X-Wing: Second Edition Is On The Way!

Feeling fresh.

Oh man, I'm excited.  I haven't played X-Wing in a while because the competitive meta was just so stagnant with all the health regen, turrets,and bombs.  Now that they rebooted the entire game, I'm really pumped to get back into it.

The official announcement is here:
https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2018/5/1/x-wing-second-edition/

There's a thread on the FFG forums that has all the consolidated info:
https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/274813-consolidated-x-wing-20-changes-thread/

Here's a quick run-down of what changed and what didn't..

These things have not changed in 2.0:

• Models carry over (some models may be re-released with new sculpts/paint/features)
• Dice are the same
• Range ruler is the same
• Range bonuses and obstructions work the same (except turrets)
• Templates are the same size -- but have a line down the center for alignment on nubless bases
• Basic game flow (but phases are renamed; some new phases)
• Maneuver driven by hidden dials plus actions
• Actions include: Focus, Target lock, evade, boost, barrel roll, cloak, reinforce, jam, coordinate, rotate arc (specific action mechanics may change)
• Upgrade slots: EPT, modification, title, torpedo, astromech, bombs, missiles, crew, system, turret
• Some upgrades will still take two slots
• Tokens (some art changes, shape): focus, evade, target lock, cloak, stress, tractor beam, jam, shield, ion
• Conditions are still a thing (Director Krennic)
• Setup Phase is largely the same

These things have changed in 2.0:

• New phases/phase names ("Strategy Phase")
• Medium ship bases (confirmed: U-wing, ARC-170, K-wing, G1A, Kimogila, Scurrg, Firespray, TIE Punisher, TIE Reaper, TBD)
• The new templates have a centerline that aligns to hash marks on the base and assists with bumping.
• Green maneuvers become blue 
• Red actions which gain a stress after taking
• Push the Limit is gone; some ships may "link" a first action into a second and gain a stress (example: focus into target lock linked action)
• New tokens: Force, charge
• Force tokens which power force abilities for some pilots; they may also be used to change one Focus result
• Charge/surge tokens which power some pilot abilities and ordnance
• Token shape now indicates when removed: "End of Round" tokens are round; square tokens have other triggers to remove (e.g. ion, stress) 
• Evade tokens to not add evade results; they just change green dice to evades.
• No costs on pilot cards or upgrades; these are in the squad builder app. Baseline is now 200 points.
• Each ship base has a bullseye arc and quadrants marked
• Turrets adopt mobile arc mechanics
• Turrets also get ranged bonuses and penalties, Ordnance does not.
• New upgrade cards are full sized, landscape
• New upgrade slots: Force Abilities ("Instinctive Aim"), Configuration ("S-foils")
• Resistance and First Order will now be separate factions
• Firespray-31 is no longer Imperial; Scum only
• New pilots
• No upgrade bar; either use ship build cards from the core set or the squad builder app
• Pilot skill is now called Initiative and goes from 1 to 6 [Wedge Antilles: 6]; no Veteran's Instincts or ability to change
• Damage deck - new. Repairing damage is now a thing. New cards ("Fuel Leak", "Panicked Pilot", "Wounded Pilot"); only 5 Direct Hits in the deck now.
• Regen exists, but is powered by charge tokens and nets a weapons disabled (R2 astromech)
• Decimator gets Reinforce and a red Coordinate
• Some ships have built-in abilities: Phantom (Stygium); TIE Advanced (Advanced Targeting Computer)
• Ordnance appears not to spend target locks (e.g. Proton torps); 
• Ion tokens: 1 for small ship, 2 for medium ship, 3 for large ship
• Bombs can blow up obstacles (and do damage in the process)
• New abilities will affect the Setup Phase
• They will introduce new obstacle types
• Shield levels have been reduced on many ships
• Barrel roll is not adjustable; they use the hash marks on the bases for alignment.Barrel Roll now only has 3 positions per side (6 total) – makes Barrel Roll more inline with Boost as you only have 6 total positions.If you declare and action and you can't do it (ie Barrel Roll would land you on a rock), you just lose the action now
• There is a "range 0" for own ship abilities.
• Target Lock is now just Lock – and you can Lock on to objects as well as ships (friendly and enemy).
• Certain ships have different attack values for different arcs now.

Took inventory last night.  Looks like I'm going to have to do some massive trading when the game comes out.

Rebels:
3 A-Wing (2 Aces)
4 B-Wing (2 Aces)
4 T-65 X-Wing (Core)
2 Z-Wing
1 HWK-290
1 Y-Wing
1 E-Wing
1 K-Wing
1 YT-1300 (Heroes)
1 YT-1300
1 YT-2400
1 Sabine's TIE Fighter

Imps:
3 TIE Interceptors
2 TIE Advanced
1 TIE Phantom
7 TIE Fighters (Core)
4 TIE Interceptors (Royal Guard)
4 TIE Interceptors (181st)
3 TIE Defender (Veterans)
3 TIE Bomber (Veterans)
1 TIE Advanced (Raider)
1 TIE Advanced Proto
1 TIE Aggressor
1 VT-49 Decimator
1 Lambda Shuttle

Scum:
2 BroBots
1 Slave I
1 H-6 Bomber

Resistance:
4 T-70 X-Wing (Core)
1 T-70 X-Wing (Heroes)

First Order:
7 TIE F/O (Core)
1 TIE Silencer

Darksiders III: Deluxe Edition Free Download

Darksiders III - is a hack and slash action-adventure video game developed by American studio Gunfire Games and published by THQ Nordic. It is a sequel to Darksiders II and the third entry in the Darksiders series.

Return to an apocalyptic Earth in Darksiders III, a hack-n-slash Action Adventure where players assume the role of FURY in her quest to hunt down and dispose of the Seven Deadly Sins. The most unpredictable and enigmatic of the Four Horsemen, FURY must succeed where many have failed – to bring balance to the forces that now ravage Earth. Darksiders III is the long-anticipated, third chapter in the critically-acclaimed Darksiders franchise. Fury, who must rely on her whip to restore the balance between good and evil on Earth.

..:: Purchase the game here and support the developers ::..

1. FEATURES OF THE GAME

• Play as Fury, a mage who must rely on her whip & magic to restore the balance, between Good and evil on Earth.
• Harness Fury's magic to unleash her various forms, each granting her access to new weapons, moves plus more.
• Explore an open-ended, living, Free-form game world in which Fury Moves back and forth between environments.
• Defeat the new Seven Deadly Sins and their Servants who range from mystical Creatures to degenerated beings.
• Expansive Post-Apocalyptic environments that take the Player from the Heights of heaven & to the Depths of Hell.

Game is updated to latest version

Included Content

▪ Darksiders III: Deluxe Edition - Pre-order DLC (special option armor)

2. GAMEPLAY AND SCREENSHOTS

3. DOWNLOAD GAME:

♢ Click or choose only one button below to download this game.
♢ View detailed instructions for downloading and installing the game here.
♢ Use 7-Zip to extract RAR, ZIP and ISO files. Install PowerISO to mount ISO files.

DARKSIDERS III: DELUXE EDITION DOWNLOAD LINKS

      

PASSWORD FOR THE GAME

Unlock with password: pcgamesrealm

4. INSTRUCTIONS FOR THIS GAME

➤ Download the game by clicking on the button link provided above.

➤ Download the game on the host site and turn off your Antivirus or Windows Defender to avoid errors.

➤ When the download process is finished, locate or go to that file.

➤ Open and extract the file by using 7-Zip, and run 'setup.exe' as admin then install the game on your PC.

➤ Once the installation is complete, run the game's exe as admin and you can now play the game.

➤ Congratulations! You can now play this game for free on your PC.

➤ Note: If you like this video game, please buy it and support the developers of this game.

Turn off or temporarily disable your Antivirus or Windows Defender to avoid false positive detections.

5. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
(Your PC must at least have the equivalent or higher specs in order to run this game.)

• Operating System: Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 | requires 64-bit
• Processor: AMD FX-8320 (3,5 GHz) / Intel i5-4690K (3,5 GHz) or better processor
• Memory: at least 8GB System RAM
• Hard Disk Space: 25GB free HDD Space
• Video Card: GeForce GTX 660 / Radeon R7 370 with 2 GB VRAM or better graphics

Supported Language: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Portuguese-Brazil, Arabic, Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese language are available and supported for this video game.
If you have any questions or encountered broken links, please do not hesitate to comment below. :D

20Mm Big CoC At The WHC Gavrus: Part 1

 I've been badgering Mark Freeth about CoC for about a year now, first of all to do it in 20mm, then of course its turned into 28mm. Meanwhile, The group of lads from Huntingdon who do an annual game to remember their sadly missed old friend Carlo were coming to Basingstoke.
Now I knew they had played CoC, and I also recall Carlo being partial to the game, so I thought it ideal to use them as guinea pigs for trying out Big CoC! They were more than happy to go along with it, so a format was put together. As the 28mm stuff is still being painted (nearly done though!) this weekend would have to be in 20mm
I thought that for 8 players, a Big CoC campaign of 4 games over the weekend from Friday night through to Sunday afternoon would work fine. I allowed for an extra scenario just in case things went a bit quick.
What to do?
An obvious choice was Normandy, I had all the kit required, and of course, Mark has his amazing collection of Mick Sewell buildings which were aching for a run out.
I only needed a reinforced company for both British and Germans, plus various AFV options, all of which we had.

 The scenario was to be the action at Gavrus on 29/30th June 1944, when the 2nd battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders came under ferocious attack by the 10th SS 'Frundsberg' division.
The battle is reasonably well documented, particularly in Iain Dalglish's book "Operation Epsom: Over the Battlefield" which includes some fantastic aerial photographs of the area taken just days after the battle, these would substitute perfectly for maps.
I came up with 4/5 scenarios with games running into each other to replicate the fighting:
The first was a bit of a "what if" with infantry companies from each side recce-ing the village of Bougy about a mile South of Gavrus, the Germans supported by an armoured infantry platoon in half-tracks and the jocks by their carrier platoon. Both sides did recce Bougy, but I doubt they did it in such strength or necessarily at the same time, but I thought it would give a good introduction for the players, and set the tone for the weekend.
This was to be a fairly standard Patrol scenario as per the CoC rules, with each side receiving an additional 8 points of support to be drawn from a fairly limited selection

                                                           Main road at Gavrus

                                                          The British briefing:      

                                                        

                                                   Scenario 1:  BOUGY- BRITISH

This depicts the action between The 2^nd Argylls and the 10^th SS Frundsberg Division early in the morning of 29^thJune 1944, around the village of Bougy. This is a patrol action as per the main CoC rules. National characteristics as per the main rules.

7 Patrol Markers will be placed along the respective baselines, resulting in 6 Jump off Points. Vehicles will enter via the Gavrus road.

The adjutant may either: Act as an off table senior leader for 1 platoon. OR for the entire company, in which case he will just add +1 to their deployment rolls

Casualties from scenario 1 will carry over to scenario 2.

British Infantry: 3 platoons, C Company 2^nd Argylls, Regular, 5 command dice

 Each as follows:

HQ:

Lieutenant: Senior Leader armed with a pistol. 

Platoon Sargent: Senior Leader armed with SMG

PIAT Team: 2 men

2" Mortar Team: 2 men.

Sections 1 to 3:

Corporal: Junior Leader armed with SMG 

Bren Team: Bren LMG 3 crew

Rifle Team: 6 riflemen

SUPPORT OPTIONS:

List 1:  Medic, Adjutant(max 1),,

List 2:  PIAT Team: 2 men, 2" Mortar Team: 2 men.

List 3:  Sniper Team, Universal carrier Bren Team with Junior Leader.

List 4:  6 pdr Anti-tank gun with 5 crew and Junior Leader (max 1)

ELEMENTS, CARRIER PLATOON, 2^ND ARGYLLS: , Regular, 5 command dice.

1 x Universal Carrier with driver, 2 man Bren team, and Senior Leader with pistol

Section 1:

1 x Universal Carrier with driver, 2 man Bren team, and Junior Leader with SMG

1 x Universal Carrier with driver, 2 man 2" mortar team, and 1 rifleman

Section 2:

1 x Universal Carrier with driver, 2 man Bren team, and Junior Leader with SMG

1 x Universal Carrier with driver, 2 man PIAT team, and 1 rifleman

Section 3:

1 x Universal Carrier with driver, 2 man Bren team, and Junior Leader with SMG

1 x Universal Carrier with driver, 2 man 2" mortar team, and 1 rifleman, OR 2 man PIAT team, and 1 rifleman

No Support may be allocated to the Carrier Platoon

Total support points.8

Each asset picked must be allocated to a specific platoon for the duration of scenario 1

                                                  Recce half-tracks move up( die-cast vehicles, AB crew)

                                                        The German briefing:

                                                   Scenario 1:  BOUGY -GERMAN

This depicts the action between The 2^nd Argylls and The 10^th SS Frundsberg Division early in the morning of 29^thJune 1944, around the village of Bougy.  This is a patrol action as per the main CoC rules. National characteristics as per the main rules.

7 Patrol Markers will be placed along the respective baselines, resulting in 6 Jump off Points.

Vehicles will enter via the western road

The adjutant may either: Act as an off table senior leader for 1 platoon. OR for the entire company, in which case he will just add +1 to their deployment rolls.

Senior Leaders must be allocated to a specific platoon

Casualties from scenario 1 will carry over to scenario 2,

German Infantry: 3 platoons of the 1^st Company 22^nd Pzrgrenadier Regt, Regular, 5 command dice

 Each as follows:

HQ:

Obersharfurher: Senior Leader armed with a SMG. 

3 Panzerfaust 30.

Sections 1 to 3:

Scarfurher: Junior Leader armed with SMG 

M42 Team: MG42 LMG 3 crew, 1 Rifleman

M42 Team: MG42 LMG 3 crew, 1 Rifleman

SUPPORT OPTIONS:

List 1:  Medic, Adjutant (max 1), Panzerfaust 30

List 2: Senior Leader armed with a SMG.  Panzerschreck team with 2 crew

List 3:  Sniper Team, Panzergrenadier team: Junior Leader armed with SMG, 5 riflemen.

List 4:  Mg 42 MMG team and 5 crew

List 5: Sdkfz 250/8 with junior leader, 250/9 with junior leader

3rd Kompanie, 10^thSS Panzer  Aufklarungs-Abteilung:  Superior Regular *, 5 command dice

1 x Sdkfz 251/10 + Obersharfurher: Senior Leader armed with a SMG.

 Panzerschreck team with 2 crew

3 x Infantry sectionseach:

1 x Sdkfz 251/1 Scarfurher: Junior Leader armed with SMG

M42 Team: MG42 LMG 3 crew, 1 Rifleman

M42 Team: MG42 LMG 3 crew, 1 Rifleman

*Superior regulars treat a single 6 on their command dice as a 5. Other rolls are unchanged.

No Support may be allocated to the Recce platoon

Total support points.8

 Each asset picked must be allocated to a specific platoon for the duration of scenario 1

                                             Cautious grenadiers (Elhiem and Adler figures)

Area Handbook for Bulgaria by Baluyut, Giloane, Keefe, Long, Moore, and Walpole

Vintage Computer Festival Southeast 6.0

When:
Saturday April 21, 2018, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday April 22 2018, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Where:
A new location this year:  5000 Commerce Parkway, Roswell, GA 30076.
It's in the  Roswell Town Center mall, around the back off Commerce Parkway.
Please check the Google Map linked from the address, it's a little tricky to find the first time.
This  Map Link shows the entrance.

What:
Speakers — Come hear first-hand accounts of events in computer history and informative technical presentations.  We have again attracted some very interesting speakers this year!
Check the Speakers link above more details.
Exhibits (and exhibit registration) — Exhibits are presented Saturday and Sunday.   You'll find computers from the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's.  From PDPs to Commodores to Apples… Some exhibits contain pristine original machines, others painstakingly restored machines and others focus on unique modern hacks.  You'll find all this and everything in between.
We will also be having a sneak preview screening and feedback session for an upcoming documentary Love Notes to Newton (click link for a trailer)  This will occur at 3 pm on Saturday.
Hands On Activities  — We offer a chance to let your inner engineer out.   A very popular feature of our Festival is the chance to create your own electronic device.   We have kits available for purchase (for everyone from complete beginner to those already handy with a soldering iron).
We also expect to again have a demonstration area put on by the FIRST Robot team  T\ They will be there to talk about their experiences at the FIRST competition as well.
Consignment — We offer a consignment area as part of our show.   We'll try our best to sell your vintage computer related  items. Details are on the Consignment link.  Please  remember this isn't a flea market.
Vendors — We invite folks who might have items that would be of interest to our audience to exhibit at our show as well.    Register using the exhibits link.
Concessions — We offer a concession area where you can get soft drinks, water, popcorn, etc. We also have Festival T-Shirts (and a few from previous years) along with some other computer related items.  Click the link for a more detailed list.

For whom:
Everyone! Computer geeks, families/children, STEM students, students, collectors, IT professionals, curious onlookers…

Admission: Free

http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/otherevents/vintage-computer-festival-southeast/
https://mailchi.mp/computermuseumofamerica.com/vcfse60updates?e=fd35a5dce2

About London by J. Ewing Ritchie

The Division 2 Review (PS4)

Written by Anthony L. Cuaycong

Title: The Division 2
Developer: Massive Entertainment
Publisher: Ubisoft
Genre: Action, Adventure, RPG
Price: $59.99
Also Available On: Steam, XB1

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The launch of Tom Clancy's The Division in 2016 was met with great expectations. As an online role-playing game, it bore the expertise of developer Massive Entertainment, whose previous work in seeing Assassin's Creed: Revelations and Far Cry 3 through gave it the confidence to pledge the setting of new standards in multiplayer engagement. Needless to say, the assistance that it received from other Ubisoft subsidiaries, particularly Red Storm Entertainment, Ubisoft Reflections, and Ubisoft Annecy enabled it to meet its objectives, albeit not without growing pains.

The cutting-edge visuals, outstanding combat mechanics, and immersive setting of Tom Clancy's The Division shone from the outset, but Massive Entertainment still needed to scramble after it hit store shelves in order to address the glaring lack of content, frustrating capacity of enemies to absorb damage, paper-thin storyline, and significant technical glitches that all detracted from the overall experience. That said, it bore such promise, and met said promise soon enough, that it went on to become Ubisoft's best-selling title of all time, generating revenues north of $300 million worldwide and, in the process, ensuring the release of a sequel.

Parenthetically, Tom Clancy's The Division 2 picks up from where its predecessor left off, following the narrative seven months after events showing the devastation the release of Green Poison, a reengineered strain of smallpox, wreaked upon New York. This time, however, Washington serves as the backdrop for its progression, with the White House used by the Joint Task Force as base of operations. Gamers assume the role of an agent of the Strategic Homeland Division and help keep as much order as possible within the chaos created by a de facto civil war.

Outside of the plot, which remains paper thin, Tom Clancy's The Division 2 proves superior to its predecessor in all aspects. It certainly hits the ground running, presenting the District of Columbia as a near-perfect facsimile of its real-life representation and providing gamers with open-world choices within rewarding mission structures. Combat is straightforward, if challenging; stealth and precision marked by care are keys to survival, whether going solo or as part of groups, and regardless of the type of factions to which enemies of the moment belong. And, yes, the degrees of difficulty fluctuate, but, unlike the first offering, stay eminently fair. Thusly, a commitment to persevere prevails; failure is inevitable, but frustration does not set in because insight borne of experience does pay dividends.

In this regard, Tom Clancy's The Division 2 encourages the proper planning of skill upgrades, and in the context of group excursions. Meanwhile, skirmishes yield loot drops that expand equipment and weaponry. Side activities are offered in abundance, but invariably within the context of enriching story perspectives and stakes. For the more adventurous, there is the Dark Zone, where other gamers can and will be enemies — sometimes under the guise of collaboration. Within this area, a separate leveling regime is in place, and going rogue offers the opportunity to appreciate the challenges from the other side. In any case, the interactions underscore the sharpness with which player-versus-player scenarios are laid out.

Significantly, Tom Clancy's The Division 2 continues to receive programming support. A recent patch, for instance, enables loot targeting; map updates occur every day and show specific locations for specific gear. Moreover, it gives relevance to brand loyalty; in-game equipment makers now have items for all customizable slots, thus enabling access to bonuses. If nothing else, Ubisoft's commitment to keep tweaking the title long after release signifies sensitivity to feedback and dedication to process improvement. Future content updates promise map expansions, talent customization, and further understanding of the overarching narrative.

All told, Tom Clancy's The Division 2 keeps gamers going for more. If there's one thing developers have known to be harder than generating interest in their products, it's keeping said interest over time. Clearly, Massive Entertainment is bent on continually cultivating the interest, a decided boon in this day and age of infinite entertainment choices. Consumers are intrinsically fickle, and the sheer number of options available to them taps into this nature. Ubisoft is betting that quality breeds allegiance — and winning.

---

THE GOOD:

• Superior to predecessor in all aspects
• Combat is challenging but fair
• Continued support encourages long-term commitment
• Near-perfect representation of Washington, D.C.

THE BAD:

• Paper-thin plot
• Absence of a narrative hook
• Still subject to loot fatigue

---

RATING: 8.5/10

---

Brave Browser 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

Try Brave Browser

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