Absent anything to do for the next 38 minutes, I'm going to type a little bit about my Borderlands siren. I spent the entirety of PT1 and most of PT2 in perpetual ammo scavenger mode, since my SMGs (especially the double anarchy) chew through whatever I can carry. Having gone through two playthroughs and 2 DLC runs without seeing a single ammo regen mod, I instead shifted to a less bullet-intensive build the moment I got my hands on a Maliwan Hellfire.
I'm using a slightly scaled down version of this. The basic strategy is to throw up as many DoT effects on as many enemies as possible while shooting only as much as necessary to spread the Hellfire DoT. A corrosive artifact handles acid, the Hellfire for fire, Radiance for electricity, and Phoenix for a bonus stackable fire DoT. With four damage effects on every enemy in the encounter, stuff dies. Everytime something dies, with my mod, I get a 11% shield regen boost over five seconds (Girl Power). Between that and 70% damage resistance for a few seconds coming out of phasewalk (Silent Resolve), I'm mostly immune to damage once I'm into the attack sequence.
This becomes more powerful in a few more levels since I'll be able to flesh out Blackout, which is a phasewalk cooldown reduction every time I kill something. Once that's 5/5 I'll pretty much constantly be popping phasewalk and will always either be totally immune or effectively immune to bullets.
On top of all that, being effectively 9 ranks into Phoenix also gives me a 45% chance to not consume SMG bullets. So ammo's no longer a problem when I'm rocking this Firefly build.
Its major weakness is any boss fight, since they can't be ignited (or have any DoT effects), and my Lilith isn't optimized for single-target non-elemental damage. It's not a build that works for Crawmerax, and it makes me only a half-contributor to Knoxx fights (though it'd be great for the run up to Knoxx).
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
On the recline.
Living without internet for three days has been a revelatory experience, in that I've learned a lot about my entertainment consumption habits and existing in a space not defined by its proximity to my keyboard. For example, I am powerless against the narcotic lure of a television while laying down on a couch. When I'd normally be awake until 2am on a computer, that TV makes me pass out by 10:30. I just physically can't resist.
Also, to whoever sees this in Buzz or something, I'm not answering e-mails because I can't check e-mails. Cablevision has no timetable for restoring service to my area.
Also, to whoever sees this in Buzz or something, I'm not answering e-mails because I can't check e-mails. Cablevision has no timetable for restoring service to my area.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Today's fun read.
This quasi-meta attempt to pin longstanding habits of argumentative mitigation upon meta-writer David Foster Wallace, as champion of the insecure intellectual.
USPS
The USPS and its solvency issue is a case of particular interest to me, as a confluence of politics, business, and economics. You'll likely hear an increasing number of news stories on the subject as we approach a September 30 deadline, where the USPS is unlikely to have cash on hand to make a legally-obligated $5.5 billion prefunding payment to its retiree health benefits fund.
Any other company (or government entity) would just issue bond debt and make the payment, but the USPS is legislatively restricted to increasing its debt by only $3 billion annually. Any other company would close all its non-profitible branches, but the USPS has a mandate to deliver mail to every square inch of the country (except my front door, which is too close to the post office to receive mail delivery) and can't just write off the state of North Dakota. In a period of declining mail demand, substantial price increases may just make their financial situation worse. Unless congress steps in to pay off substantial amounts of USPS debt, or otherwise loosens pension/compensation/benefit funding regulations, or just starts direct federal subsudy of the service, there's no simple inside-the-box solution here.
I happened across some WaPo letters to the editor on the subject, and wanted to touch briefly on some of the presented ideas.
Any other company (or government entity) would just issue bond debt and make the payment, but the USPS is legislatively restricted to increasing its debt by only $3 billion annually. Any other company would close all its non-profitible branches, but the USPS has a mandate to deliver mail to every square inch of the country (except my front door, which is too close to the post office to receive mail delivery) and can't just write off the state of North Dakota. In a period of declining mail demand, substantial price increases may just make their financial situation worse. Unless congress steps in to pay off substantial amounts of USPS debt, or otherwise loosens pension/compensation/benefit funding regulations, or just starts direct federal subsudy of the service, there's no simple inside-the-box solution here.
I happened across some WaPo letters to the editor on the subject, and wanted to touch briefly on some of the presented ideas.
The e-letter would be most advantageous to commercial users who seek to reach large numbers of homes with printed messages. The letter’s content and a list of addresses could be sent to the Postal Service electronically. The letter would be routed to the post office nearest the addressee, where it would be printed and sorted to the individual carrier route to be delivered with other mail....For the USPS, the advantages would be (1) lowering operating costs, as it would not be necessary to ship these pieces of paper across the nation via planes and trucks and (2) producing less pollution from vehicles, in keeping with the USPS’s green efforts.In terms of operating costs, using 2011 Q3 data, completely eliminating highway and air freight expenses would only represent 8.16% of total operating costs, or 81% of the projected operating shortfall. This also doesn't factor in the costs of mass-printing and envelope stuffing at the USPS branch level, or implementing the computing systems and hardware necessary. It'd also require USPS customers to either used some generic web tool, or otherwise have access to a scanner at home or a local USPS branch. Either way, it likely reduces your client base, by making it that much harder to deliver the document you want to deliver.
Offer an online bill-paying service. The USPS is losing revenue because more and more people are paying their bills online. The USPS should consider establishing a free online billing service that would compete with private-sector services, and it should fund the service through advertising. If the system proves secure, Americans will use it.Again, this requires implementing whole new systems and infrastructure, just to compete with services that most banks and investment firms (the places that actually hold your money) already offer for free (without advertising).
Reduce the cost of printing stamps by selling software (and the accompanying materials) that would enable customers to print first-class stamps at home. Users could purchase and download new postal designs as they become available. This would allow post offices to concentrate on higher-value services, such as Priority and Express mail.(1) Priority and Express mail represent 1% of total shipping volume. It's not clear to me what improvements can be made at the post office level that would let them "concentrate" on promoting a line of industry that represents only 1% of total demand. Granted that 1% generates 14% of USPS revenues, but they're stuck in competition with other package services, whereas they have the monopoly on first class and standard mail services, and should probably work on milking that cow. Also, (2) it's called Pitney Bowes. Printing coils of stamps strikes me as literally the smallest operating expense the USPS incurs, somewhere below their Deer Park water delivery. (Maybe USPS should start selling water door to door?)
Friday, August 19, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Eidolon experiments
I've been toying around with 20th level builds for no particular reason. After giving up on understanding why the Magus spell list is populated with polymorph spells that prevent spellcasting and armor bonuses, I shifted to the Summoner, since the Eidolon point-buy system makes for interesting time-killing.
Brutus
Form: Biped
Str: 42 Dex: 16 Con: 22 Int: 7 Wis: 10 Cha: 11
AC 40 = 10 base + 16 armor + 11 natural + 3 dex
HP: 15d10 + 90
Feats: Power Attack, Improved Natural Attack: Claw (five times), Combat Reflexes, Stand Still
Evolutions:
Huge (10)
Limbs (2)
Limbs (2)
Claws (1)
Claws (1)
Resistance: Fire (1)
Push (1)
Improved Natural Attack: Claw (1)
Improved Natural Armor (1)
Improved Natural Armor (1)
Magic Attacks (1)
Spell Resistance (4)
Attacks:
15 BAB + 16 Str - 4 power attack = +27
+27/+27/+27/+27/+27/+27 @ 12d6 +24 damage (each)
The combination of huge size, the natural attack evolution, and five stacking natural attack feats brings his claw attack form, of which he has six, up to 12d6 damage. They're all at max attack bonus because they're all primary attacks. He also has 15' reach, which with Combat Reflexes means one or more attacks on most foes who try to get to attack range, which with Stand Still means they lose the ability to move. Which in most cases translates to a total loss of a turn. The ones that do manage to close the distance just get pushed back the next round. Further buffed by virtually every buff spell, and he could use an amulet of mighty fists for +1 enhancement and flaming/frost/shock/corrosive, for 16d6.
I bulked his defenses a bit, though I'm not sure how well AC 40 holds up at level 20. This can be supplemented up with Summoner buffs (Shield, Protection from ____, Barkskin, Cat's Grace, etc). I guess this build hinges on the reading of whether the improved natural attack stuff is kosher, where improving attack "forms" applies to all claw attacks, with "claw" being a form. I read it that way since there are other evolutions and feats and spells that explicitly affect only one attack, and figured they'd have repeated that language if they'd intended it that way.
Ranged touch attacks and will saves would eat him alive, hence the spell resistance and fire resistance, which would help mitigate incoming spells. On top of all this you have a 20th level summoner shooting out infernal dire storks.
Brutus
Form: Biped
Str: 42 Dex: 16 Con: 22 Int: 7 Wis: 10 Cha: 11
AC 40 = 10 base + 16 armor + 11 natural + 3 dex
HP: 15d10 + 90
Feats: Power Attack, Improved Natural Attack: Claw (five times), Combat Reflexes, Stand Still
Evolutions:
Huge (10)
Limbs (2)
Limbs (2)
Claws (1)
Claws (1)
Resistance: Fire (1)
Push (1)
Improved Natural Attack: Claw (1)
Improved Natural Armor (1)
Improved Natural Armor (1)
Magic Attacks (1)
Spell Resistance (4)
Attacks:
15 BAB + 16 Str - 4 power attack = +27
+27/+27/+27/+27/+27/+27 @ 12d6 +24 damage (each)
The combination of huge size, the natural attack evolution, and five stacking natural attack feats brings his claw attack form, of which he has six, up to 12d6 damage. They're all at max attack bonus because they're all primary attacks. He also has 15' reach, which with Combat Reflexes means one or more attacks on most foes who try to get to attack range, which with Stand Still means they lose the ability to move. Which in most cases translates to a total loss of a turn. The ones that do manage to close the distance just get pushed back the next round. Further buffed by virtually every buff spell, and he could use an amulet of mighty fists for +1 enhancement and flaming/frost/shock/corrosive, for 16d6.
I bulked his defenses a bit, though I'm not sure how well AC 40 holds up at level 20. This can be supplemented up with Summoner buffs (Shield, Protection from ____, Barkskin, Cat's Grace, etc). I guess this build hinges on the reading of whether the improved natural attack stuff is kosher, where improving attack "forms" applies to all claw attacks, with "claw" being a form. I read it that way since there are other evolutions and feats and spells that explicitly affect only one attack, and figured they'd have repeated that language if they'd intended it that way.
Ranged touch attacks and will saves would eat him alive, hence the spell resistance and fire resistance, which would help mitigate incoming spells. On top of all this you have a 20th level summoner shooting out infernal dire storks.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Inquisitor full build
Str: 22 (15+1 level +2 human +4 enhancement) [7]
Dex: 20 (15 +1 level +4 enhancement) [7]
Con: 13 [3]
Int: 13 [3]
Wis: 20 (15+1 level +4 enhancement) [7]
Cha: 8 [-2]
Weapon: +2 corrosive large greatsword (18000)
Armor: +3 mithral breastplate (13000)
Belt of Giant's Strength +4 (16000)
Boots of Dexterity +4 (16000)
Headband of Inspired Wisdom +4 (16000)
Amulet of Natural Armor +2 (8000)
Cloak of Resistance +3 (9000)
Ring of Force Shield (8500)
Wand CLW (375)
3125 gp
Feats:
H1: Martial Weapon Proficiency: Greatsword
L1: Weapon Focus: Greatsword
L3: Power Attack
I3: Outflank (T)
L5: Cleave
I6: Paired Opportunists (T)
L7: Furious Focus
L9: Vital Strike
I9: Precise Strike (T)
L11: Improved Critical: Greatsword
I12: Swap Places (T)
Contemplating swapping out vital strike or cleave with combat expertise.
Inquisitor abilities:
-Domain: Good
Touch of Good (Sp): You can touch a creature as a standard action, granting a sacred bonus on attack rolls, skill checks, ability checks, and saving throws equal to half your cleric level (minimum 1) for 1 round. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
Holy Lance (Su): At 8th level, you can give a weapon you touch the holy special weapon quality for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your cleric level. You can use this ability once per day at 8th level, and an additional time per day for every four levels beyond 8th.
-Judgment x4 day. Pick 2 of:
-+6 morale bonus on intimidate and sense motive checks
-Add wisdom on initiative checks
-Detect alignment at will
-+6 to survival while tracking
-Auto-qualify for teamwork feats
-Bane: 12 rounds, 4d6
-Discern lies: 12 rounds
-Stalwart: Evasion on fort and will saves
Spells known:
0: Detect Magic, Read Magic, Light, Create Water, Guidance, Acid Splash
1: Divine Favor, Shield of Faith, True Strike, Wrath, Interrogation, Cure Light Wounds
2: Hold Person, Resist Energy, Howling Agony, Cure Moderate Wounds, Flames of the Faithful
3: Cure Serious Wounds, Dispel Magic, Ward the Faithful, Halt Undead
4: Stoneskin, Divine Power, Hold Monster, Greater Invisibility
Spells per level:
1: 7
2: 6
3: 5
4: 4
Hit calculations:
9 BAB
6 strength
2 weapon enhancement
1 weapon focus
-2 weapon size =
+16/+11 base
Optional hit:
3 sacred (judgment)
3 or 4 luck (divine favor, divine power)
3 morale (wrath)
2 weapon enhancement (bane)
4 flanking
4 opportunity attack
-3 power attack (on secondary attacks only)
= +13-35 hit, depending on positioning and buffs
Damage:
9 strength
2 enhancement
+1d6 acid
= +11 +1d6
Optional damage:
9 power attack
5 sacred (judgment)
3 or 4 luck (divine favor/power)
3 morale (wrath)
2 weapon enhancement (bane)
+2d6 bane
+2d6 holy (good domain)
+1d6 precision (flank)
+1d6 fire (flames of the faithful) [+1d10 on crit]
+3d6 vital strike
= damage range: [4d6+11] to [13d6+33]
Max crit: [16d6+1d10+66] on a 17-20 range.
AC:
10 base
6 armor
3 armor enhancement
5 dex
2 natural armor
2 shield
4 deflection (shield of faith)
= 32
Saves:
Fort: 12 (15) = +8 base + 1 con + 3 resistance (+3 sacred)
Ref: 12 (15) = +4 base + 5 dex + 3 resistance (+3 sacred)
Will: 16 (19) = +8 base + 5 wis + 3 resistance (+3 sacred)
Skill point allotment (96):
Knowledge Religion: 12
Perception: 12
Spellcraft: 12
Sense Motive: 12
Survival: 10
Stealth: 11
Knowledge Planes: 6
Knowledge Nature: 2
Knowledge Dungeoneering: 2
Knowledge Arcana: 2
Bluff: 3
Climb: 3
Swim: 3
Ride: 3
Heal: 3
HP: 12d8 +24
CMB: 15
CMD: 31
Dex: 20 (15 +1 level +4 enhancement) [7]
Con: 13 [3]
Int: 13 [3]
Wis: 20 (15+1 level +4 enhancement) [7]
Cha: 8 [-2]
Weapon: +2 corrosive large greatsword (18000)
Armor: +3 mithral breastplate (13000)
Belt of Giant's Strength +4 (16000)
Boots of Dexterity +4 (16000)
Headband of Inspired Wisdom +4 (16000)
Amulet of Natural Armor +2 (8000)
Cloak of Resistance +3 (9000)
Ring of Force Shield (8500)
Wand CLW (375)
3125 gp
Feats:
H1: Martial Weapon Proficiency: Greatsword
L1: Weapon Focus: Greatsword
L3: Power Attack
I3: Outflank (T)
L5: Cleave
I6: Paired Opportunists (T)
L7: Furious Focus
L9: Vital Strike
I9: Precise Strike (T)
L11: Improved Critical: Greatsword
I12: Swap Places (T)
Contemplating swapping out vital strike or cleave with combat expertise.
Inquisitor abilities:
-Domain: Good
Touch of Good (Sp): You can touch a creature as a standard action, granting a sacred bonus on attack rolls, skill checks, ability checks, and saving throws equal to half your cleric level (minimum 1) for 1 round. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
Holy Lance (Su): At 8th level, you can give a weapon you touch the holy special weapon quality for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your cleric level. You can use this ability once per day at 8th level, and an additional time per day for every four levels beyond 8th.
-Judgment x4 day. Pick 2 of:
- +5 sacred bonus to damage rolls
- Fast healing 5
- +3 sacred bonus on attack rolls, +6 to confirm criticals
- +5 sacred bonus to concentration checks and caster level checks vs. SR
- +3 sacred bonus to saving throws, +6 against curses, diseases, and poison
- DR 3/evil
- Energy resistance 10
- Weapon imbued with alignment type and adamantine qualities
-+6 morale bonus on intimidate and sense motive checks
-Add wisdom on initiative checks
-Detect alignment at will
-+6 to survival while tracking
-Auto-qualify for teamwork feats
-Bane: 12 rounds, 4d6
-Discern lies: 12 rounds
-Stalwart: Evasion on fort and will saves
Spells known:
0: Detect Magic, Read Magic, Light, Create Water, Guidance, Acid Splash
1: Divine Favor, Shield of Faith, True Strike, Wrath, Interrogation, Cure Light Wounds
2: Hold Person, Resist Energy, Howling Agony, Cure Moderate Wounds, Flames of the Faithful
3: Cure Serious Wounds, Dispel Magic, Ward the Faithful, Halt Undead
4: Stoneskin, Divine Power, Hold Monster, Greater Invisibility
Spells per level:
1: 7
2: 6
3: 5
4: 4
Hit calculations:
9 BAB
6 strength
2 weapon enhancement
1 weapon focus
-2 weapon size =
+16/+11 base
Optional hit:
3 sacred (judgment)
3 or 4 luck (divine favor, divine power)
3 morale (wrath)
2 weapon enhancement (bane)
4 flanking
4 opportunity attack
-3 power attack (on secondary attacks only)
= +13-35 hit, depending on positioning and buffs
Damage:
9 strength
2 enhancement
+1d6 acid
= +11 +1d6
Optional damage:
9 power attack
5 sacred (judgment)
3 or 4 luck (divine favor/power)
3 morale (wrath)
2 weapon enhancement (bane)
+2d6 bane
+2d6 holy (good domain)
+1d6 precision (flank)
+1d6 fire (flames of the faithful) [+1d10 on crit]
+3d6 vital strike
= damage range: [4d6+11] to [13d6+33]
Max crit: [16d6+1d10+66] on a 17-20 range.
AC:
10 base
6 armor
3 armor enhancement
5 dex
2 natural armor
2 shield
4 deflection (shield of faith)
= 32
Saves:
Fort: 12 (15) = +8 base + 1 con + 3 resistance (+3 sacred)
Ref: 12 (15) = +4 base + 5 dex + 3 resistance (+3 sacred)
Will: 16 (19) = +8 base + 5 wis + 3 resistance (+3 sacred)
Skill point allotment (96):
Knowledge Religion: 12
Perception: 12
Spellcraft: 12
Sense Motive: 12
Survival: 10
Stealth: 11
Knowledge Planes: 6
Knowledge Nature: 2
Knowledge Dungeoneering: 2
Knowledge Arcana: 2
Bluff: 3
Climb: 3
Swim: 3
Ride: 3
Heal: 3
HP: 12d8 +24
CMB: 15
CMD: 31
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
What Needs to Happen in Borderlands 2
Gearbox and 2K Games just officially announced what everybody's long assumed, that Borderlands 2 is in development. Of the four people who might see this blog entry, two have already played the original, but for posterity I'll attempt to summarize Borderlands: Fallout meets Diablo meets Firefly. It's a lighthearted RPG-shooter hybrid with random loot generation and skill trees, set on a western-styled colony planet in an otherwise advanced spacefaring world.
This is the list of improvments that would help make Borderlands 2 one of the greatest games of all time.
1: Drop Gamespy as the multiplayer manager.
If a dinky little game like Magicka can whip up its own in-game server browser and manage its own connections, Borderlands should be able to coordinate co-op without having to sign up for a shitty external service.
2: Fix the level scaling and multiplayer scaling issues.
The original Borderlands is composed of two and a half playthroughs, incorporating three different level-scaling schemes, which may have worked for just the vanilla game. It immediately became broken with the DLC, which itself had its own level scaling issues, but then threw off the vanilla game balance between playthroughs, forcing you to essentially abandon a full vanilla playthrough the second time around. This can probably be simplified to two schemes: Zone-based level ranges during the first PT, level-based scaling during the second, for all content. The end.
Also, while I appreciate that adding more players dramatically increases the game difficulty, some things were overlooked. Enemy vehicles scaled up in damage and defense, but player vehicles didn't, which often resulted in frustrating 1-shot deaths. Enemy gun damage scaled up multiplicatively with the number of PCs, resulting in frequent 1-shot deaths because your shield and HP pool were scaled for single-player content. These things can be smoothed for better balance.
3: AA
Borderlands had no anti-aliasing options. While you could trick the game into it via advanced Nvidia or ATI control tools, that's an unnecessary step. Just put it in the damn game. Other things that would be nice to have in the game options without having to tweak the configuration files directly: FOV adjustments, mouse smoothing disable, microphone disable, advanced keybinds, VSync, lighting and shadow quality.
4: More story, more storytelling.
Borderlands was light on the plot, which to a degree worked in its breezy favor. I still feel that there's room for a more aggressive plot with more moments of voice-acted storytelling, cutscenes, or other Mass-Effect-inspired moments of storytelling that don't involve dialogue trees. Even a simple step such as having NPCs voice-act quest text would go a long way towards establishing a more effective plot, since it's something you could absorb while on the move.
5: Fix Brick
The four original class types scale very differently as you level up. Brick is a beast in the first playthrough but eventually his melee and rocket damage output curve falls off in comparison to the raw death Mordecai and Lilith put out, especially in multiplayer with the beefed up difficulty and enemy HP pools.
6: Armor slots
There was only one non-weapon equipment slot, for class mods, which were generally super-duper powerful and had four or five different effects in eight different distribution types per class. Why can't those five bonuses be given out over multiple armor pieces? This is precisely the kind of game where more loot is ok, so I'd be happy to see helmet/chest/glove/boot slots with the same kind of variability and quality options of the weapons. Given the meticulous graphical detail afforded the five different components of each gun, individually modeled, it shouldn't be hard to whip up a system for changing other aspects of character appearance to match equipment choices.
And here's the list of additions that should definitely not happen:
Weapon crafting
Weapon durability
Mutliple ammo types within one gun-type
Dialogue trees
Armor
Equipment enchantment
MP
Consumables
This is the list of improvments that would help make Borderlands 2 one of the greatest games of all time.
1: Drop Gamespy as the multiplayer manager.
If a dinky little game like Magicka can whip up its own in-game server browser and manage its own connections, Borderlands should be able to coordinate co-op without having to sign up for a shitty external service.
2: Fix the level scaling and multiplayer scaling issues.
The original Borderlands is composed of two and a half playthroughs, incorporating three different level-scaling schemes, which may have worked for just the vanilla game. It immediately became broken with the DLC, which itself had its own level scaling issues, but then threw off the vanilla game balance between playthroughs, forcing you to essentially abandon a full vanilla playthrough the second time around. This can probably be simplified to two schemes: Zone-based level ranges during the first PT, level-based scaling during the second, for all content. The end.
Also, while I appreciate that adding more players dramatically increases the game difficulty, some things were overlooked. Enemy vehicles scaled up in damage and defense, but player vehicles didn't, which often resulted in frustrating 1-shot deaths. Enemy gun damage scaled up multiplicatively with the number of PCs, resulting in frequent 1-shot deaths because your shield and HP pool were scaled for single-player content. These things can be smoothed for better balance.
3: AA
Borderlands had no anti-aliasing options. While you could trick the game into it via advanced Nvidia or ATI control tools, that's an unnecessary step. Just put it in the damn game. Other things that would be nice to have in the game options without having to tweak the configuration files directly: FOV adjustments, mouse smoothing disable, microphone disable, advanced keybinds, VSync, lighting and shadow quality.
4: More story, more storytelling.
Borderlands was light on the plot, which to a degree worked in its breezy favor. I still feel that there's room for a more aggressive plot with more moments of voice-acted storytelling, cutscenes, or other Mass-Effect-inspired moments of storytelling that don't involve dialogue trees. Even a simple step such as having NPCs voice-act quest text would go a long way towards establishing a more effective plot, since it's something you could absorb while on the move.
5: Fix Brick
The four original class types scale very differently as you level up. Brick is a beast in the first playthrough but eventually his melee and rocket damage output curve falls off in comparison to the raw death Mordecai and Lilith put out, especially in multiplayer with the beefed up difficulty and enemy HP pools.
6: Armor slots
There was only one non-weapon equipment slot, for class mods, which were generally super-duper powerful and had four or five different effects in eight different distribution types per class. Why can't those five bonuses be given out over multiple armor pieces? This is precisely the kind of game where more loot is ok, so I'd be happy to see helmet/chest/glove/boot slots with the same kind of variability and quality options of the weapons. Given the meticulous graphical detail afforded the five different components of each gun, individually modeled, it shouldn't be hard to whip up a system for changing other aspects of character appearance to match equipment choices.
And here's the list of additions that should definitely not happen:
Weapon crafting
Weapon durability
Mutliple ammo types within one gun-type
Dialogue trees
Armor
Equipment enchantment
MP
Consumables
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Revisiting Lawrie
At this point my obsession with tracking Brett Lawrie's call-up is approaching something unhealthy. I monitor his references in Twitter, have a Google Alert to e-mail me news and blog mentions in realtime, and refresh our fantasy league page at least fifteen times a day looking for news or updates. Now that he's back on my roster it's unnecessary, but I continue the unyielding vigilance.
Like my earlier frustrations over missing out on Hosmer and Trout on day 1, I have an unrealistic mental picture of what's going to happen when Lawrie makes it into the Blue Jays lineup. I'm unable to shake the nagging feeling that he's going to defy every odd and statistic about rookie batters and just obliterate the ball, steal twenty bases in two months, knock in forty runs, and make me feel good about my desire to remove both Crawford and Teixiera from my keeper list.
This is, of course, not going to happen, but I think even a tempered outlook is still generally positive for fantasy purposes. By most accounts he'll end up batting "in the middle third" of the lineup, so 4-6, which is nice. He has some power, some speed, and most importantly qualifies at second base right now. Who could have anticipated a Rickie Weeks injury? I'd had a hunch last weekend that the call-up was pending, so I'm glad to see increasing rumors regarding a promotion next weekend. And I know it's a rumor on the rise because I've witnessed literally every twitter comment, random dark-internet subforum post, and regurgitated fantasy blog entry on the matter, and could meticulously detail its crescendo.
With Lawrie and maybe one trade to solidify my pitching, I'd feel fairly confidant heading into the H2H playoffs. Here's to hoping some owners check their teams or e-mail this week.
Like my earlier frustrations over missing out on Hosmer and Trout on day 1, I have an unrealistic mental picture of what's going to happen when Lawrie makes it into the Blue Jays lineup. I'm unable to shake the nagging feeling that he's going to defy every odd and statistic about rookie batters and just obliterate the ball, steal twenty bases in two months, knock in forty runs, and make me feel good about my desire to remove both Crawford and Teixiera from my keeper list.
This is, of course, not going to happen, but I think even a tempered outlook is still generally positive for fantasy purposes. By most accounts he'll end up batting "in the middle third" of the lineup, so 4-6, which is nice. He has some power, some speed, and most importantly qualifies at second base right now. Who could have anticipated a Rickie Weeks injury? I'd had a hunch last weekend that the call-up was pending, so I'm glad to see increasing rumors regarding a promotion next weekend. And I know it's a rumor on the rise because I've witnessed literally every twitter comment, random dark-internet subforum post, and regurgitated fantasy blog entry on the matter, and could meticulously detail its crescendo.
With Lawrie and maybe one trade to solidify my pitching, I'd feel fairly confidant heading into the H2H playoffs. Here's to hoping some owners check their teams or e-mail this week.
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