Eight Geeks

Sunday, April 30, 2006

My Theme Song

Your Theme Song is Back in Black by AC/DC

"Back in black, I hit the sack,
I've been too long, I'm glad to be back"

Things sometimes get really crazy for you, and sometimes you have to get away from all the chaos.
But each time you stage your comeback, it's even better than the last!

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Silent Hill Observation

Well, Aradia and I got to go see Silent Hill yesterday, and I only have one thing to say. The hot police woman was sure as hell not a real WV state trooper because her flashlight wasn't a six-cell maglite!

Monday, April 24, 2006

How Very Predictable

Your results:
You are Batman
You are dark, love gadgets and have vowed to help the innocent not suffer the pain you have endured.









Batman
65%
Hulk
60%
Spider-Man
55%
Green Lantern
55%
Catwoman
50%
Superman
45%
Iron Man
45%
The Flash
35%
Supergirl
32%
Robin
27%
Wonder Woman
17%



Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Online Gaming

I've spent a lot of time gaming online over the years. From MUDs to puzzlers and strategy games, I've probably played on thousands of different sites. Here are two that I'm currently playing:

Cyber Nations

This is an online, massively multiplayer nation simulator. Frankly, it's the best I've ever come across. There's real depth to the factors you control in your nation, from religion to taxes to what "coalition" you belong to. Not only that, but everything is interconnected; Infrastructure affects happiness and your environment, which affects the taxes you draw from your people, and so on. The military simulation is pretty good for a browser-based game of this size, with several different types of troops and weapons, and there's actual benefit to waging was of aggression. Trade is pretty deep, too, with different commodities affecting different aspects of your nation. Many have compared it to that old fad "Nationstates". Frankly, there is no comparison. Cyber Nations is fun, where Nationstates just got tedious. It only takes a few minutes a day to manage the basics, but the minutiae is there for any hardcore player. Forums provide a venue for RP and support, and there's an extensive network of players to work with.

One of the more innovative aspects of the game is the use of Google Maps to show the nations of the world, both in location and size. It's like a giant, competitive pinboard, and lets you see your potential opponents close up. Admin also provides a lot of hidden info and easter eggs for players to find. All in all, this is a highly recommended game, and I'm sure it's going to be viable for a long, long time.

eTapout

Sometime around 1999, I stumbled on a website called Neurogames. It was a collection of four different fighting league simulators; Boxing, Pro Wrestling, MMA, and Streetfighting. It was free, well-managed, and filled with a wealth of detail to create and manage your fighters. I played in every league, and even gained a minor title in the MMA sim. Eventually, they got too large to maintain free status, and went pay-to-play. The site promptly died a fast, horrible death.

Enter eTapout. This place is like a Neurogames Lite. There's only MMA; there are only four fighting styles available; and the number of participants is far smaller. The fighter management, on the other hand, is strikingly similar. You place experience points into your various statistics; manage separate strategies for different stages of the fight; fights are staged several times a week with a text output of each match; and you make fights by challenging and receiving challenges. The only major functionality that doesn't seem to at least have some analog is the injury system. Neurogames had a comprehensive system that affected stats in both the short and long terms, and that would eventually force fighters into retirement, ensuring some turnover in characters at the highest levels.

I've been searching for a game like eTapout since Neurogames closed. This is the closest thing I've found in terms of form and function. Since I'm not managing twelve fighters on this one, nor does it have a simulator to help you judge challenges, perhaps my wife will have less reason to be irritated when I play it.

So, try these out, and respond with your thoughts.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Master Ninja Rocks

I don't check out Master Ninja as often as I should, but when I do, man, is it ever fun.

As most of you gamers out there know, Vin Diesel is a big fan of roleplaying. Chuck, the MN webmaster, mastermind, writer, webmonkey, whathaveyou, put up a list concerning Vin Diesel, a la the Chuck Norris list. Here's a link: Vin Diesel.

I don't know about anyone else, but this is my favorite entry:

- Vin Diesel can spelljam in a rowboat.


Brilliant!