Comrades, we have decided to enact a short extension on the deadline of this month’s game raffle. We’d hate to, you know, not give it away because everyone’s been busy with Diablo 3 and we’re merely one man short from the raffle activation!

We will announce the winner of a Steam copy of Wargame: European Escalation on May 21, 2012. That’s Monday. In the meantime, go easy on all the Diablo, guys.

Just after The May Hurray Bundle, the Lightning Pack has come out! This time, all the money in the indie bundle will be donated to 4 charities: Amnesty International, EFF, Actionaid and UNICEF. The following 4 games are available in this bundle:

• OSMOS – Enter the ambient world of Osmos: elegant, physics-based gameplay, dreamlike visuals, and a minimalist, electronic soundtrack. Your objective is to grow by absorbing other motes. Propel yourself by ejecting matter behind you. But be wise: ejecting matter also shrinks you.

• B.U.T.T.O.N. – A physical party game for 2-8 players developed by the Copenhagen Game Collective, with music by Nifflas. Race to your controller through physical space, and do whatever it takes to win (or to avoid losing). Act like a monkey, jump up and down, wrestle over the controllers, strip off some clothing, cheat your competitors, and above all, expect the unexpected. Brutally unfair tactics are, after all, totally OK now!

• The Shivah – Russell Stone is a Jewish Rabbi at a poor synagogue in New York City. He is a devout man with a problem. Membership is way down and he lacks the funds to keep his synagogue open. Things are looking very bleak, and he has grown progressively more cynical and bitter with the passage of time. Just as he is on the verge of packing it all in, he receives some interesting news. A former member of his congregation has died and left the Rabbi a significant amount of money. A blessing? Or the start of something far more sinister? Can Rabbi Stone just accept the money and move on? His conscience says no. Step into his shoes as he travels all over Manhattan in his attempt to uncover the truth. Features rabbinical conversation methods, a unique method of fighting, an original score, and three different endings!

• Blueberry Garden – A short experimental game about curiosity and exploration. You take on the role of a creature investigating a mysterious world to find out what is going on there.

Also, If you pay at least $7.00, you will get 3 bonus albums! Are you going to get this bundle? Or are you guys busy playing Diablo 3 just like the guys here at OMGeek? (not everyone is playing Diablo 3! ;__; -ed)

TIPSY MODE -- I mean Distortion -- is back with a vengeance!

Great news, Waveform fans! Ryan Vandendyck from Eden Industries has given us the scoop on the game’s new DLC, which is scheduled to release next week on Steam. The action takes place across 7 levels set on the dwarf planet of Eris. We’ll be getting a new object (the Pulsar) and a new bonus mode (Reverse) with the DLC. The best news is that it’s absolutely free for everyone who has purchased the game so far! Here are Ryan’s own words about the DLC:

This is the first of many planned “Planet Packs” that we intend to release as DLC. This one opens up the dwarf planet Eris to players where they can experience the powerful light of the Pulsars. The light from a Pulsar is so strong that it’ll create a temporary Distortion field, mimicking the fan favourite Distortion bonus level effect. Its light will also reveal nearby hidden objects, however, so although it creates a trippy experience it’s one that works in your favour!

Eris comes with 7 brand new levels that not only feature the Pulsar as a new object, but also include a new bonus mode: Reverse. In this mode, which is also featured in Eris’ Deep Space Mode, you’ll travel from right to left instead of left to right. Although a simple change, it turns the gameplay on its head to create a very fresh experience!

So with a new Deep Space Mode and 7 new levels featuring a new object and a new bonus level, you’d think the good news would stop there – but no! The best part of all is that this DLC is free for a limited time! As a thank-you to the Waveform community and our supportive fans, we’re releasing this DLC free for anyone that has purchased Waveform so far or purchases it anytime next week as a reward for being an early supporter of the game.

To celebrate the release of the DLC, we’ll also be hosting our third Leaderboard Challenge next week. This one will take place on Eris and challenge players to survive in Eris’ Deep Space Mode while the Reverse effect is active. The top 5 finishers on the leaderboard will receive a free Steam copy of the indie game Auditorium, which is a very special giveaway for us since Auditorium is one of the games that inspired me to make Waveform.

Ryan also dropped some very interesting trivia about the ideas behind this DLC, and how the Reverse mode is related to Miyamoto and Nintendo in general:

You may be interested to know that the development of the content for Eris was inspired by Nintendo. The Pulsar was created as an homage to the Touch Fuzzy, Get Dizzy level in Yoshi’s Island in which the screen became a trippy, distorted mess after touching a fuzz ball. Interestingly, the Pulsar was added into Waveform a long time ago, but somehow never made it into the game. The Distortion effect it causes did appear as a bonus level though, but the Pulsar itself remained absent. So we wanted to rectify that through the release of this DLC. The Reverse effect was also inspired by Nintendo, although this time through my professional relationship with them. While working on Luigi’s Mansion 2, Miyamoto would often tell us to reward players for “going left”, a reference to the number of bonus items he included in Mario 3 that were accessible only by heading left from a level’s starting point, an action he wanted to reward due to not being able to do this in the original Super Mario Bros. Since in the base game of Waveform it’s also impossible to go left, I decided to theme a bonus level around Miyamoto’s advice. And so the Reverse mode, and indeed the entirety of Eris’ Deep Space Mode, was born!

Stay tuned for the Waveform DLC’s release.

So yesterday, on the 15th of May I decided to join 10,000 (my estimate) other geeks to pick up my box copy of Diablo 3 in order to save SGD $18 on the digital edition from Blizzard. It was a pretty interesting experience. This was the first time I ever attended a game launch event and I must say it was pretty decently organised despite the massive numbers onsite.

Verification of pre order cards began at 9am, and the line started at the back of Funan IT mall and snaked all around until it entered the first floor to the main registration hall. Some key highlights included Blizzard staff members signing autographs, and the Project Director of Cinematics, Marc Messenger was onstage fielding a Q&A. And when 3pm kicked in, confetti launchers fired into the air marking the official launch of Diablo 3.

Photos of the event after the jump.

Watch this video on YouTube.

I saw their video on Kickstarter and it’s awesome! Also It’s an open world ARPG, with factions and stuff. You better check it out guys! You can back it for $18 as a Kickstarter price. The retail price will be $20-$24. The Kickstarter will end in 3 days. (Sucks I didn’t see this earlier.)

After Action Report:

After gathering around and segregating the groups into their proper fireteams, I conducted a general briefing on some important Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to the group, while Chino also gave some important inputs that I had failed to mention. Fireteam callsign assignments were given out as part of the briefing. Wolfpack will be the main assault force, Blackjack is for Logistics / Security team and Hunter for Recon / Sniper / JTAC team. We have also established the proper channels for each group and this will be going into the SOP to be officially standardized to avoid confusion in future operations. Once the briefing was done, all team members went ahead and loaded up the appropriate gear that matched their roles.

After gearing up, Blackjack was assigned to prep the convoy that we will be headed to the Main Target. Convoy was composed of the following: 1x Bradley IFV for troop transport for Wolfpack, 1x Engineering Truck, 1x Ammo Truck, 1x MHQ. Hunter will paradrop in close to the Main Target and scout for enemy armor and emplacements. Convoy arrived at proposed FOB location and didn’t meet any enemy resistance along the way.

With the MHQ unpacked and the supply trucks parked accordingly, the FOB was ready. Wolfpack coordinated their plan of attack with Hunter while Blackjack was tasked to setup static weapons on hilltops adjacent the Main Target.

Blackjack was spotted by enemy armor during its setup and was eliminated right away. Static positions were not properly manned and deemed a failure. Blackjack Actual (INQUE) instructed all team members to fall back to FOB position and regroup from there.

Wolfpack’s assault to Main Target was also unsuccessful and met heavy casualties along the way. Wolfpack regrouped to FOB position to heal and revive the wounded.

During the regrouping phase, the enemy sent a counter-offensive force that was composed of enemy infantry and armor. The enemy’s counter-attack resulted in us having heavy friendly casualties because the FOB perimeter defenses were not properly established. Blackjack Actual takes full responsibility for this.

With massive losses and the control out of our hands, the enemy forced us to relocate the FOB and regroup in a safe location before planning our next attack. We pulled out successfully and consolidated in an area a few clicks away from the previous FOB. Wolfpack Actual plotted our next route and location for our new FOB.

2nd convoy relocating to new FOB location

The new convoy was composed of 2x armored M2 HMMWV, 1x engineer truck, 1x ammo truck and 1x MHQ. Towards the new FOB location, the convoy again did not meet any enemy resistance. Upon reaching the new location, enemy D30 static emplacements fired directly on the lead HMMWV and the convoy was forced to break formation. Troops dismounted to gather the wounded. Those who are uninjured popped smoke and gave cover to those who were pulling out the wounded.

Good cover of the sectors while the wounded gets pulled out of the fray

We established a new FOB, treated all wounded, and regrouped for a new plan of attack. Blackjack was again in charge of base security and promptly planted AT mines on all entry points that led toward the FOB. Blackjack was also able to succesfuly set up static weapons surrounding the base in case of another counter-offensive by the enemy. Hunter continued to feed reconnaissance to Wolfpack as they geared up and headed towards the AO.

Conclusion:

Unfortunately, we were still not able to take over the town, nor destroy the radio tower. Troop morale was at an all-time low due to massive losses from the previous FOB. We decided to conclude the training, and will have to work on more drills.

Recommendations:

After the initial training, these are the recommendations for upcoming drills:

• Communications
• All team members need to learn on how to constantly communicate more with their TL in case of casualties. If team member does not respond, TL will send out a medic to his last known position.
• Succession of Leadership
• Team Leaders need to assign succession of leadership in case TL goes down.
• Parameters on when succession of leadership should be established on SOP.
• Reviving
• All team members need to be reminded that medics should be on top of reviving injured soldiers. Non-medics should keep watch and cover during treatment.
• Clarification of roles
• Team members need to be reminded of their team roles when handling team-specific vehicles (e.g. logistic trucks are for the logistics team). This will avoid any confusion in communications when having to pull out and relocate immediately.

Commendations:

During the ambush of the convoy, all teams performed excellently during the encounter. Covering of sectors was done properly, and thus we were able to move out wounded to a safer location.

NO ONE LEFT BEHIND: A dramatic action shot from last Sunday's ArmA II game that I recycled from INQUE's post. No, that smoke isn't tropical fruit flavored. But I'd inhale it just to know for sure.

This public service comes to you a day late due to some busywork on my part. Also, I’ve been feeling listless and cranky and unable to drum up any gaming enthusiasm for the past two weeks. Maybe it’s the sudden change in the weather, or maybe it’s because I just haven’t been taking my vitamins. Those things are good for ya.

Or maybe it’s because Minecraft has been missing from our lives for the better part of those two weeks. That drought is over, at least, and I’ve started taking my vitamins again. Now my body has agreed to agree with me once more.

Here’s the latest in OMGeek news:

• You’ve probably heard — and seen for yourself — that our ArmA II server now runs with the ACE and ACRE mods. This means that the game now models things a bit more realistically than the already-realistic vanilla ArmA, and that your radio transmissions are now more likely to break up in static when you’re transmitting from inside a two-meter-deep hobbit hole ten kilometers away from the nearest friendly unit. We have a discussion thread for mission suggestions up in here. If you’re interested in ArmA, we welcome your input.

  INQUE will have the latest on the ArmA group’s latest foray into the perpetually war-torn Takistan in his AAR, soon to be posted here. Those poor Takistani children.

• Minecraft is indeed back, and to celebrate, we’re having an event tomorrow night, which is Wednesday the sixteenth. Be in the chatroom at 8 pm (GMT +8), and get ready to return to our newly-named world of Geekteria, where things have been the way we left them before the Great Lag of 2012 reared its ugly head. We be minin’, and diggin’, and buildin’ walls and warehouses and all that mon. See you there!

• Blitzio has posted up a new thread asking the community all about cooperative games — which ones you’re currently enjoying, and which ones you consider to be your favorites. Maybe you like a coop game that no one’s ever heard about, or you’re interested in getting into a pick-up game of whatever’s already been mentioned in the thread. I know there’s been some kind of renewed interest in Company of Heroes lately. I want in.

  Share your own coop experiences with us. Join in the discussion!

Solid teamwork was produced with ACE + ACRE

With after much deliberation with the community, we finally agreed that the we were ready for the A.C.E. mod. For those who aren’t familiar with the ArmA II community, A.C.E. stands for Advanced Combat Environment. It’s a total conversion mod that adds another layer of realism to an already realistic game. They have a whole set of features listed on their wiki page. It seems intimidating at first, but once you dive in and try it out, it makes sense after a while.

In conjunction with A.C.E., we also are trying our hand at A.C.R.E. (hooray another acronym). A.C.R.E. stands for Advanced Combat Radio Environment. It simulates in-game communications with real-world radios and their real-world limitations.

Drop us a line at this thread if you’re interested in joining us! We encourage players from the Southeast Asian region to experience some mil-sim madness. Currently we got players over from Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and even an Australian joining in the fun. If you need some technical assistance on setting up all these mods up, we got some pretty comprehensive guides or you can drop by in the Steam chatroom and the OMGeeks available will get you sorted out.

Men of War is one of my favourite tactical RTS coop games to play. Reminds me a lot of Company of Heroes, which is just as awesome.

Completing campaigns and objectives alongside your bros is always a fun experience. First I’d like to get a better understanding as to which coop games you guys love, and then establish this as a sort of bi weekly or monthly post, checking in regularly on what coop games the community is currently playing. I think this will be a fun exercise, giving us all an idea as to what coop games are out there and also discuss our love for old classics as well as some of the new games to look forward to. I’d love to keep a running discussion because truth is, coop is fun, and I know most of us enjoy it because it means we can interact and experience the storyline in a communal and shared environment.

So tell us, what are you currently powering through and what coop games have stuck with you over the years? My personal favourites include the Left 4 Dead series, Men of War (comp stomping), Company of Heroes (comp stomping again!) and I guess you could include ArmA 2 since we pretty much play against the AI at all times. So for the past couple of weeks I’ve been currently playing Anno 2070 and Mass Effect 3 on coop and its been good fun. One is strategy/colony development while the other is a third person shooter which I think satisfy and balance out my gaming needs just right.

I’d really like to hear from you on this. Drop a comment or post in the thread.

"I live... again!"

Good news, everyone!

We’ve just received word that the Minecraft server is back up and running! This means more mayhem of the block-stacking and creeper-kiting sort. This means the continuation of our community projects. This means that more events will be organized very soon for Minecraft. Naturally, this also means that we have finally picked a winner for our Minecraft naming contest!

The winner, whose entry was deemed by Blitzio as the best, shall be announced at the end of this post!

• Yes, Minecraft is back! The lag problem in our Minecraft server should be gone. I personally haven’t found the time to pop inside to test, but if you’re in a good place to do so, why don’t you give it a go?

• I’ve added The Wall to our list of ongoing community projects. Yes, THAT wall. It’ll be awesome, I promise.

• In an unexpected turn of events, Blitzio has chosen a winner — but only for our Minecraft world’s name. All the suggestions for the Minecraft settlement have been vetoed, and in their stead, Blitzio has submitted his own suggestion for our residential settlement’s name: Nerdinium. Is it a substance? Is it a metal? Is it a namesake? No one knows.

  But I’m going to allow this.

  Anyway! The winning entry for our world’s name is Geekteria, submitted by jedi304! Jedi wins a Steam copy of Bastion, and the honor of being the name-giver of our lush Minecraft world. Congratulations, and see you in Geekteria soon!