Stuck at Home Working on Some Stuff (Totally My Fault!)

So this weekend was/is Long Con and you know who isn't attending? Yep, this guy. It's really frustrating because this convention is only about a 5 hour drive away...totally doable, if only I'd....I don't know....actually referenced a fricken calendar. I completely failed to realize that Veterans' Day (observed) was this Friday so I had a three day weekend!

The only way it could have been worse was if Long Con was held at a Marriott, since I could've stayed for free if I wanted (it'd cost, but no out-of-pocket cash).

Oh well, I guess I'll just have to stay at home and cook some BBQ. It's a small consolation for not having fun all weekend....but I was home to receive my Christmas gifts (bought/made) for my gaming group. I mean the packages would still be there when I got home later this afternoon, but clearly I had to be here to avoid porch pirates.....yeah, that's the reason I stayed home. Thanksgiving is next week, so it'll be the Christmas rush/season before you know it!

Well I am taking some of the unexpected free time to work on a thing or two for next year's NTRPG, allegedly clean my house (better luck next week!), and get my new "other" gaming toys (computer) prepped. After my trip to Alaska I had enough money saved up to pick up a new computer that is more portable for travelling and tableside use, but a bank canvas, er computer, needs a lot of work before it'll be ready to use.

Speaking of using a computer at the gaming table.....I'm looking for suggestions of needed software. I've been playing with Dungeon Alchemist for some map making. I'm also using a few table generator programs and another for playing sound effects/music, but I'm not sure if I want to stick with MapTools anymore. I don't need much more than pushing a map to a portable screen, but I also don't know what I don't know so......any suggestions for a tabletop computer program that makes GMing easier or the game a bit more immersive.....

.....send 'em my way.

Re-learning a Slightly Painful Lesson....

Today instead of doing something "fun" I've bee trying to fix a mistake I made. What was my mistake? Well despite knowing better I utterly failed in properly backing up some important RPG files.....

I'm one of those guys who should know better, but can still manage to mess stuff up anyway, despite my best efforts (i.e. my best isn't good enough). I generally believe in the adage that if you don't have your important files backed up in three places, you don't have your important files. Most of my files are saved on a couple of computers and I have a couple of larger (8TB) portable drives that I use to keep a tertiary backup at my family's farm, which is a good 12 hour drive away. Whenever I visit I bring one drive and swap it out with the one that is already there.

Thing is I cannot afford to back up ALL of my files because I have my entire video collection on a home server....I will be fixing that soon, but not soon enough to save all of my 3d printing files. I had a lot of .stl's on a portable drive and I-kid-you-not as I went to pick it up to make a copy of everything on my home server I knocked it off of the table. Now the drive doesn't work.....

"Luckily" a good chunk of my files are available to download again from DriveThruRPG and MyMiniFactory, but most of the stuff I had picked up on Patreon over the years...... *POOF*. Anything that was actually conveniently organized........*POOF*.

I'm probably 30 hours into downloading what I can......and once it's organized I'm thinking that I need to burn these to some M-Discs.

Now all of my "regular" RPG files are at least thrice back-up, but please....take my pain-in-the-ass (it's actually a little sore as I'm taking a break from downloading and organizing a bazillion files.....to type this) as a mental note for you to back your files up. Have at least three copies and one off-site.

The Winners of Keys to the Computer Game Pillars of Eternity Are...

Time to award the keys to Pillars of Eternity that were generously donated by a patron of this very Tavern. Three cheers and hip hip hooray!

Key number one goes to - mwschmeer

Key number two goes to - erik johnson

I need the above to email me at tenkarsDOTtavern at that gmail thing and I'll get those keys to you.

Another giveaway coming up later today - this time it's in print, US only and generously donated by another patron of the tavern :)

Giving Away Two Keys to the New Computer RPG - Pillars of Eternity - Comment, Friend... and Enter

"Eternity aims to recapture the magic, imagination, depth, and nostalgia of classic RPG's that we enjoyed making - and playing. At Obsidian, we have the people responsible for many of those classic games and we want to bring those games back… and that’s why we’re here - we need your help to make it a reality!

Eternity will take the central hero, memorable companions and the epic exploration of Baldur’s Gate, add in the fun, intense combat and dungeon diving of Icewind Dale, and tie it all together with the emotional writing and mature thematic exploration of Planescape: Torment."

So, I've got 2 Steam keys for Pillars of Eternity to give away thanks to an extremely generous patron of The Tavern. They will work on Windows, OS X and Linux.

How do you get into the mix?

Comment on this blog post. Sometime on Saturday morning I'll be randomly picking two commenters to receive these free keys.

So, what are you waiting for? You know you want this :)

(these are $45 retail)

Memories Don't Always Revisit Well

I loaded up Baldur's Gate 1 last night and gave it a try. This game rocked back in the day, but I found the graphics almost painful. More accurately, I strained to read the game text.

In defense of the game, it certainly wasn't designed for a 27" computer screen. It will probably be readable on my lapptop.

I'm gonna jump ahead to Baldur's Gate II next, and see if the situation resolves itself. Or maybe all the way to ToEE - the community patch apparently makes the game a near 10

We Need More Power Captain!

It looks like the battery in my Macbook is kaput.  The Macbook is less then 2 years old and only used on vacations and weekend getaways (this ain't no vacation either).  Needless to say I'm a wee bit disappointed.
It's not like the power source its attached with anything stronger then some magnetism.

Assuming I'm still here after 6PM EST I've got some reviews I want to get to tonight, such as this one:

From the blurb (review later - God willing ;)

RAPTURE The End of Days... is just the beginning.  The year is 2644. Humanity has cast off religion and mi­grated to the stars. With science as the new savior, man­kind believed himself to be creating new Edens in the far flung heavens. But God kept His promise. The day of Rapture came. Those who walked the Earth with a righteous spirit and pure soul were taken into the loving arms of the Lord. Those who skulked with the devil, ignoring God's divine laws, have been cast aside to face the horrors awaiting all sinners. As promised, the Earth burned. The clouds evap orated. The rule of man, of reason and science, came to an end. But that was on Earth. And not all of Mankind was on Earth. These far flung few who remain, forgotten by God, or per­haps given a second chance, now face a future where good and evil have come into sharp relief; where science has proven to be a false idol, yet one that is vital for survival. With communications between colonies severed, no one knows for sure what has befallen humanity. The isolated pockets of human colonists are returning to the old ways - political squabbling, superstition and factional infighting are on the rise. As a tide of distrust rises among the survi­vors, unexplainable horrors are emerging. The legions of Satan are real... And they are coming for you.   Praise for Rapture: The End of Days "This is the most clever, original setting concept I've seen since Day After Ragnarok. Someone really needs to make a film of this, right now." - Greg Stanyer "I like this book. It feels very much like a theological sci-fi horror, so it achieves everything it sets out to... The system for "Extras" is one of the most interesting ways I've seen to reward players for followers while making them both incredibly useful and expendable." - Erathoniel Woodenbow (Featured Reviewer)  Inside... Unique rule system that throws your heroes into the tension and fear of sci-fi thrillers. Mimic the dark claustrophobic grittiness of films like Alien and Event Horizon, where players are hunted down one by one. Or pitch your heroes into mass battles against hoards aliens or undead with fast and fun mass combat mechanics. Put the life and death decisions squarely in your players trembling hands. Paranoia and politics. Passion and puzzlement. Rapid character development and an open-ended approach to character backgrounds. You'll have interesting heroes alive and kicking in no time at all. Fear and Madness mechanics that truly reflect the growing terror and insanity of the best thrillers. Unique 'experience the sweet release of death' rules simulate way sci-fi thrillers cut through the cast of heroes until only a lucky few are left standing: as your heroes are killed off - and they will be - their friends will quickly step in, tougher and more desperate to survive than before. A complete universe of terror... A finely crafted blend of hard science fiction and authentic theological mysticism made real. A beautifully realized future history, where science has thrust mankind into the stars... but where God is all too real. The Rapture has come. But, despite the evidence, not everyone believes. Theological struggles, once through dead and buried, are emerging... along with the sinister forces of hell. Rules for on-the-fly technology innovation. Details of colonial nations, corporations and smaller powers scattered through Human Occupied space. Descriptions of the foes of man, both natural and supernatural. An extensive list of dark miracles and natural creature powers to allow the game master to create almost any being to torment the players. Or create your own worlds of mayhem! Alien horrors, zombie outbreaks, deadly unknowns from beyond time and space... For the game master... Tips, tricks and advice on running top-notch game sessions A slew of cunningly deadly adventure seeds to get games up and running fast Deep-indexing lets you get to the rules quickly, without breaking the tension of the game. eBook Features 117 pages of awesome design and artwork Fully printable Deep-linking for easy cross-referencing. iPad friendly. Looks great as a single or double-page spread!

Time to Upgrade the Box...

It's a small box too.  I've had a Mac Mini ( the mini-mini 2010 version) running alongside my PC since last August, and I figure it's time to give it some love.  So, after getting a nice deal on some Mac Software (including Parallels 6) for $49, I decided to get a family pack of Windows 7 from Amazon for about $120, and to upgrade the 2 gigs of ram to 8 gigs at Crucial.com for $100 or so.  It won't be a huge gaming machine, but my nearly 3 year old Gateway with a swapped out power supply and video card isnt cutting edge these days either.

I won't have to fun Fantasy Grounds via Crossover anymore either, which was far from a perfect solution

In any case, when I move to the new (currently being renovated) rooms, I think I'll run the Alienware Netbook from x-mass alongside my revamped Mac Mini. I only boot up the PC to play Rift or load up Fantasy Grounds these days, and  the long boot time and loud ass fan noise is killing me.  The Alienware handles gaming fairly well, at least as well as my PC it seems, tho' I'll see how well it does with my 28" monitor.

Damn, there's an update for my iPad available too.  Guess that will wait till this weekend too.

Oh, and a link for Your Majesty's new "R" trailer.

An Apple a Day...

Okie, so I finally did it. I bought a Mac. Don't kill me, it took alot of thought, but once a new Macbook fell to $799 at Microcenter, I was sold.

The deed was completed on Saturday afternoon. It is very... pretty. In a totallly alright with me sort of way. Seriously, in looks very slim and sleek, very much the complete opposite of me. Cat hairs show up very quickly on the white casing tho.

I'm still playing with it, but so far it seems like a very convenient alternative to my netbook for surfing in bed, or on the sofa, or at the kitchen table.

I'll be loading it with a bunch of gaming PDFs to see how they look.