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Diplomacy - deleted scenes
Oct. 14th, 2009 11:42 pmSome bonus silliness for you.
OK, the SSA bot's live. If you have Gamut installed, start a new SSA table and you'll notice the "Request Bot" button isn't grayed out anymore. Wowww, look at that. (If you don't have Gamut installed, go git it.)
You'll probably clean its clock, but I'll bet you end up having fun anyway. If nothing else, I just love the sound effects. Boooom. Crunch. Zhoop! And if you get tired of busting the poor bot's shiny metal ass, feel free to challenge me...
I completed the related social task earlier today. Lots of small Volity tasks to do this weekend. I am looking forward to it, even the release engineering. It's been a long time!
Am now tackling email while enjoying a glass of wine, using one of my new wineglasses. It is one of the three that didn't explode into hand-slicing shards the first time I washed it. Consumer tip: Avoid the boxes of 4-for-$7 glassware at Tag's.
You'll probably clean its clock, but I'll bet you end up having fun anyway. If nothing else, I just love the sound effects. Boooom. Crunch. Zhoop! And if you get tired of busting the poor bot's shiny metal ass, feel free to challenge me...
I completed the related social task earlier today. Lots of small Volity tasks to do this weekend. I am looking forward to it, even the release engineering. It's been a long time!
Am now tackling email while enjoying a glass of wine, using one of my new wineglasses. It is one of the three that didn't explode into hand-slicing shards the first time I washed it. Consumer tip: Avoid the boxes of 4-for-$7 glassware at Tag's.
More songs about buildings and food
May. 8th, 2006 02:01 amHad a well-timed weekend full of social thingamabobs involving all the lovely ladies of my flist who have profession-evoking LJ names that start with D.
Friday night went to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
doctor_atomic's very last undergraduate chamber singer performance. I thought that the last piece they did, Janequin's Le Guerre, is a pretty boss note to end one's college career on, since the performers get to sing violent sound effects. In French.
Not much in the way of post-show celebration since she had a plane to catch early the next morning; off to another conference. She's been attending a lot of these, all a transitional step to her starting the long path towards becoming a really-real doctor. Criminy. I am proud of her.
Next day, joineddictator555 and company for a birthday lunch at a favorite little Italian joint in the North End. I dunno if I've ever been to the North End before, despite living here like 5 and a half years, sheesh. A neighborhood to revisit many times, once I can afford it again. (Well, looking's free, in the meantime, I guess.)
There were graduates everywhere, with the caps and the gowns, each one surrounded by a knot of family. I dunno where they came from, precisely. Was a little giddy and briefly considered enacting a policy of saying "congratulations!" to every one crossing my path, but I'm just not that kind of person.
Was surprised to see a big old building near the T stop labeled "Scotch 'n Sirloin", which I immediately recognized as something I'd seen many many times as a kid. If my understanding of reality is correct, this would have happened during trips through the city with my dad, as I think the building overlooks where I-93 used to be, pre-Big Dig.
Oddly, there appears to be no restaurant by that name in Boston, though Google reveals a well-known one of the same name in Rochester, NY. The Boston building is now occupied by an architectural design firm, but the old sign remains, and they even have a picture of it on their website (which I stole, as you can see).
But ah, what a giddily American name for a restaurant. Booze 'n Beefslabs!
After dining retreated back to her secret underground bunker where we played the new Ticket to Ride Märklin and I came in dead last again what the hell even though I played a lot better this time and had a good time anyway. (A lot of the reason I got so cranky with the previous weekend's game is that I got stuck early and never really pulled free, and this surprised and frustrated me. Part of TTR's charm, maybe any rail game's charm, is the sense that you're always making progress, setting small goals and meeting them, and can feel satisfied with your work even if you're not getting as many points as everyone else. But I was just spinning my tires, that game.)
(On the other hand, the whole experience of meeting all your goals, smiling down at your work, and then looking up to discover that the game's been stolen from you regardless... there are painful echoes of November 2004 in this. Perhaps that day I lost the ability to lose with a shrug and a grin. That's pre-11/2 thinking.)
It was another 5-player game, too, making my current 5-player PvP TTR record 0-8. Zwounds! I think the thing about 5-player games is that card-hoarding strategies, which I learned to ply to my advantage in the original game, don't work nearly as well. Next time I'm in this situation, I'm gonna start building sooner and then keep up the heat.
(Impress your friends: "Märklin" is pronounced like [MAIR-klin], not [MAR-klin]. Alsoprog is pronounced [WAIN-ker].)
Friday night went to
doctor_atomic's very last undergraduate chamber singer performance. I thought that the last piece they did, Janequin's Le Guerre, is a pretty boss note to end one's college career on, since the performers get to sing violent sound effects. In French.Not much in the way of post-show celebration since she had a plane to catch early the next morning; off to another conference. She's been attending a lot of these, all a transitional step to her starting the long path towards becoming a really-real doctor. Criminy. I am proud of her.
Next day, joined
dictator555 and company for a birthday lunch at a favorite little Italian joint in the North End. I dunno if I've ever been to the North End before, despite living here like 5 and a half years, sheesh. A neighborhood to revisit many times, once I can afford it again. (Well, looking's free, in the meantime, I guess.)There were graduates everywhere, with the caps and the gowns, each one surrounded by a knot of family. I dunno where they came from, precisely. Was a little giddy and briefly considered enacting a policy of saying "congratulations!" to every one crossing my path, but I'm just not that kind of person.
Was surprised to see a big old building near the T stop labeled "Scotch 'n Sirloin", which I immediately recognized as something I'd seen many many times as a kid. If my understanding of reality is correct, this would have happened during trips through the city with my dad, as I think the building overlooks where I-93 used to be, pre-Big Dig.
Oddly, there appears to be no restaurant by that name in Boston, though Google reveals a well-known one of the same name in Rochester, NY. The Boston building is now occupied by an architectural design firm, but the old sign remains, and they even have a picture of it on their website (which I stole, as you can see).But ah, what a giddily American name for a restaurant. Booze 'n Beefslabs!
After dining retreated back to her secret underground bunker where we played the new Ticket to Ride Märklin and I came in dead last again what the hell even though I played a lot better this time and had a good time anyway. (A lot of the reason I got so cranky with the previous weekend's game is that I got stuck early and never really pulled free, and this surprised and frustrated me. Part of TTR's charm, maybe any rail game's charm, is the sense that you're always making progress, setting small goals and meeting them, and can feel satisfied with your work even if you're not getting as many points as everyone else. But I was just spinning my tires, that game.)
(On the other hand, the whole experience of meeting all your goals, smiling down at your work, and then looking up to discover that the game's been stolen from you regardless... there are painful echoes of November 2004 in this. Perhaps that day I lost the ability to lose with a shrug and a grin. That's pre-11/2 thinking.)
It was another 5-player game, too, making my current 5-player PvP TTR record 0-8. Zwounds! I think the thing about 5-player games is that card-hoarding strategies, which I learned to ply to my advantage in the original game, don't work nearly as well. Next time I'm in this situation, I'm gonna start building sooner and then keep up the heat.
(Impress your friends: "Märklin" is pronounced like [MAIR-klin], not [MAR-klin]. Also
prog is pronounced [WAIN-ker].)(no subject)
Dec. 24th, 2005 12:05 amHad a sublime game of Memoir '44 this evening. ( Memoir '44 wankery )
Also played Dr. Knizia's "Beowulf". It was OK; I don't think I'll rush out to buy it, but I'd play it again.
The theme is actually pretty neat: the title character, yes-that-Beowulf, is a plastic pawn that wanders around a track which represents his whole saga, from his first meeting with Hrothgar to his final battle with the Dragon. Unlike LotR, where (through bad play) Middle Earth can fall to Sauron long before the book is supposed to end, Beowulf's course is fated and inerrant; the players are simply along for the ride.
But that, oddly, is where all the fun lay, because the point of the game is not to overcome all of Beowulf's legendary trials, but rather to win his favor by outclassing all of your opponents while helping him out. The winner is named king after Big B kicks the bucket at the end. I think that's delightful.
I didn't find the core mechanic all that engaging, though: like LotR, it involves scanning the road ahead and trying to build a hand of cards that will help you do your best, but it lacks both the cooperative spirit and the tension of the earlier game. I want to try it again because I picked up on a whole-game strategy when we were about halfway done, and I'd like to see how well it works. But I'm not impatient for whenever that will happen.
Also played Dr. Knizia's "Beowulf". It was OK; I don't think I'll rush out to buy it, but I'd play it again.
The theme is actually pretty neat: the title character, yes-that-Beowulf, is a plastic pawn that wanders around a track which represents his whole saga, from his first meeting with Hrothgar to his final battle with the Dragon. Unlike LotR, where (through bad play) Middle Earth can fall to Sauron long before the book is supposed to end, Beowulf's course is fated and inerrant; the players are simply along for the ride.
But that, oddly, is where all the fun lay, because the point of the game is not to overcome all of Beowulf's legendary trials, but rather to win his favor by outclassing all of your opponents while helping him out. The winner is named king after Big B kicks the bucket at the end. I think that's delightful.
I didn't find the core mechanic all that engaging, though: like LotR, it involves scanning the road ahead and trying to build a hand of cards that will help you do your best, but it lacks both the cooperative spirit and the tension of the earlier game. I want to try it again because I picked up on a whole-game strategy when we were about halfway done, and I'd like to see how well it works. But I'm not impatient for whenever that will happen.
(no subject)
Nov. 26th, 2005 10:00 pmToday at dougo's I played RoboRally for the first time since I was introduced to it many years ago at kyroraz's northern abode. Back then, the fellow (not Mr. K) who liked the game and wanted to teach it to us set up the board in a "fun" way, which resulted in us failing to finish after several hours. I thought: this is a very clever mechanic, but a terrible implementation.
In tonight's game, the fan (yet another person) set up the board in a much simpler fashion, so I was willing to try again. We did finish after a couple of hours. At one point I got killed and sent all the way back to the start, which was painful, but largely my own fault since I had forgotten about the wrench-icon checkpoints. And I did manage to go out with style: just as the winner tagged the last flag, I purposefully programmed my robot to hit the first one (which it had spent the whole game struggling to reach) and then rocket forward in victorious glee, hurling itself into a pit.
But really, vague fun at best. In appreciation I turned the tables and taught the Rallyite how to play RAMbots, which i like 40,000 times better. Boy, do I like RAMbots. I could play it again and again. Uhh... there really needs to be a Volity version. Also I should carry my screens around with me (as I already do with various other gaming equipment; jmac is always ready to THROW DOWN).
dougo's I played RoboRally for the first time since I was introduced to it many years ago at kyroraz's northern abode. Back then, the fellow (not Mr. K) who liked the game and wanted to teach it to us set up the board in a "fun" way, which resulted in us failing to finish after several hours. I thought: this is a very clever mechanic, but a terrible implementation. In tonight's game, the fan (yet another person) set up the board in a much simpler fashion, so I was willing to try again. We did finish after a couple of hours. At one point I got killed and sent all the way back to the start, which was painful, but largely my own fault since I had forgotten about the wrench-icon checkpoints. And I did manage to go out with style: just as the winner tagged the last flag, I purposefully programmed my robot to hit the first one (which it had spent the whole game struggling to reach) and then rocket forward in victorious glee, hurling itself into a pit.
But really, vague fun at best. In appreciation I turned the tables and taught the Rallyite how to play RAMbots, which i like 40,000 times better. Boy, do I like RAMbots. I could play it again and again. Uhh... there really needs to be a Volity version. Also I should carry my screens around with me (as I already do with various other gaming equipment; jmac is always ready to THROW DOWN).
Longest birthday party ever.
Jan. 19th, 2004 01:51 amEveryone seemed to enjoy the birthday theme. Strangers were delighted to meet the jmac of Team jmac's Birthday Party (which was otherwise as much a non-sequitur as all the other teams' names, to them), and so I received many well-wishes. (Including from visiting professional puzzlers like Trip Payne, whom
tahnan introduced me to. Stars in my eyes!) Was presented with a birthday cake! Cakes. Various hunt-mates had all taken turns with the lettering on both, it was explained to me, and colorwheel was especially proud of her lowercase "d"! I wish I had taken a picture of all this. I did take a photo of the last slice (on Saturday evening), and thought I blogged it, but my photoblog script seems to have eaten it soon before rikchik did, alas. Still can't drive (have collected the right forms but haven't had a chance to visit the RMV in all this time, darnit) and so went home to sleep before the subway gourdimorphosed. (Many people slept right there, curled into the sleeping bags and comforters they brought along. This was not for me, I decided.)
On birthday: All communication from family (of which there has been a lot, in phone calls and cards) has concentrated very heavily on the decincrementation involved. This is a tough soup to swallow, for them! That li'l Jason is suddenly so old, and with the wife and kids and all, now.
Received a lengthy email from a friend I haven't communicated with in years. Haven't read it yet, due to the hectic circumstances; will do so upon finishing this entry. (Also had to send regrets to various people calling in their wishes, so busy was my immediate environment. Promised Aunt Jan I'd call her back Monday evening. Don't let me forget!)
Saturday: After checking in at the hunt, proceeded across the river and had the most efficient Arisia experience one could ask for.
12:30-1:00 Ran into local but not-seen-much-lately pal R immediately upon registration (which involved nothing more than saying my name to the elfin chap behind the desk, since I got a freebie for all my game demoing last year). Together we killed time in the art show, which was highlighting the delightful kinetic sculptures of Arthur Ganson. Probably the best art I've ever seen in the context of a sci-fi con. Also said hi to
1:00-2:00 Followed R to the ballroom, to hear Tim Powers' speech. Said hi to R's husband G and listened to tail end of a talk by -- ESR?! That was random. Hooked up with
2:00-3:00 Played a game of Giant Mega Volcano with C & Z, and attracted a crowd in so doing. The giant Icehouse pieces are pretty winning for this purpose. Caught up with Zarf about our various respective game-(deisgn/programming) projects. (He had emailed me about Volity earlier in the week... exciting stuff. If you're me.)
3:00-4:00 Down to the Terrace with C & Z to hear Ganson in person talk about his strange and wonderful machine-sculptures, and narrate through several previews of his upcoming DVD. Enormously happymaking. Dropped a twenty on pre-ordering the disc before I left.
4:00-4:30 More game chat with Z at the Urban Pain, while eating a tasty sandwich.
Total time: Four hours. Managed to meet all my favorite con objectives: seeing friends local and remote, playing games, trading ideas, meeting famous and interesting people & buying their stuff, eating tasty food. I could do this every year.
Then, back to the hunt! Where things proceeded, for me, much as they did on Friday evening.
Sunday: Mystery hunt spent much of its time in not so much territory, for me. I think my desire to continually work on puzzles went away when I returned home on Saturday night, and I found it hard to summon the enthusiasm needed to begin a third day of (personally fruitless) puzzle-slogging. After a couple of hours I became burned out, but not unhappy, and passed the time doing non-huntish things on my computer for a bit, at one point stepping outside to call parents for a nicely unhurried conversation, to make up for juggling their call away on Friday. After eating something hot & reasonable, picked up a puzzle and hacked at it some more, again coming to no particular outcome with it, but getting to write entertaining Perl scripts nonetheless. Will return to jmac's Birthday Party tomorrow for the the last time, in order to witness the hunt wrap-up.
Because the hunt's still going on (core members of my team are working hard, even as I write this, in the wee hours of Monday) I won't say much in particular about it, except that I'm keenly interested in hearing the unofficial debriefing that I hope will happen at HoRGN on Tuesday (depending upon various people having recovered enough energy to show up for it).
As for me: I had loads of fun, and really couldn't have hoped for a nicer (or more appropriate?) birthday party. Much thanks and love to all who set up this thing: no kidding!
On the practical end of things, I don't feel I participated much with the solving, and hope I didn't disappoint anyone with my approximately 50 percent attendance rate. It might have gone differently had I a car, and therefore could come and go (and haul cargo) at my own pleasure, rather than restrict my schedule to the T's running times. Well... we'll see how things are aligned next year, I suppose.
(no subject)
Jan. 7th, 2004 12:17 pmdaerr set up. Hope to post a bugfix release by this weekend, and then start in on the new stuff that K will need for his client to work correctly.Good game night yesterday, for me.
dougo suggested we play Currents, which I haven't tried in years. Playing with three highly critical game geeks resulted in many rule-change suggestions being collected, some of which I can't wait to try. One in particular makes me especially excited because it might let me do away with those lame Goaltending rules. The last time I worked on the game, I was puzzling about how to fix Goaltending; it didn't occur to me to just throw out the rule entirely, making the game simpler, which now strikes me as something to strive for. I like to think this is a reflection of my growth as a writer/programmer since then!Also got to talk about Volity with this group for the first time, which was neat. (It was a natural segue, as playing Currents reminded me that it was one of the reasons I started to invent Volity -- I wanted to be able to rapidly create computer versions of new board game ideas, allowing me to test them out with both humans and bots.) I also got to show off my pure-SVG/ECMAScript rock-paper-scissors game (sorry, not on the Web yet, though it probably should be), running in Squiggle. Oh, and I learned to pronounce "Batik" correctly, since it hadn't occurred to me Google for its real-wordedness. (It's [bə-TEEK].)
(And, link of the day: IPA alphabet table with Unicode keys and full names, the latter of which I've never seen before. All the letters are named, not after their sound, but after the position or activity of lip, tongue, tooth and lung necessary to produce the sound. Yes, you've known this for years, but it's new to me.)
And I won a hand of Lamarckian poker! And then Shmike won with a royal flush (of the strongest suit, too) and rightly declared victory over the entire concept of that game. (In Volity vocabulary he could have said, "I have beaten the ruleset", or colloquially "I have beaten this URI".)
