Onwards and Upwards!

It's about high time to kick it up a notch.

BAM! New site!

Just like that. Check it out. If you actively play with us, feel free to create an account. We gots some plans and we want you along for the ride.

No longer just limiting ourselves to streaming and poorly updated blogs! Sorry :( (In my defense, I'm now level 30 in League of Legends. Instead of writing I was researching "rage").

Anywho, stay tuned for more news as we start practicing all these new fangled ideas we have, such as the 8-Bit Tavern Talk we just did tonight. Head to our Twitch page to take a gander.

We also want to welcome another friend of the Tavern, Mux, to the fold! He comes with a very particular set of skills. Skills that make him a nightmare for people like.... errr well... you will see. In good time.

Patience

Sláinte
-WF aka Cuculainn

The Fresh Consul of New Eden

Not content to merely parody a Christmas poem, I hunger to take Firefall and cram it into other pop culture references, with as much elegance as my lexicon allows. I do enjoy a challenge and I found one in relating one of the major characters in the Firefall story, Admiral/Consul Nostromo, with the opening theme to Fresh Prince of Bel Air. I like to consider myself a wordsmith. My profession involves precise communication, but it is not purely devoted to the task of literary excogitation (oh man, I'm dropping "teh rhymez" already). So, you could say I'm somewhere between an Apprentice and Journeyman level of wordsmithery.

World^3

 

Ohgodohgodohgodohgod

I recall the hashtag appearing on my twitter feed. #CubeWorld. Started out as a trickle and soon became a thundering onslaught of palpable excitement and exclamation over this game. First thought, judging a book by it's title, was it was some sort of Minecraft clone/wannabe. I headed over to the game's site, Picroma, and my suspicions were almost confirmed. If Minecraft is, visually, the NES version of a game, then Cube World is easily the SNES version of that same game. Higher resolution cubes! Complex landscapes, flora, and fauna are much easier to render when built with smaller chunks. It's single player! And multiplayer! I dove deeper to determine if the juice was worth the squeeze. I determined that... well you'll just have to read on to find out.

M is for Microsoft. Also Masochism.

I'm going to begin with a comment I saw at the bottom of an article written by the PA Report about the XBox One's release of information related to their outlook on owning games, buying used games, lending games, the once-a-day console heartbeat required for gaming, and the attempt at shrugging off any expected outrage onto the publishers:

"It's not every day that you get to see a major corporation pull the straight edge so eagerly across their throat".

I don't think anyone could say it better, provided one cares about consumer choice, game ownership, privacy, and not being treated like you're a card-carrying digital pirate. Microsoft's attitude towards the consumer, frankly, takes my breath away, but my fingers can still type. As a lifelong gamer, I reject this brave new world that Microsoft would like to cage us in. I obviously don't speak for every gamer. Only the ones that care about the world outside of a cozy little bubble.

Dusting Off

Time to dust off this archive of words and pictures and sarcasm. A TON has happened since the blog posts started petering off due to my masochistic desire to earn two Masters degrees. I, Cuculainn, apologize. Especially if you actually read what we have to say and emerge from the end of each post with a mix of satiation, head nodding, and air escaping rapidly from your nostrils.

Homework is a harsh mistress and grad school is an unrelenting taskmaster. But it's (basically) summer yo. Time to catch up.  Kick the tires and light the fires you might say.

8-Bit Tavern Presents: Soap Opera Reviews!

We here at 8-Bit Tavern fancy more than just video games and anything techie. Everyday after work, we both turn on our televisions to some of the finest TV shows around. So we thought to ourselves, why not write some of our best reviews on these shows with some of the best acting television has to offer. It's time we shared this journey to our deepest emotions with you. So join us in this adventure as we explore this exciting and definitely new experience with us.

GH 4 eva.

The Young and the Restless

Dynasty

Port Charles

Save All Our Children.

The Road to PAX East 2013

Yes. It is that time of the year. Tomorrow, Boston will be the host of yet another PAX East and we're counting down the minutes. For those of you who haven't been paying attention, PAX East 2012 was the inspiration for the two of us to start this blog and this year we are preparing to live the PAX experience to the fullest. Since the blog's inception (*BWAAAAAH*) we have taken to the Twittersphere, started capturing some shenanigans on Youtube, launched our own streaming channel on Twitch.tv, successfully established a weekly Firefall event by the ever-so-clever name of Friday Night Firefall, designed our very own t-shirt, and hosted our first Firefall Community Tournament "Smash n Bash". We have gained a small, yet growing, following across the globe and the journey has been a blast.

Now it's high time to take this puppy full circle and dive into PAX East 2013. Here's what we will be up to.

Another Day in Eden

What's this?  A guest post? Why yes, yes it is. One of our stream followers and friend of the Tavern, Oskar581, has built his own perspective off of Antilles' Firefall fanfic This is My Land with one of his own.

Without further ado, we present to you, our newest guest post: Another Day in Eden.

This is My Land

By: Antilles AKA EF

Ugh. Mondays. Even after the crash they still feel the same. Luckily, being an engineer in New Eden means I will have my hands full to pass the day quickly. Especially this guy Oilspill. If I had 100 crystite everytime he landed a thumper correctly, well, I'd probably need to pick up a second job at the Tuna Shop in Copacabana.

Anyways. I roll into work in Copacabana around the usual time in the morning. It's nice to work somewhat close to home. Cerrado Plains is a nice quiet place to live, without being totally disconnected. Has a nasty bug problem though. Out of all the things in the world that had to exist after the crash, it had to be bugs. Damned things. For now I live on my own but I work hard, just like the rest of us left, to get humanity back on their feet after the Melding hit.

Resistance is Ridiculously Futile



Best FTL advice ever. Not joking.


Faster Than Light.

Just about sums up how fast I was thumped by FTL during my first play-through of this game. Holy smokes did I underestimate both how fun this game was and how tricky it could be. I initially resisted purchasing FTL on Steam, despite the addicting sales that drain our bank accounts during the holiday season. I'm not the greatest multi-tasker, but I do love space-based games even if they're not flight simulators. I blame Master of Orion for sparking my interest in space-based strategy games. However, while MoO oscillates between being a strategic and tactical strategy game, FTL squarely stands in the tactical realm. You can have an idea of where you want to go in each Sector map, but the ominous red wave of the Rebel Fleet might as well be the drum-beat of dread bubbling up from the depths of Khazad-dûm. It pushes you to get the hell out of dodge despite your desire to search every Beacon for things that will hopefully improve your pathetic odds against the end-game challenge. You can't predict what you will run into, what items you can pick up along the way, or how each choice you make will play out. All you can do is hold on for dear life and make the best out of each and every situation. And tucking your tail between your legs, however unpalatable, can be a viable strategy that is the difference between life, death, or a mortally wounded ship that shames you into starting over.

Without further ado, these are the voyages of the Starship Shamrock, piloted by the Captain Cuculainn.

'Smash 'N' Bash' A Scan Hammer Tournament

We have talked about it for too long...

That's right! We are finally doing it and our mind, body and spirits are ready... At least we think so. So here are the details:

Firefall: Scan Hammer PVP Tournament

1. Banned Abilities:

1. Engineer:
1. Turret
2. Recon:
1. Resonating Bullets
2. Cryoshot
3. Dreadnaught:
1. Turret Mode
4. Assault:
1. There are none to ban in Tier 1
5. Biotech:
1. There are none to ban in Tier 1
6. Secondary Weapons

1. Secondary Fire Modes
1. Only exception is Recon (scope) & Dreadnaught (shield) & Engi (Tesla repair

2. Tournament Style:

1. Single Elimination best 2 out of 3 rounds.

3. Why?

1. Because we are 8-Bit Tavern and host cool sh*t.

4. When?

1. February 23-24 March 16-17

5. Where?

1. On our stream channel: www.twitch.tv/8Bittavern

6. Who? (Shoutcasters)

1. Thesambasti
2. Neroh
3. Of course, Antilles and Cuculainn

7 Teams

4. 1:
5. 2:
6. 3:
7. 4:
8. 5:
9. 6:
10. 7:
11. 8:

What is Scan Hammer PVP? Well it's when you don't use any of your main or secondary weapons and use Scan Hammers and Abilities only. That's it. Just pure chaos on the Unthumpable Surface battlefield. 

There it is! Now, in between matches we would like to showcase some of the communities work. This includes YouTube videos, fan sites and any kind of fan art! We will be doing a first come, first served situation. The email that you will need to submit TEAMS and COMMUNITY WORK will be to Yoorsh's account.That e-mail is: 8bityoorsh@gmail.com.

If there are any questions please feel free to leave a comment or check the forum post here!

See you in New Eden

Antilles and Cuculainn

Beyond this Place of Wrath and Tears

I apologize in advance for this more serious post. I am likely preaching to the choir, but perhaps this will crystallize any thoughts and opinions you might have as well.

This topic has been brewing in my brain and my heart for about a month now. In fact, at the time of starting this post, it is January 14th, a full month after the tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.  I've had some time to process this, as best as any human being can process what transpired that day. The raw feelings have given way to a bit more thoughtful, objective attitude. Being the news junkie that I am, I've poured over every news article, editorial, or general opinion posted to various news outlets. I promised myself I wouldn't grow bored or desensitized, but the news organizations seemed to do that for me. Reading material has waned and the age old battle between the NRA/gun-owners and gun-control advocates wages on. People are back to pointing fingers and offering extreme knee-jerk reactions as ideas, but anything of common-sense substance is far from materializing. I'm hopeful, but reading the news as often as I do drives one to be more than a bit skeptical and cynical.

Mr. Cuculainn goes to Fallen London

Beats dragons. Less fire but more poop.

Happy New Year! Time to dust off the keyboard and warm up the blog. Every once in a while, you stumble upon a game that takes you by surprise. An unlikely suspect in the barrage of virtual entertainment we are faced with every day. Well over a year ago I stumbled onto one such game, but as life got busy it fell by the wayside. I rediscovered the game out of a sheer whim and a desire to write about a game that is a bit different. Simple gameplay, but I'll be damned if it can't paint you a narrative that many other games simply cannot compete with. Failbetter Games has done something unique and it deserves a look if you want something different.

This is the story so far of Cuculainn in Fallen London.