Thursday at the Calgary Entertainment Expo 2015

Well here we go again ladies and gents. Here is the beginning of my comic con 2015 experience. Thursday is usually my solo day, where I just wander around, get my shopping done and see what's going on at the con. It's the day all the vendors have the most merch, so it's always fun to browse, even if I don't buy.

But I did buy. And I accidentally purchased a couple issues of books I already have...

Anyhow, I did some shopping in the afternoon (some last minute pick-ups for Saturday) and headed over to the grounds to get my wrist band.

Parked my car and began walking over to the Agrium building to get my wrist bands. Spotted the Thursday line on my way in. Looks deceivingly long as by the time I got my wrist band, the lot of them were already inside and wandering around. But before I could even contemplate that line up...

I had this one to contend with. This was the line to get in the line so that I could line up for actual events (aka the wrist band line).

Though deceivingly long, it actually only took me about 5-10 mins to get through, These guys got a system.

It's a bit blurry as I only had about a second to snap it, but I'll let you guess what destiny I chose
(hint: it was the awesome one). But enough of the line-ups! That is not what we are here to see!

Spotted the food trucks on the way in. I plan to make use of those either Friday or Saturday as it's supposed to be really sunny and warm outside. Super stoked. They have Tako Yaki at one of them! Then there's mini doughnuts and bubble tea and viet subs and tacos and coffee and pizza and pho and...I'm going to stop now because I'm getting hungry.

Wandered by the Viking demonstration again. They're back this year and have set up their viking camp in the usual spot. Shauna apparently knows one of them, so I paused for awhile longer to see what they were up to.

I apologize for the quality of some of these pictures. As I was traveling alone and taking pictures of random merch, I didn't want to draw too much attention to myself. Don't want people to know how unintentionally creepy I was. Regardless, the Tower of T-shirts was back as usual. Great landmark to find people at on Saturdays...only the volume of people on said Saturdays makes the entire area and uncomfortable experience...especially if someone decided to forego their personal hygiene routine. This year I was impressed by the selection of belts that they had. I shall gauge how busy the con gets by the number of belts left at the end of the weekend.

It was then I realized I forgot to purchase my photo op...so I turned right around and walked back outside to the Big 4 building. Ran downstairs, used up the majority of my cash on the photo op, then had an epic battle with the ATM machine for more cash. Two cards and three declines later, I had more money and went upstairs to browse artist's alley. Or at least half of it. This area was incredibly enjoyable as there was hardly anyone in there and I could actually breathe. I don't think the artists were as pleased as I was.

Came across these two as I wandered that area. I actually arrived around the same time as Judge Dread as he was putting on his costume in the parking lot. I was going to ask for a picture then...but again, trying to cut down on the creepy. These two were really good about me taking their photo though.

I stopped by a couple of the booths there, picked up something for cosplay on Saturday, and made my way back towards the door.

Spotted this on the way out. I have no idea what it is or why it's there, but I have decided that Sarah and I need to return and get a picture riding it. It's happening. They were setting up at the time, so I didn't bother them and continued my journey.

Outside I heard a series of explosions and went to investigate. Beyond the Viking encampment, I discovered a Wild West show which included dudes with guns shooting balloons off a spinning wheel. I got there in time to watch him shoot the last balloon. Some lady next to me wasn't expecting it and started complaining loudly about how it gave her a heart attack.

Snapped a photo when I got back inside, mostly so I can do a comparison when I take photos over the next three days. Usually I determine how busy it is by my level of discomfort. I do not like crowds normally.

Spent the rest of my time wandering up and down the aisles, stopping whenever I saw something interesting or amusing. I'm not exactly sure what they did to Frodo here or what this is supposed to be...but it looks uncomfortable. His eyes...they stare into my soul.

There's the Tower of T-shirts! Ahhh so spacious.

Found the Harry Potter vendor in my travels. I took this picture while waiting for some girls to get out of the way. Because they had drawn my attention to this:

Mesk. I have done it. I have found the shirt of your dreams. Unfortunately I think that trio of girls were interested as well. It may be gone before you are united.

Then I walked a little further and made this discovery. Look what's back again this year!

These guys were here last year, but they've upped their game. Not sure if they had the turrets there last year, but I remember the armour. The Iron Maidern I'm convinced is new though. They also had a kick-ass set of armour off to the right...that I didn't get a picture of yet because the dude running the booth was giving me a disapproving glare.

Next I found an abundance of medieval and Viking merch. Someone at the drinking horn table was talking about how Game of Thrones has done wonders for their sales. Sure enough, I took a closer look at those drinking mugs and the sign said they were GoT inspired.

WARNING. CHOKING HAZARD. HAH. HAH.

As always...there was a lot of cool stuff to look at. The metal work was really quite impressive.

I was pleased with this cosplay. It made me very happy.

Continued by journey of sneaky pictures and arrived at the wall of slightly disturbing anime body pillows. I think someone raided hks' basement. I shall call it Loli Tower.

Found a table Shauna would really like. Complete with Assassin's Creed, Last of Us and Bioshock t-shirts and other merch.

And then I found this and my weekend's quest was set. What did I see here? Well. Let's take a closer look.

Ah yes, Good old Professor Snape. This weekend shall be the great hunt for Snape. I will have you know, he was also on a mug at this place.

Hee hee dancing Groot. Also I'll have you know that just off screen to the right, that is a Supernatural Clue game. I'd play it, but I would call dibs on playing Castiel.

Passed a shrine to Tankgirl Sarah on my way with its various offerings of Skulls. And then I turned the corner and found these lovely cosplayers:

I was lucky to come across them when I did as I didn't see them again for the rest of the time I was there. Perhaps they'll be around in the days to come.

Finally caught up with the Vikings, who were posing for a bunch of people right beside something very bright...

At this point, I was ready to head out. As I'm still not feeling 100% I got tired after two and a half hours of walking. On my way out, I spotted one final photo opportunity:

Excuse the arms as it was a last minute snap as I was heading out the door. Just remember to take Macleod to 12th. Also I like the photo within a photo there.

I headed back out to my car, collapsed into my seat, drank the tea I didn't finish from earlier because it was thermonuclear hot and headed home. There I discovered I accidentally purchased some things I already have. Oh well. I'll be back tomorrow with my recap of Friday (which will likely be shorter as I need to save energy for Saturday).

...


...

Session 1 of Testament of Sherlock Holmes

Because these screenshots are beautiful. They capture the game perfectly. I am convinced the game is possessed...and the only one who knows is Watson.

The children are all demons. The dialogue consists of impish giggling, "ohhhhh" and "la la la." 

The moment Watson's eyes were opened to the realms beyond. He knows. He knows the horrors of the demon children and the havoc they have wrought through their book of evil.

He sees them...noticing something on the ceiling...

...and was never the same again. (the above two screenshots were sequential frames btw).

He begins to see things differently. In a new disturbing light. He sees that things that appear normal upon first inspection...

(lol the officer in the back looks bored out of his mind)

...but what they truly are.

The demons know. And mock him for it.

Time and space is warped as his world view is transformed.

Watson accepts his fate, takes his meds....

...and broods. "Fuck this tea," he whispers bitterly to himself.

Watson attempts to tell Sherlock what lurks in the shadows, but he makes another terrifying realization.

Sherlock is secretly a vampire. But Watson is willing to keep his secret...

...because he is vaguely turned on.

Bleigh

Bleigh

Bleigh? Sherlock is not amused.

They visit the dear reverend in hopes of exorcising the game. Sherlock is tempted by a bloody scalpel, and shows that he is, in fact, made of rubber.

The reverend attempts the exorcism.

But he realizes he is not strong enough.

And tries to flee.

Watson and Sherlock stop him by fusing together.

With the reverend restrained for the moment, Watson contemplates his great and terrible gift...

And knows there are only horrors in store for him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Sherlock wants to know what possessed you to play this game. He is judging you. Harshly. 

Also, found the perfect screen for a caption/photoshop contest. If I did such things:

It's That Time of Year Again

Comic con is almost here! I'll be going all 4 days again (as long as my energy holds out) and as always, be documenting my experience. I'm actually extremely excited for seeing some of the guests this year and plan on seeing a few more panels. I'll be dressing up this year with Sarah (as she will be gone for two years to make friends with koalas and kangaroos). Any Calgary people reading this, keep an eye out for Tank Girl on Saturday. You'll find me.

Storage crisis with my hard drives again as I rescue all the content on the one external and try formatting it. A bunch of Sherlock footage got toasted, so we had to re-record that today. What happened is the drive kept chain-failing while we were recording...but Fraps didn't register this so it kept recording...so I have an hour long clip of just audio, a bunch of clips that are corrupted, and then a few that managed to survive. There's nothing really salvageable unfortunately.

Currently uploading the rest of Hunted, Lost Kingdoms and War for the Overworld. Boy do I have some interesting footage from WftO for you. Let's just say the only reason I beat this level is because things broke spectacularly.

No news yet on what's been going on with me health-wise. Had a good Saturday and Sunday energy-wise. Actually had some trouble getting to sleep. Friday was just awful for a lot of reasons. We shall not speak of Friday. I will call on Monday to see what the results were.

PS - This blog has had over 10000 hits now. Hi bots.

Sanitarium Finished

Sanitarium is completely uploaded. Dead Space will be completely finished tomorrow or the day after. Hunted will be likely finished by next week.

I have ready to upload:
-Tera
-Bioshock 2
-War for the Overworld
-Testament of Sherlock Holmes
-Lost Kingdoms

I don't know which ones I'll upload first. Probably War for the Overworld and Bioschlock 2.

I am extremely exhausted so I don't really have much more to add on that for now. Whatever's got me has me in a vice. Can't shake it off. Lab tests Wednesday. For reals this time. Going to go home and try to sleep this off.

PS - Keep an eye out for Part 8 of the Tera videos. It's an experience.

PSS - War for the Overlord is still being patched and it is slowly getting less and less buggy. Even Nick has managed to crash the game a few times.

War for the Overworld

This was meant to be a surprise since I was going to record and post this game as an LP, but we need to have a little chat about War for the Overworld.

What is this game? Well, this is kind of like the spiritual successor to the Dungeon Keeper series. It IS the Dungeon Keeper series essentially, but at the same time...it is not. The game is a kickstarter game released officially yesterday. It was around for early access, but I had forgotten about it and was none-the-wiser. Oliver told me about the game and I picked it up, because really, when Dungeon Keeper 2 is one of my all-time favourite games, and, incidentally, my first ever LP, I couldn't pass it up. So why do we need to chat?

Because the problems with the game are conflicting with my nostalgia. So last night I booted up the game, albeit not as excited as I should have been (I had a rough night) and was welcomed with a very loud menu screen. I went into the sound options to fix this. It's...not a sound option you can fix. The ambient noise in the menu is not one I can alter, so I need to use the windows sound to lower the overall game volume. Okay, whatever, small issue. I get into the , watch a cinematic (which was...all right yeah makes sense to set the stage) and it is also incredibly loud with no way to fix it. Also it seems to be very similar to Overlord's plot (if it has the same plot twist at the end I'm going to strangle a bear). Then we get to the campaign map. It looks like a Dungeon Keeper map. Swell. I click on the tutorial level and listen to the instructions, narrated by the mentor (who is the same voice actor as the first two games...cool!) Only the sound is still unbalanced and some of the voice acting just seems...weird to me. I want to say it sounds a little forced, but I don't know if it's just the specific inflections, or if the voice just isn't edited to be deep enough. I try and start...and then windows delightfully decides to throw the online permissions pop-up in my face. It crashes Fraps, which then crashes the game. GG.

I boot up the game again, watch the cinematic...again and try to start the level and finally get in. And this is where things get interesting.

Immediately upon entering the game I can see it's all there. The Dungeon Heart...I MEAN DUNGEON CORE. The rooms like the training room (UH BARRACKS), and the hatchery (ER UM SLAUGHTER HOUSE). I can see the gold, you can dig out areas for rooms, there are imps (uh workers?) and the legions of overly pompous and pathetic heroes. Only things are a little different. Rooms aren't simply given or researched by the sorcerers (er cultists...), you need to allocate "evil points" in what looks like a technology tree. And you get them in REALLY WEIRD orders. Yes, I am totally biased, but this is weird guys. I understand why it can't be just like the other games (copyright lollllll), and frankly, I don't mind a little change up. I'm going to still call everything what I'm used to calling it. Deal with it. This goes for the creatures as well.

So what do I like about all this and what do I not like? Well here's a list because I can't organize my thoughts enough right now to form coherent sentences. We'll start with the bad, and then move to the good.

Bad:
1. Buggy as hell - I have found multiple bugs already. For instance, in possession, if you select one of those whip options for the imps and click...your arm becomes a blur of movement in a jittery spazfest. Another one is for some reason, randomly, I could not build rooms, or select minions or sell anything. I think this is tied to the events manager where the game wants you to build something specific, but you ignore it or were doing something else at the time it assaulted you with objectives. Last, which was my all time FAVOURITE (and by this it made me want to start gnawing on my arm) was that if your dungeon heart is under attack, the game decides that this is the best time to drop your frame rate down to 1, as in it freezes for a couple seconds before recovering back to 60fps for a second and then freezes again. It becomes unplayable because you cannot act fast enough, in the 1 second you have to try and do something about it. I will need to start a level over because I just couldn't do anything.

2. Possession sucks - If you played DK2, you'll know that possession was extremely easy to use, had smooth movements and allowed you to fight, claim land and dig tunnels yourself. Here, you move like there's super glue on your feet. If you try to change directions while moving, you come to abrupt halt and get stuck on nothing, causing you to hammer the keys to get you moving again. If you stop and use the

3. The mini-map - What the hell asufhasliukfnaekdrsdfskfasld. This mini-map is messed up. Like really messed up. Okay so you enter the dungeon viewing the dungeon heart at an angle. This element is the same as DK2. That is fine. You can't click on the map and reorient it. You are always at an angle. Maybe I haven't been playing long enough to figure this out, but I'm pretty sure this is the map. You can't bring up the map fullscreen to look at things. AND IT IS CONFUSING. It's on an angle just like the view on the main screen is. So you look at the map and say, oh something is happening to my right...so you scroll to the right...and realize that whatever is happening is not actually to the right. It's actually UP. Not only that, but there's another bug where if you are being attacked, you get pinged, only sometimes you get pinged in a random corner of the map for no reason...

4. The camera - THAT'S A NICE LOOKING WALL. Okay so whenever the game takes over the camera to show you a new creature entering the dungeon, you hardly SEE the creature because the camera spends 75% of the time jammed in the wall. Great.

5. Story - I have no idea if they're going somewhere, but really, what made the other two games great on this front was the simplicity of it. Hi, you are an evil overlord. You want to take over shit. Great. Let me debrief you on this area, a little background on what you need to do to achieve your goal and GO. If they make this more than that, I will be upset (see previous comment about strangling a bear).

6. Over-explaining and hand-holding - Yeah, I get not everyone has played Dungeon Keeper before. Good on you for having the tutorial, but a lot of this stuff can be explained with a single line of dialogue. We don't need hightlighted areas, we don't need ten lines of dialogue explaining something simple (multiple times). Point to an area once, or move the camera to show, but don't make this excessive people. We can figure it out. We're evil overlords. Just let go and let us figure out on our own how to destroy our enemies, body and soul.

7. Zoom - Since I can't view the map in fullscreen (easily at least...I will look into this again). It'd be great if you could zoom out more. You can't. Only zoom in. In fact you can zoom in so far that you can essentially see the nose hairs on the cultists. Great. I'd prefer to zoom out.

8. Sound balancing - No matter what I do, some of the audio is too loud, and some is too quiet. this is going to take a lot of work to get to reasonable levels. Also some of the voice acting has some REALLY weird pronunciations, and I'm pretty sure that's not an accent issue.

Good:
1. Humour - The humour is still there! And that element is great! Some of the humour is unintentional, but it's still there! I like the dark humour and silliness. Micropigs! Hilarious! This is exactly how it should be.

2. Tone - While it has some significant changes in feel, the basics are still there. It's cut-throat, dark, and has those elements of the first game in it. I even appreciate the constant nagging, cause really that was a thing before (though I will rage before the end). I'm just waiting for the shit to hit the fan.

3. Graphics - Game is fairly pretty. There are some low-res assets, but those can be overlooked unless the camera is jammed places it shouldn't be. The tiles and the rooms look pretty neat. You an see where all the effort went in this game. There are some issues, like particle effects breaking and units turning into a mess of black squares when they die, but overall, its not bad. I could pick out a few other REALLY weird things, but that's just nit-picking at this point.

4. Level design - I see no problems with this so far. Looks like there will be good elements of strategy and a variety of environments to deal with. This is what I will continue to play the game for. I may rage, I may have issues with the interface and whatnot, but as long as the game FUNCTIONS and has the ability to challenge me in terms of the actual intended gameplay, I will play and finish this game.

5. Getting the old voice actor - As forced as it sounds sometimes, the voice actor is a nice touch. He is the same guy from the first two games (as mentioned before). My largest complaint is that his voice isn't deep enough in the campaign overview screen and randomly changes volumes (I still don't know the difference between "campaign voice" and "mentor voice" and if I set them at the same level, one is still quieter than the other and it makes no sense to me at all).


So should you get it?

I don't have a clue. I can see a lot of people playing this for nostalgia reasons. I have seen swaths of good comments and people raving about the game. Is it as good as the hype says it is? No. In my opinion it is not. It needs work. If they fixed the bugs, made possession and the interface more intuitive and smoother, than yes, this would a decent game. Currently, I am playing it solely for the level design and nostalgia aspect. I sincerely hope they fix a lot of things.


EDIT: I hoped and they delivered. Got an update today and they fixed a lot of things. Possession is a little less annoying (but still buggy). Attacks on the Dungeon Core do not freeze the game (though frame rate drops randomly and drastically in places). Sound has been rebalanced so things sound nice. The interface is now easier to interact with and doesn't lock me out anymore. Good job devs =D