Thursday, March 10, 2016

Did the Alexandrians on The Walking Dead just turn evil?

SPOILERS. This post talks about Season 6, Episode 12 of The Walking Dead 'No Tomorrow Yet'. If you haven't watched the episode yet, GO WATCH IT!
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No, really.
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Still here? Great. So, what the HECK are Rick & Company doing? Are they just as bad as the Governor?  Are they going to start eating people?  Is this another step on Rick's long descent into tyrannical evil? Those seem to be the questions a lot of fans are asking. Apparently, breaking up with Rosita is a big no-no. ESPECIALLY if you do it with a dingleberries quote.



Just kidding. The main issue out of this episode was that the Alexandrians, lead by Team Rick, invaded Negan's fortress and killed a bunch of humans in their sleep, It was suspenseful, gripping, and left many people wondering if our "good guys" had turned a corner toward darkness. And many of the characters seem to be wondering the same thing, including Glenn.


Here are a couple points that I haven't seen many people bring up. First, why kill people the with the stab to the head. Isn't that a tactic for walkers? Well, sure. But if you DON'T spike the brain, your murdered bad guy will become a zombie, and then you have to kill them all over again. And really, isn't it MORE humane to prevent people from becoming zombies? So I don't have an issue with their preferred method of disposing of opponents.

The bigger question, though, is whether or not it's right to kill people in their sleep. The show definitely makes it look morally questionable and horrific, But let's examine the strategy a little bit. If you're convinced that you can't make peace with your enemy, then you need to kill them. Clearly, you want to kill them with the least loss of life on your side. So you're not going to knock on their door and say "hey, we can't co-exist, so can you come out here so we can kill you?" Because doing that results in a lot of your friends, and people who see things as you do, dying. Basically, Glenn can kill bad men in their sleep, or take a chance that the bad men will kill him.

Second. This isn't some crazy zombie apocalypse strategy. It's how armed forces and police units in the real world work.  Seal Team Six didn't enter Osama bin Laden's compound at noon. They went in under cover of darkness, and struck while their opponents were too groggy to react.

In Iraq, our forces did the same thing. Striking insurgent hideouts at night, when they had the advantage of night vision goggles, and they could neutralize the enemy's home-field advantage by hitting the while all or most of them were sleeping. Police units often make raids at night or early in the morning for the same reason. It's safer to deal with people when they're not awake and alert.

For a long time, Rick Grimes and his fellow survivors have basically wandered from one situation to the next, trying not to die. In the process, they've experienced some brutal things, and done some brutal things. But for most of the show's history, movng on, getting away from danger, was a big part of Rick's plan.

The loss of Carl's eye seems to have sparked a moment of clarity for Rick. His character is working to build a future, instead of simply surviving. Now that he's fighting FOR something greater, he's making the sort of strategic choices that organized groups make. Let's hope this trend continues.




Monday, March 7, 2016

Fallout 4 is missing one big thing

I've been playing Fallout 4 since it came out. So many quests, so many interesting conversations, relationships, radio stations to tune in to! And then there's building. I haven't even tried building on Spectacle Island yet, but I'm looking forward to it. There's just one thing that bugs me, one quirk that Bethesda could fix. And that's crafting. Specifically, weapon crafting.

Hey, it's a weapons workbench!
In Fallout 4, if you choose the right skills, you can make any normal weapon that you can find in the wilderness. All you have to do is find a weapons bench, and have the necessary materials,
and voila!  Your own tactical calibrated 10mm pistol. Just like you could find out in the world.  You can probably see where I'm headed with this.

I made that in Fallout 4.




Now, there ARE some really special, unique weapons in the game. They're called legendary weapons, and they fall into two general categories. First, there are special weapons created by the game's brilliant crafters and collectors. Like the fellow to our right, Barney Rook. Barney made a special sniper rifle that he named Reba. And he makes you one called Reba II if you're nice to him. It does extra damage to mirelurks and bugs.  And he's not alone - the Institute has a special weapon in stock, I suppose it's created by their research folks.  Tinker Tom makes the Tinker Tom Special, and you can even get a nice weapon called the Wazer Wifle from somebody named Shaun.

The other general category of legendary weapons are those you find as drops from legendary monsters. They're random, so an extra-powerful bloatfly might drop a pistol that fires an extra projectile. SWEET! Or it might do more damage to humans, or extra critical damage, or whatever. To get a gun that does what you want, all you have to do is keep killing legendary creatures until your desired weapon drops. Here's a list of all the effects.

Wait, WHAT? So, I can invest a bunch of skill points in crafting, but if I want to get a unique weapon, I have to farm for it? Yup. Now, you CAN upgrade legendary weapons. But you can't create anything unique, or create a legendary effect on a weapon yourself. And it's a shame, because I'd definitely love to complete a series of quests to create a legendary effect.

How cool would that be? Instead of hoping for a Legendary Radstag to drop the shotgun that fires explosive rounds (highly recommended). Why not let me MAKE it? I already do all sorts of fetch quests for special technology. Just add a series of fetch quests with Tinker Tom, or Sturges, or Arturo in Diamond City.  The specific quests could be tied (and levelled) to the ability you're trying to add. So creating a gun that shoots an extra bullet might require a visit to ArcJet Systems, then a trip to Fort Hagen. Or a special laser ability might need a piece from a crashed space ship, or a long-forgotten piece of gear in a sunken ship. Or in a hut in the Glowing Sea.

Bethesda already has the list of weapon effects, and making new radiant quests shouldn't be that difficult. Allowing us to create our own special weapon would make that crafting skill pay off, and end our reliance on farming. Further, it would mean my level 70, max intelligence Sole Survivor can finally be as creative as Barney Rook.


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Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Adding some consequence to the WWE

The WWE is missing something. They have matches, but many times it's hard to get invested in them. What difference does it make if Superstars and Divas win? The storylines don't seem to reflect any sort of rhyme or reason that would elevate stars that win over stars that lose. In short, what matches are missing right now are consequences.

 I'm not talking about Consequence Creed here. The talented and talkative gentleman to the right is a lot better off without that particular gimmick. Right, @XavierWoodsPHD ? Actually, New Day is an example of the benefits that come with winning. Why do they get so much mic time?  We know that it's because they're entertaining, and hilarious, and because WWE has 3 hours to fill on RAW. But for the storyline, it's easy to understand why New Day gets to talk - they're the champs. But for someone like Bray Wyatt? He's a monster that often comes up short in big spots. The League of Nations? They seem to lose at least as much as they win. Rusev had a great winning streak going, but now he's just another guy who wins some and loses some. And honestly, if he wins, what does he get?

WWE often sets up the #1 contender slots in some sort of 3-way, 4-way, ladder battle royal extravaganza. So Dolph Ziggler can lose for a month, sell for 90% of a fatal four-way, and walk away as the #1 contender for a belt. you're much better off coming to the ring and talking, and promoting your hashtag. That's how the Social Outcasts get screen time every week, even though they're clearly not booked as a threat to any of the top stars. And it keeps them around whenever it's time for the WWE to generate a #1 contender.

Kevin Owens actually uses this lack of consequence right now. He's fine walking away from a match with a loss, Why not? It's not like it's going to hurt his spot in the non-existent standings. The Miz won last week, and it was shocking. But the losses hadn't hurt his screen time. And now, that one win seems to have put him in position for a Wrestlemania match.

Jim Ross understands - matches have to have stakes. If you're telling a story, give me a reason to care who comes out victorious.50/50 booking hurts. And putting Superstars into big matches they haven't "earned" just waters down the stakes of that big match.  Further, when Superstars go for a long period of time without earning a clean win, it feels like they're not a threat when they DO get thrown into a big match.

Here's the example that prompted this post. Watching NXT, I got to enjoy an awesome match between NXT champion Finn Balor and former champ Adrian Neville. Or just Neville. Now, Neville has been up on the main roster, in and out of contention for the US Title, and feuding with Stardust because Stardust sees him as a comic book hero. So, he should definitely be superior to any NXT talent. I mean, the main roster is supposed to be where the talent is, right? Or is the WWE saying the top NXT talent is as good as title contenders on RAW? Balor got the win, which earned him.... respect, I guess.

But it could've MEANT something. What if Balor's win EARNED him a spot on the main roster? Theoretically, a main roster spot would mean more money. Suddenly, Neville is fighting to keep his paycheck, and avoid getting sent back to NXT. And Balor is suddenly a talent riding high, and a new threat to the established folks on RAW. Or a new target for the heels to beat up on, padding their record with wins against the rookie.

Up the stakes even more - give any NXT wrestler who wins 5 straight matches the right to challenge for the spot of any WWE star who has lost 3 in a row. Suddenly, matchup #74 between Ryback and the Big Show means something, because it could mean one of them risks being challenged and demoted if they lose. And tag match #10 between Enzo and Cass and Dash and Dawson could cap a streak that earns them the right to challenge Ascension for their spot on the main roster.

As a bonus, if the writers care, they can use NXT talent to make the main roster talent look better. Every face on NXT should be eager to take on a perceived wimp like the Miz. But after he beats 3 or 4 challenges with his savvy and experience, they'll have a new level of respect for him - and that'll help him look like a threat on the main roster.

Make matches matter, WWE. In the long run, it helps everyone.