SpaceChem - Walkthrough Sikutar: Applied Fusion

I added some commentary to this YouTube video. Also you receive another achievement for completing this level.

 

SpaceChem - Walkthrough Sikutar: Falling

SpaceChem Walkthrough Sikutar: Unknown Sender

I decided to record my redo of this level. Now you can see why it's taking so long for me to post these. I am never happy with my levels and feel I must always tweak hoping for better times. I hope you enjoy the video. I decided to introduce my buddy Larry to SpaceChem.

SpaceChem Walkthrough Sikutar: Under the Ice

 

City of Steam (CoS) Closed Beta Coming

www.cityofsteam.com

What is City of Steam? It's a steam punk themed, browser based MMO. Don't let the "browser based" scare you away. I played two of the four alpha tests and was amazed at how detailed and complex the city was. The graphics are great and it plays in full screen!

I haven't been playing a lot of games this last while because I have been modeling random things for my CoS company Von Foust Industries (VFI). Here is my official release of each product... I had fun modeling them and I hope you enjoy them as well.

CoS iPhone Cover

CoS Clock and Calendar

I have video of me running through the tutorial but I have seen several other videos on YouTube showing it as well. Because of this I don't plan on posting mine. However here is the official CoS YouTube channel... http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCityofSteam

SpaceChem Walkthrough Sikutar - Ice to Meet You

SpaceChem Walkthrough Alkonost - No Need for Introductions

Use the F-Keys to only fire the laser only when the eye opens.

SpaceChem Walkthrough Alkonost - Going Green

I tried a few different ways with four reactors but finally gave up and went with five. The levels are getting harder...

SpaceChem Walkthrough Alkonost - No Thanks Necessary

Here is the fastest time I could find using four reactors. I couldn't figure out how to do it with three.

SpaceChem Walkthrough Alkonost - No Ordinary Headace

SpaceChem Walkthrough Alkonost - Random Oxides

Review of Bejeweled 3

http://www.popcap.com/games/bejeweled3/pc 

I don't think this game requires an introduction, nearly everyone has played some form of Bejeweled. What makes Bejeweled 3 better? I'll give three reasons.

SpaceChem Walkthrough Alkonost - Prelude to a Migraine

SpaceChem Walkthrough Alkonost - Prelude to a Migraine

SpaceChem Walkthrough Alkonost - An Introduction to Sensing

 

This level starts off the Alkonost planet as well as introduces a new command for the waldos.

This new feature allows a branch off of the path if a predefined element crosses over it. 

Again I went for best time over fewer symbols. Also I'll note once more that these are the best times I can find and not necessarily the best possible times.

Originally I did this using only the red and then came back and added the blue track as well. I tried for over an hour to get the two in sync without actually using a sync but finally had to give in and place a sync symbol.

SpaceChem Walkthrough Alkonost - An Introduction to Sensing

SpaceChem Walkthrough Danopth - A Most Unfortunate Malfunction

This level doesn't show statistics so I guess the goal is simply to save the day.

SpaceChem Walkthrough Danopth - A Most Unfortunate Malfunction

SpaceChem Walkthrough Danopth - In-Place Swap

Another chance at a challenge. This time you get it simply for beating the level.

Rather than going for fewest cycles on this one I went with two reactors. I still focused on as few cycles as possible.

 

SpaceChem Walkthrough Danopth - In-Place Swap

East Coast Gaming Conference 2012 - Review

www.ecgconf.com

My son wants to make games when he grows up. Since I work for a reseller of Autodesk software, I have hooked him up with 3ds Max and Mudbox. I also gave him the curriculum from Autodesk's student website. students.autodesk.com However it always seems more fun to play the games than actually work at learning the software used in creating them. With his grades slowing dropping as the school year progressed, I decided to try to find something that would spark some interest and push him into actually spending some time with Max and focusing on school work again.

My first thought was to take him through a college that offers some game design majors. While poking around on the web I happened across ECGC's website about a month before the event date. Registration was $105 per person. It sounded a lot like Autodesk University which is a blast. Several days of lectures given by professionals in the industry to others in, or looking to get into, the industry. The exhibit hall was always a major highlight as well. Having given lectures at Autodesk University for several years now I thought it would be exciting to be on the receiving side of something like that.

The first thing I needed to check was if there was an age limit. I clicked the Contact Us link and asked if there was an age limit and if this was something that would be appropriate for an 8th grader. I really didn't expect a response other than something automated. Surprise surprise! Not only did I get a response, it came in form of a phone call. I had a 15 minute call with Troy Knight. He listened to everything I was concerned about then offered some advice on what classes we should attend. I also learned that he works with Tim Castle, an old co-worker of mine who used to work in our Raleigh office.

That settled it, we were going. I requested some vacation time, cleared it with my son's school, and booked a hotel. I also talked my buddy Larry into going as well. Not that it took a lot of talking....... ok, so that clears up why two guys and a older kid are at a conference for professionals.

We decided we would say our titles were "End Users" if asked what we do. Click the link to read the rest.

SpaceChem Walkthrough Danopth - Nothing Works

Danopth - Nothing Works

This is your second chance at winning a challenge. Beat this level in 1000 cycles is the challenge.

This is taking far longer than I had planned. There are a lot of levels and each level get more and more complex. Well that and I keep trying to better my times on past levels instead of working on the rest of the game. So far Steam shows that I have 51 hours in this game. I still have three entire planets that I haven't even started yet! Talk about worth every penny!

Danopth - Nothing Works

How To Change the Default Items For Your League of Legends Champions

 

After creating "my" perfect list of items in Excel I became frustrated with trying to switch between Excel and LoL mid game. It didn't take llong to find this forum post http://na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=145862 and I want to give a shout out to the maker "yourbuddypal." This program ROCKS! Well done!

After downloading and unzipping, launch "LoLRecommendedItems.exe" The program starts off looking for updates and then you select the champion you want to modify.

Select the first item and click the "new" item you wish to replace it with.

Once all items are set drop down Deploy and choose what all items you wish to push to the game. Don't forget to save the your work so you can load the file next time to make future mods. If you wish to see this tool in action go to the forum link above and watch the YouTube videos.

It's awesome to find such an easy to use tool that simply works! Oh and my first game after my new build I ran 0/1/22  :)  Great support champion and more game time thanks to this utility!

Thanks again yourbuddypal. If you get a lot of use from the program consider making a donation to him using the link on his forum page listed above.

The Tribloos - Review

http://www.gamehouse.com/download-games/the-tribloos 

Meet Trey. The fuzzy little blue guy on the right. Throughout this awesome little resource/time management game you assist Trey in rebuilding his island. There are 75 different levels that get progressively more complex and difficult.

Basically you are the manager of several little blue workers and you need to manage their time as well as three different resources. Wood, Tools, and Stone. This is not just another Diner Dash. Some real thought that must go into some of the levels. What should you build first? Start out wrong and you may end up with no supplies later in the level. Then there are additional little twists they throw in as well. Like a bird that scares the workers to random dripping lava falls.

I linked this from GameHouse since that's where I downloaded the game from. However there are a number of other sites this game can be download from as well. My sister was telling me about this game and later that day I got stuck over night in an airport. I started this game and was hooked. Since I wasn't pushed for time, I redid each level until I received the Gold Star for time management.

For what starts out as a cute little game, Tribloos turns into a great timed puzzle game with surprising complexity. How complex you ask? After watching a little game play in the short video below, press the link to see the rest of this article.

Gameplay of level 9

Eufloria - Walkthrough

<<Link to my YouTube Eufloria Playthrough>>

I finally finished the first 25 levels and recorded them all. They are all posted here at 2X speed. I am working at posting the Arena levels to this playlist as well. I will not add the Dark Matter levels since they are all ready on YouTube by Cherusker... <<Link to Cherusker's Dark Matter Playthrough Playlist>>

SpaceChem Walkthrough Danopth - Settling into the Routine

Danopth - Settling into the Routine

This is your first chance at winning one of the challenges. You only have to beat the level to win this challenge but its the first of 12 achievements the game offers.

Danopth - Settling into the Routine

 

Eufloria - Review

http://www.eufloria-game.com

This game was a wonderful surprise. I love real time strategy games. The fact that this was an RTS was the main reason I bought it. Well that and the fact that it was 50% off on Steam. So I took a chance on an odd looking game and I've been in love ever since. When asked to describe it I usually start with Beautiful. Followed quickly with Relaxing, Easy to play but Hard to master, and finally Unique.

Beautiful - Relaxing - Easy to Play - Hard to Master - Unique

Official Eufloria Trailer

According to Steam I have played this game 37 hours. I'm never really sure how accurate those numbers are. Does that include time spent playing offline? Either way I have spent a good bit of time in this game. I have beat the game and I was halfway through the Dark Matter storyline when I reformatted... So now I'm running through from the beginning again just so I can beat the game. What does that tell you about this game?

Something else that is unique about this game is it only requires a mouse or a touch screen. I have been plugging my laptop into the tv and playing from the sofa. The downside to this is I keep falling asleep. The music is so soothing and relaxing. It goes perfectly with the beautiful art throughout the storyline.

According to the story, we are planting trees on asteroids. These trees produce little seedlings that can be used to fight other invading nations of seedlings. I like to think of the planets as Atoms and I'm fighting viruses inside a body. 

SpaceChem Walkthrough Danopth - Split Before Bonding

Danopth - Split Before Bonding

This is the first level that requires both positive and negative bonds in the same reactor. There is a HUGE step down in the cycle counts but I can't figure it out. 198 is the best I can come up with.

Danopth - Split Before Bonding