#classic city builder

[linuxgamenews]

Silicon City lets you build your way to the most productive city

Silicon City launches the classic city builder game on Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. Thanks to those creative minds behind developer Polycorne. Available now on Steam and itch with 80% Positive reviews. So, Silicon City launches after being in Early Access for the past 2 years, but now it's the real deal. Now, let's dive into what Silicon City is all about. Imagine that you're the boss of a brand new city. Kind of like the mayor, except that you have a bit more power. You can run this place either following a storyline or just do your own thing in a sandbox style. You've got a ton of options and details at your fingertips to help your city prosper and grow. Think about it like this: in Silicon City you need to care of things like money (that's economy), power (that's energy), jobs (employment), and even where people live (residential neighborhoods). This also includes where services like schools and hospitals are (service areas). On top of all that, you're also in charge of all the municipal stuff, like roads, bridges, and buildings.

Silicon City Official Trailer

Making your city look great is a big part of your job, and that's also how you get more people to move in. But here's the catch - it's not just about building; Linux players will need to keep these folks happy. Since every single person in your city is unique and they have their own needs and opinions. You'll have to be on your toes if you want to stay the boss. You can check out what your citizens are thinking by going through their profiles. Or talking to them on Bakr a social network just for your city. Now, there are a ton of unique features in Silicon City. It's like a tribute to those classic city builder activities, but with a fresh twist. The game has 50 types of buildings, each one made in a special way. You can even change them to look how you want. Plus, the game has a bunch of different camera options so you can see your city from any angle. And the best part? You can link this up with Twitch so your buddies can become citizens - or Silizens - in your city. They even have a Silicon City Wiki if you need help or want to learn more. So there you go, a brand-new, exciting city waiting for you to build, manage, and grow! Silicon City classic city builder launches on Steam priced at $16.99 USD / £13.16 / 14,27€ with a 15% discount. Regular price on itch. Along with support for Linux, Mac, and Windows PC.

Silicon City by Polycorne Games

[fallowhearth]

I'm enjoying Nebuchadnezzar but there are some significant mechanical changes from Pharaoh. For one, we no longer have walkers who will randomly roam all accessible paths, but player-defined routes. This hugely changes the building layouts you need. (And sadly makes the blocks I've had memorised since the early 2000s less than useful.)

Just as some context, this is my beloved Flexi-Block in all its original forum glory. I found this via a more recent Reddit post, and I'm so glad I did, because it's the page I referenced at the time. I also had a small notebook where I'd copied down relevant details (ie total number of path squares a particular kind of walker could walk before returning home, that sort of thing) from various fansites that I could reference while playing.

Unfortunately some of the images have died in the meantime. It's so lucky the forum used its own system for showing building layouts, as these were modular and based on a shared library of images.

The basic layout with paths and entertainment venues displayed. This could be laid out according to available space as long as the area squared within the path was preserved. The block would be stoppered with a roadblock, preventing radiant walkers from leaving the set loop.

This is what it looked like with fully upgraded housing. The houses around the edges are palatial, so no longer workers, and I would ring the regular houses with a statue-garden-statue-garden pattern of decor so that I could strategically remove a statue to allow a house to expand into a palatial estate if I wanted to decrease unemployment (houses would expand over gardens but not statues). If you ran the block with regular houses, you'd put a feeder road around the outside of the block leading to an industrial area, kept far enough away to avoid desirability impact, but close enough that the industry's radiant walkers would encounter the houses and therefore be able to hire workers.

I would sometimes remove the entertainment venues from the block if it was experiencing instability (randomly happened due to Pharaoh's pathing engine) and put them on their own external path around the back of the houses.

This, btw, is what the game actually looked like while playing, courtesy of Wikipedia. Though this person's city looks like a dog's breakfast (to be fair it seems to be a tutorial). I did play it on a larger, rectangular screen eventually, and it was still a great looking game years after release. I'm disappointed the 2023 remake has changed the artstyle to a more cutesy, cartoony direction, since in my mind the original was perfect.

I will have to talk about building block strategies for Nebuchadnezzar in a part 2 since I apparently wanted to talk about Pharaoh more than I expected.

[sweetgossipart]

Exterior - Concrete Inspiration for a mid-sized mid-century modern beige one-story concrete and clapboard house exterior remodel with a hip roof, a shingle roof and a black roof

[zodiac-star]

Salt Lake City Concrete

[tarre-was-right]

ROUND ONE: MATCH-UP FOUR

Remember, this is NOT about who would win in a fight. This is about who makes the best leader for Mandalore as a whole.

Explanation post

Seeding

Propaganda below the cut! You can submit more on this post and I will reblog it back to here!

BOBA FETT

Anon: Boba The Builder, can he do it? Boba The Builder, yes he can!

@spacetime1969: He grew up in the political game that is the criminal underworld and managed to out manuver all the other groups on Tatooine to take control of the planet. That's not something you can pull off without political and tactical skill.

Anon: Boba Fett Propaganda: - Boba Fett was explicitly raised by his father, past Mand'alor Jango Fett, to be the legacy of his own adopted buir, Mand'alor Jaster Mereel; while this training did seem to focus more on the bounty hunting and mercenary aspects of their work, it presumably included many lessons about working with people and negotiating, both of which would come in very handy - Boba is commonly held to be a classic example of a child who grew up in a cultural diaspora, feeling largely disconnected from his Mandalorian roots; given the climate on Mandalore after the Galactic Empire glassed it during the Rebellion Era, his experience is likely representative of many of the surviving Mandalorians, who likely also grew up away from their traditional homeworlds in the sector, possibly even in hiding as in the case of Din Djarin's Covert - speaking of Din Djarin, the strong respect between him and Fett would likely put Fett in good standing with those traditionalists, who would similarly respect Fett's connection to their people as the son of a Foundling, even if he wasn't raised the same way as them - in Legends, Fett's connection with Goran Beviin and his family really brought him more fully back into Mandalorian culture, and in a way that makes a good story to sell to reporters (and readers, breaking the fourth wall a bit there, lol) - finally, Boba DID become Mand'alor in Legends continuity, and one that seemingly enjoyed popular support!

Anon: You know what? Boba Fett was given a bad hand in life. He’s done some bad things. But you know what he’s shown? Drive. Commitment. Determination. Resilience. Willpower. And a shocking refusal to die when he’s gone up against bitches badder than himself. Thats more than some Mandalorian leaders can say for themselves. He keeps going. And it’d be funny. Here IS how Jaster can still win. - Also I think that he would be pretty chill. Cody prolly couldnt be. We’ve seen him rule a city, maybe questionably.. but he was hot doing it. Fennec would probably help him and she’s hot too. Din would prolly be good with it. Cody’s last experience ruling was being involved in the empire and witnessing a horrible execution after negotiating a surrender. He prolly wants nothing to do with it now. And good for him! Let!! Cody!!! Retire!!! This isn’t a popularity contest.

Anon: Boba Fett Propaganda: Boba Fett literally was the Mand’alor in legends, and he did a pretty fine job

COMMANDER CODY

Anon: Propaganda for Commander Cody: - Cody was a student of Alpha-17, who in turn had been personally trained by former Mand'alor Jango Fett, giving him a strong training lineage claim to the title - Cody's service as Marshall Commander in the GAR gave him a lot of the diplomatic, organizational, and military experience needed to govern a planet like Mandalore

@spacetime1969: This man has led more people at once than anyone on this list.

Anon: Cody should be Mand'alor because it would be unspeakably sexy

@cha0s-cat: Cody has experience with negotiating from accompanying Obi-Wan, he leads a massive amount of his brothers already. Can recognize when there is a need for negotiations vs a need for violence. This would balance out the majority of the two factions (pacifists/traditionalists) excluding the extremists on either end. And with the amount of chaos that he has to deal with when it comes to Obi-Wan and Anakin, this would probably be relaxing.

@skykind: - Has resisted facism and its attendant police/military state at great personal risk (Bad Batch 2.3), which is apparently necessary to successfully govern Mandalore so long as Death Watch is fully armed and also backed by someone more cunning than their usual leadership (Clone Wars 5.15). - Possesses exceptional leadership and organizational ability from his time as one of the highest-ranked Clone officers of the GAR. The Clone Wars and Bad Batch narratives furthermore present him as Obi-Wan’s peer, so he should be interpreted as equally skilled, wise, kind, and unhinged-in-battle as Obi-Wan. Jury’s out on the sarcasm. - Turns to diplomacy before fighting (Bad Batch 2.3). - Has caught a Jedi’s lightsaber mid-battle at least two times (Clone Wars 1.20 and Revenge of the Sith). This is a very useful skill to have as the prospective or current leader of people who keep chucking the darksaber about. - Has returned a lightsaber to a Jedi at least two times. This is a crucial skill to have as the prospective or current leader of people who should stop selecting said leader via darksaber acquisition.

[lactoseintolerentswag]

Rise Characterizations Pt. 8!!!!!!!!

This has literally been sitting in my drafts for so long I forgot it existed. Sorry to all the Baron Draxum fans (and Draxum himself, bbgirl deserves better). If you're new to my line of notes here's the beginning where I started with Raph. Alright part 8, Baron Draxum, here we go.

Language Habits:

Speaks in long and drawn out sentences, if you're getting nervous about run-on sentences you're on the right track

Due to this, tends to give speeches or monologues

Dramatizes everything fairly eloquently, look for the most exaggerated form of a word. Classic villain speak: "imbeciles", "brethren", "eliminate"

Puts emphasis on those dramatic adjectives and verbs

Occasionally refers to himself in the third person, not as often as Raph

Tends to yell or raise his voice when frustrated or lost in passion

A common gag is trailing off in a casual tone about the severity of his experiments ie his "if it works right" about the ooze causing pain when mutating that poor fish guy

Personality:

Incredibly intelligent yet impatient. It isn't known to my knowledge who taught Draxum or if he taught himself, but his mastery of alchemy and fighting makes him a truly impressive opponent. However, he's always cutting corners to get to his goal. He wasn't willing to raise through the ranks of The Foot the traditional way, he created an army of mutants rather than seek yokai, and was unwilling to spend further time interpreting the prophecy of doom towards yokai-kind

Flair for the (over)dramatic. Draxum is almost your classic evil villain kind of guy. He'll pull out all musical stops, including flowing hair and clothes. On the other end he'll completely overreact and commit to things of little matter like his position as a lunch lady.

Unyielding in his stubbornness. Draxum is not easily swayed in his belief, and even as hard as Mikey tries he is not rid of his disdain for humans by the end of the series. Guy was also incredibly persistent in his research despite his lab blowing up twice. This also allows him to hold longer grudges, even resorting to childish pettiness if he feels annoyed enough.

Affinity for muscles and power. He was drawn to Lou Jitsu for many reasons, but a main one was definitely his muscles. All his guards are usually incredibly beefy, and he was immediately drawn to Raph as "beautiful" when he's reintroduced to his specimens. As for power, he's drawn to the dark armor and is lost in the ecstasy of being imbued with so much mystic energy.

Self-absorbed and egotistical. Draxum is kind of obsessed with his title and self-proclaimed responsibility for saving yokai-kind. He's not one to easily admit his mistakes and takes great pride in his work.

Willing to toe the line of morality. Huginn and Muninn have blatantly called him their evil boss, but Draxum does see his actions for the good of yokai-kind. I don't think he really cares if he's working with evil organizations (The Foot) or doing evil things if he saves the day.

Team builder. I think it's interesting how Draxum is drawn to building teams. He's drawn to working together, all he wants to do is unite yokai and his mutants into an efficient force. This does not mean he's very successful.

Miscellaneous:

Has minor telekinesis

Was a warrior before he was an alchemist

Does not have a good relationship with the Three Heads (apparent leaders of the Hidden City)

Controls seeds that can a) grow into vines, b) expand into robotic vine gauntlets, c) encase his gauntlets into meatier gauntlets that can shoot out waxy cocoons

Is referred to as a sheep-man from the brothers, but I suppose whatever animal you interpret him as is up to you

Has a great singing voice :) ( which is subjective I suppose)

Alright now that is finally posted just gonna let you know that this Isn't the last of my rise analysis posts!! I'm so sorry for the wait!! I got lost in so many schedule things. I'll try and pump a few more analysis posts out within these next few weeks (excluding June 16-22), but I've also been busy working on miscellaneous wips. Thank you for being so sweet to me on all the other notes posts, you guys are so awesome :)

[peregrine-coast]

Milk Bar: my sci-fi RPG set in a post-Soviet Poland is now live on Kickstarter!

Hey folks!!

Milk Bar is a sci-fi tabletop roleplaying game set in an alternate-timeline, post-Soviet Poland. After the Soviets grew in power, their ultimate clash with Capital left your city in ruin. All you can do now is gather your fellow Communards, salvage whatever you can, and build your Milk Bar.

Based on RPGs like Cairn, Mausritter, and Mothership, and video games like Disco Elysium and Control, Milk Bar is a game about the post-collapse and rebuilding.

A 100-page book featuring:

Quick, simplified rules in the old school tradition

A toolkit for generating a retro-futuristic, alternate-timeline post-Soviet Communist Poland

Funnel Rules which have your group of upstart Communards find and take back a Milk Bar from the grasp of Capital. Start at level 0 and Cut Your Milk Teeth. 

Unique progression system tied to basebuilding. Want to stitch up those wounds? You better build an Infirmary and find a Doctor

Abandoned Soviet Superstructures containing reality-bending Future Tech deep within

A Bestiary melding Polish and Slavic mythology with classic science fiction

Solo Rules. Become the Biggest Communism Builder of the year '24!

Gorgeous production values: high-quality, uncoated paper and an exposed, yellow thread binding. Full of graphic design work from Eryk Sawicki (me!) and art from SADGHOBLIN

Pierogi

[beardedmrbean]

The women of Iran are dancing. Women blinded, with one eye, or one arm, are dancing. Iranian Kurds are dancing. Across Europe, Iranian dissidents are dancing. Iranians – often, relatives of the regime’s victims – are drinking to show their joy. The daughters of Minoo Majidi, a mother shot dead by security services during the 2022 protests, shared a video of them raising a glass to President Raisi’s death. 

Dark humour – the jokes of an oppressed people – are circulating. “Mr Raisi, you surprised us. We have no tapas for our drinks,” chuckles one Iranian in a celebratory video on social media. There was the gag about how a Mossad agent called “Eli Copter” had caused the crash. People have handed out cakes and sweets in public squares – an act of symbolic importance in Persian culture, often associated with joyous events. Celebratory fireworks filled the skies in Iranian cities.

Such courage is all the more impressive given how little Raisi’s death is likely to change anything in this closed prison of a society. It may somewhat alter the succession, since he had been one of the men tipped to succeed Khamenei, but the Ayatollahs retain their stranglehold. The bravery of anyone involved in any celebration or act of civil disobedience such as removing a headscarf, is astounding. Those letting off fireworks or handing out sweets are risking their lives. 

History will remember Raisi as a squalid tyrant who took a twisted pride in human suffering. He was involved in the torture and extrajudicial murder of thousands of political prisoners held in Iranian jails and the mass killings of opponents in 1988, when as many as 30,000 are believed to have lost their lives. As Mariam Memarsadeghi wrote in a chilling article for Tablet magazine, “virgins were systematically raped before their execution, to circumvent the Islamic prohibition on killing virgins and to prevent women and girls from reaching heaven”. 

And yet, the BBC posted about “President Ebrahim Raisi’s mixed legacy in Iran”. You can imagine the 1945 headlines about the mixed legacy of “motorway-builder, vegetarian rights enthusiast and dog-lover” Adolf Hitler, or that of “inspirational plus-size influencer” Hermann Goering. Reuters described how Raisi “rose through Iran’s theocracy from hardline prosecutor to uncompromising president, as he burnished his credentials to position himself to become the next supreme leader”. 

Reading such things you would think Raisi was, at worst, a slight renegade. A cheeky chappie in a kaftan whose loss will be felt by light entertainment for generations. They tweeted like he was Rod Hull – rather than, you know, someone nicknamed “the Butcher of Tehran”. But in the real world, faced with the real consequences of the regime he ran, people are dancing. 

It wasn’t just the BBC in its classic “tightrope walk” mode, either. Things were getting a bit Candle in the Wind at the UN, as the entire Security Council (including both the UK and US representatives) stood to observe a minute of silence for President Raisi. Goodbye Tehran’s rose. 

European Council president Charles Michel tweeted out his sincere condolences, while the “European Commissioner for Crisis Management” committed the EU’s Copernicus satellite system to help locate Raisi’s helicopter, in the name of “#EUSolidarity”. 

Lest we forget, Johan Floderus, a young EU official from Sweden, has been incarcerated at Iran’s notorious Evin prison for more than two years. We don’t see much “#EUSolidarity” coming from the other direction. Not to be undone, President Higgins of Ireland channelled the spirit of Eamon de Valera c.1945, by offering his “deepest sympathies” upon the death of a tyrant. 

Such statements go well beyond basic diplomacy. Nobody asked anyone to gush; they chose to. The message it sends is a slap in the face to those bravely putting their lives on the line for freedom. But it’s par for the course in what is (sometimes optimistically) termed the “international community”. 

Speaking of which, on Monday, the International Criminal Court put out joint bids for arrest warrants for the leaders of Hamas and the prime minister and defence minister of Israel. Given that the ICC has no jurisdiction, nor power of its own to arrest anyone, there was something bleakly comic about the manner of the announcement. Chief prosecutor Karim Khan delivered his statement flanked by a couple of glaring bureaucrats. The ICC appeared to be putting on its best “don’t mess with us” face. It looked like a geriatric version of Bugsy Malone.

The ICC application refers, pointedly, to the “territory of Israel” and the “state of Palestine”, which makes it clear which side its bread is buttered. It notably ignores Hamas’s use of human shields, surely a factor when assessing the civilian death toll. It even holds Israel entirely responsible for “closing the three border crossing points” after October 7. 

Yet Hamas destroyed the Erez crossing, murdering its operators and blowing up the barriers separating it from the Gaza strip. Small wonder border checkpoints weren’t up and running immediately. Condemning Israel for this is grotesque; gaslighting on an international scale. 

The timing is also telling. We have known about the crimes of October 7 from day one, thanks to the body-cams Hamas terrorists so proudly wore to document their butchery. Yet the ICC waited until May 2024 to condemn both Israel and Hamas on the same day. The effect is to suggest a moral equivalence between a democratic state and a genocidal terrorist group that says it wants to repeat the atrocities of October 7 indefinitely. You don’t have to believe Israel is above criticism – and nor should we – to recognise this. 

Multinational organisations like the ICC are often held up as moral arbiters in themselves, when they will only be as virtuous or corrupt as their component member states, and reflecting the same biases. The World Health Organisation has long excluded Taiwan from its membership due to Chinese pressure. A ruinous decision, when Taiwan’s early warnings about the risks of human-to-human transmission of Covid in late 2019 were ignored. Something is rotten in the state of many international bodies and moral courage is in short supply. 

Given such a clear-cut case of evil as Raisi, the mealy-mouthed global response does not bode well. For genuine bravery, we can look to the people at the sharp end of such regimes. Because still, in the midst of it all, the women of Iran dance. 

[hometoursandotherstuff]

You must see the tacky, over-the-top decor of the "Chateau Jardin Perfume" in Sassafras, Victoria, Australia. It has 4bds, 3ba and the price is listed as $4.2M - $4.5M. (Maybe for $4.5M you get the furnishings?)

The grand entrance hall. I don't really like it. The railings look kind of builder's grade, like those standard newel posts that you see in so many homes.

Black & brass kitchen. Interesting countertop choice. Do you like the black tiles? They look like bricks, with that rough surface. And, of course the chandeliers.

The dining room. A lot going on in here. I never cared for crushed velvet fabric. Looks like the ceiling embellishments are painted purple to match the velvet.

The living room ties in w/the dining room decor. I wonder how they wound up with 2 fireplaces in here. The one on the left looks like a rustic stone one, and the other one is marble.

Here's a lounge. More crushed velvet. Is that tile on the wall? Shiny wallpaper? Have you ever seen this many chandeliers in one house?

Home theater. I like the art deco floor.

The main bd. I don't know, they have all this elegant decor, but the wood looks modern rustic and informal.

This bath has sleek modern elements and a baroque sink vanity, plus classic stained glass windows. Some of their mixes don't work.

Have you ever seen a more fancy garage? Looks like a chapel.

The gated entrance.

There's a mosaic rose on the bottom of the pool. Now, remember the garage? That's not a chapel, there, that's the garage. Isn't that an interesting idea?

An outdoor living room.

What a lovely patio.

The grounds are stunning. Look at that cute little shed.

Set on a hillside, you get a great view of the city.

I wonder if all the statuary conveys.

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

The Orbitron

The Orbitron is a custom car built by Ed Roth and feared lost until its rediscovery in Mexico in 2007

A second generation to Roth's original Beatnik Bandit, which was built in 1960, the Beatnik Bandit II features a one-of-a-kind fiberglass body with PPG lemon meringue pie paint, stylized Rat Fink designs on the sides, and chrome by Metal Masters of Salt Lake City, UT. 

Beatnik Bandit II includes many unique design features, including an electronic console which operates the digital instrument panel and other features such as a digital readout of the car's latitude and longitude. 

The lack of a rearview mirror is not a problem on this car. A "TV mirror" video monitor is mounted on the console with the actual camera mounted in the rear panel. The bubble top is also lifted electronically. 

Beatnik Bandit II was built entirely by Roth, who credits "Revelations from Father in Heaven" for his achievement. The car has been shown in major U. S. cities, including Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston, as well as in Yokohama, Japan.

The Beatnik Bandit

Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth was an artist, cartoonist, illustrator, pinstriper and custom car designer and builder who created the hot-rod icon Rat Fink and other characters. Roth was a key figure in Southern California's Kustom Kulture and hot-rod movement of the late 1950s and 1960s The Beatnik Bandit was one of his first creations from the early 1960s. It was built from a 1949 Oldsmobile, the chassis was shortened 5 feet, the Olds engine was given the classic hotrod look with GMC blower and twin carbys, everything was chromed except the blower belt. The white interior featured single joystick, that operated turning, throttle and braking. The bubble top was created using compressed air to inflate a sheet of plastic into a dome in a pizza oven. On display at the National Automobile Museum in Reno

Mysterion

Ed Roth built the Mysterion in 1963, he got the idea from the multi engine dragsters he had seen at the dragstrips. He combined two Ford engines, two transmissions, plus two welded rear ends for the foundation. It featured an offset headlight and the typical Ed Roth bubble top. On display at Galpin Auto Sports.

The Road Agent by Ed “Big Daddy” Roth.

Mysterion

Custom builder and artist Ed "Big Daddy" Roth completed the Mysterion in 1963. The bubbletopped custom featured a completely original fiberglass body and twin Ford big-block engines. The weight of the engines was too much for the frame to bear, and the Mysterion fell apart. Tribute versions have been built, including this precise replica from Galpin Auto Sports.

The Surfink

The Surfink, created by Mark Glaz as a tribute to Ed Roth and Ratfink, features a large Ratfink figure atop a surfboard complete with a blown V-8 engine.

The Orbitron

Built in 1964, the vehicle was powered by a 1955 or 1956 Chevrolet V8 and was backed by a Powerglide automatic transmission. The body was hand-laid fiberglass, hiding Roth's extensive chrome work to the chassis. The cockpit, set at the extreme rear of the vehicle in the manner of a dragster, was lined with fake fur and featured an 11-inch General Electric "1-Touch" portable television inserted in the console. Topping the cockpit was a custom-made, hydraulically operated Plexiglas bubble top. One of a series of ordinary doorbell push-button switches atop the hood activated the top from the outside.

Other mechanical features included a 1956 Chevrolet rear end, dropped Ford front axle beam, Buickbrake drums and early Ford brakes. The frame was handmade of rectangular 2x4 inch steel tubing. The engine was a leftover from one of Roth's 1955 Chevrolets, having been removed to make way for a then-new Mark IV big-block given to him by General Motors. It was one of the very few completed cars Roth deemed to be a "mistake" because he felt the car did not show well since the heavily chromed engine and most of the chassis were hidden. The Orbitron was, in fact, one of his few customs to have a hood. Reportedly, the hydraulically operated hood did not fit well due to rushed fiberglass work.

The vehicle's most distinctive feature was its asymmetrical front end with red, green and blue tinted headlamps. It was thought that the three beams when combined would produce an intense white light; the idea came from the then-new medium of color television.

By Jerry Thompson - originally posted to Flickr as 2C7O4069, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5973582

By Jerry Thompson - originally posted to Flickr as 2C7O4066, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5973591

The Baja Bandeeto

Custom car builder and renowned painter Fritz ‘Spritz By Fritz‘ Schenck recreated with his bubble top roadster; the Baja Bandeeto.

[saltwaterlakeshavefish]

THE LEGO SHOW/MOVIE UNIVERSE

(I know this is very obvious but I need to rant 😔 also first post 🤠 also thoughts about this matter are appreciated and I tried to get all of the Lego shows,this is very much modeled after the scale of the universe)

Lego chima universe is canon in ninjago both were in the same period with nexo knight meaning it in the same galaxy. Dreamzzz had crossovers with ninjago Dreamzzz is connected somehow by a pizza logo from hidden side which begs the question: wouldn't most of the Lego shows be in the same galaxy ; to back this up you can look at the Lego movie where the master builders are in unikitty’s solar system

you can see Batman, unikitty, Michelangelo(tmnt),Lloyd ,worker(city), and Gandolf while the themes the classic Legos (medieval, space, western,and pirate ) are all there and in the same room with a cameo in one scene with the millennium falcon from Star Wars 

In the Lego movie 2 we are introduced to jurassic Park by Rex (he probably stole the dinosaurs ) and Lego Duplo

you may be thinking

“No Disney” character Disney has it own universe which includes marvel,Disney princess,Disney movies,etc. however star wars is really weird due to it making a cameo in the Lego movie (I still need to think it through”

"what about the Lego friends"

They have there own galaxy with Lego elves due the main character in elves being human presumably from the friends solar system who travel via amulet to the elves solar system 

"what about Lego monkie kid" to that idk hypothetically it would go in the Same galaxy as ninjago but it doesn't really work due to its animation style its drawn rather than cgi (yes the unikitty show and some of ninjago was too) but it's based of of journey to the west an actual story by being a twist off of it being set in the future a few hundreds of years after. (Will probably rant about jttw media)

Mixels and Bionicle are in the same galaxy because no humans/humanoids.

This is brain rot,and the Lego universe is weird

[helmarok]

hrmmm lukas headcanons

he's 18 in season 1 and 28 in season 2

short king, 5'4"

he's bisexual and poly. he's got two hands one for jesse and one for petra

him and aiden/maya/gill were all raised together by his grandma, the other 3 being adopted. everyone would ask lukas why he sticks with those assholes, and it's because they're his family, and they grew up together and it would hurt to break off from them and it DID hurt when aiden decided to cut him out.

bro loves baking as a hobby. everyone loves his cookies. aiden too but he never admits it and always says something's wrong with them but would eat half the batch every time without fail

he's a cat guy, but also a horse girl. his old horse was named reba, she went missing when the witherstorm hit. he kept the black horse he rode from the witherstorm on and named her dolly.

very good at archery because i decided the ocelots are a hunting group, not primarily builders though they are good at it. his melee combat though... yikes. in sky city when he meets aiden in the throne room, he's almost immediately taken down.

not a big fan of loud or busy environments. after moving from the treehouse to beacontown, he tried to live with petra and jesse for a while but didn't like the city life and moved.

he HATES the cold! no amount of layers can save this man. that's another reason why he moved away from beacontown. it's too far up north for him.

lukas kinda like the therapist of the group cause he's the most mentally stable and best at feelings and best at handling them and overall he is just comically perfect idk what to say. he doesn't like it when people hold everything in and explode because that's kinda what happened with aiden. this puts him at odds with petra in season 2.

he wears a really gay cowboy belt with an ocelot on it. also walks around in cowboy boots.

definitely has an ocelot fursona that he has many doodles and lore of in his little journal. he has also doodled the whole order fursonas: jesse a pig, petra a wolf, axel a creeper, olivia a sheep, and ivor a bat. if anyone asked him what their fursona would be, he has an answer. but the only people who know this information are jesse and petra who accidentally found it looking for another book and he made them promise not to tell anyone.

lukas is real easy to become friends with so he became closest with ivor before anyone else in the order. this is partially because they share an interest in history and old legends and reading and nerd stuff like that. sometimes they just chill and discuss these nerd things over tea.

big fan of country music and classic rock

you're not gonna believe this but his favorite drink is a nice warm glass of milk

lukas was the closest thing petra had to a friend before the order came to be, so he always had discounted deals when it came to rare items. once in a blue moon, she'd even give him something cool for free as her way of saying she likes having him around without actually saying it.

he's very humble, and even when the order is drowning in riches and the hall is decorated with gold and diamonds and everyone has fancy enchanted armor and tools, this dude is still running around in iron pauldrons and still got a set of iron tools. his bow isn't even enchanted, despite petra begging him to let her put something on it since she enchanted everyone else's stuff.

i think he has a book series that's like minecraft warrior cats. like his biggest book is obviously the one on the witherstorm but his cat books are definitely a renowned series with fans all over the world. and he tooootally didn't base some of the characters after his friends...

i have more but this is just off the top of my head so maybe i'll make another post one day

[fallout-drabbles-n-stuff]

Idk if you‘ve done this before, but companions and their favourite video game genres? 🤔

For some reason I see Preston enjoying farming sims - being part of a close knit community and helping improve it. Also probably city builder-type games. (The only kind of settlement-esque joke I will ever make about my beloved cowboy husband)

And while writing this I also had to think of Curie doing review videos of all sorts of medical games. Imagine her doing a series on smth like Two Point Hospital, I imagine that‘d be kinda cute.

(Ooh this is fun!)

Cait:

She really likes the more old school type of arcade games. (If you consider that to be a genre in itself, I totally do) Things like Donkey Kong, Frogger, and Pac-man are her jam.

Curie:

I think the ask really hit the nail on the head with her. I can totally see her liking medical games but more specifically things like surgery simulators.

Danse:

It might sound crazy but I firmly believe Danse would enjoy sandbox style games. Things were he can build up a world of his own and have decent freedom is something he’d enjoy. His favorite is Minecraft but he won’t admit it.

Deacon:

He is an avid enjoyer of MMORPG style games. He really likes fucking with people, that’s honestly why. Games like Day Z and Dead by Daylight is where he shines.

Gage:

He prefers games that require a bit of strategy behind them with tons of action. His taste isn’t too picky but if he had to pick an absolute favorite..something like Marvel’s Midnight Suns would be right up his alley. (Also Gage is a huge nerd, I just know it)

Hancock:

Big time lover of old times platform games. Give him OG Mario and he’s happier than a lark.

Macready:

Okay..it’s tempting to say the sniper would enjoy shooting games but in all actuality his favorite is fantasy rpg. Games like Skyrim are his bread and butter and he will spend an unhealthy amount of time on them.

Maxson:

If asked he’ll claim strategy but in truth his favorite is anything with a good adventure to it. Anything with exploration, optional problem solving but minimal pressure on his character makes him happy.

Nick:

Does online solitaire count?

Piper:

She is all about classic fighting games. Mortal Kombat is something she doesn’t play around with..she’s an obnoxious gamer too btw.

Preston:

He just likes a game that puts him in a nice, calm setting where he can still feel useful. Games like Stardew Valley or even Animal Crossing are great in his opinion.

X6-88:

You know those old computer games where you could shoot kittens out of canons? That’s it.

[centrally-unplanned]

Okay so since we did Chinggis, how about the other Big Conqueror Generals? Alexander of Macedon, Attila, Timur, Napoleon?

(Several asked for some of these in other asks)

Alexander the Pretty Good: So at this point I think everyone knows that his father Phillip was the "state builder", who created the new systems of Macedonian drill and mobilization infrastructure, handing Alexander a strong army he did not build. And Greece really was hitting a nadir of power, the post-Spartan era fragmenting alliances and exhausting the stronger city states. So it is fair to say that Alexander is overvalued, any Macedon king probably could have taken over Greece at that time. Additionally, when you study his "vast" conquests, its actually really just Greece & then Persia like five times, its him beating one opponent and then mopping up, and having the material advantage most of the time once you get rid of the hagiography.

But starting from Alexander the Great's height gives you an extremely long way to fall; he is overvalued, but still incredibly high VOR. He has the irreplaceable synergistic value of ambition & charisma; he decided to conquer the world, and got a huge list of allies, often ones he had himself fought in battle, to help him do it. Most people never conceive of that as actually being possible - in particular Alexander was not provoked or forced into his confrontations with Persia (establishing hegemony over Greece was more of a coincidence, but I think he would have found an excuse). And while his military achievements are exaggerated he obviously was talented, particularly at logistics - projecting power that wide is a nearly unparalleled feat in his time, and not something Macedonia was built to do before him. So I will go with A+

Atilla is discussed here, weak, C-/D+

Timur - never studied him actually! Its my issue being a Europe & East Asia guy, I know Gengis/Temujin because he is tied up with the Jin, but Timur never quite got around to the Ming conquest

Napoleon: Very complicated, provisional opinions. The Napoleonic wars scope is in fact quite contingent; its a constant back and forth of revolutionary ambition from France to spread itself, reactionary forces in the monarchies to fight back, rebellions and opportunities. Napoleon was not someone who engineered the whole thing by any means, he was given a chance to shine and he took it. Revolutionary France, constantly at war, was pretty much always going to arrive at something like a military leadership.

Additionally, he often gets too much credit for civil reforms of things like the Napoleonic Code; the process for formulating the Code started in the first National Assemblies in 1791, and multiple drafts of a new, universal code had been made when Napoleon was in power. He ordered it to stop dillydallying and make it happen, don't get me wrong, that is points. But its also the kind of thing dictators can do, right? So its a bit of a question of how likely a military ruler centralizing authority at all in France was. I think kind of high? I don't view Napoleon as an Augustus figure. So I think his VOR would have had kind of similar power. Napoleon did not have grand insights into what the legal code should, from what I know. On things like these I think he is getting credit for the fact that his name in in the title that maybe he shouldn't.

But there is a reason he became Emperor of France - he is a grade A military genius. His rep here is deserved - of course he was taking advantage of smart officers, existing innovations, etc, dude ain't forging cannons himself. But he put it all together, truly did push the use of artillery forward, and he was tirelessly creative on the battlefield. He was a famous workaholic, memorizing every map and coordinating every part of the battle himself, in ways that just put him ahead of the curve of his opponents. He is a classic OODA loop guy - he is getting information, putting a plan forward, getting new information, and pivoting the plan faster than everyone else, and he keeps winning on the back of it.

And then the rep you get from that string of wins inspired morale, commitment, diligence, and more from his men and officers that compounds. That last part is important - making an army takes time, its about relationships. You couldn't just slot the Duke of Wellington in as commander of the French and expect it to work the same. Due to that, the VOR for having Napoleon leading your armies in 1805 is literally irreplaceable. There is not single other person in existence who can deliver greater value, and I think that is very clear - and at margins that are very rare.

But of course he has his share of mistakes, particularly in naval affairs, over time his enemies internalize his innovations, and his reach exceeds his grasp. In particular he had multiple opportunities to "settle" for gains where France is first amoung equals, and he doesn't take it, and it all comes undone. He could have been S tier if he learned that. But alas, I think it puts him at A.

[scotianostra]

Scottish actress Brigit Forsyth born on July 28th 1940 in Edinburgh.

Brigit was a theatre fan from the age of eight when she saw her first pantomimes at the King’s Theatre in the city where she remembers Stanley Baxter as"The best panto dame ever" and Russell hunter during his Callan days.

She attended all girls schools Cranley and St George’s in Edinburgh then trained as a secretary before enrolling at RADA where she studied for three years. She then joined various repertory companies including Lincoln, Edinburgh, Salisbury, Cheltenham, Hornchurch and Watford.

She toured in My Fat Friend and performed in the West End productions of The Norman Conquests, Dusa, Fish and Stas and Vi. Her film work includes The Wrong Side of The Blankets, The Road Builder and The Crystal Stone.

Brigit has worked extensively on television for many years in shows including Playing The Field, The Practice and Tom, Dick and Harriet. She has also appeared in countless long-running hits such as Doctors, The Bill, Casualty, Coronation Street and Emmerdale. She is best known for her long running role as Thelma Ferris in the BBC comedy The Likely Lads and Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads, she has been in the reboot of Open all Hours, Still Open All Hours, but said a number of years ago that The Likely Lads should never return.

Brigit’s heart has always remained in theatre and she has appeared in classics such as Hamlet, The Comedy of Errors, The Glass Menagerie and The Importance of Being Earnest as well as the recent West End hit Calendar Girls

In March 1998 she made a one episode guest appearance in Coronation Street as Ken Barlow’s dating agency client Babs Fanshawe. Brigit is married to Coronation Street director Brian Mills and they have two children Zoe and Ben. Brigit has also appeared in Eastenders, Hollyoaks, Holby City and Doctors, to name but a few of her many extensive YV roles.

Brigit Forsyth passed away on December 1st last year aged 83, she is survived by her two children.

[simlicious]

My game recommendations

I had a reblog in my drafts folder for a couple of days to keep working on it and when I was done I saw that the original poster sadly deactivated reblogs on their post. They lovingly suggested that simmers should indulge in other games too, and I couldn't agree more. It is a special feeling to dive into a new game, learn new mechanics, and have a very different experience from the last game you played. I really put a lot of work into my answer, so I decided to make a new post for it.

I'm a simmer and a gamer (simming since 2000), gaming since 1994 or so. I used to play Everquest II way back when and dabble in Elder Scrolls Online but I quit for Baldur's Gate III which has me obsessed for months now, highly enjoyable. Sims 3 has fallen a few steps on my top 10 list in recent years, but I use it as a creative outlet anyway and do not tend to judge it against other games much. I do judge Sims 4 though, which is a sad state of affairs. I can have fun in it if I spend the time in CAS, or for the first 6 hours in a new expansion - but it's just too expensive for its little value, especially compared to other games on this list.

City Builder/Automation games:

Factory Town: super chill cozy vibe, automate logistics for your pixel-people town. Lovely game

Timberborn: build a town for cute beavers!

Farthest Frontier: a nice city simulation with some logistics and events such as raiders invading the town

Satisfactory: one of the most ambitious automation games, with amazing graphics, for people who like to puzzle, analyze/calculate, and really use their heads while gaming. I like to play it as a challenge and see how far I can take my spaghetti conveyor belts!

Frostpunk: a harrowing/grim atmosphere, dystopian, make hard choices for your town

Simulation games:

Roller Coaster Tycoon and Planet Coaster: I love building super scary rollercoasters and then riding them and trying to get people in the park to ride them too

Strategy games:

Anno 1800: I can spend my entire life in this game it feels, it is engaging and relaxing all at once - love this so much!

Action/adventure games:

Assassins Creed Origins: stunning world, super detailed visuals and fun combat mechanics

Scifi/Exploration

No Man's Sky: At first I thought this was more of a casual game, but prepare for a lot of grinding and long-ish quests. It is fun to discover new plants/creatures and name them!

Survival games:

Raft: great to play with friends too and it has a relaxed vibe but also survival mechanics that keep you engaged

The Long Dark: I love the art style and music so much, the story mode is great, the survival mode can be very challenging depending on settings and it is super immersive. Wrap yourself in a warm blanket to play 😂

Subnautica: my favorite game ever before Baldur's Gate 3 dethroned it! It is a game that will guide you to leave your comfort zone time and time again, but you choose when you feel ready for it. You can really follow your own pace and exploring the vast, beautiful, and terrifying depths of this ocean planet is absolutely immersive and filled with surprise and wonder. It has also very chill and calm base-building elements to counteract the scarier moments. The soundtrack is one of the best in terms of evoking feelings/ building atmosphere, do not turn off the sound while playing this game!!!

Storytelling games:

Life is Strange: a classic, it's fun to explore what we could change and what the consequences would be if we could go back in time.

Firewatch: very emotional and touching, leaving a lasting impression

Casual games:

Bridge Constructor Portal (the dark humor is a bonus, it's fun and trains your analytical thinking!)

Carcassonne (like the tabletop game, chill puzzle game)

Simulacra (you uncover a mystery on a phone, interesting idea!)

Retro Games:

My favorite old/retro game would be Black & White (from 2001), which I played when it originally came out, I loved it so much! The free camera was revolutionary at the time. You play a god who is powered by worshippers whom you can either provide and care for or reign terror over, and your actions decide your alignment, good, neutral, or evil. You get a creature that you can train (and will be more or less useful to your goals or disrupt them depending on how well you train it). IIRC, you can train the creature either in the story mode or sandbox/skirmish mode and then go back to story mode with a stronger creature. The mouse gestures which activate miracles in the air felt like a revolutionary new idea back then. The game is not available officially anymore, but it is downloadable from some abandonware websites and the community-made patches so it is still playable today! Writing this, I had to reinstall it right away... the nostalgia!

RPGs:

Cyberpunk 2077: it's just iconic, the city energy and car drives are nice, the story is interesting and it feels immersive

The Witcher 3: great quests and story, beautifully crafted open world

Baldur's Gate 3: I could also talk for hours about Baldur's Gate 3. If there is one game out there that everyone should have tried once in their life, it's that one. It really lets you try any strategy you want and did not actually expect to work in a video game, but in BG3, it does. Even cheaty ones like pushing enemies from a cliff or using explosives to blow stuff up. If you got surprise-attacked but have no weapon handy, you can throw a grease bottle at the enemy that can make them slip and fall, and then you can throw your burning torch at it to light everything on fire. You can stack boxes to climb up to reach something (or throw a goblin body onto someone's head, because it's perfectly normal to carry those around with you). You can be sneaky and steal stuff, even rewards from enemies. Don't like fighting? You can talk your way out of most fights if your character has the necessary skills and still complete quests that way. 95% of NPCs have something to say, and if you click them again, they will have another line. The narrator is awesome. The companions have so much character, the banter is great and every character has its own story arc and goal, the voice acting is phenomenal all around. Definitely get the talk-to-animals skill and use it on all animals, you'll have hilarious conversations! It's worth every penny, even if it's not on sale (and I hardly ever buy a game at full price, so that is saying a lot). Thanks for reading, I hope you feel inspired to try some new games! Have fun 😊