Continuing on from this months earlier post I must admit I've been somewhat dreading writing this as I've been struggling with how to describe the rest of the event I attend so I think I'm just going to get the negatives out of the way at the start and more on to the fun stuff.
Now one of the best parts of attending any convention is to meeting other fans and take part in theme meet ups to chat and take part in group photos, having attended in my Payday 2 cosplay I was a
mixture of excited and nervous. Now one thing I discovered over the weekend that for Payday 2 no one will bother you for a photo if your by yourself since people are only interested in having a full set, this is somewhat double edged as its great to be able to move around without been pestered but at the same time its a bit disheartening to have no comments or attention when your wearing a somewhat uncomfortable costume.
So in this state of mind I was getting increasing psyched up to attend the meet with desire to join in over coming social anxiety and according to the information on the MCM page the meet up was to occur near a police car in the halls. Now this is where the lack of distinction between the stalls and poor map basically came back to haunt me, I had remembered that on the Friday I had seen several emergency vehicles that were selling photo opportunities for charity in the centre of the halls so fighting through the crowd I made my way there.
Myself and 4 other people turned up and had a brief chat disappointed at the lack of turnout but we grouped up and made a few kids happy (why these kids who looked 8 knew about Payday I don't know). I found out later that the main meet up had happened at another collection of police cars which were over by a corner booth, that whole area had been empty on Friday so there was no way to know beforehand without having gone through the terrible booklet to cross reference the map.
This screw up kind of put a damper on whole day and if it hadn't been for the kid who was leaping around in excitement at seeing us five I think I would of been more annoyed by it all.
The other massive disappointment were the game panels, now some of them were pretty good in particular:
Lets Play Live: Rise of the Tomb Raider with Camilla Luddington
Team17 Presents: Worms W.M.D
KOEI Tecmo Presents: A.O.T. Wings of Freedom
Though the KOEI Tecmo Presents was a bit shaky at the start once they moved into their comfort zone and moved away trying to talk about the anime it got better, I even managed to ask a few questions at the end though the lack of couch co op does mean I will not be buying the game.
Now much to my surprise sound on the video is actually better than been there, due to the background noise and halls echo there was a few people who were difficult to make out during the presentation. Perhaps I wouldn't of found this particular panel absolutely god damn awful but I seriously doubt it due the mind numbing stupid repetitive commendatory.
I was looking forward to the Square Enix Presents Dragon Quest Builders, I Am Setsuna and Star Ocean 5 but it was obvious these guys presenting only had two sentences of information on each game and what made it worse was that even though one of them had played the game before they gave it to the guy who had no idea of the controls to play.
It was painful to watch and like someone had given a controller to their grand dad who has never used a console past a Atari before and then watched him fumble about blindly while he explained he was a old pro at games. I had a chat with a few other watchers later and it was a draw between which bit was more maddening to watch Dragon Quest Builders or Star Ocean 5.
Now even though I am a minor Youtuber I tend not to network much at these events with other Youtubers, its partly because I feel like its the equivalent of a guy who plays at open mike night at his local bar trying to socialise with a world famous rock star.
I did however meet a interesting pair of chaps Luke & James of Luke & James Play and seem to be starting up their own couch co op channel:
Finally while I must admit some might say I've been rather negative in my description about the experience on the whole I enjoyed it, I think I have a preference towards smaller conventions but not because of the crowd.
Smaller conventions in my experience have more events or activities for visitors to take part in and do whilst larger conventions focus on having on events that visitors simply watch rather than participate.
However this is where community plays a big part and is the reason why I was disappointed to miss the Payday 2 meet up, the appeal of larger events is the atmosphere and a con goer can revel in their fandoms and hobbies, dressing up or discussing them and finding like minded people.
A few people I spoke to actually told me that conventions are the one place they feel at ease because its like "coming home" or they can discuss their hobbies without been mocked or insulted about them.
So for the final bit of this overview I'm going to post a few of my favourite costumes a meet ups at the event.
Glory To Arstotzka! One of my favourite costumes at the event was a working booth for the Passport Inspector of Papers Please, unfortunately the picture is a little fuzzy as a passerby bumped into my friend as she took photos.
I almost managed to bluff my way past the booth before I made the
mistake of mentioning that I had not eaten breakfast at the time.
Apparently not eating a apple a day is reason enough to be denied
entrance to Arstotzka.
There were some impressive Space Marine crossover costumes towering over the crowd but the best of them was Warmaster Vader who was a Darth Vader inspired costume.
A entry for the cosplay compensations this costume of Isaac from Dead Space was simple yet highly detailed with a working lit backpack.
The MS Paint Adventures Homestuck may of ended this year but that didn't stop the fans attending full force in this massive costumed meet up.
A costume doesn't always have to be complex to be amazing and this con goer absolutely nailed the Justice League cartoon version of Hawk Girl spot on.
Sometimes you come across some strange sights at the conventions and it doesn't come much stranger than watching Majin Buu copy the The Stig as Deadpool in a Winne the Poo Costume looks on in irritation.
Just going to show that no matter how old a franchise is someone out there will cosplay it, this amazing Yellow Ranger and Rita Repulsa brought back old memories.
Finally just going to show that anyone is welcome several furry artists turned up in full fur suits of their original characters.
Read more »
In
2007 Turkish-German game developer Crytek released ‘Crysis’, a
cryengine-built first person shooter which exceeded the graphical
norm at the time more than any other game ever did or would later do.
Almost no computer could run it at the time and for many years it
would be the ideal game to test new gaming PC’s with, but even
disregarding this main strength of the game Crysis is a very decent
FPS.
In
Crysis you take the role of an American soldier named ‘Nomad’ who
is part of an elite squadron of nanosuit-equipped soldiers . You are
sent to the Lingshan islands in the pacific to rescue a team of archaeologists from North-Korean soldiers who took the place over.
Story is not quite the part of the game that deserves closest
examination because of that it is quite generic. After all, even back
in 2007 there were already quite a few games that had the player kill
soldiers while playing as an American soldier himself, but luckily
the story takes a bit of a back seat here. It would not be until
Crysis 2 that other things than combat would be given some attention.
In terms of story delivery there is also nothing new here.
What
you would want to play Crysis for, if not the superb graphics, would
be its gameplay and it does this quite well. Although it uses pretty
standard FPS mechanisms the nanosuit makes for a welcome addition.
Basically the suit gives you a choice of four superpowers, which
consume from one general energy bar. There is a speed mode, pretty
self-explanatory, a cloak mode that makes you largely invisible, a
power mode that lets you jump higher and fling heavy objects and an
armour mode. Using whatever improvements your power gives you costs
energy and generally this system holds up pretty well. It is nice
that you are given the choice between stealthing a section with the
cloak or fighting through it normally, and if you choose the latter
you can also pick different tactics with either the speed or the
armour mode. A nice small addition on the side is that you are at
any time able to modify your weapon, which means you can pick your
sight, add a suppressor or make other small modifications.
The
game also excels in giving the player freedom. Before Crytek set
about on making Crysis they made the original Far Cry. Why these
developers are so attached to the word ‘cry’ remains a mystery.
But anyway, Far Cry was an open world game which was, like Crysis,
set on a tropical island and sometimes it seems as if the developers
carved a big and wide linear path out of Far Cry’s sandbox to make
Crysis because Crysis feels about as unlinear as a linear game can
be. The entire game has a structure similar to Half Life 2, in that
you are never teleported to a different location but always go there
yourself. There are almost no missions that all of a sudden take
place somewhere else unless the last mission had you go there by
yourself. Some objectives give you entire towns to play around in, a
lot of the houses can be smashed up and most objects can be grabbed
and thrown as weapons. What also makes this game feel like some
fenced-off sandbox is the completely free use of vehicles. When you
need to go to the next firefight you can walk there if you want, or
you can get in a car which the game just puts outside most villages.
Driving mechanics are not very good though, so if you are being shot
at you are in more danger in a car than on foot.
So,
in conclusion I would certainly recommend Crysis, even today.
Although the graphics don’t excel anymore and the story is pretty
rubbish, the gameplay is still very nice and you have plenty of
liberty to explore the nanosuits potential, and that certainly
outweighs the game’s few issues.
You may remember a few months ago a ambitious programmer Flow aka Streamline decided to attempt to convert Dukes Interstellar Army Simulator into C++ to create a more developer accessible version of Chapter Master as Journier worked on the original build along with Thy Reaper debugging, cleaning and etc. to make it more easier
to update by hiring a programmer to help them.
Whilst Journier and Thy Reaper have seemingly gone dark for some time now with some suspecting their hired programmer having flaked on them, Flow has unfortunately decided to retire from the project and made his development blog private before shortly making this statement:
Hello!
So, I've disabled the blog and removed the references to
it from 1d4chan (hopefully they won't get added back in) and here's
explaining why. TL;DR at the bottom.
First up, I've immensely
enjoyed the project so far, with some minor exceptions, and will
probably continue to work on it in the future.
However, I will no longer be publicising the project or releasing it online. The reasons for this are threefold:
First,
I do not have any sort of stable schedule as of last week with various
freelance work taking up inordinate amounts of my time.
Second, I
am increasingly afraid of legal intervention despite my attempts to
distance myself from any copyright claims, also leading onto the next.
Third,
it has become increasingly clear to me throughout the course of this
project that people just don't care about things that aren't blatantly
40k. And I'm unwilling to make things that are blatantly 40k, beause I
don't want to end up ruining my life in legal battles over something I
was only doing to benefit others anyway. I attempted to run the project
in as generic a manner as possible in order to avoid any copyright
problems, and was continually met by e-mail and forum posts of
complaints that I wasn't staying close enough to 40k lore. I even tried
to spell out that I was specifically avoiding copyright, something that
could well have ruined the entire purpose of avoiding the copyright in
the first place, and it seemed to be forgotten within a day.
I
really appreciate the help of everyone that's chipped in so far to the
Chapter Master mod - Mukip who made some fantastic art, Smokazzi with
the excellent music, Skeletus with all the naming convention help and
Guardsman for his excellent art contributions. Obviously I make no
claims to any of the assets put out in the recent versions - for anyone
who wants to take up this mantle in the future please make good use of
them.
I've come to realise that this project is impossible. Not
because it's too difficult, or because the gaming requirements are too
high, but because the project seems to belong to everyone. Everyone has
their idea of what it should and will be, and the project will only
survive if public support is sufficient to drive an individual to risk
court battles just to satisfy a gaming itch. In this case, I didin't
feel like the public support was there, and that's fine, it just wasn't
to be.
Within two something months I'm pretty pleased with the
progress I made, and if anyone is a C++ dev and wants to geti n touch
with me, I'd be willing to consider passing along the current source -
it really isn't too much work away from playable engine. However I will
be completing it privately for personal and friends use only.
Good luck to whoever's next, may this be another notch on the Chapter Master belt of failed attempts.
TL;DR: Too afraid of lawyers, not enough reason to work despite them, gave it a good shot though.
Thankfully the community over at bay12forums has been understanding at his departure and have suggested alternative avenues:
SkeletusAurelius: Perfectly logical reason Flow. I think i can speak for all of us when i say we wish you luck on whatever you're doing next.
Still would like to see how the finished product looks, as i put some effort into it after all.
Retropunch: I respect that the decision is yours to take, but I'd like to point out some things and beg you to reconsider.
Whilst
yes, some people do want this to be only 40k related - as nenjin said,
you are posting on the Chapter master thread(!!!). Start one for
'moddable space battle simulator' and you'll get hundreds of people
wanting it for creating their own universes (and obviously their
favorites from books/films/games).
Secondly, lawyers are really,
really nothing to be afraid of in this case - not even remotely. If you
don't ship it with any art or content that was made by or for GW then
there is absolutely nothing they can do. That's not a presumption - that
is legal fact. Think about the amount of 'space marines/troopers' in
sci-fi today - they don't all have to wrangle with GWs lawyers!
There's
no way they can bring you to court for any of this either; lets say
they went absolutely insane and decided that generic space marines were
now their IP, the most they could do is give you a cease and desist.
That doesn't give you a record or besmirch you in any way - you'd just
have to stop and that'd be the end of it. That'd never happen, but if
you're still worried about legal issues PM me and I'd be happy to take
you through it all from the very top.
Seriously, just start an
IAS thread with no mention of CM and you'll get a hell of a lot of
support from all corners of the gaming world!
So to the C++ coders out there will any of you readers attempt to take up the mantle and be the next in the chapter in this tale of this noble attempt to create a game?
I for one certainly hope so.
To play my own part I'm still hosting backups of Dukes links and files which you can obtain below:
Interstellar Army Simulator 2015: Source Code: Link
Chapter Master 0.6555: Source Code: Link
Original Design Document (former project): Link
Features That Were Planned: Link
Don't know What Chapter Master is? The original review is here. Just want to play the game? Then Interstellar Army Simulatorand the mod and be downloaded here. Also folks please remember to check the Archives for other posted updates.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the MCM London Comic Convention it is the biggest and longest running comic and anime event in the UK having started in 2002 is held twice each year, usually on the last full weekend of May and October at ExCeL London.
It is a mass gathering containing loads of events and stalls though this is it described in the organisers own words:
We aim to put on the best consumer shows for the modern pop-culture
market. Our show floors are packed full of activity from live eSports
matches and cosplay celebrations to experiential opportunities inspired
by the movies and brand new releases of your favourite games to play.
On top of all that we have the awesome Comic Village area for
independent comic artists, VidFest for upcoming YouTube stars, PopAsia
to revel in all things Asian inspired and Memorabilia, our collector
haven. Our theatres also play host to exclusive screenings and panels of
special guests, all whom take part in photograph sessions and signings
throughout the weekend.
MCM Comic Con is THE destination event to celebrate all things
pop-culture, it is not to be missed by any geek, nerd, cosplayer, or fan
boy and girl!
As you can imagine I was pretty excited to attend for the first time having secured a early full weekend ticket and a apartment close to the DLR Tube line for easy access to the ExCeL London.
Arriving at Circus Apartments they were reasonably priced between the four of us, in good condition and had friendly helpful staff though been on the 10th floor our rooms were stuff and hot even with the windows open which caused a bit of an issue while trying to sleep.
I should also mention that the Wifi isn't free and the TV signal was simply awful with the arial been pretty much useless but it wasn't really something that came up during our stay.
Attending on the Friday the 27th I personally think I enjoyed this day the most, the crowd was reasonably small and as a result we were checked in and given our weekend passes in less than 10 minutes. In the past years there have also been special swag bags full of free goodies ranging from sweets to vouchers to DVDs and Figures for attendees which are often unavailable by the Saturday due to sheer amount of visitors, but this year there was nothing much to my disappointment and this disappointment was something I found kept cropping up throughout the weekend.
Let into the wide corridor between the two massive halls the event was split between we had no sense of bearings, there was no maps or signs apart from the ExCeL London own code for each hall section.
We quickly found a information stand and obtained a map and a event magazine however this is where things began to break down even further, now when I attended EGX 2015 I was impressed by how their map was simple to read and organised whilst in MCM's case I found the map near useless apart from from a general gist of the layout, just look below to see what I mean:
Front with map
Back with panels and events
Now the astute amongst you may already notice something important missing from this map, that's right there is no key referring to the numbers listed on the stalls apart from the big name logos. In addition there is no reference to the ExCeL London own hall numbers or the entrance area so it is extremely easy to get turned around and disorientated due to the similarity of the stalls and lack of directions posted about.
There is a key but its inside the 140 page advert and article event magazine which also has a copy of the map located between pages 62 and 65, after another advert the key is listed BY ALPHABETICAL ORDER OF THE STALLS which is bloody useless unless you already know what stall your wanting to find beforehand. I'm looking at the damn key to find out what 471 is not the other way round. The panel event program is also a nightmare to find and read through in the magazine with information scattered between articles so at least the map was an improvement in this regard.
Now I imagine what the event planners expect was for people to check the digital copies before attending take note of the numbers and then use the map to find them but that is not very useful for a first time attendee or for anyone who doesn't have a smart phone.
Adorable and ever so soft, I just wanted to dive in. The feeling does go away though after the 10th identical stall however.
With just a small morning crowd it gave me the chance to look about the various stalls about the convention which ranged from old school video game stalls with tons of collectables ranging from the Atari to the Modern day from all over the world (curse you region locking), western comic and action figure stalls, Japanese food vendors, Plushies and anime related merchandise from Japan, Gundam model kits and other figurine stalls, Cosplay costumes including a multitude of foam weapons (which would be the bane of my life on the Sunday) and finally the Artist Alley were people sold their own artwork and comics.
In the first hour it was fascinating but I quickly grew a bit dishearten, while there were many variation of stalls they often stocked identical merchandise with little to no variation.
The same plush or swords or wall scrolls and figurines cropped up over and over again with many stall owners having huge amounts of the same Pop Figures, this lack of distinction between the stalls added to the fore mentioned disorientation and I often found myself wondering if I had already explored an area of the hall I was in.
Most of these shelves were bare by Sunday
In addition there were various groups that simply didn't fit in, while I welcomed and understood the presence of cosplay sculpting material sellers and some manga/anime subscription stalls the paintball trip sellers and the university course advertisers seemed like they were only there because they had paid their way in.
Also the presence of CEX and various other big names with large stalls seem just a bit strange, its like if you attended a farmers market and Tesco and Sainsburys turned up and put up huge stalls while blasting out loud music to drown out the smaller sellers shouts.
Sorry for the fuzziness some rude fellow pushed his way passed as we took photos
I was pleasantly surprised by a roleplay game stand by Shades of Vengeance as I honestly hadn't expected to see anything like it at the MCM, unfortunately it was only manned frequently on the Saturday and had no seats free to join in when I went past but they were advertising a strange mix of Roleplay/Card Games which are their Era series with:
Era: The Consortium: A sci-fi tabletop RPG with 500 years of playable
history, using a multiple d10 rule set made specially for it. The game follows the inhabitants of Taranis as they create a society, encounter alien races and explore the space nearby.
The game allows the GM and players to choose where to begin playing –
at any point during the 500 years of history. You can experience the
wonder of discovering new alien races, command a ship in wars spanning
entire solar systems, and join a Resistance movement against the
government to save or destroy billions of lives.
Era: The Empowered: Upon discovering your abilities, most of you had no choice but to
register as members of the Empowered Division, a government-controlled
agency. This agency gives you assignments, all in the name of keeping
the peace.
Do you dedicate yourself to the cause, following their direction and completing the missions assigned to you? Or do you pay attention to the suspicious activity going on: the crimes are too coordinated, your responses too well-timed.
Someone seems to be controlling the Empowered… but why?
Era: Lyres: My personal favourite. You would never make it as an adventurer, however, that doesn’t dent
your ambition at all. you have bought equipment and plan to go to
taverns and tell stories of your magnificent “adventures” in return for
coin! While I didn't get the chance top play in person I've picked up a copy of this and hope to do a more detailed review and play session of it in the future.
A small collection of the Deadpools with a sneaky Spiderman too, Deadpool cosplaying as other people was very popular including A Payday Pool and a Maid Outfit Pool.
For those of you interested in upcoming TV series there was plenty to see and take part in from the Walking Dead new series (zombies on a boat I like to call it) and The Preacher as well as tons of signing opportunities as for myself I wasn't too fussed as I've almost stopped watching TV entirely in the last few years so I moved on.
Though I did take time to check out a few of the anime series been showcased though much to my frustration the only stall with DVD of the new series of Fate Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works was a magazine that required a years subscription in order to get it as a "Free" gift.
Heading over to the various game highlights I had the chance to take a go at a variety of new releases:
I've been a long time fan of the series though I had seen issues with it been a bit grindy and repetitive with no ability to transfer items between the games.
Monster Hunter Generationshas four new signature monsters and introduces new special attacks known as "Hunting Arts" which have different effects such as dealing massive damage, providing buffs, or healing allies and four "Hunting Styles" which add different attack styles for a weapon.
The Guild Style is a balanced and basic style akin to combat in
previous games of the series, the Striker Style is less technical but
emphasises the use of "Hunting Arts" letting the player set up three
special attacks. The Aerial Style specialises in mid-air attacks
allowing players to use monsters as a platform which they can propel
themselves off and finally the Adept Style gives players an opportunity to perform
powerful counter attacks after successfully evading a monster's attack.
My favourite addition the new Prowler mode which allows you to play as your sidekicks the adorable Felyne and you apparently can even play the whole game as one, the only downside is that its only available on the Nintendo 3DS.
Having played the original Odin Sphere on the Playstation 2 and a massive fan of Vanillawares work I was delightfully surprised to see this Atlus classic given a remake (though more a polish would be more accurate). This 2D action RPG is influenced by Norse Mythology in its design and is told across five tales from the perspectives of five unique protagonists as they try to fight fate.
I can't really fay more without spoiling the plot but I recommend checking out the trailer below:
Another game I'll be adding to my wishlist Grand Kingdom is the debut strategy title from Tomohiko Deguchi’s development studio, Monochrome Corp and it looks fantastic.
Playing the leader of a mercenary squad, players will assemble a team to lead
across a battle-scarred continent to complete contracts for each nation.
Players may also hop online to form an exclusive contract with one of
the Four Great Nations, and participate in war with other players for
the future of Resonail.
When I first saw the God Eater Stand from behind at a distance I thought it was the Monster Hunter Stand.
A remake of a PSP game originally released exclusively in Japan on February 4, 2010, the
enhanced version features an expanded story and new game mechanics will also be available for the PS4 and PC. The remakes sequel was also been showcased but I was unable to have the chance to play but it looks like more of the same with bigger monsters and more weapons.
The game seems to have a similar play style to Monster Hunter I wish I had more time to really get to grips with this game but the demand to play was huge and I didn't want to hog the console. Interestingly there is also a anime that is been created based on the game animated by Ufotable.
Possibly the strangest game at the MCM London Comic Convention, Gal Gun Double Peace is if a dating visual novel game kidnapped Time Crisis, tied it to a chair and force it to be the father of their love child.
The sequel to Gal*Gun in which a student Tenzou is accidentally shot with
several Cupid Arrows by an apprentice angel, Patako. The blessing from
the arrows makes Tenzou irresistible to the opposite sex, transforming
him into the most popular boy in school for one day however the catch is if Tenzou is unable to find his true love before the
effects of the Cupid Arrow wear off, he’ll be destined for a life of
loneliness.
The new games plot is nearly identical with a new loser protagonist and references the events of the first game as a school/collage legend as you fight off the unwanted attention and confessions of nearly every girl in the school with winks and glances.
Actually quite fun as cabinet shooters go I find the main issue with Gal Gun Double Peace is that it has occasional scenes that just make you cringe and pray that no one else walks into the room to seem them out of context. Just watch the trailer to see what I mean.
Gun Double Peace the only game to boast that there are 450 underwear designs to discover.
I didn't actually get to play this one properly I had the chance to mess around with the character and class editor finally deciding on a Plasma Gun wielding Tactical Marine but after waiting nearly 20 minute at the top of the game queue and been unable to connect I decided to move on. If your unfamiliar with Warhammer 40K: Eternal Crusade it is an upcoming MMO third-person shooter video game based on
Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 setting.
Not an official trailer but it shows the glory of the powerfist that may or may not still be in the game after the latest patch.
There were plenty of other games including Battleborn and Overwatch and these were in high demand to play but those have had plenty of coverage and I'm sure you've already heard about them.
Some indie developers were also presence but due to very cramped areas they have to set up in and the massive flow of the crowd most of the weekend I only had the chance to play a handful of titles, those of note that stuck in my mind are:
VA-11 Hall-A's developers SUKEBAN GAMES have had their ups and downs but this great homage to 1990s cyberpunk and DOS games is almost ready to release and its looking great. I was one of the early backers and managed to get the game for a mere £5, unfortunately if you've not gotten it yet the price has risen to its full price of £15 but it is certainly worth it.
Developed by SMAC Games and published by Mode 7 Tokyo 42 looks like a possible classic and is a stylish looking isometric action game inspired by classics such as Syndicate and GTA1.
In reality it was a waste of my god damn time the person manning the stand was rude and seemingly clueless about their own game apart from the controls as when I politely enquire about the style of game and the objective/story they talked to me like I had never used a keyboard and mouse before without actually answering my questions.
The game itself had terrible story writing with a stupid nonsensical plot in which you are framed for the murder of one of your love ones and been a hitman, so your response is naturally to have your friend sign you up with a assassination guild some how to become a hitman and start killing random people.
Combat was a chore with guns simply not hitting where you aimed no matter the camera angle, now some of you may have seen my youtube channel and know I can get irritable but after taking 25 shots with a sniper rifle from a designated mission spot, at a still target which your tiny aiming reticule is directly over and every shot missing inexplicably no matter which angle the camera is rotated on the target then your game has problems.
Originally released in 2009 under the name Echo Bazaar Fallen London is a browser based game that times in with Failbetter Games roguelite PC game Sunless Sea, I had the chance to have a chat with Failbetter Games Communications Director Hannah Flynn who described Fallen London to me as a Choose Your Own Adventure which certainly peaked my interest.
I've had the opportunity to play it since and in all honesty its more accurately describe as very similar to a facebook game but without the need to bother your friends and contacts to join or send items.
It does have a very interesting setting and much of the writing is good but its only every obtained in drips and drabs hidden behind stat grinding and paywalls.
I do think however that it will work very well as a mobile app and the format is far more suitable for its style of short burst of play than a browser.
As this post just keeps growing and I've barely skimmed the surface I'm going to leave it here for now and I'll catch you in Part 2.
Greeting one and all I'm just going to be covering a few upcoming events in this post focusing mostly on the various Comic-Cons across the country. Just a heads up there will be a lot of links to Facebook in this post as may of these events do not have their own webpages.
One of the biggest comic conventions in the country, it occasionally hosts the Euro Cosplay qualifiers and as a result you can often see top class cosplay on display.
Tickets often sell out so be sure to Buy tickets before the event as they will not always be available on the day.
This year you might see me there so look for the guy in the suit and hocky mask, events vary year to year so check out the Facebook page for more information.
A much smaller event Sunthorpe is hosting its second Comic-Con and thankfully all the information is to hand already:
Scunthorpe Comic Con 2 returns for 2016 let's make this bigger than last years.
Admission - Pay on the door Adults £2.50, under 16's £1 under 5's free
Guests
Virginia Hey - Farscape/James Bond/Mad Max2 Hattie Hayridge - Red Dwarf Phoenix James - Starwars The Force Awakens/James Bond - SkyFall Display DMC - Delorean time machine - Back to the Future KITT - Knight Rider Tardis
Groups Sentinel Squad UK The Super Heroes Cosplay team Battlestar Galactica Fan & Costuming Club UK
Trader tables featuring, Comics, Toys, Collectables, Games , Lego and so, so much more.. We will have a cosplay competition.
I recommend keeping tabs on the facebook page for updates.
A quickly growing convention which each year surpasses the last in terms of guests, activities and stalls. While it started as a smaller single day event there was just too much to pack into one day so it has now expanded to two days.
In previous visits to the event I have found that there have been activities suitable for younger and older convention attendees meaning it was always a great family day out and this year it become huge with the following in attendance:
The event will
have an action packed stage schedule with a variety of performances,
plus a massive selection of stalls with all sorts of geeky, quirky and
unusual items. Over the weekend there will be a range of guests from TV
and Movies, as well as authors and graphic novelists. A wide range of
activities are planned that are suitable for the entire family,
including workshops, card and video gaming events, roleplay games, and
more!
---Special Guests-------------------------------------------------------------- -Kerrigan Mahan (Goldar and Magna Dedender from Power Rangers ) - Lauren Landa (Anime-Voice-Over) Sailor Neptune, Attack on Titan's Annie Leonhardt. - Jeff Parazzo (The White Ranger from Power Rangers Dino Thunder). - Kevin Duhaney (The Blue Ranger from Power Rangers Dino Thunder). - Martyn Crofts (Britain's Got Talent Semi Finalist 2012) - Paul Redfern - As seen in HUGO Film and Harry Potter - Craig Hallam (Steampunk inspired Author) - Nathan Robinson (Horror inspired Author) - Nat Gosney ( Author of Wold Born Saga) - TheSlowSniper (Pro Gamer / Youtuber) More to be fully confirmed
---Traders / Artists and Authors fully confirmed ----------------------- - Hallam FM & Cash for Kids - Cineworld Sheffield - Genki Gear - A.S. Chambers - Edna's Lair - Claws and Fangs - Toku Toy Store - Cazbounces Books - Tilly Mcflossington Vintage and Crafts - ManMade Designs - Geek Cycled - MovieMania - Metamorphosis Arts - Cosplaysuperheroes - Runesmith - Square Moriarty - Serenity Bay - Hoshi Kou - Ryuuza - Drix Productions - Adam Booth - NAFTIE&MORI - Gurobunnies - Pai Thagoras - Melissa Nettleship Illustration - H'art - LAH Fabrics - Black Candy Alternate Fashions - World Of Pop - Amy's Curiosities Emporium - The Charm Bracelet - Cool Cushions - Sakura Sparkles - Shinkurose - Celestial Castle - F'moush - Twinkle Kitty Boutique - Kingdom of Candy - I'm in stitches - Grimsby Labyrinth - Incredible Innovations - Geronimo Toys - Comic Book Roses By Red - Jon Turner Illustration and Creation - Black Sails - Chris Craft Art - Handmade by Lizzie - Sore Thumbs Retro Gaming - PXLBUG Art - Square Orange Art - Mahou Kingdom - Geek Stitch - Handmade in the Hellmouth - The Arty Mad Cow - Time Was - Jujutreats - Effiena's Handmade Polish - Nat Gosney (Author) - Craig Hallam (Author) - Nathan Robinson (Author) Plus more to be confirmed
---Costumers / Costume Groups------------------------------------------- - The Super Heroes Cosplay - Sentinel Squad UK (Star Wars Group) - Transformers Costumers Bumblebee and Prime - Princesses - Richard Ashton ( Dr Who Impersonator) - Hand of Korriban (Star Wars Group) More to be fully confirmed
---Activities----------------------------------------------------------------------- - OVER 150 Traders: Check out our site for our traders list. - Variety of Contests: Cosplay, Talent, Kids Cosplay... - Live Entertainment throughout the day (to be confirmed soon) - FREE Face Painting (Subject to availability on the day). - Photo Opperunitity Areas. - Card / Roleplay Gaming Area by Patriot Games - Video Gaming Area with Consoles - Range of Contests with prizes to be won on the day! - Workshops Area (To be confirmed soon) - Tardis PhotoBooth - Ironman Movie Replica Stand
Tickets can be booked by:
The website: www.yccevents.co.uk Calling Sheffield Arenas Box Office: 0114 256 5656 For enquiries: info@yorkshirecosplaycon.co.uk
In addition the Facebook page is very active, after joining you will be treated to many
updates and news teasers leading up to the event.
Information on this event is a little bare and its a touch more costly than a few of the others on the list but since its in Oxford I kind of expect it:
Early bird entry at 10am Normal entry at 11.30am Close 5pm
One of the major events this year is the Cosplay Competition which has cash prizes and the rules of which will be posted below:
At Didcot Comic Con we are running a cosplay competition. There will be
two age groups, Over and Under 18's, so kids can play too!
*** Over 18: Top prize £100 and runner up gets £50. ***
*** Under 18: Top prize £50 and runner up gets £25. ***
We are hoping you are having fun preparing your cosplay costumes for
our competition to win up to £100. In order to keep this family event
safe and to avoid problems we have a few guidelines to follow on the
day.
Cosplay Rules
* No real weaponry, or realistic looking weaponry, will be admitted.
* Unrealistic and colourful guns, foam projectiles, LARP weaponry and safe weapons are allowed. * Bows are allowed if unstrung. * Fights and use of cosplay weaponry, within the Event, will not be tolerated * No overly revealing or controversial costumes will be allowed. Attire and costume must be suitable for a family event. * Please wear footwear at all times. * Please keep cosplay to a reasonable size as this is an indoor event. * Attendees bring items to an event at their own risk.
We reserve the right to deny entry, in case of inappropriate cosplay,
regardless of ticket purchase. Any inappropriate behaviour within the
event will be dealt with. This is a family event and behaviour must
reflect this.
Transportation of props and Police reaction
* Please take care when outside or when transporting any form of cosplay prop.
* Regardless of how realistic a prop looks, ensure it is hidden while
travelling and be aware of your surroundings, attire to bystanders when
outside.
Failure to do so has caused problems for the events and police on countless occasions!
If you have any queries regarding the display or transportation of a
weapon or prop outside of the Event then please contact the relevant
authority. Police may destroy or confiscated items without warning.
The Facebook Pages (Page 1.Page 2.) for this event are a bit clunky but are the only source of information at this time.
This event has exploded in size since their very popular event back in 2015 and even better they also have their own website which I highly recommend checking out as its clear, concise and updated regularly.
Not convinced yet? See their announcement below:
This year's event is going to be massive, with
6x the space, taking over all 3 floors of the building! This is going to
allow us to bring you more of everything we had last year, plus loads
of new things to see and do as well as more to keep the kids occupied.
Taking all 3 floors gives us a a huge amount of space, a variety of
different rooms and spaces and the ability to provide a dedicated area
and facilities for the Cosplayers who bring the event to life.
We're also making improvements to the after party to make it a much bigger event this year, hopefully
with lots of involvement from the guests - this year, as well as a bar
and DJ, we will have some stand up comedy from Red Dwarf's Norman Lovett
and Simon Fisher-Becker's show "My Dalek Has A Puncture". More to be
announced!
Check out some of our plans below and let us know what you think - we'd love to hear from you:
* Special guests from TV & film * Comic artists * Authors * Signings * Photo opportunities * Talks, panels, demos, quizzes and workshops across multiple stages * Open submissions and portfolio reviews on the day for the British Showcase Anthology. * Memorabilia / traders * Cosplay zone, panels and a cosplay contest with trophies and prizes * Retro gaming - playable consoles, guests & talks - hosted by Keep It Retro: Gaming Event & Market * Table top gaming, RPGs - hosted by Back to The Boar, also featuring Games Workshop * Loads for the kids including a free bouncy castle, craft area and face paining * Laser quest * Scare maze * Snacks, hot food and drinks available all day * A massive after party featuring bar, DJ, stand up from Norman Lovett, Simon Fisher-Becker & a quiz
The first Lincoln Comic-Con was considered a runaway success which had far more attendees
than expected, Lincoln Comic-Con is moving to a much larger venue and adding an
extra day of activities.
I was expecting good things from this up and coming convention but after some developments I do have some worries.
First of all the Epic Centre at Lincolnshire Show ground is far less accessible with no real bus links so attendees will have to rely on own transport or taxi (Roughly £10-£15 from the city centre).
Secondly the ticket price has shot up from £3 for a day to £12 + booking fee for a day or £20 + booking fee for the weekend.
The combination of these factors and my extreme irritation at booking fees have left a extremely sour taste in my mouth, quite bluntly I'm half tempted to tell "GEEKS" Lincoln to go f%%k themselves and its quite likely things will not be going so well this year due to the reduction in drop in attendees.
Here is the line up n the events:
Our new permanent home from this year onwards is the massive Epic Centre on the Lincolnshire Showground..
Contained within this spectacular building will be some of the best UK retailers of collectables and merchandise, which i'm sure will meet almost everyones "geeky" needs..
Included in the admission price will be some fantastic extra value
content, stage shows, interactive displays and our new retro gaming zone
which will offer some 8-bit & 16-bit cartridge classics from
yesteryear
And of course we have our special guests too, Colin
Baker, Sylvester McCoy, David Prowse and Hattie Hayridge, and that's
just naming a few, more are lined up to be announced over the coming
months..
Scheduled professional quality photo shoots with our guests will be available to purchase over the full weekend..
Cosplay is a massive part of our event and of course we have related
competitions over both days, so please let your creative juices flow and
wow us with your skills by registering for entry on the day.. There's
plenty of prizes to be won, so get planning/making your costumes now
I just like to mention the last Cosplaycompetition was a bit of a joke , with no organisation and some winners been partly picked on how suitable they were for the prizes and the judges own personal character preferences, I only hope its more profession this year.
I wish I could tell you more on this but since "GEEKS" handle multiple cons they haven't really put much effort into the Lincoln Facebook page and most of the links are broken, making me even more irate with them.
Seriously guys get your damn act together it reflects really badly on you and makes me worry your going to utterly screw the event up.
I'm just going to outright say it, I'm personally not a fan of horror and I'm not really sure what is happening at this event beyond the blurb :
HorrorCon UK is an opportunity for us horror fans to get together and celebrate our love of the horrific, macabre & grotesque, a chance for us to meet & reassure each other that there is nothing wrong with us in the head!
With your support we hope to make this the biggest and best HorrorCon in the UK!
This is NOT a film festival AND we aren't just another convention;
there will be an eclectic mix of Guests; Writers; Presentations;
Cosplay; a Market-Place and much more to be announced!
Autograph prices will range between £10 - £20
On the bright side these guys have a pretty cool web page so if horror is your thing I would recommend a look.
Another small event Comic con comes to Barnsley, bringing famous
faces from TV and Movies along with traders of all weird wonderful and
amazing items on around 100 stalls.
Information is limited right now but if you like visiting the various costume, comic and games stalls at these events keep an eye on their Facebook page for more information.
Don't fancy been bombarded by stalls and want a slower more formal event this might be for you.
The Cosplay Summer Ball is an event where you
can wear the most formal cosplay you can or even just Lolita/pretty
dresses/suits. You don't have to dress up but it's up to you :)
Scarey Knights will be making an appearance as guests! Amazing bunch
who have out of this world costumes! They do a lot for charity and for
the studio ~ Please support them on their Facebook page as they're
really helping us out.
We are also raising money for Studio 65 after a recent break which
included over £12,000 worth of equipment. We are also hoping to use any
profits to go towards the community to help the people of the southwest
achieve more through cosplays including modelling, Photoshoots and other opportunities!
There will also be a masquerade aspect! You don't have to wear a mask
but there will be a mask competition for the best crafted and best idea
^^ (Clue, maybe incorporate it into your character? I.E Batman mask but more Masquerade style would be a good idea)
The venue is the Guildhall and as you probably know from devcon it is a gorgeous venue for something of this nature.
There will be food and drink provided, lots of music to slow dance to
and of course the cosplay contest to show off all those wonderful ball
gowns and suits. There will be anime and geeky themed items around the
hall including themed foods, drinks, games and Cosplay King and Queen!
Please share this event around as much as possible to make this afternoon spectacular!
Gamer, Geek and Collectors event by Keep It Retro: July 30th
Returning to video game focused cons we have the 7th GAMERS, GEEKS & COLLECTORS fair hosted by KEEP IT RETRO, with £2 entry and kids under 12 free there is no reason to miss this.
Welcome to THE GAMERS, GEEKS & COLLECTORS fair hosted by KEEP IT RETRO. We was the first to bring you hulls only dedicated retro gaming event. Over the last 18 months we have made each 1 better.
Now it's time for our biggest event to date.
Join us at the guildhall on 30th July for HULLs biggest gamer, geek and collectors fair.
With the usual consoles set up around the venue for you to play the
classic games of yesteryear such as Mario, sonic and more. Comps,
tournaments and giveaways.
We will have 40 tables filled with games, consoles, comics, toys, plushies, hand crafted gaming items, anime and more. Storm troopers will be hanging around throughout the day make sure you grab a photo with them. Cosplay is encouraged and we will be running a comp for best dressed.
Full list of traders will be posted soon.
No list of available games yet but I'll be watching the Facebook Page for updates.
Aside trying to get a copyright lawsuit through their poster this event is dirt cheap though its a slight hassle to reach, details are vague beyond the Facebook blurb but if your willing to chance it there is the opportunity for a great time.
Newark Comic Con, to be Held at Newark Showground, Lady Eastwood Event Centre.
We will be taking over the Lady Eastwood Event Centre for the day, this
is currently under going a massive refit and extension, for its new
launch in April 2016, we will have 1,600sqm to fill, hope your going to
help and fill it.
Newark showground is very well located, has good road and rail access, free onsite parking for all.
Admission Adults £4 Under 16's £2 Under 5's Free
Guest's Jeremy Bulloch - Starwars - Boba Fett Hattie Hayridge - Holly - Red Dwarf John Challis - "Boycie" - Only fools and horses
Displays Baymax - Free Photo(with your own camera)
Groups Sentinel Squad UK The Super Heroes Cosplay team
Trader tables featuring, Comics, Toys, Collectables, Games , Lego and so, so much more.. we will have Guest's, Cosplay competitions, Displays, and so much more.
Keep checking this event page for more details as we have them and
please keep sharing and inviting your friends - spread the word!
Do I really have to describe this one? I have made severaldifferent posts on the previous Asylum Steampunk Festival events but for the newcomers here is the basic description below:
The Asylum Steampunk Festival is the largest and
longest running steampunk festival in the World, attracting participants
from around the globe. It takes place over the August Bank Holiday
weekend in the historic City of Lincoln.
For four glorious days the historic streets of Lincoln are thronged
with thousands of splendidly dressed steampunks enjoying a festival
which strives to combine art, literature, music, fashion, comedy and
simple good fun.
In all honest option with the massive growth of the event, the sheer number of people attending, rude abrasive paparazzi (which is a becoming cancerous problem in the event, the next guy to shove a camera into my moustache without asking is getting it smashed) and the massive flood of frankly crappy quality expensive jewellery stalls or book stalls I don't care about at the event some of the shine has come off the event for me.
Also I've seen many of the events and talks from my previous attendance it doesn't feel like there is much variation between the years,.
That said I really recommend it for a newcomer it is a wonderful welcoming experience with a great atmosphere, it really does take over the area around Lincoln Castle (as shown by the map drawn by Artistic Doctor Geof below) and things are improving for the better as can be seen on the official webpage.
UK PonyCon, formerly known as the International My Little Pony
Convention, is an event held in the UK celebrating Hasbro's leading
1980s toy brand, My Little Pony. Established in 2004, we are a charity
fundraising event that aims to raise money and awareness each year for
our chosen charity, as well as spreading the love and fun of My Little
Pony!
Suitable for all the family, kids and collectors alike,
PonyCon is a fun day out with events and activities running throughout
the day, including collector’s displays, sales stalls, quizzes and
competitions, as well as expert advice in the form of panels and
workshops. Whether you're young, or just plain young at heart, you'll
find plenty to do and see at PonyCon
Frankly the Royal Armouries in Leeds is amazing to go to normally so it puzzled me initially that they were loaning space for a convention of all things.
Now I haven't attended myself but I was informed the previous years event was a lot of fun and for those of you who are worried that its a bony only event your fears are unfounded its welcoming to everyone and I recommend checking out the official website for more information.
Finally I want to thank the Lovely Lady over at Buzy Bobbins for helping in finding all these events and some of the information for the more awkward Facebook pages, I hope this helps you guys have a great summer and maybe I'll run into a few of you.
