Essen 2018 Demo Space

6 years ago, Michael and I attended Essen for the first time. I've been back a few times since (I missed out last year, and maybe one other year since 2012). Over time, TMG has grown and has striven to become a well known publisher, not just in the US, but overseas as well.

In recent Essen outings, we have teamed up and shared space with European partners, affording us a bigger presence, better demo space, and in some cases a small office to share for meetings. This year appears to be TMG's biggest Essen presence yet! This time we're partnering with Game Brewer, with whom we have several co-publications.

Check out these awesome pics of the TMG/Game Brewer space!

This panoramic pic is the demo space, with 15 tables (room for 30 demos, probably). People will be playing TMG and Game Brewer games there non-stop for the next 4 days straight. You can see the giant banners for games like Trade on the Tigris and Ghosts of the Moor (TMG original titles), Gentes (an import we did a deluxe version of), and on the far right you can see a TMG logo suspended above our sales area. On the left you can see giant posters for some of those same games, plus Chimera Station (which I worked on heavily) and other co-publications such as Gugong.

This is the TMG product area being set up, where people will be able to buy our games. I worked heavily on Pioneer Days (in the middle on the bottom 2 shelves), and on Steam Works (upper right shelf, left side, as well as the bottom right shelf, behind that big box). And of course on the right-middle shelf you can see a bunch of my card game, Eminent Domain, and expansions (Escalation, Exotica, and Oblivion).

I can also spot some of our other titles, such as Scoville, Guilds of London, Exodus Fleet, Okey Dokey, Thief's Market, Zooscape, Balloon Pop, Cthulhu Realms, and the Essen release, Ghosts of the Moor.

Dargon sits atop everything, standing guard :)

At Essen, some of the bigger booth areas have little office spaces, for meetings and to store things. TMG has shared an office space in the past with another company. I believe this year we have this one all to ourselves. The giant posters are for some of our games -- Ghosts of the Moor is a brand new title releasing at Essen by some of the most famous designers in Germany. Jungli-La came out earlier this year, by a well known Asian designer that we've worked with before. Both are light, small box, family friendly games.

This is one of the things that Mike and I have been working towards since we first went to Essen 6 years ago, and in a way for the last 9.5 years since we started publishing games. I started this journey 15 years ago when I first dipped my toes into game design. I am sad to miss out on Essen this year, but I hope to be able to go back soon!

The Seventh Link: Summary And Rating

The game manual featured some fairly modest hand-drawn art.

           

The Seventh Link

Canada

Oblique Triad (developer and publisher)

Released 1989 for Tandy Color Computer 3
Date Started: 16 December 2018

Date Ended: 16 March 2019

Total Hours: 22

Difficulty: Medium-Hard (3.5/5)

Final Rating: (to come later)

Ranking at Time of Posting: (to come later)

      

Summary:

Inspired graphically and thematically by the Ultima series, The Seventh Link is probably the most extensive and full-featured RPG for the TRS-80 Color Computer. A single starting character ultimately enlists a group of allies of different races and classes on a quest to save their planet from a black hole at its core, about to break its containment. Solving the quest will take the party through dozens of towns across multiple planets and through multiple large, multi-leveled dungeons. Although the game gets off to a slow, grindy start, character development is rewarding and the tactical combat system (drawn from Ultima III) is the most advanced seen on this platform. The problem is that the game's content is not up to its size, and not enough interesting stuff happens while exploring the enormous world.
          

****

       

I never like giving up on games, and I particularly don't like when I know the author is reading (I'm frankly not sure it's ever happened before). But in several months of trying, I simply haven't been able to make any decent progress in The Seventh Link. That doesn't necessarily mean I don't like it. If I was a Tandy Color Computer 3 owner, I'm sure I'd prize the game and play to the very end. The problem is that as a blogger, I have to be able to justify my playing time with material. If I spend four hours in a dungeon and all I can say is I killed a bunch of enemies (showing the same combat screens I've shown before) and gathered some gold, it's hard to countenance that time.

In some ways, The Seventh Link is the quintessential 1980s RPG. It offers a framing story with more detail than appears in the game itself, sticks the player in a large world that the player has to map if he's to make any progress, and features a lot of combat. In mechanics, it's as good as any of the early Wizardries or Ultimas.

Unfortunately, Link was the last game I encountered before leaving the 1980s, and I'd just spent a decade mapping featureless dungeon corridors. It's not its fault that it's last; that's just the way it happened. And by the time I got to Link, I just couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't--I can't--play a game that's just a few dozen 20 x 20 dungeon levels full of combats. The Bard's Tale and its derivatives drained that battery.
          

I never figured out anything to do with the pillars.

        
This is the 90s, and gamers are demanding more interesting content in their game worlds. We want NPCs, special encounters, puzzles, and other features in those dungeons, at regular intervals. We've decimated forests in our consumption of graph paper; we're ready for automaps. Ones that don't require us to find a spell first. 

Despite investing a fair number of hours into the game, I really didn't accomplish much. I explored the surface of Elira, visited each of its towns to assemble a party, and mapped 4 of 13 levels of one dungeon. There were at least 9 more dungeon entrances on Elira alone, some of which would have taken me to teleporters to three other planets and their own towns and dungeons. I would have found a final party member, a female ranger named Starwind, on the planet Dulfin. Others dungeons would have led me to power packs and the places where I needed to install them to save the planet. I still don't know where I was to find the other spells. From hints in an old disk magazine, I learned that the maximum character level is 25 (my main character reached 8) and that one of the planets has a store where you can buy potions that increase attributes, serving in the role of Ambrosia from Ultima III.
           

One of the few lines from an NPC. Alas, I will probably never explore Selenia.

       
My GIMLET is naturally based on an incomplete picture of the game:
         

• 4 points for the game world. The sci-fi origin story is fairly original, and well-told in epistolatory fashion, although it fails to explain a number of aspects of the world (e.g., why are there settlements on other planets). While the player's role is somewhat clear, it's less clear where he came from, how he got started on this path, and whether he understands his role.

• 3 points for character creation and development. The selection of races and classes is familiar but not entirely derivative. There's nothing special about character creation or the development and leveling process, but they're reasonably rewarding. I don't know if the level cap would have caused any issues or if you finish the game well before reaching it.

• 3 points for NPC interaction. The game has a better system than it uses. You learn a few things from NPCs, but there are hardly any NPCs that say anything to you. Expanding that number would have resulted in a richer, more engaging world. I do like the Ultima IV approach to assembling your party by finding members in the towns.

• 2 points for encounters and foes. The monsters are mostly derivative of other games (though I like the explanations for their names here: the ship that populated the planet had Tolkien fans on it), and I didn't really experience other types of encounters.

• 4 points for magic and combat. The tactical combat screen is about as good as Ultima III, but with fewer spells.

          

On Level 3 of the dungeon, I met an enemy called "Floating Stars."

       

• 3 points for equipment. You can get melee weapons, missile weapons, armor, and adventuring equipment like torches and keys. Various sites hint at more advanced items like rods and gems of seeing. The selection of stuff is a little paltry in the traditional Ultima style.

• 5 points for the economy. It lacks a certain complexity, but money is certainly valuable. You almost never have enough keys, for one thing. Healing, torches, equipment, and leveling up consume gold fast, and it sounds like the shop on Dulfan would have served as an endless money sink for any extra you could accumulate.

• 2 points for a main quest with no side-quests or quest options.

• 4 points for graphics, sound, and interface. Almost all of that is for the interface. It adopts the Ultima standard of one key per action, which ought to have been mandatory as far as I'm concerned. Graphics are functional but sound sparse.

          

I never quite got used to the perspective. That lava square is only one square in front of me.

         

• 2 points for gameplay. It gets a bit for nonlinearity and a bit more for the moderate-to-challenging difficulty. But it's not very replayable and it's way, way, way, way too big and too long.

            
That gives is a final score of 32, which is hardly awful for the era. It's actually the highest score that I've given to the platform. The only things that stop me from finishing it are the number of hours it will take and the number of other games on my list.

The Georgetown, Ontario-based Oblique Triad was a mail-order developer and publisher, co-founded by Jeff Noyle and Dave Triggerson. The name referred to the decorative bars on the top of a Color Computer. Mr. Noyle used to host a page (available now only on the Internet Archive) with links to their games, which included a pair of graphical adventures called Caladuril: Flame of Light (1987) and Caladuril 2: Weatherstone's End (1988); a strategy game called Overlord (1990); an arcade game called Those Darn Marbles! (1990); and a sound recording and editing package called Studio Works.
          

Caladuril, the company's first game, is a decent-looking graphical adventure.

         
With the Color Computer in serious decline by 1990, Oblique Triad shifted its focus to specializing in sound programming, and both Noyle and Triggerson have associated credits on Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge (1990) and Wizardry: Crusaders of the Dark Savant (1992). I haven't been able to trace Triggerson from there, but Noyle got a job at Microsoft in 1995 working on Direct3D, DirectX, and DirectDraw and remains (at least according to his LinkedIn profile) there today. He also has a voice credit for a Skyrim mod called Enderal: The Shards of Order (2016).

Mr. Noyle was kind enough to not only comment on one of my entries, but to take the time to create overworld maps to speed things along. I'm sorry that it wasn't quite enough, but every game that I abandon stands a chance of coming back when circumstances are different, and I'll consider trying this one again when I feel like I'm making better progress through the 1990s.

$1500 Budget PC Build March 2013

$1500 Budget PC Build March 2013

Original Budget PC Build Article: http://newbcomputerbuild.com/newb-computer-build-home/march-2013-gaming-pc-builds/#build3

This $1500 gaming pc build will be able to play any and every game at extreme settings with resolutions of 1920x1080 and will do the same at settings even higher (such as at 2560x1600) Loaded with a high end Radeon HD 7970 and the Intel 3570K with 16 RAM.

Gaming PC Build Recipe:

Game with Extreme settings at resolutions of 2560×1600 – How perfect is that!?

All hardware is linked to Amazon.com – You Can also try   Amazon.ca (CANADA) • Amazon.co.uk (UK) Newegg.com (US) • Newegg.ca (CANADA)  Scorptec.com.au(AUS)  pccasegear.com (AUS) to shop for these parts.

 

Processor: Intel Core i5-3570K Quad-Core Processor 3.4 GHz 4 Core LGA 1155 – BX80637I53570K Price: $214.99   CPU Cooler (For OverClocking): Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler (RR-212E-20PK-R1) Price: $32.98	Motherboard: AS Rock LGA1155 DDR3 SATA3 USB3.0 Quad CrossFireX and Quad SLI A GbE ATX Motherboard Z77 EXTREME6 Price: $171.46
Graphics Card: XFX FX797ATDBC Double D HD 7970 Black Edition 3GB DDR5 1000M 2xmDP HDMI DVI PCI-E Graphics Card Price: $425.99	RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory (CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10) Price: $102.89
Hard Drive: Western Digital 1 TB WD Blue SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive Price: $73.52 SSD Hard Drive: Samsung Electronics Samsung 840 Series Solid State Drive (SSD) 250 sata_6_0_gb 2.5-Inch MZ-7TD250BW Price: $164.19	Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX 850 Watt ATX/EPS Modular 80 PLUS Bronze (TX850M) Price: $124.99
Computer Case: Azza Genesis 9000W Full Tower Case, White (CSAZ-9000W) Price: $169.99	Optical Drive: Asus 24xDVD-RW Serial ATA Internal OEM Drive DRW-24B1ST (Black) Price: $17.99

Estimated Price: $1498

The Hardware

Intel Core i5-3570K Quad-Core Processor 3.4 GHz 4 Core LGA 1155 – BX80637I53570K Price: $214.99

Intel Core i5 3570K Processor

It has been said that the Intel 3570K is the best price per core performance gaming cpu with the ability to overclock unsurpassed in this range. Want to read some benchmarks on the Intel 3570K? – Then check out some of techradars benchmarks.

I have included an aftermarket CPU cooler – the Cooler Master EVO, which will make overclocking a simple feat while keeping temperatures under control. I dare you to try overclocking up to an easy 4.8GHz!

Intel Core i5-3570K

4 cores

3.4 GHz clock speed (3.8GHz Turbo)

LGA 1155 Socket

Product Details: *From Intel

Essentials
Status	Launched
Launch Date	Q2'12
Processor Number	i5-3570K
# of Cores	4
# of Threads	4
Clock Speed	3.4 GHz
Max Turbo Frequency	3.8 GHz
Intel® Smart Cache	6 MB
Bus/Core Ratio	34
DMI	5 GT/s
Instruction Set	64-bit
Instruction Set Extensions	SSE4.1/4.2, AVX
Embedded Options Available	No
Lithography	22 nm
Max TDP	77 W

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler (RR-212E-20PK-R1) Price: $32.98

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler

I have used the Cooler Master 212 EVO CPU cooler for months because it is still a basic well rated and performance CPU cooler that is priced very cheap when compared to others of its caliber. Yet another month with a slight price drop in the Cooler Master hyper 212 Evo CPU cooler!

Product Details:

CPU Socket	Intel Socket:LGA 2011 / 1366 / 1156 / 1155 / 775 *AMD Socket:FM1 / AM3+ / AM3 / AM2+ / AM2
CPU Support	Intel:Core™ i7 Extreme / Core™ i7 / Core™ i5 / Core™ i3 / Core™2 Extreme / Core™2 Quad / Core™2 Duo / Pentium / CeleronAMD:FX-Series / A-Series / Phenom™ II X4 / Phenom™ II X3 / Phenom™ II X2 / Phenom™ X4 / Phenom™ X3 / Athlon™ II X4 / Athlon™ II X3 / Athlon™ II X2 / Athlon™ X2 / Athlon™ / Sempron™
Dimension	120 x 80 x 159 mm (4.7 x 3.1 x 6.3 in)
Heat Sink Dimensions	116 x 51 x 159 mm (4.6 x 2.0 x 6.3 in)
Heat Sink Material	4 Direct Contact Heat Pipes / Aluminum Fins
Heat Sink Weight	465g (1.03 lb)
Heat Pipes Dimensions	ø6mm
Fan Dimension	120 x 120 x 25 mm (4.7 x 4.7 x 1 in)
Fan Speed	600 – 2,000 RPM (PWM) ± 10%600 – 1,600 RPM (PWM) ± 10% (EU Version)
Fan Airflow	24.9 – 82.9 CFM ± 10%24.9 – 66.3 CFM ± 10% (EU Version)
Fan Air Pressure	0.3 – 2.7mm H2O ± 10%0.3 – 1.7mm H2O ± 10% (EU Version)
Fan Life Expectancy	40,000hrs
Fan Noise Level (dB-A)	9 – 36 dBA9 – 31 dBA (EU Version)
Bearing Type	Long Life Sleeve Bearing
Connector	4-Pin
Fan Rated Voltage	12 VDC
Fan Rated Current	0.22A0.19A (EU Version)
Power Consumption	2.64W2.28W (EU Version)
Fan Weight	104g (0.23 lb)

• Well-balanced cooling performance provides fin optimizations with perfect balance between high and low speed operations.
• Wide-range PWM fan with unique wave-shaped blade design for excellent airflow.
• 4 Direct Contact heat pipes with the patented (Continuous Direct Contact) technology – creating a perfect, sleek surface for heat conduction.
• Versatile all-in-one mounting solution supporting the latest Intel LGA 1366 /1155 and AMD FM1 / AM3+. Includes the LGA 2011 mounting bracket.

AS Rock LGA1155 DDR3 SATA3 USB3.0 Quad CrossFireX and Quad SLI A GbE ATX Motherboard Z77 EXTREME6 Price: $171.44

Tons of expansion capability for more graphics, ram, peripherals and more. The AsRock EXTREME6 is a great choice for anyone who wants room to upgrade and add more hardware in the future.

Product Details:

• CPU: LGA1155; Supports 2nd/3rd Generation Intel Core i7/ i5/ i3 Processor; Supports Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 Technology; Supports Hyper-Threading Technology
• Chipset: Intel Z77
• Memory: 4X DDR3-2800+(OC)/2400(OC)/2133(OC)/1866(OC)/1600/1333/1066 DIMM Slots, Non-ECC, Unbuffered, Dual Channel, Maxi Capacity up to 32GB
• Slots: 2X PCI-Express 3.0 X16 Slots (single at X16/X8 or dual at X8/X8), 1X PCI-Express 2.0 X16 Slot (runs at X4), 1X PCI Express 2.0 X1 Slot, 1X mini-PCI Express Slot, 2 X PCI Slots
• SATA:?4X SATA3 Ports (one shared with eSATA3 port),?Two Support RAID 0, 1, 5, 10; 4X SATA2, Supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 10
• Power Connector: 1X 24-Pin ATX Main Power Connector, 1X 8-Pin 12V Power Connector

XFX FX797ATDBC Double D HD 7970 Black Edition 3GB DDR5 1000M 2xmDP HDMI DVI PCI-E Graphics Card Price: $425.99

This month we have the XFX Radeon HD 7970 Black Edition graphics card providing you with performance while gaming for a long time.

This card will have you playing any game without any problems at Max Settings with resolutions soaring up to 2560X1600 easily.

Product Detail

• Double D Cooling – Better cooling via the XFX Double Dissipation fan helps keep GPU temps lower.
• Factory Overclocked to 1000 MHz
• 3GB of DDR5 Memory onboard!
• XFX Ghost Thermal Technology
• PCI-E 3.0 (backwards compatible to PCI-E 2.0)
• Eyefinity Ready
• HDMI Ready
• Microsoft DirectX 11 Ready

Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory (CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10) Price: $102.89

We have switched back to the Corsair Vengeance 16GB package of RAM this month as prices have no subsided back to normal.

Product Features:

• 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 for AMD and Intel Dual Channel processors
• Speed: 1600MHz
• Timing: 10-10-10-27
• Pin Out: 240 Pin
• Voltage: 1.5V
• Density: 16GB (2x8GB Module)
• Limited Lifetime Warranty

Western Digital 1 TB WD Blue SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive Price: $73.52

The newer version of the Western Digital Blue series of hard drives, this 1TB drive will have plenty of room to store a ton of gaming media.

Performance Details:

• WD Blue hard drives have a multitude of features including third generation SATA interface with 6 GB/s transfer rate, plus rock solid performance and ultra-cool and quiet operation.
• WhisperDrive technology minimizes noise to levels near the threshold of human hearing.
• SoftSeek technology streamlines read/write seeking algorithms, resulting in more efficient operation.
• 1 TB capacity holds up to 200,000 digital photos, 250,000 MP3 files, and 120 hours of HD video.
• 2 year limited warranty.

Samsung Electronics Samsung 840 Series Solid State Drive (SSD) 250 sata_6_0_gb 2.5-Inch MZ-7TD250BW Price: $164.19

This Samsung 840 SSD is a great deal for only $175 – 250GB space is amazing at this price point with the following Reading / Write speeds and power consumption -

Sequential Read: 540 MB/s
Sequential Write: 250 MB/s

Power Consumption (Active): 0.071 W
Power Consumption (Idle): 0.046 W

Technical Details

• Optimized to improve everyday PC productivity, including web-browsing, email, multimedia and gaming
• Enables you to boot up your computer in as little as 15 seconds
• Energy efficient – improves battery life by up to 50 minutes
• Solid-state design provides greater shock protection for data and brushed metal case blocks dust and corrosion
• Worry-free data security with AES 256-bit full-disk encryption
• 100-percent genuine Samsung components from the #1 memory manufacturer in the world
• Backed by a three-year limited warranty
• Superior multi-tasking performance with 4th-generation 3-Core Samsung MDX Controller

Corsair Enthusiast Series TX 850 Watt ATX/EPS Modular 80 PLUS Bronze (TX850M)Price: $124.99

The Corsair Enthusiast Series Modular Power Supplies are at similar prices as the non-modular versions, so pick it up quick. 850 Watts is plenty of wattage for this hardware with so much more to spare for additions of hardware in the future (or now if you choose too!).

Product Details

• 80PLUS Bronze certified, delivering up to 85% energy efficiency at real world load conditions.
• A dedicated single +12V rail offers maximum compatibility with the latest components.
• An ultra-quiet double ball-bearing fan delivers excellent airflow at an exceptionally low noise level by varying fan speed
• Over-voltage and over-current protection, under-voltage protection,
• Universal AC input from 90~264V. No more hassle of flipping that tiny red switch to select the voltage input!
• A five year warranty and lifetime access to Corsair's legendary technical support and customer service.
• Short circuit protection provide maximum safety to your critical system components.
• The latest ATX12V v2.31 and EPS 2.92 standards and it is backward compatible with ATX12V 2.2 and ATX12V 2.01 systems.

Azza Genesis 9000W Full Tower Case, White (CSAZ-9000W) Price: $169.99

A newly released Full Tower PC case – The Azza Genesis 9000W case has fantastic airflow and a ton of room. Do keep in mind though, that this case is gigantic! If you want to learn more, then please visit the http://azzatek.com/csaz-9000-techspec.html website.

Product Details

• R-ATX Design: Reversible motherboard tray can be rotated 180 degree to orient graphics cards at the top, next to the top fan to enhance the efficiency of heat dissipation.
• Idea Aerodynamic Airflow: An idea vertical airflow is generated to offer Exceptional system cooling.
• Maximum Compatibility: Accommodates XL-ATX , E-ATX , Full ATX , Micro ATX and all NVidia and ATI graphics cards up to 400mm in length.
• Maximum Capacity Water Cooling: Top Mount Radiator: supports up to 480mm radiator, Bottom Mount Radiator: supports up to 240mm radiator.
• Supports Dual-Power Supply: Power supply can be located at either front or rear bottom, also supports dual-power supply.
• Dimensions(H x W x D): 25.1-Inch x 9.8-Inch x 23.2-Inch, Weight: 36 lbs.
• Exceptional Cooling System: Total 7 fans, 2 x 230mm fans on top, 2 x 140mm fan on bottom, 2 x 120mm fan on side panel, 1 x 120mm fan in rear.

Asus 24xDVD-RW Serial ATA Internal OEM Drive DRW-24B1ST (Black) Price: $17.99

Switched the optical drive to an Asus this month since the Lite-On Drives shot up in price. Just your standard DVD drive to get you going!

Technical Details

• Drive Type: Internal DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive
• Write:DVD+R/-R: 24X DVD+RW/-RW: 8X/6X DVD+R/-R DL: 12X
• Read:DVD+R/-R(Single): 16X DVD+R/-R DL: 12X DVD+RW/-RW(Single): 12X
• DVD-R & DVD-R(DL): DAO/Incremental Recording
• DVD-RW: DAO/Restricted Overwriting/Incremental Recording
• Allows you to permanently delete the data on rewritable discs
• CD-R/RW: DAO/TAO/SAO/Packet Write
• Interface: SATA
• It is a revision of 90-D4CHVV-UB1080
• Power saving drive
• Provides you with flexibility and efficiency in terms of multimedia data storage and sharing
• Random Access Time: DVD – 150ms; CD – 150ms