This Samsung Galaxy S20 Deal Is One Of The Cheapest Yet...With A Big Drop In Data - TechRadar Computing

This Samsung Galaxy S20 deal is one of the cheapest yet...with a big drop in data

EU Switch Release For Arc Of Alchemist Is Now Set For February + Meet The Creators

As previously mentioned, Arc of Alchemist will be heading to North America on January 30, 2020 and in Europe on January 31, 2020 for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. The North American release date for both platforms and the European PS4 version will still release on January 30 and January 31, respectively. However, the EU Nintendo Switch release date is now set for February, instead of January 31. The launch date for the EU Switch version will be provided soon.

This week, we also have the last website update that provides more background on the world, the creative minds who were involved with
Arc of Alchemist, as well as free Twitter Icons and wallpapers. Check the links below!

• World: Glossary, Background
• Info: Creators
• Special: Twitter Icons, Wallpapers

The North American version will release digitally for both the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. The European version will release digitally for the Nintendo Switch, and the PS4 version will have a physical and digital release.

The North American and European releases for the Nintendo Switch and PS4 include updated system features and the ability to choose and play between 7+ possible characters.​

Veins Of The Heartland

What's going on everyone!?

Today for the #2019gameaday challenge dear ol' dad and I played a game of Ticket to Ride on our tablets. 

Luckily for dad, I played an honest game and didn't cut him off on a route or two of his that he got on me which ended up winning him the game!

All in all, it was a great time and I can't wait to play again.

As always, thank you for reading and don't forget to stop and smell the meeples! :)

-Tim

Rise Of The Valiant - The Second Week

Week 2 - Day 1 - "Big News!"

It's been an eventful day, but let me start at the beginning. 

I spent a long time deliberating on a course of action for the week. Knowing Margaret exists just beyond the mountain, I wanted a way to connect our two homes. If Margaret could access my crops and watch after them on any days without rain, I would feel a lot more comfortable heading out into the wilderness for a few days to explore farther than I've been able to go previously. There are two real options to connect our lands. I can build a safe, reinforced tunnel beneath the mountain out of the already pre-existing network of caves, or I can build a tower that scales up the side of the cliff to the top of the mountain. I really like the idea of a tall tower to give me a vantage out over my own valley, but I really lack the necessary resources to build it. I need more manpower in order to make these two projects a reality. 

Early this morning, I set out to discuss the situation with Margaret and get her input. I also asked her about the campsites that I've been finding all over the place. To my surprise, she told me that there were other humans on the planet who had passed by quite recently. They had not taken any interest in her, so she hadn't gotten the chance to socialize with them to her sincere disappointment. They spent the night on a nearby mountain and were heading west the last time she had seen them. This news changed everything. 

I spent much of the day leading Margaret through the series of caves to my side of the mountain so she would know the way. As we went, I made sure to properly light the path with torches and cover any dangerous ravines with wooden planks and platforms. It is quite an uncomfortable journey even with better lighting and footing. It's a temporary solution for now, but Margaret is also convinced we need to make a dramatic change. Nevertheless, she now has a clearly marked path to and from our homesteads. She promised to take care of the crops while I"m away. After I finish this entry, I plan to set out tonight to try and catch up with the human campers. 

One last thought, though: Margaret is an odd creature. She doesn't seem to have much awareness about space or what lies beyond the surface of our planet. She has no knowledge of the planet's name, or really what a planet even is. She doesn't understand why I'm so worked up about these nomadic humans, or what it could mean for me if I find them. They could be the ticket to getting off this rock if they happen to have a ship. They could even be from a human settlement that we could potentially move into that would be more self-sustaining than our simple farms. Everything may change if only I can find these humans. 


Week 2 - Day 2 - "Meeting Alex" 

It's late. I had a long day. I hiked for almost twenty-four hours through the mountains and valleys west of Margaret's place. I finally managed to catch up to all that remains of the human explorers. I found a broken man at an all but abandoned campsite named Alex. We talked long into the night. I think it's getting close to dawn right now. I can't keep my eyes open much longer, but finding Alex has been quite disappointing and somber to say the least. 

Alex is the last man of a five-man team that was sent to survey the moons of Talitha Rim I. Apparently that's the name of the golden planet we are orbiting. The two moons were likely candidates to start a new colony for the displaced human survivors such as ourselves, but over the month the team spent here tragedy befell the group. Now only Alex remains. They do ... Alex does not have a ship of his own. They were dropped off here while other teams were dropped in other locations. The ship that sent them on this mission never returned to collect them. Alex has been waiting for several months and has given up hope. I don't know what this means for me, yet. I'm much too tired to think anymore about it today.

I'd like to take Alex back east with me, but he seems insistent on staying here at their main camp. They chose the location for its proximity to a nearby mine - abandoned long ago by some unknown prospectors. Alex assures me the mine is dangerous and the first of his team was lost trying to explore its depths. He claims winged creatures with long, elastic tongues lurk just below the surface of the planet. I sympathize with him and his loss, but I fear if he stays here all alone he will join his teammates in death. I will have another try to convince him tomorrow. 


Week 2 - Day 3 - "The Beacon"

Alex refuses to return with me. He is adamant in remaining here at camp. He claims its the safest place on the planet, but was panic-stricken when I tried to enter the nearby mine shaft. He dragged me out by my arm before I got to the first set of platform stairs heading into the depths below. I'm not sure what to do about Alex. I can see that grief is causing him to lose his judgment. Aside from that, I did discover something quite valuable. Just inside the mines there is a device - a seismic transmitter - that is monitoring the geology of the planet and sending a signal to some unknown receivers. It's quite possible that I could adjust the device to transmit a distress signal instead. Alex didn't care much about the machine so I packed it up and took it homeward with me. Perhaps tomorrow I will set it up to broadcast a simple message into space. 

Perhaps there is hope of a rescue after all for Alex and myself - and Margaret if she chooses to come with us. 


Week 2 - Day 4 - "Tunnel Construction"

Margaret has insisted we begin work on a tunnel to connect our two homes. Apparently making the trip through the natural caves is as unpleasant for a Glitch woman as a human man. We were up before the sun rose to get started on this large project. Margaret was able to use the seismic survey machine to get accurate readings on where to construct the tunnel so that we would accurately connect both sides of the mountain at the right altitude. It was slow going once we got started with only a broken matter manipulator between the two of us, but Margaret is quite skilled as a structural engineer. The two of us have a wealth of skills that will make living on this planet more comfortable indefinitely.

When we finally broke ground on my side of the mountain, Margaret began construction on my house while I worked on the transmitter. She insisted it wasn't right for me to live in such a simple shelter with a sleeping bag. She set to work on upgrading my tiny farmstead into a real home. I helped here and there, but most of my attention went to fine tuning the distress beacon. Hopefully, it will reach someone in space soon. 


Week 2 - Day 5 - "Home Improvements"

The construction on my house was completed today. Margaret returned to her own valley about halfway through the day. Before heading out, Margaret built me a table and chairs as well as a soft bed from the fabric she'd been making in her spare time this week. She is quite extraordinary. I think in days to come I may return to exploring and gathering resources so that Margaret can continue to put them to good use. It seems like the best application of our skills at this point. She seems content with our modest amount of food and our humble homes, but I'm constantly thinking of what we can do to improve the situation here on this small moon of Talitha Rim I. 

Neither of us have heard anything from Alex. We are both growing extra crops for him, now, but I wish he would just come live over here on our side of the mountains. I'm worried about him living alone in such a remote location. 


Week 2 - Day 6 - "Contact!"

I awoke early this morning to a strange humming coming from my second floor. Apparently, my distress signal had been received and a small frigate was on its way to the planet. Unfortunately, they were also in distress and looking for a place to set down for repairs. It appears we are going to have guests. I rushed through the new tunnel to tell Margaret that more people were coming. As always, she was delighted at the prospect of new company. Her only regret was not having any tea to serve. 

There is no way to know how many are coming or how long they will be staying to make the repairs. It's clear, though, that we need to expand our farming efforts in order to feed any more mouths for any amount of time. Margaret and I agreed that consolidating our farming efforts would be our best chance at survival for now, so we set to work leveling and tilling up Margaret's Valley which had much more land available for farming. Margaret set out to cultivate more corn, potatoes and rice. I spent the entire day building a makeshift barn in the middle oft he valley where we could store up grain and crops. I'm sure in the future Margaret will make necessary upgrades to the barn, but for now it does the job.

Week 2 - Day 7 - "The Arrival"

The frigate arrived sooner than I expected. Today I met with the three crew members of the Naka. The captain is a Hylotl named Shinobu whose motley crew includes the Avian, Chef Ihui, and the Floran, Mar Ryespine. Her skillset has not been disclosed to me yet. It's not clear to me if Shinobu is a man or a woman, but it seems impolite to ask. Margaret came over to greet the crew at my place where we had a simple lunch of corn and potatoes toasted lightly on a campfire. Chef Ihui was not pleased. 

I offered to let the crew stay in my home until we could make other accommodations, but they decided that was not necessary. Ihui was insistent we get a kitchen set up for him right away so we could all enjoy a proper dinner. After living on rice, pearlpeas, corn and potatoes for two weeks I could not be more delighted at this proposition. We took the crew of the Naka to Margaret's Valley where Ihui overlooked the crops. Between the five of us, we decided the best place to set up a temporary barracks would be within the tunnel itself. Only Mar seemed displeased at the lack of sunlight living under the mountain, but Shinobu assured her that she would get plenty of time outdoors in the days to come. 

Between the five of us, construction of the barracks went quickly and smoothly. There were finally enough people available to clear a considerable amount of land, gather enough resources and construct a working home all at once. Margaret oversaw construction with Ihui and me, while Shinobu and Mar gathered up the stone, wood and dirt necessary to keep everything running smoothly. Unlike my first nights on this moon, they will sleep well in beds tonight. 

Next week we have to assess the damages to the Naka and prepare to get her shipshape. 

- Excepts from the Journal of Edge Valiant on the Founding of the Valiant Empire​

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The 5Th Anniversary, Oceanhorn 2 And A New Website

We know, we know – there hasn't been a blog update in a long time, but we're making up for it! Today marks the 5th anniversary of Oceanhorn first launch on iOS, the perfect occasion for a few things. First of all, we'd like to say 'thank you' to our incredible community – over the years and for each platform release we've seen an incredible amount of passion and support for the world we created. We wouldn't be here without you, and we'll always keep that in mind.

Solve the mysteries of the ancient Arcadians in Oceanhorn 2

It's also an excellent time to talk about Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm. The game is coming along great, and we're confident it will be worth the wait! We are targeting 2019 for the announced iOS release. Over the next few months we'll have updates on various aspects of the game, but for now, you can feast your eyes on the brand new Oceanhorn website we are launching today. It features never-before-seen screenshots and info about Oceanhorn 2, with more to come. If you'd like to cover the game in one of your channels, head to the Press page and download our Press Kit.

Oh, one last thing: we're also setting up an Oceanhorn newsletter, where we plan to send updates on the game before they become public and celebrate the fifth anniversary this whole year in one way or another. If you want to be the first to know what we are up to, make sure you sign up on oceanhorn.com homepage!

Until next time!
oceanhorn.com

Oceanhorn 5th Anniversary label! Let's celebrate the whole year!

I Don't Want That

Normally, OSR blog posts lack any real divisiveness.  I mean, we all kind of agree on certain things, and where we disagree, we're mostly fine accepting those differences.

Well, I've stumbled onto something I'm really passionate about - a subject that my friend is equally passionate about.  Yay, an argument!

The following is a copy/paste from the comment section beneath his review of Old School Renaissance Like A Fucking Boss.  It might make more sense if I included Endzeitgeist's review of Crimson Dragon Slayer D20 for context, as well as, my own blog post response to it.

While it may seem obvious, let me mention it here - I like old school for the most part, I play old school for the most part, and I create old school content for the most part, but that doesn't mean I slavishly adhere to it at all costs.  If this renaissance doesn't grant us a modicum of freedom, then what the fuck are we doing here?

______________

Care for a fun experiment / playtest?

Let's do a 5-minute Roll20 or 10 email posts (for each of us) combat scene. You can play a cleric with 2 allies against 5 goblins. I'll GM. Then we'll see if the cleric is broken or not.

Also, thanks for the review and shout-out, hoss!

_____________

Your suggestions for the frame of the playtest make clear that you do not understand, or do not want to understand, the root of the issue.

The very foundation of the mathematic baselines and narrative tensions underlying any D&D-adjacent game are based on a degree of tactics and resource-attrition to some degree or another.

Particularly the OSR tradition uses this and considers it to be a virtue and one of the pillars of player skill. Same goes for 5e.

Your game professes to be based on both for branding, but purposefully flaunts the very central pillar on which this is based.

As a direct consequence, your infinite healing clerics and, as a consequence, infinite casting wizards are BROKEN because they invalidate the central baseline.

You *can* call that deliberate and skew encounter-difficulty to make (almost) every encounter hinge on nigh annihilation (see what Cha'alt's Black Pyramid often does), only to have everyone miraculously regain all resources after the encounter.

However: Encounters are not tied to time in-game; they make no sense as a metric in-game.
Doing so invalidates any notion of survival struggle or danger…beyond excessive damage output and save-or-suck.

That might work for a small one-shot, sure. It wrecks any long-term appeal of your rules-lite games, though…because you don't ever really are rewarded for doing anything but throwing your best damage at the enemy as fast as possible. Because you either are fine, or you're dead.

You're walking into a dead-end for design and tension, and have been for some time. And I really think that you're better than that.

In the long run?
You can't erect a system with any degree of longevity on it, because this relegates EVERY single challenge to being just a different coat of paint over the same metrics. Unless the players are super easy to please, this "oh, we almost died to damage/oh, some died to save or suck – oh well, we're good now!" as the only type of danger to be encountered EVERY ENCOUNTER will turn stale very fast.

Infinite healing powering infinite spellcasting has, AUTOMATICALLY, this long-term effect.

__________


Your contention that "I don't understand" or my game "flaunts the very central pillar" smacks of badwrongfun.  Rather than what I'd call macro-tension that might be better suited to the long haul of a extensive campaign, my focus is micro-tension; certainly better suited to one-shots and shorter campaigns.  You sacrifice one for the other.  That means in order to fulfill the one, you neglect the other.  Sure, some try to have it both ways, but we both know that's not easy to find, let alone maintain. 

Essentially, you're treating combat like some kind of gritty and desperate sport, but still a sport.  All things must be in alignment or balanced, uphill and against the current, so combat turns into a long-game of pick-your-poison suffering and resource management masturbation. 

Crimson Dragon Slayer D20 treats combat as war, but a potentially winnable war focused on the immediate, the here and now.  I have no interest in incentivizing the 5-minute workday or making certain classes suck because the rules treat them as one-hit wonders... but awesome after level 5.

I've allowed everyone to have a valuable role, a seat at the proverbial table, regarding combat.  That's one of my favorite things about the OSR.  It's not so rooted in old school play-styles from decades past that it can't innovate depending on the creator's design goals.

There are some things that just don't work for me regarding early D&D, that's why I came up with my own thing.  If I merely wanted to play the game as it was played back in 1980, I would just play B/X and call it a day.  Your acting like my personal revelation is nothing aside from the madness of delusion.

Falling into the same tired mistakes, the design dead-ends and cul-de-sacs of our predecessors doesn't help us pursue those strange new avenues necessary to birth RPGs catering to those looking for something different.  Not inherently better or worse... just different.

My "ultimate RPG" is going to be subjective, it has to be, or else RPG designers are chasing the "standard gamer audience" dragon of mainstream utilitarianism.  Other designers are welcome to it, but I don't want that.

VS

______________

Feel free to post your thoughts below...

Ep 43: Undercoat It Black Is Live!

Ep 43: Undercoat it black

https://soundcloud.com/user-989538417/ep-43-undercoat-it-black

Neil Schuck and Jay talk about gaming the Vietnam War.

Follow Neil on Twitter! @mandmpodcast

Jay's Mission Analysis Article http://henrys-wargaming.co.uk/the-tactical-tutor-part-1/

Empress Miniatures FNG Indo-China Range http://www.empressminiatures.com/userimages/procart60.htm

Charlie Don't Surf - Too Fat Lardies -  https://toofatlardies.co.uk/product-category/charlie-dont-surf/

Charlie Company Rules - Rafm - http://www.rafm.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RAF&Product_Code=RAF00015&Category_Code=CCR

Charlie Company Miniatures - Rafm - http://www.rafm.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=RAF&Category_Code=CCM

Fireteam Vietnam - Buck Surdu https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Team-Vietnam-John-Surdu/dp/1889584096

Ambush Valley - Ambush Alley Games - http://www.ambushalleygames.net/force-on-force-core-rules-pdf/ambush-valley-pdf-version

FNG - Two Hour Wargames - http://www.wargamedownloads.com/item.php?item=556&Site=BGG

Men of Company B and AK 47 Republic - Peter Pig - http://www.peterpig.co.uk/rules.html

Carport Gaming - Chain of Command DMZ Blog - http://carportgaming.blogspot.com/

Full Moon Jacket - Strangley Games - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/266751851/full-moon-jacket/

Thud Ridge - Tumbling Dice - http://www.tumblingdiceuk.com/shop/thud-ridge-vietnam-war-196572

Check Your Six Jet Age - http://www.i-94enterprises.com/products/check-your-6-stuff/

Baker Company Miniatures  - http://bakercompany.co.uk/18-vietnam

The Assault Group - http://theassaultgroup.co.uk/product-category/up-country/

West Wind Miniatures - https://www.westwindproductions.co.uk/index.php?route=product/category&path=192_67

Eureka Miniatures - http://www.eurekamin.com.au/index.php?cPath=87_126_189

SHQ Miniatures - https://www.westwindproductions.co.uk/index.php?route=product/category&path=192_67

Britania - Grubby Tanks - https://www.grubbytanks.com/product-category/britannia-miniatures/20mm-vietnam-conflict/

Platoon 20 - East Riding Miniatures - http://shop.eastridingminiatures.co.uk/vietnam-wars-51-c.asp

Elhiem Miniatures - https://www.elhiem.co.uk/ourshop/cat_811852-Vietnam.html

Under Fire Miniatures - http://www.underfireminiatures.com/page14.htm

Esci - http://plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=103 - http://plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=104

Flashpoint Miniatures - http://flashpoint-miniatures.com/

Peter Pig - http://www.peterpig.co.uk/vietnam.html

Old Glory Command Decision - https://www.oldgloryminiatures.com/categories.asp?cat=488

GHQ - http://www.ghqmodels.com/store/modern-micro-armour-vietnam-riverine.html

PicoArmor - https://www.picoarmor.com/product-category/modern-miniatures-3mm/

Fire In the Lake - GMT - https://www.gmtgames.com/p-566-fire-in-the-lake-2nd-printing.aspx

A Distant Plain - GMT - https://www.gmtgames.com/p-656-a-distant-plain-3rd-printing.aspx

Join the conversation at https://theveteranwargamer.blogspot.com, email theveteranwargamer@gmail.com, Twitter @veteranwargamer

Music courtesy bensound.com. Recorded with zencastr.com. Edited with Audacity. Make your town beautiful; get a haircut.

Brave Browser voted the best privacy-focused product of 2020

Out of all the privacy-focused products and apps available on the market, Brave has been voted the best. Other winners of Product Hunt's Golden Kitty awards showed that there was a huge interest in privacy-enhancing products and apps such as chats, maps, and other collaboration tools.

An extremely productive year for Brave

Last year has been a pivotal one for the crypto industry, but few companies managed to see the kind of success Brave did. Almost every day of the year has been packed witch action, as the company managed to officially launch its browser, get its Basic Attention Token out, and onboard hundreds of thousands of verified publishers on its rewards platform.

Luckily, the effort Brave has been putting into its product hasn't gone unnoticed.

The company's revolutionary browser has been voted the best privacy-focused product of 2019, for which it received a Golden Kitty award. The awards, hosted by Product Hunt, were given to the most popular products across 23 different product categories.

Ryan Hoover, the founder of Product Hunt said:

"Our annual Golden Kitty awards celebrate all the great products that makers have launched throughout the year"

Brave's win is important for the company—with this year seeing the most user votes ever, it's a clear indicator of the browser's rapidly rising popularity.

Privacy and blockchain are the strongest forces in tech right now

If reaching 10 million monthly active users in December was Brave's crown achievement, then the Product Hunt award was the cherry on top.

The recognition Brave got from Product Hunt users shows that a market for privacy-focused apps is thriving. All of the apps and products that got a Golden Kitty award from Product Hunt users focused heavily on data protection. Everything from automatic investment apps and remote collaboration tools to smart home products emphasized their privacy.

AI and machine learning rose as another note-worthy trend, but blockchain seemed to be the most dominating force in app development. Blockchain-based messaging apps and maps were hugely popular with Product Hunt users, who seem to value innovation and security.

For those users, Brave is a perfect platform. The company's research and development team has recently debuted its privacy-preserving distributed VPN, which could potentially bring even more security to the user than its already existing Tor extension.

Brave's effort to revolutionize the advertising industry has also been recognized by some of the biggest names in publishing—major publications such as The Washington Post, The Guardian, NDTV, NPR, and Qz have all joined the platform. Some of the highest-ranking websites in the world, including Wikipedia, WikiHow, Vimeo, Internet Archive, and DuckDuckGo, are also among Brave's 390,000 verified publishers.

Earn Basic Attention Token (BAT) with Brave Web Browser

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Get $5 in free BAT to donate to the websites of your choice.