Clash of Clans: Halloween 2014 Update

Clash of Clans got an update for Halloween

If you haven't logged into your Clash of Clans account in a while, you should know that they have released their Halloween update (as of the 22nd). It includes (among other things) a Halloween restyle of several of the sprites and effects (pumpkins, spooky spells, etc.) along with some gameplay tweeks and improvements.

The new Skeleton Trap

The update also introduced a new set of traps for anyone Level 8 and up. The Skeleton Trap is hidden when deployed and produces a number of Skeletons (like the Skeletons the Witch deploys) that can either attack ground troops or use balloons to attack air troops (one or the other). It's cheap to build and can be upgraded to Level 2 (on Town Hall Level 8) and Level 3 (on Town Hall Level 9) - I wonder if they'll eventually add a Level 4 at Town Hall 10 but not right now (although they can build more of them)

Also Level 8+ gets ANOTHER MORTAR!!! I assume they are trying to encourage the new Lava Hound and other air troops by making ground only defenses stronger - get to building

Also Loot Bonuses are bigger now after battles, doesn't help much in Silver/Gold, but Crystal III went from 21,000 Gold/Elixer & 50 Dark Elixer to 35,000 Gold/Elixer and 100 Dark Elixer - raiding is awesome right now (when I can find a good one, the update brought more activity and more raiders snatching up the good raids!)

Sneak peak for my weekly update, I slightly reorganized my main account to accommodate the new Mortar and my Barbarian King is moving up to Level 7! My clan mates have asked me when I plan to move to Townhall Lvel 9, but I don't want to rush it. My Alt. Account doesn't get any of the new stuff yet, but it is getting stronger on Level 7, hopefully I'll have all my newish stuff up to snuff soon so I can start unlocking stuff like Dragons, Barb King, etc. - fun times! 

Office Update Info:

http://forum.supercell.net/showthread.php/427896-Update-22-10-Halloween

Second Playthrough | Early 1995 - NES pickups

I got the NES WAY late so the order I started picking up games was odd.

I started picking up NES games in early 1995 (Jan/Feb/March) with my allowance. Luckily I could find them fairly easily for low prices (as the system had been out for 9 years by that time, and discontinued I believe).

1. Kid Icarus

I had played Kid Icarus on the Game Boy and even though that was a few years newer than the NES game, the limitations of the Game Boy itself (especially graphically) made this game feel quite similar - they even both had password save systems so I didn't feel any loss there. I'm not sure if it was my varying ability between consoles or if they had tonned down the Game Boy version, but this game was significantly harder for me than the Game Boy game.

2. Battletoads

I recently popped Battletoads in and replayed it, it wasn't easy but the different perspectives (like when the boss robot is shooting at you and you have to throw the stuff back at the camera) along with pretty good graphics for the time and fast fun gameplay - I can see why this was an awesome game and would make Nintendo want to acquire Rare. I did some reading and apparently Rare made Battletoads to compete (and play off of) the popularity of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at the time (TMNT IV: Turtles in Time for SNES, go play it now- awesome game!).

3. Zoda's Revenge: Star Tropics II

I recently went back to play Zoda's Revenge (Star Tropics II) for this blog post and was lost as hell (once I got past the intro chapter basically) and was having trouble just figuring out how to not die while exploring around. I eventually read online and figured a few things out and started to have some fun - didn't play it too much though as it didn't really catch me. I can see why they haven't made a sequel - I seem to remember the first being better though, maybe I have rose-colored glasses for it for some reason.

Further Reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kid_Icarus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battletoads

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoda's_Revenge:_StarTropics_II

Star Wars Commander: Week 6

Continuing to build both bases on Headquarters Level 5

This was our Empire base last time.

This was our Rebel base last time.

We've just about built all the new stuff for Headquarters Level 5 on the Empire base, including: 2 Shield Generators, a Starship Command, 2 Burst Turrets, 2 Resource Collectors and 10 new wall pieces. We still need to build the second Factory and reorganize the base with the new toys! Also I'm excited to start using the Starship Command and start to research level 5 troops!

Back on the rebel base we are getting closer and closer to upgrading everything to Level 5, we have all of the resource collectors, transports and factories maxed, and we are upgrading our last storage and barracks to max. We also have all of the research done in the Research Facility and have upgraded the Hero Command and Squad Complex. The main things we have to work on now are turrets and walls so I need plenty of Ally - I will likely raid for this some time this week to keep my workers building!

Clash of Clans: Building an Alt. Week 7

Finally moved up to Town Hall Level 7!

This was our base last time, with moving up a Town Hall Level we've had some major changes!

Our New Town Hall Level 7 Base!

We have built several new additions, including: an additional Barracks, Army Camp, Mortar, Air Defense, Archer Tower, 2 Cannons, 50 Walls, a Dark Elixer Container and a Hidden Tesla! I also upgraded my Laboratory and am working on unlocking some Level 4 troops!

Right now I am concentrating on getting those new items upgraded to the same level as the old ones, then I will work on upgrading everything to the new maxes for our level. Also I'm hoping to start acruing some Dark Elixer soon (just got the container finished, only have like 50 so far) because at 10,000 I can build the Barbarian King, we also have the ability to build the first Dark Barracks at this level, but I don't use Dark Troops that much (rather save my Dark Elixer for my hero). I also have one more Hidden Tesla I can build (and of course both can be upgraded to Level 3! that's going to take a lot of gold). I also need to upgrade my storages for gold and elixer so I can raid without worrying about filling them up.

Level 7 is one of the funnest I've been through so far, being level 8 on my main account I miss being in 7. It's relatively easy to find lucrative raids, there are a bunch of things to upgrade and new things being unlocked (like the Dark Elixer & Barbarian King, Dragons, Rage Spell, etc.)

A quick look at my main account.

Back on my main account, I slowly trying to upgrade things - we have won 3 wars in a row so that's been nice but things are getting really expensive. I'm having a hard time finding the time to raid enough to keep all 5 workers busy. I hope to get about 360,000 Gold and 200,000 Elixer during the football games this afternoon so I can start another air defense to level 6 (to max it for my level and because it takes 8 days so I don't have to worry about that builder for a while) and my last barracks to level 9 (Dragon Level) - but then I have another builder who will be done with the Dark Elixer Container by morning and my lab will be free (and another builder) by tomorrow evening! So basically I need 3.5 million Gold and 2.5 million elixer by tomorrow night (which is no really feasible) so I'm going to have a builder down for a while unless I can find extra time to raid. Not the biggest deal but I do like to keep them all working if I can (and the lab).

Second Playthrough | Christmas 1994 - NES Time!

This was under the tree for me on Christmas morning!

Unforunately I no longer have the box (for the console or games) this is a picture from Nintendoage.com

The NES was over 8 years old when I got it Christmas morning 1994. I'm not sure why my parents didn't get the redesigned NES (unless that had already been discontinued by the time) but I'm sure the NES's ~$50 price tag for that holiday season was the reason it was appealing to them as a gift for me. I of course had no idea, nor would I have cared that it was old - that just meant there were more games out for it!

1. Super Mario Bros. 3

The first up was Super Mario Bros. 3 - the game came packaged in with the console (it had 'Challenge Set Not For Resale' on the box, but the cart was the same as other SMB3 carts inside). This was an awesome experience for me. I had played both Mario Game Boy games (and Donkey Kong where you play as Mario) but this was on the TV and in color! I had a blast and can still remember distinctly where and how to get all three whistles! The Raccoon tail (Tanookie suit is I think its official name) is the second best Mario power-up in my opinion next to the Super Cape. I would later play the first and second mario games (and of course the later Mario games on many different consoles) and Super Mario World would eventually find its place as my favorite, but SMB3 is still a close second and holds a special place in my heart.

2. The Legend of Zelda

Zelda was another game I had recently played the Game Boy version of before moving back to the NES/TV and getting the grander - albeit older experience. Having played another Zelda I knew some of what was going on, but even then I was amazed at how little the game led you and just expected you to figure out. I have played many Zelda games since (Link to the Past is still my favorite) but I think its interesting that the first few that I played either didn't have the triforce (Link's Awakening) or it was in 8 pieces instead of 3 (kinda, 3 main pieces but 8 fragments) (Original), also no master sword in either game. This is the game that started probably the most epic gaming series of all time - if you somehow haven't played it I highly recommend it.

3. Kirby's Adventure

Kirby was a revelation for me on the NES, I didn't play it much initially (what with Mario and Zelda I had very little time) but when I finally got around to popping it in the NES I was quite excited. I very much enjoyed Kirby's Dreamland on the Game Boy, and while this followed a lot of the same gameplay mechanics (while improving on them) it was also in color and had saves! It also introduced Kirby's ability to swallow enemies (instead of only being able to spit them out) and in the process gaining some power or ability from the enemy. While it was overshadowed by my other games I had great fun playing Kirby's Adventure and it holds up better than a lot of NES games.

Further Reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Bros._3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda_(video_game)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirby's_Adventure

Super Smash Bros. 3DS - All Characters Unlocked

Finally got all the characters!

Spent some more time last night unlocking the last few characters (for now, I suspect we will eventually get more via DLC).

1. Bowser Jr.

First up is Bowser Jr. I picked him up after 100 matches. He is actually quite good and fun to play (and he is actually 8 characters in 1 due to all the Koopalings being skins - I seem to always get Larry when I play on random). I had a blast with this fight, I happened to be playing Bowser (playing Random matches) and it was fun to watch them beat on eachother.

2. Duck Hunt

If you ever played Duck Hunt on the NES you know how endearingly annoying that dog was! (everyone tried to shoot him even though it didn't do anything) He is very much the same in this game, he is annoyingly good even though he doesn't seem like he would be and the extra characters he can summon (from the other Light Gun games on the NES by the way, nice cameos Nintendo) can be deadly. I am a little ashamed to say I lost to him initially while playing as I think Falco.

3. Jigglypuff

Jigglypuff returns! Just like in the previous games, Jigglypuff is a BEAST in smash bros, the way she floats and glides but can 'sting like a bee' so the saying goes, is deadly, plus the all power Sing move that puts people to sleep - along with Kirby she is an often underestimated but very powerful foe.

3. Mii Fighters

I also didn't realize I could unlock the Mii Fighters from the beginning by just making one. I went ahead and made one of each (based on my personal Mii of course) The Gunfighter I made Defensive and quick (at the cost of Attack), the Swordfighter I made with Strong Attack and decent Defense but slow, and the Brawler I made speedy with decent attack but low defense. I named them BobbaShane, SirShane and SSJShane - if by the off chance you see me online sometime you'll know who it is!

I'm actually quite impressed by the Mii Fighters, they have a decent skill set, and the three types plus the customization of Speed/Attack/Defense allows for probably dozens of combinations. I was having fun with them and I'll likely put them (as a group) up as my third alternate.

So my Main Fighters will be:

Mega Man

Little Mac

Ike

Secondary Fighters will be:

Bowser

Meta Knight

Mii Fighter(s)

Third String

Mario, Peach, Bowser Jr., Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Link, Zelda, Samus, Zero Suit Samus, Toon Link, Game & Watch, Marth, Kirby, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Duck Hunt, Rob, Nes, Wii Fit Trainer

Fourth String (I still want to be decent with these but I'll likely rarely use them)

Luigi, Yoshi, Rosalina, Wario, Sheik, Gannondorf, Pit, Palutena, Robin, King Dedede, Fox, Falco, Charizard, Lucario, Greninja, Captain Falcon, Villager, Olimar, Dr. Mario, Dark Pit, Lucina, Shulk, Pac Man, Sonic

So many awesome characters (not just because of their games, really there are a lot of different great fighters in these Smash Bros. games!)

Next I am going to take on the Classic and All-Star Modes and some of the Stadium min-games along with the Smash Run games.

Then I'll head online! Man there is so much awesome in this game.

Second Playthrough | Fall 1994 - More Gameboy Goodness

The fall of 1994 saw me add several more awesome Game Boy games to my collection.

Last Time we talked about my Birthday in 1994 where I got several awesome Game Boy games, but more importantly I started to get a weekly allowance - and I immediately used it to aquire several more Game Boy games between my birthday (in August) and Christmas.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Super Mario, Metroid and Zelda - these were the pillars of Nintendo (pre-Pokemon, Mario Kart, Smash, etc.) and I have a fairly unique viewpoint having played the Game Boy versions of the games before the NES versions. Link's Awakening was an amazing game on the Game Boy, once again it had a save function (my first besides Donkey Kong for the Game Boy) and it was an expansive experience. I spent hours, days even, exploring the island, solving the puzzles in the dungeons and having tons of fun. Link's Awakening had been out for over a year (released in NA, August 1993) and was the 4th in the series, but the first for me.

2. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

If you loved Super Mario Bros. 3 on the NES or Super Mario World on SNES, then Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is for you. It plays very similar to those console games and features many of the same improvements over the original Super Mario Bros (overworld, left or right movement, same 3 basic power ups: Super Mushroom, Fireflower, Starman). The game has a unique powerup, the Magic Carrot that turns Mario into Bunny Mario that allows multiple jumps and floating. This game introduced Wario as the main villain who took over 'Mario Land' while Mario was away taking on Bowser in the first Super Mario Land game. I loved this game, it saved as well (I was starting to get spoiled with saving games!) and it was great fun switching between Mario and Link's adventures that fall.

3. Metroid II: Return of Samus

The final game I got just a few weeks before Christmas in 1994 was Metroid II: Return of Samus. I played this game for nearly 3 weeks straight trying to make sure I beat it before Christmas (when I knew I would be getting more games!) it had a save function but I barely used it! (later I would play the original and wish for it). 

I have been asked repeatedly in the last few years by friends why I stick with Nintendo as a fan, and I will admit that at times their stances on things and their sluggish movement can be aggravating - but it's all about the games and the fall of 1994 was one of the first times (but certainly not the last) where I was blown away with great game after great game. Zelda, Mario and Metroid here on the Game Boy would blow me away again on both the NES and SNES (an each in their own ways on later systems). Combined with the literally dozens of other great series that Nintendo has, is it any wonder that I am a fan?

Super Smash Bros. 3DS - Continuing to Unlock Characters

Continuing to Unlock Character and start to feel out what characters I want to get good with.

I played for another couple hours on Super Smash Bros for Nintendo 3DS Thursday and Friday evenings, and unlocked a few more characters.

1. Dark Pit

I unlocked Dark Pit after 50 matches, I happened to be playing King DeDeDe, so the battle wasn't the easiest (I'm not the best with him and Dark Pit is much more mobile) but I eventually took him down. I don't play Pit much so I doubt I'll play Dark Pit much. I'll explore him some as there has to be a reason they put him in, but I really think the spot could have been better used.

2. Dr. Mario

The next to unlock (at 60 matches) was Dr. Mario. I happened to be playing with Little Mac at the time so the match was pretty one sided and he went down easily. Similar to Dark Pit vs. Pit I'm really not sure why Dr. Mario isn't just a skin for Mario, but I'll play him some to feel him out - I don't play with Mario much though so I doubt he'll get much play time when I'm not doing randoms.

3. ROB

I'm embarrased to say, I was playing as Lucina when I first unlocked the match to get ROB (at 70 matches) and lost! I got him on the second try with Link (I was playing random character matches) but the whole thing (along with my general ineptitude with Lucina) has made me reconsider her for one of my mains.

4. Gannondorf

I unlocked Gannondorf at 80 matches, I forget who I was playing with when I did, but I immediately did a match as him and was pleasently surprised with the subtle changes from Brawl. His moved are a little quicker and/or more easily timed - I think it's obvious they did some work on his rythm.

My Team

I am slowly trying to decide who to incorporate as my 'mains' for this version of Super Smash Bros. I almost always just play random character matches to try to get good with just about everyone and on any map, but when I start playing with friends that also start getting good I usually pick about 3 characters to get better with.

In Melee I did Bowser, Link and Pikachu. Sometimes Fox, Marth or Roy and Zelda. I was also pretty good with Samus, Jigglypuff (who isn't), Kirby, Ness and several others.

In Brawl I loved Ike, Meta Knight and Pikachu. I didn't like how the paced Bowser in Melee (although he seems a little better on the 3DS!). I got pretty good with all the same characters from Melee in Brawl along with most notably Wolf and Snake.

For this go round, I am going to put a lot of time and effort into picking a good main team. I won't know until I have the Wii U version and have played with it for a while, but right now my team is looking like these: 

Ike, Little Mac and Mega Man

Mega Man is simply a blast to play, and Little Mac is a beast. After I lost confidence in Lucina I explored Robin and Marth but Ike kept shining through (I loved him in Brawl and I'm rediscovering why).

Meta Knight and Bowser

Meta Knight and Bowser (both characters I have loved in the past) I expect also will get a good amount of play time. I like how they rebalanced Bowser, and Meta Knight is quite fun to play (his up+B is so much better!). Special mention also goes to Kirby (who's Final Smash is awesome now, when it was kinda lame in Brawl).

Star Wars Commander: Week 5

We continue to grow in power - both on the light and dark side.

On our Empire base, we are getting close to maxing everything out for level 4 - just a few more turrets and research and we will be ready to move up to Headquarters Level 5! We finally got enough crystals to get the 3rd Droid - but am currently not able to use him (once we move up town hall levels he'll have plenty to do).

I haven't been raiding in this much due to all the other games I'm playing currently (and heavy Clash of Clans raiding) and I haven't gotten much further in the single player - currently fighting on Dandoran and proving that first guy was an a-hole.

On the rebel side, we are getting close to maxing out the Headquarters level 5 base. I finished all of the single player missions (although I will need to go back to 3 star a few to get the crystal bonuses). I haven't raided on this in a long time, but probably should soon as some of the upgrades are getting pretty expensive, don't want to have droids sleeping too long - onward for the Rebel Alliance!

Clash of Clans: Building an Alt - Week 6

We're getting stronger, moving to Town Hall level 7 very soon!

Still not much physical change since last week, we haven't built anything new in a while - but we finally have everything upgraded to max (except the resource collectors) and are moving up to the Level 7 Town Hall.

We are going to have a bunch to do when the Town Hall finishes upgrading on Monday, so I'm raiding this weekend to have max resources when it does. We are going to have another Army Camp and Barracks to build, 2 more cannons, an Archer Tower, 50 new walls, a new mortar, air defense, several new traps and 2 Hidden Teslas to build. Not to mention we can build a Dark Elixer storage, start raiding for Dark Elixer and build the Dark Barracks and Barbarian King (once we have the Dark Elixer to do so of course)!

Level 7 is where the game really starts to get good, we can upgrade our barracks to make Dragons and help out more in the wars, level 4 troops are decent and the Barbarian King is loads of fun - can't wait to see how far we get by next weekend!

Back on my main account I am slowly working on maxing out my Town Hall Level 8 base. I have just recovered from the lull in raiding last weekend and got my last spell (Rage) to level 4. Now I'm working on Lvl 5 Giants (already have Barbarians and Archer) then I plan to do Wizards and then work on Lvl 5 spells (I also did Lvl 3 Dragon already!).

In 1d 18h I will have all of my Archers and Canons to level 9 (1 below Max) and am starting to move my Wizard towers to level 5 (also 1 below max). My Mortars are maxed and my Air Defenses need 2 levels and my Hidden Teslas need 3 (to max). They added a lot of multi-level upgrades at this town hall level so there is a lot of upgrading to do.

Tomorrow I will start my Barbarian King upgrading to level 6, recently got him to level 5 and his Iron Fist Ability is awesome! I'm hoping I can get him to level 10 within a few weeks (I'll need to raid heavily for dark but I think its doable) so when I move to TH Lvl 9 and work on my Archer Queen I won't have to worry about spending Dark on my Barbarian King when it should go to her.

I'm hopefully going to upgrade my Dark Elixer Drill and last barracks to Dragon Level within a week or two. Getting close to moving up to Town Hall Lvl 9, once I get all my walls to Dark Purple (lvl 7) and have maxed out Wizard Towers, Archers and Canons I will think about it (should be by the end of October I would think).

Super Smash Bros. 3DS - Playthrough to Unlock Stuff

Got Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS this weekend - now to try to unlock everything

I played the Demo for Smash on the 3DS a few weeks ago (I got the code from Club Nintendo and then later played it with a friend) so I had already had a little experience with the control scheme on the 3DS. I have read articles about people damaging their circle pads and getting hand cramps, but I've never had issues with the game (to be fair I've never had controller issues much at all with any game as I don't play for more than a few hours and am apparently not very hard on my controllers)

Anyways I was unfortunately away for the weekend on a trip to the mountains with my friends, but I came home Monday to find my copy of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS on the porch! I cracked it out and played for a few hours, just doing single matches with each character to try to unlock all the characters and get a feel for everybody. (I was also raiding in Clash of Clans and watching TV, so - multitasking yah!)

1. Ness

First up was the obligatory Ness unlock, I got him after doing 10 matches (mostly Mario, Luigi, Link, etc. all the mid-range fighters). He is quite similar to Ness from brawl so I will likely make him a second string fighter this time around just like then.

2. Falco

Next up is Falco, unlocked him after 20 matches. He is again basically the same as brawl and again almost a clone of Fox. I'm not the best with the fastest characters (Fox, Falco, Sonic, etc.) so I'll likely stay away from them.

3. Wario

I unlocked Wario at 30 matches, he is also very similar to his brawl setup and wasn't my favorite there. Bowser or Ike (or maybe the Duck Hunt Dog once I test him out) will likely be my heavy hitter.

4. Lucina

The first new character I unlocked was Lucina at 40 matches, she plays similar to Marth but has some cool features - I may test her out more, either her or Robin will likely become one of my top fighters.

Also I made sure to fight with all the new characters I could just to give them tests and I am leaning towards these as my mains right now (I usually have 3-4 in any Smash game):

1. Mega Man

2. Little Mac

3. Lucina or Robin

4. Bowser

Mega Man is likely going to be one of my mains this go round, Along with Little Mac, I have had loads of fun already with both of them and could see myself getting good with them. I will likely throw in Bowser as he's been a main for me since Melee. And I am leaning towards either Lucina or Robin to replace Marth/Roy/Ike that I usually throw in - although I may mix it up and explore some other characters. In the past I was good with Ness, Game & Watch, King DeeDeeDee, Toon Link, Pikachu, Zelda and several others (I try to play as a variety of characters).

Hopefully I'll unlock all the characters by the end of the week and really start exploring who I want to try to get good with again. Until then!