25 December 2014

Merry Christmas



Wishing you a fantastical Christmas and Holiday season.

Write ya later!

(picture from The Ranting Dragon)

08 December 2014

Soccer Update

Hello everyone.

Just a quick update to say that I have some awesome news (well, I think it is just awesome and that is what really matters).

I have talked before about my eldest daughter playing soccer. Well, they just finished another fall season and went almost undefeated, losing only one game. This put them into the playoffs for the championship. This took place this past weekend.

On Saturday, they played three games. They won all three games, allowing only one goal. The scores were: 5 - 0, 2 - 0, and 3 - 1. Again, my daughter did an awesome job scoring a total of 4 goals. As a side not (and a proud daddy moment), in the third game Evencia got kicked just below the knee but above the shin guard. I thought she was going to be out of the game because she wasn't able to get up right away. But with an exceptional show to toughness, she lay on the ground for awhile and when she was able to stand, she chose to stay in the game. In fact, she went on to score a goal after that.(proud daddy moment over).

These victories got them into the championship game, which took place Sunday. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see that game, I had to work. If I had known about it earlier I would have taken the time off. Anyways, they also won this game (6 - 0).

We also found out that because they made it to the championship game, they also made it into the district playoffs next weekend in Uvalde, TX. I mean, how awesome is that. 10 yrs old and already she is leading her team into championships (very proud daddy moment).

Okay, okay. It isn't only my daughter that got them there. Everyone on the team does an awesome job. We have an awesome goalie who doesn't allow hardly any shots past her that somehow get past the rest of the team. Awesome defenders one of which has a major power kick for a 10 yr old (not to mention she is quite tall for her age). The other defender is good enough with the ball to be an awesome forward on any other team. But then you have our trio of strikers that just wear down the opposing defense. They are fast and have great foot work all. Not too mention they are also the shortest ones on the team.

So that is the news I wanted to share. I will try to do another, more project based update later in the week. And also be on the look out for an update on the district playoff games next week.

Write ya later.

Edit:
I thought I would mention that I now have a Twitter account, @kntwriter if any of you are interested in following me.

25 November 2014

To WOW again

Well hello all my great followers who haven't given up on me. I know it has been ... 4 months?!? Wow, I wonder if anyone is going to read this. But I shall write it anyways, read or not.

My blog isn't the only thing that I am returning to this month. I have also started playing WOW (World of Warcraft for those that don't know) again. I haven't played it since just before the Cataclysm update, but I had always thought about playing again. Then about a month ago I saw that Amazon was selling the box set for $20. You would get the basic set along with all the expansions up through Mists of Pandaria. That is a pretty good deal. And with all the talk of the new expansion (Warlords of Draenor) I started thinking about it even more.

So I went one day to Battle.net because I had read that you could play WOW for free up to level 20. I got the starter pack and began playing. It was fun and since Cataclysm shook everything up, the initial quests were different than I remembered. I was debating on whether I wanted to purchase the base game and start playing again.

Now fast forward to a couple days ago. (Yes, I could play for weeks without reaching level 20. I have this problem with continuously restarting characters. Ask my sister, she used to play WOW with me. Now, let me get back to my story. Thank you.) I logged onto the game to play and it pops up an ad saying that you can get the box set I talked about earlier for half off. Interest piqued. I went to Blizzards online store and saw that they were indeed selling it for $10. That was a deal I couldn't pass up. (And just to let you all know the sale is over.) So, I bought the game (all the way through Mists of Pandaria) and now have 30 days before I will have to start paying them to play.

There have been quite a few changes since I last played, not all of which I like. Now I haven't reached too high of level (my highest character is a 12th level Dwarven Hunter) but I will talk about what I have experienced.

Like I said before, Cataclysm shook things up. And so quite a few of the starting quests have changed. Not all, but enough that it is like exploring a new … not sure if world is quite the right word but it is the one that comes to mind. So far I have only explored the Orc, Dwarf, and Gnome starting areas. When I reached Loch Modan I got to see some of the physical changes to the landscape. The lake there is nothing but a mud puddle now and the dam is basically gone.

The change that I am not sure I like very well is the way characters develop now. When I last played, you would get points that you used to select your skills with some of them being able to take multiple times to improve damage and such. This way you would be able to build your character they way you wanted to play. Now as you level, you unlock skill automatically. No more choosing which skills you want to concentrate on. You do get to pick a specialization when you reach level 10, and I have read in the game that you can pick a second specialization later which you can switch back and forth between the two specializations. But I still would prefer to be able to pick my skills.

I suppose that they went this route because they are trying to cater to what most serious, or hardcore, gamers call casual gamers. These are the people who play games for short periods of time and aren't likely to delve into the statistics of a game. They play it mostly for a distraction. Me, I am somewhere in between a hardcore and a casual gamer. I will get into the statistics of a game to a point, in other words just to help me finish the game. But I can, and probably would if it wasn't for outside influences (read my wife and kids), play for hours on end. I enjoy playing games for the story, which is why I tend to gravitate more to RPGs then any other genre.

Overall, I am enjoying the game but I am not sure how much time and money I am going to pump into it at this point. I will probably get a subscription for a couple of months since I did spend to money to buy it. So we shall see where I am at in a couple of months then.

Until next time … Write ya later.



Edit:

I know I hadn't posted this yet so I really don't need to do just an edit. But, I had already written the post and didn't want to re-write it since I had come across some new info about the game.

I was playing my Dwarven Hunter again and got him up to level 15. Apparently they do still do the training points though it looks like the skills you buy with them are enhancements to skills you already have.(ie: with my dwarf I had three different options to enhance my disengage ability. I don't remember what they all were but I chose to add a web to it so when I disengage from an enemy the will get stuck in place for a short period of time.)


Also, I have decided that I am going to create a human Warlock. I really do prefer to play magic types and a Warlock is pretty similar to a Hunter (which I also enjoy playing, just not as much).

31 July 2014

Movies and stuff

I got some exciting news today...well, it's exciting to me.

I found out when the next Hobbit movie is coming out and I got to see a trailer for it. December 17. Yeah, yeah. I figured it was coming in December, but to finally get confirmation and an exact date just makes me squeal with geekery (yeah, I just made that up). I also read more about the up coming Avengers: Age of Ultron. Some pretty exciting stuff.

Speaking of Avengers, I have been getting more and more excited for the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie. When they first announced the movie I wondered why they chose them. I hadn't been to big on the comic, in fact I don't think I ever gave them much attention except when they were mentioned in one of the comics I did read. I mean they have a talking raccoon. A talking RACCOON!?! How is a raccoon super heroic? Those were my thoughts anyways. So, I was never really excited about it.

But, talking raccoon aside (I have liked some of the raccoon's lines I have seen in the trailers) the closer it has gotten to the release date the more I have been interested in seeing the movie. First of all, it does have my favorite villain in it, Thanos (my second favorite is Dr. Doom). I mean, anyone that can go toe to toe with Odin the all-father is pretty cool in my book. There is also the fact that I am a geek and it is a comic book based movie and part of Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so...yeah. I am excited.

I also feel pretty unexcited by the prospect of an Ant Man movie. He is one of my least favorite Marvel characters. But maybe the trailers and my own geekiness will win me over for that one too.

In other news, my writing/game project has been sort of stagnant this last week. When I started thinking about doing the Generation Demigod story line again, I also started to think about doing my multiverse again. I am not sure what it is, whether it is the sheer magnitude of the project or my belief that I can't do it, but quite often when I think about this project I get lethargic with working on it. (Is that the right way to put it?) So, hopefully I can get over this and get back to working on my project (which ever it turns out to be).

But, I have to get my daughter to soccer practice so I shall...


Write ya later.

24 July 2014

Organizing my thoughts

Another fun filled week has gone by and it is time once again for an update on my life.

Woo Hoo!!!!!

On the game front, I did manage to work on it some this past week. I have started to flesh out more of the main quest line. I worked on a couple of new maps too.

Most of the week I did spend messing around with a new program that I thought might help me with my planning. It is called XMind. It is a mind mapping program that is suppose to help you organize your thoughts and help with brainstorming. Well, that is what the definition of mind mapping software says anyways. For me it hasn't helped too much. I have spent more time thinking about how I want the mind map to look like then I did about my project. I am not saying that the program didn't work. I seems to work good. I am talking more about the fact that mind mapping didn't seem to work for me. I have been doing just fine with jotting down notes.

That is why I am sticking with Evernote. I like this because I have it on my phone, my computer, and my tablet. I can jot down a note when I am at work and when I get home, I can pull it up on my computer and use it in my project. I also use it to make lists that I can set up either on my computer or phone and update them when I need to. But, like I said, that is what is working for me. As long as I make a note of my idea, I don't seem to have a problem remembering the connections.

I know I was suppose to do a review for Crusader Kings 2 last Friday. I didn't get the review finished yet because of the XMind thing. I hope to get on it and finish it this weekend so I can post it on next Friday. I will probably not get it done for this Friday though if I do, I will post it then and leave notice on my Google+ and Facebook accounts.

I have been thinking about starting up my Generation Demigod title again. I went to see Xmen: Days of Future Past yesterday and it got me thinking about a super hero storyline again. That always happens whenever I watch one of the super hero movies or read one of my comics. So, I may start working on that web series soon. Maybe. No promises. Not yet anyways.

Other than that, it has been a quiet week. Nothing exciting or terrifying happening (well, not to me anyways). So I will sign off for now.


Writer ya later.

16 July 2014

Games, Comics, and Reading

Welcome loyal follower to another edition of my blog. Unfortunately, I don't have much to update on this week. I didn't really spend much time working on my game or world. I did however spend quite a bit of time playing a game called Crusader Kings 2. I am not going to say much about it here cause I am writing up a review of it and will post it later (hopefully on Friday).

I did work on my test game a little. I have actually taken to calling it Shadow Hunter. I have completed a couple more maps on it and worked on a side quest some more. I am having a bit of trouble getting a part of the quest to work properly. I am not sure why it isn't working. I will have to go to the forums for RPG Maker and see what they say.

I started reading Earth 2 by DC. So far I have read only the first 4 issues and they have just been introducing the way things are on this version of Earth. The interesting thing about this series, and what got me wanting to read it, is Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman sacrifice themselves to stop an invasion from Apokolips. So far, they have introduced The Flash (he got his powers from Hermes), Hawkgirl, and Green Lantern (who isn't a universe cop but the champion of Earth). They have also introduced Grundy who is described as basically the anti-champion of Earth. When he showed up the whole world started dying. Oh, and did I mention that Green Lantern is gay in this version? That was something I wasn't expecting. It didn't upset me, just surprised me.

I also downloaded a new series today called Post-human by David Simpson. (Well, I guess it isn't too new. Just new to me.) I am planning to read the first book and post a review soon. I also signed up for an advance reading group that he is starting. He says that he wants people who have read all the books so I will need to get reading. Plus, this series is being made into a movie. So, if it is good that is something else to look forward too.

Well, I can't think of anything else to add, so I guess I will end here. I shall try my best to have more of an update next week. Until then...


Write ya later.

02 July 2014

Progress Report

So, it has been two weeks now since I started my game and I am coming along alright. I have several maps drawn up for it and part of the main story line, I am even working a secret quest line to get the strongest weapon for your character. The thing with this game is I am just doing the story on the fly. I do have an idea as to the ending, but not really any outline or plot synopsis for the story. Then again this is just a 'get to learn the engine' game. I have decided to change the name of the game too, but I am not sure what it will be called yet.

I am also working on other parts of my fantasy world. They are all currently focused around the Aegis Knights. I have started planning out the story for my first serious attempt at a game. This one is going to be very long and have a complicated storyline that will be dependent on your choices and the way you play your character. Well, that is the plan anyways. I don't plan on this one being done anytime soon. So far all I have completed with it is an overall brief plot synopsis and then I broke it down into 4 acts and did a brief plot synopsis on each act. Next I will do a more detailed act synopsis.

Next, I am starting work on the web series about the beginning of the Aegis Knights. This will be strictly online (duh, I did say it was a web series, sometimes I can be such a stereotypical blonde) (no, I am not really blonde). I also have plans to work out the history of the First Gods War. That will be strictly background material. Maybe in the form of an online book or wiki.

If anyone has any thoughts on this, or if they would like to see any posts on my world building, just let me know. You can email (knightwrtr at gmaildotcom), comment, or post to my google+ account.


Write ya later.

12 June 2014

Vacation time

So, I have been on a forced vacation since Monday. (Okay, so it wasn't so much forced as not planned out. BOSS: You are going on vacation next week. ME: Okay, have a nice week.) I got in this situation because I spent a lot of time the last 360 days bouncing between stores. I would help out at a store for a few days to a few weeks. Then there were the transfers to other stores, which would mean that they were usually short handed so I wasn't able to take anytime off. I did finally take a few days off last month because I was planning to go to Comicpalooza in Houston, TX. But those plans kinda dried up so I just had a few days off. That still left me with 50 hrs of vacation time. So my boss tells me this past weekend that starting Monday I am on vacation.

I have actually taken this time to start work on my very first video game. Actually it is my third game. The first two are from high school programming classes, though the second didn't actually get finished and the first one didn't work properly. That is why I am considering this as my first game.

I am using RPG Maker VX Ace to help me create this game. Mostly because it has been waaay too long since I last did any programming. But also because I learned to program on an apple computer back in the eighties. (Damn, I think I just gave a hint as to my age there.) It is a pretty cool program. It is mostly just drag and drop. But you can learn the scripting language to change just about everything in the engine to make the game the way you want it. Plus, I can sell my games that I create with it without buying any expensive licenses.

The game will look like an older style game, the kind I used to play on the Nintendo. And unless I find a kind artist to do the graphics for me, I am needing to purchase the graphic and sound packs from their store. But I am planning on using this as a stepping stone. I am planning to work with this engine for a while and if things go well then probably move on to Unity. And if things go good with that engine, I might try to create my own engine. Maybe not. By that time I might not want to deal with it. Then again, I should be able to higher someone to do the programming for me by that point.

Anyways, the game I am working on is tentatively called Aegis Knights: Beginnings Chapter 1. It won't be a very long game, you will probably be able to finish it in one sitting (depending on how long you are willing to sit there and play). I expect it will take no longer than a couple of hours. There is going to be the main story line with a couple of side quests, one of which (while not necessary to complete the game) will hint at things to come later.

Then plan is to work on each chapter and learn more about what I can do with the engine each time. And then when I get Beginnings completed I will work on combining all the chapters together into one game and probably sell that version. We will see how things go. When I get it completed I will post it here and either start up a web site (though I am already thinking of starting one for the world information) or maybe just send it to those who are interested. Probably the website though.


Guess I will get back to work. Write ya later.

06 June 2014

Favorite Character

So, the other day my wife asked me who my favorite character was. And my response was...I don't know. I have several characters that I like. Thor, Wolverine, Drizzit, Teen Age Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sheldon, just to name a few. But not a one stands out as my all time favorite. Then she asked me what my favorite TV show/movie was. Again I draw a blank for my all time favorite. Equilibrium, Star Trek, Star Wars, Smallville...there are just so many to choose from.

So, do you have an all time favorite character/TV show/movie?


Write ya later.

28 May 2014

Anker Programmable Gaming Laser Mouse

 Well, another week has come and gone. And we are almost to the end of May. It is surprising how quickly time can go by sometimes. Though I have got a bit of news today...of the geeky kind. I got a new gaming mouse today. Well, it is new but it is also the first 'gaming' mouse I have owned. I purchased the Anker Programmable Gaming Laser Mouse.

The reason I got the mouse was I got a laptop for Christmas from my mom. It was one that Wal-mart had on sale during their Black Friday sale. Not a great computer but better than the one I was using before. The one sitting in my closet cause the monitor went out on it. I know what is wrong with it but I have found out that even experienced repairmen have difficulty fixing the problem so it is just sitting there feeling sorry for itself.

I didn't have a mouse (don't remember what happened to my previous mouse) but luckily for me my mom's computer got sick just before Christmas, so I used her wireless mouse. Now I had to have a mouse cause I don't like the touch pads on laptops. Not even sure why they still put them there. Everyone I know uses a regular mouse. It is much better, and have you ever tried to game with the touch pad? Yeah. Good luck with that. I actually turn my pad off. So I had to have a mouse. So, thanks mom, or should I thank your computer for getting sick.

Anyways, a couple of weeks ago my mom decided that she was finally ready to get her computer fixed. We can thank my wife for that. My wife wanted her computer back. So with my mom's computer now fixed I gave her back her mouse and started using my wife's wireless mouse. Hehehe. She had a mini mouse for our youngest and she didn't mind using her touch pad so, it wasn't too big of a deal for her. But, being the supremely, awesome husband that I am (hopefully she isn't reading this), and considering that I was attempting to move back to computer gaming instead of console gaming, I decided to get me a new mouse. And this was the one I chose:


So far I like it, though to be fair I have had it for less than a day now. And I haven't really used it. I fiddled with the DPI (Dots Per Inch) settings (it has 7, from 500 to 5000). I have also tweaked the color scheme on the mouse. Although it is a little disappointing that you can only change the color of the anchor icon on the mouse which is covered by your hand when you are using it. I did try to download the manual so I could read up on it but for some reason I keep getting told that I can't open it because it wasn't translated properly. Not sure what that is about. I will have to try to contact the company to see what is up with that.

The mouse worked well straight out of the box. I just plugged it into my laptop and was able to start using it. I did download the drivers from their website (http://www.ianker.com/). So now I am able to program all 11 buttons on it. There are 5 different profiles I can set up also, and macros. So, I will have to see what is up with those.

It was listed at $35.99 but I was able to get it for $15.99 thanks to getting approved for Amazon's Amazon.com store card. I could have gotten it for free if I had applied (and gotten approved) for their Visa card (a $60 credit was offered), but they showed the other card offer first.

That is about all I am going to say as far as a review on it right now. Let me get some time with it and try programming some buttons and macros with it (and testing it out on a MMORPG or two) then I will give it a more detailed review.


Write ya later.

21 May 2014

Ramblings of a white man

Here I am, sitting in front of my computer trying to decide what to write for this weeks blog post. I know that I missed last week, but I was actually having a little trouble coming up with an idea to write about. Plus, I was also a little distracted with work, a sleep study (I have sleep apnea), and just being a father and husband.

Then this past weekend I came up with the idea to write a post about Comicpalooza, which is this weekend, and how it really got me back into reading comics again. (I still might do that.) But, as you can tell, I never actually wrote it.

Then this evening I sat down and started trying to read one of the Elric books by Michael Moorcock I checked out from the library. I say trying because as soon as I started to read my mind began wandering into what I have been thinking about as far as my own writing is concerned. Which lead me to realize it was Tuesday night and that I hadn't written a post for this week yet. I had thought about writing about Elric and my thoughts on my own writing or some such nonsense, but I almost went straight to bed. Instead, I made myself come over here and sit down and write something.

See, I had decided a while back that I was going to write a blog post at least once a week to try and help me getting back into my writing mind (as I like to call it). I decided that I would make these posts on Wednesday since I was also thinking of adding other specialized post later to other days of the week. But something else also came to mind. I didn't write that post about Comicpalooza for two reasons. First, I was at work at the time the idea came to me, but I could have jotted down notes on my phone since I have the Evernote app. And second, because it wasn't almost Wednesday. And that might be why I didn't write a post last week.

I didn't really think about what I wanted to write before Tuesday night and then pretty much stopped thinking about it after Wednesday. So I figure I need to change the way I think about this blog. Instead of trying to hold fast to the idea of posting only on Wednesday for my normal, ordinary posts, I need to post whenever an idea comes to me. I still am going to try to hold myself to at least one post a week, but the day is going to be open to interpretation.

I am looking to start doing my review posts on Fridays, but I haven't made myself to sit down and review something yet. It is hard for me to do a review. I feel that I need to be objective when I do a review and I find it hard to do that most of the time. Especially if I really enjoy the book/show/game/whatever. Which could also be another reason I haven't written anything in awhile.

I do have a tendency to over think things (just see this post for an example). I just need to work at not thinking too much and start doing somethings.

Gaaahhhh!!!!!

So, what do you think. Is a more thought out post better, or do you like the ones that are seemed to be written in the moment?

Well, I will work on it. Write ya later.

08 May 2014

Quickly to the post....

Alrighty, it is Wednesday and time again for me to attempt to post again. Well, I guess it really isn't Wednesday anymore, but since I haven't gone to sleep yet I am going to say it is.

I wasn't sure what I was going to post today until today, then I started thinking of several things I could do. Then I saw a shinny object and forgot about my blog for awhile. Did some chores, thought about the blog some more. Then I saw a squirrel (and you know how distracting those can be). Played with my girls, ate some supper, put the girls to bed and then decided that I was going to work on my blog.

Only just before I put the girls to bed I kinda told my eldest that I would work on some origami roses for her to give to her teacher tomorrow. Big mistake. Let me tell you, if you haven't ever done anything even remotely like origami before, don't tell your daughter at 9 pm that you will make her 4 origami roses by watching someone else do it on YouTube. It will most likely not happen.

I followed along pretty good for awhile, then the guy did something. Still not sure how he did it even after re-watching the video several times and making several more attempts myself. I could not get it to do the same thing. So, yeah didn't get the roses done. Luckily, my wife had a backup plan with some bookmarks with flowers on them. Yeah wife!

I have worked some on stuff for my review posts. Mainly my rating system. I had been thinking of doing a review of Agents of Shield since I just watched the newest episode this morning. But I think I will wait until the last episode (which is next week) and do a review of the season. Which does mean I will need to go back and re-watch them all so I can do a proper review. So, it may be a couple of weeks before I get my first review posted. Or I guess it is actually my second review since I did do one on that book. Anyways, look for my new review in a couple of weeks.

So, I guess I will end it here. I do need to get up and go to work at 7 am tomorrow. So....yeah.


Write ya later.

30 April 2014

Starter post (again)

So, this is just a little post to, hopefully, help me get started posting again (again). I don't know what it is but I have been having trouble with a lot of things lately (well...for the last couple of years anyways). Sometimes I think I am thinking too much. Maybe putting undue pressure on myself. Something like that anyways.

Anyhoo...I do want to get back into posting which is a way to hopefully get myself back into writing. That is the real goal. I have all sorts of ideas, and plans, but I don't always take the time to sit down and work on them. I always have an excuse...Not enough time, Not feeling good, In the middle of watching TV or playing a game or some such nonsense, Bored and nothing sounds exciting. Well, I really want to get on track. Lots of plans to plan.

But, I do have a little bit of an incentive now. I finally have a follower. Yeah me! Of course, my new follower isn't really who I would have expected. Is he a family member? No. Is he a friend? Nope. (Not even sure if any friends or family actually read my blog.) He is actually someone whose blog I follow. But he is a follower none the less and I can't let my followers down. If I do they very well might raise up and try to take over my blog. Then I would be blog less. And that wouldn't be good. At least I don't think it would be.

But I do have plans (there is that p word again) to post every Wednesday. Even it is just a short post to say 'Hi'. Plus I would also like to start posting reviews of fantasy related things (art, books, games, music, etc). This would be a separate post. And then there is still the web series that I want to do (which would be a separate blog). That last one is something that I am going to try to get started before the end of May (since April is basically over as of Midnight). Probably won't be anything grand to begin with. But again, I am just trying to get myself writing. Can't write if I don't write.

There are other things I want to work on too, but I think this will be good for now. That may be part of my problem. Trying to get too much going at one time. Gets me all confused and overwhelmed. So, here is to me getting my first post this year up.

Write ya later.