Thinking some more about the new dice drafting idea I had the other day, and discussing it with my friend Steve, some new thoughts have come to light.
Actually, Steve suggested something that I don't think I've seen before... combining dice drafting with worker placement. Suppose the cards you play (perhaps from a public supply) have worker spots on them, and after drafting a die, you place it in a worker spot. You'd have a home spot that said "collect resources according to the die," and then the cards would have other actions on them. Perhaps there's a coin resource, and placing a die costs PIP coins, but the effect is often based on the pip value as well, so a higher pip value means a stronger action, but at a higher cost.
With that in mind, I think I like the format of 2 dice per resource type, plus 2 dice for "build," and I like the idea of a face up public pool of buildings to choose from (like in Lords of Waterdeep).
Just wanted to jot this down so I don't forget!
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Irish Drug That Cures Parkinson’s In Mice Gets Michael J. Fox Backing
IrishCentral Staff Mar 26, 2019
Inflazome has developed a drug that cures Parkinson's in mice and now plan to start human clinical trials.
Professor Luke O'Neill of Trinity College said he was delighted to get the support of the Michael J. Fox Foundation as the foundation is a huge player in the field.
The money will bring the company closer to human trials which they now hope to commence in November in Australia where it is much less expensive to carry out clinical trials.
Inflazome is delighted to continue our partnership with @MichaelJFoxOrg to develop brain imaging probes for patient diagnosis and the clinical development of our NLRP3 inhibitors in neurodegenerative diseases.PRESS RELEASE: https://t.co/0FcARw4H76— Inflazome (@inflazome) March 25, 2019
The drug works because scientific data indicates that the NLRP3 inflammasome is overactive in a broad range of serious medical conditions driven by harmful inflammation. The drug specifically attacks that issue.
The drug could be used to attack several diseases including neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, as well as inflammatory bowel disease and cardiovascular diseases.
Professor Matt Cooper, Co-founder and CEO of Inflazome, said:
"The Michael J. Fox Foundation is a fantastic organization with a passionate commitment to new science, science translation and candidate therapies for Parkinson's. We are fully aligned in our shared goal to help patients with Parkinson's and other debilitating neurodegenerative diseases, for which there are inadequate therapies and no cures.
"Their support will help us advance and hopefully validate our disruptive approach to diagnose and then treat patients by focusing on neuroinflammation."
This news comes after the company completed a €40m Series B funding round in November.
Headquartered in Dublin, and with offices in Cambridge, UK, Inflazome was founded in 2016 by academics Professor Matt Cooper, the University of Queensland (Australia) and Professor Luke O'Neill from Trinity College, following a joint collaboration between the two.
https://www.irishcentral.com/news/dublin-parkinsons-drug-michael-j-fox
Spyro Reignited Trilogy | Review, Gameplay, News & More...
Spyro Reignited Trilogy | Review, Gameplay, News & More...
Activision is plunging into its library to restore amazingly, one more platforming great as Spyro: Reignited Trilogy. Cherished by gamers in the 1990s, the first Spyro encounters are set to get an entire makeover with new visuals, mechanics and that's just the beginning. Playing this game just dives you into the 90's when games were crazy for such games where they did not just want graphics, story, blah blah blah to play the game, what they really wanted is just a fun time with their buddies.
Quick Facts:
- Initial release date: 13 November 2018
- Developer: Toys for Bob
- Engine: Unreal Engine
- Series: Spyro
- Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Spyro Reignited Trilogy: Release Date
Spyro Reignited Trilogy: Gameplay Preview
Development duties on the remaster have been given to in-house studio Toys For Bob, the studio that shepherded Spyro through the Skylanders establishment from 2011 onwards.
Undoubtedly, the way that Spyro never had the broadened nonappearance that Crash did may mean the wistfulness factor won't be as solid here, basically because we've seen the character all the more as of late. Be that as it may, the opportunity to return to things without purchasing a physical toy will be a charming change from late years, it's probably going to please fans old and new.
The remastering itself is magnificently done – universes hold basically indistinguishable geometry from they did on PS1, however, are more point by point and bright. Voice performer Tom Kenny repeats his job as Spyro all through, including recording new lines for the first game, Players will have the choice of which soundtracks to tune in to, also.
Here's a brief gameplay by PlayStation.
As I have earlier said, This game basically makes you relive the amazing gaming era, 'Stone Hill', from the first Spyro, demonstrates its age the most, with a basic design and scarcely any test, notwithstanding for a child's game. Spyro searches for his dragon elders, head-rams or inhales fire on some uninteresting enemies, and ways out the level. It's charming and windy, however fantastically essential, even with the remaster.
The genuine enjoyment, however, was encountering the Spyro: Year of the Dragon level 'Sunny Villa' out of the blue. Having matured out of being especially keen on the Spyro games when the third installment came around, the remastered rendition was a completely new ordeal.
What's more, there are now save points in the game, with pixies guaranteeing checkpoints are logged consequently as opposed to you saving manually and seek after the best, as previously.
First Impression:
Besides a couple of drawbacks, like Spyro frequently feels dubious to point while completing a head-smash charge, and the tended camera which goes wild whenever you submerged into the water, Spyro Reignited Trilogy is just simply looking magnificent, but still the trio without a doubt require an excess of a lick of paint to cut it in the present market, yet Toys For Bob has beaten itself with the makeover.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy: Trailers
All the trailers which are currently available look really amazing, and I am sure, many Spyro lovers can't wait to put their hands on this beautiful game.
Undoubtedly, the way that Spyro never had the broadened nonappearance that Crash did may mean the wistfulness factor won't be as solid here, basically because we've seen the character all the more as of late. Be that as it may, the opportunity to return to things without purchasing a physical toy will be a charming change from late years, it's probably going to please fans old and new.
The remastering itself is magnificently done – universes hold basically indistinguishable geometry from they did on PS1, however, are more point by point and bright. Voice performer Tom Kenny repeats his job as Spyro all through, including recording new lines for the first game, Players will have the choice of which soundtracks to tune in to, also.
Here's a brief gameplay by PlayStation.
As I have earlier said, This game basically makes you relive the amazing gaming era, 'Stone Hill', from the first Spyro, demonstrates its age the most, with a basic design and scarcely any test, notwithstanding for a child's game. Spyro searches for his dragon elders, head-rams or inhales fire on some uninteresting enemies, and ways out the level. It's charming and windy, however fantastically essential, even with the remaster.
The genuine enjoyment, however, was encountering the Spyro: Year of the Dragon level 'Sunny Villa' out of the blue. Having matured out of being especially keen on the Spyro games when the third installment came around, the remastered rendition was a completely new ordeal.
What's more, there are now save points in the game, with pixies guaranteeing checkpoints are logged consequently as opposed to you saving manually and seek after the best, as previously.
First Impression:
Besides a couple of drawbacks, like Spyro frequently feels dubious to point while completing a head-smash charge, and the tended camera which goes wild whenever you submerged into the water, Spyro Reignited Trilogy is just simply looking magnificent, but still the trio without a doubt require an excess of a lick of paint to cut it in the present market, yet Toys For Bob has beaten itself with the makeover.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy: Trailers
All the trailers which are currently available look really amazing, and I am sure, many Spyro lovers can't wait to put their hands on this beautiful game.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
New England Team Tournament 2013
Muffy's Challenge!
Welcome to Sunville where every year takes place the famous carrots hunting; champions from all regions participate in it to get the coveted trophy!
Muffy the rabbit participates every year but he never gets to fulfill his dream: winning the race! Maybe will be this the right time?
Muffy's Challenge is a classic 2d platform game where, by taking control of Muffy, you need to accumulate as many points as possible to beat your opponents!
9 challenges await you: can you overcome them all?
Benvenuti a Sunville dove ogni anno si disputa la famosissima caccia alle carote; campioni da tutte le regioni vi partecipano per portarsi a casa l'ambito trofeo!
Muffy il coniglio vi partecipa ogni anno ma non è mai riuscito a realizzare il suo sogno: vincere la gara! Sarà forse questa la volta buona?
Muffy's Challenge è un classico gioco di piattaforme in due dimensioni dove, prendendo il controllo di Muffy, dovrai accumulare più punti possibili per sbaragliare i tuoi avversari!
9 sfide ti attendono: riuscirai a superarle tutte?
Avadon 3, Announcing New Games, And Facing Your Inadequacy.
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| Aaaaaand ... we're off! |
It's the final game in the series! At last, you get to end the war, pick a winner, and decide who lives and who dies! (Though we are making sure that the game will still make sense and be satisfying even if you didn't play Avadon 1 and 2.)
It should be out in September, unless things go wrong. Completing this series will bring an end to five frenzied years of my professional life.
I wanted to talk about the game a little, for people who don't know about us, people who do, and people who are interesting in making games in general.
I'll try not to be boring.
If You Don't Know Who the Hell We Are ...
Hi! We're Spiderweb Software. Since 1994, we have created indie, retro, turn-based, huge, epic fantasy role-playing games. We specialize in games with intricate stories that give you a lot of interesting choices. We also like making fun game systems and varied combat with lots of unusual encounters and tactical options.
If that sounds cool, just stop reading this. Go here or here and download a big, free demo. We have always had the biggest demos in the business. If you like what you try, all of our stuff is on Steam.
If You Already Play Our Games ...
Thank you for your support!
We asked for a lot of fan feedback before we started Avadon 3, and we put a lot of it into effect. There are a ton of changes and improvements in this new game. Many long-overdue interface improvements. A lot of rebalancing and new abilities. Fewer trash fights and greater encounter variety.
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| I managed to generate some pretty decent screenshots this time around. |
If you want the basic facts of the story, they are on the main game page, and I'm tired of rewriting it. (This is the sort of disciplined approach to PR that has enable me to maintain decades of consistent anonymity.)
I'm more interested in talking about the process.
In the 20+ years I've been doing this, I've always had one main habit: I write the sort of game I enjoy playing. They are always RPGs, because I am obsessed with that genre. It's a genre that allows for great variety. (And the basic, addictive elements of which have infected just about every other genre.)
Whenever I'm not sure what to do with a game, I always make the choice I would prefer if I was a player. It's a compass that has almost never steered me wrong.
When I decided to write Avadon, I'd just played Dragon Age: Origins, which is still, for my money, one of the finest RRPGs every made. It made me want to write a similar game: An epic story, full of intrigue, dark fantasy, and touch choices, set in a huge and complex world. I wanted the battles to have their own flavor, with lots of different tactical options and unexpected events, and in which movement and positioning are really important.
I think I succeeded. Kind of. I will say that I enjoy playing Avadon games more than I enjoy playing any of my other games. A lot of my fans don't care for Avadon as much, but that's ok. We write a lot of different sorts of RPGs.
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| Actual gameplay footage! |
Like many creators, I hate looking at the work I've done. Even if it's good, it still pales in comparison to the beautiful image I had in my mind when I began. Looking at the final work can be a painful process.
A painful process, but a helpful one. When you fail to do what you wanted to do, well, failure can be very educational. You just need to look hard and honest at you failures and see what you can do to correct them.
So, some things I'm unhappy with about the Avadon series.
When I was designing Avadon, I was very ambitious. Lynaeus, the continent on which the series takes place, has 5 friendly nations and six hostile nations, each of which has its own politics, history, and so on. I wanted to make a whole world.
In the end, however, I was just one designer.
There are so many factions, wings of government, conflicts, controversies ... Too much for me to keep track of, too much to fully develop. I wrote so much lore I could never find a place to fit into the game. There were so many locations I just wasn't able to give enough time to.
My eyes were bigger than my stomach on this one.
Also, i didn't put as much polish in these games as I should. Avadon 3 will have a lot of careful rebalancing and useful interface improvements. However, these changes should have been in Avadon 2. Honestly, a lot of these things should have been in Avadon 1 so I didn't have to fix them in the first place.
I have a good excuse for some of this. I'm only one person, and I'm getting older and slower. Still, a problem is a problem, and, if I'm asking people for money, I'm still responsible for flaws.
Finally, I've stuck with this particular engine, graphics style, and world style for too long. After I remaster Avernum 3 (our most popular game over the years), I'm going to do something way different. It's well past time.
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| Actual gameplay footage! |
However, the Avadon games have also reached the limits of what I am capable of holding in my single brain. They are the limit for how complex I game I can make without going mad. There's just too many characters, story threads, and so on. After a few months of keeping everything balanced and in my head and making sense, it gets exhausting.
One of the great pleasures in my job is finishing a game and being able to forget everything I've had to hold in my mind, ready for fast access. It's like putting down a heavy weight. I'm really looking forward to letting Avadon drift away. It's been like having to have a second family, only in my head. A weird, dysfunctional, non-existant family. I want it to fade away and leave a blank canvas, that I can fill with other fun stuff.
And, in Avadon's sprawling messiness, I think we made something really neat. Among all of the treasure hunting and epic battles, this is a story about running a fading Empire. You have borders to protect and unlimited power to do so. Will you be cruel or merciful? Will you be dutiful to your country, or will you focus on power for yourself?
Avadon 3 is full of choices, and your decisions will lead to a multitude of possible outcomes. No cop-out twist endings. It won't all have been a dream. We will make sure that the series caps off with a satisfying ending.
We'll be starting an all-new series soon. When we do, it will still be a big, complex game, but it will be big and complex in a different way. At the very least, there will be fewer than 11 countries for you to keep track of.
Back To Work
And that's all for now. Hope you like the screenshots and the trailer. If you're new here and like RPGs, we have 20 years of back catalog to tempt you.
Time to go write a few thousand more words of dialogue!
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