Hurlshort

I'm hoping the family of the deceased go after Kristi Noem for calling her a domestic terrorist. The lack of accountability in our government is crazy right now. In most administrations these types fo terrible comments would lead to resignations. In this administration, it is just another Tuesday.

I have two worlds really going, one is on easy and the other on regular. The easy one is less annoying with combat and death consequences, but I have noticed there are less enemies and it can be tough to get resources that require them. The standard world seems to have a lot more mobs. I checked and I am at flame level 5 on the easy world and 3 on the standard.

I guess Terra Invicta released version 1.0, so I might give it a whirl. I played it like 3 years ago, so who knows what it is like now.

Hah, I like how you were skeptical about the game a couple weeks ago, and now you are way further along than I am. My flame level in 3, I think. Maybe 4.

Poor Volo, they were so mean to him on the codex and he would still defend them. I miss his hockey talk.

My biggest issue is altitis and worlditis. Like, I keep starting new characters on new worlds with new server rules. I'm an expert on the first 10 hours of the game.

I assume snow is on the development plan, since the game isn't even officially version 1 yet. I haven't even reached the water biome yet.

I mean, she does have a nuke sitting in her driveway. That's a bit of a development.

Oh no, they listened to experts in their field instead of the common folk.

I took the family to see Avatar: Fire and Ash. It was good. It didn't really break the Avatar mold or anything, but it kept the world building going. It's crazy to think that this was my daughter's favorite movie as a child, and now she's an adult, and we are still heading to the theater to watch it for 3+ hours. That being said, it didn't feel drawn out or anything. It was a speedy 3 hours. I do wish they pushed the biomes a bit. This was very much part 2 of the watery world stuff. There was a volcano area that was barely shown, and the industrial city was also not really explored. So lots of diving in the water with submarines and whales. Also I'm pretty sure the creatures for the Abyss showed up in this thing. But yeah, if you liked Avatar, more of the same. If you didn't, this certainly won't change your mind.

I recommend drinking while playing.

Merry Xmas everyone!

Greedfall - This game is pretty good. Story and setting are engaging. I'm only 6 years behind on playing it.

Arcanum would round out their current stable of games. Space Fantasy, Fantasy Fantasy, Kids Fantasy, and Steampunk Fantasy.

Cool, that means my CBD recovery gummies can kick in a little thc for vibes.

The new Divinity game announcement got me to give Divinity 2 another spin. I haven't played it in 8 years, which seemed crazy, because I don't remember it being that old. Of course, I am old now and I forget a lot. Originally I played through Act 1 a few times but stalled out in Act 2. I am going to try to push through this time, and I kept the combat easy to help that. I am playing for story. As I said, I had forgotten a lot of the stuff, so it feels fresh. I like the characters. I am playing as Ifen, and I've got Fane, Lohse, and the stabby lady as my crew. Talking to animals is fun. Anyways, I am in Act 2 now, so hopefully I can finish it up this time.

JK Rowling is a total troll, for sure. She isn't the first artist to try and ruin her art with dumb crusades, but she seems to be trying to be the best at it. That being said, I do believe in separating art from the artists, which I know sounds trite. But JK Rowling is an expert in children's fiction writing, and that's all she is an expert in. As an educator who began teaching around when the series debuted, I saw first-hand how the books got kids to read. We can criticize the literature all we want, but it was effective at captivating a generation of young readers, and that is not easy to do. With that said, her opinion on trans-rights shouldn't weigh more heavily than anyone else. The Harry Potter world has outgrown her. It isn't just a book series that she wrote. It has taken on a life of its own. Sure, she gets credit for creating it, but that doesn't mean she has control over it anymore. The movies were created by passionate creative teams that deserve credit. The theme parks were designed by artists. The Lego sets, merchandise, games, etc. are all much bigger than a single person. I get boycotting her. It's unfortunate that she gets to cash in on this world and then chooses to use that cash to be a bigot. But there is a point where a product becomes bigger than the creator. Volkswagen was created by the Nazi party. There are people that boycott their cars because of this, and that is justified, but it is also fair to say the company has moved past that complicated origin. So yeah, just my two cents as I watch the Harry Potter flicks this holiday season.

Yeah, it's pretty weird how the whole WB games stuff has gone down. They've published some amazing games that seem like they've done well critically and commercially, and yet it doesn't seem to be enough. I mean the Middle Earth series has the nemesis system, which should be a license to print money, and they seem to be burying it. Then Hogwarts Legacy nails the setting of one of the biggest IP's out there, and there is no follow through on it. *shrug*

You neeed the crafting hammer, I believe, and the workbench.

Oh no, don't use the tiny blocks! You can switch between 1x1, 2x2, and 4x4. I think you use alt to switch sizes.

Enshrouded lets you rebuild an entire world. It's probably the best crafting/building game out there right now.

Not too surprising. That trailer didn't exactly show anything. I'm going to pretend I didn't watch it for a couple years.

Time. So I've been averaging 6ish hours a week. It wants me to be closer to 8, so I need to up my training a bit.

My training is going pretty well. The run came back quickly and I'm feeling fast again. It's still a grind to get out on a Sunday and put up a 7+ run in an hour, but it is definitely the discipline I am most comfortable with. Biking is tough right now with the cold. I've done a few rides in the garage on the trainer, but I definitely need to put more hours in when it warms up. The swim has been the most fun. I swim at an outdoor pool in the mornings twice a week. I get up and out there around 6 and then jump in the shower around 6:45, and I've been getting to work with no issues. I started a program called Tridot that gives me swim workouts. My watch actually tells me what to do and beeps at me when it is time to go, and vibrates when I'm on the last lap. It makes it easy to follow. Unfortunately my watch has crashed a few times mid-workout. I don't really want to buy a new Garmin, but we will see. Also Tridot gives me grades on my workouts and weird graphs like this:

Star Wars: Outlaws - Pretty interesting so far. The world looks great and it is busy with lots of NPC's. The story and characters are solid. Your furry sidekick is adorable and useful. The controls are weird. It's a game designed for a controller but really doesn't need to be. I prefer M&K, and it is way better for looking around and firing the blaster, but it has some awkward bits. You don't have to reinvent the wheel, plenty of 3rd person games already have good keyboard layouts that you can copy. The stealth is a bit sloppy too. It plays a bit like the Hitman games. It is serviceable. Anyways, should be a fun game to play over winter break. I'm watching Solo as well, which is a good companion movie to the game. Honestly the game makes a lot more sense if you've watched all the animated stuff. The Pikes and Crimson Dawn aren't exactly mainstream Star Wars lore.