Chaotek Thoughts

I’ve never been a DC comics fan, and have primarily been drawn towards the traditional Marvel Knights. Last year I read the Batman War Games trade paperbacks and became interested in the Batman family. This was good timing, as the death of Batman gave me an opportunity to start fresh with the Batman Reborn line of comics. Since I have very little exposure to Batman’s universe, this gave me an opportunity to start reading the comics without the overhead of decades of lore.

The two Batman titled comics I am reading are Batman and Batman & Robin. While the stories in both leave something to be desired, especially in Batman & Robin. While I don’t really like the plot in the comics, it’s the side-plots that I really like. The relationships between the Batman family are what attracts me, as you now have a happier Batman and a dark Robin. Damien is hilarious, even though that is not the character’s intent. I especially loved the crossover of Robin in the Batgirl comic.

By far, my favorite comic in the line (and perhaps favorite comic overall right now) is Batgirl. I liked Stephanie Brown as Robin, and it was a shame that her stint as Robin was just used as a premise to kick off the War Games story. So it’s good to see her in a new comic as Batgirl. The comic is still dark, but at the same time is very witty and fun. In many ways, she reminds me of Spiderman, where nothing seems to go her way but she is able to push through anyways. Especially good is the relationship between Batgirl, Oracle, Batman and Robin; where she is very much treated the outcast but she manages to keep mostly upbeat about it.

I hope that when Bruce Wayne shows back up to be Batman once again, Stephanie doesn’t get sidelined again.

I have cancelled my subscription to Champions Online. I liked the game, but I haven’t been playing it in the last month or two. The problem that I have with the game is that character changing decisions are too permanent. Unlike WoW, where you can relatively easily change your character build (talents), it is much more difficult to do so in Champions Online. Basically, you have to deeply pre-plan your character to be successful. Sure, you could do this in WoW as well, but I don’t think that you would be punished quite as much for a poor decision like Champions does. What broke my motivation to play was that I had leveled up a character quite a ways, and I decided to change the character to try a new build. I’d tried a lower level version of the build, which seemed quite fun to play. In order to rebuild my character, I was forced to sell everything I owned in game in order to afford the massively expensive rebuild. But when I got done, the character was impossible to play, having changed from a combat monster into a glass cannon. I now couldn’t afford to return back to my original build, thereby trashing my main character.

Sure, WoW doesn’t currently offer the ability to change your character so extremely. You can’t change character class, though there are rumors that might be coming. However the option was given to me to be able to do so and it bit my hand. While I wasn’t high enough level to recreate my original character build with a new character, it sure did crush my motivation to play.

Secondly, the graphics in the game are disappointing. While I can understand that they are trying to replicate the feel of a comic book drawing, which I can appreciate, you are setup from the beginning for a massive let-down. What I mean is that you start off in perhaps the most powerful character builder I’ve seen to date, able to customize everything to the smallest detail. The graphics in the character builder are quality 3-D modeling, so you are given the impression that this is what the game looks like. Then the game starts, and the comic graphics replace the 3-D modeled character you just got done building…

My final issue with the game is the lack of an open world feel. The game is setup with regions which are not attached to one another. One thing that I like about WoW is that you feel like you are in a “real” world (vaguely but you do) where you can wander around. However the zones were like maps in a console game, where you move from one box-canyon to the next box-canyon. The idea of using instances for the entire game, where a limited number of people could be in a given zone at a time, seems like a good idea for performance reasons (especially compared to racial cities in WoW). However in practice it doesn’t encourage the feeling of a real world environment. You almost never run into the same people twice, which doesn’t encourage groups to form or even casual friendships because its unlikely you’ll ever see a person again.

It’s not all bad though, as there are aspects of Champions which I feel are superior to other MMOs that I have played (namely WoW). Built into the game is a mission assistance mechanism similar to how the QuestHelper addon in WoW works. It’s easy to use, and helps new users get right into the action without just wandering around not knowing what to do.

I think that if the game is still going strong in a year or so, which is debatable giving the publisher’s spotty history in MMOs, I might pick it up again. Despite my above complaints, I really enjoyed playing the game when I did. Hopefully by then, I will be able to play without feeling penalized or feel like there is a real community of players around me. I’ll stick with X-Box for now, but I already miss playing an MMO…

I’ve had some time to review the Eberron Player’s Guide, and it was a very solid resource book. First off, I’d like to point out that the Eberron setting has been implemented in 4E like Forgotten Realms should have been (a retroactive cannon fix). A common tactic used in television and comic books, you just act like this is how it always was. There’s no wonky time-warping or world changing.

As to the game rules, I found the new player races to be effective and desirable. While the races are not necessarily new, changinglings (as doppelgangers) and warforged were covered in the Monster Manual, I think that they work well and gained a bit by being printed formally as player races. The new class, Artificer, seems to be an effective and unique leader class. I like the alchemy path as an alternative to rituals, and I expect that future books will support this concept. Regarding the Dragonmark feats, I feel up and down. First, I do like that the dragonmarks diverged from the spellscarred system from the Realms, however I was left wanting for more. I don’t like the idea that anyone can get any dragonmark, and I will house-rule this so no problem really. However I hope that future supplements will include the ability to improve the dragonmarks, perhaps with a follow-up feat in the paragon and epic tiers for greater capabilities. Overall, I think the rules match the feel of Eberron and do not up the power curve significantly.

Regarding the setting material, I’m really not a fan of the “Cliff’s Notes” setting material found in the Eberron and Forgotten Realms Player’s Guides. Once the campaign setting book arrives, this material makes me feel like I got ripped off by getting largely reprinted material in two books. I understand that you can argue that players only need to buy the smaller book, but I still feel cheated somehow.

I started my first Eberron game a few weeks back, in anticipation of the 4E books. I’m disappointed that I’ve missed out on Eberron back in 3rd edition, and I really like the flavor of the setting over almost any other officially printed setting of 4E or 3E. I think that this book is a good start to the setting. I’m really hoping that more supplemental material will be printed after the player’s guide and campaign setting are out, however I’m not holding my breath. I am going to hold on to 3rd edition books however as they are a gold mine of valuable material (once again unlike the Realms…).

Overall 4.5 out of 5 Stars.

Obviously, I don’t believe in the Mayan Calendar 2012 mumbo-jumbo, but the special effects in this upcoming movie look great (though wildly impossible).

Problem is, there’s people who will see this movie and will start believing that it will come true…

I watched two episodes of Mega Engineering last weekend. It’s an amazingly well put together show foretelling potential engineering projects. Shot like a documentary, sometimes it’s impossible to tell the difference between reality and science fiction. There were times where I was just dumbfounded by what I was seeing. Really great watch!

After a year of Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition, I’ve collected some thoughts on the latest incarnation of D&D.

The Rules

I am a huge fan of the balance of the system. In my experience with the system, which does not yet include Epic tier, I think that this is the most balanced version of D&D, even more balanced than most RPGs out there. Every class feels useful and interesting at all levels of play, unlike the weird power curves of previous editions. However with such strong balance, there is a certain amount of similarity between many character classes. For the most part, you could take all of the classes and simplify them into 4-5 classes with more choices. Even across different character roles, the same damage, dice modifiers, etc all feel the same. But class familiarity is far more preferable to feeling useless because your class won’t become useful for another 3 levels.

Encounter design and balance is massively improved from the previous edition, though its mostly a throwback to 2nd edition. However the XP budget really is a misnomer—just because a monster is within your XP budget for the encounter does not guarantee its balanced. Stretching outside of the PC’s level up or down more than a level or two guarantees that the encounter will not scale well. You are much better off taking a monster of the PC’s level and changing them to be a minion or elite than trying to use a monster higher or lower level than the PCs.

The Setting

To date, only one setting has been released, though the next is days from release. I am a fan of the Points of Light concept, where there are large gaps of dangerous areas isolating pockets of civilized society, as a generally better setting for gaming. It helps the immersion into the setting because it does make sense that a town could disappear or monsters could be nearby for the heroes to deal with. A highly civilized world like medieval Europe just doesn’t feel like a world of monsters.

Regarding the Realms, I understand why changes were necessary even if I don’t agree with the outcome. The world was dramatically changed, supposedly with the points of light concept in mind (as well as the change in magic), but the end result doesn’t match the original purpose. The world still feels very civilized and heavily populated, just without the great history that made the Realms so attractive. Some of the most “points of light” regions were removed from the setting and replaced with more civilized regions. Finally, there have only been two products for the Realms in 4E. In the past year, or the coming year, I don’t know of any other Realms books. This is disappointing, as the first two books were really the same book (one being the Cliff’s notes version). There is still a lot of information about the world that can be provided while maintaining the overall mystery of the new setting for the Points of Light feel.

Speaking of which, the Eberron campaign setting is out soon and I have high expectations. Eberron in 3rd edition accomplished what is missing from the 4th edition Forgotten Realms—mystery yet detailed. Since Eberron is not getting the overhaul that the Realms got, I have much higher expectations for the setting to get it right in 4E.

The Future

As noted, I have high expectations for the coming campaign settings (especially the rumors of Dark Sun which I can’t put much faith in). Additionally if the coming books maintain the same quality of the current books I think 4E has a good future. My worry however is that the system might not be able to scale well over time, especially since setting material seems to be a secondary thought to rules supplement books. The problem I foresee is that since I noted that most classes have a very similar feel (outside of RP fluff), the coming expansions to the rules for new classes, etc will start to curve the power levels up in order to make the new material appealing. This has already happened with PH2, with the worst offender being the Invoker (i.e. the better wizard). This was seen in previous editions, but I think that 4E has the potential to be the worst to handle this. I hope this will not be the case, but my prediction and fear remain.

Overall, I am pleased with Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition. I will continue to purchase all books as they come out. I just hope it has the durability withstand the test of time that previous editions did.

Here’s an update of the list of the podcasts I have sync to my iPhone right now:

• Astronomy Cast – This is a great show for anyone interested in the universe around us. The cast is entertaining and does a great job at explaining very complex topics, such as dark matter and dark energy.
• Basics of the Game – Started out as a game introduction and review podcast. After GenCon 2008 the cast has mostly been interviews from GenCon. Hopefully will get back to reviews soon.
• BlizzCast – Being the most corporate podcast, it also has the highest production value for a non-video podcast. Good interviews and insider information.
• Fear the Boot – This is a great RPG advice and entertainment show. I’ve started from the beginning, so I’m back quite a ways but each episode is roughly half entertainment, then the second half is serious advice.
• Meanwhile… – A very interesting RPG podcast focusing on superhero roleplaying games. About half of the episodes are generic superhero genre information and advice, while the other half are backdoor marketing for independent games.
• Radio Free Hommlet – Focused D&D 4th Edition podcast, perhaps the best RPG podcast for specific game-system information I’ve heard. Good advice for the power-gamer.
• Secret Life of Girl Gamers – Interesting RPG podcast from the female perspective. Topics generally not found on other RPG podcasts. Might be defunct, but it’s still in my queue if it comes back.
• Skeptics Guide to the Universe & SGU 5×5 – A good podcast for skeptics. The podcast does a good job at not being cynical, rather they try to evaluate if fantastical news is valid or held to scientific standards.
• SModcast – Very funny podcast by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier on random topics. The most entertaining podcast on this list.
• Totally Rad Show – A video podcast, reviewing games, movies, TV, and comics. Very entertaining.
• Wapcaplets – Very short (5-10 minute) gaming podcast. Irregular production schedule. Strong focus on miniature gaming and independent publisher RPGs.
• X-Play Gaming Update – A 5 minute video podcast, informing mostly about the latest video game news.

I’ve recently been reading quite a few trade paperbacks. Most recently I’ve read the Watchmen, Batman: The Killing Joke, Batman: War Games, and Batman RIP. Considering that I’m mostly a Marvel fan, its been an interesting experience reading so many DC comics. I’ve found that there are things in these books that I like and hate about trade paperbacks in general.

The first two, Watchmen and Killing Joke, were self contained story lines. This was nice because you can just pick it up off the shelf and enjoy a good story. War Games, with the prequel War Drums, was also a mostly self-contained story. Sure, it took 4 books to tell the story, but it’s all there. War Drums was especially important because it helped catch me up on what was going on before the War Games story starts. It even went as far as to introduce individual characters.

Batman RIP is perhaps the example I have for a bad trade paperback. The entire story made you feel lost, not because it was a complex plot, but because I just no idea who people were and what was going on. Many story points seemed like Deus Ex Machina or just random dribble.

Coming from Marvel books, I was also impressed by War Games by how the stories were integrated into a single whole. Comics from multiple lines, from multiple Batman comics, Robin, and Catwoman, were all intermingled into a single chronological story. Even when the featured character jumped from Batman to Catwoman then to Robin, I never felt like it didn’t make sense. I got the whole story in one pass, which I thought was terrific. Marvel trades, unlike War Games, would have had the core story in one book, and each side-story in its own trade. Some might see this as being nice to the consumer because you can get the basic story at a cheaper cost, but if you were planning on reading all of the stories there was a massive lack of continuity as you read each of the trade paperbacks in order. For example with Civil War or House of M, reading the secondary trades after reading the main story book was difficult because it wasn’t always easy to figure out when this occurred in the main story, or it is irritating because the contents of the side story help the main story and would have made it better if they had been inserted into the main storyline.

DC also produced War Games in a cheaper format. Instead of being a glossy, heavy paper like you typically find in many comics and trade paperbacks, War Games was printed on paper that was very much like newspaper. While cheaper to produce, I don’t feel like the quality was diminished and I got a better product at the end of the day because I could read the entire story, with all side stories, in chronological order for a much cheaper cost than it would be to read a similar Marvel based trade where I would have felt disconnected by the side stories.

I’ve been listening to a number of podcasts lately, with many more downloaded but untried yet. About half of them are related to RPGs.

• Accidental Survivors – Focuses on modern gaming, especially D20 Modern. The group is very entertaining and experienced. Lots of good ideas for adventures and characters.
• Astronomy Cast – This is a great show for anyone interested in the universe around us. The cast is entertaining and does a great job at explaining very complex topics, such as dark matter and dark energy.
• The Onion Radio News – A fun short satire story everyday, great for killing a few minutes.
• Order 66 – A Star Wars Saga Edition roleplaying game podcast. The cast is very well informed in how the system works. Some of the extra skits are hokey at best, but the meat of the podcast is very good.
• Skeptics Guide to the Universe & SGU 5×5 – A good podcast for skeptics. The podcast does a good job at not being cynical, rather they try to evaluate if fantastical news is valid or held to scientific standards.
• Totally Rad Show – A video podcast, reviewing games, movies, TV, and comics. Very entertaining.
• X-Play Gaming Update – A 5 minute video podcast, informing mostly about the latest video game news.

What the hell were they thinking? For decades now, fans and the authors have been dreaming of making a feature film of the Dragonlance Chronicles. So they go out, get an accredited cast, then turn out such a lame, cheap movie. With the exception of the insane fan boys out there, who could possibly believe that this is a good movie…

SCRIPT: I will admit that the script followed the plot pretty well. Of course, some things had to be dropped. Other things were added to try and flesh out the story for non-fan viewers. While there were some flaws, like Paladine fighting Takhisis at the end–which made no sense, but they were few in number. The key story and concepts were all there as well as key character attributes. Overall, the script was satisfactory.

ACTING: With such a talented cast, include Kiefer Sutherland, Lucy Lawless, and Michael Rosenbaum, you’d think that the voice acting was going to be excellent. The problem was the voices were good, but there was absolutely no emotion in the voice. It’s like they were given one line at a time, without any context, to record. Given the talent of the actors, it’s tough to say where to place the blame. Was the director, well, not directing? Or were the actors just going through the motions to get a paycheck? While I wasn’t initially sure on some of the choices for the voices, by mid-way through the movie I had grown accustomed enough to not let it bother me anymore.

2-D ANIMATION: I have a theory that this movie was actually animated by an amateur fan about 30 years ago, because that’s what it looked like. It really reminded me of He-Man and the old Dungeons and Dragons cartoons in the 80s. Considering that anime like Dragonball Z are like 20 years old and still look great, why didn’t they do a better job. Maybe they pissed away their whole budget on the voice talent and didn’t have the cash to get the animation completed. The latest 2-D animation is almost photo-realistic, so why couldn’t they take some tips from the anime? There were many cases where the animation was very jerky, like they left out frames. Overall, it just comes across as cheap given the state of animation today.

3-D ANIMATION: Why bother? Its kind of like seeing the Superman Returns movie in IMAX 3D, it made it worse than seeing it all blended naturally together. Some of it wasn’t too bad, but it mostly seemed like a rough cut rather than a final draft. Once again, it just came across like they ran out of money and threw together what they had.

FINAL ANALYSIS: If you’re a fan of the books, then it’s worth renting. There’s no sense in buying it. The special features are a waste of time and the overall quality is pretty lousy. I think that this movie actually lowers the chance of getting a live-action film made. For one, it took about 30 years for the live action to get made after the lousy late-70s era cartoons. I also think this is going to sell so poorly because of the low quality that any studio will look down on its success. The whole film just seems cheap, like they ran out of cash. I have to believe this, because if someone at the maker of this film actually believes that they made a good movie they should be blacklisted from the industry. Same with the guy that green-lighted Tremors the Series on Sci-Fi.

2/5 Stars (if you’re a fan of the novel)
1/5 Stars (if you’re not a fan of the novel)