You mean this?” Phil grimaced. He picked up a rubic’s cube, all but one color. “This is too easy!” He chirped, cocking the cube back and forth.

I smiled up at him, “You sure you are up to the challenge of the Red Cube…..”

Most of our gaming nights have been occupied with playing CIVILIZATION IV. Most of them have been with one or more of my mods that I have written for the game, which includes Age of Discovery, Extreme2, or Multiverse.

I am not sure what anyone will walk away with this information, but I post it mostly for posterity. We had a great year playing games.

This new cycle has been kicked off by returning to EVERQUEST II but I am sure we will settle back to CIVILIZATION soon enough.

I salute this year in gaming:

10-11-11 Great night playing Everquest II
10-05-11 No game because of studying for a test. Next week we are going to try and play Multiverse.

09-28-11 Played Extreme2 and it was tough – too tough?!?
09-20-11 Played Thomas War with slight modification — fun
09-14-11 Played the original Thomas War mod. Tough! Thinking of making a few small changes to the base game to toy around with. Lumberyards, meaningful roads, Composite Archers (+25% attack)….

08-30-11 Some problems late in the game, crashing. Also some issues with units if you don’t have oil. Changed it to needing specific buildings and having oil gives you a bonus to the production of units.
08-17-11 Finished game. Was very fun. We played it almost to the very end!
08-10-11 Continued our Modern Era game – awesome fun. Joe and I slugging it out with all the original AI still in the game.
08-02-11 Played a game on Modern era – a continuation of the prior week. Had great fun. Joe and I was slugging it out with the AI. At 9 PM we lost power for an hour. Joe went home and we called the game – started working on the next update to Extreme2. Wade has not come over in months, but my den is not set up any longer for more than 1 friend at a time. We could make it work, I guess, but it would be cramped.

07-27-11 A huge upgrade to EXTREME2 and had a blast playing in MODERN era. Will continue tweaking rules next week!
07-20-11 Started a new game after I was butchered in a fun older game started over the internet. May update my mod here before we play again. I also want to play some good old fashion RPGs. Found out that starting at different eras can actually be fun way of experiencing the game!
07-06-11 Didn’t do any gaming, per se but looked at another designer’s module in NWN. Very interesting, but after 6 years of developing there are still huge gaps in his mod. The guy needs to finish it and just release it. We had fun though, looking at stuff. Started a bit of Neverwinter Nights.

06-28-11 ExtremeMod ended with the computer AI winning. So we started back on the Extreme2 game we had going. That was fun. Talked about NeverWinter Nights.
06-22-11 Playing a great match in ExtremeMod – he is the Aztec and I am the Celts. We will lose but it’s great fun.
06-14-11 Good night and we finally have two adversaries that will be around into late into the game. Hitler and Mayan; Joe is the Elamite and I am the Indians (from India).
06-09-11 Moved to Thursday tonight, since I was gone off to the lake. Should be fun, if Joe does not get over then I will try and read some more Caesar.

05-31-11 Finally got to play a game and it was real fun. Played an older game that was further along and finally did one that worked for me and Joe – huge battles with cheering and bravado all around. No Wade yet.
05-25-11 No game.
05-18-11 No Game.
05-11-11 Played a bit of Age of Discovery, but there was some issues and kept crashing. Then played Extreme2 and having a blast. Still no Wade.
05-04-11 Extreme2 is done for several months – uploading it tonight. Will work on Age of Discovery next. Fun game last night with only Joe, Wade didn’t come over.

04-27-11 New Game with New Rules. No Wade
04-19-11 Just Joe and I, continued a game from the weekend. Having fun at it.
04-13-11 No game. May not game for a while.
04-06-11 Finally had a game. Great Fun.

03-39-11 No game.
03-22-11 No game because of the weather. Wade called and said he would like to start coming over this weekend again. Maybe next week.
03-15-11 Played Extreme II – I was Hitler and Joe was Xerxes. Had a lot of fun but decided to restart because the AI seemed at a large advantage with being on a handicap.
03-09-11 Played Extreme II – starting a re-make of my mod with more emphasis on UU and UBs and less on tech and vanilla units.
03-02-11 Actually had a fun night with EXTREME mod and an older save – not sure if we will when but we can play it until the end more than likely. Here in a month, I will return to writing for my Mod. In my desire for Spring, I am writing this month all in GREEN.

Thoughts of Re-Making Age of Discovery starting with the Thomas War mod.

02-23-11 No game. Joe has a big test. I played Everquest; still seems fun.
02-15-11 Tried to play the Age of Discovery, but there is something just wrong about the game. Keeps crashing. Might start a new mod – Extreme2.
02-08-11 No game again because of Joe and school.
02-01-11 No game because of the SNOWMAGEDDON of 2011. Maybe next week.

01-26-11 Wade didn’t get over again last night; partly the weather but mainly due to the fact we needed to run through the game fast. Found many problems with the mod, but making progress.
01-19-11 Didn’t have Wade over; Joe and I played my new mod “Age of Discovery”. First run was ok but need to tweak the game and add in more units.
01-13-11 Wade skipped on us, so Joe and I played Civ IV. Had fun but realized that the mod is so top heavy that it is impossible to get the AI to behave correctly.

12-28-10 Got together with Wade and Joe and we played Version 3 of my Mod with all the new ATLANTEAN stuff in it. Had a blast and everyone was yelling and screaming over their victories and defeats.
12-21-10 Just Joe and I since Wade’s machine is not working. Played Civ and had fun.
12-14-10 Great fun with Wade and Joe again playing Civ IV. We have a hot game going on and looking forward to doing it next week.
12-07-10 Played Civ again and started getting ideas on how to make it better.

11-30-10 Played EQ II last night instead of Civ. Good time but my shoulder and arm hurt terribly. Wade didn’t come over last night, but maybe next week.
11-23-10 Played EQ II last night instead of Civ. Good times and my arm is so sore this morning from clicking – like the Diablo Syndrome. I did find a new model I want to add to Civ Mod so maybe I will work on this holiday season.
11-15-10 We didn’t play Civilization today instead played EQ II. Good time. John White got Civ IV and perhaps we can have him over one night to play. Need to arrange a time for Wade to come over for dinner (Chrinese).
11-09-10 We didn’t play Civilization today instead played EQ II. Good time. Putting Civ IV on the back burner for a couple of months.
11-01-10 We had to start a new game because I made some major revisions to the mod. Wade started out strong, and to both Joe and I we were amazed that he was holding his own towards the end of the night. Joe was back on top throughout the night because he has the system down pat – which shows to me that the game has a certain logic to it and once you know it, there is no challenge to it. I guess it is time we move on to a new game on Monday.

10-26-10 Continued the game for another week – we could still lose this one. We feel the AI even though sometimes underscored can still put up a nice fight. We all did well, even Wade who finally started catching up – even though he is a utter coward and never fights anything period.
10-19-10 First game we have continued for one week to another in ages! It is very exciting and still up for grabs, although I think we can beat them unless they pull a rabbit out of their hats and win by Space Race or something. I am nearing Steampunk Technology – never had that before so it will be interesting.
10-12-10 New game. Joe, Wade, and I got a new game going. Wade is doing horribly, but won’t listen to advice. Joe and I struggle for third place. Should be exciting game.
10-05-10 New Month! Just Joe and I played. Wade needn’t come over for awhile. Had a tough night with multiple restarts. Learned allot about the game and made some good notes.