I finally got through the main storyline in Fallout 3 this week. I’d encountered a hiccup near the end of the story that caused me to lose both my companions (they were stuck in Vault 87), and I couldn’t let Dogmeat die like that, so I re-played from a savegame and sent Dogmeat home before going into the Vault. Just to be safe, I also sent Paladin Cross (my lesbian lover, in my version of the story) away before hooking up with Fawkes. I’ve decided to keep Fawkes for the time being, if only because the text to dismiss him seems so mean and Trump-like (“You’re fired, Fawkes.” Really? They couldn’t have just made it be, “Let’s part ways, my friend.” or something like that?). After Raven Rock blew up, I was quickly able to verify that Cross had made it back to the Citadel safely (though I didn’t re-recruit her). Dogmeat wasn’t at Vault 101, though. So, I zapped myself over to the scrapyard and came across three raiders, right where Dogmeat is found. Fawkes and I killed them off, but I still didn’t find my Dogmeat. Just to be sure, I zapped back to Vault 101, thinking I’d wait there for him for a day or so. As the Vault 101 door faded into view, I could hear Dogmeat panting and squeed with joy. My dog! Yay! I saved him! With our family happily reunited, we headed back to my Megaton apartment to stow stuff and rest before continuing to the end of the game. Dogmeat is having to adjust to being a house-pup, as I’m not taking him on anything dangerous. Granted, I’m level 23 now, so he has to be pretty strong, but I have seen a giant radscorpion take him out before. So, mainly, I keep him at home to sleep at the foot of my bed. I have plenty of meat in my cabinets, not that he truly eats any of it.

Later on, in the first mission of Broken Steel, I ran into Paladin Cross again, though she wasn’t named. It just called her “Brotherhood of Steel Paladin”, but from her voice, face, and dialogue, I could tell it was her leading the charge as we stormed the satellite base, with the flamer gun I gave her, I think. She pretended not to remember me (the bitch). I may still switch back out for her. Fawkes is nice for clearing rooms of minor enemies that I don’t want to bother with (ghouls and whatnot), as well as major enemies that annoy me (deathclaws)…but he also makes the game pretty darn easy. I wonder if cranking the difficulty up would make it harder, even with Fawkes? Hmm.

In other news, I saw a flying deathclaw today, like the ones shown in these videos. Mine was at F. Scott Key Campground, and it was hilarious. It’s the one that is scripted in to kill a wastelander, so it kept re-spawning and then flying up…infinite flying deathclaw! The wastelander was still dead, though, so the deathclaw must have killed him before he flew into the air. The best part was that Fawkes kept trying to shoot at the deathclaw flying in the air. He also got increasingly frustrated that the deathclaw wouldn’t come back and fight him; he kept screaming at the mid-air deathclaws! If I can get the glitch to happen again, I may record it because it’s *that* amusing.

Unfortunately, the support for Papaya Farm is really minimal. The developer is based in China, and the English instructions provided in the game are both in broken English and not complete. Once you get into it, it’s really fun though. You start with a small plot of land and access to only a few seed types, like carrots. Planting, harvesting, and re-plowing results in getting tools. For example, you can get a carrot blender to make carrot juice. Eventually, when you’ve played for awhile, you start getting repeats of tools and/or needing specific tools. That’s where the social game gets fun. Papaya provides a cross-platform (iPhone, Facebook, Android) chat area where you can meet up with other Papayans and set up trades for tools. This has led to some Type A documentation on my part…I have a GDocs spreadsheet online with all the products I’ve made, what I’m working on, what tools I have available to trade, etc. You can see the public trading page at my Papaya Farm GDoc. I’ve also got a big table of seeds, values, tools, etc. posted there that you’re welcome to download and modify for your own purposes.

If you want to friend me in Papaya Farm, my user name is exactly what you’d expect: tsukata. My avatar has pink hair, and it will say that I’m a US user on Android. (Papaya allows people to duplicate user names, so you need to know someone’s user name as well as a few details to make sure you’re friending the right person.)

I’m also happy to answer questions that people have about the game. Here’s a few tips on using the app to start:

• In-game money is earned by selling products in the game. Papayas are earned by completing offers, buying them directly (using real money), or referring friends to the game. You also get a regular papaya bonus just for logging in. Papayas have significant in-game value, especially as you progress further in the game, so don’t waste them on early purchases of avatar clothing and such.
• When you exit Papaya Farm (pressing quit from the farm), you can click your Android menu button to access “Home” (your profile, f-list, and inbox), “Chat/IM” (where the chat rooms are), and other helpful sub-areas of Papaya.
• If you’re a new Papaya user, a friend (like me) can get bonus papayas by referring you. There’s a field for referrer when you first sign up with Papaya Mobile. Get your friend’s referrer ID (mine is my e-mail address ) to give them credit for your registration. They’ll thank you!
• Chickens and cows can be converted into meat to feed cats and other carnivores. Before you start on a carnivore, raise enough chickens and cows to feed it. Chickens have a better grass-to-meat exchange rate, but it’s faster to get more meat by raising cows.
• Don’t buy a ranch or farm dog. It requires regular upkeep of dog food, which costs papayas. I can’t tell you how many Papyans are begging for dog food in the chat room because the dog’s animation when he’s hungry is so pitiful. No one can steal from you bad enough to justify the ongoing cost of the dog.
• Speaking of stealing, it’s a normal part of Papaya. You earn respect points (which gets you periodic bonus items) by stealing from your friends *and* by being stolen from. In fact, it’s a common strategy to leave a pile of eggs laying around in the ranch for people to steal, because you get respect points for every item stolen. Your last fruit on the vine and last product on the ranch generally can’t be stolen, with the exception of “fast” fruits like pumpkins and grass. Someone has to use a special card to steal the last item.
• However, plowing other people’s fields is a faux pas. Because plowing is how you get tools, and tools have the most value, plowing your friends’ fields is a sure way to lose friends. But, it’s your call in the end. Personally, I never leave my fields unplowed. I plow as soon as I harvest. But, some folks like to leave them unharvested because there’s a theory out there that you’re more likely to get tools if you’re plowing more fields successively. Also, my personal rule is that the “friend plots” (the areas where only your friends can plant) are fair game for either the friend or me to plow once we harvest.

Hope this helps!

PS – I’ve created a Papaya Fan tumblr, since I wanted to play around with tumblr anyways. You can submit questions and tips over there, and I will post it. Papaya Fan on Tumblr

My ballot is:

1. Pentago Multi-player – I really debated giving this one the slot, because it is basically just an add-on of something that has won a Mensa Select before…but it’s a really good game that embodies the Mensa brand.
2. Fish Stix – It’s just fun. It was a strong contender for first. It’s got enough strategy to be fun to those that want to play it strategically without excluding or losing value to people who want to play for fun only. It’s got a nice Ingenious element, with a much prettier and more pleasing aesthetic.
3. Q-bitz – Another one that embodies Mensa brand…and it’s accessible. Anyone could be good at it, I think.
4. Anomia – A nice improvement on Snorta with a bit of pop culture/trivia thrown in for good measure.
5. Tri-Cross – Abstract strategy that is eminently playable, accessible, and enjoyable. It’s not one I’d play every day, but I wouldn’t turn it down.
6. Bisikle – RV is chiding me for including a dexterity game, but it’s just really fun with good components. Even if dex games aren’t exactly “mensa” esque, you’re telling me Apples to Apples is???
7. Word on the Street – It’s a nifty party game with a tug of war where you try to use words with letters that you “pull” to your side, and the words have to fit a random theme. Worth playing.

Games that I would have nominated if they were on my list include: Cornucopia, Stix & Stones, and Arimaa.

So that’s it. I’m headed down now just to play games for fun and help other people finish their ballots. As before, you can view my entire list with comments, ratings, etc. at Mindgames 2010 Ratings/Ballot.

PS – For those who don’t know how Mindgames works or what it is: Mindgames is the convention where Mensa selects games to receive the Mensa Select seal. Game designers and manufacturers can submit games that either haven’t been released yet or were released in the past year and have never been submitted before. In addition to being entered as possible seal contenders, they get back ratings cards that we fill out with feedback on the game, like where we see potential for improvement or notes on ideal marketing or play. Each Mensan Judge is required to play a random selection of 30 games (assigned when you register). The judge must complete the assigned 30 games to submit his/her ballot for the award. (Yes, you have to complete 30 games in less than 2 days. But, as you can tell from my posts…it’s not that hard to get through the list, especially if you’re a frequent gamer who can digest rules quickly.) The judge may play additional games not on their ballot list but may not vote for those additional games. At the end of the weekend, the votes are tallied, the winners are announced, and the 5 copies of each game that were submitted by the makers are distributed to the judges as a thank you for participating. You are only eligible for the free games if you submitted a valid ballot.

If you want to check out my game lists with ratings and comments, click this link: Mindgames 2010 Ratings/Ballot

• Time’s Up
• L4D2 (XBox 360)
• Wasabi!
• Hare & Tortoise
• Mall of Horror
• ebay (electronic game)
• Smallworld

Smallworld continues to be a favorite, though I still think of it as Vinci Lite. Pillars would have hit the table, but we didn’t want to play it six player. Through The Ages continues to be a tough one to get played, mainly because of the steep learning curve and long playtime. We had a really good group, with a nice mix of gamers and non-gamers. We also had a ton of delicious alcoholic beverages, thanks to our bartender, B*. The five of us that were staying the night got quite snockered. We set up the second XBox for L4D2 so that three of us could play online at once. That was really fun. It’s nice to play L4D2 with people I know instead of just random strangers.

For the rest of the weekend, I’m doing some random home projects.

Now, first, what can you deduce from this sign?

ANSWER (highlight to the right of this to see): The floor is frequently slippery.

If you got it right, congratulations on your skills of deduction. I guess if you can’t make that deduction, you deserve to fall on the floor.

Also, from the graphic, it seems like the sign is actually warning you that the floor frequently contains Portals.

PS – This is a joke, not a real test. If you got here by googling…this probably wasn’t what you were looking for.

The only exception to my praise for GMs has been the Empire Builder event. The GMs are really lax, if they show up at all. There’s little if any randomization of the event seating. And, for example, DH was in a game yesterday that they added a relatively unfamiliar player as a fifth person at the last minute…which meant his game ran a good hour longer than the others without being anywhere close to done. Plus, the GM originally said they’d adjudicate the game at 1:30, but then the GM left and didn’t tell anyone how to resolve it. Another GM helper came in and said to keep it going until 1:45 or until the original GM came back, but the original GM never came back. Then, that GM wanted to keep it going until 2pm, but a bunch of the players protested, as most of them were now going into their next event with almost no break, once you figure in time to break down and put away the game. (The one guy who wanted it to keep going was the unfamiliar player, who also was generally slowing the game down by asking irrelevant questions during his turn and such. And I mean, I’d feel bad for him, but he showed up late and let himself be added to a game as a fifth player, knowing that he didn’t know the game that well…and then was generally asshattish on top of slowing things down unnecessarily.) So, point being, I’m avoiding EB events here. Maybe I’m just spoiled to the TGA’s organization. I criticize the TGA often for being clique-y and often biased toward the clique, but they do run an excellent tournament.

The downside of the WBC is that it’s 2 hours from the nearest major airport. It’s also a con that runs 70% of its “open” events during the week. (The weekend is mostly semis and finals, with a few of the super-popular events still doing heats, e.g., Puerto Rico, St. Petersburg, TTR.) Thus, you really need to arrive by Tuesday evening. Granted, that’s only one day earlier than I’d typically arrive at GenCon, but the point being that, if you don’t make it into a final, Saturday and Sunday feel like wasted days, I imagine. But, I’ll see how that goes.

So far, I’ve qualified for the Power Grid semi-final and the Stone Age semi-final. DH has qualified for the Vegas Showdown semi-final.

I miss my Pancake! I wish he could travel with me.

Speaking of travel, I found out 2 days ago that I’m going to have to go to Taiwan for work, leaving the Friday after I get back from this. I don’t mind going to Taiwan again (Din Tai Fung!!!!!), and the timing is good in that I’m not starting school yet. But, the timing sucks in that our Adorable Nephew #1 is visiting us that week. I’d been looking forward to taking him to cool things and generally spoiling him rotten. As is, I may get to see him briefly on Friday afternoon after I get back from Taiwan, but that’ll be it.

That’s all the news.

For my part, this is why I have trouble supporting groups like EqualityNow (though I did contribute to them during the Fannish fundraiser re: Prop 8 that was held on LJ). It’s why I have trouble with NOW, why I had to resign as VP of the LA chapter. I don’t believe in the prosecution of thought crimes, no matter what the potential crime is. (I also don’t believe in putting rape on a pedestal above other crimes. It’s a very terrible thing, yes…it’s a form of torture and just as sick and twisted as torture in its execution. But, there are other terrible things that don’t get anywhere near the attention…and IMO, the way the American feminist movement has escalated rape has, in fact, fetishized it even more.) A video game doesn’t convince you to rape someone, nor to murder. (It also won’t convince you to do things that are even less morally questionable. My husband could play Webkinz all day long, and he’ll never have the want to buy more plushies like I do.) You have to have the desire in you already, the moral/ethical disregard or psychosis, and if you do, and you don’t work out your issues or seek treatment, it’s going to come out someday, no matter what game you play or don’t play.

But, Penn says all this way better than I do, and what’s more, he says it while basking in the Las Vegas sunshine, just meters from his lovely technicolor backyard:

You see, the ACBL instituted a really stupid rule the year before I joined. The rank of Life Master has colored point requirements, intended (to some extent) to require you to play at high-skill events to qualify for the rank. For most people, the hardest color to get is gold, because getting gold requires you to play at a (so-called) nationally ranked* event…and win. You’re also required to get a certain quantity of silver (sectional level) and red (regional level) points. So, it’s Gold > Red > Silver > Black (club games) > Colorless (internet play). These colored requirements existed before I joined. And, I have a ton of red points, all the silver I need plus some, and all the gold I need plus some. I also have a high amount of colorless points, because we play on the internet (BBO) alot.

But, the year before I joined, the ACBL instituted a rule that requires you to get black points. Specifically, you have to get 50 black points, which is more than any other required color. And, unlike any other colored point, having the point color that is a rank above black doesn’t count toward black points. That is, you can’t use a spare 50 silver points as black points.

Here’s my beef with this rule (aside from that it’s keeping me from being an official LM):

• It’s damn hard to get 50 black points. Club games don’t give out very many points per session, because they’re *club* games…they aren’t supposed to be very competitive, so they don’t reward you very much for winning. Also, they don’t get high attendance, and point award limits are based on attendance. The most you can get is ~1.5 points, for a top award at a well-populated club game. So, just getting up to 50 points is much harder than at a sectional, regional, or national.
• You can only get black points at clubs. Silver points are occasionally given out at clubs, and red points are sometimes given out at NAOPs and GNTs (special events that aren’t regionals). But, the only way you can get black points is to go to a club game.
• Most club games are held during the day, because most club players are retired. We’re actually relatively lucky to have as many club games near us as we do, but even with that, it’s very hard for a person who works a standard week to get out to a club game. If you live in an area less bridge-oriented than here, it’s very likely that you, as a working person, wouldn’t be able to find a club game at all. (By the way, even though there are two clubs here with decent timing that are 10 and 23 miles away from us respectively, we’re also a bit screwed because this area has a higher-than-normal density of very good bridge players…meaning those club games are VERY hard to win.)
• Even though the concerns with internet play are mostly unfounded and based on fear rather than reality (and easily preventable if the ACBL cared to do so), internet “clubs” don’t get you black points. They get you colorless points, and only a third of your points for any rank can be colorless. Meaning, for LM, only 100 colorless points count, even if you have more than that. (I don’t have more than 100 colorless, but it’d be much easier for me to hit that point count than to get 50 black, just because there are more internet games in the evenings and on weekends, and I don’t have to leave the house to do one.)
• With the exception of the club games in this area, club games don’t (or shouldn’t) require special skill to win. You’re generally playing with the same people over and over again, not a wide base of bridge talent. So, whereas the red and gold requirement (and even silver to some extent) can be justified as requiring a certain level of play, the club point requirement only exists to force you to spend $$$ at the clubs, which were supposedly suffering vs. regionals and sectionals. And rather than let the bridge version of the free market do its job, the ACBL created an artificial incentive to bail out the clubs.

If I gave a damn (or if I thought the ACBL did), I might write all of this down and send it to them. But, I’m pretty well convinced that the ACBL is filled with retirees who, for all their moaning about getting young people to play, are not willing to learn or accept the technology that would actually encourage people my age and younger to take up the game…and that they’re arrogant asses to boot. So, I’ve decided I’m quite happy with being a fake Life Master and that I may well *intentionally* avoid club games just so that I never get my LM under this stupid rule.

Oh, and what’s better is that I got my fLM with internet points. Ha and ha! Take that, ACBL! fLM party to be scheduled at a later date…possibly over Memorial Day weekend.

* Note: There’s a color even higher than gold: platinum. The events that award platinum are what I would consider nationally ranked events…but that’s just semantics, I suppose.

“There is no reason an adult should have this game,” says Andy Anderson, Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force.

Anderson says adults playing “animal crossing” and similar games are likely doing it for the wrong reasons.

Really? I haven’t played AC yet, but I want to play it. I also, as y’all know, play Webkinz, a game targeted at kids. I’m one of at least thirty adults I know of who do. Oh, and by the way, I have no, zero, zip interest in doing anything “wrong” with kids. Andy Anderson needs a reality check.

(By the way, it’s also worth noting that in Animal Crossing for Wii, as in ALL Wii games, you have to have both parties exchange friend codes before you can play together online. You can see mine in the sidebar at right or on the About Me page. That is, just because you have my friend code means nothing. I don’t see that you have my friend code, and I don’t see that you added me unless I also have your friend code and have inputted it. That’s not some arcane privacy setting; that’s how Wii works. On top of that necessary 2-way exchange, AC has a separate code that must be exchanged and set correctly by both parties, and you have to both be online at the same time *and* accept a chat session to be able to freely speak. In short, there’s no way for a predator to target a kid playing Animal Crossing or any Wii game without some serious effort on the part of the kid, not to mention a huge lack of oversight by the parents, considering that parental controls can block every single step in the process if desired.)