Limbo

I am beginning to think that I am in some sort of limbo. I remember an episode of St Elsewhere when one of the characters ended up in Limbo. He was surrounded by the people who didn't do but had an opinion about everything.  I remember there being a lot of people dressed up in referee outfits. Armchair referees who never got up to go and watch a match let alone play a game. This is starting to feel a bit like me. I should be painting stuff for Zomtober but I can't get to my workbench at the moment. There are reasons for this so I guess I haven't got that much to complain about.

I heard about the passing of Michael Leader, the Clumsy Stormtrooper. I am sure I have seen this guy at a convention a good while ago. But the internet seems to have convinced me that Mace Windu is in fact Supreme Leader Snoke and it follows (apparently) that Rey is Palpatine's daughter and Finn is Mace Windu's son. It labels itself as an insane fan theory but is seems to have a lot on consistency with the "facts".

So I am looking for other stuff to do. YouTube is getting a bit of a pounding. Unlike my normal YouTube binges, things are a little more diverse. I might do a bit more about this on another day. I have just started playing X-Com 2. This has made me think that I need to but myself a better laptop. I have money to spend so this might be happening soon. My dad got me the one I have now so that might be a bit of a wrench.

Things are a bit of a problem even for some solo gaming. I would love to do some but at the moment at least, this isn't on the cards either. I am looking for something new, but I guess that I am just going to keep doing what I am doing. Skyrim remastered is on it's way in just under three weeks so I guess that I have that to look forward to.

I will have to console myself with the big ass UHD TV.

Star Wars: Imperial Assault

I have played a number games of Imperial Assault now and I am starting to like it. My original feeling was that I liked it because of the figures. I am a huge Star Wars fan and I think I was a fan before anyone else I knew. This was mainly due to seeing the Palitoy action figures in a shop window. So it really was the figures that really attracted me to the game. I didn't really want to buy it because it was too expensive but I guess I will get round to it, if only for the figures.

This was despite my first impression that this was just another "funky dice game". This is probably one of my core gaming prejudices with collectible card games being the other. What I don't like about it is the mechanics for moving between scenarios is a little complicated and time consuming. That said, now that is has been played a few times and the rules are becoming understood, the turn around time is becoming a little more fluid. There is a lot of admin as well. So much that it needs an app to handle it all. Sadly the apps need a little work doing to them and they don't cover all the expansions.

The tiles for the game are pretty good too. I like the idea of using these for role playing as well. I am not sure that I would buy the game purely for the tiles but if I did, I think I would scan them to make up the tiles as mats and keep the tiles for the board game. I could really see this being useful in a Titansgrave game and maybe even use the tiles from Imperial Assault's sister game, Descent  which should give a sci/fantasy/post-apocalypse vibe and I think the Doom game might be using the same format.

There are plenty of minis. All the main characters are there and enough NPC (rebels and imperials) to be the basis of an RPG which I think was the original plan for buying it. If you throw in a few more mainstream sci-fi RPG figures and you have the basis for a nice game. With all the expansion packs already available and several more potentially on their way, I  can see most of the characters from the films making their way in to a pack.

Jyn Odan has been "my" character whilst we have been playing this. A sly smuggler who seems to spend most of her time on her back, unconscious. The characters all are nicely different, each with a flair for something.

I Love Windows 10 :-(

When I downloaded Windows 10 it was alright. I am not a huge fan of Microsoft and would probably still be using Windows Me if it could keep up with the software. People have said it's a little like Star Trek films, the odd numbers are really bad. Other people have said that it's unlike Star Trek because it the even ones are bad. I am on the fence with that, as just recently, they all seem to be pretty awful. But at least they have gotten better after release as the patches have come out. Until Now!!!

I think the thing that gets me the most is the start the logging on process. The first page on boot up used to have a pretty picture. Now we have a a black screen. Windows still asks you "do you like what you see." It's a blank screen, I might not have liked all the pictures before but this is a blank screen, what is there to like. You have the option to enquire about the picture that should be there but as you don't know what it is, why would I bother?

It then started to get worse. They started putting adverts on it. I hate adverts. They are the bane of the internet. Nothing tells me that the net has changed like the presence of adverts. I go to great lengths to get away from them. Now, sadly, they have got to a stage where I can't get rid of the damn things. If it wasn't for the software I use, I would probably do that. That said, I think Mac is even worse.

And yes, my screen could really use a clean.