Walpurgis creeps ever near. While I've made excellent progress, I still have plenty to do. Sense an all nighter prior to the event, I do. Let's go ahead and run through the items I've finished since the last update:
Be forwarned, you may notice some gloss to my finished work. While I'm in the minority, I simply prefer them that way. I use a satin finish to make it shine just a bit and give a full "finished" look.
Here is Seamus. I was very pleased with how he turned out. I highlighted Lice Purple up to Warlock Purple instead of white and I'm not sure if I prefer it. Each model after Seamus I've highlighted the old fashioned "add-white-for-each-layer" and those turned out very well, too. Either way, I like how Seamus still looks dark, despite wearing a cartoony purple suit.
Here is Madame Sybelle in her Sunday's best. She turned out much better than I expected. Once I started on the highlights, I was convinced she would look terrible as a finished product. Low and behold, I'm actually very pleased with it.
Ah, the belles. I wanted each of these girls to stand out, but still be tied to Seamus. I'm a huge fan of continuity. I decided to make each of their umbrellas the themed color(purple) and then have each girl dressed in an alternate color of Seamus'. I wanted to stay away from completely purple dresses, as I wanted it to be a color of honor(well, as much honor as a zombie hooker is going to have, anyway). Thus, I went with a white dress and purple highlights on the above Belle.
Here is my favorite of the Belles. Unfortunately, her arm and parasol were a total pain to get assembled, so she lost some points there. Luckily, she also ended up with my favorite paint job of the bunch. I accidentally fitted her with a drooped, lazy eye that fits beautifully with her zombie face.
She also fell victim to a clear coat mistake. I've finally discovered first hand exactly why you do not apply finish when it is very humid out, especially if it is raining. My first reaction to the massive cloud she was now covered in was immense frustration and a desire to just leave it. However, I calmed down and applied various inks in the cloudy recesses and the final product looks pretty damn good.
Finally, my least favorite of the Belles, both in sculpt and paint job. By the time I started on her I was growing rather tired of painting harem. Still, I pushed through and gave her a quite passable (even for me!) coat of paint, albeit lazily.
And there you have it! The entire Red Chapel Gang painted up. I've also since finished the Convict Gunslinger and have about 20 min. left on one of the Crooked Men. That leaves a second Crooked Man, Bette Noire, the Copycat Killer, and Jack Daw (who still isn't even based or primed...) left and 3 days to finish them. All of which are full work days. That is where the Friday night over-nighter comes in. What's a weekend event if you don't push your painting to the very last second?
In 14 days, Walpurgis weekend will be here and hours of glorious Malifaux gaming will be upon me. Until then, I slave away painting. The bulk majority of the crew is now base coated, which is the good news. The bad news, is that I still have models to PURCHASE, prep, base, prime, coat, and highlight. Bette Noire and The Copycat Killer are each based, but unprimed.
No progress update would be complete without pictures, so here you go. To keep it simple, I only shot a couple varieties to get the idea across.
I think I'm going to scale back the "production line" style of painting and focus on each model for the highlighting process. I've found that if I focus on a single miniature, I can extend my motivation during each painting session longer. When I'm moving along a production line, I start to get a cabin fever feeling and walk away for the sake of walking away.
For each of the next updates, I will presenting groups of finished miniatures. These categories will be Seamus himself, Madame Sybelle and her Belles, the Crooked Men, Convict Gunslinger, Bette Noire and the Copy Cat Killer, then whatever else I end up adding (probably a Hanged and Jack Daw).
On a side note, throw me suggestions on what I should add for Seamus.
I'd like to keep this post short, as it's 1:40AM, I've had several beers, and quite frankly there isn't much to say. Without further adieu, I bring you the beginnings of my Seamus Malifaux crew.
There are several thoughts and/or questions you can take away by looking at my crew.
"Hey! Those aren't painted!"
No folks, I haven't got much done in the way of painting. While I have gotten all of these figures primed up and ready to go, I have yet to put any really color on these guys. About 85% of that is my fault, a result of being distracted by Portal 2, Ken Burns' Baseball, Star Wars, and Bulletstorm. The other 15% comes from a lack of preparation. Each time I become motivated to paint, I either do not have the paint I wanted available, waste my time diving into the Sarlacc pit of YouTube, or simply finding other ways to satisfy my hobby craving. Rest assured, in the coming weeks I most certainly will be livening these guys up.
Specifically, I plan on crossing the fiction bridge and paying homage to The Joker of Batman fame. From his dress to his fanatical behavior, Seamus would be his equivalent in the Malifaux universe. Beside that fact, I'm both a fan of what the character of The Joker has become and using bright colors with sharp highlights. Coincidentally, I often describe my painting style as a more "cartoon" or "comic book" look as opposed to attempting realism (although you can also toss that onto the "excuse for lack of talent" pile).
References aside, the plan is to give him a deep purple suit (I'm undecided on pin stripes, both because of the general look of them and my ability to freehand them effectively), with an orange or green undershirt/trim. Both would be appropriate, but I'm not sure which I'd like to accent most. I'd also like him to have relatively pale skin, but I'm not going so far as to do facial paint. Nor will I be painting any green hair or facial scars. It will be an homage, not a recreation.
"Nice bases, ace."
This was my first attempt at two things: First, at basing figures beyond a simple gravel/sand and flock. Second, it was my first real attempt at using green stuff for, well, anything. Overall, I'm indifferent with how the bases came out. Some of them came out beautifully:
Where others came out not so well:
Mind you that is certainly not the worst of it. I'm fairly confident of two things. First, they will look much better once they are painted. Even looking at them primed I can see much improvement. Second, the once they are painted up I think they will at least be at a table standard, which is at least decent.
"There sure isn't much variety there."
It is true, the crew at the moment is little more than what the box set has to offer (although since the picture I have added in a Copycat Killer). The reasoning is, I've only played a single game with this crew, which is my first Resurrectionist crew. Until I can get a feel for how it plays, I don't want to invest in much more. I'm also a huge fan of the dynamic between the Belles and the Crooked Men, which is enough for me to field plenty of them, anyway.
Closing
Like I prefaced this entry, I want this post to be long winded and over explanatory, but it has to end somewhere! If everything works out, getting all of these words and pictures published for the internet hyenas to snicker and snort at should at least fuel my motivation and keep me pushing on. Getting in games has been a blessing, but it's time to release the undead.
Ah, the fickleness of my enthusiasm. In the last [long period of time], I've seen a complete shift from disappointment with the video games industry to being completely enthralled by it. So much, in fact, that it seems to have temporarily muscled my other nerdy passions to an after thought.
Since, I have finished Mass Effect 2, including the Shadow Broker DLC, and I was blown away at the ending of that game. It was executed fantastically, leaving no room let down. I felt that every decision I made was absolutely crucial. As I sent secondary squads off to accomplish their mission, I genuinely worried about them as I carried out my own. This is an experience I've never had with a game before it. In short: Mass Effect good.
Wrapping up Mass Effect let me jump into Enslaved, a game I've been itching to pop in for some time now. The characters were fantastically done. You care about them, and you want nothing more than to see them succeed. While you play the character of Monkey, you're just as invested in Trip and everything she does around you. The controls were stiff at times, but it was never overly frustrating, and you're so involved in the emotions of the characters that most of the time you don't even notice. It's the first game I've ever finished, and immediately sought out the DLC because I wanted to stay in that world. It's here I was further surprised, because Pigsy's Perfect 10 is the best valued DLC I've purchased. You're given an entirely new story, playing as Pigsy. After meeting this character in the main story, its very clear that completely new game mechanics are in store, and they play just as well as the original game. Its criminal this game wasn't enjoyed by more.
Well, all of that was written in November, but I never posted it. I may as well throw it out there, because past me would certainly be disappointed that his writing went unread. Since then, I've played plenty of other games but I don't really want to write about them. Suffice to say, Batman: Arkham City was my favorite, Skyrim was great for the first 100 hours, but steeply declined after that, and Valve reaffirmed it's position as my favorite game company with Portal 2 (as well as my FIRST play through Half Life 2). Oh, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. That happened.
I will say, I'm finally starting to crawl out of my video game obsession and getting ready to dive back into miniatures. I seem to be absolutely terrible at keeping up both hobbies at the same time, which inevitably leads to neglect. Hopefully, this time I can keep both equally satisfied. I hope to start a project log here soon as I slowly, but surely, get my Seamus crew painted and looking pretty. Hopefully, my absence hasn't deteriorated my mediocre skills too much.
Rant, rant, rant, rabble, rabble, rabble. I'll end with what seems to be my catch phrase: "I hope to make these postings more regular, more entertaining, and more gooder."
It's been quite some time since I visited the blog. I can't say I have much of a reason, simply that I just haven't had much to say or had much time to say it. The pressures and excitement of a new job, a newly acquired hobby to add to my long list of them, and, most of all, a falling out with the video games industry have all contributed to the silence. Until now, of course.
A new direction, I feel, is exactly where this blog needs to go. this will be the first of a new format I may or may not want to use, and any feedback to its effectiveness is appreciated. Plenty of alcohol went into the production of this blog, but thankfully no kittens were harmed.
Movie of the week:
To be honest, I haven't got around to watching any new films recently. Most notably, I've revisited The Godfather franchise and have plenty to say about it.
First off, it is abundantly clear to me that I need to read the Mario Puzo novels. After brief discussion with a co-worker about the character of Luca Brasi, based on his experience with the book, I was able to experience such a deeper understanding of his impact on the Corleone family. The characters in the novelized version of the story seem so complex and deep that I feel that one of the best films of all time could very well be improved two fold by reading the literature.
Video Game of the Week:
Yes, I'm aware that I'm behind on playing this game. However, recently I've dove into Mass Effect 2 for the first time and there is little I can say about it that hasn't already been said. It does a fantastic job of presenting every situation in an "epic" sort of way and I feel by the end of it I will be just as excited as everybody else for the sequel. There are, however, some snags I find with the game that many probably overlook in their blind adoration of the title. Most glaring is the load times. I find myself avoiding any situation in which I might find myself at a load screen because I literally feel I should walk away for a while and come back when it's done. Second, I find the there are many, many more paragon options than renegade options when it comes to cut scenes. I am, however, satisfied with the option to punch the reporter in the face. That alone sold me on this game being one-of-a-kind. It certainly is no where close to derailing Red Dead Redemption as my favorite game of 2010 (clearly, I'm behind in the times) but it is deserving of MOST of its praise and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a great game to lose themselves in.
Other Topic of the Week:
This week I managed to get a game of Warhammer Fantasy Battles 8th edition in. I took quite the beating, but overall the game was fun. As it was my second game of 8th ed, I am able to make a few more criticisms of the release. First of all, I felt like there should have been more beer involved. That is to say, I didn't think there were any huge tactical mistakes and that 8th edition is all about setting up a couple of armies, throwing them at each other, and seeing who is left standing at the end. I don't view it as either a good or bad thing, merely differently from past editions. It's much more social and much less competitive. My favorite moment of the game? Plenty of fanatics smashing through a small unit of rangers and not doing a single wound. I love moments like that.
All in all, that is what I have to say about my nerd life the last week or so. The future will see more obscure games/movies/nerd stuffs, but for now I simply needed to get something out there. Next week I hope to have finished Mass Effect 2 and will be playing Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, I just finished reading Heir to the Empire and will be reading World War . I'll also re-watch and review Eden Lake, a movie I'm positive there is a chance you probably haven't seen. Also, I'm looking for a new comic/graphic novel to dive into so if you have suggestions, leave a comment or send me an email.
Look for a podcast I co-host called Podcast Sandwiches on iTunes, or find it at podcastsandwiches.blogspot.com. If you have any questions or comments you'd like me to address, leave a comment (ideally) or shoot me an e-mail at cbarnes568 at gmail dot com. (If you can't figure out the actual format of the e-mail, this probably isn't the blog for you)
Back when Microsoft announced "Project Natal" at E3 2009, the world was shook as millions erupted into a collective nerdgasm. However, while the folks over at Team Xbox focused on creating the future of gaming, I (and most others, I assume) anticipated something much different. Menu navigation that could make you feel like Tom Cruise in Minority Report (and not even he could do it without a special glove), image scanning to put real world objects into the games (the ultimate customization of the game experience) and voice/facial recognition so that at LEAST your Xbox will listen to you, even if the rest of your home won't. "Project Natal" has since been released as the Kinect and must answer one burning question: Is it everything we wet dreamed about?
The first thing I noticed once I got started was how long the device takes to get set up. While the hardware is simple enough to attach, the configuration process can be a chore. In order to get the full experience, one must run several set-up wizards to allow the Kinect to recognize you, differentiate you from other objects in the room, decipher background noise from voice commands, and calibrate the depth sensors. None of these were incredibly taxing and I expected as much would be required going into the process. However, many of these tests had to be repeated several times. I can only walk around my apartment trying to put glasses on a picture of a smiley face for so long before I start to question how well I'm spending my time. The process also made one major problem very clear.
The Kinect requires a lot of space. The biggest reason I had to recalibrate the device so many times is because I had to move the sensor so many times in order to optimize the space in my apartment. I probably have an above average sized living space, and I still had to move everything around just to have adequate playing space. I have been in many homes that would not have the convenience I had creating a functional play area. I imagine this will lead to one of two outlooks on firing up the Kinect: it will be either a chore, or an event.
Once everything was set up, I decided to play around with what is called the "Kinect Hub." The hub is a second dashboard specifically designed to work with the Kinect. You can switch between the two conveniently enough, but they do not ever function together. The hub is where I experienced my first geeked out grin. The voice commands work very smoothly, allowing you to interact with everything on the menu by simply stating "Xbox (command)." I instantly found myself wanting to shout commands to other fixtures in my home, only to be shot back to reality. My only complaint with regards to the multi-array microphone is that the hub does not have enough menu items. Within the first week the only command I even consider using is "play disc." It is also worth noting that there is also no command for turning on/off the console with Kinect. To my understanding, the ability to turn it on was left out as an energy conservation move (the sensor would have to always be on in order to accept the command) but the inability to say "xbox off" is rather disappointing.
Unfortunately, the hub is also where I experienced my first kick in the balls with the Kinect. The hand motion navigation of the menus is extremely clunky and far more effort than its worth. You find yourself caught in a feedback loop between the cameras excellent tracking, and need for pin point accuracy. To navigate to different pages you must first "grab" on to the scroll bar, and then swipe in the direction you want to navigate. This sounds easy enough, however in practice it is much tougher to keep your hand locked into the scroll bar long enough to get a full swipe across than you would think. Any change in height (so even a slightly diagonal swipe) seemed to cancel the action, requiring me to wave my arm back and forth several times before I could turn a page. Each time this happens you really find yourself change from feeling like a Jedi using the force to feeling like your parents trying to operate a cell phone. It pulls you from an immersive experience back to reality and this is something that the Kinect can't afford to do.
Navigation and aesthetic are important, but the big question lies around the games. Do they work and are they fun? My answer to both questions is.... kind of. My experience thus far is rather limited, as the only games I have played are Kinect Adventures, Sports and Dance Central. As this is a review of the Kinect itself I will try not to dive too deep into the games themselves, but shed light on how different software interacts with the device. Suffice to say, Kinect Sports and Dance Central are both a bunch of fun, and if you have a Kinect you should own both.
All three games succeed in getting you off the couch and really interacting with the games. I started with Kinect Adventures as it is the first game many consumers will be playing right out of the box. To be honest, this game felt like a glorified tech demo. The mini games were not all that great and slightly fun at best, but they did do an excellent job of showing you what playing the Kinect is supposed to feel like. It takes a while to get used to (especially when dealing with depth to the camera), but once you are able to break out of your X/Y axis comfort zone, you start to really feel how special the experience can be.
You also discover just what a problem the space requirement really is. The camera requires a lot of space, but it also requires a very specific amount of space. I noticed particularly while playing Kinect Sports sports games. You find yourself inching forward as you kick soccer balls or diving left and right to hit ping pong balls. The more you do this, the more you lose track of your designated play space and will often find the camera alerting you to fix yourself. This is a problem because in order to be successful with the Kinect, you must lose yourself in the games you are playing (this is a good thing). Unfortunately, the more you immerse yourself in the game, the more likely you are to be jolted out of it by a warning that you are leaving the play area. It doesn't help that this often results in you failing whatever you were trying to accomplish to begin with. It also can cause problems when trying to play with multiple people.
Adding a friend to the play space does not make it any bigger. For some games, it can be challenging to stay within the space as it is. Throw in another body and you are destined to collide, fall out of the space, or both. For more contained games, or games that require more vertical space than horizontal space it works fine. I have yet to try any games that do not meet these criteria in fear that something, or someone, will be broken. Last week I was also able to test the Kinect in a party atmosphere. Initially, I had concerns with whether or not the Kinect would be able to funtion properly if there were multiple people moving in and out of the camera, albeit in the background. With Dance Central, at least, this was not even a slight problem.
The shining star in the whole experience rests, in fact, with Dance Central. It is the perfect example of what the Kinect gaming experience can be like when running on all cylinders. Menu navigation is fluid, motion capture is accurate and the more you let yourself go and enjoy yourself, the easier it is to succeed. I was able to observe the perfect example of this by booting up the game at a recent party. The nature of the game (and goal of Kinect overall) is about forgetting that you are playing a game and simply living an experience. This resulted in a large group of people, whether they were actually the active player or not, participating in the dancing and being a part of the fun.
Overall, I can put the biggest concern I had before purchasing the Kinect to rest; the hardware works. While it is far from perfect on the software end, I think there are enough examples of what the Kinect is capable of to justify putting one of these bad boys in your living room: provided you have the space. If the hub can bring in more features (just today Netflix became navigable, a huge step in the right direction) and create a more natural browsing experience, then we are in for a very exciting period in home entertainment.
What does one expect from a first blog post? It can be hard to find a voice when your audience is everyone and no one simultaneously. I now know how awkward it must feel to be the opening act of a sold out show. The room is full and people are (mostly) listening, but the majority of them don't care. I suppose I'll follow their lead, introduce myself, play my set, and get off stage. Worst case scenario is no one digs it, but I'll come back and do it again anyway. Hopefully, however, enough of you will perk your ears just enough to tell some friends and eventually pave the way to the headlining gig.
Okay, enough driving that analogy into the ground. My name is Chris and I have a problem. Right about yesterday I found myself with a rapid growing passion for the hobbies I've surrounded myself with. Passion leads to research, research leads to knowledge, and knowledge leads to opinions. Unfortunately, I've never felt I had much of an audience for such things. Fast forward to today and insert the internet. I've decided to create this blog, throw it out there and see if it floats.
My aim is to spew out my thoughts on video games, movies, miniature games and, if I find the time, books. With a little luck, I may even be able to present my charming personality and even start some decent discussion. Either way, I'm here now and in the very least can brush up on my writing skills every now then.
Most importantly, I want to throw out content you guys want to read. The best way for me to do that is for you guys to provide feedback. Let me know what kind of long term projects you want to see in the poll to the right, and leave specific suggestions in the comments below. I also welcome all criticism with arms wide open. You know, like Scott Stapp.
