kedaunglandlord

Well, not anymore, since I finished for the day. Got quite a bit of the Crime and Punishment done. The basic way it works is that, for every illegal action you perform (public indecency/nudity, theft, assault, solicitation, etc), you get guilt points. The number of points you get depends on the severity of the crime. Once your guilt gets to 50+ points (on a scale of 0-100), there's an increasing chance that the police will show up at your apartment between early afternoon and night to arrest you. Once you're arrested, you can pay the fine, or spend time in jail (warning, spending time in jail will be REALLY boring!). Either way, when you've done that, your guilt resets to zero and, depending on the severity of the crime you were arrested for, you get between 1 and 3 points added to your criminal record. The more points you have in your criminal record, the more severe the fines/sentences you have to face for your crimes. At the end of every day, your guilt drops by 1 point,...

Voice has at least partially recovered, so I might as well work. Sickness is no deterrent unless I let it. Today, I think I'll work a little on crime and punishment. Should be, well...relatively easy. Edit: Okay, maybe not so easy. In order to make the punishment section work properly, I have to work on the crime part. On the plus side, public nudity? Oh yeah, that's on tap. Edit 2: Something happened, and now I'm not in the mood to code right now. I'm going to take the stream down for a bit. I'll be back in a bit. Edit 3: Yeah, okay, I obviously didn't get back to it. Motivation just...up and went. But I'll be streaming again tomorrow (morning, at least), so while this day kind of ended early, I'll make it up tomorrow.

Well, I may be sick as a dog, but I have work to do, so let's get to it. You may also have noticed a new page: Event Submissions at the top. It has guidelines for writing scenes, as people have asked and I haven't actually bothered putting it into words yet. Well, now I have. If you have questions about writing a specific scene, ask me. I'm usually on Skype and I always read my email. And adding scenes isn't terribly difficult, it's the writing that slows me down. Anyway, time for coding. On tap for today...I dunno. I think it's going to be the Busker side-job. Surprisingly, I got almost all of the Busker side job done today. And even started on some stuff for Crime and Punishment. Also known as sweeeeeet. I'll be answered emails later. Sorry about the delay, I'm bad at email.

Do you ever try to solve a small problem and end up solving a big problem along the way? I love it when that happens. About four months ago a cloud of doom fell on my project, one more potent than your typical moment of doubt. For over a week I felt this hunch that I'd never finish the game. I couldn't put my finger on why I felt that way, I just felt it, deep down in my bones, and it was sapping my will to continue. I hate sourceless anxiety, so for the next few days I paid close attention to when the feeling would strike. I found it hit me hardest when dealing with to-do lists - writing them, checking off completed items, disposing of them - basically whenever I touched the wretched things. Yeah. To-do lists. That threw me for a loop. It was like finding out that my shoes were to blame, or my stylus. They're so... benign. But like any useful tool, to-do lists have rules of operation. And it turns out I was breaking them. Oh I followed the basic rules well enough, we a...

Here are a couple of screen grabs from a Skype conversation today. The picture quality is moderate but should give you an idea of the details they were able to capture. Wai Kee will be sending me a set of legs and I will get you some clearer shots once I have them in my grubby little hands ;)    

Ada is near completion, just some hair details to add. Enjoy!     Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?     The rifle is a magnetic linear accelerator, the smooth barrel housing contains coils that are charged by the chambered round. In game terms it’s a ‘Capacitor Rifle’ each shell is a highly charged capacitor with a ballistic tip coated in Nano fibers. The capacitor charge powers up the coils in the barrel and accelerates the projectile much faster than conventional solid or liquid combustibles. It will punch a small hole through very thick armor. A nasty rifle with a big kick, the Valkir use a similar weapon but they ware power armor and have considerably more mass to deal with the recoil. Ada has learned how to lean into the shot and lock her body into position. When the round is discharged she will remain standing but is driven back a foot or two. Tough little gal :) (update) Added some barrel details.  

Time for coding is over! This ended up being a bug fix stream (god, I hate bug fixing). But I also finally finished all the robot upgrade descriptions, so those are completely done, which means the Transformation Overhaul is officially done...three weeks after it was released. Deeeeerrrrrrrrp. Anyway, new version is here . I'll post the complete list of fixed stuff later. Also, as mentioned in the stream, I actually have a large amount of next week off from my day job, so I'm hoping to get at least 2 productive coding sessions out of it.

Here you can see Ada as a WIP, she looks a little thick but trust me, when she is made into a real world object she will appear trimmer. It’s just one of those things about the translation from CAD to a physical model, what looks right on the screen will look too thin when you have it in your hands. I have tried not to make the model too effeminate, no chainmail bikinis here, these are soldiers! I tweaked the profile, the hips are wider, the feet are smaller the shoulders more narrow and she is slightly smaller overall when compared to the male stormtroopers. I will post more later as she nears completion.

As mythical curses go, Lycanthropy shouldn't rate above an inconvenience. Ask anyone with half a brain how they'd deal with it, and they'll say the same thing: on the night of the full moon, go someplace isolated and chain yourself to a wall. Voila, problem solved. Odysseus took the same approach when he encountered the sirens. He heard their call and knew he would be too weak to resist, so he ordered his men to tie him to a mast. He had the sense to treat his future self as an adversary to outwit, not an equal to bargain with. When you can predict your behavior and you know your trigger, any weakness is manageable. But first you have to admit that you're weak. Truly weak. It's harder than it sounds. I work from home - VFX work, when I'm not chipping away at my game projects. Sometimes I'll work onsite for a few weeks, but otherwise I enjoy silence, privacy and freedom. I can wake up when I want and sleep when I want. I can watch a movie after breakfast, tak...

All the indie gaming gurus say 'start a production blog, talk about your project, play the social game.' But honestly, why bother? I read blogs for insight and inspiration - the kind you get from developers who craft two amazing games in the time it takes me to learn one new API. I would describe many of these people as 'genius level.' I would describe myself as 'unremarkable and occasionally competent.' Not the stuff blogs are made of, in other words. So I resisted. But then I got to thinking. For as long as I can remember, people have told me that I'm remarkably good at two things, both intimately related: staying motivated & hopeful , and articulating my anxieties & fears.  And I found myself thinking, maybe I do have something to offer. Because while you may not see them listed on a CV, they're the most bountiful and universally applicable skills in my otherwise meager arsenal, and the root of every ounce of success that I can claim to enjo...

Sorry about the lack of streams lately, it's been kind of crazy in my personal world. Insomnia and school work and really long days at work and frightening news from doctors and bleeeeh. Anyway, I'll be back to normal schedule on Thursday, which will involve some bug fixes, and then on to the next update.

Yesterday was a day of prepping files, making punch lists and phone calls :) I don’t have a specific day that the survey will go out but we are looking towards the end of this week, WGF is still working on the coding and looking over the best way to deal with additional pledge amounts if needed. We will try to have a custom account for each backer that uses either/both your name and or you email to sign into the pledge manager. Your pledge amount will auto fill and if you go over what has already been paid, it will open an option to submit the remaining amount through a PayPal account that WGF is setting up. I have a PayPal account but I would prefer not to use it as WGF will need continual access to the account to verify the revised pledges against what they will have in a database. The pledge manager will remain open and available for a few weeks; we will need to close it down before the items are scheduled to leave China. This will likely be late October (I will update when I have a...

That was a close one....Congrats!

Here is a sneak peek at a work in progress, the Zeus APC conversion kit to turn your troop mover into a tank hunter This kit will include 3 crew, a loader, a gunner and spotter. As well as in interior detail pack that will replace the crew compartment with ammo storage and crates.

The Stuka Zu Fuss will now be a plastic model kit and for the backers of this Kickstarter, the exclusive character miniature ‘Ada’ will be a plastic miniature.   I am very grateful to be part of such supportive community. I have seen many acts of support and kindness, not just from my backers but from people who were complete strangers and stepped up to lend a hand or offer support. Truly I am humbled.   Thank you! Mark Mondragon DreamForge-Games

  I just wanted to add something unplanned as way to say thank you to all the backers for their support, it is very much appreciated!   THANK YOU!        Ada is a tank hunter by trade… She uses a MLA rifle to take down the heavy targets. Considering this rifle is primarily used by power armored troopers, it’s quite a feat.

We have introduced over 30 individual plastic model kits! But we are not done yet! The current product line consist of a fully outfitted Stormtrooper infantry section, a range of power armored troops , two Leviathan variants in 15mm and 28mm scale with a host of optional weapons, and a APC to get your troops to the front in style.   If you wanted to back one of our amazing plastic models or miniatures, NOW is the time!  

Sneak peek at the next stretch goal ;) WIP: The details of the model still will need to be worked out but this should give you a good idea.

At 11:45 US Pacific time, the Kickstarter will come to a close. This Kickstarter has grown into a fairly complicated beast… you have my apologies. As time went on we had many customer requests to add specific items. If it was within my means to do so, I have offered these items as part of this Kickstarter. Although the Eisenkern faction will now have a fairly complete product line, it has not made the layout very easy to understand. The best way to wrap you mind around the extensive offer is to use the online calculator as your guide. LINK:   http://www.dreamforge-games.com/kickstartshipping/DFCalc.htm Still not backing this project or confused by the number of items offered? The calculator is your friend! It will auto fill the free items that have been offered throughout the Kickstarter campaing and get you on your way to receiving some great plastic model kits. Not sure where to drop your pledge? Pledging for multiple items? Drop it in the –CATCH ALL PLEDGE- box, just be sure to ...

Based on overwhelming success to date, I am pleased to announce a major new kit - the Eisenkern APC.. APC size: 2.25" high 3.25" wide and 7.25" long This APC was designed to seat 10 troopers plus 2 crew At $145k every APC will recieve a full crew compliment of 10 seated troopers!

Sorry about being incommunicado for the last few days, but I'm back for more bug fixing. Particularly of shoes, because what the fuck is up with those? And, of course, the other stuff (cigarettes, don't make me recompile you with a bat!). The following bugs have been fixed: - Shoes can now be worn again. - Komodo cigarettes will no longer turn into regular cigarettes. Also made the following changes: - A lot of things have been made more obvious, like the note that must be read for the second mission. - The closet now has a command (after reading the note after choosing a job) that explains the clothing system. It will disappear after using it once, but it should be pretty helpful for explaining the clothing system, in particular the exercise clothing mechanic. - The toolkit got some more descriptions. - Changed the second mission so that Maria will now give you the Brittany mission whether you seduced her or not. - A few other minor tweaks here and there. Update 9/11 is here .

And yet another goal bites the dust! All the power armor troops are now ready to go!  

Shocking news! The world continues to spin and change while I sleep :- P Last night we broke $115k and opened up the Heavy Support Troopers!

Wow! You turn away for a short time and BANG!   Now available: Stormtrooper Command Squad   Valkir Heavy Troopers 15mm Scale Mortis All weapons for the 15mm scale Leviathans….     Next up: $115k Heavy Trooper Support Weapons Set $120k Heavy Trooper Assault Squad

Another stretch goal down! The Stormtrooper command squads are now available! We also open up the Valkir Heavy Troopers! A core troop choice for the power armor sets. Still a work in progress, each box will contain 20 heavy troopers with 20 heavy rifles, 5 heavy grenadiers and 5 heavy flamers with enough ammo packs and accessories to load out your 20 man squad for the fight! This core set will provide many new leg poses and thee main weapon options. The goal of this set is to provide the same flexibility you find in the core Stormtrooper box set for your power armored troops. If you like the designs and trust my design sense then I know you will be thrilled by the final box set. We also have two more stretch goals available for the heavy troopers, the Support Weapons Squad and the Assault Squad! You can see more here      Project update video #1   A great project summary video  

Free left hand Vulkan Cannons for all 28mm Leviathan backers! Both Mortis and Crusader! Congrats all!

I just found a podcast from Ohiohammer, completely unsolicited coverage, so it was a fluke find for me. They had some very nice things to say about the Leviathan they viewed at Gencon and about the Kickstarter.   go check it out .

The Mortis joins its brother as a plastic model kit! Another stretch goal down! Note on Kickstarter project: You can pledge for one or more Mortis (Morti?) or you can mix and match between the Mortis and Crusader and retain multi-unit pricing. When the project closes we will send out a survey, just tell us how many of each Mortis or Crusader you wanted!

Here is a preview of the new Eisenkern APC! This model is still a work in progress, the overall form is complete but there are a quite a few roughed in shapes and quite a bit of detailing that still needs to be done.   I thought this would be a good opportunity to go over my work flow and give you a peek into my processes.   First, I decide on a project, in this case an APC for the Eisenkern faction.   Next I think about what message I am trying to convey with the overall form of the model. In this case I wanted to bring a decidedly retro feel as I have with the Stormtroopers, this keeps the force looking cohesive on the table and allows me to draw from historic examples of vehicles for inspiration.   I then decide on a specific vehicle to work from. I have always liked the look of the Hanomag Sonderkraftfahrzeug "special purpose vehicle", or Sd.Kfz.   Not wanting to simply remake what can be found in other 1/35 scale models, I needed to examine the use in a mo...