I've talked about it before, but here's the video as a reminder.
Basically I am trying to raise money for Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, RI. My son has been a patient there and I have had friends who have been patients there so I'd like to give something back.
You can donate here http://bit.ly/1ipcMOb
And then my brother (YouTube's mysterysquick) and I team up to do a 24-hour gaming livestream on October 25 at 8 AM EST. We will be streaming on my Twitch channel: http://bit.ly/1ocRRog
A preview of things to come can be found on mysterysquick's YouTube channel: our The Legend Of Zelda 1 player race of the first quest from last year's livestream. This year we will run the second quest. Other games slated to appear:
DOOM
Marvel vs Capcom 3
Space Hulk
Awesomenauts
Dawn Of War: Dark Crusade
Dawn Of War II: Chaos Rising
Gun Monkeys
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time
Magicka
Loadout
Starbound (if I can talk him into getting it)
Ice Hockey
Worms Reloaded
The list isn't finalized yet and is subject to change. Most likely in the form of adding to this list.
I love the Dawn of War series. I own all but the Soulstorm expansion for the original Dawn of War, and I own Dawn of War II plus Chaos Rising and Retribution. The original Dawn of War is our go-to game during our Extra Life livestream (we play that while we figure something else out). I'm hoping to get some DoW2 this year as well but mysterysquick only has Chaos Rising, and somehow missed out on a great Steam sale on all 40k titles earlier this year. I was hoping he would get Retribution, though that was more because of the supposed demise of Games For Windows Live (which vanilla DoWII and Chaos Rising require to run), but that is apparently no longer a concern. Anyway, here's what I'd like to see in Dawn Of War III (which I believe was in development prior to the demise of THQ; it's status is likely in limbo right now):
1. Bring Back 4X-style RTS gameplay. I loved the squad-based RPG style of Dawn of War II, but I'd also like the return of large-scale battles seen in the original. Squads of troops, tanks of all shapes and sizes, and in the newer editions of the tabletop game there are flying units, so no reason not to add those.
2. Large Scale Combat. While this may seem redundant, I would like to emphasis just how large. I want to see potentially a couple hundred units (and I mean UNITS, not individual troops. Space Marine tactical squads are 10 strong, for starters. Ork Boyz travel in mobs of up to 30!) plus tanks and aircraft, as well as buildings and structures bristling with guns.
3. Super Heavy Units. The original Dawn Of War gave us such gems as the Baneblade tank and Squiggoth, but go even further than that. Imperial Titans, larger Baneblade variants, Tyranid Bio-Titans, Ork Stompas and more.
4. All Playable Armies. Anything with a Codex should be playable, but keep the customizer so we can make our own Space Marine chapters or Eldar Craftworlds. Space Marines, Space Wolves, Dark Angels, Blood Angels, Grey Knights, Eldar, Dark Eldar, Tau Empire, Tyranids, Sisters of Battle, Imperial Guard, Daemons, Chaos Space Marines, Orks and Necrons, all playable. FROM THE START NOT AS DLC.
5. All Special Characters. Everyone from Papa Smurf Marneus Calgar to Pedro Kantor to Logan Grimnar to Ghazkull Thraka to Trazyn the Infinite to Commander O'Ra'Lai and so on and so on (there are a ton of characters). Each based on their tabletop counterparts and perhaps even leveling RPG-style.
6. Customizable Heroes. Basically the generic HQ characters from the Codices. Want a Space Wolves army with a Terminator Wolf Lord with Storm Bolter and Thunder Hammer? Go for it. Want a Crisis Suit with its crazy mix-and-match weapon and support options made to your liking? DO IT.
7. Campaign for each army. This is arguably the most unrealistic request, as you're needing to come up with a lengthy story mode for a large number of armies. But then no one feels left out.
That seems to be all I can come up with now. If you have anything to add to this feel free to comment!
I have mentioned previously (certainly on my introductory video) that I recently became a fan of the Warhammer 40,000 franchise. So I figured sooner or later I would blog about it.
Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop wargame set roughly 38,000 years in the future, during a time of grim, darkness, grim darkness, dark grimness, and there is only war. Everything is hilariously over-the-top grimdark (except for the Tau, but they have nice guns. I'll get to that in a bit.). You build an army, literally, they are small plastic figures that are pretty customizable, and then you get to paint them any way you wish. The franchise has grown considerably, there are a number of novels, video games, comics, and a full-length movie that is better off forgotten (likely killing off the hopes of another, hopefully better one). So I thought I'd give an overview of the factions and armies on the tabletop. Here are a couple of primers first.
Or an ultra-condensed hilarious version:
Now, without further ado;
THE IMPERIUM OF MAN
The largest unified (mostly) faction in the galaxy. Here are your humans. As most players are human, the Imperium tends to be well-represented by the players, not hurt by Games Workshop's marketing either. They are ruled by our most Holy God-Emperor of Mankind, whose name is lost to the ages and is essentially a slowly decaying corpse whose psychic essence is the only thing keeping the horrors of the Warp from entering Holy Terra (aka The Planet Formerly Known As Earth).
They break down into several sub-factions who inevitably end up fighting each other almost as much as the enemies of Man.
Imperial Guard (aka Astra Militarum aka Redshirt Army) The Imperium's regular army, these are average Joes whoe are given a high-powered laser rifle that is equivalent to a flashlight in this setting as their main weapon. They have lots of nice tanks, and Commissars to BLAM! some unlucky bastard and rally the rest of the troops back into battle.
Space Marines (AKA Adeptus Astartes aka Spess Mehreens)
The poster boys of Warhammer 40,000 (they get enough publicity, hence not mentioning them first). My first army consists of these guys from the Crimson Fists. They are genetically altered, bio-augmented, power armored super soldier warrior-monks typically armed with chainsaw swords and guns that shoot armor-piercing mass-reactive rockets. Also PAULDRONS. They have some nice tanks, though not nearly as powerful as the Guard, due to the whole super soldier thing I mentioned. They are divided into Chapters of (usually) 1000 Marines (formerly Legions of thousands). Most adhere to a document called the Codex Astartes (written by the UltrasmurfsUltramarinesPrimarch) There are several sub-factions that get their own rulebook: Blood Angels
Angel Vampire Space Marines. They have anger management issues, manifested in the Red Thirst and Black Rage. The Black Rage is when the Blood Angel in question gets to relive the death of their Primarch (it apparently caused some sort of psychic feedback in his Legion) and completely lose their sh*t. The only way to overcome it is in death (though there is at least one who managed it through sheer force of will). Such afflicted Angels are given black armor and assigned to Death Company who act as shock troops, generally murdering everything in their path. Dark Angels
Extra grimdark Knights Templar Space Marines. They have a fetish for plasma weapons. Also they hunt down their traitorous bretheren known as Fallen Angels WHO DO NOT EXIST and were almost traitors themselves WE WERE JUST RUNNING LATE after the destruction of there planet WHICH WAS TOTALLY UNEXPECTED AND NOT HERESY.
Anyway, very secretive and woe to anyone who gets too close to the truth. Loyalists though, definitely loyalists. Space Wolves (aka Wolves of Fenris)
My favorite Chapter, and the second army I started building. Space Viking-Werewolf Space Marines. While the Blood Angels try to follow the Codex Astartes, and the Dark Angels at least pay lip service, the Space Wolves openly reject it. They are the Emperor's Executioners (there are 2 Legions of the original twenty who have been expunged from the Imperial records; it is heavily implied the Space Wolves exterminated them on orders from the Emperor, who is admittedly kind of a jerk). Their troop organization differs somewhat. Also somewhat hypocritical (We don't use psykers, we use Rune Priests, which are totally the same thing but we won't say so) but I won't get into it too much as people get touchy about these things :)
I think they're awesome. So there.
The Inquisition
Nobody expects the Inquisition. Their job is to root out heresy in the Imperium. They tend to be a little too good at their job, because grimdark, and so anyone who kind of almost might perhaps resemble a heretic in the right lighting is probably going to be BLAMmed just in case. In addition to the normal humans (with shiny toys for destroying heretics) this includes:
Grey Knights Psychic Super Space Marines. Shiny, shiny armor and absolute (almost?) unbreakable will vs Chaos. Though Space Marines, they are not part of the Adeptus Astartes, rather they are the Ordo Malleus of the Inquisition. Their augmentations (aka geneseed) are supposedly based on that of the Emperor himself. They get bonuses to killing Daemons and all carry force weapons (chance to instagib multi-wound models).
Sisters Of Battle (aka Adepta Sororitas aka Nuns With Guns aka Bolter B*tches) Female Space Marines (basically; they have Power Armor but lack genetic alteration and bio-augmentation, at least to the ridiculous extent of Astartes). Even more religiously fanatical than most Space Marine Chapters. GW hates them so they tend to suck. Moving on...
The Warp is Hell and Hyperspace (seriously; the Imperium relies on it for faster-than-light travel) and home to the Ruinous Powers. I won't go into detail, but the 4 Chaos Gods are: Khorne, Tzeench, Nurgle, and Slaanesh. There are essentially two sub-factions for tabletop purposes:
Chaos Daemons
Yep, Daemon instead of Demon. I don't know why. Anyway, the Warp manifests all emotions generated by living beings, particularly those with a strong Warp presence (basically psychic connection), such as humans and Eldar. And because the Warp was long ago twisted into the source of all evil, everything gets horribly messed up. The result is typically Daemons, horrific monsters with unspeakable powers. Most normal humans are driven mad simply seeing these guys. Others tend to get BLAMmed by the Inquisition because of potential corruption. All Daemons belong to one of the Chaos Gods. They range from minor Daemons up to the truly terrifying Greater Daemons such as Bloodthirsters, which is pretty much the incarnation of horribly brutal murder.
ELDAR (aka Space Elves aka Elfdar)
Manipulative space elf ninja wizards. Powerful psykers. They use the Webway for FTL travel. While generally regarded as one of the, ah, "good" factions, this is the race that helped birth a Chaos God (Slaanesh, who is actively trying to eat their souls) and will happily wipe out a planet of several billion humans to save a few of their own (they have something of a superiority complex). Still, Chaos is their common enemy with the Imperium and so the two factions have been known to put aside their differences from time to time and maintain relatively friendly relations... sometimes.
DARK ELDAR (aka Deldar)
Evil space elf ninja pirates. Powerful psykers, though they don't really use them to stay hidden from Slaanesh (their less evil brethren have a work-around for that). Also users of the Webway. These are the guys who are not so sorry for the whole birthed-a-Chaos-God-and-damned-our-whole-race incident and are still out looking for the highest highs and any other form of pleasure (or any feeling whatsoever, torture and bondage are common themes). Arguably the most grimdark race in the game.
Ahem, anyway, highly aggressive football hooligan fungal humanoids with ridiculous technology that literally runs on wishes and dreams. They love dakka and need moar of it. These maniacally violent/violently maniacal creatures serve as the settings comic relief. Let that sink in for a bit.
NECRONS
Formerly Terminator expies. Now Terminator expies with an Egyptian theme, or Tomb KingsIN SPAAAAACE!!!! depending on how you want to look at it. Once they wanted to destroy all life in the galaxy, but this was retconned because the Tyranids were doing that too so it made them redundant or something. They want to destroy most life but need some to take over their bodies or something, they apparently don't want to stay regenerating murder robots. They like tesla weapons and giant battle pyramids (it's actually pretty awesome).
TYRANIDS
Neutral hungry space bug lizard things bent on omnomnomming all life in the galaxy. Sweet, sweet models. Arguably the largest army in the setting (some ridiculous estimate says their biomass is equal to one third of the galaxy or something). If you like huge creatures and swarm armies, this is the army for you.
TAU EMPIRE
Space communist weeaboo fish people with sweet guns and Gundam suits. These guys are arguably the nicest race in the galaxy (though they may or may not use mind control, prison camps and forced castration for those who don't get with the program). Generally the least grimdark race in the setting, which is played up as naivete, as grimdark is needed just to survive. They lack Warp presence and as such, their FTL travel sucks so their Empire's expansion has been painfully slow. But they have absurdly powerful railguns and jetpacks on their Gundam suits. Shootiest army in the game. Do not get into close combat if you like winning or not looking like a complete idiot.
So there's my condensed and probably not very insightful take on the armies of Warhammer 40,000. Let me know your favorite army in the comments (or why I am stupid for supporting the Space Wolves and not the Dark Angels or Ultrasmurfs Ultramarines).
It's actually now officially past my birthday, but I suppose this could double as a Christmas wish list as well. (Or Easter? Father's Day? Arbor Day? National Doughnut Day? Any excuse for stuff). So without further ado, here is my current Top 10. Note: Not everything here is feasible unless you are a wealthy individual who does not like to stay wealthy due to buying really expensive stuff for random strangers.
1. DONATIONS TO EXTRA LIFE: I am as of this writing at $50 of my personal $250 goal. So there's still a ways to go, but hey, I'll be streaming the marathon on my Twitch channel (I think mysterysquick and I will be alternating Twitch channels each year) and it goes for 24 hours so you also get to see us slowly descend into madness. We will play games new(ish) and old (squick and I have a fetish for classic console games) and squick's Wii U will hopefully make an appearance. So help out some kids at Hasbro Children's Hospital!
2. PINNACLE STUDIO 17 ULTIMATE: The biggest need I have for my YouTube hobby right now is a better video editor. Movie Maker is adequate but it lacks certain features that would be helpful (such as photo/video overlays). I don't need 4k support as my videos are produced in 720p, but the more features I can get the better, and this is one of the more reasonably-priced suites that I can tell. Feel free to offer suggestions in the comments if you disagree :)
3. 1969 CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1: A bargain at 6 figures. OK, maybe bargain isn't the right word. But it's the rarest Camaro ever built, only 69 of them were made. It packs a 427 ci V8, normally reserved for the Corvette of the day. I will also accept a 1969 SS 396, 1990 IROC-Z, or a 1992 Pontiac Trans Am.
4. Full Size Quad Cab 4x4 Pickup Truck: Ok, no links here since I don't ultimately care that much if it's a Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado 1500 or Toyota Tundra. This is a bit more practical that the muscle cars above, as I've run into situations where I've said "Gee, I really wish I had a pickup truck right now." It would have to be a quad cab due to children requiring that I have a full size back seat. Unfortunately that means less bed but oh well. Of course, that's only if I replace my sedan. If it's to be a third vehicle then I imagine a regular cab should be fine.
5. Grand Theft Auto V preorder for PC: I'm starting to get a bit hooked on this game with the limited play time I have gotten. I would certainly run a YouTube series chronicling my exploits.
6. Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade preorder: Specifically the Warrior Pack. The game will have a free-to-play option (Orks) but I ultimately want to play a Space Marine which requires the full purchase. This will also get me access to the game's beta which would allow me to preview the game on my YouTube channel.
7. New Space Wolves Codex and Stormclaw Boxed Set: I have mentioned before that I play the tabletop game. I currently have 2 armies: Crimson Fists Space Marines and a small detachment of Space Wolves Space Marines. My codex is the previous edition and is now outdated (or will be when the new codex is released on Saturday). The boxed set will not only give me more Space Wolves (likely allowing me to run a full army) but will also get me a small army of Orks which is the army I'd like to run next anyway, as well as a miniature 7th edition rulebook (still annoyed that my 6th edition rulebook is outdated. Only got it a year ago). Where was this box 3 years ago??? Sadly the box is going to be a limited run.
8. Condenser Microphone Kit: I love my Razer Kraken headset. It's the most comfortable headset I have ever used, and it sounds great. The microphone is the area where it's lacking, and this is a common thread among headsets. It's serviceable, to be sure, and it's not a huge hassle to use Audacity to clean it up. But at some point I'll need to simply break down and get a new mic. This includes a USB condenser microphone with stand, pop filter and polishing cloth.
9. Castle in the Scottish Highlands: Running item from when I used to give my parents humorous Christmas lists. And who wouldn't want their own castle?
10. Steam gift cards: As I am back to being a PC gamer first, console gamer second, I have greatly expanded my Steam library through the Humble Bundle (while helping out charity no less!). But there's one issue with the Humble Bundle: No control over which games are offered. This is obviously not a deal breaker. After all, they offer bundles of games starting at just $1. But that's also left me with games I don't necessarily want (though I will still likely run YouTube vids on them). Steam cards will allow me to get the games I want and take advantage of the many sales Steam runs over the course of the year (including the big ones: the Summer Sale and Holiday Sale).
So there's my current Top 10. Now get out there and start spending your hard earned money making my wishes come true! (I have no idea why you would do that. I'll just assume you're a wealthy individual who does not like to stay wealthy due to buying really expensive stuff for random strangers)
After I brought my son home today (I took him to the Red Sox-Yankees game last night. It was his first Red Sox game so he had a blast even though the damn Yankees won. At least he got to see Derek Jeter play!) we fired up GTA V again. He offered to let me use Franklin's garage for whatever cars I want. He was originally going to let me use Michael's but decided since I already have a car in Franklin's garage, and he'd miss those cars less, that I'd be better off. So I added on to my heavily modified red (with white stripes) Imponte Phoenix. We bought a Bravado Gauntlet (lawyer-friendly Dodge Challenger) which I think I painted dark blue with a silver stripe, and a Declasse Vigero, a lawyer-friendly Camaro, which I painted Formula Red (I think I put gold rims on this one, along with a big blower on the hood). I then dumped the exotic (not sure what it was) and got a Dubsta 6x6 (yes, a 6 wheel drive truck). I painted it purple with silver accents and made it look as badass as possible (I think I would still prefer a Sandking XL).
Once cars were done i got to mess around with fighting the cops for no other reason than to blow stuff up and see if I can get away. I took my Vigero as the getaway vehicle, and parked it on the second floor of a building under construction. I took out my minigun (yeeessssssss....) and started blasting away at the first crappy car (well, it was crappy when I finished with it) I saw. I then blew up the first police cruiser that arrived (likely taking the cops with it) and fired away at the helicopter when it arrived. It didn't blow up, so I took cover and switched to an assault rifle. After gunning a few cops down I jumped in my car and took off, jumping from the second floor to the street below and engaged in a high-speed chase. Muscle cars don't steer well, I should warn you, nor do they brake well. The water in the aqueduct was unkind. I got knocked around a bit in there, but I still nearly evaded the police by hiding in a tunnel. Nearly, because just as they seemed about to quit, I was spotted. I eventually got slammed into a post (taking a good chunk of my car out) and busted. And easily forgiven, as I was released from the hospital moments later (the criminal justice system in Los Santos leaves something to be desired).
My son tried his hand at some mayhem but his exploits were cut short when he somehow didn't notice a roadblock and plowed into it, sending Michael through the windshield and onto the street. Oops.
The next thing I ended up doing was climbing to the top of on of the hospitals, near the helipad. There were 2 helicopters there, so there was my getaway vehicle. I then took out an rpg and blew up the first car that stopped in my line of sight. Followed by blowing up another car, and then a cruiser. This was followed by successfully testing whether police helicopters explode when struck by an RPG round. By then things were getting hairy, so I jumped in a helicopter and took off. Unfortunately, medical helicopters aren't any faster than police helicopters, and after taking a few hits, I bailed, only to have one of the police helicopters run into me. Oops.
So causing mayhem in GTA V was quite fun, though I enjoy customizing cars a lot too. Needless to say I really want this game when it's released for the PC later this year.
