Friday, January 25, 2013

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.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

'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
  1. 1:
  2. 2:
  3. 3:
  4. 4:
  5. 5:
  6. 6:
  7. 7:
  8. 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

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

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.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

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.