The cross is too good for him....

After a lot of thought about his statements in his interview with BOLS, I am of the opinion that Alessio Cavatore needs to have nothing to do with gaming. I feel that his timing in the "design change" is suspicious, especially how quickly it was reversed.
His statements are insulting, and full of fallacious statements that make me think that something else was going on.

Here is an excerpt from the interview:

(in case it isnt obvious the comments in red are mine, the bold is an emphasis that I have added)

Chaos Space Marines. Gav is innocent. I am guilty. I had just about started chanting my 'simple' 'simple' 'simple' mantra then and was most radical with the Chaos Space Marines. I probably would have been even more if it wasn't for Gav. This seems like he was saying that he was intentionally screwing things up for what happens to be a very popular codex. Too much? I guess it's a matter of taste. (so, wanting my heavily converted army to continue to be legal is a matter of taste?)It's true that we held back the Legion-specific stuff to leave freedom for potential future releases (that might or might not (More likely won't, and he was in a position to know this at the time of the codex, andat the time of the statement in the interview)end up seeing the light of the day...), but we also provided a sprinkling of theming, just enough so that is it is still possible to field very god-specific armies(that have one unit, from one foc slot). You see, the thinking was that the book should concentrate more on the Renegade Chapters (why? Isn't this like saying that "we decided to focus on homebrew chapters instead of our established ones?)than the Legions (look at the colour section...(rub it in asshole...)), and conversions and paint schemes don't have to be necessarily supported by rules. I understand how, once again to the most competitively minded players, those changes must have been unwelcome(what? So not only are you dismissive of legion players, you say that they are waac? Art though high, asshole?). And yes, I admit that the Lash was a bit too good... Bad us!

I think that by responding as he has, he is, in effect, saying that the wants and needs of those who have played long enough to collect a large force of chaos marines with extensive conversions to represent upgrades are just a matter of taste, or that lash is the problem with the codex.

This goes past ruining an otherwise great army, it seems like industrial sabotage, considering that he now heads a direct competitor to his former employer. I am not saying that Mantic is necessarily bad/responsible for his actions. What I am saying is that he was: in a position to see the effects of reverting the chaos codex to a third edition style, how that would affect his employer, and how that would provide an opportunity for a competitor.

i think that We, as a community, need to boycott Mantic games until Mr. cavatore: refunds the cost of all of the chaos codices he is responsible for destroying, he steps down and never, ever writes a rule for any game, bends over and kisses his own arse, and personally goes to every chaos player, still playing and those that quit, and asks for forgiveness.

This week in jackassery

This week in Jackassery














This is going to be an ongoing feature that I am adding to the blog. I will discuss the stupid that seems to be infecting our beloved Internet.

This week I nominate those defending bad grammar and spelling for the inaugural jackass of the week.
This is a pretty common phenomenon on forums and blogs lately, and I think it spells doom for our ability to communicate other than with grunts and gestures. In addition to raping meaningful communication, these jackasses defend bad arguments solely because someone else criticizes the piss poor spelling and grammar of another poster.

I would like to point out that spelling and grammar mistakes are extremely easy to correct, in fact, during the process of writing this, I had a few of the dreaded red squiggles appear nder some of what I wrote. Guess what, I right-clicked the underlined parts, and corrected the mistakes. It took me all of a few moments, and my post sounds more intelligent for it.

Defending bad arguments because someone criticizes the bad grammar on a gaming forum is annoying, bur when the forum is political in nature, and the topic is controversial in nature, you have to ask; is the bad grammar a matter of a lack of respect for the potential reader, or is it a matter of ignorance ?

So, For crimes against language, fallacious arguments, and defending the bad ideas of the ignorant, those that defend bad grammar and spelling on-line receive this weeks jackass award.

=][= Blackbird

So I forgot to take picture from day one of the build start....but pictures so far

What it means to be "nerdcore."

Being nerdcore is more than keeping up with the latest trends in gaming, maintainging the latest technology, or being conversant in obscure knowledge. It is about both being a geek, and having social skills, with at least a modest amount of badass thrown in. What i am talking about is being an "Alpha" geek, one that not only can intelligently manage conversations about router performance, manage to be accepted into varied social circles, but can also field strip an M-4 without breaking a sweat.

This type of person used to be called a "renaissance man," but today's sociaty has become more geek friendly, or, to borrow G-4's tagline, "It's a nerd's world."

This having been said, I think there is more to it. I think that the "Alpha" geeks have something that stereotypical geeks lack: They are not only proud (in a positive way) of their geekdom, but they are able to act as if they were normal, and in some cases, bring people to appreciate what it means to be a geek.

If my circle of friends is anything to go by, it is because we follow a few rules ( in no particular order):

1) No L33t speak or other slang that makes us look less intelligent.

This isn't to mean that we avoid using swearing, slang, or other non-academic language, we avoid the type of language/writing that hinders our ability to effectively communicate with others.

2) My bitz box is your bitz box.

This is to say that we don't keep track of who owes who, and often will bounce back and forth the same amount of money between members of our group, without concern for being repaid.

3) Having fun IS the most important thing.

Regardless of whether you are a hard core tournament player, if you become too concerned with winning, one player isn't going to have fun. This attitude applies to social interactions, say someone tells an awesome story, you don't need to tell a more awesome story.

4) Just because you think it is awesome, doesn't mean that everyone does.

Be it a new model, the time your rogue looted the temple of elemental evil, the new code you cranked out, non-geeks are less interested than you.

I cannot stress this point enough: Moderate your geek talk around non-geeks. pay attention to a few symptoms of geek overload: Eyes becoming glassy, head lolling back, excessive drooling, and in severe cases, blood coming from eyes, nose mouth and ears. if they show any or all of these symptoms then quickly change the subject to something they will find interesting, and apologise for monopolising the conversation.

5) people less experienced than you are NOT noobs, newbs or even FNG's, they are inexperienced and need your experience to grow.

We are a small community us gaming geeks, and being over competitive keeps us small. it also hinders those younger geeks from desiring to A) develop their social skills and B) improve their gaming habits.

6) I can kill you with my bare hands.

just like it sounds, to a man, we are either trained to kill, or have associated with enough people that have been trained long enough to pick up the skills themselves. This doesn't mean that, in order to be an "Alpha" geek you have to be Chuck Norris, being Charlie Bronson will do... In all seriousness, this last rule is more of the Mr. miyagi philosophy: A true badass doesn't have to prove that they are a badass ( and that being able to kill with your hands isn't as impressive as it sounds, army cooks can do it too) The confidence of knowing that you are, in fact, dangerous means that you can utilise the most important social skill there is: restraint. You won't feel the need to beat an opponent's face in to validate yourself, you won't feel the need to escalate arguments to violence, and you won't need to do the retarded "first" Bull.





Seriously, I hate the "first" crap, especially the "hidden" firsts.





There is a special place in hell for firsters, one reserved for serial killers and people that talk in movies.