Game in the Brain Feb Performance

 My delays in finishing 2-Parsec is killing my visibility.  I know, of course I get sick, I have social obligations, I hurt people I have to repair and make better. So Of course I'm paying for it with delays. 

Speaking of pay, I have some residual income from the Cooperative of the company, so I got some gain I could spend. I can pay for the art and services for 2-Parsec, but What I don't have is time. 

If you noticed my frequent of posting has gone down I've taken a lot of load at work. Giving Erpnext and Pfsense and FreeCAD training almost every day. Imagine students who don't answer or say anything while I try to explain technical concepts and make technology work and demonstrate it to them. It's mentally and emotionally exhausting. Of course of the students I encounter, I have the few that do listen and that recharge me. 

As for my staff, I have a hard time and the power imbalance as the boss makes me suspect everything and be paranoid. I try to be kind and open-minded even if my danger sense is tingling; the students - with those who don't care and their indifference are more real.  I like knowing I'm not persuasive at all because it removes the layer of power as son of the owner to have a better measure of the situation. 

It is a strange thing where the indifference of the students is something I can work with and the lack of sincerity and hidden indifference of my co-workers are more problematic. One would ask "Why not exert more forceful control?" I would say - that's a tired trope, there are millions of other strategies, and we live in an era now that has an AI that I can use to explore alternative strategies with and I would use force? Anyway they're still students and I'm getting free labor - of course they are getting a Director to teach them cloud, erpnext, pfsense, project management and problem-solving - more hands-on than their professors. I had ECE students who couldn't solve this problem: I have a gpon  router, can I just connect it using a Fiber Optical Media Converter from the switch to the media converter to the gpon router?"

Some much to work with some much to help - I can and I offer the help readily its just they are so unmotivated and I have dispassionate employees who don't want to get out of the mess. So emotionally drained after training people 5-6 hours a day - recording, taking my own minutes, and demonstrating and problem-solving live in front of an audience. An audience that is mostly despondent. 

The really good students I get to work with is what I look forward to, people who will probably make some history I get to be lucky to meet.   

So with the emotional labor I will hopefully power through and finish soon. I can't say when I'll finish. Just know I'll finish and you can run a game with the material with weak areas at least mapped.  

Status update: 2-Parsec will have Mneme Variant Equipment and musings of Wealth across Eras

I am currently working on Mneme Variant Equipment, a set of mechanics I had to make because I wanted equipment templates and write ups for 2-Parsec. It attempted to solve the following problems: 

1) equipment is bulky and took up a lot of space on the page. having Equipment packages allowed me to have no layout-disrupting tables. 

2) give Players and GMS equipment packages from the guy who would plan his load out for Airsoft, for excursions, for trips abroad, and thought about it a lot. 

Of course it got me into a lot of thinking:  

Throughout history, wealth has taken on many different forms. Hunter-gatherers valued anything they could carry with them, while early farmers prized land and crops. As civilizations developed, so did the accumulation of capital and infrastructure.

Today, in 2023, wealth is often associated with material possessions such as cars, homes, appliances, and other equipment. However, with the emergence of AI and the Maker Era, this definition is rapidly changing. The rise of collectives of makers is leading to a correction of monopolistic forces and transforming material wealth.

Another area where wealth is evolving is in the field of cybernetics and healthcare. As the number of technical professionals increases and social mobility improves, cybernetics and healthcare are becoming more accessible to people who previously lacked access. This increased access is leading to people being able to perform at a high level throughout their lives and accumulate wealth as a result.

At present, the cost of repairing cybernetic enhancements or space habitats would be astronomical. However, as technology continues to advance, these costs may become more akin to repairing a car or performing expensive home repairs.

The ability to sustain human life in space indefinitely is a milestone of our mastery of the material environment. It represents a level of wealth and technological advancement that could allow us to become less dependent on Earth and more self-sufficient as a species. 

Technical Challenges

When using Technical mechanics, you will need to remember this simple formula:

Output = Materials x Capabilities x Risk.

Capabilities refer to skill, manpower, and technology level, while materials include the raw materials and equipment used in creating the output. Output refers to the product or service the PCs need or will provide to move the story forward.

Risk is determined by rolling dice and can result in success, degrees of success (including costly success), or failure, and degrees of costly failure.

When the story presents a technical challenge, technical players can use the known variables to determine the unknown variables. The game master will then assign risk to these variables, including the difficulty, consequences, and stakes of success or failure. By incorporating technical mechanics into the game, players can add depth and interest to the story while keeping the challenges and outcomes realistic.

Planet Generator Blender File UPGRADE - new more realistic landmass

Daniel Grove is where Nicco and I get a lot of Ideas for Traveller-Cepheus Engine, particularly using blender to create the material.  We are using his new tutorial to create a more detailed world. 

For comparison, this is how our original world generator generates procedural worlds. 

Nicco just gave me the new version for trouble shooting and I had to relearn to create UVMap baked textures. I forgot you have to make an Image texture node. Create a NEW image - name it. Go to Shading and set it up. and Configure Baking settings properly (Diffuse). We will go into more detail once the new version is done and we will create a new video.  

This is the file exported. as you can see it has too little contrast. not good for old eyes. 

GIMP > Colors > Levels to increase the contrast. 

It was too dark I had to go to GIMP and BRIGHTEN it up by going to levels.