The Weekend before Hell - Diablo III release

The waiting is finally coming to an end. The fans of Diablo have waited for a good 12 years for this latest Diablo release, and yes we will all get the game on 15th May 2012. I must say I can't wait to try out the classes and the features of the new game (more info can be found on their site), e.g. the artisans with a 'levelling' option. Five classes to try and I'm not so sure which suites my style; guess I'll know in a few days.

Diablo III Pre-order cards

Despite the huge anticipation for the Diablo III, I must say I am somewhat disappointed with how AsiaSoft handles the entire pre-order / redemption. Seems like I need to spend many hours waiting at Funan (place for box set collection) before I can get the game. There isn't interesting freebies either, just a poster (from the lucky draw) and maybe something more (as rare loot). I can only hope that AsiaSoft has planned out the entire logistical flow, such that there is less chaos that day.

Well, if Hell is breaking loose after a long 12 years wait, chaos is to be expected when Diablo III is released. :)

See related: 

- Diablo III: Online Only and Cash Accepted

Singapore Poly's 2nd Media & Communications Conference 2012

The week of 13th Feb was the Social Media Week, and coincidentally Singapore Polytechnic also had their 2nd Media & Comms Conference during that week. The lecturer told me the timing was coincidental, and so I take her word for it. Their theme for the conference is 'Click to connect', quite apt for the current social media space.

A large group attended the event, with speakers from Starcom Mediavest (Lee Yew Leong), Blackberry (Gerald Ang), Nokia (Shalabh Pandey), & SPH (Geoff Tan). Among the attendees there were company reps, for example Brandtology. Well it was obvious cos' he identified his company before he asked a question. There were also journalists, since the event was reported by various media, including CIO Asia (see their report here). Yup I took various notes during the event itself (diligent right?)

Here's 2 photo shots of the speakers.

I must say that the event is pretty well organised. However the various speakers seemed to focus their comments on the students while their presentation slides were industry oriented, thus there was some disconnect while I was trying to digest the materials.There were a host of information, sand some interesting videos, e.g. the Beurs van Berlage building in Amsterdam was used in a Samsung advert for their 3D TV. Great advertising!

Oh, the event was held at SP Auditorium. I was early, and was somewhat intimidated by the large group of organisers (dressed in white T-shirts) who scrutinised everyone who walked past the place. Hmm. During the break I've had a chance to speak to the lecturers, and that was when I heard about SP's Centre for Social Media. Interesting initiative to give the students some industry exposure by partnering companies for various projects.

I enjoyed the Media & Communications Conference. Thanks SP (and the SP DMC students organisers) for the invite, and yes do drop me an invitation next year k? :) Oh, wonder if there is any way to get a copy of the slides that were presented at this conference? Hmm.

Triple Town - What Next After Floating Castle?

After numerous games of Triple Town, I finally managed to get a floating castle (formed from three castles). Of course, my high score of 377 185 is nothing compared to other seasoned players. Some forum postings indicated that this is the 'ultimate' object in the Triple Town, i.e. no more objects to be formed from combining floating castles.

However, when I moused over the floating castle, there is some hint that by combining 4 (not three) floating castles, a player can get something more! Is there anyone out there who have combined four floating castles and see this new 'ultimate' object in Triple Town? If anyone has done that, or know of this new object, can send me a link to the pic? Thanks!

Afternote: Just read on the Triple Town Tribune page that the 'ultimate' object is named 'Triple Casle', worth 1,500 coins. Wow!

See related:
- Triple Town - Screenshots

Triple Town - Screenshots

Recent days I've been spending some precious nights playing an extremely addictive game - Triple Town! It is a simple game created by Spry Fox, and indeed simple games are the ones that insidiously sapped away long hours without me even realising it! I'm not that good a player, and thus I've only achieved 85,860 points in Triple Town.

The concept of Triple Town is simple - match three similar items and a new item is created. For example, three patches of grass creates a shrub, three shrubs and a tree is born, and three trees make a simple house and so on.

At the end of each game, some coins and awards will be given. One point to note is that there are limited number of moves. While the total number of moves can last more than 1 game, eventually you will run out of moves. Then the player can use coins to purchase moves from the store in order to carry on the game (of course, you can pay real money to get coins for moves and items). Well that is how Spry Fox makes its money via Triple Town, and I do think it is worth it. For those looking for an engaging simple game that can last you hours, try Triple Town!

 

See related:

- Triple Town: What Next After Floating Castle?

Trade Nations 3.3 - Far East Additions

Trade Nations update 3.3 has been released for a few days now. This time round Trade Nations has introduced a touch of Far East by adding a number of new oriental theme shops / items. I am not sure where exactly to place these new additions - house, shops and decorative items, and maybe I should create a new oriental enclave for these far east 'immigrants'.

Trade Nations also changed the game mechanics a little by increasing the gold and experience cap to 300%. Well, the villagers will also be working harder when players enter the Trade Nations game - incentive to keep the players in the game longer each day.

For the new Far Eat items, the players need to build the 'Traveling Merchant' as a prerequisite.It cost 50,000 gold and other than a decorative item, I don't really see much use for this 'Traveling Merchant. Oh, it also unlock a new achievement when the Traveling Merchant is built. I was sort of hoping that this Traveling Merchant can actually sell exotic goods, i.e. as a new shop, rather than just decorative in nature.

The other additions that I have is the "Imperial House" and "Tai Chi". Imperial House cost 10,000 gold, 2,000 lumber, and 1,200 cut stones to build and it can house 4 new villagers. For this higher cost of built, the Imperial House rewards players with 20 experience and 25 gold (compared to 10 experience and 20 gold for Stone House) over a much shorter time frame. Quite worth it I must say. Tai Chi is just a new shop that helps to earn gold and experience, giving slightly higher rewards compared to the Firebreather and Juggler.

Other than the headache of where to place these additions such that they don't jar badly with my exiting layout (the themes are very different), overall the new additions are worth the effort for players to construct them.So update your Trade Nations to version 3.3 if you have not done so!

See also:

- iPad - Trade Nations: Review & Guide Part 1

- iPad - Trade Nations: Review & Guide Part 2
- Trade Nations - Building a Citadel without using Magic Beans

iPhone: Hospital Havoc 2 by Bitwise

If you like those 'Diner Dash' type of game where time management is a key element of gameplay, you might want to try out the newly released Hospital Havoc 2 (by Bitwise Design). In Hospital Havoc 2, the player started out as a Doctor (what else) who will need to manage multiple patients, often times with crazy tight timeline (and funny comments from the patients). The game requires a fair bit of dextrous finger movements to score more points (and also levels) - good for finger exercise!

Gameplay is standard of such games, i.e. touching the screen to activate the doctor (i.e. you the player) and the nurse for various functions (e.g. admit the patient, diagnose the illness, use equipment, entertain the patient, clean up, discharge the patient and so on). Simultaneously activating like functions will earn the player bonuses, and the same for keeping the doctor clean (use the sink often, especially when the patients only need the attention of the nurse). Touch the garbage to clear them into the bin, and touch the bin so that the nurse can clear it.

There are many different scenarios to explore, i.e. the local clinic, research centre and so on, each with different tasks to maneuver. The different 'medical facility' can only be unlocked once the player reached certain levels. 

1. Medical School (Level 1+) is where the tutorial session starts
2. Doctor's Office (Level 5+)
3. Graveyard (Level 10+) - more deaths = more muffins!
4. Local Clinic (Level 20+)
5. Metropolitan Hospital (Level 35+)
6. Research Center (Level 70+)

The game player can also customise the layout of the clinic (i.e. add new beds, new chairs etc), and also utilise boosters to aid the game (e.g. muti-tasking will be useful). Boosters will be a must at the higher levels.

While the tutorial is helpful, one thing they didn't mention is that game players can go to the graveyard to 'rob' the deceased of muffins. Muffin is the main currency of the game, and of course Bitwise Design welcome players to get them with real world cash. If not, graveyard and bonuses will be the main pah for obtaining muffins. Once the graveyard is 'robbed' there will be a time counter to indicate when the graveyard is reset. Set the alert so that you would know when the graveyard is reset.

The features of the Hospital Havoc (as described in iTune store) are:

• 100+ levels and 20+ different scenarios 
  
• 35+ different patient types and thus more weird comments from these patients
  
• Customisation of game character
  
• More doctor skills hospital customisation and quirky machines, medicines, and tools 

 What I don't like about the game is the use of large amount of text (especially at the tutorial stage). Some words in white and set against a light background makes them quite hard to read. An iPhone is definitely a small device that is not suited for reading of text of that small font size. The other drawback of the Hospital Havoc 2 is the loading time. Each new scenario or switching between World view and particular locations, will take up a long time, especially when the iPhone is not latched onto the local wi-fi. Thus playing the game while on the go can be a challenge. Nonetheless the hilarious comments and quirky game functions made Hospital Havoc 2 a good game to try. It is currently ranking among the top ten free games on the iTune store.

Tiny Tower - New Elevator, Costumes & Shop Upgrades

Tiny Tower update 1.3 is out! This update has more exciting features that impact the game play. A more obvious introduction is the new lift upgrade - Infini-Lift Lightspeed, that runs at 42ppm. Well, this Infini-Lift comes at a great cost - 499 Bux. Even though it is a chore down to send visiting Bitizens to the highest floor via lift, I don't think I'll be upgrading my lift anytime soon.

The next exciting feature is the introduction of new costumes. Yes, players can know clearly differentiate the Bitizens from each other by giving them very unique costumes. The Costumes option can be activated after the player selects 'Dress up' for the particular Bitizen. Imagine Bitizens dressing up in Doctor, Nurse and Surgeon costumes in a Doctors Office (Service) shop, or as Groom and Bride in Wedding Chapel, that would be fun. Even if costumes is now your thing (maybe because the Bux involved is not worth it), Tiny Tower now allows easier change of appearance (at the Dress Up option again) for each Bitizen, at no cost to gold.

Another feature that affects the gameplay is the shop upgrade. That's right, shops can now be upgraded (Bux will be charged of course - 3 Bux) to hold more stocks. Thus players who wish to balance out their shops re-stocking time can now do so.

Other features that were released with Tiny Tower 1.3 update are:
- Customising Bitizens via web tools (not sure how useful that is)
- Real Estate VIP now fills entire floor (instead of just 1 Bitizen, which is kind of lame previously)
- Dream jobs rewards 2 Bux now (I prefer the original 3 Bux but it is an improvement over current 1 Bux)...

Well, I am still looking forward to future Tiny Tower updates that allow for more players interactivity with each other's Tiny Towers. Playing Tiny Tower is fun, but playing it together with friends will be more fun. P.S. oh, with this new update, many players had complained that they experienced a drop in the coins earned per minute. I had the same experience too, with about 25% - 33% drop in coins earned per minute.

See related:
- Tiny Tower Update 1.2.1
- Tiny Tower Achievements
- iPhone Tiny Tower - Shops & Stocks
- Tiny Tower - Diary of a Bitizen