Roots

It has been said that no one when attending to plants and herbs pays attention to its branches and leaves without paying any attention to the roots. Therefore, to pay attention only to the flowering and the beauty of the flowering and to only focus on that would be unwise. As a wise cultivator will pay attention to the roots, for the situation is to make the root good and the plant will flourish and be good, and likewise make the root bad and the plant will do badly.

Thus it has been said one must begin from within, from the root of things in order to see good branches and leaves.

The root of strength is in right relationship; The root of weakness is broken relationship.

Paper and Pen Rpg and Crpg

I remember in the beginning how some paper and pen gamers had this dream of making a crpg or playing a crpg that could capture the magic of table top rpg. But Ironically, crpgs now cater less and less to those who played tabletop games, whom I admit are now a rare breed. Much too small now to have any real influence in the market.

Imo, I would like to play with this thought that perhaps we just need to pray for some break through in video conferencing software that makes it easy for players to meet over the internet and have a game online. The new "crpg" of the future perhaps. Har Har Har. Captures the spirit of the old game sessions and maybe give some option of putting thematic wallpapers or little windows of monster pics and items that all players can see.

Free of market forces and the bottom line, we would have a "crpg" that doesnt need to answer to the CEO, just to the DM and the players. But i'm just dreaming. If businesses have no need for such a powerful video conferencing suite, there would be no chance of cheap(free)ware version for table-top gamers to use.

Enough ranting about tabletop rpg and crpg!! Maybe laters.

The Chinese Classics

I was as usual bored and lamenting on the lack of good stuff to read and to think about. Most of the old stories used a set of heuristics to spin a pretty kick-ass classic story (amnesiacs, innocent green youth abducted/inducted into a life of mystery and magic etc), I noticed that trend in computer games as well, as the old was given new life and interpretation.

And so here I was reading through english translations of sinologist James Legge. And I would like to share this translated quote of a treatise known as Appendix I dated about a few hundred BC. The classic in question is the I-Ching or the Book of Changes and here was a quote of one part of the teachings of it.

"(The symbol) 1. Qian indicates progress and sucess. It is the way of heaven to send down its beneficial influences below, where they are brilliantly displayed. It is the way of earth, lying low, to send its influences upwards and (there) to act.

2. It is the way of heaven to diminish the full and augment the humble. It is the way of earth to overthrow the full and replenish the humble. Spiritual Beings inflict calamity on the full and bless the humble. It is the way of men to hate the full and love the humble. Humility in a position of honour make that still more brilliant; and in a low position men will not (seek to) pass beyond it. Thus it is that 'the superior man will a (good) issue (to his undertakings).'"

When I was reading this old text I was like, what could be in this classic that could be relevant to a 21st century man like me? And in here I see a treatise on the nature of change, on the nature of things heaven, earth and man being transformed and renewed according to its times and seasons. Very ambitious book I think. And very lofty a goal to write such a treatise. And done in a manner that is so curious and profound to my thinking. Really worth my time. =D And no wonder it was canonised as a chinese classic. One of the oldest books in existence. If not the oldest.

Shin Megamei Tensei - Strange Journey

I finally got to play this recently released game, its style is very old-school crpg with better music and higher resolution graphics. Old crpgs used simple tones to make tunes, I liken it to making catchy music with cell phone dial-tones.

Feels like playing bards tale 3 all-over again, travelling to different dimensions which have been twisted by the madness of a specific human vice. Where desire is god and higher human reasoning is absent. Design wise it resembles games like metroid and old castlevania games where it is impossible to access certain areas of the map until you get an upgrade or power-up which allows egress. Apart from the better graphics it plays very much like old-school console games.

Refreshing and nostalgic to an older gamer like me to see a company make a fun and traditional dungeon crawling rpg. Going to play devil survivor next!

RPG Story Hook

I copied this idea from the genre of horror where a bunch of new neighbours move in next door to the players. Nothing strange cause its a time of change, there is a war in the neighbouring nation and refugees are streaming in. Meanwhile there are drunks gossiping in the local pub or tavern gossiping of how realistic dungeons should have poo and urine and that if there aren't, something is terribly wrong.

One fine day, a young lady knocks on the door of the players house asking about their fine new neighbours. She is from the local authorities in charge of sewerage and was asking if they had seen them dump their waste illegally. And unofficially asks these fine upright citizens to report if they did. And if the players think to ask, which they should, she will nonchalantly say its because the city records show that their house was not connected to the sewers. And adds that not using the sewers is fine and all but dumping waste illegally could lead to serious health problems and thanks the players for their assumed cooperation.

What would a rpg pen and player do?

Lust of the Eyes?

"Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before."
Ecclesiastes 1:8

"What is causing quarrels and fights among you? Don't they come from the evil desires at war within you?"
James 4:1

"Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love the father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever."
1 John 2:15-17

If every organ in my body is selfless, living not for itself but for the benefit of the rest of the body. Does not that mean that the eye is to be selfless as well? What happens if the eye begins to desire? Does that mean I will never know contentment? If I accept this to be so. Then am I able to accept the following saying?

"Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can't take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content."
1 Tim 6:6-8

Gamma World 1st Edition

Played Gamma World 1st Edition on the 13th of June. I was a mutated armadillo named Meep-Meep 1 metre tall. I had only 4 mutations where as my party has more than 10 mutations. Like a 7 foot tall 2 headed green skinned who has haemophilia (a giant who is easily hurt har har har all decided by the roll of the dice??) humanoid and a teleporting, radiation beams from the eye humanoid who has to eat alot or lose his powers.

I was given Life Leech that takes a flat rate of 6HP per intelligent or semi intelligent life from within 5 metres radius of me. And could store it as HP for 24 hours! Wow. I could technically store unlimited HP. And mental control which is a magic jar spell that leaves my body behind, telekinesis and mental defencelessness.

In our first adventure, I saved radiation-man-who-eats-alot when he touched 2 hostages covered with sleep inducing insect goo. It was a trap that I would have triggered if I did not use telekinesis to pull the 2 hostages to safety, for radiation man to inspect. While Mr Radiation was sleeping I soloed the 2 I-shoot-sleepy-goo-beetles with my overpowered life leech power. Armadillo boy saves the day, yeah.

I don't think we will be continuing the legion of gold module since it was a fill-in kinda adventure until we could get everyone together again. Fun experience playing such an old-school rpg, with overpowered mutant powers and mutant weaknesses.

Gold League?

Logged in to Starcraft 2 and found myself promoted to gold league. I wonder why. Good thing is I consistently played against good players. I went in thinking of trying funny strategies, like pure baneling etc. But got whooped, owned, reaper rushed and thor dropped etc. Then sat down to do normal strategy, and found it so hard going. Depressing and humbling >_>;

I really need to play more difficult matches like those. Any easier and I am going to be a bad player~ really bad.

Starcraft 2 Cookie Cutter Strategy

After a few more matches of Starcraft 2. I realized that there are a number of cookie cutter strategy's for the zerg race vs protoss. And a nearly undefendable ZvZ strategy if one has not encountered it before.

Arghhhhhh..........learning so much more now.

Played a good game vs plok the protoss player in starcraft 2 beta. Very friendly player who says hf and gg at the end of the game. Which also means he is a skilled player.......he did a 4 gate build which nearly destroyed me in the early game. O_O' but managed to rally enough zerglings and mutalisks to discourage his early push. Best protoss player I played against so far. I salutes you.

After he said hf (have fun) which surprised me very much, because up till now no player has initiated a greeting and even if I were to greet gl hf!! Even fewer reply. (lol). And the pressure I felt from him at the start of the placement match made repeat to myself that this was a good protoss player, completely different the other players I have played against. Yes, this means he has both skill and manners.

He went a standard 4-gate protoss build into a proxy pylon to take out my main base. Which ended up with loss of 2 queens, some zerglings, mutalisks, a sunken creep and a spawning pool before I could drive his stalkers and proxy pylon back to the mysterious protoss void. To the uninitiated, a proxy pylon and a 4 gate means that the protoss can mass his army very quickly very near your main, even a zerg who can swarm 3-4+ army units from his larva would be hard pressed.

Thankfully, my zerg army did not go 'prruuuut' (the death cry of zerg buildings). As this was the 1v1 Scrap Station, my early mutalisks could do an easy harassment of his main base to distract his harvesters and buy me enough breathing space to repel the proxy pylon push and still fly them back to defend the main (and die gloriously 'pruuuut') As the game progressed I managed to buy time through the harassment of mutalisks which kept his stalkers rooted at his main. This left a very nervous me enough breathing room to get an expansion and mass more mutas to harass and zerglings to defend.

Overall, a very satisfying game, and I really enjoyed watching the replay to see what I missed. Kudos to plok for playing a good game. (as well as giving me a chance to try my build vs a popular and strong 4-gate protoss strategy)

Ruling our spirit

A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls
Proverbs 25:28

Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city
Proverbs 16:32

For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Romans 14:17

Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.
Ephesians 5:18-19

Therefore being filled with the Holy Spirit, living a life of goodness and peace and joy that is of/in the Holy Spirit (which is available to all who believe on Him in the New Covenant has a form of self-control that) is better than conquering a city.

On May the 30th, I pre-ordered my copy starcraft 2 only to realize that I bought a SEA edition, with a possibility of no possibility of playing US players. O__O"

Impossibly Hard to Understand

THERE IS A RIVER, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

Psalm 45:4-5

Stars belong to the Heavenlies

Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace. Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever.
Daniel 12:2-3

For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:6-7

Graveon's First Blog

This is my first blog. Its going to look more like a twitter really. Still feeling out the UI.