You can't keep a good man down - the campaign continues.

The last cards of turn 6 are played.

Rome: In expectation of losing political control of four areas, Rome asserts political control over 3 areas.

Carthage: Mago sails from Carthage to reinforce Hannibal with 6 CU. After his safe arrival Hannibal moves to Bruttium.

The Situation at the end of turn 6.

Turn 7: Reinforcements were placed and consuls elected. Nero was given a second consecutive term and given command of the troops in Rome. Paulus was replaced by Longus, who was dispatched to Sicily.

Carthage: Mago returned, without troops, to Africa. Hannibal marched again on Rome. Nero managed to withdraw his army out of Rome before he arrived. The siege, even with a siege train present, is a disaster waiting to happen. A surprise assault was repulsed with loss (1 CU).........

Rome: .........and more losses (1 CU) were inflicted on the besiegers when, according to Scrotivius,

"...bad water, from poisoned wells, caused amongst the Carthaginians, a great loosening of the bowels...."

Carthage: Hannibal breaks off from his siege and attacks Nero, who successfully withdraws to Falerii. Hannibal pursues and catches him.

The situation map.

 

The characterisation draw - Carthage 104 MC, By Saturn and Favourable Omens (Stratagem card 10). Rome 70 MC and Wild card. The terrain in this part of Italy is hilly.

The deployments for The Battle of Faleri:



Ager Proelii: The Battle for Rome - part 2

The carthaginian centre crumbled under the weight of the Roman attack.....

....whilst the veteran Spanish are pinned down by the Roman right.

On the Roman left, where Hannibal is strongest, the Romans come under extreme pressure. But, before the outcome is settled here.....

.....the Carthaginian centre is broken.

Scrotivius writes:

"..and Hannibal, seeing the Romans manoeuvring before him, declared that "This Roman swings both ways."

On the Roman left the pressure was mounting......

....and mounting.....

....whilst, on the right victory seemed imminent.

Which would give out first?

The Roman left stabilised after some very fierce fighting.....

 On the right the Carthaginians were being surrounded.

A Roman Victory!

Hannibal withdrew to Croton with 4 CU loss. Paulus lost 1 CU.

PTD 2 1v1 Level 1 Released and PTD2's Name Change!

Want to get the Shiny legendary dogs? Shiny Mew? or any other shiny pokemon in the game? Adopt them today using SnD coins! Click here for more info.

Visit the PTD: Pokemon Center - a place to trade pokemon, get your Daily Code, adopt Pokemon, view your items and change your avatar!


You can play by going to the "Play PTD2" tab. 


Pokemon Center Progress List:

• Add de-leveling feature (0%) - For Casino Coins or SnD Coins (Similar to removing hacked version) you can lower the level of your pokemon. The purpose of this feature was to allow you to use your pokemon from ptd1 earlier in ptd2 but my faithful fans from the forum do not agree this is a good features. They argue that this will make the game too easy. (They are right! Level 10 Mewtwo still pwnes you!) So I will listen to them and not add it. I'm listening guys/gals!

New Level, Bug Fixes, New Additions v1.10 (08/16/12): Released now!

• Level 5 1v1 mode
• Intro
• Level Background
• Waves
• Ending
•  Attack Foresight needed a better attack graphic
• Fixed an issue that was showing the wrong HP value in the pokemon check screen after playing a level
• Added a stacking global cooldown to changing attacks on a pokemon - every time you change and attack a small 0.3 second global cooldown will be added to your pokemon. Normal play will not change, but spamming your keyboard changing attacks constantly will result in your pokemon not being able to know what you are asking him to do (a long global cooldown that resets once its done)
• Fixed a problem with a pokemon learning a new move and another pokemon evolving at the same time, or two pokemon evolving at the same time
• Added a confirmation popup when you try to exit 1v1 mode
• Fixed pokemon getting hit when they are removed from the stage
• Fixed Kakuna and Metapod not learning Harden when they evolve
• Added unlockable Metapod, Butterfree, Kakuna and Beedrill when you evolve Caterpie or Weedle
• Increased the cost of potions to 10 - Since buying a potion is pretty much like have a whole new pokemon the price was increased.
• Changed Antidote to be unlocked at level 2
• Added new item Parlyz Heal unlocked at level 3
• Add a multiplayer map for 1v1 mode (Postponed due to poll results)- Before I get too deep into creating the story mode I have to make sure multiplayer will work with the new setup. So I have to start making/testing it as soon as possible. This will help story mode have multiplayer that actually works.

Bug Fixes, Work in Progress Story mode v1.09 (08/11/12)

•  A work in progress version of Story Mode is in this version, you can only walk around, you can walk over things and you can walk outside the map. These are not bugs, the mode is simply not done yet.
• Add missing description for a pokemon unlocked on level 4
• Made Sand-Attack work on Flying types as it should
•  Test Map New Bark Town for Story Mode - Story mode is totally not ready, what you see is where I am at currently. You can only walk around.
• Main Characters Male and Female - Will use HG/SS character graphics as default.
• Graphics
• Pokemon for first Route of Story Mode - With a level cap at 10
• Graphics
• Regular
• Shiny
• Shadow
• Stats
• Abilities
• Frisk
• Insomnia
• Attacks
• Foresight
• Hypnosis
• Start adding Johto Starters for story mode - With a level cap at 10
• Graphics
• Regular
• Shiny
• Shadow
• Stats
• Abilities
• Overgrow
• Leaf Guard
• Blaze
• Flash Fire
• Torrent
• Sheer Force
• Attacks
• Razor Leaf
• Poison Powder
• SmokeScreen
• Ember
• Water Gun
• Rage
  

New Level (4), Fixes, and Additions on Alpha v1.08 (08/09/12)

• New Level for 1v1 level 4
• Intro
• Level Background
• Waves
• Ending
• Abilities for future levels
• Sand Veil
• Arena Trap
• Sand Force
• Sand Rush
• Rock Head
• Sturdy
• Weak Armor
• Attacks for future levels
• Astonish
• Defense Curl
• Rock Polish
• Mud Sport
• Bind
• Screech
• Rock Throw
• Make Ash's pikachu and caterpie always be male - This matches the anime.
• Added stat totals to the Buy Pokemon screen
• Added a new item "Antidote"unlocked after beating level 3
• Fixed items working on pokemon that don't need them or can't use them  - For example using potion on a pokemon with full health or is fainted, or using antidote on a pokemon that doesn't have a poison.

Bug Fixes and Additions on Alpha v1.07

• Fixed bug with potion going on the wrong pokemon
• Made Nidoran F be female
• Made the enemy pokemon have the proper random gender - This will be based on the actual chance of that pokemon being female or male in the pokemon games.
• Show gender and level in the life bar of pokemon in the field
• Show gender in your party's profile blocks
• Added a delay to having the screen scroll when you first drag a pokemon
• Fixed issue with fainted pokemon receiving experience
• Added keyboard shortcuts for various things
• "P" for pause and play
• 1-6 to select which party member you will command
• Z, X, C, V to switch moves in the currently commanded pokemon
• Changed Ash's Pikachu ability on level 3 of 1v1 to Lightningrod instead of Static

New Level on Alpha v1.06

• New 1v1 Level (3) - Joey goes back in time
  

Changes/Bug Fixes on Alpha v1.05

• Added the buy items screen
• Enabled item use in the levels
• Added a pokeball next to pokemon that you have already bought in 1v1 mode
• When buying a pokemon in 1v1 mode it will now say "You bought a pokemon!"
• Change text during 1v1 tutorial to mention being able to change abilities 
• Fix issue that would crash the game when your pokemon had certain abilities on
  
• New Abilities for level 3 rewards
• Poison Point- For Nidorans
• Rivalry - For Nidorans
• Static - For Pikachu
• Lightningrod - For Pikachu
• New Attacks for level 3 rewards
• Scratch
• Double Kick
• Thundershock
• Thunder Wave

Changes/Bug Fixes on Alpha v1.04

• Enable Ability Change in the Poke Check screen
• Increased experienced earned by trainer owned pokemon by 50% 
  

Changes/Bug Fixes on Alpha v1.03  

• Make pokemon not take poison damage when taken off the field but they won't lose their poison status- Thanks @doofinc!
• Added the missing coin prize after level 2- Thanks @opticALEXpert! Now you can start to pile up your money.
• Let you skip cutscenes after you have beaten a level or seen it in the current play through

New Level ready on Alpha v1.02

• New 1v1 Level 2 - Joey heads to Viridian Forest

Small Bugs fixed on Alpha v1.01

• Music keeps playing after the level is over
• Changing a move in the poke check screen in the level will not update the move on the level itself
• Can't delete the 1v1 profile
• Pokemon say they are level 1 when buying but are actually level 5

PTD 2 1v1 Mode Released!
PTD 2 1v1 mode level one is now released!!!! Wooo hoooo! It took a long time just to get to this point so I want to talk more about the work that I did and about the 1v1 mode itself.

When you play the level you will notice how short it is and might ask yourself, "Why did this take so long?" well the truth is that so much has changed inside of the game that it's unbelievable. You can expact 2-3 new levels next week for 1v1 mode since a lot of the foundation has been completed.

Some major things that didn't make it in were the items. I almost had those done but I really wanted to focus on just getting the level out first. Also the pokemon check menu in the party select screen needs major work still and those things will come in the near future.

For the level itself it was a lot of fun to bring back Joey for this mode. I thought it would be hilarious to see Joey go through this virtual training and I'm looking forward to seeing how he does in there.

For the mode itself everything you play you will be trying to reach as far as you can go, right now there is only 1 level so it's not very challenging to beat it but eventually there should be at least 100 levels for you to try to reach. If you lose you will start over but will get to retain any coins you gathered. If you go below 10 coins it will automatically reset your coin amount to 10 when you restart. Also any pokemon or items that you have unlocked will stay unlocked so that you can start with a more powerful pokemon the second time around.

I would love to hear more about what you think of this mode so far.

PTD2's Name Change
The big elephant in the room would be the sudden title change for the game. We went from Johto's Shadow to Generations. Today I want to talk more about what this change. It is more than just a name change as you might imagine. PTD 2 will now contain pokemon and locations from all generations of pokemon!

Another big change is how you will play the game.. and this is HUGE change so listen up!

You will now be able to move around with your avatar and partners just like the real game! You will be able to travel from one region to another, truly being able to catch them all in one game.

So what will be happening is that along the way you will encounter different people that need your help or are causing trouble. They will give you quest and you must complete and will unlock the ability to capture different pokemon. When somebody challenges you to a fight or when you run into pokemon in the wild (you will see the pokemon walking around in the map!) it will go into tower defense mode and you will battle in Tower Defense style.

So this game will be what I like to call an "Open World Pokemon Tower Defense Game".

A lot of the quest will be inspired by the anime so you will get to play out some fun events similar to the anime. There will also be quest that will be completely original designed by me!

All of this will be for the story mode which will come at a future date, for now I'm focusing on getting more attacks and pokemon ready for 1v1 mode.

I'm really excited about all of this and I hope you guys are too! As always let me know what you think!

Eye candy

Wow, it’s been a looooong time since my last post. Not because there is nothing going on, quite the opposite.

I cannot go into that end of things quite yet but I wanted to let you all know I’m still here and pushing forward.

Many of you have been asking when the Leviathans will be in stock. I hope to have some news on that front soon and hope to be a little less cloak and dagger about current events… all in good time. Until then, queue the elevator music and enjoy some eye candy as I flex my rendering muscle and play with learning that aspect of digital design.

All the best!

Mark-

Something wicked this way comes

Quiet before the storm

In the thick

One becomes a battalion

This is my first Panzer Battalion for Operation Crusader / Siege of Tobruk showing the units for historical organisation and deployment (scaled at 1:5):
Battalion HQ; 1 Panzer III H command tank
2 Panzer III Companies; 3 Panzer III H, 1 Panzer II F
1 Panzer IV Company; 2 Panzer IV FI, 1 Panzer IV

The same vehicles showing how I'll probably deploy them on the table. The organisation is a battalion / company level hybrid. This allows the formation to utilize its Panzer IIs as a seperate 'flank guard', their historical, company level, job. It also allows the units to be deployed in units of three vehicles (a supply truck, not painted, will accompany the Panzer IV company).

This might not be historically accurate, but I like playing games with a platoon level feel whilst wanting the diversity of weaponry, not to mention scenario possibilities, of company level games. Most of my games will involve a battle group or two of three battalions or so each, per side. Actions during Operation Crusader tended to be on the large side.

Panzer III H
  Panzer IV FI

Panzer  II F

Battalion command stand

Vehicles are Battlefront Miniatures (FoW) painted in enamels. Bases are, 60mm x 75mm x 2mm, MDF.

Colour test - German armour for the desert 1941

It's a long time since I've painted any WW2 stuff for my 15mm Desert 1941 collection.

Today, taking a break from Monsieur Anderson's Romans, I looked at some almost completed SYW Russians and thought........nerrrrr.

I had undercoated some German WW2 stuff a while ago and they have sat there since. This was partly down to 'being busy' and partly down to nerves.

I have painted 22nd Armoured Brigade Group for 7th Armoured so I know what colours I'll use as a pallet for the Brits (based on Humbrol 63 and burnt umber ink wash).

I have painted a battalion of Italian vehicles (for the, Ilkley Lad's, Bir el Gubi game) so I know I'll be using ink wash and a Humbrol 93 pallet for the Italians.

How many shades of desert sand paint can there be? I wonder.....

.......and could I find one for the Germans.

But, I think that the ink wash over a Humbrol 225 base highlighted in base Humbrol 93 with Humbrol 94 used as a base for the top two highlights gives a different shade again. I like it because there is an olive green tinge.

It is debatable how 'desert yellow' varied from nation to nation - even formation to formation - but I like there to be a difference: Different sides, in a game, need different coloured counters.

I'm happy with this combination of shades. I'll use it for the rest of 15th Panzer Division (which mainly sits, at 1:5 scale, in its blisters).  

A shot of the Pz III from 15th Panzer Division next to a tank of 22nd Armoured Brigade. The colour difference is noticeable but not 'dramatic'.  The thing that brings them together, IMHO, is the same colour ink wash, which is also used on the bases.

I hope you approve.

Models are from the FoW range.

Ager Proelii: The Battle for Rome

Carthage (Hannibal): Characterisation draw. 

Rome (A. Paulus): Characterisation draw. 

 Carthaginian deployment

Roman deployment. 

Both sides launch an attack on the hill and a cavalry action is imminent......... 

The Romans guess that the main Carthaginian effort will be made against their left.

The action develops rapidly.

The fight is fierce and confused, but.......

Veteran Spanish cavalry decide the issue of the cavalry battle in favour of the Carthaginians. Rome fears defeat, until....

 ...her infantry counter attack.......

.....all along the line..... 

...and are victorious versus their Gallic enemies.

We have to humour a rare bout of hubris.

Hannibal rides into the fray and temporarily restores the situation but his situation is still dire: His centre is crumbling.

Rome rushes cavalry from one wing to the other.

A 36" move - so fast they are blurry. 

The reinforcements arrive before the Carthaginian cavalry can exploit their earlier success.

The battle extends to the fields and vineyards........















At the end of turn 1, and for the first time, Rome has the ascendancy.

To be continued.....