According to Scifi.com there is another Battlestar Galactica prequel in the works. If you are a BSG fan you already know about Caprica, which takes place 50 years before the current series. The newest prequel is, as yet, untitled but will be focused on the Cylon side of things. It takes place prior to the events in the BSG mini-series and is directed by Edward James Olmos. It will air in 2009 after the final 10 episodes of the current series.
Original Article
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
Revision and New Editions
If you are a gamer I'm pretty sure you know about D&D 4e by now, unless you live under a rock. You are probably also well aware of the bad feelings that have been brought about by this new edition in the gaming community, again unless you haven't come out from under your rock in the past year or so. Gamers have been calling Shenanigans on WotC since before the new editions was even officially announced and though some of us became converts there is still a great deal of anti-4e sentiment floating around. Though I was guilty of the same thing at one point, I have to admit that my change of heart came as a direct result of talking with other gamers. Many of these other gamers played D&D, but the conversations I had with them, mostly online, were not about the grand daddy of gaming, they were about other systems.
Even though D&D is my game of choice I do play other systems on occassion, so I check those boards from time to time and have to admit that the die hard fans of other systems kind of made us D&D fans look bad. You see D&D isn't the only game system that has a revision and/or a new edition for fans to deal with. Hero System, Hackmaster and Legend of the Five Rings have newer versions to be released in the future, or currently on shelves as well.
The guys over at Hero System are currently working on their 6th edition... 6TH!!! I never even got the ins and outs of 5e down pat and then I find they have a new one in the works. Then over at the L5R boards I find that there is a 3.5 version on shelves this summer. Hackmaster is rumored to have 5e in the works and supposedly changing the campaign world as well. The difference between the D&D boards and these other boards is that the fans were behind the changes. Oh sure there was the occasional post bemoaning the new edition, but the majority was pretty positive, many were even excited.
What kind of Bizarro world had I fallen into? What kind of gamers are actually happy that their beloved rules were being revised, revamped or changed in any way shape or form? Realistic gamers whose love for the game, not the rules, keep bringing them back for each new edition, that's who. They view the changes as I eventually came to view 4e, a chance to take something great and make it better. No matter which game you enjoy there is always something that can be improved upon, otherwise there would be no need for house rules. After seeing how these other gamers reacted I began to rethink my position on 4e and decided to give it a chance. Now I am one of the people who admits I actually like 4e.
Don't get me wrong I still feel that WotC did and are still doing a very poor job of promoting and making 4e all it can be, but I actually do like the system. I am still annoyed at the way they openly lied to gamers, I dislike how they've dropped the ball with the online content, and I still want my print version of both Dungeon and Dragon Magazine, but the actual game itself is good. There may be things I miss from 3e, but there are a lot more that I like in 4e.
So maybe it is time we take a cue from our gaming brethren and lighten up. Don't let nostalgia and paranoia get in the way of enjoying D&D. Quit the moaning and groaning, it won't change anything. If you don't want to play 4e, then keep playing the edition that makes you happy. See this for what it is meant to be, a natural evolution of our favorite game. Wotc isn't trying to screw us all over, they are simply trying to keep D&D in step with the times, and keep the company alive by making money. Their job isn't just to keep us older gamers happy, but to make the game interesting for the next generation of gamers, of which there are too few.
Even though D&D is my game of choice I do play other systems on occassion, so I check those boards from time to time and have to admit that the die hard fans of other systems kind of made us D&D fans look bad. You see D&D isn't the only game system that has a revision and/or a new edition for fans to deal with. Hero System, Hackmaster and Legend of the Five Rings have newer versions to be released in the future, or currently on shelves as well.
The guys over at Hero System are currently working on their 6th edition... 6TH!!! I never even got the ins and outs of 5e down pat and then I find they have a new one in the works. Then over at the L5R boards I find that there is a 3.5 version on shelves this summer. Hackmaster is rumored to have 5e in the works and supposedly changing the campaign world as well. The difference between the D&D boards and these other boards is that the fans were behind the changes. Oh sure there was the occasional post bemoaning the new edition, but the majority was pretty positive, many were even excited.
What kind of Bizarro world had I fallen into? What kind of gamers are actually happy that their beloved rules were being revised, revamped or changed in any way shape or form? Realistic gamers whose love for the game, not the rules, keep bringing them back for each new edition, that's who. They view the changes as I eventually came to view 4e, a chance to take something great and make it better. No matter which game you enjoy there is always something that can be improved upon, otherwise there would be no need for house rules. After seeing how these other gamers reacted I began to rethink my position on 4e and decided to give it a chance. Now I am one of the people who admits I actually like 4e.
Don't get me wrong I still feel that WotC did and are still doing a very poor job of promoting and making 4e all it can be, but I actually do like the system. I am still annoyed at the way they openly lied to gamers, I dislike how they've dropped the ball with the online content, and I still want my print version of both Dungeon and Dragon Magazine, but the actual game itself is good. There may be things I miss from 3e, but there are a lot more that I like in 4e.
So maybe it is time we take a cue from our gaming brethren and lighten up. Don't let nostalgia and paranoia get in the way of enjoying D&D. Quit the moaning and groaning, it won't change anything. If you don't want to play 4e, then keep playing the edition that makes you happy. See this for what it is meant to be, a natural evolution of our favorite game. Wotc isn't trying to screw us all over, they are simply trying to keep D&D in step with the times, and keep the company alive by making money. Their job isn't just to keep us older gamers happy, but to make the game interesting for the next generation of gamers, of which there are too few.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Goodbye Maztica
I have always had an affinity for the Maztica D&D setting. Sure it was part of the Forgotten Realms and I've never been a Realms fan, but Maztica was still pretty cool. So when 4e was announced I automatically made my desire for a revised Maztica known on the WotC boards. Well it was all for naught as I recently discovered.
There was an article about the Spellplague that ravages 4e FR on the D&D site from back in January, I know I am a little behind but I miss things on occassion, that said :
"Across the Trackless Sea, and entire continent of the lost realm reappeared (called Returned Abeir) subsuming the continent of Maztica."
To me this means that one of my favorite settings will not only miss the 4e revision, it is pretty well dead with no plans or hope for resurrection. Too bad for me I guess there just aren't enough Maztica fans out there. Mabe Paizo will do something Maztica-like for the Pathfinder RPG if there is enough interest... time to hit the Paizo boards.
There was an article about the Spellplague that ravages 4e FR on the D&D site from back in January, I know I am a little behind but I miss things on occassion, that said :
"Across the Trackless Sea, and entire continent of the lost realm reappeared (called Returned Abeir) subsuming the continent of Maztica."
To me this means that one of my favorite settings will not only miss the 4e revision, it is pretty well dead with no plans or hope for resurrection. Too bad for me I guess there just aren't enough Maztica fans out there. Mabe Paizo will do something Maztica-like for the Pathfinder RPG if there is enough interest... time to hit the Paizo boards.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
More Movie News and Trailers!
- Sony is looking to give Venom his/its own spin-off movie
- Batman 3 could co-star Johnny Depp and the movie's villains could be Riddler and Penguin.
- Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Trailer
- The Wolfman ComicCon Trailer
- Comic Con Wolverine Trailer (Not the best quality.)
NASA Confirms Liquid Lake On Saturn Moon
Read the full original article here.
NASA scientists have concluded that at least one of the large lakes observed on Saturn's moon Titan contains liquid hydrocarbons, and have positively identified the presence of ethane. This makes Titan the only body in our solar system beyond Earth known to have liquid on its surface.
Scientists made the discovery using data from an instrument aboard the Cassini spacecraft. The instrument identified chemically different materials based on the way they absorb and reflect infrared light. Before Cassini, scientists thought Titan would have global oceans of methane, ethane and other light hydrocarbons. More than 40 close flybys of Titan by Cassini show no such global oceans exist, but hundreds of dark lake-like features are present. Until now, it was not known whether these features were liquid or simply dark, solid material.
"This is the first observation that really pins down that Titan has a surface lake filled with liquid," said Bob Brown of the University of Arizona, Tucson. Brown is the team leader of Cassini's visual and mapping instrument. The results will be published in the July 31 issue of the journal Nature.
NASA scientists have concluded that at least one of the large lakes observed on Saturn's moon Titan contains liquid hydrocarbons, and have positively identified the presence of ethane. This makes Titan the only body in our solar system beyond Earth known to have liquid on its surface.
Scientists made the discovery using data from an instrument aboard the Cassini spacecraft. The instrument identified chemically different materials based on the way they absorb and reflect infrared light. Before Cassini, scientists thought Titan would have global oceans of methane, ethane and other light hydrocarbons. More than 40 close flybys of Titan by Cassini show no such global oceans exist, but hundreds of dark lake-like features are present. Until now, it was not known whether these features were liquid or simply dark, solid material.
"This is the first observation that really pins down that Titan has a surface lake filled with liquid," said Bob Brown of the University of Arizona, Tucson. Brown is the team leader of Cassini's visual and mapping instrument. The results will be published in the July 31 issue of the journal Nature.
Invincible Review 2
A while back, before the blog, I did a review of the Image comic Invincible. At the time I had never read the book and only had a handful of issues that I picked up to review, and I was not impressed. I have changed my tune drastically in the past few weeks.
I recently acquired Vol. 1 & 2 of the Invincible TPBs and I have to admit they great. Starting from the beginning enabled me to understand the character better and gave me a new respect for the books direction. Currently I am awaiting Vol. 3 & 4 and I can't wait to read every issue. I have even added the book to my pull list at my LCS, which started with issue 51. So hopefully I will have all the TPBs in the next few months and be up to date with the current story line. I am a little confused about who Kid Omni-man/Omniboy is, which will keep me tearing through the trades until I catch up. As long as the book maintains the quality I've seen in the TPBs I will reamain a fan of this book and have already begun recommending it to friends.
Youngblood:
Though I have always had a distaste for Liefield, for some reason I have been a fan of the Youngblood characters since the original issue #1. That still hold true with the new series, which has the team involved in some kind of government conspiracy involving a reality TV show, in which they are the stars. The new book is a little different then the original, but still a good read. This is by no means the best book on the comic rack, but I would recommend trying at least one issue to see if you like it.
Kick Ass:
The name says it all. This is one of my favorite books out right now. It is the story of a "real world" kid who wants to be a superhero. The only problem is that in the real world we don't have any super powers and he keeps getting the the crap beat out of him.
One of my favorite scenes is when the main character decides that he wants to travel like a real superhero, by rooftop. He gets a running start, but stops short when he realizes how far apart and how tall the building are, so he decides to go back to street level and walk. The book is dark, the art is great and the story is one of the best I have read in a long time. I can't wait for the movie.
I recently acquired Vol. 1 & 2 of the Invincible TPBs and I have to admit they great. Starting from the beginning enabled me to understand the character better and gave me a new respect for the books direction. Currently I am awaiting Vol. 3 & 4 and I can't wait to read every issue. I have even added the book to my pull list at my LCS, which started with issue 51. So hopefully I will have all the TPBs in the next few months and be up to date with the current story line. I am a little confused about who Kid Omni-man/Omniboy is, which will keep me tearing through the trades until I catch up. As long as the book maintains the quality I've seen in the TPBs I will reamain a fan of this book and have already begun recommending it to friends.
Youngblood:
Though I have always had a distaste for Liefield, for some reason I have been a fan of the Youngblood characters since the original issue #1. That still hold true with the new series, which has the team involved in some kind of government conspiracy involving a reality TV show, in which they are the stars. The new book is a little different then the original, but still a good read. This is by no means the best book on the comic rack, but I would recommend trying at least one issue to see if you like it.
Kick Ass:
The name says it all. This is one of my favorite books out right now. It is the story of a "real world" kid who wants to be a superhero. The only problem is that in the real world we don't have any super powers and he keeps getting the the crap beat out of him.
One of my favorite scenes is when the main character decides that he wants to travel like a real superhero, by rooftop. He gets a running start, but stops short when he realizes how far apart and how tall the building are, so he decides to go back to street level and walk. The book is dark, the art is great and the story is one of the best I have read in a long time. I can't wait for the movie.
WotC trims the fat
WotC cancels books : original ICv2 article
Wizards of the Coast has announced a decision to refocus the company’s publishing program on its two core brands, Magic the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons. WotC’s 2008 publishing program will remain unchanged, but starting in 2009 any book not tied to Magic or D&D will be removed from the publishing schedule.
I just wonder if this, along with the death of Gleemax and the poor showing with D&D insider is a sign that WotC is truly in trouble. I wouldn't get rid of all those 3.x edition D&D books just yet.
Wizards of the Coast has announced a decision to refocus the company’s publishing program on its two core brands, Magic the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons. WotC’s 2008 publishing program will remain unchanged, but starting in 2009 any book not tied to Magic or D&D will be removed from the publishing schedule.
I just wonder if this, along with the death of Gleemax and the poor showing with D&D insider is a sign that WotC is truly in trouble. I wouldn't get rid of all those 3.x edition D&D books just yet.
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