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oh dear...a new nerd war is about to erupt again...

kotaku.com/5874504/the-next-edition-of-d...

You have been working with the enigmatic Von Dible for some
years now.  Your investigations in
illegal data-mining on the sector capitol world of Scintilla – which you
initially expected to be rather boring – turned out to be deadly.  Von Dible had sent you along with a small
cadre of other agents to arrest and excruciate a suspected malefic scholar –
Wilhelm Gurgurin - who was hiding records and selling dangerous information to
possibly dangerous organizations.  The
plan was simple and the mark was a scholam so you were certain this was going
to be a straight-in-straight-out sort of deal.

You were wrong.  Your
entire team underestimated the terrible potential of Scholam Gurgurin and you
paid dearly.  Not only was he protected
by a group of fanatical adepts, tainted by the foul and heretical information
he brokers; he also retaliated with the use of warp-craft and sorcery; and
ultimately unleashed a powerful twice-bound daemonhost upon you to cover his
escape.  You managed to score a hit on
him at range as he was fleeing, but it wasn’t a mortal wound and his adepts
managed to spirit him away and off-world.

It took your entire team to defeat the daemonhost and only
you and the psyker survived though exposure to the dark magicks of the
daemonhost had damaged the psykers sanity permanently.  Regardless of his escape, you did manage to
procure important information on Scholam Gurgurin and report it to Von
Dible. 

It appears that “Malefactor” Gurgurin had several primary
clients who were paying handsome sums of money for the redaction of records as
well as several proscribed records on xenos and archeotech heresies –
information on the Schismatics of the Hadd data-tombs, records of the Hollow
Men of Ryne, tech-patterns by Magos Grizvaldi, and even partial schematics on
the most sacred of The Omnissiah’s god-machines.  Only a handful of these clients were named in
various communications – Traigus Tor of Solomon, an individual named Vath Rubix,
and all in reference to or for “The Imperator.” 
After some time recovering from your injuries and training, Von Dible
contacted you about re-appointment to another team in the sector.

You were informed that you will be aiding Mechwright Scarlet
Juddica in her investigations moving forward and were to book passage as soon
as possible to Port Gavinus in the Golgenna Reach.  Without delay you did as Von Dible commanded.  When you arrived at the port you were
contacted by Captain Atrian Havoc aboard the Sword of Sabbat and told to come aboard for introductions and
briefing on the current investigation.

You almost had Roxburn Ulrik on Solomon before he slipped away;
it’s been a thorn in your side ever since, a blow to your sense of duty and
justice.  Though Roxburn had made a break
for it, you were on to him, and knew the routes he usually traveled.  It was almost as though The Emperor Himself
was guiding your destiny when you heard about a possible opportunity to
investigate the Arbites Precinct on Port Gavinus – which as His Will would have
it, is not only a major trade holding of one of the larger noble houses on
Solomon (and thus Solomon itself) but it was one of Roxburn’s primary transfer
stations.  Never one to leave a job
unfinished, you took it upon yourself to apply for a position on the internal
investigations team assigned to Port Gavinus and in the process even root out your
newfound nemesis, Roxburn Ulrik.

When you arrived with your team at Port Gavinus the going
was slow, too slow.  Local enforcement
statutes, Port security documents, Port authorities, void-born nobles, and
about a hundred miles of Administratum red tape kept you from getting any
closer to your goal, or even any closer to uncovering any possible corruption
in the local Arbites.  After several
months running in slow, political circles there was at last a small glimmer of
hope.  You were contacted by a Sergeant
Sturm Reeves in one of the B-ring precincts who was suspect of his fellow
arbiters and even his superiors.  He had
hinted at some leads on his end that may reveal more and that he would keep in
contact.  Your excitement eventually
ebbed, for after this initial exchange, not a word was heard from Reeves for
several weeks.  During that time all your
leads didn’t quite pan out and ultimately you had hit the blinds.     

It was when your investigation had nearly run out of
promethium that your contact – Arbiter Sturm Reeves – in Precinct 23 finally
got a lead, and a strong one.  His squad,
after weeks of footwork and inquiry, managed find and seize a shipment of
illicit xenos items from B-Ring, Section 23-dock 1900.  The perpetrators were a group of void scum,
spacers, and pirates who were merely working for a larger entity.  A larger entity you knew had to be none other
than the blasted pirate, Roxburn Ulrik.  Interrogation
of the criminals in custody proved somewhat fruitful when several of the
prisoners revealed the primary shipping center and operations within the entire
port, Dock 2323.  Not many of them were
in the know of exactly who their boss was – some were merely paid to help and
keep quiet, while others were just criminals who owed favors to “The
Syndicate.”  B-ring, Section 23 was a
relatively unused part of the Port.  Many
of the docks are simply too small to accommodate the vast mercantile vessels of
the noble houses and rogue traders.  Most
berth in the upper A-ring sections, not only because of the affluent nature of
the A-ring and its proximity to the spires, but also because A-ring is simply
large enough to accommodate their vast bulk.

B-ring was a different story.  Quiet, unused and riddled with networks of
abandoned mag-levs and transport shafts, it was a smuggler’s paradise.  You and the rest of your associates had
focused primarily on the more heavily trafficked A-ring docks and some of the
private noble docks of the spires; and you cursed yourself for not considering
B-ring sooner (though Port Authority did assure
you that those docks had been sealed and were non-functional). 

From the information Reeves received from the seizure of
items and criminals at Dock 1900, he also suspected that the ring was no local
operation, but rather a mere way-point for a shadowy and ill-reputed
organization known only as the Amaranthine Syndicate.  Reeves confessed his unease, subtly implying
that he suspected several high-ranking personnel of either being paid by the
Syndicate or actually members of the Syndicate. 
Knowing you had finally found your quarry operating his illicit trade
red-handed, you quickly told Arbiter Reeves and his team (as well as several of
the other enforcers from Solomon) to investigate while you contacted the Solomon
Arbites Sector Holdings.  It was then,
while relaying your information, that you were informed of the impending
arrival of several inquisitorial agents.

On one hand you were much relieved, nothing cuts through
bureaucratic grox-dung like an Imperial Rosette; but on the other, once agents
of His Most Holy Inquisition did arrive, your investigations and any hope of
catching Roxburn were most likely at an end. 
You resolved to aid the agents as best you could, in the name of The
Emperor of Mankind; and hope to show them your knowledge and conviction on the
matter. 

In any event it wasn’t long before your received the news,
Reeves and his team (and your fellow officers) had been ambushed at dock 2323
and killed in action.  This only
solidified your feelings for the coming Inquisition agents, and it also dropped
an icy knot down in your belly.  Your
fellow arbiters were gone, you were without backup, and any and all information
you had had died with Reeves and his and your men.  You decided to lie low a little, ease up on
the investigations and await the Inquisition.

After a few more weeks, no word had come that the
Inquisition had arrived and Sergeant Reeves’ replacement, Sergeant Murtok had
wrapped the smuggling case up nicely and submitted the final paperwork.  The prisoner was shipped off to a detainment
facility for further sentencing and punishment. 
No Roxburn Ulrik, no far-reaching cold trade operation, no justice.  It left a sour taste in your mouth.  Solomon Arbites Sector Holdings sent word to
come back, but again, as though the Emperor Himself was guiding your path, all
hell broke loose on Port Gavinus.  B-ring
Section 23 had gone dark from a logic infection that had damaged the section’s
machine spirit and forced it to completely shut down.  The whole station was on alert.

You and the station Arbites command arrived at B-ring,
Section 23-dock2323 to find a mess. 
Someone had taken control of the security and control spirits.  They sealed off the entire bay area and
force-spaced everyone inside!  The
enforcers were definitely worried.  Not
only that but the station tech-adepts and maintenance servitors were going berserk.

As it all turned out, it was none other than the
Inquisitional agents themselves.  They
really weren’t at all what you had expected. 
A gaunt and slender female Techpriest leading a rag-tag group of
ex-guardsmen, hive scum and a very odd-looking fellow with an electoo on his
forehead.  In any event, they had the
smugglers on the run and managed to take hold of a very large haul of their
cargo.  Unfortunately for them, they only
had Green Level access to systems, and the female tech-priest – a Mechwright
Scarlet Juddica – had perpetrated a level 3, class "A" tech-heresy by
tampering with a stations primary machine systems; and they were in some very
hot water.  Again, you thought everything
had hit a wall.  The Inquisition agents
were in holding, the cargo had been seized, and all other evidence was under
wraps until everyone could figure out what to do; and again Roxburn had eluded
you. 

Disheartened you arranged passage on a small chartist vessel
to Solomon.  It was as you were boarding
that vessel that you were approached by a tall, dark and mysterious
figure.  Dressed in voluminous, hooded black
robes, finely wrought power armor with ancient and powerful purity seals, a
Revenant Pattern storm-bolter at its belt, and two achingly beautiful power
swords across its back the figure pulled you aside.  Her voice was deep and commanding, a surprise
because you didn’t suspect it was a woman at all underneath all that; and as
tall as she was!  She might as well have
been a legendary Astartes!  You couldn’t
make out her features beneath the cowl and black helm, but you could feel her eyes on you – steady,
predatory, trained.  She introduced
herself as Inquisitor Von Dible. 

Now that is
what you expected an Inquisitor to be. 
Dark, unfathomable, and imposing! 
She took you in for questioning and after a time surprised you even
further with an invitation to join her team! 
She felt your knowledge in the matter might aid her Agents in their
continuing investigations.  Without
hesitation you accepted.  A chance to
work for His Most Holy Inquisition!  To
root out heresy at the core and have the means to destroy the enemies of
mankind in His Name is an honor very few imperial citizens get.  She quickly excused herself and told you to
meet up with Agents Juddica and Caelus on board the Sword of Sabbat for introductions and a briefing before moving
forward…

well, well, well my dear D&D community people.  it has been quite some time hasn't it?  let me tell you, there has been no end to the adventures of your dear narrator.  let's do the fast and dirty shall we?

nov. 2010

- ended my first tour of duty at Danger Close (EALA)

- went to costa rica with wife and friends

- on 3rd day of trip i broke my collarbone canyoning (rapelling down waterfalls) and had to climb my way back out on it.

- costa rican medical care is free, and the drugs are cheap.

- still had a blast in costa rica:  mountain rain forest retreats, rainforest hikes, fresh civeche, good friends, a volcano, a five-star resort on top of a series of hotspring waterfalls...thanksgiving.

- the worst part of costa rica was aeromexico.  never.  ever.  ever fly aeromexico.  i'd rather break my collarbone again than fly that shady airline.  srsly.

dec. 2010

- christmas in colorado

- stayed with my awesome aunt and uncle

- new years at home with just me and the wife

- did a personal commission painting for matthew perry.

- first month of unemployment

jan. 2011 - april 2011

- a very long term of unemployment.  the biggest in my professional history.  i laughed, i cried, i painted miniatures and wrote an entire dark heresy campaign.

- painting miniatures!

- started the Dark Heresy campaign (i'll put those in other blogs shortly)

- applied to naughtydog = rejected

- applied to THQ = rejected

- started crawling on the walls and getting cabin fever.

may 2011

- started work at Danger Close again!  1 year contract at previous rate = awesome.

- my wife finished her work on the movie Transformers:  Dark Side of the Moon (go wifey!)

- wife began a long, much needed vacation while i collect the dough

june 2011

- players are about rank 4 in Dark Heresy.

- i'm writing this blog right now.

 

so that's about it in brief my friends.  it's been hairy in some spots, uncertain in others, but good overall.  still a few kinks to work out i think; but today i feel pretty good.  i'll be posting pictures of some of the painting work i did along with character bios and session notes on the dark heresy game i'm running!  yay!  more to come!

love and stumbles

~B-)

 

 

*phew

back from poland at last.  i'll tell you what - warsaw is a blast.  great times were had and the work was good.  unfortunately i managed to procure some sort of virus on my way out and had to suffer a 14 hour flight to LAX with it.  i call it the "warsaw strain".  it was hell, and i'm still feeling a bit off.  but it was all worth it.  met some cool people, worked on a cool game, and just had an all around great time of it.  i must say it's nice to come home and it's great to be with my wife and dogs who i've missed more than anything.

now i'm back at EA in LA aka Danger Close.  the game is done and it's quiet.  they won't be keeping me on full time unfortunately so this week is my last and then...???

i figure collect some unemployment for a while and enjoy some serious lazy time off.  my wife and i are going to costa rica for a week with a group of friends in november.  should be quite an awesome time as well.  it'll be much needed.  she's just finishing up her work on TRON: Legacy (the movie) and they've been working 7 days a week, 10-14 hour days!  she's pretty beat.  it's coming together well though, and she'll be in the credits!  hopefully we'll score the premier and be able to see it! 

anyway, not much else.  just stopped in to work today but it's real quiet here, tomorrow i'll probably stay home and sleep.  otherwise just takin' it easy my friends.  until next time...

na zdrowie!

~b

holy schmoly!  where the heck did the month go?  the summer?  quickly approaching the end of this project here at EALA - which, by the way, is now known as Danger Close Studios.  not sure if i like it, but the logo is pretty funny.  so yeah, i'm doing the final scene for the game and it's all full of facial animation and emotion and stuff so it's been pretty intensive.  facial animation is something that, when you do it, requires huge amounts of attention and finesse to get it to read just perfectly.  there is so much subtle movement in the human face that if integrated into the animation can really sell the reality; and it's all that much MORE important when the animation is all close ups!

so yeah, it's challenging and i love it; but i'm about ready for it to be done! 

just got back from the gym and i'm beat.  i've been working out like mad and dieting for almost 6 months now.  i've lost almost 40lbs.!  it's a lot of work, but honestly it's the only way to lose weight and look good in a healthy sort of way.  that and it ensures that it's a lifestyle change and not just a fad that you'll end up rubber-banding from.  it wasn't easy to get started but once i did i started to feel the differences in my energy levels.  after a month is when i really started to notice the weight difference...and moreover, the muscles!  after 6 months the difference is rather startling, and it's nice when someone you haven't seen in a while notices it right away.  now that i've built up some good habits i've got to work to kick my last bad habit...smoking.  urgh.  i love it and i hate it.  that's addiction for you!  my deal is when i hit 195lbs. i'm quitting.  alongside the quitting i'll take up running and yoga once per week.  this will help with blood flow and improve my cardio-vascular system.  ideally it will also curb the weight gain that oftentimes comes along with quitting! 

what else?  oh!

just got back from comic-con in san diego this last weekend.  it was an awesome time.  got to meet max brooks as well as zachary levi from "chuck" and adam baldwin aka jayne cobb from "firefly".  my wife is production coordinator on the tron film coming out and so we got to get in and see some really great stuff (fringe benefits)...i think it's going to be a pretty fun movie, and also visually delicious; but honestly i think it's going to miss a few marks that the first hit.  i'm not discounting it, but there are just certain thematic elements that aren't going to carry over in this film.  not a bad thing, but also leads to something lost a bit in translation for a modern world.  in any event it all was a lot of fun and i got some great sigs and cool artwork (donato giancolo, chris sanders! :D:D:D:D) not to mention i saw a frazetta painting in "the flesh"...mmmm...gorgeous!  it was on auction...current bid $35,000 and the auction ends august 5th!  i (half) joked with my wife that i was going to take a loan out against the house to get it.  :P

anyhoo, my contract is about to wind down here...i think at the end of the week!  but they've approached me with an informal invite to come on full time.  i said yes for sure, but at this point it's still a wait-and-see sort of situation.  i'm never one to put all my eggs in one basket...and in the professional world, even when the boss says they want you on board...you aren't on anything until you've signed the papers! 

well i best be moving along.  i'll see if i can upload some pics of the con.  next year i'm thinkin' on dressing up.  my wife and i joked that it would be funny to do the wonder twins.  lol.  now we're only half-joking cuz we saw that NO ONE was dressed as the wonder twins.  :P

cheers ya'll!

~B-)

busy busy busy!  in full crunch mode right now but the end is in sight.  hopefully, i'll be pulled on into a more full-time capacity after all is said and done.  i'm just glad that my contract has been extended out to the end of the summer.  yahoo!

in other awesometastic news:  my wife got a gig as a production coordinator at Digital Domain (a digital FX house) on the film TRON:  Legacy!  ahwaaaaaaaa!!  pretty sweet.  much like myself, it's in crunch until october?  november?  so yeah we're just busy lil beavers! 

lessee....hmmm...what else?  oh!  new dog.  now we have two furry little daughters.  a chihuahua named chalulah and a dachsund named nurgle.  yes...as in the god of decay from WH.  :P

i also finally recieved my emmy statue which i'm sure most have seen in the pic i had up.  it was for the show Sports Science that aired on Fox Sports Network back in...erm...08?!?  it's heavy and shiney and pointy all at once.

that's about it.  really, really, REALLY fiending for some Dark Heresy.  i've got minis...game mats...all the books...reference...resources...just need two more vital elements.

time

and more players (ideally 3 more)

so yeah, it's killin' me!  not to mention Dark Sun is a mere 2 months away!  wut the eff am i supposed to do then?  two games i wanna run...no players and no time.  it's gonna drive me mad i tell you!  i'll probably just run my wife on a solo to ease the pain.  but i very much love the liveliness of 4-5 player groups.

anyway, food is served here at ol' EALA...so i'm gonna go and stuff my piehole with it.  cuz it's free.  aaaw yeah.

out!

So...um...wow!  My mind is still reeling from last nights premier of Jim Cameron's Avatar.  It's a whole helluva lot to soak in, and I will say now that I definitely plan on seeing it again. 

So I'm sure many of you may have been keeping up on the forum hate and venom coming from an elite group of people who seem to wish death and destruction on this film, it's director, and anyone involved in it EVEN people who pay to see it in the theatre tonight/today.

To them I simply will say this...

If you can't find even ONE redeeming or awe-inspiring thing in this film then you really won't find any joy in ANYTHING in life and should probably just kill yourself now.

I'm not going to whip up some crazy spoiler-happy review of the film.  I'm simply going to point out a few things to keep in mind when going in...and you WILL and SHOULD go in to see it.

First and foremost, it is vital you see this film in the theatre.  Not necessarily because that's the ONLY way to enjoy and/or appreciate it...but because it's what the director and his ARMY of crew and artists intended.  If you don't see this film in the theatre in 3d (with the exception of a few individuals - I'll explain later) you are doing yourself and all the animators and artists who worked tireless YEARS on this film a massive disservice.  That being said, let's discuss...

Several people use the story as fodder for their online vitriol.  Arguing that it's derivative or a "Dances With Wolves in space" (or even the ever-so-popular "Dances With Smurfs").  So is it?  Yes it is.  However, this in NO WAY makes it poor storytelling or even a poor story.  The essence of cinema is to deliver to the viewer a world and a story painted in frames...in moving images.  Avatar more than delivers.  It's story is derivative and it is very much akin to "Dances With Wolves", but it's a story we all know and enjoy; and Jim Cameron does a fine job in adapting this story into his world - a world of his own creation.  I would simply say this - "District 9" deals with many of the same themes as "Avatar"; but where "District 9" has several "literary" layers to it's story, and is more cerebral in it's presentation and telling; "Avatar" is more straightforward.  It's the story told for the everyman.  It's the pulp novel to the literary masterpiece.  Cameron executes the plot splendidly.  His set ups are well done and there are few, if any gaping holes in the plot.  Some areas suffer slight pacing, and the length of the film doesn't help; but as soon as you start to drop out of the illusion, it pulls you right back in.  It is as tight of a narrative as can be and let's face it...Cameron has never been the genuis screenplay author, but he delivers and he delivers well.  If this film is "Dances With Wolves" in space, then THIS FILM is THE "Dances With Wolves" that I prefer to see, and I'll see it again.  Kevin Costner be damned!

All of this is the backbone of some seriously breathtaking visuals.  Many, many reviewers point to this film as setting a new standard; and I would very much agree.  Having worked exhaustively in 3d for film, television and videogames I can say without a doubt there are moments in this movie that sell the reality of the world and the characters so well, so completely, that you are lost in it.  You forget these odd blue creatures with the big eyes and pointy ears are COMPLETELY FABRICATED.  There are subtleties in movement - down to the elasticity of skin, the shift in focus of the eyes, the small tick of the ear, the cat-like movement of the tails - that I dare say have NEVER been captured so elegantly by a 3D character until now.  I work with one of the animators for this film, and many kudos to him and the others because there are some seriously incredible moments in digital acting and animation throughout this film.  It isn't even JUST the Na'vi, but the WORLD itself...it's denizens, it's flora and fauna, and even the invading human elements.  So yes, this film has set a new standard for me as an animator and artist; and for all artists working in this industry.  Go see it just to pay their salaries and reward them for all their hard work!

As for the "gimmicky" 3D?  This can be argued definitely, and at the end of the day there is just going to be that part of the population that CAN'T handle it on a physical level...motion sickness and/or headaches (my mother is garaunteed to be one of them).  If you're one of those people it is unfortunate,  BUT this film will still amaze you even if you watch it in a regular theatre and with a regular projector I'm certain of it.  With the 3D, it's just another level of immersiveness.  Another aspect of the story telling that draws you in to the world, wraps you up in it's depth, detail an elegance.  I highly recommend seeing it in this fashion if you can.  There are times when the center focus shifts and it's a little odd (because naturally your eyes tend to shift focus immediately when viewing something from close up to afar).  This sometimes causes your eyes to wander, trying to refocus on the central elements of the shot; but when you get into the jungle?  Forget it...you are LOST in this rich and very complex world.  After that you've adjusted and you're hanging on tight. 

In so many ways this film delivers on it's promise and I would even argue that the trailers and marketing for it UNDERSOLD it's potential.  Don't listen to the films detractors ESPECIALLY if they bag on it sight-unseen.  It's not going to win "Best Screenplay" any time soon; but it certainly will rake in MANY other accolades and recognitions for it's awe-inspiring imagery, powerful and emotional animation, and almost OCD levels of detail.  The 3D element is merely icing on an already rich and chocolatey delicious cinema feast that will leave you breathless for days after.  And seriously,  you would have to be a pretty bitter, jaded, miserable person if you can't find one good thing about this film after seeing it.

~Brian 

 

 www.youtube.com/watch?v=17jymDn0W6U&feat...

one of the most profound things i've seen...and proof that anyone who says they have the answers is a liar, and that the ONLY philosophy any of us should be preaching OR practicing...is absolute humility...

kotaku.com/5428356/dungeons--dragons-for...

this is so the awesomezorz!  me want NOW!