Drop Pod Magnetizing

Further on down the assembly line...
The harnesses for the occupants have been assembled, and the weapons are now in place.

 Drop pods are more than simply troop delivery systems, for they can be used as a conveniently placed turret as well. I want to be able to swap out the weapons, so I can have the option of the infantry-shredding Storm Bolter or a missle launcher.

A simple magnet on either side of the weapon, and it's a piece of cake to swap them out as the situation demands.

A few more little details and the pods will be ready for some paint - and laying down some hurt on the enemy!

Skyrim Dark Elf Assassin - Sadako

Re-starting an RPG 30 hours in is never easy. I last played Skyrim like a year ago, and now trying to figure out exactly where I am and what I'm doing is a task unto itself. What were my character's motivations? Who was I planning on joining?  What was my next goal? Who did I piss off?

..and I'm a werewolf???

Worse yet, I have a pool of unspent skill points - what was I saving those for?

It makes me just want to start all over again, but I find that a bitter pill to swallow after 30+ hours.
 It's coming back to me gradually, it's apparent that I crafted her as a stealthy glass cannon. She's deadly lethal with a bow, sniping from the shadows then finishing the job with dual-wielded short swords if the sneak attack to the skull doesnt do the trick. She is a member of the Companions, and is secretly a werewolf, as such she is sworn foe of the Silver Hand. She also hates the Stormcloaks, and kills them whenever possible.

My next goal is to head to Riften and join the Thieves Guild...

My Secret Weapon vs. Derek's Ork Horde

the Black Templars picked up 3 drop pods at the local used war transports lot, and thundered onto the battlefield Saturday night vs the greenskins. I just got them basically assembled for the game, no guns or internal mechanisms yet.

DEATH FROM ABOVE!!

 

 

iT's ALIVE!??

work in progress of Grimaldus

the Witcher - starting areas

The Witcher - messing around in Chapter 1



I recently started another playthru of Witcher (I beat it last year), wanting to play it a little different this time - supporting the rebel faction and using a lot of the lesser used talents (like bombs, etc).

Also, I just really want to see it on my new rig w/ all the details cranked up, and I have to admit that it looks really good.

These are just some videos from the first chapter showing off some of the areas, theyre really immersive and fun to play in and just run around and check out. The vids are kinda boring because nothing really happens except for the last one, which I battle a drowner at the edge of the lake. Ive since progressed to Chapter 2.

Demigod

Demigod turned out to be a pretty fun "arena strategy" rts game, Ive spent about 20hrs so far battling the computer all the way up to nightmare difficulty over the last couple weeks. Basically, you start out picking a Demigod in the beginning of the match, then have at it - the goal is to destroy your opponents and their stuff. There's some Mortal Kombat-esque story about battling to the top, the whole thing is some battle the demigods to attain ultragod status or something. Whatever.

It's just an excuse to get a bunch of varied warriors slugging it out in a battle royale, while mindless warrior drones pour out of portals and support. Or do you support them? Depends on your playstyle I suppose. My favorite to use is a tie between the Vampire Lord (Erebus) & the Queen of Thorns. As Erebus levels up he gets some really killer vampiric abilities that drain the life of his enemies, turn dead enemies into minions, and he can even turn into a swarm of killer bats!


Those little spiky guys are "Nightwalkers" that emerge from the corpses of the recently slain foe. Before long, he's rolling w/ a pretty heavy duty crew...


Looking resplendent as ever in his plate armor w/... spark plugs on the shoulders??

Queen of Thorns

Oh yeah. A crazy redhead who rides around in a giant rosebud, carried by scarabs, who emerges to cast crazy spells and summon minion, while whipping fools with thorny branches and roots who dare to defy her. The first time she decimated me in a match, I knew that I had to play her. She's really fun to use, and has two sets of abilities depending on whether she's inside the rosebud or out. As she doesnt care to wear much armor, she can definitely be pretty vulnerable at times when out, so she has to be used wisely.





Most people probably start out with the Rook, who's basically an ultra-tough walking fortress. As time goes by, you get archer towers and ballistae on his shoulder. He absorbs buildings, healing himself. While he's fun to use, he's so tough and self sufficient, you almost feel guilty using him later. Definitely a good noob vehicle, but you need to move on if you want a challenge!

Guild Wars marathon & BaK Enlightenment

Another day, another irresistable Steam games sale...

This time it was Guild Wars GOTY edition for 9.99, and I couldnt resist. 2 days and 10 levels later, we're both bleary eyed and... ready for more?? MMOrpg, thou art a cruel mistress indeed!



Speaking of cruel mistresses, the latest character of mine is a human Necromancer - codename: Doma Naatrix. She's pretty mean, Ive made sure to use all the nastiest spells and even play her to where she refuses to use any holy or benevolent-themed equipment or do any goody-two-shoes quests. Game of the Year edition also gives you a cool little fire imp that you can use in game - Tell you what, that little guy really pulls his weight in battles. Her build is a mix between Minion Master and Nuker. Basically she has a few different spells that literally siphon the life out of the enemy, then she turns around and summons undead creatures from their lifeless remains.

Who says Necromancers dont know how to have fun?






Ive also been playing the great Betrayal at Krondor, a classic party-based rpg from the 90's. While the presentation is crude by today's standards, I have to say that it really is a great game so far. I have no time to do any in depth coverage right now, i have err.. something else I have to do... think i can get Level 11 by midnight??

Left 4 Dead II

I was originally not going to get this game because I got so burned out on the first game, but zombie (err.. "infected") killing instinct got the better of me when it hit 24.00 at Fry's Electronics. The graphics are better, the environments more varied, and there's a better variety of infected. Everything from run of the mill joe-six-pack zombies, to biohazard suits and clowns! This game is insane - and it's every bit as good as the original. Except for this one is actually difficult!

I was having a hard time getting into the groove at first. They really nail you hard and fast w/ the new mutated "special infected" spitting acid and charging into you, and the lesser infected are coming out of the woodwork at you left and right. Nothing an hour or so cant fix, before long I was topping the scorecard all over again.



I like getting some nice sniper shots in on 'em now and then, relaxes me...

Dragon Age: Mission Accomplished

Got about 120 hours out of this one, well worth the "collectors edition" cost ( i think it was like 70 bucks). This is one of my only Rogue class characters, and I have to say - she was really fun to play! While not able to take too much damage in direct combat, the high Dex and use of several specialty assassin and duelist talents had her barely getting hit by end-game.

I also made heavy use of poisons, with good armor penetration it's a death sentence for the enemy. It's worth noting that poisons do stack in the game, opening up potential for absolutely insane amounts of damage - tho I was often too frugal for burning multiple poisons for a single fight. Grenades are extremely powerful as well and are essentially a fireball/acid/frost spell effect for the Rogue (or anyone who has improved poisons for that matter). Good fight opener, have the rogue instigate the foe w/ a nice grenade from stealth. Very nice also for clearing the end-game waves of annoying and easily-felled enemies. Toss a grenade at 'em and watch the bodies hit the floor!




I was never wanting for Stamina, as most fights didnt last all that long, so I didnt bother w/ "Feast of the Fallen", the last entry in the assassin line. My cunning was high enough that I didnt need to spend a point in the last level of lockpicking, I was able to open everything in the game. I didnt feel the need to do the last level of Dual Wield either, since it was basically just allowing the use of two full-size weapons. I went the entire game using daggers. As you can see, I focused more on the specialty lines w/ crits and evasion tactics instead of flashy dual-wield talents. In the end, I had some extra points and dropped a couple here and there, but I can count on one paw how many times I used them... Stealth was huge, primarily the ability to stealth in combat and pre-combat scouting and setup.





My faithful Mabari war hound. By end game, w/ full talent lines tricked out he was my dedicated caster-killer. Powerful attack, a little bit of crowd-control stun w/ "Dread Howl", and a cool knockdown-n-chew attack "Overpower" kept him in my lineup from the moment I aquired him til the end.

Torchlight

First of all, I have to report that Saints Row 2 does not seem to work w/ Win7 64bit... Kinda bummed about that one. I guess I'll have to play it on my old XP system, a dirt cheap D2D score that I havent played yet.

EDIT - turned out Saints Row 2 barely works on XP. Guess I'll have to get a console if I really want to play it...

Torchlight:
Even tho Barbarella is shown here w/ her shotgun, a majority of the time she uses here new pistolas shown below - great score today!







This boss went down pretty fast, in spite of an accidental quest log fumble in the beginning of the fight.